Kings hire Musselman's staff...

Kings hire Musselman's assistants



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Published 3:51 pm PDT Friday, June 23, 2006
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The Kings on Friday announced that they have hired assistant coaches Scott Brooks, T.R. Dunn, Brendan O'Connor, Mark Hughes and Jason Hamm. They join Eric Musselman, who was hired earlier this month as new Kings head coach. "We're excited to get our staff in place," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said in a statement. "Eric has assembled a group that is going to bring a lot of energy with various levels of experience and background that will work well with him and our players.
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Little blurb here from the Denver paper:

"It is believed the Nuggets are looking into getting compensation for assistant Scott Brooks, expected soon to leave the Nuggets for a similar position with the Kings. Brooks has one year left on his contract. In October, the Trail Blazers agreed to let assistant Tim Grgurich out of his contract to join the Nuggets. In exchange, the Nuggets gave the Trail Blazers the option to swap second-round draft picks with them in 2011 or 2012."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_4796130,00.html


Bleep that.
 
Is anyone else as underwelmed as I am? Of course, that means they will probably prove me wrong, so maybe that's a good thing;)
 
Is anyone else as underwelmed as I am? Of course, that means they will probably prove me wrong, so maybe that's a good thing;)
They're assistant coaches, how many assistant coaches are recognizable names that aren't looking for head coaching jobs of their own? It actually sounds like a fairly decent mix going over their profiles, and from the other article posted about Brooks it appears we won't have to give Denver any compensation. Besides we're more likely to have a worse second round pick than they are.
 
Try This One On For Size!

Yesterday Scott Brooks, T.R. Dunn, Brendan O'Connor, Mark Hughes, and Jason Hamm were named by Geoff Petrie as the new Kings' assistant coaches and Clay Moser came on as an advanced scout. The Kings had the only NBA head coaching job available (through the time of the "exhaustive" assistant search) and so theoretically had the pick of the litter in getting the best available and wanting-to-be-available (already employed) assistants in the game.

Did the Kings sign the best and brightest, or was there something more to these selections?

Take a look...

Scott Brooks

Brooks twice played for Bill Musselman, Eric's father, for the 1988 CBA-champion Albany Patroons and in 1991 for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Brendan O'Connor

O’Connor has a long and impressive resume of coaching experience in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), United States Basketball League (USBL) and International Basketball League (IBL). Assisting current Kings’ head coach Eric Musselman with the Florida Sharks of the USBL in 1995 and 1996, the Sharks won the league’s championship both seasons. He also teamed with Musselman at the Florida Beachdogs of the CBA in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

Mark Hughes

Brendan O’Connor was an assistant coach/director of player personnel with both the Grand Rapids Hoops (1997-99) of the CBA and Richmond Rhythm (1999-2000) of the IBL under then head coach Mark Hughes.

Jason Hamm

Hamm joins the Kings’ coaching staff as an assistant coach after spending last season as the video coordinator/assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. Hamm was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors under current Kings’ head coach Eric Musselman.

Clay Moser

Moser was an advance scout for Golden State in 2002-03 when Musselman was the head coach.

T.R. Dunn

Dunn apparently has no past connection with Musselman or any of the other assistants and serves as the "bridge" between the old and new coaching regimes.

OK, boys and girls, do you think it's possible that all but one of the best available assistant candidates have some relationship to Musselman, his father, or each other? :rolleyes:

Quite frankly, I was dissappointed to learn about all these past "ties" with all but Dunn. As a result, it appears that we probably did not get the best available but we got the "most familiar" gaggle that could be signed. Obviously, there are some advantages to such an approach, but the exhaustive search that supposedly occurred now seems to be smoke and mirrors. I can understand ties with some of them, but...

Or maybe this is just a big coincidence...
 
Did the Kings sign the best and brightest, or was there something more to these selections?

Quite frankly, I was dissappointed to learn about all these past "ties" with all but Dunn. As a result, it appears that we probably did not get the best available but we got the "most familiar" gaggle that could be signed. Obviously, there are some advantages to such an approach, but the exhaustive search that supposedly occurred now seems to be smoke and mirrors. I can understand ties with some of them, but...

Or maybe this is just a big coincidence...
Coaching is not a definitive set of skills rather it is based on perspectives and philosophies... that was the part of the big deal that PJ made in Chicago he did not just scribble x's and o's he brought in a new way of thinking and playing.

Coach's put togetehr staffs that reflect their perspctive and philosophies, so they usualy they are former team mates or aquantancies. It's not abut getting the "best and brightest" it's abut getting the pieces that fit. I have no clue how this group of young bucks will do, but it looks like at least for the moment the maloofs are going to give Muss the freedom to do things his way and I LIKE THAT. Let him suceed or fail on his own. Lets hope GP gets him the pieces he wants.
 
Looking at all the resumes together in a collective, I have no problem with the group that we have. I just did not expect all of the hires to have ties except for Dunn.

I do believe, however, that it takes much more than merely sharing a head coach's philosophy to be a good NBA assistant coach.
 
I've thought about this quite a bit. I have NO problem with Musselman picking from people he knows. He's met and worked with a lot of people over the years. I'm sure he had a mental list of people he would like to have with him if he ever got another head coaching job...

I agree with Celt. "Let him succeed or fail on his own."

It's a time for ALL of us to wipe the slate clean and see what the new coaching team can do. It's not only a new chapter; it's a whole new book.

GO KINGS!!!
 
I've thought about this quite a bit. I have NO problem with Musselman picking from people he knows. He's met and worked with a lot of people over the years. I'm sure he had a mental list of people he would like to have with him if he ever got another head coaching job...

I agree with Celt. "Let him succeed or fail on his own."

It's a time for ALL of us to wipe the slate clean and see what the new coaching team can do. It's not only a new chapter; it's a whole new book.

GO KINGS!!!


I'm with you all the way!!! I am excited to get this "new book" started!!
 
Two thoughts on this:

1 - When other coach's set up an initial staff, is this common? I'd guess a lot of new coaches want to bring their supporters and people they can trust into a new situation.

2 - It does look funny to see that all the new coaches are connected to either Bill or Eric or both. However, their careers do span over 30 years of ABA, CBA, and NBA experience with a number of different teams. My guess is that most coaches Musselman could have picked would be connected to their his dad or him in some way. Keep in mind that people tend to stay around the NBA for a long time and with all the various coaches and players who cycle through different teams, my guess is that it's hard to find potential coaches who Musselman isn't connected to.
 
The Celt is right. At this point, how many fans have great expectations? Not me. let us just see what happens. I think the 2006-2007 season will reflect on the Maloofs more than anyone else. Maybe everything will turn out OK. I am not sitting on the ege of my seat in anticipation.
 
Let's be clear here:

1) that is about as undistinguished a staff of assistants as there is in the NBA. No long termers, no former coaches, no hot prospects, nothing.

2) it may not really matter.


The way I figure this is that Muss is really...either on the positive side "on the ball" "with plan" etc., or on the negative side, a control freak. In either case, it is actually hard for me to envision what/how the relationship would work between Muss and an old veteran coach for instance. Just feels wrong. Or a talented assistant with his own ideas of how things should work. I don't know that there is room for that with Muss as coach. Somehow, for better or worse, I think this whole thing, sink or swim, is going to be about Muss until/unless he can firmly establish himself in the league.

One interesting sidenote that hopefully will not be relevant is that one thing it does mean is that there is absolutely nobody on staff qualified to fill in as an interim coach should Muss do so poorly he gets fired (which would seem VERY unlikely given Petrie and his current status as Maloof golden boy). Maybe this is Muss's idea of job security. ;)
 
Who were you expecting (and others I think)? Drexler/Pippen/Kenny Smith/Collins/Rudy T/Steve Smith types?

I wasn't expecting ANYBODY.

I merely looked at the group, saw consistent ties to papa Muss, Eric himself, or each other and noted it.

Did anybody expect a collection of coaches with so little NBA bench experience and so much minor league experience?

TR Dunn, by a large margin, has the most NBA bench time of all the assistants (in fact, I think he has more than all the rest combined). Did anybody expect that? And TR is NOT the lead assistant, coincidentally being the only one that does not have previous "ties".

Of course this is common.

Really?

And I could have sworn Muss also said something about seeking "diversity" with these hires. Perhaps he meant a diversity of relationships to him, his dad, and each other.

Again, it's good that Muss has been given the obvious freedom to pick his own staff (although we won't know for sure about Dunn), and overall the group has some solid knowledge and experience, although light in the NBA coaching category. I repeat that this is all OK by me, but I don't think you can realistically term this a "common" group of assistants.

that is about as undistinguished a staff of assistants as there is in the NBA

And that makes this group "uncommon".

Let's hope they can coach our team to being a lot better in 06-07.
 
If Musselman is not given some key athletic players, and very soon, this could be a very ugly season. Each year, season after season, more and more teams will focus on Brad Miller and Mike Bibby as rich defensive targets. Each year, they will become slower and less athletic. Last year, there were periods of intollerable defensive ineptitude. Can we expect a better situation this year?

Does Musselman have the necessary coaching skills to make chicken soup like Rick Adelman? Can he handle personality issues? We shall see.
 
I wasn't expecting ANYBODY.

I merely looked at the group, saw consistent ties to papa Muss, Eric himself, or each other and noted it.

Did anybody expect a collection of coaches with so little NBA bench experience and so much minor league experience?

TR Dunn, by a large margin, has the most NBA bench time of all the assistants (in fact, I think he has more than all the rest combined). Did anybody expect that? And TR is NOT the lead assistant, coincidentally being the only one that does not have previous "ties".



Really?

And I could have sworn Muss also said something about seeking "diversity" with these hires. Perhaps he meant a diversity of relationships to him, his dad, and each other.

Again, it's good that Muss has been given the obvious freedom to pick his own staff (although we won't know for sure about Dunn), and overall the group has some solid knowledge and experience, although light in the NBA coaching category. I repeat that this is all OK by me, but I don't think you can realistically term this a "common" group of assistants.



And that makes this group "uncommon".

Let's hope they can coach our team to being a lot better in 06-07.

You keep saying it's "all OK" by you, and then you keep bringing up the same observation.

We get it. You noticed that all of the new coaching staff had at least some ties to Musselman or his father. This actually could become a type of "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" kind of thing. If people tried hard enough, I suspect they could find ties to either Eric or Bill in a majority of coaching staff candidates.

Instead of implying some kind of cronyism, why not just wait and see how the new staff does?
 
You keep saying it's "all OK" by you, and then you keep bringing up the same observation.

No. Actually there's a ton of new content in my last post which you quoted.

If people tried hard enough, I suspect they could find ties to either Eric or Bill in a majority of coaching staff candidates.

Highly unlikely.

Instead of implying some kind of cronyism, why not just wait and see how the new staff does?

Because it runs counter to what I expected of the organization and, beyond the surface, it kinda smells.

Kinda like the folks that went on and on and on ad nauseum about criticizing the "6" statue outside Arco and the Kings gold uniforms and the whole gold standard thing-y. On the surafce, it looked like a great tribute to the fans, but beyond the surface, it smelled to some fans.

Remember?
 
Simply because something runs counter to what YOU expected of the organization doesn't make it - in and of itself - a bad thing.

And this is NOTHING like the gold statue and uniforms, both of which were the brain-children of sales and marketing. Remember?

Why not simply wait and see what happens? Give Eric Musselman and his new staff a chance before you decide something smells.
 
Well one view is to see the staff as inexperienced cronys of Muss. Bear in mind that if the IF what you want is innovation you not very likely to get it from guy that has been arround. Innovation usualy comes from young outsiders. Now I have no idea if these guys will be innovators or not but I do know that a bunch of guys that have been arround will keep doing what they have been doing. If the Kings wanted that there was no reason to fire Adelman he and his experienced staff had that down to a science.
 
I agree with what Celt said, I also think it would be a little difficult for Muss to come in as coach without his own people behind him, especially if he had other former head coaches with more experience backing him up. That's never a good thing from my own working experience, they may have their own motives to show him up.

Given all the detailed presentations Muss has given I'm sure all of the assistants he has brought in are there for a reason whatever their specific role may be.
 
Hey, these assistants just might truly be the BEST that were AVAILABLE and INTERESTED. None of us knows who really threw their hats in the ring for one of these jobs. Perhaps it wasn't as many as we were led to believe, who knows?

Perhaps as Celt says there are some innovators or even "diamonds in the rough" that are just really getting started with their NBA coaching experiences. We'll see.

Let me just conclude that the "ties" raised are interesting and certainly worthy of discussion, and that's why I posted to see what others thought.
 
Hey, these assistants just might truly be the BEST that were AVAILABLE and INTERESTED. None of us knows who really threw their hats in the ring for one of these jobs. Perhaps it wasn't as many as we were led to believe, who knows?

Perhaps as Celt says there are some innovators or even "diamonds in the rough" that are just really getting started with their NBA coaching experiences. We'll see.

Let me just conclude that the "ties" raised are interesting and certainly worthy of discussion, and that's why I posted to see what others thought.

And yet, apparently, most people aren't that interested in those "ties." I think most of us are saying we didn't have any real preconceived ideas of whom he would pick or why, so we're not going to make too big a deal of it.

Bottom line? He picked people he apparently feels comfortable with as well he should have. What happens from this point on will determine whether or not those were the "right" picks.
 
And yet, apparently, most people aren't that interested in those "ties." I think most of us are saying we didn't have any real preconceived ideas of whom he would pick or why, so we're not going to make too big a deal of it.
I may just be cynical, but for the most part I've always figured assistant coaches to be cronies of one sort or another. Sure there's the handful that may be established coaches waiting for their next call up, but its hard to imagine those guys working for such a young coach (Del Harris being the only exception I can think of and he was already with Dallas before Avery took over). Its not like Larry Brown is going to come be an assistant. You also have to figure a top young coaching prospect like Elie wouldn't make much sense since there's a better chance of getting their own head coaching job if they stay where they are.
 
I may just be cynical, but for the most part I've always figured assistant coaches to be cronies of one sort or another. Sure there's the handful that may be established coaches waiting for their next call up, but its hard to imagine those guys working for such a young coach (Del Harris being the only exception I can think of and he was already with Dallas before Avery took over). Its not like Larry Brown is going to come be an assistant. You also have to figure a top young coaching prospect like Elie wouldn't make much sense since there's a better chance of getting their own head coaching job if they stay where they are.

No, I do think it is normal for a cetain amount of cronyism to be involved in assistant coach picking. Or at least organizational cronyism -- I'm not actually sure how many non-elite coaches just call up their own staff entirely out of the blue. Often there are one or more guys around with some connection to the franchise but not necessarily the coach.

But its more that if this is/was all Muss could dig up via cronyism, he must not know many people. :p

Take a look around the league and you've got old vets like Pop, Karl and Sloan with old coaches behind them like Caresimo, Doug Moe and Phil Johnson. A young pup like Avery has Del Harris behind him. Last year we saw two teams fire their coaches -- Orlando and Seattle, and have veteran NBA coaches (Bob and Brian Hill) right there to step in. You look down in Lakerland and Phil has got a whole gaggle of former coaches, players, and Lakers -- old pro Frank Hamblen, Kurt Rambis (also a former coach) Brian Shaw, Craig Hodges, Kareem. In New York Zeke is taking over and maybe the only coach surviving the purge is Herb Williams, old Knick, and former coach. Flip Saunders had Sidney Lowe (former coach) as well as Ron Harper (possible future coach) on staff. And I think I saw a rumor they may be looking to hire Terry Porter as an assitant. Etc. Etc.


I think as usual there is a trendency to go to extremes here -- either these guys are undistinguished and therefore we know they will hurt us, or its all butterflies and lollipops and they are just as good as can be. Neither is, or is necessarily true. A) they ARE an inexperienced undistinguished group by NBA standards; B) it may not really matter given what I perceive to be the hands on style of Musselman. They may have been picked precisely so that they would unquestionably carry out his vision with minimum discretion required, and so might work better with him, or rather for him, than a higher profile group would.
 
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