Official PDA live radio thread

[kingjatt]

If you are pissed, going to these games, and don't want to boo the players, in 1991 Knicks fans were crystal clear with ownership about why they were pissed and what needed to happen.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/02/sports/basketball-knicks-fans-turn-up-the-heat-on-bianchi.html

Pete Must Go!

I dont get why people still would want to be patient with Pete. Its time for him to be fired ASAP because we cannot afford to lose a talent like Demarcus Cousins. Demarcus is as loyal as they come but at some point he will say enough is enough and people wont blame him. Ive lost all faith that Pete will be able to fix our Kings.

 

[LPKingsFan]

At one point, I would have screamed at you and totally denied that anything like that was even remotely possible. Unfortunately, that was before I listened to the podcast today and read the comment here.

And that's something else I hate. PDA is almost doing what the Maloofs never could do, no matter how much they tried. He's breaking my spirit and I will NOT allow that to happen without recourse.

Be caredful what you wish for, Pete D'Allesandro. Kings fans are not like any other fans. We have been through the fire too many times. A few more scald marks mean nothing. FIX OUR TEAM AND FIX IT RIGHT. AND FIX IT NOW!

Let's not forget Melo's (and LaLa's) role in the whole Melodrama, now.

 

[pshn80]

maybe have STH request their $$ back for the rest of the season? will that get their attention?

I'm a STH and I want to see the games I have tickets for. I expect the team to get out of this funk and improve. Cuz has definitely fallen back in effort and performance mainly because he is dispirited but also because he is not near being back to where he was before his sicknesses - particularly in stamina. Gay is most effective when he is number two and to be that he needs Cousins. Collison is holding up well. Thompson is out of favor with the FO, imo, and is not being played enough. Ben has improved at lot and needed to but still a work in progress. Sounds like DWill was out with Malone but in with FO, we shall see. Rest of bench are so-so, some good spot players. Corbin seems like a smart coach and one that has the potential of getting the respect of the players but he has an uphill battle right now. PDA is challenged this season to make one more upgrade via trade. Hope he passes this test. Let's get
Cuz back in shape physically and mentally and get this machine working better.

 

[Larry89]

If we lose Cousins, this franchise will be set back 5 years.

 

[Swaze]

When you think about it all he has done really well is the following.

1. Max Cousins (easy decision)
2. Having Rudy here and getting a team friendly contract (You could argue keeping Evans decision makes this a wash)
3. Budget deal for Collison
4. Dirt cheap Casspi deal
5. McLemore draft (he technically slid though, was not any special insight)
6. Drafting Ray

That's pretty much it

LOl that's it huh? What else did you expect him to do in a year's time, assemble a starting lineup of 5 all-stars? Cure cancer? Trade Jason Thompson for Lebron?

PDA's signings, trades, and draft picks are the least of his problems. I actually think he's been pretty good in terms of assembling the roster. This team has a hell of a lot better roster now then when he took over. It's actually kind of amazing how many dead contracts he was able to get rid of in a quick amount of time.

With that said his handling of the head coaching job and trying to force a style onto the team has been handled as poorly as it gets. He deserves crap for the Malone thing and what he is trying to do with the team now.

 

[kingjatt]

How many times did he laughed nervously during the interview?

His interview had an eerily similar vibe to the epic Maloof New York hotel press conference, a whole lot of stumbling on words, no real substance, a lot of trust me, and plenty of nervous laughter.

 

[Larry David]

Honestly, firing pete won't change a damn thing. Because the madness most likely came from Vivek.

Yes it will. At that point, it's firmly on Vivek and Vivek will have a choice.

The fan revolt that's coming (unless DMC and Gay can turn this around), will put Vivek to a choice: start over with new GM this summer to get some cover and get his hands and bad ideas out of basketball operations; or become loathed by many fans.

And since Vivek owns less than 50% of the Kings, if Vivek is too obstinate for too long, the minority owners could make noise or try to lessen his control. Both Marcos and Aileen's column hinted at the minority ownership issue.

 

[captain bill]

No. It's against NBA bylaws.

Is it? Bylaws are here: http://mediacentral.nba.com/media/mediacentral/NBA-Constitution-and-By-Laws.pdf

Member means "a person or entity." Don't see anything saying a city can't apply.

Of course, the league would probably say "hell no!," since bilking cash from local government to enrich billionaires appears to be a big part of their business model, but I would LOVE to see a city try. Crazy idea to think a city can make a $300MM investment and have an ownership share in it...

 

[VF21]

You don't know my name because I was the guy who FORGOT to mention his association with KF.com when he asked his question. Oops.

Q&A went on for a bit. I thought PDA was a lot more forthcoming in the off-the-record stuff. For the most part, I think he did a pretty good job of addressing some of the major concerns around here. I don't know how much more clear he could have been about the front office valuing wins first and foremost. He believes the team needs to be successful on both offense and defense to win, and he's not ignoring the defensive side of the ball. He actually thinks that under Corbin the pace has been higher than he'd like. 4-on-5 defense was not only never considered, but it was never suggested by Vivek (or anybody, apparently) in the first place.

I think a lot of people wanted things out of this interview that weren't going to happen. There weren't going to be ten people in the audience jeering PDA, nobody was going to ask if he was going to resign, nobody was going to drop an f-bomb on him, and he wasn't going to announce a Karl hiring - or, frankly, say anything that wasn't in direct support of the guy who's currently in charge (by that I mean Corbin). It was what it was. I came out optimistic. Obviously I'm in the minority.

Was it worth your time?

I've never been this conflicted as a Kings fan. I just spoke on the phone to someone who did listen to the broadcast and she is nowhere near as angry at PDA as I am/was//have been. She said she reluctantly had to agree with him about our early wins this season, in that while we did win some games it wasn't sustainable and our losses were horrific.

She also said that PDA made it clear they are building for the future, they do not want to just get to the playoffs and drop off and they are going to be very busy between now and the trade deadline.

If true, that bodes well...I think.

I know one thing - Kings fans are not going to just settle for more uncertainty and more turmoil. At some point, and it had better be sooner rather than later, things have to show a definite step back in the right direction.

 

[Padrino]

I remember after we beat Houston in that game, and people were on here ****ting on the team about feeling good about winning a summer league 'championship'. I remember, at that point, standing up for the team for having something positive to build on. Now, I feel like an ass, realizing that the KFO may have actually thought that was a 'big deal'.

i do wonder about this new regime, and about the actuality of their intentions. i certainly can't speak with authority as to their specific thoughts, but the evidence that we have so far offers enough clues that i feel comfortable painting a fuller picture; they've trumpeted their summer league victory on a number of occasions. they've turned their d-league team into a gigantic junkball experiment. they've clearly stated their desire to build a fast-paced offense despite the deficiencies in the kings' roster. they've clearly stated their desire to mold their players to fit that offense despite the deficiencies in the individual players. they've even acquired players that don't fit their stated desires. and they fired their defense-first head coach despite the results he was getting from his limited roster, and made a point of emphasizing that the decision would have been made no matter how many wins mike malone could have earned with that roster...

all told, i think they really do want to try and reinvent the wheel. it's not enough for these knuckleheads to win; they want to win a certain way, and for the life of me i can't understand why. as a kings fan, i'm certainly aware of the difficulties in building a winning brand in a small market like sacramento, and i think it's smart to consider every possible avenue for improvement, both internally and externally. but the new regime started off with a winning lottery ticket in demarcus cousins and a winning lottery ticket in the fans' good will, and they seem hell-bent on squandering both. they're not even through their second full season on the job, and they've got a fan base nearing revolt. i honestly believe that they've expended so much effort attempting to find ways to improve the team unconventionally that they weren't able to recognize a good thing when they had it, and now they've got to expend further energy attempting to repair the damage they've done--to themselves, to the fans, and to the team...

 

[Bricklayer]

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

Of course if after the Romans had done all that they also burnt down half the city, sacked the governor and replaced him with a toadie, and the people continued to starve and die of plague just as much as they had before, they might be legitimately put out.

Kings record before Romans: 28-54
Kings record afetr Romans yr 1: 28-54
Kings record after Romans yr 2: were headed for 41-41 at one point. Now death spiraling to...28-54. Or so.

In other words, where's a good barbarian when you need one. There are some heads that need lopping.

 

[PurpleHaze]

And since Vivek owns less than 50% of the Kings, if Vivek is too obstinate for too long, the minority owners could make noise or try to lessen his control. Both Marcos and Aileen's column hinted at the minority ownership issue.

I thought Vivek was at around 60% majority ownership when purchased Kings and then bumped up to about 67% when bought former minority owner Bob Cook's stake out of bankruptcy.

 

[VF21]

His interview had an eerily similar vibe to the epic Maloof New York hotel press conference, a whole lot of stumbling on words, no real substance, a lot of trust me, and plenty of nervous laughter.

Any poker player can recognize a tell. PDA's tell is his nervous laughter. And anyone who has ever taken even a rudimentary psych class (or watched Dr. Phil) can tell you that nervous laughter is a way of covering the fact you don't really believe or expect others to believe what you're saying.

 

[ESP47]

I remember with Petrie I was like yeah we need to fire this guy. I understand that you're handicapped by the Maloofs and I understand why you're making some of the moves you're making but in the end, they just aren't working out anymore. No hard feelings, it's just time for a change.

With PDA is like W....T....F are you doing? How are you employed? How are you making more money than me? How are you getting away with completely raping a franchise that just began to turn the corner? You need to go far...far away. Forever. Don't ever come back. Don't ever show your face around the NBA again. You are the antithesis of what an NBA GM is paid to do. You are the worst GM to ever grace the game. Do everyone a favor.... resign and go quickly into that silent night.

 

[206Fan]

I appreciate Dave and everyone who participated, but I feel like he got soft ball questions thrown his way. He twisted his words and said BS that was not called on. I expected this to be like the Jed York interview, but It was the exact opposite. I understand that you always have to be polite and respectful, but point out the BS guys! Tell him that wasn't the Q you asked and keep pushing it.

Very disappointing interview that literally told us nothing and made me more pissed at him.

 

[uolj]

She said she reluctantly had to agree with him about our early wins this season, in that while we did win some games it wasn't sustainable and our losses were horrific.

Just focusing on this one point, the early season success was extremely impressive. It was better than the record made it look, not worse. If anybody is implying the pre-meningitis record was a mirage, I think they are very wrong.

 

[kupman]

I know I know - I get it. You're down with the firing. You and VIvek and PDA can tell the world "I told you so" some day. Buy the rest of my tickets for this season ok? 80% of face value. Pm me.

I have been clear that I do not agree with the move. That is, if I was in charge, Malone would still be the coach. So there will not be any "I told you so" coming from me.

What I am not doing however is making this move out to be some kind of catastrophe and blowing a head casket over it. Malone was an average coach at best and that is being kind to someone who won 37% of their games in a 100+ game trial. There are probably at least 10 coaches in the league better than him. Sure there were some signs of progress, but I understand if the the FO thinks that they could do better than Malone.

Perhaps "good enough" is not good enough for the new men in town.

 

[Iced Espresso]

LOl that's it huh? What else did you expect him to do in a year's time, assemble a starting lineup of 5 all-stars? Cure cancer? Trade Jason Thompson for Lebron?

PDA's signings, trades, and draft picks are the least of his problems. I actually think he's been pretty good in terms of assembling the roster. This team has a hell of a lot better roster now then when he took over. It's actually kind of amazing how many dead contracts he was able to get rid of in a quick amount of time.

With that said his handling of the head coaching job and trying to force a style onto the team has been handled as poorly as it gets. He deserves crap for the Malone thing and what he is trying to do with the team now.

Landry signing wth was that with Thompson and Cousins here?....at the time add Hayes and PPat too.

Williams an almost 7 million gamble this season?

Getting nothing in the IT situation.

Not keeping Withey or Lopez.

No he deserves some crap for Malone, and not much else positive.

 

[VF21]

Just focusing on this one point, the early season success was extremely impressive. It was better than the record made it look, not worse. If anybody is implying the pre-meningitis record was a mirage, I think they are very wrong.

I think the pre-meningitis record was unsustainable, for the simple reason our losses showed all of our glaring weaknesses. But we'll never know...and that has to add a lot of weight to the depression/confusion/uncertainty/etc. For once in a very long time, Kings fans had something to rejoice about. We'll never know how long it would have lasted but we know it all came to a screeching halt. Our first game - against the Warriors - may have been the most telling game of all but winning after that eclipsed the GSW loss.

I don't have answers. I go from one end of the spectrum to the other about PDA, the future of the team, etc. The only thing I know for sure is that I will not be attending any more games until something is resolved. For one thing, it's too far to have to drive home after a demoralizing loss. It's a short walk down the hall from my living room to bed, where I can bury myself under my covers.

 

[funkykingston]

As I mentioned earlier I mentioned in the post stream Q&A why it seemed like he built a roster specifically for Malone's style.

The answer was that the Vlade/CWebb teams ran, higher pace, more offense etc. It was frustrating to say the least.

If he didn't know that firing a coach without a high level replacement a third of the way in would torpedo the season then I'm worried.

If he knew it would torpedo the season but did it anyway because he'd rather lose in his style then see how far Malone could get with the team this season then I'm REALLY worried.

 

[Bricklayer]

I have been clear that I do not agree with the move. That is, if I was in charge, Malone would still be the coach. So there will not be any "I told you so" coming from me.

What I am not doing however is making this move out to be some kind of catastrophe and blowing a head casket over it. Malone was an average coach at best and that is being kind to someone who won 37% of their games in a 100+ game trial. There are probably at least 10 coaches in the league better than him. Sure there were some signs of progress, but I understand if the the FO thinks that they could do better than Malone.

Perhaps "good enough" is not good enough for the new men in town.

There is not 1 coach in NBA history who could have had a winning record last year. Not 1. Its a ridiculous thing to even suggest.

23 different players. 41 total games together for a mismatched Big 3. 3 major midseason trades. front office meddling in who would play or not. No starting PF or SG. No Landry. No backup PG. The list went on and on.

Using that as an excuse to fire him would be pathetic. But then again, not less pathetic than I expected. Create an impossible situation for your coach, then use that as an excuse to fire him. What Malone accomplished was actually fairly remarkable given that the Gerbil was actively fighting him all the way along.

 

[Larry David]

I thought Vivek was at around 60% majority ownership when purchased Kings and then bumped up to about 67% when bought former minority owner Bob Cook's stake out of bankruptcy.

Wasn't that the new "group" and not just Vivek? I don't know. I thought I saw a CD tweet that said less than 50%. And the Bee articles seemed to flag the issue. If over 51%, he's bullet proof. If he has the biggest share (but not over 50%) the other owners want to back him but could get pretty nervous going forward.

 

[Spike]

I have been clear that I do not agree with the move. That is, if I was in charge, Malone would still be the coach. So there will not be any "I told you so" coming from me.

What I am not doing however is making this move out to be some kind of catastrophe and blowing a head casket over it. Malone was an average coach at best and that is being kind to someone who won 37% of their games in a 100+ game trial. There are probably at least 10 coaches in the league better than him. Sure there were some signs of progress, but I understand if the the FO thinks that they could do better than Malone.

Perhaps "good enough" is not good enough for the new men in town.

Yet you keep ignoring the progress made with a near-complete roster overhaul, and a complete buy-in from the players to forge an identity. Career PER numbers from Cousins, Gay, Collison, McLemore (I think, just by default, right?)

Would the 9-6 pace have been sustainable? Were we just about to turn the corner, a trade or two from becoming Memphis West? We'll never know. All we have is conjecture. I think we would have had a pretty good picture at the end of the season, and I think it would have shown a team close to .500 ball, if not over, through the sheer will and desire to battle for their coach.

Would the bottom have fallen out? You can't make that claim as easily, since the body language and team effort was trending up.

 

[Spike]

The only thing I know for sure is that I will not be attending any more games until something is resolved. For one thing, it's too far to have to drive home after a demoralizing loss. It's a short walk down the hall from my living room to bed, where I can bury myself under my covers.

There are those of us who specifically took a flight out to see a game (albeit with a trip to see family), rented a hotel, etc., all prior to Malone's firing. I'll be saving up my money as well.

 

[chasen4r1]

There are those of us who specifically took a flight out to see a game (albeit with a trip to see family), rented a hotel, etc., all prior to Malone's firing. I'll be saving up my money as well.

Exactly my situation.

 

[pshn80]

Of course if after the Romans had done all that they also burnt down half the city, sacked the governor and replaced him with a toadie, and the people continued to starve and die of plague just as much as they had before, they might be legitimately put out.

Kings record before Romans: 28-54
Kings record afetr Romans yr 1: 28-54
Kings record after Romans yr 2: were headed for 41-41 at one point. Now death spiraling to...28-54. Or so.

In other words, where's a good barbarian when you need one. There are some heads that need lopping.

So they lop a few heads. I'd rather they replace some poorer players with some better ones, win more games, and get PDA a sharp looking toupe for him to wear on his high throne. Just my druthers.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Was it worth your time?

I would say yes. But given the format, my expectations weren't sky-high. Again, the off-the-record conversations, while not mind-blowing, were a bit reassuring to me.

 

[chief bromden]

I would say yes. But given the format, my expectations weren't sky-high. Again, the off-the-record conversations, while not mind-blowing, were a bit reassuring to me.

Any chance that you can expand on the off-the-air Q&A? Funky left, and it would be nice to hear what mildly reassuring conversations look like.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

There are those of us who specifically took a flight out to see a game (albeit with a trip to see family), rented a hotel, etc., all prior to Malone's firing. I'll be saving up my money as well.

I drove down, but I was immediately sick to my stomach after locking down the tickets the firing seemed to take place within a week. And after that game I won't buy tickets again based on a few tinges of hope.

I'm not going to abandon the team but I'm not going to pay for my "enjoyment" of it either.

 

[joemama]

arena. gibberish. arena.

NOT Gibberish, Gerbilish