Kings hire new assistant GM

One and Done

One and Done

Bench
#1
#1
I eat my words...per Marc Stein:

"ESPN sources say that the Sacramento Kings have chosen Detroit Pistons executive Ken Catanella as their new assistant general manager."

Ken looks to have a great resume with about 10 years in front office analytics/capology work for the Nets, Pistons and league office. He's also got a basketball background as well, which is a nice value-add. Say what you will about being a Dukie...

All in all, this looks like an A+ hire by Vlade and team. I'm impressed.
 
lwc

lwc

Starter
#2
#2
One and Done said:
I eat my words...per Marc Stein:

"ESPN sources say that the Sacramento Kings have chosen Detroit Pistons executive Ken Catanella as their new assistant general manager."

Ken looks to have a great resume with about 10 years in front office analytics/capology work for the Nets, Pistons and league office. He's also got a basketball background as well, which is a nice value-add. Say what you will about being a Dukie...

All in all, this looks like an A+ hire by Vlade and team. I'm impressed.
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YES!
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#4
#4
One and Done said:
I eat my words...per Marc Stein:

"ESPN sources say that the Sacramento Kings have chosen Detroit Pistons executive Ken Catanella as their new assistant general manager."

Ken looks to have a great resume with about 10 years in front office analytics/capology work for the Nets, Pistons and league office. He's also got a basketball background as well, which is a nice value-add. Say what you will about being a Dukie...

All in all, this looks like an A+ hire by Vlade and team. I'm impressed.
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In his role with the Pistons Catanella serves as the team’s salary cap specialist, leads Detroit’s analytics efforts, and directs the day-to-day operations of the basketball operations department.
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http://www.sloansportsconference.com/?p=9660

Sounds like exactly what we were looking for -- numbers geek, salary gap guru, and guy who can run the day to day stuff, but given the likely similarity of duties, I wonder how we lured him over? The whole California vs. Detroit thing? Money? Vlade's smiling face?

In any case, this looks like pretty much a spot on hire for what we were looking for. Excuse me, "for that which we were looking", because obviously that is not awkward at all and far better English than the previous.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#6
#6
Bricklayer said:
http://www.sloansportsconference.com/?p=9660

Sounds like exactly what we were looking for -- numbers geek, salary gap guru, and guy who can run the day to day stuff, but given the likely similarity of duties, I wonder how we lured him over? The whole California vs. Detroit thing? Money? Vlade's smiling face?

In any case, this looks like pretty much a spot on hire for what we were looking for. Excuse me, "for that which we were looking", because obviously that is not awkward at all and far better English than the previous.
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Actually, it should be "that for which we were looking."

:p
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#7
#7
ockingsfan said:
What happens to Mike Bratz now?
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says he's being retained as head of scouting and "advisor to the GM". Which sounds like a bit of a demotion, but also sounds like maybe where his talents best lie. Even under Vlade's description he sounded more like a basketball lifer than a bureaucratic administrator.
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#10
#10
No clue who that is prior to this hiring but with the details listed, I'm glad this is done with so the team can begin to bare down on the coaching search more.
 
RichieInRocklin

RichieInRocklin

G-League
#11
#11
Not only will he be a great help to Vlade by running the day-to-day operations and helping with the cap, etc., but he and Mike Bratz will be working closely together (from the Sloan Sports Conference article): "managed the creation and implementation of the Nets’ statistical scouting systems. He also advised the team’s front office and ownership by evaluating domestic and international player personnel."
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#12
#12
One interesting note about this hire is that there was no reports about it beforehand.

Nice to not have info being leaked AND it makes me wonder if there are coaches that Vlade has talked seriously with or even interviewed that we don't know about.

Oh, and I really like this hire. It sounds like Catanella ticks every box and should be a great compliment to Vlade.
 
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kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#13
#13
funkykingston said:
One interesting note about this hire is that there was no reports about it beforehand.

Nice to not have info being leaked AND it makes me wonder if there are coaches that Vlade has talked seriously with or even interviewed that we don't know about.
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I'd much rather prefer this type of approach rather than speculating over and over again about the ifs and the buts and the hows.....I wouldn't mind Vlade just hiring a guy out of no where with no reports and hitting us with the news himself.
 
gunks

gunks

Hall of Famer
#14
#14
RichieInRocklin said:
Not only will he be a great help to Vlade by running the day-to-day operations and helping with the cap, etc., but he and Mike Bratz will be working closely together (from the Sloan Sports Conference article): "managed the creation and implementation of the Nets’ statistical scouting systems. He also advised the team’s front office and ownership by evaluating domestic and international player personnel."
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Cool! If our draft history is any indication, we need all the damn help we can get with scouting!
 
LPKingsFan

LPKingsFan

All-Star
#16
#16
funkykingston said:
One interesting note about this hire is that there was no reports about it beforehand.

Nice to not have info being leaked AND it makes me wonder if there are coaches that Vlade has talked seriously with or even interviewed that we don't know about.

Oh, and I really like this hire. It sounds like Catanella ticks every box and should be a great compliment to Vlade.
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Agreed, and your point about the leaks is exactly what I thought about when I heard the news.

What's interesting is that it's seemed like the reports of interest/prospective interviews have been rather vague, but then we only hear that the interview actually happened the day after. Maybe they are running a tighter ship.
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#18
#18
funkykingston said:
One interesting note about this hire is that there was no reports about it beforehand.

Nice to not have info being leaked AND it makes me wonder if there are coaches that Vlade has talked seriously with or even interviewed that we don't know about.

Oh, and I really like this hire. It sounds like Catanella ticks every box and should be a great compliment to Vlade.
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I think clearly Vlade has been active and not sharing it. He stated he hoped to hire a coach next week. How? The only answer I have is that he has been in negotiation with the person or persons that he likes and they are pretty much sewed up. As I am not particularly thrilled by the people he has allegedly interviewed. I think this one also will be a surprise and as the people that I like allegedly haven't been interviewed, I think there is a good chance i will be pleased.

I like not knowing anything. :)
 
S

Siranthony

Starter
#20
#20
funkykingston said:
One interesting note about this hire is that there was no reports about it beforehand.

Nice to not have info being leaked AND it makes me wonder if there are coaches that Vlade has talked seriously with or even interviewed that we don't know about.

Oh, and I really like this hire. It sounds like Catanella ticks every box and should be a great compliment to Vlade.
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I like that it was not leaked also. It looks bad when things are leaked and they don't happen. A good sign. One up for Vlade is our new off season.
 
biltalent

biltalent

Starter
#22
#22
Here is an interview with him in 2009:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/5007/an-nba-stat-geek-prepares-for-the-draft

Seems to exactly fill our need as he is big in managing the CBA and analytics/scouting.
My favourite part:
I work with one of the best teams in the League, as far bouncing ideas off people. Lawrence Frank is from that Jeff Van Gundy, Pat Riley school that really values metrics, and thinks they are worth their time.

Every team is dealing with the same player pool, and thanks to the luxury tax and salary cap we have very similar resources. So the little advantage we get from having a coaching staff that lends insight to how we gather information to assess players ... those are the types of advantages that can make a little difference.

Also, scouts are very valuable tools, too. I never want to underestimate them. We can work together by getting data into their assessments early, seeing a players' characteristics. Trying to get a full picture, using playing stats, evaluation stats, and the statistical part of the psychological evaluation ...

Lawrence Frank, for instance, will actually take us on the court, and walk us through a play. That way we can really understand what the player we get will be asked to do, and we can go and look for somebody who can do that.
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King Baller

King Baller

All-Star
#24
#24
biltalent said:
Here is an interview with him in 2009:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/5007/an-nba-stat-geek-prepares-for-the-draft

Seems to exactly fill our need as he is big in managing the CBA and analytics/scouting.
My favourite part:
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Article refers to 2008 draft. Nets took Brook Lopex at #10, Ryan Anderson at #21 and Chris Douglas-Roberts at #40, not bad. I mean it is not the Kings "Nik Rocks" draft or Jimmer or Thomas Robinson......well you get the picture. Lets get some ball players:) Go Kings!
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#25
#25
King Baller said:
Article refers to 2008 draft. Nets took Brook Lopex at #10, Ryan Anderson at #21 and Chris Douglas-Roberts at #40, not bad. I mean it is not the Kings "Nik Rocks" draft or Jimmer or Thomas Robinson......well you get the picture. Lets get some ball players:) Go Kings!
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Hard to say how much influence Catanella had in those selections but that's a pretty solid draft for the Nets. Injury issues aside, Brook Lopez was a great pick at #10 and outside of injuries you can really only argue that Nic Batum & Serge Ibaka are as good or better and it took them longer to develop. CDR was a good 2nd rounder since only Dragic turned out to be a better player and very few guys from that 2nd round are still in the league.

Ryan Anderson was a solid pick but beyond that, look at how many solid players got taken at the end of the 1st round in 2008 - Courtney Lee, Kosta Koufos, George Hill and the aforementioned Serge Ibaka & Nic Batum. Oh, and Donte Green.
 
King Baller

King Baller

All-Star
#27
#27
funkykingston said:
Hard to say how much influence Catanella had in those selections but that's a pretty solid draft for the Nets. Injury issues aside, Brook Lopez was a great pick at #10 and outside of injuries you can really only argue that Nic Batum & Serge Ibaka are as good or better and it took them longer to develop. CDR was a good 2nd rounder since only Dragic turned out to be a better player and very few guys from that 2nd round are still in the league.

Ryan Anderson was a solid pick but beyond that, look at how many solid players got taken at the end of the 1st round in 2008 - Courtney Lee, Kosta Koufos, George Hill and the aforementioned Serge Ibaka & Nic Batum. Oh, and Donte Green.
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Donte was sent to Sacto for a reason--> http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/donte-greene-saves-a-life.32006/
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#30
#30
Per Woj:

Catanella well known for having a sheep fetish, hired anyway by clueless rookie goatherder from Serbia.
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Per Ailene:

In yet another sign that the Kings have finally decided to end their loveless marriage with their out of shape center, Kings President Vlade Divac hired a man who's numbers will puncture the complacent balloon the franchise has operated under regarding their man-child DeMarcus Cousins..
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Per Grant:

Can you blame David Morway for not wanting any part of a team led by DeMarcus Cousins?
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