Official PDA live radio thread

[Spike]

Well, that's not fair. I had to go all Sherlock Holmes to find it.

Pfft. You could have just asked.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I just heard the archive, aside from hearing exactly what I expected(canned answers, talking points etc.) did I hear PDA call the fans in attendance idiots literally in the first 5 minutes?

No, you did not. You heard PDA call Carmichael Dave and Keith Brooks "these idiots" while smiling across the table at them. It was a friendly joke.

 

[Chubbs]

No, you did not. You heard PDA call Carmichael Dave and Keith Brooks "these idiots" while smiling across the table at them. It was a friendly joke.

I must say though, Dave didn't look particularly amused at anything that happened in that interview.

 

[Warhawk]

Well, that's not fair. I had to go all Sherlock Holmes to find it.

I wasn't about to put forth that much effort. Thanks, Spike!

 

[chasen4r1]

I think I just found my next twitter ammo.

Yep, I think I will be using these shortly.

 

[Uncia03]

I just listened to the entire interview and I tend to agree with most of this. Before I had done so, I just assumed the entire interview was a disaster given the fan reaction. Afterwards I'm wondering if people even listened to the same interview that I did.
What it sounds like is that a lot of fans are conflating a disagreement with philosophical direction with a belief that the front office has no direction in the first place. And those preconceived notions torpedoed any chance the interview would have had to do, well, anything in the first place. I didn't get the impression D'Alessandro was dodging any questions. He answered most of what was thrown at him within reason. This wasn't an interview filled with political non-answers.

I went into the interview hoping that the front office knew what it was doing regarding the 15 guys in the locker room and I feel better about that.

I was going to go and break down each item point by point, but I think the essence of it is this: How you come to the conclusion (That you feel better that there is a plan) after listening to the interview?

I'm asking honestly, because I just can't see it at all.

I felt that he was lying(spinning) things through-out the interview and saw zero reason to trust that he has any ability to deliver a winning product even if we take him at complete face value.

Here are some of the issues that I took with the interview:

One of the biggest ones for me is one that you identified (as not agreeing with PDA on), is the we fired him because we didn't want to string him along.
Here is a fact:
What they are doing to Corbin right now is 100 times worse than what they are saying they spared Malone from.
Seriously, Corbin is doomed and everyone knows it...especially the players.
So to say you didn't want to string Malone on...?
Come on...what is happening right this second to Corbin is much, much worse.
The much more likely scenario is that PDA was afraid that if Malone kept winning with a slower style that he might lose in a power struggle against Malone, so he had to fire him right away lest he be the one under the gun in a year or two.
So in essence....he threw away an entire year and risked alienating both his players and the fanbase to potentially save himself down the line, all the while hoping that things would work out and he could survive the upheaval.

The other big issue is him saying that he wanted to give Malone a fair chance to win with an assistant coach since his father left early in the 1st year.
This is pure spin mode and absolute rubbish and anyone closing following the situation would know it.
He tried to bring in an Assistant Coach with the express intent of firing Malone part-way through the season.
And the most likely reason he decided to go this route rather than just fire him in the off-season is because he also saw that we had a disastrously difficult schedule to start the year.
He expected Malone and the team to fail so that he would be justified in firing a coach that went 2-12 or whatever most people predicted we would go in November.
Everything back-fired when Malone got his team to win those early games.

So...when the biggest issue regarding this whole mess is something that I don't believe at all from him it puts everything else into question.

Such as...he says he has a plan and wants to build a winner.
However, he completely miscalculated what Malone could do with that roster employing a more grind-it-out style.
He didn't think it would be effective, hence he decided to let the brutal schedule 'prove' to us that it wouldn't work before firing Malone.

He also somehow expects this current roster to be a big-time winner (if only we would go to the offensive style that he wants), and we all know that more moves have to be made if you want to seriously compete in the Western Conference.

Anyway, I just don't honestly know how you can come away from the interview feeling better.
He clearly does not have a feel for the players, since he says that he talks to them all the time and that he'd be an idiot to make a coaching change with-out consulting Cousins and Rudy, but he clearly did just that because you can tell how upset Cousins and Rudy are.

He clearly does not understand how a system different than his vision might actually be better suited to win games with a certain set of personnel, because he gave Malone two half-court players in Cousins and Rudy, and Malone won with half-court offense...and he expected Malone to fail.

He clearly does not understand that in order to have great ball movement and an increased tempo you have to have chemistry with the players as well as the right type of players, and right now this roster does not have chemistry or the right types of players to actually beat great NBA teams with a fast-paced style.

Malone preached ball-movement, but he realized that with increased ball movement came turn-overs and bad play, so he seemed to want to simplify things as much as possible to get the wins and slowly integrate ball-movement as chemistry developed. He was just never given the chance to see anything through...as he only had 15 games with a complete roster.

I believe that PDA knows what he wants.
I just don't believe that he is capable of getting what he wants while delivering a product that can actually compete night-in and night-out with the best teams in the Western Conference.

 

[kingjatt]

Someone should have asked Pete point blank if the Alvin Gentry thing was true. If he denies it we know he is willing to lie in order to cover his own behind(Why would Gentry Lie?). If he admits it we know he is a weasel for going behind Malones back to try to sabatoge what Malone was trying to build.

 

[VF21]

Someone should have asked Pete point blank if the Alvin Gentry thing was true. If he denies it we know he is willing to lie in order to cover his own behind(Why would Gentry Lie?). If he admits it we know he is a weasel for going behind Malones back to try to sabatoge what Malone was trying to build.

He would have danced away from the question, with something like "I don't respond to media rumors"... You aren't going to catch him that easily.

 

[rainmaker]

To be honest, I got back from my trip and listened to the podcast, but don't have much of a reaction to it. I'm burned out by this ****. I almost don't care at this point. I've never had such little interest in this team.

It's a shame that nothing PDA said was surprising to me. It's a shame I fully expected him to spin his answers, to not confront the true fan complaints, to dodge the real issues and to really come off as an arrogant asshat who wants to rewrite the way this game is played and won, and everyone else, both locally and nationally just doesn't have a clue.

We're in trouble. It's not only a real lack of leadership from our upper management but a lack of competence. If I hear the word "pace" again, as if that's what this game and winning is built around, I'm going to burn every dictionary in my house. The open admission of not having a real plan both when PDA fired Malone and now, is the biggest red flag and threat to this franchise and we're playing with fire when it comes to Cuz. We're wasting away his years while our GM/FO/owner chase style over all else. That really is what it boils down to, they've chosen chasing style over a plan, over winning, over the playoffs this year, over chemistry, over what best suits their top two players, and over us fans who've stuck by this franchise through thick and thin, fought to keep the team here and decided to throw the success we've been dying to have for near a decade to the curb, all to chase some undefined, poorly outlined desire for more "pace". I btw don't even think PDA is using "pace" correctly as the top 10 teams in pace this year have one thing in common for the most part, they aren't on track to be playoff teams. They're teams banking on more possessions to cover up a lack of talent.

But really, my passion is gone. I'll watch but I'm not excited about tonight, I'm trying to sell my tickets to the Cle game on Sun, I've told the group I'm a part of considering season tickets next year "no thanks" and beyond watching Cuz and the development of Ben, there's not much of a reason to watch. We aren't building towards anything as we know it's going to be blown up again this season, this summer or next year. I really don't see any passion coming back until we either hire a top coach or hire a top GM. That's how I feel anyway.

I listened to the podcast, read this thread and really, found myself just not caring. Anyone who knows me knows that's odd as I don't usually hide being upset, hide critiquing our franchise or hide any issues I see. But for the first time as a fan since 94, my reaction is numb. I just feel numb to this whole thing. That I feel an increasing likelihood by the day that Cuz will ultimately ask out is the only aspect which gives me any feeling at all, and it's a pit in my stomach. It's the one thing which would make me hang up my Kings colors for good.

Anyway, thanks Funky, thanks Capt for participating. Thanks Dave for holding the round table although it obviously didn't go as planed.

 

[IfAt1st]

rainmaker - we had argued a ton a longtime ago, but the last couple of years, our opinions and concerns have aligned a lot, and I just want to say for the hell of it -

There are differing levels of following a team.
Even if your concern for the team plummets, that's OK - it's not a death sentence to the spark of fandom.
The desire to follow the Kings again can/will come back, once there is something to follow.
Fare well tending your spark.

 

[kingjatt]

He would have danced away from the question, with something like "I don't respond to media rumors"... You aren't going to catch him that easily.

You can present it as not a rumor because Gentry flat out said it during a pregame media session shortly after the firing.

Im sure he would still find a way to weasel out of it though.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

I was going to go and break down each item point by point, but I think the essence of it is this: How you come to the conclusion (That you feel better that there is a plan) after listening to the interview?

It comes down to two things.

1. I understood the limitations of the medium and what kind of answers destined to come out of it.
2. I did not have any preconceived notions about D'Alessandro's competence to do the job.

Knowing #1, I knew I wasn't going to get D'Alessandro's hard evidence for why the team needed to speed up the pace to be a better team in the long term and the hard evidence why Malone wasn't the man for the task. With #2, I did not assume that he was an idiot nor did I assume he was a genius; I was most concerned about the locker room and wanted to know what steps D'Alessandro was taking so that the franchise doesn't lose Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins and was open to persuasion. I'm satisfied with what D'Alessandro answered with. I do think both guys are frustrated but it sounds like the lines of communication are open. If there is a player revolt then that obviously changes things, but I don't expect it.

From your post it sounds like 1) you already decided D'Alessandro was lying and 2) you don't agree with his philosophy for winning basketball. Either way, I'm not sure why you even listened in the first place. Nothing he reasonably could have said in that interview would have changed your mind.

Every GM in the NBA has a plan. Every single one. The question is whether its a smart plan or a stupid one. I'm not convinced that D'Alessandro's plan is a good one. But at least I feel comfortable that the players won't start a mutiny before the plan is even executed. As a long-term planner, its easy to forget that critical people to your plans are short-term thinkers, and in this case thats the players. As long as the players are on board then I'm willing to see what D'Alessandro has in mind.

 

[Uncia03]

It comes down to two things.

1. I understood the limitations of the medium and what kind of answers destined to come out of it.
2. I did not have any preconceived notions about D'Alessandro's competence to do the job.

Knowing #1, I knew I wasn't going to get D'Alessandro's hard evidence for why the team needed to speed up the pace to be a better team in the long term and the hard evidence why Malone wasn't the man for the task. With #2, I did not assume that he was an idiot nor did I assume he was a genius; I was most concerned about the locker room and wanted to know what steps D'Alessandro was taking so that the franchise doesn't lose Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins and was open to persuasion. I'm satisfied with what D'Alessandro answered with. I do think both guys are frustrated but it sounds like the lines of communication are open. If there is a player revolt then that obviously changes things, but I don't expect it.

From your post it sounds like 1) you already decided D'Alessandro was lying and 2) you don't agree with his philosophy for winning basketball. Either way, I'm not sure why you even listened in the first place. Nothing he reasonably could have said in that interview would have changed your mind.

Every GM in the NBA has a plan. Every single one. The question is whether its a smart plan or a stupid one. I'm not convinced that D'Alessandro's plan is a good one. But at least I feel comfortable that the players won't start a mutiny before the plan is even executed. As a long-term planner, its easy to forget that critical people to your plans are short-term thinkers, and in this case thats the players. As long as the players are on board then I'm willing to see what D'Alessandro has in mind.

Thanks for the response.

It sounds as if we both agree that losing the players, especially Cousins and to a smaller degree Rudy, is a situation which must be avoided at all costs.
I understand that PDA said that things are cool between him and the players, but so far the statements and quotes from the players don't seem to be in line with that, and more importantly the results on the floor don't seem to be in line with it.
And to me, the firing of Malone with-out a qualified, respected, winning coach stepping right in is the slippery slope which leads to Cousins getting fed up with this team and organization....and that is the thing that has me worried the most.

As to why I wanted to listen to the interview, it really was for one specific reason.

When the firing first happened I was surprised, but my immediate reaction was pretty simple.
If we are firing Malone to bring in a better coach, then I can get behind this action. (I wouldn't like how it was done, but I could understand it.)
And Karl was the obvious choice...and the no-brainer replacement.
Then nothing happened except for Corbin being named the interim coach...which is all well and good but we've been through interim coaches the last few years and know what that is all about. (Losing basketball games, losing players, and an eventual new system and having to start from scratch to develop chemistry)

So I was hoping that something would be said to make sense out of the timing of the firing and that there was a plan to salvage the season.
And what I got from the interview was:
1.) The timing of the Malone firing was completely senseless and wasn't needed to be done.
2.) There is no plan to salvage this season.

I'm not convinced that PDA has the support of the locker room. What I do know after listening to the interview is that the FO has given up on this being a competitive season, and so I expect the players to likewise give up this season, and as a fan it's hard to watch games when you know that no-one really cares about the product currently on the court.

 

[CruzDude]

The single most troubling thing to me from the non-interview interview was the FO total lack of a plan for the team and the season. Clearly they screwed up and didn't have a clue as to the adverse and universal reactions. And you're right about Corbin's situation and that the players know too. Here we are weeks after the disaster and not a peep from Ranadive (but behind the scenes third-hand feedback that the minority owners didn't necessarily go along either!).

As I told baja sitting there during and just after the interview I had zero emotion about the whole episode, rather a cold chill from the looming disaster in a car carening downhill with no driver.

 

[B.O.B.]

I must say though, Dave didn't look particularly amused at anything that happened in that interview.

I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say he wasn't.

 

[carmichaeldave]

I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say he wasn't.

You most certainly are not.