Kings interview Del Negro, Jackson and Mitchell for Head Coach position (Yahoo News)

[VF21]

I think I knew that. My point is an old one for me. I don't think such a fanhood on his part would be worthy of the deriding he occassionally gets on here. Meaning, what difference does it make. I was a 15 year fan of the Warriors and am still a simpatico. Doesn't get in the way of my love of the Kings. So please adopt Jason Jones as our own.

I respect that he is doing a decent job (especially recently) but I still recall with remarkable clarity the discussion he and I had on that day back in 2009. I'm not doing any adopting.

 

[206Fan]

Vincent Goodwill ‏@vgoodwill
Coaching watch: The Kings have asked Pacers for permission to speak with assistant coach Nate McMillan once playoffs are over, sources say

 

[VF21]

Vincent Goodwill ‏@vgoodwill
Coaching watch: The Kings have asked Pacers for permission to speak with assistant coach Nate McMillan once playoffs are over, sources say

This would be contrary to the reports that were going around today indicating the Kings hope to have the new coach in place by next week. And I'm glad...

 

[LPKingsFan]

This would be contrary to the reports that were going around today indicating the Kings hope to have the new coach in place by next week. And I'm glad...

Unless it's when Indiana's playoffs are over, which could be tomorrow

 

[funkykingston]

Unless it's when Indiana's playoffs are over, which could be tomorrow

Exactly.

I'm guessing Vlade has already gauged the interest level of Blatt, McHale etc

Spurs assistants (Messina and/or Udoka) could be available to interview right now as they are between rounds and Walton could be available to interview if the Warriors win tonight.

Rumor was that a couple college coaches were on the list. If interested, they could interview at any time.

It's entirely possible that Vlade can get in all his coaching targets that have interest in the job quickly and make a decision soon after.

 

[ParniValjak]

This would be contrary to the reports that were going around today indicating the Kings hope to have the new coach in place by next week. And I'm glad...

Maybe! Maybe Not!

Pacer's are probably done after 1st round. McMillan might be the guy that Vlade wanted all along. We just don't know. Knowing a little bit about how Vlade operates, I very much doubt that he would not have his list with rankings next to each of the candidates going from 1 down to however many he has on that list. Now the order might change based on a few factors but Vlade mostly knows these guys reasonably well. He has been around the NBA for 2 decades and has a pretty good handle on what these candidates are like.

 

[kingsboi]

McMillan? ehh I don't know how I feel about him but it doesn't hurt to weigh your options I suppose so bring him in and see what he has to offer

 

[Sac.1989]

have we asked for permission to interview walton ?

im no huge walton fan but if we were keen we should have got in before the lakers

 

[Double-K]

have we asked for permission to interview walton ?

im no huge walton fan but if we were keen we should have got in before the lakers

If Lakers want him, I'd like to make it absolute hardest for them to get him...

 

[VF21]

have we asked for permission to interview walton ?

im no huge walton fan but if we were keen we should have got in before the lakers

If the Lakers are in the mix, Walton won't give us a second look.

 

[King Baller]

Here is an interesting read from about a year ago contrasting Nate McMillan with Mike Malone: http://www.denverstiffs.com/2015/3/21/8254259/coachs-resume-examining-nate-mcmillan-and-mike-malone

Excerpt from the linked article"

"McMillan isn’t the type of guy to go out of his way to appease players or change his style to fit their preference.That strict style of leadership clashed with players like Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, and Andre Miller. Miller in particular hated McMillan's inflexible offense which didn't allow any room for his creative playmaking."

 

[Warhawk]

I think you'd win that bet. And ironically I think Mike Malone's understanding of the team D'Alessandro assembled outshined PDA's understanding of the same team.

And both of those cases underscore how important it is to hire a coach that Vlade can be in step with going forward instead of having the GM and coach be at odds with one another.

See my sig recently?

 

[randymoss1881]

Here is an interesting read from about a year ago contrasting Nate McMillan with Mike Malone: http://www.denverstiffs.com/2015/3/21/8254259/coachs-resume-examining-nate-mcmillan-and-mike-malone

Was reading this and was just about to post it.

Don't like that he goes ISO heavy with the stars that won't cut it.

Also I think Blatt/Messani have told vlade No

 

[ockingsfan]

Just gives me a coach that plays to his players strengths and puts them in a position to succeed and I will be happy.

I think Kevin McHale talks the best game as far as tailoring his game plan to his players strengths. After that, I don't know how the other candidates operate.

 

[gunks]

Was reading this and was just about to post it.

Don't like that he goes ISO heavy with the stars that won't cut it.

Also I think Blatt/Messani have told vlade No

Wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Sac.1989]

If the Lakers are in the mix, Walton won't give us a second look.

Absolutely agree.

My point is though that if we wanted to get him in why didnt we apply for the right to interview him or do whatever we needed to do to expedite the process.

I just dont want it to be another case of us shooting ourselves in the foot here by not doing what we needed to it.

If we were never serious about Walton then fine but i dont think that was the case.

Its moot now because we may as well strike him off the list given the laker interest but these are the things we need to change if we want to move forward as a franchise and start doing business in the right way.

 

[ParniValjak]

Absolutely agree.

My point is though that if we wanted to get him in why didnt we apply for the right to interview him or do whatever we needed to do to expedite the process.

I just dont want it to be another case of us shooting ourselves in the foot here by not doing what we needed to it.

If we were never serious about Walton then fine but i dont think that was the case.

Its moot now because we may as well strike him off the list given the laker interest but these are the things we need to change if we want to move forward as a franchise and start doing business in the right way.

Mate there is one thing in common with all the names that have been linked to us to date (i.e. Those that we have interviewed or have asked permission to interview), they have all been head coaches in their own right at some point in time. While Walton filled in for half a season he was never really a head coach in his own right. We are after an experienced coach who has been there and done that. Thats why names like Mirchell, Del Negro, McHale, McMillan etc keep popping up!

 

[Albatros]

Nate seems a solid fit to me.

Woodson or Jackson would irritate me beyond belief.

Everyone else would get the benefit of the doubt.

 

[KingMilz]

Didn't Mike Woodson treat quiet a few of his players on the Knicks like absolute crap most notably Beno Udrih in his last stint there?

 

[King Baller]

Was reading this and was just about to post it.

Don't like that he goes ISO heavy with the stars that won't cut it.

Also I think Blatt/Messani have told vlade No

If Dre Miller felt confined by McMillan's offense how is Rondo going to take to it?

 

[KingMilz]

If Dre Miller felt confined by McMillan's offense how is Rondo going to take to it?

I think the problem was him and Roy (who at the time was like a top 5 SG) couldn't really play together effectively since both needed the ball/neither could stretch the floor (I hope Rondo does not comeback regardless) which is why Andre was used off the bench and I'm not really sure it confined him that much he was still super productive and had his career high game for Portland.

 

[hrdboild]

Didn't Mike Woodson treat quiet a few of his players on the Knicks like absolute poopoo most notably Beno Udrih in his last stint there?

This article says otherwise:

The Anti-D'Antoni

Working as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons, Woodson received considerable credit for that team’s heralded blue-collar work ethic—no small feat considering the Pistons’ abundance of superstars, from Chauncey Billups to Rip Hamilton to Rasheed Wallace. Detroit won the NBA title that year, and Woodson, seemingly overnight, became the hottest coaching commodity in the league.

In a semi-famous speech documented by Slam magazine’s Lang Whitaker, Woodson spelled out his philosophy to the team clearly: “I have zero ego as a coach, none. If you think you see something that’s going to work better than what we’re trying to do, speak up! Say something to me! But what I’m telling you guys is that if you guys will just consistently do what we’re asking you to do on defense, we’ll win games. I don’t give a crap about the offense; you guys can score more than enough points to win games. The offense isn’t the problem. But you have to get stops on defense, and if you’ll listen to what we’re telling you, I promise you’ll get stops. The crap works, okay?”

To a man, almost every Knick brings up the fact that Woodson played for more than a decade in the league, that he understands what they’re going through. Shumpert, who may be closer to Woodson than anyone on the team, even bought a Woodson Houston Rockets jersey off eBay and tweeted a picture of himself wearing a Woodson Kansas City Kings jersey. Shumpert speaks of Woodson like he’s been waiting for him to be his coach for a long time. “Even before he was our head coach, we were real close,” Shumpert says. “He took to me right off, because he treated me like a man. I don’t like it when people treat me young. Ever since I was in the eighth grade, I’ve had an African-American head coach, but I’ve never had one who played in the league before. Coach Woodson knows what it takes to compete on this level. You just trust a man like that.”

Shumpert says another reason the Knicks enjoy playing for Woodson is that he keeps it simple. He sets basic, achievable team goals that are easy to understand. The main one is, notably, a defensive one: Hold the other team to 25 points or fewer a quarter, 100 or fewer a game. “He says if we do that, we’ll win,” Shumpert says. “At the end of every quarter, we can just look at the scoreboard and see if Coach is gonna be happy or not.”

 

[KingsFanGER]

Oh there may be some nice, comforting articles about the likes of Del Negro or Woodson, but in a league dominated by coaches like Pop, Kerr, Budenholzer, Joerger or Stevens those names still feel like bringing a knife to a gunfight for me.
And the "defense is all that matters thing" is a popular misconception. Of course for the Kings the main focus needs to be on improving their defense, but we still need a coaching staff, that works both sides of the court.

 

[Tetsujin]

Tony Xypteras ‏@TonyXypteras 1h1 hour ago
DeMarcus Cousins said the Kings would be a playoff team if Michael Malone were still here. Didn't hesitate.

 

[hrdboild]

Oh there may be some nice, comforting articles about the likes of Del Negro or Woodson, but in a league dominated by coaches like Pop, Kerr, Budenholzer, Joerger or Stevens those names still feel like bringing a knife to a gunfight for me.
And the "defense is all that matters thing" is a popular misconception. Of course for the Kings the main focus needs to be on improving their defense, but we still need a coaching staff, that works both sides of the court.

Mike Woodson took over a last place Hawks team that won 13 games in his first season at head coach and 53 games in his last. They had the second best offensive rating in the league that year. He took over a dysfunctional Knicks team that was 6 games under .500 with D'Antoni and they went 18-6 to finish the season and made the playoffs. The following year he won 54 games and made it the second round (losing to Indiana in 6). That team had the third best offensive rating in the league. The point has never been that offense doesn't matter. The point has always been that if you can't defend than you can't win. And the head coach has to set the tone.

Intentionally or not you just listed 5 white guys as the only qualified coaches in the league. Can you actually quantify what it is about the guys that you listed which makes them more qualified than veteran coaches like McMillan, Woodson, or Mitchell (excepting Coach Pop of course who's on a whole other level)? These guys aren't retreads, they're respected assistant coaches in their own right who happen to have (successful) head coaching stints on their resume as well. Mike Woodson has coached two teams and led both of them to 50+ win seasons and playoff series wins. Nate McMillan has a winning record in 12 seasons as a head coach. He led Seattle to 52 wins and Portland to 54 wins. Sam Mitchell had Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and a bunch of nobodies and led them to 47 wins in Toronto. Certainly there are some young up-and-coming coaches worthy of the opportunity, but I'm not in a hurry to hand over the future of our team to another unproven head-coaching gamble when there are more qualified options available.

 

[lwc]

Mike Woodson took over a last place Hawks team that won 13 games in his first season at head coach and 53 games in his last. They had the second best offensive rating in the league that year. He took over a dysfunctional Knicks team that was 6 games under .500 with D'Antoni and they went 18-6 to finish the season and made the playoffs. The following year he won 54 games and made it the second round (losing to Indiana in 6). That team had the third best offensive rating in the league. The point has never been that offense doesn't matter. The point has always been that if you can't defend than you can't win. And the head coach has to set the tone.

Intentionally or not you just listed 5 white guys as the only qualified coaches in the league. Can you actually quantify what it is about the guys that you listed which makes them more qualified than veteran coaches like McMillan, Woodson, or Mitchell (excepting Coach Pop of course who's on a whole other level)? These guys aren't retreads, they're respected assistant coaches in their own right who happen to have (successful) head coaching stints on their resume as well. Mike Woodson has coached two teams and led both of them to 50+ win seasons and playoff series wins. Nate McMillan has a winning record in 12 seasons as a head coach. He led Seattle to 52 wins and Portland to 54 wins. Sam Mitchell had Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and a bunch of nobodies and led them to 47 wins in Toronto. Certainly there are some young up-and-coming coaches worthy of the opportunity, but I'm not in a hurry to hand over the future of our team to another unproven head-coaching gamble when there are more qualified options available.

Well said. Assistant coaches are a big gamble. I think right now the Kings need someone that can win now. Maybe take someone and hire an assistant to groom long term.

 

[King Baller]

Well said. Assistant coaches are a big gamble. I think right now the Kings need someone that can win now. Maybe take someone and hire an assistant to groom long term.

I would not mind seeing a row of these guys on the Kings Bench. Head Coach as 1A, then 1B, 1C and so on. No matter what though the Kings Players need to play defense like their lives depend on it going forward.

 

[VF21]

Absolutely agree.

My point is though that if we wanted to get him in why didnt we apply for the right to interview him or do whatever we needed to do to expedite the process.

I just dont want it to be another case of us shooting ourselves in the foot here by not doing what we needed to it.

If we were never serious about Walton then fine but i dont think that was the case.

Its moot now because we may as well strike him off the list given the laker interest but these are the things we need to change if we want to move forward as a franchise and start doing business in the right way.

Want my best semi-educated guess?

Vlade knew Byron Scott was going to be fired and made the logical conclusion that the Lakers would likely go after Luke Walton as his successor.

Or...

Luke Walton isn't the direction in which Vlade wants to go.

Or...

We fans need to just wait and let the process evolve. Things didn't work out that well the last time the front office made a hiring based on our opinion.

 

[Glenn]

I think we are in a new era where we are not privy to each and every time someone in the FO farts.

 

[dude12]

I mentioned a while back that Woodson has had some successful stints and then reading more about his defensive first philosophy makes him look like a solid choice if they go in that direction.