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New Kings coach Musselman enjoying preseason success
Oct. 18, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- There's the play Eric Musselman originally designed for Troy Murphy at Golden State, and others he called for Antawn Jamison and Jason Richardson.[/FONT]
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Now, he inserts the names of his new players in those sets: Ron Artest, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Mike Bibby and Brad Miller.
"This is a good one for Jamison," Musselman tells his assistant coaches around a conference-room table. "It will be a good one for Artest."
Except for a few tweaks here and there, much of Musselman's playbook in his new gig as coach of the Sacramento Kings has been adapted from his days with the Warriors.
Golden State fired him after the 2003-04 campaign and Musselman spent the past two seasons as an assistant for Memphis under Mike Fratello.
Not everything, however, is the same.
"It's obviously a little more laid back than the first go-round," he said, sitting in his office in khaki shorts and a T-shirt. "The environment with (team president) Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs is a really laid-back, family-type atmosphere."
Musselman, hired June 3 to replace Rick Adelman, has made a point of spending time with his players away from the court. He had lunch with Bibby and Abdur-Rahim. In Las Vegas, he hung out with Artest poolside at the Palms, the hotel and casino run by Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof.
"I've gotten an opportunity to get around the players early this time," Musselman said. "I think it will help. Because of the makeup of the team, we try to get as much input as we can from the veterans."
So far, the coach and the volatile Artest are getting along well. It doesn't hurt they both are all about winning.
"I love him. He tells you what's on his mind," Musselman said. "I think because he's a hard-nosed, tough-minded player, he and I will really get along."
Musselman's summer wasn't just about learning his team.
There was everything from planning a staff retreat in Lake Tahoe to identifying the people he wants to make sure get personal invites to a game this season -- like former Cubs manager and part-time Sacramento resident Dusty Baker, hockey great and Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, Hall of Famer John Wooden and former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda.
"It's amazing to see his commitment and passion for the game," Joe Maloof said. "He doesn't play golf, he doesn't play tennis, and he doesn't fish. All he cares about is basketball and winning."
Musselman hired coaches with either close ties to him or similar paths to his own career. One worked for him in the Continental Basketball Association, one with the Warriors. Another, T.R. Dunn, played for Musselman's late father, Bill.
"All of them have been in the minor leagues at some time in their career with the exception of T.R., and T.R. had been in the WNBA," Musselman said. "So everyone's got a diversified background."
Musselman can get to Arco Arena in two minutes most of the time -- and he will never live 30 minutes away again as he did with the Warriors. He wants to be around late at night, in case a player stops in to shoot around.
"He's intense and has a lot of energy," Artest said. "We are definitely going to have to bring out that effort. He's going to want it every night."
Musselman has been through a divorce since his firing, and his two sons, Michael and Matthew, still live in the Bay Area. He also keeps in touch with many of his former players, including Gilbert Arenas, Erick Dampier, Speedy Claxton and Earl Boykins.
"The two years with the Warriors were two great years. All the coaches walked away with their heads held high," he said. "It's going to work out great this time."
He was fired by the Warriors after they missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year in his second season at the helm. Golden State went 37-45 in his final season and he led the Warriors to 38 victories in his first year for the team's best finish since 1994 -- the last time this team made the playoffs.
"I think he learned a lot from this experience and I believe he's going to be a better coach in Sacramento because of these experiences here," Warriors center Adonal Foyle said. "I did like his emphasis. I did like his enthusiasm. I did like his storytelling ability. He had all of the elements of a really good coach. You can't help but be affected by his positiveness and his straightforwardness."
Musselman is Golden State's most successful coach of the last decade, but executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin dismissed him and hired Stanford's Mike Montgomery as his replacement the same night. Montgomery didn't last long and was fired this summer. Don Nelson was hired Aug. 30.
"With game preparation and knowing opponents and tendencies, there's nobody better," said Murphy, still with the Warriors. "He's really on top of everything that goes on in the NBA."
Musselman has framed mementos on his office walls from every stop on his path to the NBA. His first NBA coaching experience came with the Minnesota Timberwolves under his father in 1990-91.
He learned a lot alongside his dad - like not passing out too many playbooks. That proved a valuable lesson now that one of his former players, Avery Johnson, is coaching the Dallas Mavericks.
"I remember Randy Brewer walking in my dad's office with like six playbooks," Musselman said. "I'm glad I didn't give Avery mine."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
http://www.sportsline.com/print/nba/story/9738705
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Oct. 18, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- There's the play Eric Musselman originally designed for Troy Murphy at Golden State, and others he called for Antawn Jamison and Jason Richardson.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
Now, he inserts the names of his new players in those sets: Ron Artest, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Mike Bibby and Brad Miller.
"This is a good one for Jamison," Musselman tells his assistant coaches around a conference-room table. "It will be a good one for Artest."
Except for a few tweaks here and there, much of Musselman's playbook in his new gig as coach of the Sacramento Kings has been adapted from his days with the Warriors.
Golden State fired him after the 2003-04 campaign and Musselman spent the past two seasons as an assistant for Memphis under Mike Fratello.
Not everything, however, is the same.
"It's obviously a little more laid back than the first go-round," he said, sitting in his office in khaki shorts and a T-shirt. "The environment with (team president) Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs is a really laid-back, family-type atmosphere."
Musselman, hired June 3 to replace Rick Adelman, has made a point of spending time with his players away from the court. He had lunch with Bibby and Abdur-Rahim. In Las Vegas, he hung out with Artest poolside at the Palms, the hotel and casino run by Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof.
"I've gotten an opportunity to get around the players early this time," Musselman said. "I think it will help. Because of the makeup of the team, we try to get as much input as we can from the veterans."
So far, the coach and the volatile Artest are getting along well. It doesn't hurt they both are all about winning.
"I love him. He tells you what's on his mind," Musselman said. "I think because he's a hard-nosed, tough-minded player, he and I will really get along."
Musselman's summer wasn't just about learning his team.
There was everything from planning a staff retreat in Lake Tahoe to identifying the people he wants to make sure get personal invites to a game this season -- like former Cubs manager and part-time Sacramento resident Dusty Baker, hockey great and Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, Hall of Famer John Wooden and former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda.
"It's amazing to see his commitment and passion for the game," Joe Maloof said. "He doesn't play golf, he doesn't play tennis, and he doesn't fish. All he cares about is basketball and winning."
Musselman hired coaches with either close ties to him or similar paths to his own career. One worked for him in the Continental Basketball Association, one with the Warriors. Another, T.R. Dunn, played for Musselman's late father, Bill.
"All of them have been in the minor leagues at some time in their career with the exception of T.R., and T.R. had been in the WNBA," Musselman said. "So everyone's got a diversified background."
Musselman can get to Arco Arena in two minutes most of the time -- and he will never live 30 minutes away again as he did with the Warriors. He wants to be around late at night, in case a player stops in to shoot around.
"He's intense and has a lot of energy," Artest said. "We are definitely going to have to bring out that effort. He's going to want it every night."
Musselman has been through a divorce since his firing, and his two sons, Michael and Matthew, still live in the Bay Area. He also keeps in touch with many of his former players, including Gilbert Arenas, Erick Dampier, Speedy Claxton and Earl Boykins.
"The two years with the Warriors were two great years. All the coaches walked away with their heads held high," he said. "It's going to work out great this time."
He was fired by the Warriors after they missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year in his second season at the helm. Golden State went 37-45 in his final season and he led the Warriors to 38 victories in his first year for the team's best finish since 1994 -- the last time this team made the playoffs.
"I think he learned a lot from this experience and I believe he's going to be a better coach in Sacramento because of these experiences here," Warriors center Adonal Foyle said. "I did like his emphasis. I did like his enthusiasm. I did like his storytelling ability. He had all of the elements of a really good coach. You can't help but be affected by his positiveness and his straightforwardness."
Musselman is Golden State's most successful coach of the last decade, but executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin dismissed him and hired Stanford's Mike Montgomery as his replacement the same night. Montgomery didn't last long and was fired this summer. Don Nelson was hired Aug. 30.
"With game preparation and knowing opponents and tendencies, there's nobody better," said Murphy, still with the Warriors. "He's really on top of everything that goes on in the NBA."
Musselman has framed mementos on his office walls from every stop on his path to the NBA. His first NBA coaching experience came with the Minnesota Timberwolves under his father in 1990-91.
He learned a lot alongside his dad - like not passing out too many playbooks. That proved a valuable lesson now that one of his former players, Avery Johnson, is coaching the Dallas Mavericks.
"I remember Randy Brewer walking in my dad's office with like six playbooks," Musselman said. "I'm glad I didn't give Avery mine."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
http://www.sportsline.com/print/nba/story/9738705
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