http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/160064.html
Marty Mac's world: No lack of candidates to fill Kings' vacancy
By Martin McNeal - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:12 am PDT Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said Friday the team's coaching search would not begin for approximately two weeks. Petrie and vice president Wayne Cooper left Sunday on a European scouting trip.
That's just fine because there are many qualified candidates to replace Eric Musselman. Ideally, the new coach would have NBA head-coaching experience, but a neophyte would need only to have his ego in check enough to add a veteran coach to his staff.
There's no list of questions to be answered in a certain way to prove worthiness and competence. There's no length of time this coach should have worked as an assistant. Petrie's decision should be based primarily on how he believes the new coach commands respect and deals with people and players.
A team's temperament often comes from that of its coach. Sometimes, it doesn't.
Former Kings coach Rick Adelman, who appears to be a prime candidate in Seattle if Bob Hill is replaced, could be pretty uptight and intense, especially around playoff time. However, his Kings teams were pretty loose and relaxed, in part because of the players' individuality, but also because one of Adelman's strengths was preparing his teams.
Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni somehow has become the greatest thing since cheese garlic bread, but some within the Suns' organization wonder if he wouldn't be overly intense, to the point of distraction, while running his own show.
The past three weeks tell a story about how difficult it is to assess a coach, even after the job is secured. Dallas' Avery Johnson led his team to the NBA Finals last season and a league-high 67 victories this season. He is a Coach of the Year candidate, yet seemingly had a three-day brain freeze before deciding to change his starting lineup to open a first-round playoff series against the Warriors.
Johnson outcoached himself in Game 1. At the other end of the court is Don Nelson, who always has been a masterful technician and one of the sneakiest cats you'll ever bump into. Listen to the balderdash Nelson is talking about his team being lucky to be on the same floor with the Mavericks.
It's true in a way, but not the way he says. Had the Kings not been human Milk-Bones in a loss to the Warriors at Arco Arena on April 13, then gone to Los Angeles two days later and spanked the Clippers, that 9-1 finish by Golden State might have gone for naught.
Because we have two weeks, Petrie says, before the search begins, we'll scratch the surface of potential candidates.
Mario Elie was interviewed last year but bypassed for Musselman. As an undrafted free agent, Elie played all over the world before hooking up in the NBA and playing a major role in winning three titles (two with Houston, one with San Antonio). He also has been an assistant with the Spurs and Warriors.
Elie, who was an assistant under Mike Montgomery last season, is being paid by the Warriors this season to stay away -- his current job is as a, uhh, scout -- because of a shaky relationship with Nelson.
Assistant coaches Alvin Gentry (Phoenix), Lionel Hollins (Memphis), Bill Cartwright (New Jersey), Tony Brown (Boston), Mike O'Koren and Phil Hubbard (Washington), Jim Cleamons and Brian Shaw (Lakers) and Darrell Walker (New Orleans) bring differing experience levels and personalities that could make them successful coaches here.
"Here" is the operative word. Getting a raw deal elsewhere could be the experience that makes your next Kings coach the Man. Well, that and a couple of big men who don't take any mess.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
Marty Mac's world: No lack of candidates to fill Kings' vacancy
By Martin McNeal - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:12 am PDT Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said Friday the team's coaching search would not begin for approximately two weeks. Petrie and vice president Wayne Cooper left Sunday on a European scouting trip.
That's just fine because there are many qualified candidates to replace Eric Musselman. Ideally, the new coach would have NBA head-coaching experience, but a neophyte would need only to have his ego in check enough to add a veteran coach to his staff.
There's no list of questions to be answered in a certain way to prove worthiness and competence. There's no length of time this coach should have worked as an assistant. Petrie's decision should be based primarily on how he believes the new coach commands respect and deals with people and players.
A team's temperament often comes from that of its coach. Sometimes, it doesn't.
Former Kings coach Rick Adelman, who appears to be a prime candidate in Seattle if Bob Hill is replaced, could be pretty uptight and intense, especially around playoff time. However, his Kings teams were pretty loose and relaxed, in part because of the players' individuality, but also because one of Adelman's strengths was preparing his teams.
Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni somehow has become the greatest thing since cheese garlic bread, but some within the Suns' organization wonder if he wouldn't be overly intense, to the point of distraction, while running his own show.
The past three weeks tell a story about how difficult it is to assess a coach, even after the job is secured. Dallas' Avery Johnson led his team to the NBA Finals last season and a league-high 67 victories this season. He is a Coach of the Year candidate, yet seemingly had a three-day brain freeze before deciding to change his starting lineup to open a first-round playoff series against the Warriors.
Johnson outcoached himself in Game 1. At the other end of the court is Don Nelson, who always has been a masterful technician and one of the sneakiest cats you'll ever bump into. Listen to the balderdash Nelson is talking about his team being lucky to be on the same floor with the Mavericks.
It's true in a way, but not the way he says. Had the Kings not been human Milk-Bones in a loss to the Warriors at Arco Arena on April 13, then gone to Los Angeles two days later and spanked the Clippers, that 9-1 finish by Golden State might have gone for naught.
Because we have two weeks, Petrie says, before the search begins, we'll scratch the surface of potential candidates.
Mario Elie was interviewed last year but bypassed for Musselman. As an undrafted free agent, Elie played all over the world before hooking up in the NBA and playing a major role in winning three titles (two with Houston, one with San Antonio). He also has been an assistant with the Spurs and Warriors.
Elie, who was an assistant under Mike Montgomery last season, is being paid by the Warriors this season to stay away -- his current job is as a, uhh, scout -- because of a shaky relationship with Nelson.
Assistant coaches Alvin Gentry (Phoenix), Lionel Hollins (Memphis), Bill Cartwright (New Jersey), Tony Brown (Boston), Mike O'Koren and Phil Hubbard (Washington), Jim Cleamons and Brian Shaw (Lakers) and Darrell Walker (New Orleans) bring differing experience levels and personalities that could make them successful coaches here.
"Here" is the operative word. Getting a raw deal elsewhere could be the experience that makes your next Kings coach the Man. Well, that and a couple of big men who don't take any mess.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
