Karl Interview

[swisshh]

Maybe I'm crazy, but going to a post offense when there's a lack of post defenders in the NBA seems smart to me.

Posting Cousins and Miller has been two of the team's best recent options. The others are getting it to Gay on the move or Cousins at the high post in a spread offense. I actually really like Cousins at the high post in a spread system.

However, having Cousins rim run back n forth takes him out of the game. It's not just conditioning, but how his body naturally moves. He's quick, but he doesn't shift directions basket to basket quickly.

 

[Spike]

I liken it to when Harbaugh switched his teams (Stanford, 49ers) to a more smashmouth style of football when everyone was thinking "spread! spread!". Teams couldn't handle what he was doing, and, honestly, he was a bad pass away from taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl, possibly ushering in again a smashmouth style.
Teams aren't equipped to handle DeMarcus and his style of play. Malone knew that, and worked it to our advantage. I'm hoping Karl isn't actively seeking to take that advantage away.

 

[Larry David]

If we can take a breath and have a little patience . . .

The Cousins countdown clock has only two years on it (unless the Kings are prepared to let him hit unrestricted free agency hoping he will value a 5th year -- in a contract where he'll want opts outs before the 5th year to ensure he can get another big deal while he's playing well -- more than total control over where he plays in a league where perhaps 3/4 of the league has the cap space to sign him) ...

Not sure the origination or fans can be patient. They have to be pretty good next year. The Kings haven't started to get any upward traction yet. That needs to start very very soon.

 

[rainmaker]

i mean, big cuz holds a grudge like no one else in the nba; he's not going to forget about the success that he and mike malone were achieving before the rug was pulled out from beneath the team, and, when push comes to shove, he's not likely to forgive the new regime if things continue to go south. i'm certainly not ready to give up on the notion of george karl transforming this team into a winner, but some serious red flags get raised for me when i see karl flat-out acknowledging that defense isn't his priority, and that turning the kings into a running team is his ultimate goal...

We all have our opinions on what wins and what doesn't win in this league, and we're right , but putting that aside for a min, it's a much greater concern to me that our FO/ownership and now Karl seem intent on working against Cuz than with him. Cuz knows what style fits him best, what type of system gives the most success and his only brief experience of true success in five years here was with a slower, defensive oriented blueprint, which he won't forget.

There's some serious red flags here and we're repeatedly seeing comments from PDA/Karl which are in opposition to Cuz's point of view. And while some may say Cuz is just a player and should go along with it, it's really Cuz and Malone's point of view and the point of view of the coach who's had the most successful stint here since Adelman, so there's some serious ground to stand on here.

BTW, Cuz doesn't appear to be completely on board with the current situation and his techs are evidence of that. Just seems angry, doesn't care about arguing with the refs anymore. Less composure. And it's likely one of two things or a combination of both, that being completely fed up with the lack of talent around him on the roster PDA assembled and/or not being all that pleased with this new system and style of play.

It's bad enough now that at 4-10 under Karl and losing 7 of our last 8, fans are praising effort. Doubt Cuz is down with that.

 

[SacTownKid]

He didn't say Cuz would never play down low and if he puts Cuz in high post a la Webber, Vlade, or Brad he's already shown what he can do with his passing and driving. If they make that the staples of his game this could really work out. Maybe there isn't a coincidence with Brad and Vlade popping up lately?

In fact, in a lot of ways putting Cuz in the high post precisely suits his game. He's far more comfortable facing the basket and even many of his post ups end with him turning into traffic to face up and drive. The Hawks game showed the kind of damage Cuz can do with the ball if he has spacing and cutters. Unfortunately for him right now the only cutter he has on a consistent basis is Ray. Casspi has been decent too though.

 

[Prince_XY]

There's some serious red flags here and we're repeatedly seeing comments from PDA/Karl which are in opposition to Cuz's point of view. And while some may say Cuz is just a player and should go along with it, it's really Cuz and Malone's point of view and the point of view of the coach who's had the most successful stint here since Adelman, so there's some serious ground to stand on here.

I think this kind of post is what drives Cousins crazy and mad. Just like the media people, fans try to create controversies which are not actually there. And Boogie is tired of hearing these BS spins. It kind of puts him in bad light. It makes him look hard to coach, a prima dona, or a nightmare for any coach.

What serious opposing point of views are you talking about here?

And why would Cousins or even us fans even care about Malone's point of view now?

Malone, your favorite coach is GONE!

And he is not a HOF coach for us fans to even care about what he thinks. He has not accomplished anything in the NBA, except for the 11-13 he lead us early in the season. It is not even a winning record for us to worship him and put his ideas in a pedestal!

Malone is also not Cousins biological father for Cousins to care about and for him to hurt for this long. So, forget about this whole Cousins-Malone love angle. That is just too much drama you are putting this whole thing on. Cousins is not connected to the Kardashians. He is more of a brute professional basketball player than a sissy actor in a reality TV show. Also, I don't think Cousins is that sissy to put that much love on Malone now (like some of us here who seems to be still dramatically hurting and mourning about Malone's firing) after he found out it was Malone who was reluctant about signing him for extension.

Cousins has moved on.

For Cousins sake, we fans should be moving on too!

Go Cousins!

Go Kings!

 

[Livinthedream]

Reading Karls interviews tells me that he has probably been an influence behind the scenes for quite some time. Not sure Karl would parrot what the owner and GMs idea of basketball is. I think it's the other way around and Karl was always going to be the coach next year. Malone almost messed up the plan.

I worry that the system is more important than the players/talent and Cousins will be a casualty.

 

[sdballer]

I think this kind of post is what drives Cousins crazy and mad. Just like the media people, fans try to create controversies which are not actually there. And Boogie is tired of hearing these BS spins. It kind of puts him in bad light. It makes him look hard to coach, a prima dona, or a nightmare for any coach.

What serious opposing point of views are you talking about here?

And why would Cousins or even us fans even care about Malone's point of view now?

Malone, your favorite coach is GONE!

And he is not a HOF coach for us fans to even care about what he thinks. He has not accomplished anything in the NBA, except for the 11-13 he lead us early in the season. It is not even a winning record! And you think that is good enough for us to worship him and put his ideas in a pedestal?

Malone is also not Cousins biological father for Cousins to care about and for him to hurt for this long. So, forget about this whole Cousins-Malone love angle. That is just too much drama you are putting this whole thing on. Cousins is not connected to the Kardashians. He is more of a professional basketball player than a player in a reality TV show..

Cousins has moved on. For Cousins sake, we fans should be moving on too!

If not for Cousins sake, do it for the children!!!

 

[sdballer]

I think this kind of post is what drives Cousins crazy and mad. Just like the media people, fans try to create controversies which are not actually there. And Boogie is tired of hearing these BS spins. It kind of puts him in bad light. It makes him look hard to coach, a prima dona, or a nightmare for any coach.

What serious opposing point of views are you talking about here?

And why would Cousins or even us fans even care about Malone's point of view now?

Malone, your favorite coach is GONE!

And he is not a HOF coach for us fans to even care about what he thinks. He has not accomplished anything in the NBA, except for the 11-13 he lead us early in the season. It is not even a winning record! And you think that is good enough for us to worship him and put his ideas in a pedestal?

Malone is also not Cousins biological father for Cousins to care about and for him to hurt for this long. So, forget about this whole Cousins-Malone love angle. That is just too much drama you are putting this whole thing on. Cousins is not connected to the Kardashians. He is more of a professional basketball player than a player in a reality TV show..

Cousins has moved on. For Cousins sake, we fans should be moving on too!

More seriously, I'm not sure you even believe the things you post these days.

 

[Bricklayer]

Reading Karls interviews tells me that he has probably been an influence behind the scenes for quite some time. Not sure Karl would parrot what the owner and GMs idea of basketball is. I think it's the other way around and Karl was always going to be the coach next year. Malone almost messed up the plan.

I worry that the system is more important than the players/talent and Cousins will be a casualty.

I've had more than a little suspicion of that very thing. The same way Jeff Van Gundy is overscrupulous about never talking about an open coaching position until the former coach is is not only gone, but has actually passed away, I have wondered more than once about that sequence and how quick Karl was to be publicly on the scene. He wanted back in the game, a former toadie of his was sitting right in perfect position to make it happen, a little nudge nudge, helpful conversation or two about the roster...who knows.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

More seriously, I'm not sure you even believe the things you post these days.

No, he's got a point. There are people all over social media who insist on stirring the pot with regards to Cousins' relationship with management when they can't even see into the pot to see if there's any stew in there in the first place. Frankly, if I were a public figure and I constantly saw people speculating about how bad my relationship is with my boss because they put every word I uttered under a slanted microscope I'd get really tired of it. Why mightn't Cousins?

 

[bajaden]

Fair enough but I find our savior of a coach parroting the same front office nonsense that got us here to be a pretty big thing to be negative about.

If you honestly think that Karl is being controled by our front office, then you don't know Karl. If anything, history tells us it's the other way around with Karl. No one tells him how to coach. Why do you think they fired him in Denver. Because he wouldn't do what the front office wanted. He also wanted control over player decisions. Do you think Karl came back to coaching to be a yes man for Vivek? This is a coach that's going into the HOF. This is a man that's trying to put the finishing touches on his legacy. If you don't like the way Karl coaches, that's fine, but don't believe for a moment that Vivek has anything to do with it. I have no doubt that Vivek could hire Jesus Christ as his coach and many would find something to criticize. Is it the winning that matters, or is it the way they win that matters?

Karl has won over a thousand games in his career. I don't believe he's ever had a losing season. Now that means something to me. Yet, here he is with a team he really doesn't know yet. No training camp. Doesn't have his own staff, limited practice time, and some want to throw him under the bus already. While at the same time, and no respect to Mike Malone, who I really liked as a coach, some people seem ready to put a statue of Malone out in front of the new arena. We have no guarantee that we wouldn't be in this exact same position if Malone hadn't been fired. I doubt it, but there's now way to know the outcome. Personally, I'm going to wait till next season and how the team progresses. Probably a stupid idea......

 

[sdballer]

No, he's got a point. There are people all over social media who insist on stirring the pot with regards to Cousins' relationship with management when they can't even see into the pot to see if there's any stew in there in the first place. Frankly, if I were a public figure and I constantly saw people speculating about how bad my relationship is with my boss because they put every word I uttered under a slanted microscope I'd get really tired of it. Why mightn't Cousins?

Not even sure why I'm responding to this silliness. Outside of what some morons tweet to cuz, suggesting we need to stop speculating as to how cousins feels about what has gone this year on a forum partly dedicated to that very kind of conversation seems kind of ridiculous.

And coming from Prince who has defended the moves at all costs while suggesting he has inner knowledge as to the workings of that front office makes it doubly so.

Now if we want to suggest that people on social media throwing suggestions to cousins about his feelings isn't productive, I'm 100% with you.

 

[sdballer]

If you honestly think that Karl is being controled by our front office, then you don't know Karl. If anything, history tells us it's the other way around with Karl. No one tells him how to coach. Why do you think they fired him in Denver. Because he wouldn't do what the front office wanted. He also wanted control over player decisions. Do you think Karl came back to coaching to be a yes man for Vivek? This is a coach that's going into the HOF. This is a man that's trying to put the finishing touches on his legacy. If you don't like the way Karl coaches, that's fine, but don't believe for a moment that Vivek has anything to do with it. I have no doubt that Vivek could hire Jesus Christ as his coach and many would find something to criticize. Is it the winning that matters, or is it the way they win that matters?

Karl has won over a thousand games in his career. I don't believe he's ever had a losing season. Now that means something to me. Yet, here he is with a team he really doesn't know yet. No training camp. Doesn't have his own staff, limited practice time, and some want to throw him under the bus already. While at the same time, and no respect to Mike Malone, who I really liked as a coach, some people seem ready to put a statue of Malone out in front of the new arena. We have no guarantee that we wouldn't be in this exact same position if Malone hadn't been fired. I doubt it, but there's now way to know the outcome. Personally, I'm going to wait till next season and how the team progresses. Probably a stupid idea......

Do I think karl is a yes man? No not at all. Do I think he wanted one more chance to win? Of course. Does that mean he's going to be successful? History says not really.

We had doubts that his worst inclinations learned in Denver could play into Vivek's pace obsession. So far that's what we are seeing and what we are hearing. Its early but if he was his own man and not automatically jumping on board the pace train, it would be refreshing to hear him and see him do more than reflect what we feared. It is early, there are factors working against him but none of that means he needed to stress pace 3.0 from day 1.

It's less about him being controlled by the FO and more about him embracing that vision, which I view as a mistake.

Whether or not you or I are "giving karl til the end of next season" is irrelevant. I have no desire to see him replaced right now or false illusions that Malone is returning. I want to see the team win and will comment when the very crap that got us here is still being shoved down my throat.

As to Vivek, until he shows he can win, he hasn't earned the trust to not receive criticism over these things. In terms of basketball, he has demonstrated only the ability to produce an inferior product and until that changes, you can stick to waiting things out while I complain. Neither one will likely change what happens on the court and we'll both feel better about our contributions.

 

[Spike]

I have no doubt that Vivek could hire Jesus Christ as his coach and many would find something to criticize.

Jesus runs 12 deep. He needs to shorten the rotation or else they won't be as reliable come crunch time.

 

[lawlman91]

Jesus runs 12 deep. He needs to shorten the rotation or else they won't be as reliable come crunch time.

Judas chokes so hard

 

[rainmaker]

I think this kind of post is what drives Cousins crazy and mad. Just like the media people, fans try to create controversies which are not actually there. And Boogie is tired of hearing these BS spins. It kind of puts him in bad light. It makes him look hard to coach, a prima dona, or a nightmare for any coach.

What serious opposing point of views are you talking about here?

And why would Cousins or even us fans even care about Malone's point of view now?

Malone, your favorite coach is GONE!

What?

BTW, my guess is blowing up the season for no good reason, wasting yet another year of his career, surrounding him with non-NBA starting caliber talent at almost every position and telling the most dominant half court center in the league what we really need is more pace, over and over and over again, is what drives him mad, not me posting my thoughts on this website but I'll take that as a compliment.

 

[rainmaker]

No, he's got a point. There are people all over social media who insist on stirring the pot with regards to Cousins' relationship with management when they can't even see into the pot to see if there's any stew in there in the first place. Frankly, if I were a public figure and I constantly saw people speculating about how bad my relationship is with my boss because they put every word I uttered under a slanted microscope I'd get really tired of it. Why mightn't Cousins?

It's nothing compared to what big market stars face or what Euro soccer players face, so I'd say toughen up and

 

[IfAt1st]

Conspiracy theory:

Demarcus is killing himself out there because there's no way the FO gives up this delusional "pace" theory if he is sick/injured/crapty.
Karl is trying out this "pace" nonsense to say "hey, we gave it a try, but we were just just outgunned out there - maybe we should give this "defense" thing a try for 2015/16 instead."

Maybe Karl and Demarcus are staging a coup (or just playing out their roles), by saying all the right things re: "pace" while piling up the losses.
Maybe next year a more defensive, slow-it-down style is implemented which allows the FO to back away from their absurd stance they've taken, and gracefully transition to a defensive style of play over the offseason, without losing face.

Ya - and pigs can fly.

 

[lawlman91]

It doesn't matter what offense we run that gets us to be competitive. Pace, smash-mouth, whatever. We should, by all means, find the best path and stick with it. In the beginning of the year, smash-mouth was working. Then the FO wanted to switch to another path before we could determine whether or not smash-mouth would keep us competitive. Doesn't it make sense to give smash-mouth a chance, since it worked? We can change once we see that smash-mouth doesn't work, but as of right now, we don't know whether or not it does. What we do know is that it worked in the beginning of the year, and that it could have had a chance to work for the rest of the year. Why not try a style that we have only so far gotten a glimpse at, a glimpse that shows success. Maybe when we get beyond a glimpse, we can see its flaws and then work from there. We've gotten a glimpse of pace, and it hasn't been as good as smash-mouth. So why not try smash-mouth? It doesn't make sense what these guys are doing, to push an ideology that hasn't produced as well for the Kings while ignoring another ideology that has shown glimpses of success.

 

[mdme]

Just a thought, has anyone wondered if the viral meningitis could still be affecting cuz?

I mean, cuz was really anchoring the defensive identity of this team when Malone was coaching before he got sick.

Since he has come back, (Malone fired of course) he hasn't been the same on the defensive end. Maybe it's the pace thing tiring him out or lack of conditioning since he came back but our defense hasn't been anything close to what it was and Cuz is a big part of what we do on defense.

Maybe the techs and general emotional issues on the court is part of the meningitis too?

Also, we saw how having a good defensive pg helps with cutting down penetrations and defensive breakdowns. Maybe collison's absence magnifies these or at least partly responsible for these issues.

I think Karl is seriously trying to see what works and what doesn't, who fits and who doesn't. He's not dumb. He knows the PO is unattainable this year so he is using these games as a laboratory to get a leg up next season in terms of play and players.

Just a thought.

 

[Prince_XY]

BTW, my guess is blowing up the season for no good reason, wasting yet another year of his career, surrounding him with non-NBA starting caliber talent at almost every position and telling the most dominant half court center in the league what we really need is more pace, over and over and over again, is what drives him mad, not me posting my thoughts on this website but I'll take that as a compliment.

Well, do not be guessing over and over and over again, because your guesses are over and over and over again wrong. And it does not help uplift Cousins image.

Is Cousins really mad about this PACE over and over and over again?

Or maybe YOU are the one mad about this PACE?

You guys are just making this up and in the process unknowingly makes Cousins looks like a prima dona and hard to coach. You guys make it seem like he only wants to play within his strength and nevermind about the players around him. My friend, Cousins knows team play. He is willing to do whatever it takes to WIN. He is not a mal-content, but soon he will be - because media and fans like you are painting him as such. And I think we better stop with this stupidity of creating this Cousins VS. The Kings Organization and Non-NBA starting caliber teammates. Let us not help the media destroy Cousins, lest we lose him soon.

Is Cousins really-really mad about this increase in PACE thing just like you are saying he is mad over and over and over again?

Read this from an article a longgggggggggggg time ago. Hopefully it sticks in your mind and stop most of you from unknowingly insinuating Cousins is a mal-content prima dona who from the very start hated this idea of increasing PACE over and over and over again:

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/12/20/kings-feature-scott-howard-cooper/

"I can run," Cousins said after pushing through early fatigue to play a commendable 33 minutes on Thursday, including the entire fourth quarter. "I'm able to run. We'll just be a faster team. I think it'll help. I think I rebound at a good enough rate where we can get some guys out running on the floor. Hopefully we can just get easier baskets running."

So, you really think Cousins is really-really mad from that quote above?

He said "We'll just be a faster team. I think it'll help."
He did NOT say ""We'll just be a faster team. Vivek/PDA think it'll help".

I don't know man. Cousins has done his part very well on showing he is IN on whatever the Kings organization is trying to accomplish. The guy is trying hard to avoid any unnecessary drama. He hates it. But the media, and some of us fans just won't stop on destroying him with this endless negative speculations and assumptions which are oftentimes contrary to what he is saying.

God forbid, but if we lose him we only have ourselves and the media to blame.

 

[sdballer]

Well, do not be guessing over and over and over again, because your guesses are over and over and over again wrong. And it does not help uplift Cousins image.

Is Cousins really mad about this PACE over and over and over again?

Or maybe YOU are the one mad about this PACE?

You guys are just making this up and in the process unknowingly makes Cousins looks like a prima dona and hard to coach. You guys make it seem like he only wants to play within his strength and nevermind about the players around him. My friend, Cousins knows team play. He is willing to do whatever it takes to WIN. He is not a mal-content, but soon he will be - because media and fans like you are painting him as such. And I think we better stop with this stupidity of creating this Cousins VS. The Kings Organization and Non-NBA starting caliber teammates. Let us not help the media destroy Cousins, lest we lose him soon.

Is Cousins really-really mad about this increase in PACE thing just like you are saying he is mad over and over and over again?

Read this from an article a longgggggggggggg time ago. Hopefully it sticks in your mind and stop most of you from unknowingly insinuating Cousins is a mal-content prima dona who from the very start hated this idea of increasing PACE over and over and over again:

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/12/20/kings-feature-scott-howard-cooper/

"I can run," Cousins said after pushing through early fatigue to play a commendable 33 minutes on Thursday, including the entire fourth quarter. "I'm able to run. We'll just be a faster team. I think it'll help. I think I rebound at a good enough rate where we can get some guys out running on the floor. Hopefully we can just get easier baskets running."

So, you really think Cousins is really-really mad from that quote above?

He said "We'll just be a faster team. I think it'll help."
He did NOT say ""We'll just be a faster team. Vivek/PDA think it'll help".

I don't know man. Cousins has done his part very well on showing he is IN on whatever the Kings organization is trying to accomplish. The guy is trying hard to avoid any unnecessary drama. He hates it. But the media, and some of us fans just won't stop on destroying him with this endless negative speculations and assumptions which are oftentimes contrary to what he is saying.

God forbid, but if we lose him we only have ourselves and the media to blame.

You're right. It's the fans that are his biggest supporters through this whole mess of a season that have caused the problems. If we hadn't posted all that support on this site, things would be a lot better and cousins would be happy with all of the changes.

Thank god we finally had you to shine some light on this.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Not a fan of this pace stuff. ughhhh

 

[KingsFanGER]

As far as I remember it were mostly the fans mourning about change of the playstyle and reacting with a complete hyperbole on any pointless twitter comment out there. Cousins admitted that he can fit in the current playstyle and always critized the defensive approach not the change of pace. I completely support Cousins view. Defense is the problem. And increased pace doesn't mean worse defense.

Some people are acting as if Cousins is some kind of limited low post bully - which from my point of view he is not.
Another thing I hardly understand is the constant belittling of the Denver Nuggets. Yes they made a first round exit. But they won a lot of regular season games, without any reliable half court scoring option, without a superstar talent once Melo was gone. The Kings have been a losing franchise for years. I don't care how we win. And I will not belittle any approach that managed to get 50+ regular season wins, no matter how much I would prefer a hostile, grind it out, smashmouth type of basketball.
After all adding a great half court scoring option to a team, that will run if possible, might work, if balanced out well enough. Who knows?

Btw. the so called smashmouth basketball team Memphis made a first round exit against OKC last playoffs. Does this mean their playstyle is less viable? And can anyone explain to me, why they gave Conley a bigger role, made Randolph option Nr. 3 on offense and worked big time on the conditioning of Marc Gasol, slimming him down to the point, where he can run the floor better and traded for Jeff Green, who is at his best when playing fast and using his athleticism in transition? Can anyone explain to me, why Carter is looking for the 3 in transition time and time again for Memphis, why Allen is leaking out if possible?

 

[lawlman91]

As far as I remember it were mostly the fans mourning about change of the playstyle and reacting with a complete hyperbole on any pointless twitter comment out there. Cousins admitted that he can fit in the current playstyle and always critized the defensive approach not the change of pace. I completely support Cousins view. Defense is the problem. And increased pace doesn't mean worse defense.

Some people are acting as if Cousins is some kind of limited low post bully - which from my point of view he is not.
Another thing I hardly understand is the constant belittling of the Denver Nuggets. Yes they made a first round exit. But they won a lot of regular season games, without any reliable half court scoring option, without a superstar talent once Melo was gone. The Kings have been a losing franchise for years. I don't care how we win. And I will not belittle any approach that managed to get 50+ regular season wins, no matter how much I would prefer a hostile, grind it out, smashmouth type of basketball.
After all adding a great half court scoring option to a team, that will run if possible, might work, if balanced out well enough. Who knows?

Btw. the so called smashmouth basketball team Memphis made a first round exit against OKC last playoffs. Does this mean their playstyle is less viable? And can anyone explain to me, why they gave Conley a bigger role, made Randolph option Nr. 3 on offense and worked big time on the conditioning of Marc Gasol, slimming him down to the point, where he can run the floor better and traded for Jeff Green, who is at his best when playing fast and using his athleticism in transition? Can anyone explain to me, why Carter is looking for the 3 in transition time and time again for Memphis, why Allen is leaking out if possible?

I agree with your reasoning, but the fact is: smash-mouth was working for us in the beginning of the year. Does that mean it will work in the future, if we try it? We don't know; we can only speculate. But if we try that style again, maybe we can see what smash-mouth is worth to this team. It has been the only way that we have seen this team succeed, and it boggles the mind to see the Kings not try the only style that has given them success, while pursuing other styles that haven't fared as well as smash-mouth. We only got a glimpse of smash-mouth in the beginning of this year... it succeeded for a short time, a small sample size... and then management did not let that style play out. It could have failed, it could have not. We don't know what could have happened. But we have to try smash-mouth again. It has been the only way we have seen this team succeed and seems is the style that the Kings should experiment with first, because it showed signs of success.

 

[Jerichoholic]

We all have our opinions on what wins and what doesn't win in this league, and we're right , but putting that aside for a min, it's a much greater concern to me that our FO/ownership and now Karl seem intent on working against Cuz than with him. Cuz knows what style fits him best, what type of system gives the most success and his only brief experience of true success in five years here was with a slower, defensive oriented blueprint, which he won't forget.

There's some serious red flags here and we're repeatedly seeing comments from PDA/Karl which are in opposition to Cuz's point of view. And while some may say Cuz is just a player and should go along with it, it's really Cuz and Malone's point of view and the point of view of the coach who's had the most successful stint here since Adelman, so there's some serious ground to stand on here.

BTW, Cuz doesn't appear to be completely on board with the current situation and his techs are evidence of that. Just seems angry, doesn't care about arguing with the refs anymore. Less composure. And it's likely one of two things or a combination of both, that being completely fed up with the lack of talent around him on the roster PDA assembled and/or not being all that pleased with this new system and style of play.

It's bad enough now that at 4-10 under Karl and losing 7 of our last 8, fans are praising effort. Doubt Cuz is down with that.

I have to say that I'm surprised how much this whole "pace" theory is bothering people. That we are going to become Denver Nuggets 2.0, score 120 points a game and lose in the first round of the playoffs while our best player gets angry about having to run instead of walk that he is going to constantly complain and then leave in free agency. Come on guys! We need to slow down a little here.

In that interview Karl didn't say anything about run and gun or up-tempo or speed basketball or anything like that. The only word that could remotely count is transition and what is wrong with that? He wants to rebound and run which is what just about every successful team does because it results in catching the defense off-guard and getting easy baskets. It's playing fast, but more importantly it's playing smart. Here is a list of some teams who play this way: Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, the San Antonio Spurs of the past several years, and of course I should mention the Golden Era Sacramento Kings coached by Rick Adelman. This whole defense wins, "smash mouth" basketball is fine if you have a team full of defensive players, but just my opinion it is beginning to evolve out of the NBA. Don't misconstrue what I'm saying, I'm not saying to not play defense, I'm just saying that offense efficiency I think is starting to win the day.

Now as this relates to Cousins I think people are reading way more into this than there is. Why is he angry right now? Why is he complaining and getting technical? It's simple, because the season is over, no playoffs coming. It isn't the Malone thing, he's over that, it's that there is nothing to play for now. At the beginning of the year there is a whole new excitement, everyone starts 0-0 and just maybe this team can do something special. He realizes now that it won't happen this year, hard to get excited, kind of waiting for the year to end.

Cousins has never said that he doesn't want to run, in fact quite the opposite. There is also no proof that Cousins is best suited to play at a slow defensive pace. Forget about the beginning of this year, it was like 15 games out of his entire career that he saw a little success. There is no proof that it was going to work long-term, it was the beginning of the year, teams were still finding themselves and we had players on the Kings all clicking at the same time, putting up career numbers and career high shooting percentages. Just guessing, but I don't think this team was going to shoot 40% from 3-point range for the entire season.

Let's see what happens, but I think this offseason will be very interesting. Expect a lot of new players to come aboard and it could be exactly what Cousins needs. One thing that Karl did say in that interview is that we need more professional players to put around Cousins, I agree with that. We don't need anymore potential or athleticism, we need basketball players.

 

[Spike]

Another thing I hardly understand is the constant belittling of the Denver Nuggets. Yes they made a first round exit. But they won a lot of regular season games, without any reliable half court scoring option, without a superstar talent once Melo was gone. The Kings have been a losing franchise for years. I don't care how we win.

I get that you want to see wins, but wins shouldn't be the ultimate goal. Playoff success should be. The way a team is structured, from the FO down, should be focused on that ultimate goal. We will get wins with Karl. We can structure this team to do so. However, if the bar is set at simply being competitive and winning, and structuring a team that just gets us there, well, that's a low bar.

The Nuggets failed to win in the postseason precisely because they didn't have a superstar. They didn't have that guy who could get the basket when we needed one. Karl was on record then (as he is now) as saying that he didn't need superstars to win. Well, no, if you're just going to win a poopton of regular season games, you really don't need a superstar. You just need a system, and you need guys to plug in.
Media and fans roasted Karl in Denver after he couldn't go deep in the playoffs, because, "hey, he won a lot of regular season games so he should win a lot of playoff games", but it doesn't always work that way.

Now, the issue then becomes for me:
Can Karl coach with a superstar, and,
Can Karl coach with a superstar whose primary skill set tends to fly in the face of the style he's trying to adapt?

Honestly, I'm not sure what we'll see next year. At this point I won't even begin to guess. Are we going to run and gun? Are we going half court with more of a drive and kick style? Right now we're a hodgepodge of things, and I think Karl is looking to see what his players can and can't do. Of course Cousins is being the good soldier and playing along. My guess is, that if the team starts winning (and not like squeaking by the Knicks winning), but truly winning, and he's a big part of it, he's going to be a happy guy.

If, however, we don't, and his role is then marginalized, then he has every right to be unhappy.

 

[sdballer]

I have to say that I'm surprised how much this whole "pace" theory is bothering people. That we are going to become Denver Nuggets 2.0, score 120 points a game and lose in the first round of the playoffs while our best player gets angry about having to run instead of walk that he is going to constantly complain and then leave in free agency. Come on guys! We need to slow down a little here.

In that interview Karl didn't say anything about run and gun or up-tempo or speed basketball or anything like that. The only word that could remotely count is transition and what is wrong with that? He wants to rebound and run which is what just about every successful team does because it results in catching the defense off-guard and getting easy baskets. It's playing fast, but more importantly it's playing smart. Here is a list of some teams who play this way: Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, the San Antonio Spurs of the past several years, and of course I should mention the Golden Era Sacramento Kings coached by Rick Adelman. This whole defense wins, "smash mouth" basketball is fine if you have a team full of defensive players, but just my opinion it is beginning to evolve out of the NBA. Don't misconstrue what I'm saying, I'm not saying to not play defense, I'm just saying that offense efficiency I think is starting to win the day.

You can dance around it but they are clearly talking about pace and playing a more uptempo offense. No one is making the leap to say they are trying to score 120 every night but honestly when you give up 112 you better get close.

The bigger issue is this whole belief that somehow playing uptempo is as important or more so than defense, which has been mentioned repeatedly, was a major factor in the Malone decision and is reflected on the player moves we've made.

The problem is that it is no way supported by the league performance. Just looking at the last 3 years you get as many or more playoff teams in the bottom 10 of pace as you do in the top 10. But top and bottom 10 defensive rating is very clearly tied to team success. Even with the poorly used examples of gs, sas and Atlanta it's their defensive performance that balances what they do on offense and 2 of those 3 teams aren't even uptempo systems.

So not only is the team trying to put cousins in a system that has not been traditionally used with bigs, that doesn't appear to matter to team success but it is at he expense of the side of the court that most directly leads to winning.

Not quite sure how we are even arguing these points anymore.

 

[sdballer]

Now as this relates to Cousins I think people are reading way more into this than there is. Why is he angry right now? Why is he complaining and getting technical? It's simple, because the season is over, no playoffs coming. It isn't the Malone thing, he's over that, it's that there is nothing to play for now. At the beginning of the year there is a whole new excitement, everyone starts 0-0 and just maybe this team can do something special. He realizes now that it won't happen this year, hard to get excited, kind of waiting for the year to end.

Cousins has never said that he doesn't want to run, in fact quite the opposite. There is also no proof that Cousins is best suited to play at a slow defensive pace. Forget about the beginning of this year, it was like 15 games out of his entire career that he saw a little success. There is no proof that it was going to work long-term, it was the beginning of the year, teams were still finding themselves and we had players on the Kings all clicking at the same time, putting up career numbers and career high shooting percentages. Just guessing, but I don't think this team was going to shoot 40% from 3-point range for the entire season.

Let's see what happens, but I think this offseason will be very interesting. Expect a lot of new players to come aboard and it could be exactly what Cousins needs. One thing that Karl did say in that interview is that we need more professional players to put around Cousins, I agree with that. We don't need anymore potential or athleticism, we need basketball players.

As far as I remember it were mostly the fans mourning about change of the playstyle and reacting with a complete hyperbole on any pointless twitter comment out there. Cousins admitted that he can fit in the current playstyle and always critized the defensive approach not the change of pace. I completely support Cousins view. Defense is the problem. And increased pace doesn't mean worse defense.

Some people are acting as if Cousins is some kind of limited low post bully - which from my point of view he is not.
Another thing I hardly understand is the constant belittling of the Denver Nuggets. Yes they made a first round exit. But they won a lot of regular season games, without any reliable half court scoring option, without a superstar talent once Melo was gone. The Kings have been a losing franchise for years. I don't care how we win. And I will not belittle any approach that managed to get 50+ regular season wins, no matter how much I would prefer a hostile, grind it out, smashmouth type of basketball.
After all adding a great half court scoring option to a team, that will run if possible, might work, if balanced out well enough. Who knows?

Btw. the so called smashmouth basketball team Memphis made a first round exit against OKC last playoffs. Does this mean their playstyle is less viable? And can anyone explain to me, why they gave Conley a bigger role, made Randolph option Nr. 3 on offense and worked big time on the conditioning of Marc Gasol, slimming him down to the point, where he can run the floor better and traded for Jeff Green, who is at his best when playing fast and using his athleticism in transition? Can anyone explain to me, why Carter is looking for the 3 in transition time and time again for Memphis, why Allen is leaking out if possible?

Memphis is still a bottom 5 pace team and Randolph takes almost 5 more shots per game than Conley.