http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12911212p-13759563c.html
No King exempt from a trade
'No one is sacred,' says Joe Maloof, who admits defense is a top priority.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 18, 2005
So, you're the Kings co-owner, Joe Maloof, and you're approached nonstop by friends, family and fans with suggestions on how exactly to revamp the franchise.
About how often?
"About 100 times a day," Maloof said Tuesday, then laughed. "But it's good that people are interested. Otherwise you'd have complete apathy."
Two subjects are off-limits to just about anyone, including interviewers. Maloof offered a "I can't comment" on any chance Phil Jackson would be the next Kings coach. He also said he couldn't talk about his concerns of an NBA lockout with the existing collective bargaining agreement set to expire June 30: "I'd get slapped with a million dollar fine by the league if I did."
Maloof did say no player is untradeable.
"In this business, no one is sacred," he said. "We proved that with the (Chris) Webber deal. I once said that I'd never trade Jason Williams, and boy, I caught hell for that, but we got Mike Bibby, so ... "
Maloof also said he and his brother, Gavin, club executives and coaches will meet in Las Vegas in the coming weeks to discuss the season and map out a plan for the rest of the summer, assuming there is no lockout.
He reiterated that decisions on players and coaches will, as always, be bounced off Geoff Petrie, the team's president of basketball operations.
"We depend on Geoff for everything; he's been so good for us," Maloof said.
Maloof also praised Rick Adelman, the only coach the Kings have had under the Maloof regime, without saying if he will be the long-term coach. The Maloofs picked up Adelman's club option for next season in February, and he produced another 50-game winner despite a roster turned upside down with the trades of Doug Christie and Webber (for a total of four new players) and a rash of injuries to key personnel.
Still, the Maloofs contacted Jackson's representatives to gauge his interest in the Kings' post. Jackson has not mentioned the Kings publicly as potential suitors or even said if he would coach next season.
Maloof said the Kings have a roster capable of making more playoff runs but stressed that defense is a major concern, pointing to the team's first-round loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.
"We have to stop the ball," he said. "We can't give up 122 points in a playoff game at home. The defense definitely has to get better. Not playing hard defense gets annoying. ... We can't hide from our weaknesses. We have to face it and get better."
The Kings gave up 122 points to the Sonics in Game 5 and an average of 106.6 in the series.
Solving that is a key topic of the Las Vegas meeting, but Maloof said the team has an excellent core with Bibby, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic.
Maloof said he'd have difficulty trading Stojakovic because, "Where else would you find the best shooter in the world? "We never got into a rhythm this season with all the injuries and trades," Maloof said. "If we do have (most of these players) back, and we go through a training camp and preseason together, with our tremendous depth we can be very good again."