Malone fired
- Thread starter fursty13
- Start date
Chubbs
Starter
It's a strained analogy to begin with, but I'll take it an extra step and ask whether a skilled jazz quartet would make for a very good basketball team anyway. Music is an artistic endeavor. The musicians I appreciate the most believe that there are no mistakes in jazz, any note will work provided your ensemble is keyed in enough to adapt and evolve on the spot. Basketball is a competitive enterprise. Some improvisation is required but you really do need a leader pushing everyone in the same direction. Like the coxswain in rowing.
Well, that's a good start, anyway. I'll take a bad argument over no argument.
Of the seven losses we had without Cousins under Malone, maybe two of them can be blamed on coaching. The other five fall at the feet of turnovers and free throws. Ownership's expectations were wholly unreasonable with respect to where they thought this team should be. And even if you disregard all of that, the timing of this move is absolutely unconscionable.
You know what this situation reminds me of?
Back in 2006 when Dwayne Casey (like Malone a long time and respected assistant) was coming off a 33-49 first year and then got fired despite the getting the team to .500 at 20-20.
That team had Kevin Garnett. And that was it. Their #2 guy was Ricky Davis. Their third best player was Mark Blount. They started Mike James at PG and their most notable bench players were Randy Foye and Mad Dog Madsen. And yet the owner thought that (1) that team was underachieving and (2) Randy Wittman was the answer at coach.
Just out of curiosity, how many teams with a losing record have fired their coach mid season and gone on to make the playoffs?
Back in 2006 when Dwayne Casey (like Malone a long time and respected assistant) was coming off a 33-49 first year and then got fired despite the getting the team to .500 at 20-20.
That team had Kevin Garnett. And that was it. Their #2 guy was Ricky Davis. Their third best player was Mark Blount. They started Mike James at PG and their most notable bench players were Randy Foye and Mad Dog Madsen. And yet the owner thought that (1) that team was underachieving and (2) Randy Wittman was the answer at coach.
Just out of curiosity, how many teams with a losing record have fired their coach mid season and gone on to make the playoffs?
captain bill
All-Star
Heat won the title in 2006 after firing SVG mid season. Not sure who else
kupman
Starter
Do not be in exile. Come out and speak up to the angry mob.
This owner and FO have made 1 very good move after another in their short time here. Yet, so many are ready to pounce on them for what they "think" is a mistake. Maybe, just maybe, the FO knows what they are doing here. Take a deep breath and continue to enjoy the season.
I liked coach Malone as much as anyone and was very surprised to see him fired. However, people are acting like we just fired Red Auerbach or John Wooden.
After watching Vivek interview I came away very impressed. It was nothing like the Pete addressing the media. He and the GM definitely have a vision for what they want this team to look like and play like. The team has been much better every year since Vivek got here. I am going to take a wait and see approach before I pass judgement on the whole Malone thing. It is way to early to tell. In my opinion the only thing wrong was the timing of the Malone fire. It should of been done in the off season , even if that meant not having Rudy Gay extended. The firing of Malone seemed very calculated. Like it, or not we have a very smart GM if he was just waiting to get Rudy contract done to fire Malone. If so its not classy , but very smart.
Chubbs
Starter
The team has been much better?
No, it hasn't. We won 28 games last year. We won 28 the year before.
This season isn't over yet.
If you watched the team late in the season last year, after many of the changes had happened to the roster. It was starting to play much better defense. It carried over into this season where prior to Cousins going down the team was winning some big games. Also Vivek has not been here as long as the first 28 win season you speak of.
That's the only one I could immediately think of. But technically SVG wasn't fired - he stepped down.
Of course it seemed he stepped down because Riley bullied him out of the job so for all intents and purposes the same thing.
I suppose if we had Pat Riley of 9 years ago coming down from his luxury box to take over for Malone then I'd feel a bit better about things.
But I'd still feel that Malone got a raw deal.
I agree with that, the timing was horrible.
G
GQ_Gabriel
Guest
LOL. Argument over. At that rate, I am more than glad that Malone has made his exit. Sometimes I wonder if people actually know basketball. In today's game, especially in the Western Conference, EVERY game matters. Literally. You can't have this "Well he's only costed us two games so far" mentality.
Honest question - do you think Tyrone Corbin is a better coach than Mike Malone?
I'm mostly speechless but did have a question on the "we've been better every year since Vivek bought us" line. How many years do you think he's owned the team. We had the same record last year and have improved through 34 games this one, which wasn't enough to save the coach but is to praise the owner and FO apparently.
Chubbs
Starter
We should have won against OKC. I guess we should fire Corbin. Every game matters. According to some of you, we should win EVERY game. So what happened last night? Must be the coach.
You can't really think Corbin gives us a better chance.
Kings are such a ridiculously long shot to make the playoffs that we are very close to no games mattering. I'd argue we are already there.
People who 'know basketball' don't believe that this team can be made into a running team.
Not sure it's even worth having these discussions with the people worshipping at the alter of Vivek. Basically everything is great, we owe him, they know better than anyone and there's no point questioning things.
I really don't mean that as a dig but not sure how to discuss something when that's the mentalility.
Chubbs
Starter
They didn't improve in year one.
The defensive improvement was because of the coach they just fired.
Year 2 ain't over yet. This could easily devolve into another under 30 win team. Yes, this could fall apart that badly.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
and most teams that are winning have spent time together to build some continuity? get to know each others strengths and weaknesses.. where they like the ball.. where they are most effective? this team is a train wreck that was broken and rebuilt on the fly. one can say this was now just beginning to gel until the main cog went out.
they did pretty well to start the season off for a team that was flung together.
rainmaker
Hall of Famer
This says a lot:
The Kings’ basketball think tankers – Pete D’Alessandro, Chris Mullin, Mike Bratz – began lobbying Ranadive for a coaching change several weeks ago. According to the owner, D’Alessandro and Mullin flew to Las Vegas eight days ago, where he was attending a software conference, and persuaded him to change coaches, partly to change the culture but mainly to start scrapping the old offense. The push was on to replace the isolation plays and sluggish tempo with a faster pace, ball and body movement, quicker decisions, smaller lineups, and in essence, a more creative, free-flowing system.
“When they both flew in on the earliest flight that morning and wanted to meet with me,” Ranadive added, “I knew they were pretty serious. This was different. I told Pete to do what he thought best.”
The next phase – what D’Alessandro refers to as Phase II of the Kings’ development – begins, of course, with the selection of Malone’s replacement. And in the course of the hour-long conversation Tuesday evening, Ranadive confirmed and revealed the following:
While Corbin will be the head coach for the remainder of the season, other more established candidates will be considered and possibly approached. Though he declined to cite names, George Karl is held in high regard by Ranadive, coached the uptempo-loving Mullin decades ago in Golden State, and is respected immensely by D’Alessandro and Bratz, among his former bosses in Denver.
Ranadive, D’Alessandro and Mullin discussed the possibility of shifting the Hall of Famer from the front office to the bench, but bagged the idea for two reasons. One, Mullin’s interest in coaching fluctuates, and, two, he has no desire to step into the role in the middle of a season, without the benefit of an offseason and the time to assemble an experienced staff.
Though internal discussions about changing coaches transpired at the end of last season, the sentiment within the organization was that Malone deserved a chance to select a lead assistant and become more sympatico with the front office.
The goal is to hit a “home run” with the next head coaching hire, “but I don’t know who that home run is yet,” Ranadive adds. “ ... We need time to research. We want to get this right.”
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article4544925.html#storylink=cpy
Well, flying to Vegas after lobbying for a coaching change a few weeks ago and starting this discussion back then puts the time frame prior to our slide. That's during our hot start. So even back when we were one of the surprises of the league and were knocking off big time teams, PDA/Mullin/Bratz were more concerned with our style than the success which was actually happening on the court, which was our best ball since the Rick era with Cuz out there.
That right there scratches the argument by a few that this had anything to do with the recent slide. This was in motion pre-meningitis. This is also on top of PDA saying even if we were 19-6, he'd still have given Malone the boot.
Furthermore, in my latter bolded section you'll see that Vivek says I don't know who the replacement is yet and "we need time to research". Really? You research before you can the coach and blow up this season. This also negates the argument of a few that there's a plan in place. They fired Malone and now are putting together a plan for a replacement. It's not in place. It wasn't thought through. This is self-admission they're making it up as they go. How does anyone with a plan for a more up-tempo, up and down style not already have a plan in place for who Malone's predecessor will be?
BTW, in the defense of Vivek and Malone a few seem oblivious to this likely making our head coaching position quite unattractive. This isn't happening in the Sac bubble. Everyone around the league is taking notice. It's far from attractive to sign on to a franchise with back-stabbers running the FO who'll go behind your back and campaign for your firing no matter your on-court success, at any time, whether or not they've even thought of who your replacement might be. This shows incredible instability and a true lack of foresight. Any coaching candidate has to now acknowledge if he's not enough of a "Jazz director", he too could be fired at any time. If I'm an unattached coach, waiting for Monty to get fired and throwing my hat in the ring for the NO job would be considerably more attractive.
The Kings’ basketball think tankers – Pete D’Alessandro, Chris Mullin, Mike Bratz – began lobbying Ranadive for a coaching change several weeks ago. According to the owner, D’Alessandro and Mullin flew to Las Vegas eight days ago, where he was attending a software conference, and persuaded him to change coaches, partly to change the culture but mainly to start scrapping the old offense. The push was on to replace the isolation plays and sluggish tempo with a faster pace, ball and body movement, quicker decisions, smaller lineups, and in essence, a more creative, free-flowing system.
“When they both flew in on the earliest flight that morning and wanted to meet with me,” Ranadive added, “I knew they were pretty serious. This was different. I told Pete to do what he thought best.”
The next phase – what D’Alessandro refers to as Phase II of the Kings’ development – begins, of course, with the selection of Malone’s replacement. And in the course of the hour-long conversation Tuesday evening, Ranadive confirmed and revealed the following:
While Corbin will be the head coach for the remainder of the season, other more established candidates will be considered and possibly approached. Though he declined to cite names, George Karl is held in high regard by Ranadive, coached the uptempo-loving Mullin decades ago in Golden State, and is respected immensely by D’Alessandro and Bratz, among his former bosses in Denver.
Ranadive, D’Alessandro and Mullin discussed the possibility of shifting the Hall of Famer from the front office to the bench, but bagged the idea for two reasons. One, Mullin’s interest in coaching fluctuates, and, two, he has no desire to step into the role in the middle of a season, without the benefit of an offseason and the time to assemble an experienced staff.
Though internal discussions about changing coaches transpired at the end of last season, the sentiment within the organization was that Malone deserved a chance to select a lead assistant and become more sympatico with the front office.
The goal is to hit a “home run” with the next head coaching hire, “but I don’t know who that home run is yet,” Ranadive adds. “ ... We need time to research. We want to get this right.”
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article4544925.html#storylink=cpy
Well, flying to Vegas after lobbying for a coaching change a few weeks ago and starting this discussion back then puts the time frame prior to our slide. That's during our hot start. So even back when we were one of the surprises of the league and were knocking off big time teams, PDA/Mullin/Bratz were more concerned with our style than the success which was actually happening on the court, which was our best ball since the Rick era with Cuz out there.
That right there scratches the argument by a few that this had anything to do with the recent slide. This was in motion pre-meningitis. This is also on top of PDA saying even if we were 19-6, he'd still have given Malone the boot.
Furthermore, in my latter bolded section you'll see that Vivek says I don't know who the replacement is yet and "we need time to research". Really? You research before you can the coach and blow up this season. This also negates the argument of a few that there's a plan in place. They fired Malone and now are putting together a plan for a replacement. It's not in place. It wasn't thought through. This is self-admission they're making it up as they go. How does anyone with a plan for a more up-tempo, up and down style not already have a plan in place for who Malone's predecessor will be?
BTW, in the defense of Vivek and Malone a few seem oblivious to this likely making our head coaching position quite unattractive. This isn't happening in the Sac bubble. Everyone around the league is taking notice. It's far from attractive to sign on to a franchise with back-stabbers running the FO who'll go behind your back and campaign for your firing no matter your on-court success, at any time, whether or not they've even thought of who your replacement might be. This shows incredible instability and a true lack of foresight. Any coaching candidate has to now acknowledge if he's not enough of a "Jazz director", he too could be fired at any time. If I'm an unattached coach, waiting for Monty to get fired and throwing my hat in the ring for the NO job would be considerably more attractive.
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GQ_Gabriel
Guest
Ugh. Did you really read our debate? The question was not a matter of whether or not we should have won. NO the hell we were going to beat OKC last night without Cousins. Come on man. Phil Jackson could have coached us last night and we would still lose. The whole point is that Mr. Citrus really said that 2 of our recent losses could be blamed on the coach, which I thought was laughable. It's about how much of a negative impact the coach's rotations and in game adjustments had on the outcome of the game. I'm not endorsing Ty Corbin as the perfect replacement for Malone, either.
Double-K
Starter
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...on-met-with-demarcus-cousins-kings-executives
Report: Mark Jackson met with DeMarcus Cousins, Kings' executives
Following the ESPN telecast, ESPN color commentator Mark Jackson reportedly met with Kings' star big man DeMarcus Cousins, Kings' front office advisor Chris Mullin, and Kings' general manager Pete D'Alessandro, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
"Jackson was replaced by Steve Kerr by the Golden State Warriors, following the most successful two-year run for the Warriors in decades. The former Warriors' coach clashed internally with executives and ownership, while garnering the love of the majority of his players. Stephen Curry was one of his biggest boosters in the locker room and has spoken out about the firing of Jackson multiple times."
Sounds familiar?
Report: Mark Jackson met with DeMarcus Cousins, Kings' executives
Following the ESPN telecast, ESPN color commentator Mark Jackson reportedly met with Kings' star big man DeMarcus Cousins, Kings' front office advisor Chris Mullin, and Kings' general manager Pete D'Alessandro, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
"Jackson was replaced by Steve Kerr by the Golden State Warriors, following the most successful two-year run for the Warriors in decades. The former Warriors' coach clashed internally with executives and ownership, while garnering the love of the majority of his players. Stephen Curry was one of his biggest boosters in the locker room and has spoken out about the firing of Jackson multiple times."
Sounds familiar?
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Was I asleep when we catapulted to the ranks of NBA elite last season and Malone blew it? Two weeks ago OKC was 5-13. I didn't see anyone blaming Scott Brooks for the rough start. We haven't won 30 games since 2008, haven't finished above .500 since 2006. We finally have a coach who's getting positive results and garnering national respect and we fire him 24 games into the season? I have been watching and I say the constant stream of complaints about Malone's coaching indicate a lack of basketball understanding. But it's subjective and no longer relevant so I suppose everyone is free to vent in their own way.
John Galt
Starter
It sounds like you have sort of this Donald Trump mentality from "The Apprentice" i.e. "somebody has to get fired". That's why some guys are bagging on Rudy now I think too... they have to blame someone, even fire someone, if everything doesn't go their way and FAST. Even back in the good times there were people saying "sit his a$$ down" whenever CWebb would miss an elbow J instead of smashing into the elbows of Shaq or Garnett under the basket. People just want to lop heads off... it is very interesting.
If you look at this team, this year so far, and your thinking is "someone has to be fired"... then I guess the buck does stop with Malone. I think the team was a reflection of the coach and if you thought it wasn't good - then it wasn't unreasonable to put that on the coach.
But I didn't see it that way at all. More like "someone deserves a medal" is what I was thinking (and the buck stopped with Malone). People who think this is a playoff roster that the weasel has put together are.... well... I just don't agree with them thats all. the freaking over/under on wins for this team before the season started was 29!!
So I was shocked the the core when "somebody has to be fired" turned out to be Vivek's feeling and I hate him for it. And actually if someone was going to be fired I think it should have been the stupid GM, not the head coach, so I hate PDA too. Good news is, they'll live
G
GQ_Gabriel
Guest
You're giving Malone 100% of the credit. So the fact that we have our first solid trio as the base of our team has NOTHING to do with their early season success? Come on, man. Malone was not a bad coach by any means, but stop making it sound like we just lost Demarcus Cousins for a couple of 2nd round picks.
You're giving Malone 100% of the blame.
Just to take your analogy a little further, however, we didn't lose Demarcus for a couple of second round picks. We lost him for nothing. We've had no replacement for him while he's been injured.
G
GQ_Gabriel
Guest
Your peer said it, Coach Malone has costed the Kings at least 2 losses during our stretch without Cousins. I'm not putting 100% of the blame on him, but I'm not sad to see him go. His limitations and poor decision-making was exposed with Cousins being out. This team, even without our Center, should have a better record right now. If your coach is the reason why you've given up more than 1 game this season, do something about it. Bring in someone who can put this team in the best position to win and close out games.
