LakersStink
G-League
Isn't the right coach for this team. Bottom line.
What really caught my eye about Paul Westphal:
"In 1992 he became the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. For several years prior, he was an assistant coach with the Suns under head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Richard Dumas, and the newly-acquired Charles Barkley and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but they lost to the Chicago Bulls in the sixth game, 98-99. Coincidentally, Game 3 between the two teams went to a triple-overtime and is likewise considered one of the greatest games ever played.
While the Suns made the playoffs during each of Westphal's seasons as coach, the Suns did not make it back to the Finals and Westphal was replaced during the 1995-96 season. He served as an assistant coach for a high school team in Arizona for two years before he returned to the NBA as a coach with the SuperSonics for the 1998-99 season. He coached in Seattle until he was fired during the 2000-01 season. He returned to the college ranks in the fall of 2001 at Pepperdine University. At Pepperdine, Westphal lead the team to NCAA Tournament in his first season, but after a 7-20 season in 2005-06, Westphal was fired on March 15, 2006."
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So in summation, either Westphal inherits already good teams, or his coaching style works for a year and then he fails in the subsequent years. My NFL comparison would be to Mike Singletary or Childress. They have similar "my way or the highway attitudes" and it seems both teams under such a coach have fallen off the wagon. Opinion or not, based on his past, it's only a matter of time before Westphal is fired, and to that I will happily say "good riddens". Jeff Van Gundy would have been a better pickup than Westphal, and Jeff is an below average coach.
Also I agree with what another poster said earlier, Kings should have tried to get a big name FA this offseason, but you get what you pay for. Where is the verteran leadership supposed to come from when almost all the players on the team are under 30 and all of the players are prospects/projects who are still trying to develop their talent and find a niche. At least with players like Wall and Griffin they are NBA ready. Cousins reminds me of the NBA version of Jamarcus Russell. Kings should have traded that pick for a proven veteran. But whatever, being a Raider fan also has taught me one thing. Hope for the best, but ALWAYS expect the worse.
Looking at how the Kings draft, they seem to draft players that have 100% talent, but in terms of development and maturity those same players are at about 20-30% so with the law of averages, the players overall potential is very low. Look at the teams that are successful, they draft NBA ready players (due to high picks mostly), or they build around veterans at each major starting position and they can afford to draft projects/prospects because along with the coaching in place, the veterans on the roster can progress them along, no matter how much of a project that player might be. I just don't see that type of leadership here, mostly because of how the front office works here.
If you wanna flame feel free to. But this is most likely my last post. Take care y'all.
Something to chew on written in 2008:
http://enough-lupica.blogspot.com/2008/06/fun-facts-about-lupicas-good-friend.html
What really caught my eye about Paul Westphal:
"In 1992 he became the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. For several years prior, he was an assistant coach with the Suns under head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Richard Dumas, and the newly-acquired Charles Barkley and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but they lost to the Chicago Bulls in the sixth game, 98-99. Coincidentally, Game 3 between the two teams went to a triple-overtime and is likewise considered one of the greatest games ever played.
While the Suns made the playoffs during each of Westphal's seasons as coach, the Suns did not make it back to the Finals and Westphal was replaced during the 1995-96 season. He served as an assistant coach for a high school team in Arizona for two years before he returned to the NBA as a coach with the SuperSonics for the 1998-99 season. He coached in Seattle until he was fired during the 2000-01 season. He returned to the college ranks in the fall of 2001 at Pepperdine University. At Pepperdine, Westphal lead the team to NCAA Tournament in his first season, but after a 7-20 season in 2005-06, Westphal was fired on March 15, 2006."
_______________________________
So in summation, either Westphal inherits already good teams, or his coaching style works for a year and then he fails in the subsequent years. My NFL comparison would be to Mike Singletary or Childress. They have similar "my way or the highway attitudes" and it seems both teams under such a coach have fallen off the wagon. Opinion or not, based on his past, it's only a matter of time before Westphal is fired, and to that I will happily say "good riddens". Jeff Van Gundy would have been a better pickup than Westphal, and Jeff is an below average coach.
Also I agree with what another poster said earlier, Kings should have tried to get a big name FA this offseason, but you get what you pay for. Where is the verteran leadership supposed to come from when almost all the players on the team are under 30 and all of the players are prospects/projects who are still trying to develop their talent and find a niche. At least with players like Wall and Griffin they are NBA ready. Cousins reminds me of the NBA version of Jamarcus Russell. Kings should have traded that pick for a proven veteran. But whatever, being a Raider fan also has taught me one thing. Hope for the best, but ALWAYS expect the worse.
Looking at how the Kings draft, they seem to draft players that have 100% talent, but in terms of development and maturity those same players are at about 20-30% so with the law of averages, the players overall potential is very low. Look at the teams that are successful, they draft NBA ready players (due to high picks mostly), or they build around veterans at each major starting position and they can afford to draft projects/prospects because along with the coaching in place, the veterans on the roster can progress them along, no matter how much of a project that player might be. I just don't see that type of leadership here, mostly because of how the front office works here.
If you wanna flame feel free to. But this is most likely my last post. Take care y'all.
Something to chew on written in 2008:
http://enough-lupica.blogspot.com/2008/06/fun-facts-about-lupicas-good-friend.html
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