Kings to fire Westphal and... Geoff Petrie?!

[Andre87]

smh... that westfall's postgame interview is how the kings fans will remember him unfortunately.

 

[Kingster]

More from Sam Amick:

I pressed Joe on whether this could go down in the coming days or the next few weeks, and he repeatedly said no.

Excellent.

Now if the Maloofs fire Westphal, their credibility is done. No one will believe them about spending FA $ next year, or whatever they say about the arena.

Now, if they had any decency, the Maloofs should take full repsonsibility for what is going on now, saying that they knew by not spending FA $ this past year could jeapardize this season, but took the risk anyway because it made more financial sense. I'm not holding my breath on that one though.

 

[ArcoKings]

Though all of this "news" is false/exaggerated and started by you know who, the Maloofs won't clean house, especially terminating their boy, GP. I like the Maloofs but they are also responsible for some of the organization's poor decisions made in the last 5 years (e.g. coaches). The organization has not progressed for a very long time. These bad coaching decisions have been very damaging. That said, should any house cleaning be done it needs to be done RIGHT NOW!!

 

[Wuster]

Excellent.

Now if the Maloofs fire Westphal, their credibility is done. No one will believe them about spending FA $ next year, or whatever they say about the arena.

Now, if they had any decency, the Maloofs should take full repsonsibility for what is going on now, saying that they knew by not spending FA $ this past year could jeapardize this season, but took the risk anyway because it made more financial sense. I'm not holding my breath on that one though.

Great take, Kingster.

 

[ParniValjak]

Firing Petrie is an interesting situation. You would have had some merit in suggesting that 2 years ago but in the last couple of years he has pulled all the right moves. He drafted Evans and Casspi, traded Martin's long term deal for Landry's expiring and cap space (and Landry has stunk it up this year). Traded Nocioni and Hawes for a much needed Dalembert and drafted Cousins and Whiteside.

Those are all some good moves for the stage of the rebuild that we are at. We still have a lot more talent and should be a much better team than our record suggests. The issue is that the team has simply quit on coach. Firing Petrie now would be similar to firing Adelman back in 2006. That was a wrong move back then. Petrie has had some terrible years but in the last 2 year he has started to do the right things and I am not sure if firing him now is the answer and most certainly not to get Whisenant into the Kingdom. What is the fascination with this guy anyway?!?!?!

Westphal on the other hand is on his way out. Picking up that option on his last year was a mistake. You should never over-react and pick up an option on a coach during, or just after his 1st season with the team. Even Theus was good in his first year and then it all went downhill since then. Its exactly the same script with Westphal. He needs to go because he has lost the players. The next coach needs to be someone with a proven track record of developing young players and fine-tuning them into a productive team. No its not Whisenant and no its not Brown. You get what you pay for in life and especially in professional sport. If you want a top coach, you need to pay the top dollar otherwise you are not going to get anything good.

I think firing Westphal at this point is well overdue but not so certain about Petrie. He has had some terrible time at the kings but in the last couple of years he has started rebuilding this team the right way. I would give him until the end of next year and if things have not improved significantly, its time for some fresh blood!

 

[rainmaker]

Firing Petrie is an interesting situation. You would have had some merit in suggesting that 2 years ago but in the last couple of years he has pulled all the right moves. He drafted Evans and Casspi, traded Martin's long term deal for Landry's expiring and cap space (and Landry has stunk it up this year). Traded Nocioni and Hawes for a much needed Dalembert and drafted Cousins and Whiteside.

Those are all some good moves for the stage of the rebuild that we are at. We still have a lot more talent and should be a much better team than our record suggests. The issue is that the team has simply quit on coach. Firing Petrie now would be similar to firing Adelman back in 2006. That was a wrong move back then. Petrie has had some terrible years but in the last 2 year he has started to do the right things and I am not sure if firing him now is the answer and most certainly not to get Whisenant into the Kingdom. What is the fascination with this guy anyway?!?!?!

Westphal on the other hand is on his way out. Picking up that option on his last year was a mistake. You should never over-react and pick up an option on a coach during, or just after his 1st season with the team. Even Theus was good in his first year and then it all went downhill since then. Its exactly the same script with Westphal. He needs to go because he has lost the players. The next coach needs to be someone with a proven track record of developing young players and fine-tuning them into a productive team. No its not Whisenant and no its not Brown. You get what you pay for in life and especially in professional sport. If you want a top coach, you need to pay the top dollar otherwise you are not going to get anything good.

I think firing Westphal at this point is well overdue but not so certain about Petrie. He has had some terrible time at the kings but in the last couple of years he has started rebuilding this team the right way. I would give him until the end of next year and if things have not improved significantly, its time for some fresh blood!

Well said Carolija, always love your posts. I completely agree with everything you said except for Larry Brown(that is the Brown I assume you're reffering to). I want nothing to do with Whisenant, period. But I would consider Larry Brown for the rest of this season and next.

He proven he's a great teacher, and has successfully helped rebuild a number of franchises. He would really help in teaching the game to our youth, help build a positive foundation going forward, and would also cost an arm and a leg. I wouldn't want him as a long term solution, but for the next season or two, I think it's an option which has to be considered, after all he has expressed interest in coaching here recently.

 

[NikateeN]

If we do fire Paul we better get somebody worth it, im tired of them hiring mediocre coaches and expecting so much from them.

As far as Petrie goes im kind of on the fence. He has made some good decisions lately but i feel hes made more bad ones, other than the 2 trades last year i cant remember the last trade he made that i actually felt good about, ever since the Webber trade.

Either way, the Kings are gonna struggle, we are a better team than our record shows but we wont get too much better with just a coaching change, we are just lacking in too many other areas.

 

[coban]

hows about dan majerle as kings coach ? He is still one of Suns assistants , still unexperienced , but i believe he can improve kings ballin' like suns had in the past. I think he can improve ball movement and p&r situations because Kings have some talent and needs only coach who has truth in the players and dont make every lineup like wtf.

 

[Gary]

From Jason Jones:

Joe Maloof says via text message Petrie and Westphal are not about to be fired.

Meanwhile Maloof is looking for his iphone because he let his niece play with it.

 

[kingsboi]

Typical information when it leaks and you hear these type of things of course the owner/GM is going to say "No, I never even heard of such thing" type of talk and what do you know, a couple of days or weeks later, gone. Funny stuff.

 

[UK_King]

If you put yourself in the shoes of the owners what would you be thinking about this situation.

It looks totally dysfunctional and from the outside in really does have the appearance of a first school classroom rather than an NBA franchise.

 

[Tetsujin]

Typical information when it leaks and you hear these type of things of course the owner/GM is going to say "No, I never even heard of such thing" type of talk and what do you know, a couple of days or weeks later, gone. Funny stuff.

Or it could be that wicked witch of Sacramento just making stuff up again because she ran out of ways to make an article about Omri semi-erotic.

 

[Kingster]

Firing Petrie is an interesting situation. You would have had some merit in suggesting that 2 years ago but in the last couple of years he has pulled all the right moves. He drafted Evans and Casspi, traded Martin's long term deal for Landry's expiring and cap space (and Landry has stunk it up this year). Traded Nocioni and Hawes for a much needed Dalembert and drafted Cousins and Whiteside.

Those are all some good moves for the stage of the rebuild that we are at. We still have a lot more talent and should be a much better team than our record suggests. The issue is that the team has simply quit on coach. Firing Petrie now would be similar to firing Adelman back in 2006. That was a wrong move back then. Petrie has had some terrible years but in the last 2 year he has started to do the right things and I am not sure if firing him now is the answer and most certainly not to get Whisenant into the Kingdom. What is the fascination with this guy anyway?!?!?!

Westphal on the other hand is on his way out. Picking up that option on his last year was a mistake. You should never over-react and pick up an option on a coach during, or just after his 1st season with the team. Even Theus was good in his first year and then it all went downhill since then. Its exactly the same script with Westphal. He needs to go because he has lost the players. The next coach needs to be someone with a proven track record of developing young players and fine-tuning them into a productive team. No its not Whisenant and no its not Brown. You get what you pay for in life and especially in professional sport. If you want a top coach, you need to pay the top dollar otherwise you are not going to get anything good.

I think firing Westphal at this point is well overdue but not so certain about Petrie. He has had some terrible time at the kings but in the last couple of years he has started rebuilding this team the right way. I would give him until the end of next year and if things have not improved significantly, its time for some fresh blood!

Really? Who has he lost? From what I've seen all are accounted for. Did anybody miss the plane? Seriously, if Westphal lost the team, then why are they playing so hard? What's the basis for your assertion?

The point you make about talent is irrelevant. Tyreke may have potential. Cousins may have potential. That means squat unless they translate it into production. Tyreke has been terrible this year. You can attribute it to his foot and/or emotional issues, but not to coaching. Coaching doesn't cause missed layups. He had the same coach last year as a Rookie of the Year, so how does the coach cause him to regress? The dots don't connect. As far as Cousins is concerned, give me a break. A 10-year with talent. That's worthless in the NBA.

 

[Spike]

Or it could be that wicked witch of Sacramento just making stuff up again because she ran out of ways to make an article about Omri semi-erotic.

I vote for this. Unless GM and coach are upgraded, making a move would be foolish. This is a family wowed by PowerPoint, if you remember.

 

[mac]

I was sort of on the fire Westphal side of the fence till I watched (not read) some of his postgame comments. He clearly wants the team to win and it sounds as if he hasn't lost them. He certainly isn't the perfect coach but I wouldn't mind giving him some time and waiting for Tyreke to retrieve his talent from the Space Jam aliens. I think Tyreke confiding in Westphal about his personal issues is a pivotal point, because I think it's going to affect how Westphal uses him. Before, Westphal may have been just hoping that Evans would get going, that the layups would start falling etc, but now that he knows Tyreke has issues he'll probably have a slightly shorter leash with him and won't entrust him with critical decisions.

I'm hoping that the team just manages to come out of this stronger, because they have been playing hard (I mean, beno is frikin playing defense!) and we finally started to get some consistency in rotations. I think it starts with the coaches relying less on Tyreke and giving him time to rest and get his head on straight. Following that a few things have to happen.
1. Guys have to get their confidence back. It's hard when you're losing as much as it is, but we need to believe that we can win, that our shots will fall.
2. Cousins has to grow up. It's not really his fault, and he has been growing before our eyes, but with Tyreke playing so poorly and the team struggling as much as it is we can no longer afford to let Cousins mature with age. He has to stop whining, start being a better team mate, keep his mouth shut and just work hard. No frikin choke signs coming from a rookie who chokes in the 4th quarter himself thank you very much.
3. Everyone needs to be held equally accountable. We have to cut it out with all the send Cousins to D-league bs (although it's just a rumor), letting Tyreke shoot 20% and still play many minutes but benching Omri or Greene when they chuck a shot.

I really think that we have a good group of guys and a decent-enough coach, but they need to get rid of all these distractions. It's bad enough that we're not winning games, the problem shouldn't be compounded by tales of Cousins' attitude problems or him not high-fiving Westphal, or guys not knowing plays and stuff. If we want to win, whether it's with the same coaching staff and personnel or not, the guys need to humble themselves and strive to be a better team. If the shots don't fall our way then so be it, but at least it won't look like the whole franchise is just tearing at its seams.

 

[Asaf]

1. Guys have to get their confidence back. It's hard when you're losing as much as it is, but we need to believe that we can win, that our shots will fall.
2. Cousins has to grow up. It's not really his fault, and he has been growing before our eyes, but with Tyreke playing so poorly and the team struggling as much as it is we can no longer afford to let Cousins mature with age. He has to stop whining, start being a better team mate, keep his mouth shut and just work hard. No frikin choke signs coming from a rookie who chokes in the 4th quarter himself thank you very much.
3. Everyone needs to be held equally accountable. We have to cut it out with all the send Cousins to D-league bs (although it's just a rumor), letting Tyreke shoot 20% and still play many minutes but benching Omri or Greene when they chuck a shot.

You say you want Westphal to stay but do you really think there is a chance in hell he will do what you said in #3? And if not, do #1 and #2 happen?

 

[ReinadelosReys]

From Grant's show today (take from it what you wish)

Some writer, whose name I forget and who writes from some paper in Washington (I think), apparently wanted to prove a point about irresponsible journalism by starting a false rumor via twitter (if I remember correctly). Ken Berger of CBSsports ran with it. A national writer reports something, therefore it must be true. This writer has since been suspended from his paper for one month after confessing to starting the rumor on purpose.

Did anyone else listen to the start of the show today who can elaborate, I was a little distracted.

 

[nickmcclure]

From Grant's show today (take from it what you wish)

Some writer, whose name I forget and who writes from some paper in Washington (I think), apparently wanted to prove a point about irresponsible journalism by starting a false rumor via twitter (if I remember correctly). Ken Berger of CBSsports ran with it. A national writer reports something, therefore it must be true. This writer has since been suspended from his paper for one month after confessing to starting the rumor on purpose.

Did anyone else listen to the start of the show today who can elaborate, I was a little distracted.

Lol. I'm not doubting you, it just sounds like you're not sure.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

From Grant's show today (take from it what you wish)

Some writer, whose name I forget and who writes from some paper in Washington (I think), apparently wanted to prove a point about irresponsible journalism by starting a false rumor via twitter (if I remember correctly). Ken Berger of CBSsports ran with it. A national writer reports something, therefore it must be true. This writer has since been suspended from his paper for one month after confessing to starting the rumor on purpose.

Did anyone else listen to the start of the show today who can elaborate, I was a little distracted.

Sounds like something Grant was told to say.

 

[BMiller52]

From Grant's show today (take from it what you wish)

Some writer, whose name I forget and who writes from some paper in Washington (I think), apparently wanted to prove a point about irresponsible journalism by starting a false rumor via twitter (if I remember correctly). Ken Berger of CBSsports ran with it. A national writer reports something, therefore it must be true. This writer has since been suspended from his paper for one month after confessing to starting the rumor on purpose.

Did anyone else listen to the start of the show today who can elaborate, I was a little distracted.

It sounds like the Kings made that stuff up and told Grant to say it.

 

[ReinadelosReys]

Like I said, I was distracted. If anyone else listened, please clarify if you can.

 

[swisshh]

Who is responsible for the team not acquiring a veteran guard to provide leadership? That is who needs to be held accountable, and that may be the Maloofs for cheaping out. It certainly involves Petrie.

I am more negative towards Petrie than others here, and I believe the murmurings that his staff is too small and gets outworked. I have little faith in the people he has promoted in his GM staff. He drafts talent, but he has had no working concept of a team for years. The pieces have been trade bait more than a cohesive team. This leads to consistent losing.

Westphal is facing the second year burnout that has plagued his entire career. This should have been seen by upper management. Right now he is more troubled by Cousins appearing professional than the insulting play the team passes off as offense. If anything, this team is too professional. They are professional losers, they always find a way even if the odds are stacked in favor of them winning. This team shouldn't be as immature as Cousins, but they should be as frustrated as him. They don't need to be smiling and shaking Monta Ellis' hand after an embarrassing defeat. That moment needed a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner hanging in the background, and it sort of sums up the manner of the team.

 

[Superman]

You know, if its the cost of avoiding firing Petrie in a year when he's finally done just about eerything right -- yes you heard that right clowns, we have been doing it RIGHT, whatever the results -- and avoiding ridiculous back to the amateurs names like Wisenhant (who I am so very tired of hearing about) and Walton (who would be completely unsufferable as a coach -- I can only imagine players rolling their eyes at his rambles -- and not physically capabale anyway)...then I say keep Westphal and give him a raise and comapny car.

How you like that for a compound mess of a sentence?


And BTW, yes, it could be exactly right that the source of this whole thing is Voison. We have seen this before int he internet age -- the national writer picks up a blog or note from the local op ed rumormonger and passes that on to the national audience as fact -- the "sources" are in fact the local write, who's sources are her fantasies and favorites. Then the national guy writes his story, everybody sees it back in Sacto and thinks it must be true because the natinal guy wrote it, when in fact he's just amplified the musings fo the local writer everybody already knows.

As far as Petrie doing it right, absolutely. If you were going to fire him, it should have been done when he signed Mikki Moore. Those were the days when he wasn't doing (or wasn't being allowed to do) his job. Now, he's completely overhauled the roster. Sure it's not perfect, but it's not that we're lacking talent. We're lacking cohesiveness and discipline, which is a coaching issue, not a personnel issue. Petrie finally got the memo and put together a team with some real foundation for the future, and now people think he should be fired? I have to call BS on that.

 

[mr. moustache]

As far as Petrie doing it right, absolutely. If you were going to fire him, it should have been done when he signed Mikki Moore. Those were the days when he wasn't doing (or wasn't being allowed to do) his job. Now, he's completely overhauled the roster. Sure it's not perfect, but it's not that we're lacking talent. We're lacking cohesiveness and discipline, which is a coaching issue, not a personnel issue. Petrie finally got the memo and put together a team with some real foundation for the future, and now people think he should be fired? I have to call BS on that.

Exactly. Petrie has done a great job lately. Fire him for everything between the Webber trade and the Bibby trade sure, but to get upset *now*? That's crazy-talk.

 

[bajaden]

Exactly. Petrie has done a great job lately. Fire him for everything between the Webber trade and the Bibby trade sure, but to get upset *now*? That's crazy-talk.

Apparently the only thing the Maloofs are upset about with Petrie is that he talked them into picking up Westphal's contract for next year. I can understand this if its their desire to fire him, while knowing they would have to eat 2 million dollars. When you consider that they've cutting pennys anywhere they can find them, 2 mill is a lot to choke on. Other than that, I think Petrie has done a good job of late. I hate to say it, but all knowledgable fans on this fourm warned that a rebuild could be ugly, and would require patience. Somehow that thought has elluded some of the folks here with all the losses. The Maloofs have stated several times that the next offseason is when the Kings will make their most significant moves. So hopefully we'll all survive till then and see what the outcome is.

 

[SacTownGrantFan]

If GP goes, this franchise is dead for the next decade.

In case you haven't noticed, the franchise has been dead for the greater part of a decade.