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Musselman not resentful toward Warriors
By Marcus Thompson
TIMES COLUMNIST
IF YOU'RE WAITING for former Golden State coach Eric Musselman to publicly criticize the Warriors, make sure you have a protracted activity for the meantime.
Maybe tackling an Aramaic crossword puzzle will hold you over, or playing solitaire with Uno cards. Because it was clear in talking with Musselman after a recent Sacramento Kings practice that he's too excited to be concerned with harboring scorn.
He's practically glowing now that he's back on the bench, leading a playoff-caliber team no less -- much more vindication than cheap shots through the media could provide.
"They gave me an opportunity at a young age," Musselman, 41, said of the Warriors. "They took a chance on me, and without them giving me that chance, who knows if I would have this chance? I feel lucky that I got an opportunity to coach the Warriors. When I go work out at 6 in the morning, I still might have a Warriors shirt on."
Musselman, in his first year as head coach of the Kings, credits the Warriors even though he has reason to be resentful. He was fired after doing what many considered a stellar job in his two seasons.
He finished runner-up in the Coach of the Year voting for 2002-03 after leading the Warriors to a 38-44 record, a 17-win improvement over the previous season. In 2003-04 -- after the Warriors lost Gilbert Arenas and traded Antawn Jamison, their top two scorers -- he squeezed 37 wins out of an injury-plagued roster.
Nonetheless, the Warriors let him go, in essence because new executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin wanted to bring in his own guy. And on top of that, his own guy turned out to be a college coach with no NBA experience.
That qualifies as grudge material.
But how Musselman has bounced back illustrates why he has the wherewithal to become a great coach in this league: a) he humbled himself and worked to get better; and b) brought the lessons he learned with him to Sacramento.
He toured the NFL circuit, visiting Oakland and Tampa Bay practices to see what he could learn from football. He joined the ESPN broadcast booth, yet another perspective he could benefit from.
He then took an assistant job in Memphis under head coach Mike Fratello and president of basketball operations Jerry West, adding to his pedigree.
"Going from head coach to an assistant and back to head coach, I think was an unbelievable learning experience," Musselman said. "Much more so than being an assistant, being an assistant, being an assistant and then going in as head coach."
After two years of playing second fiddle and soaking up all he could, he was hired in June by Sacramento. But he's a different coach now, perhaps a better one.
A major alteration has been how he interacts with his players. His brutal honesty and relentless demands rubbed Warriors players the wrong way. But he's gone out of his way not to make the same mistake again and spent the summer bonding with his new team.
He's had forward Kenny Thomas over to his house. He's gone to dinner with forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim and went to a concert with rookie forward Luis Amundson.
He regularly dines with swingman Kevin Martin and attended each day of Martin's summer camp. He also helped out at forward Francisco Garcia's Spanish-speaking basketball clinic.
During summer league in Las Vegas, he hung out with forward Ron Artest poolside at the Palms hotel and discussed Artest's rap career.
"Going into the Warriors job," Musselman said, "because it was my first time, I was so concerned about the X's and O's. Now I have more of a comfort level there, and I think it's really important to try to get to know the players on a personal level."
The results have been evident in the players' response. Training camp is inherently optimistic, but the Kings players -- several of whom are hard-core NBA veterans -- seem ecstatic about what Musselman brings. That's saying a lot given that he's replacing Rick Adelman, the winningest coach in Kings history.
"He's been great," said Thomas, a ninth-year pro. "Last year was a little different. I like this year better because we're not standing that much during practice. ... Every coach has (his) own approach, and that's his approach. He likes to use (motivational banners) and stuff like that, which is good. ... We're having a great training camp, and I like what he's doing."
Musselman is still a defense-first coach. He's still an abstract motivator, as evidenced by the inspirational banners he hung in the Kings practice facility. He's still a budding basketball mind who oozes energy.
All of this has created a positive buzz in Kings Country. Though the Nov. 16 matchup at Golden State is assuredly circled on his mental calendar, it figures to be a while before Musselman feels the urge to gripe about the Warriors.
In the interim, a game of Scrabble with no vowels sounds challenging.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15748678.htm
By Marcus Thompson
TIMES COLUMNIST
Maybe tackling an Aramaic crossword puzzle will hold you over, or playing solitaire with Uno cards. Because it was clear in talking with Musselman after a recent Sacramento Kings practice that he's too excited to be concerned with harboring scorn.
He's practically glowing now that he's back on the bench, leading a playoff-caliber team no less -- much more vindication than cheap shots through the media could provide.
"They gave me an opportunity at a young age," Musselman, 41, said of the Warriors. "They took a chance on me, and without them giving me that chance, who knows if I would have this chance? I feel lucky that I got an opportunity to coach the Warriors. When I go work out at 6 in the morning, I still might have a Warriors shirt on."
Musselman, in his first year as head coach of the Kings, credits the Warriors even though he has reason to be resentful. He was fired after doing what many considered a stellar job in his two seasons.
He finished runner-up in the Coach of the Year voting for 2002-03 after leading the Warriors to a 38-44 record, a 17-win improvement over the previous season. In 2003-04 -- after the Warriors lost Gilbert Arenas and traded Antawn Jamison, their top two scorers -- he squeezed 37 wins out of an injury-plagued roster.
Nonetheless, the Warriors let him go, in essence because new executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin wanted to bring in his own guy. And on top of that, his own guy turned out to be a college coach with no NBA experience.
That qualifies as grudge material.
But how Musselman has bounced back illustrates why he has the wherewithal to become a great coach in this league: a) he humbled himself and worked to get better; and b) brought the lessons he learned with him to Sacramento.
He toured the NFL circuit, visiting Oakland and Tampa Bay practices to see what he could learn from football. He joined the ESPN broadcast booth, yet another perspective he could benefit from.
He then took an assistant job in Memphis under head coach Mike Fratello and president of basketball operations Jerry West, adding to his pedigree.
"Going from head coach to an assistant and back to head coach, I think was an unbelievable learning experience," Musselman said. "Much more so than being an assistant, being an assistant, being an assistant and then going in as head coach."
After two years of playing second fiddle and soaking up all he could, he was hired in June by Sacramento. But he's a different coach now, perhaps a better one.
A major alteration has been how he interacts with his players. His brutal honesty and relentless demands rubbed Warriors players the wrong way. But he's gone out of his way not to make the same mistake again and spent the summer bonding with his new team.
He's had forward Kenny Thomas over to his house. He's gone to dinner with forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim and went to a concert with rookie forward Luis Amundson.
He regularly dines with swingman Kevin Martin and attended each day of Martin's summer camp. He also helped out at forward Francisco Garcia's Spanish-speaking basketball clinic.
During summer league in Las Vegas, he hung out with forward Ron Artest poolside at the Palms hotel and discussed Artest's rap career.
"Going into the Warriors job," Musselman said, "because it was my first time, I was so concerned about the X's and O's. Now I have more of a comfort level there, and I think it's really important to try to get to know the players on a personal level."
The results have been evident in the players' response. Training camp is inherently optimistic, but the Kings players -- several of whom are hard-core NBA veterans -- seem ecstatic about what Musselman brings. That's saying a lot given that he's replacing Rick Adelman, the winningest coach in Kings history.
"He's been great," said Thomas, a ninth-year pro. "Last year was a little different. I like this year better because we're not standing that much during practice. ... Every coach has (his) own approach, and that's his approach. He likes to use (motivational banners) and stuff like that, which is good. ... We're having a great training camp, and I like what he's doing."
Musselman is still a defense-first coach. He's still an abstract motivator, as evidenced by the inspirational banners he hung in the Kings practice facility. He's still a budding basketball mind who oozes energy.
All of this has created a positive buzz in Kings Country. Though the Nov. 16 matchup at Golden State is assuredly circled on his mental calendar, it figures to be a while before Musselman feels the urge to gripe about the Warriors.
In the interim, a game of Scrabble with no vowels sounds challenging.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15748678.htm
