MUST READ: Jones spills beans about SAR departure

A little while back I referred to Pete as a seemingly "decent" guy despite being a terrible GM. I'm not real confident about that position anymore. Glad he's gone now.

Hope this removes the organizational discord and we can move forward focused simply on b-ball.

GO KINGS!
 
allrightythen said:
A little while back I referred to Pete as a seemingly "decent" guy despite being a terrible GM. I'm not real confident about that position anymore. Glad he's gone now.

Hope this removes the organizational discord and we can move forward focused simply on b-ball.

GO KINGS!
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Yeah I was in the same "no animosity, just wanted someone more capable in charge" camp earlier today, but watching that Malone press conference again changed my mind. Malone went into this with every intention of forging a cooperative relationship with Pete and Vivek. He got along like gangbusters with our franchise player and had the team playing winning ball for the first time in nearly a decade. He surpassed expectations on almost every level and got fired anyway by a duplicitous two-faced backstabber who had the audacity to hide behind his owner when fingers started to get pointed. He's nowhere near Maloof level in my mind, as in I wouldn't feel the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face if I happened to see him walking down the street, but he's a black eye on the franchise and I hope there's a measure of karmic comeuppance in his future or at least a whole lot of self-reflection. He owes Mike Malone an apology if nothing else, and probably Vivek, Shareef, Tyrone Corbin, and this whole group of Kings players. And anyone who paid for a ticket this season.
 
Few Things.

I've been... I guess you could say one of the bigger supporters of PDA here but there's no doubt he had to go. Just far too much internal strife in the organization and it's been obvious for months now that he had zero friends left on the team.

However, that said, it's not fair just to lump everything on him because he's the easy target now that he's moved on to another pasture. That's the issue. We don't know who was actually pulling the strings. Was PDA the mastermind or just a puppet who did what he was told? What role did Mullin play? Vivek? How vocal was Malone in FO things and was that why he got fired? Or did he just get blind-sided?

Point is, we'll never know what actually has gone on the past 2 years. The Jones article smells like a PR piece to wash Vivek's hands clean of any wrong decisions that has happened the past two seasons and lump it all on PDA and Mullin and that he had nothing to do with it.

I suppose the advantage of writing the checks is you get to write the narrative. And that's what I take away from this story. Before anyone twists my words, I'm not saying PDA is a patron saint of GMing. I'm saying the more likely outcome is we had 4 different ideas (Mullin, PDA, Vivek, Malone) of what the team should look like and nobody took control of the FO to be the dictator and force the team into one unified direction. I don't see that being a problem anymore with Vlade and Karl here.
 
Iced Espresso said:
I hope we can get some unison and voices together eventually. Looks like the national media has hand picked what they want to put out all ready in some places.

Not the first time. Some of you insider fellas may have to set the record straight here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...l-to-join-denver-organizations-182810402.html
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Strong words from Woj. Herein lies the problem again. Jones sources say PDA and Mullin were the evil-doers. Woj's sources say Vivek was/is the evil-doer. Who's right? I'm more inclined to go with Woj, because it's Woj, but still.
 
The_Jamal said:
Few Things.

I've been... I guess you could say one of the bigger supporters of PDA here but there's no doubt he had to go. Just far too much internal strife in the organization and it's been obvious for months now that he had zero friends left on the team.

However, that said, it's not fair just to lump everything on him because he's the easy target now that he's moved on to another pasture. That's the issue. We don't know who was actually pulling the strings. Was PDA the mastermind or just a puppet who did what he was told? What role did Mullin play? Vivek? How vocal was Malone in FO things and was that why he got fired? Or did he just get blind-sided?

Point is, we'll never know what actually has gone on the past 2 years. The Jones article smells like a PR piece to wash Vivek's hands clean of any wrong decisions that has happened the past two seasons and lump it all on PDA and Mullin and that he had nothing to do with it.

I suppose the advantage of writing the checks is you get to write the narrative. And that's what I take away from this story. Before anyone twists my words, I'm not saying PDA is a patron saint of GMing. I'm saying the more likely outcome is we had 4 different ideas (Mullin, PDA, Vivek, Malone) of what the team should look like and nobody took control of the FO to be the dictator and force the team into one unified direction. I don't see that being a problem anymore with Vlade and Karl here.
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Maybe Pete is the main character that made the whole world hate him in order to save the whole world.

Batman from The Dark Knight
Lelouch from Code Geass
etc.
 
hrdboild said:
Yeah I was in the same "no animosity, just wanted someone more capable in charge" camp earlier today, but watching that Malone press conference again changed my mind. Malone went into this with every intention of forging a cooperative relationship with Pete and Vivek. He got along like gangbusters with our franchise player and had the team playing winning ball for the first time in nearly a decade. He surpassed expectations on almost every level and got fired anyway by a duplicitous two-faced backstabber who had the audacity to hide behind his owner when fingers started to get pointed. He's nowhere near Maloof level in my mind, as in I wouldn't feel the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face if I happened to see him walking down the street, but he's a black eye on the franchise and I hope there's a measure of karmic comeuppance in his future or at least a whole lot of self-reflection. He owes Mike Malone an apology if nothing else, and probably Vivek, Shareef, Tyrone Corbin, and this whole group of Kings players. And anyone who paid for a ticket this season.
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I that it doesn't count for much in terms of coaching, but Malone's personality is... stable? Don't know how to describe it. He feels like a coach.
 
Iced Espresso said:
I hope we can get some unison and voices together eventually. Looks like the national media has hand picked what they want to put out all ready in some places.

Not the first time. Some of you insider fellas may have to set the record straight here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...l-to-join-denver-organizations-182810402.html
Click to expand...

That's just Adrian Wojnarowski protecting one of his insider sources. He's one of the least scrupulous national reporters in the NBA fold. It's pretty easy to see through his obvious slant on this story, especially when so many reliable sources are saying exactly the opposite. Vivek wouldn't have fired Malone without pressure from PDA and Mullin, he certainly didn't force PDA to fire him -- that's absurd. He's the owner of the team, he hired Malone and PDA. He doesn't need to go through PDA to fire an employee he hired himself. And he didn't usurp PDA's authority as General Manager, he gave the job to someone he trusted more. Completely his prerogative and Pete did more than enough to prove himself untrustworthy.
 
lawlman91 said:
I that it doesn't count for much in terms of coaching, but Malone's personality is... stable? Don't know how to describe it. He feels like a coach.
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Personality counts a hell of a lot. I would argue it counts a little more than x's and o's the further up the scale you go. You have to be able to trust your players to execute your plan, and they have to trust that you know what you're doing, and that you've got their back. A solid plan with trust sometimes outshines a genius plan without it.
 
lawlman91 said:
I that it doesn't count for much in terms of coaching, but Malone's personality is... stable? Don't know how to describe it. He feels like a coach.
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And that is why I was willing to forgive his offensive deficiencies. He was stable on the sidelines and disciplined in his dealings with his players. They were his team, not just some guys he was trying to control.

I spent much of the last 6 months trying to come up with justifications for why PDA may not have been a complete disaster. Rudy Gay is all I've got. Maybe the draft pick as a sort of Kopi Luwak.
 
Well with PDA and Mullin gone. This offseason and draft will tell true story. If this crap continues then its no secrecy who is/was leading us down the path
 
A couple of good solid Veterans and a rookie that can contribute and this team is on its way.

Folks don't let all the crap obscure the facts the Kings have an All Star Center entering the prime of his career, His Team USA teammate who is a stellar SF, a steady PG who plays BOTH ends and a handful of other talented players. Add to that a HOF Coach, the #6 pick in the Draft and the most popular Former Player in Kings history running the Show!

Have faith,
KB
 
What an uplifting article. This blurb below really irritated me since I really didn't put it together what Phoenix flipped him for in relation to what the Kings traded him for....or maybe I just didn't care at the time. What a joke. The whole article is an embarrassment for this organization. Good guys who were doing their jobs well getting fired by someone with a personal agenda is the most egregious part, then coupled with bonehead personnel moves....it's a wonder this team cannot seem to get out of this perpetual rebuild.

Phoenix traded Thomas to Boston during the season and received a first-round pick.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article23669575.html#storylink=cpy
 
Well, this is comforting:

"This is the craziest thing about Divac's arrival: According to league sources, no one but Divac and Ranadive actually understood he'd be in a powerful basketball operations position until a few days after the announcement. It was assumed that because Divac has extremely limited front office experience -- one year as a scout for the Lakers -- and deep business connections, he'd be a glad-hander instead of a personnel boss. Even folks in the front office, according to sources, were unclear Divac had personnel power until the big man said as much in the media and Ranadive confirmed. Imagine getting a new boss and not realizing it until a few days after s/he arrives. That's some serious professional whiplash."

From Ziller: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/11/8764711/sacramento-kings-front-office-vlade-divac-vivek-ranadive

Anyone thinking everything will be fine and dandy with PDA out is in for a rude awakening, I'm afraid.
 
LPKingsFan said:
Well, this is comforting:

"This is the craziest thing about Divac's arrival: According to league sources, no one but Divac and Ranadive actually understood he'd be in a powerful basketball operations position until a few days after the announcement. It was assumed that because Divac has extremely limited front office experience -- one year as a scout for the Lakers -- and deep business connections, he'd be a glad-hander instead of a personnel boss. Even folks in the front office, according to sources, were unclear Divac had personnel power until the big man said as much in the media and Ranadive confirmed. Imagine getting a new boss and not realizing it until a few days after s/he arrives. That's some serious professional whiplash."

From Ziller: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/11/8764711/sacramento-kings-front-office-vlade-divac-vivek-ranadive

Anyone thinking everything will be fine and dandy with PDA out is in for a rude awakening, I'm afraid.
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I think I remember Vlade traveling with the team, observing, letting everything come to him.

Now if you wanted an authentic feel for everything how would you do it?

Announce your intent and authority so you are returned with bs and the political meaningless drivel that authority yields?

So he should go behind a coaches back and try to hire Rambis or something like that, then when Corbin takes the job not have a contract ready for him for 3 days after he began working the summer league. I guess that's the way to do business then?
 
LPKingsFan said:
Well, this is comforting:

"This is the craziest thing about Divac's arrival: According to league sources, no one but Divac and Ranadive actually understood he'd be in a powerful basketball operations position until a few days after the announcement. It was assumed that because Divac has extremely limited front office experience -- one year as a scout for the Lakers -- and deep business connections, he'd be a glad-hander instead of a personnel boss. Even folks in the front office, according to sources, were unclear Divac had personnel power until the big man said as much in the media and Ranadive confirmed. Imagine getting a new boss and not realizing it until a few days after s/he arrives. That's some serious professional whiplash."

From Ziller: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/11/8764711/sacramento-kings-front-office-vlade-divac-vivek-ranadive

Anyone thinking everything will be fine and dandy with PDA out is in for a rude awakening, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this is the case. It was obvious it was the case as one followed the Divac story. At first he was an observer, then he was a coordinator, then he was a guy who was going to hire someone equal to or above him, and then he was the de facto GM (with PDA demoted). The facts of where exactly Divac was in the hierarchy came from outside news sources (e.g. Napier), not Divac. This was very poor management from the get-go from either Divac, Vivek, or both. It was almost like Divac was embarrassed by his newfound authority and didn't want to rock the boat. First principle of good management - communication. Divac and Vivek get a fail on that.
 
This is what is positive about the article - West and Schlenk. Both are personnel guys, talent evaluators, not number-crunchers. If this article is accurate, then Divac recognizes there is a void in his organization in this area; he also recognizes he's not the guy to fill it. I sure hope this isn't just another fake-out by this organization.
 
Kingster said:
Unfortunately, this is the case. It was obvious it was the case as one followed the Divac story. At first he was an observer, then he was a coordinator, then he was a guy who was going to hire someone equal to or above him, and then he was the de facto GM (with PDA demoted). The facts of where exactly Divac was in the hierarchy came from outside news sources (e.g. Napier), not Divac. This was very poor management from the get-go from either Divac, Vivek, or both. It was almost like Divac was embarrassed by his newfound authority and didn't want to rock the boat. First principle of good management - communication. Divac and Vivek get a fail on that.
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Not if you want to see what you have. Not if things were not 100% to change, meaning to see what was salvageable and what was not. You'd just have a new captain on a ship on fire.
 
Kingster said:
This is what is positive about the article - West and Schlenk. Both are personnel guys, talent evaluators, not number-crunchers. If this article is accurate, then Divac recognizes there is a void in his organization in this area; he also recognizes he's not the guy to fill it. I sure hope this isn't just another fake-out by this organization.
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There's no magic to talent evaluation. People act like its some amazing thing you have to be trained in. Hardly. Idiotic decisions are made all the time by people trained in it. Untrained guys fresh off the boat can step in and do a bang up job at others. If Vlade was a career file clerk in a small dusty library in Trieste that would be one thing. But he's not. He's a basketball lifer. His big break from basketball was when he took over the entire Olympic sports federation for Serbia. He's either going to have the knack and be able to spot guys with talent, or he's not. But its got little to do with being in some organization over time.

Meanwhile most teams hire a capologist to do the cap work, and that's not magic either. The NBA is not rocket science. The Kings could probably hire Capt. Fact. and do just fine. All you need to know is the publicly available CBA and have a head for numbers. The rest is just management tactics.

The sum total of what Vlade has to learn is how to manage a front office. He doesn't have to learn how to talent evaluate. You either can or can't. he doesn't have to learn how to cap manipulate. You hire (hopefully less slimy) gerbils for that work. He just has to learn how to manage a team of scouts, when to schedule meetings, who his equivalents are around the league and all the other "manager" parts of general managing. And frankly there he may end up hiring an underling to handle that stuff (think we still have Bratz around with experience too, Karl has long been an imperial coach with half a foot in GMing etc.).
 
Bricklayer said:
Meanwhile most teams hire a capologist to do the cap work, and that's not magic either. The NBA is not rocket science. The Kings could probably hire Capt. Fact. and do just fine. All you need to know is the publicly available CBA and have a head for numbers. The rest is just management tactics.
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I always thought "capologist" was one of the more baffling qualifications listed for a good GM. The CBA is somewhat complex, sure, but nearly infinitely less so than corporate tax structuring regulations. An accountant or tax lawyer worth his salt could do salary cap calculations for stress relief - kind of like a Sunday morning Sudoku.
 
LPKingsFan said:
Well, this is comforting:

"This is the craziest thing about Divac's arrival: According to league sources, no one but Divac and Ranadive actually understood he'd be in a powerful basketball operations position until a few days after the announcement. It was assumed that because Divac has extremely limited front office experience -- one year as a scout for the Lakers -- and deep business connections, he'd be a glad-hander instead of a personnel boss. Even folks in the front office, according to sources, were unclear Divac had personnel power until the big man said as much in the media and Ranadive confirmed. Imagine getting a new boss and not realizing it until a few days after s/he arrives. That's some serious professional whiplash."

From Ziller: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/11/8764711/sacramento-kings-front-office-vlade-divac-vivek-ranadive

Anyone thinking everything will be fine and dandy with PDA out is in for a rude awakening, I'm afraid.
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I think both sides here and those reporting are going to go with their sources and quite frankly if I'm the PDA camp, I'm leaking stuff out there so as to make him not a complete embecile. Sorry, but there is to much that PDA Has documented from his own mouth....he is a fail. Divac is already better than that moron. He's a basketball lifer and PDA is not. Malone is a basketball lifer and PDA is not. Mullin is a basketball lifer but a failure in the FO in Golden State. I don't think it's that hard to figure out where the breakdown was coming from.
 
Letsgokings13 said:
Carmichael Dave debunked the Yahoo report from Woj. PDA is Woj's source, so he will paint him in a better light. All info and leaks were due to that weasel ass.
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Woj needs to let this go. Has some defenders over at other forums right now, with Woj's reputation being the backing point.

Word of warning to BS promoters, our fan base is unique, we will find out, it will come out.
 
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