Pete D'Allesandro

I always thought the Landry signing was solid....nothing you can do about last years injury, but he's giving us what we need off the bench.

Loved the Collison decision. The Casspi signing is solid. The Sessions signing, I liked as well, Sess just has to play better. The Gay deal was a major win. Thought the DWill trade was a good gamble. The minor signing of Hollins seems to be solid as he looks like a big contributor to the team as a veteran presence. Some of these little moves have been nice.

Maybe another good non-move was not moving JT.....and I haven't been a fan of JT but with his trimmed up more athletic self, this has been the best defense I've seen JT play in his career. Rock solid.

Someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the next PDA move could be huge.....his most important.
 
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TheBadGuy said:
I'm just wondering not crying, much better 3? yeah Gay and Casspi but the one he was traded for is not.
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You have to remember that at the point where Luc was traded, our team was pretty much still the prior year's roster with the exception of Luc and Ben and the absence of Tyreke. We were essentially down to Demarcus... and a bunch of the dudes. In the search for more plus talent around which to build a team, Pete made a gamble and traded a dude who was having difficulty staying healthy for a guy who once completely dominated the NCAA tournament and was struggling under Adelman's system.

To Pete's credit, the trade looked great for the first couple of weeks, with Derrick playing out of his mind as the starting SF. Then he found someone better and D-Will was relegated to the bench, which was the death knell for good Derrick Williams.
 
He's been hit or miss. Signing cousins was a home run (not sure how much pda really had to do with that though). Still not a fan of the Landry signing (5 games doesn't change my mind, he still has to prove he can stay healthy). Dwill was a total failure, but then again, what's Mbah a Moute doing these days? I thought that was worth the chance at the time, and still do. Just didn't work out.

He didn't get any value for Isaiah (unless you consider the DC signing as basically an either/or situation), but he clearly made the right move letting him go. Would have liked to have seen him shipped out a whole lot sooner, but I'm not sure there were many options or much of a market/demand for a guy making pennies as he was last year that anyone could sign after the season if they really wanted him. Turns out that market was pretty luke warm.

DC looks like a HR. A much mocked move, even by many here. Some of us loudly and often thought a move was needed for a PG. It became painfully clear there weren't enough basketballs last season, despite a stretch of .500 ball in there. Balance was needed. I wasn't sold on DC as being that guy. Early returns says I am wrong. He's got, dare I say, a very high BBIQ. It makes everything flow so much better having a PG who understands the flow of the game and the need to get guys shots. And not just get shots, but get good shots, and get the ball where they can do damage, especially Rudy/Cousins. Now there's a clear hierarchy, everyone is falling into place knowing their roles, and both rudy and cousins are excelling right now. It's hard not to do the dance of joy right now seeing how improved this team is.

Jury is still out on Nik/Ben. It's hard to justify two straight SG picks. Even if they eventually see Nik as some kind of SG/PG/SF hybrid or whatever the plan is there.

I think coach of the year is much more likely than GM of the year. I don't see the media admitting quite that quick they were wrong about both Gay and the decision to let IT go. Those are the two MAJOR moves and both look very good right about now.

It also needs to be said, not extending Rudy early may turn out to be a pretty big mistake. We will see what happens. Right now, I'd feel a whole lot better if he was locked up like they did with Cousins.

Ultimately, when Cousins lands in your lap, it makes everyone look good. :)
 
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Tetsujin said:
You have to remember that at the point where Luc was traded, our team was pretty much still the prior year's roster with the exception of Luc and Ben and the absence of Tyreke. We were essentially down to Demarcus... and a bunch of the dudes. In the search for more plus talent around which to build a team, Pete made a gamble and traded a dude who was having difficulty staying healthy for a guy who once completely dominated the NCAA tournament and was struggling under Adelman's system.

To Pete's credit, the trade looked great for the first couple of weeks, with Derrick playing out of his mind as the starting SF. Then he found someone better and D-Will was relegated to the bench, which was the death knell for good Derrick Williams.
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Before Gay was traded, Williams has good games but had bad games also, he's always inconsistent and there are players who dominated in the NCAA but didn't in the NBA like Reddick, Fredette, Shelden Williams to name a few.
 
TheBadGuy said:
Before Gay was traded, Williams has good games but had bad games also, he's always inconsistent and there are players who dominated in the NCAA but didn't in the NBA like Reddick, Fredette, Shelden Williams to name a few.
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The point is that Pete took a chance and while it didn't really pan out, it didn't exactly fail either.
 
If the Kings continue to be successful this season there will have been a lot of people wrong about what D'Allesandro has built. What's funny is that two of his moves that were most criticized by the national media are two that I was lauding him for initially - signing Boogie to a max extension and letting Thomas go. As Kings fans I think the majority felt extending Cuz was the right thing to do but from the outside the talk was that it was a huge mistake for the Kings to hitch their wagon to him. Letting IT walk was a much more controversial move. For all the shots IT seems to take on this board, he is an elite scorer who is showing he can drop 20 on anyone AND with amazing consistency. But to get the defensive scheme and ball movement Malone wanted a change had to be made which seems to have worked out best for the Kings AND Thomas.

As for PDA's other moves there are some that were undeniably good (signing Casspi, trading for Gay, dumping Thornton) and others that are still questionable. Was he right to let Tyreke go? Was Landry a good signing? Why didn't he hold on to Robin Lopez? Couldn't he at least get a 2nd round pick for Fredette? And so on. I have no issues with last year's draft. It was historically weak and I thought McLemore was the best talent left even if I didn't think he was a good fit with Tyreke (which became a moot point) but mostly because nobody drafted further down is making the Ben pick look like a huge mistake. Burke, Steven Adams, Dieng, Hardaway, Snell are all nice players but not world beaters. Antetokoumpo is a project with huge potential and MCW was rookie of the year but I don't see either guy as a can't miss all-star/superstar etc. And McCallum was a very good 2nd round pick. This year's draft? We'll have to see what Stauskas becomes.

But part of criticizing a GM is doing it move by move when the reality (especially of this team) is that they seem to be showing that they are more than the sum of their parts. Boogie the talented malcontent, Gay the overpaid, inefficient chucker, Thompson the whiner who complained about touches and openly pined for a new team, McLemore who is already been looked at by some as a potential bust, Collison the backup who couldn't run a team full time, Landry the undersized post scorer who was over the hill & injury prone, Casspi who was claimed off waivers, Stauskas who duplicated last year's pick, Evans who can rebound and cheap shot and nothing else, Hollins who Clippers fans laughed at us for signing etc.

But through five games this team has come together and shown a spark. Is that luck or by design? We'll see because D'Allesandro has lots more tinkering to do. But like the Kings themselves, he's on his way to changing the narrative about him as a GM and as I've always said, I'm happy to admit that.
 
I, for the longest, wanted Jason Thompson shipped out for free. Boy, was I wrong. I know it's early, but with the right coaching and attitude, he's become a great post defender!
 
Another successful byproduct of letting IT walk is Cousins and Gay are now more responsible on offense, whereas you have three guys who could score (with IT) one or both of them could defer. Now, Gay has a role to attack which his personality needs because he has a tendency to be passive. Helps that Collison has been a perfect role playing PG so far.

I was probably one of the few who liked the Landry signing. Glad that Malone uses him off the bench like he should be used. Last year didn't work out, but you can see how valuable he can be as a bench scorer.

Going forward, for this team to continue to be successful they really need an experienced 2-guard. Ben and Nik would have to fight for the backup minutes, which is fine at their age.

So who is this SG they should go after? FA's are still out there. Obviously Ray Allen comes to mind, but he's likely looking for a big dog contender and isn't a 30mpg player any longer. Other FA's are Delfino and Eliot Williams, so a trade would probably be the best option.
 
Merdiesel said:
Did anyone catch the awkward high five after the game last night between him and Vivek?
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I saw the high five but didn't notice it was "awkward".

We're 4-1 and that's good. I'm pleasantly surprised. PDA was hired to improve a lousy team and given the "money" to do so. It's happening. I've not been a critic of Petrie or PDA so I can't gloat or apologize. I'm just happy it looks like it's going in the right direction. Right now I'm a happy fan.
 
Hopefully Pete'D is checking out SG Patrick Christopher out in the D-League. Former Cal dude, Kings have invited him to Summer League in the past so they are familiar. He's now 26, has great international experience, and is a dead-eye shooter with some athleticism. I'd be lying if I could tell you about his defense at this point. He's probably the first D-League SG that gets an NBA ticket this season. Sometimes it just takes a few years for these undrafted guys to blossom.

 
pshn80 said:
I saw the high five but didn't notice it was "awkward".

We're 4-1 and that's good. I'm pleasantly surprised. PDA was hired to improve a lousy team and given the "money" to do so. It's happening. I've not been a critic of Petrie or PDA so I can't gloat or apologize. I'm just happy it looks like it's going in the right direction. Right now I'm a happy fan.
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It was cute. They looked at each other for a second like "Are we gonna do this?"
 
I have been VERY skeptical, and now I am impressed. Sure there was some luck and providence involved, but as other posters pointed out he saw how Rudy could fit in and got him wile others thought he gave away the farm for a 19 million dollar mill stone. He brought in Caspi and understood that IT was NOT starting material, and brought in Collison. And let us not forget Evans... the guy that gives us 10+ rebounds a night and does NOT need the ball on offense. Now I could easily slide into cynicism and point out that no one could have seen Ben McLamore finding his inner Muggsy Bouges, or that DMC and Rudy would embrace in a Vulcan mind meld, but in the end I gotta say PDA could be making a case for GM of the year.
 
VF21 said:
Just lucky or did he just maybe have a plan? There is no way you can criticize the product we're currently seeing on the court.

I mentioned it in the game thread and was accused of trying to start an argument so I've started this thread. Those of you who were most critical of PDA - think maybe you were wrong?
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I kind of disagree with the premise you've presented here, that it's either luck or PDA has a plan which can't be criticized. That presents a black and white argument which isn't really the black and white argument people have been debating. PDA has made good decisions and questionable decisions and for the most part, folks have debated the decisions on their own merit and expressed their concerns. So I'm not really sure what you're asking, was PDA wrong about what?

Rudy was a key, key pickup for us. DC was also a key signing for us. A number of fans were on board with both. Many liked signing Omri but I don't think anyone thought he'd have this impact. He's been our best bench player thus far. A number liked the Sessions signing and he's been terrible.

What PDA should clearly get credit for is putting together a group of guys, a mix of vets/youngsters who are buying in and playing for one another, rather than for themselves. There's chemistry we're seeing and a team-first attitude we haven't seen in years. We're playing damn well right now.

That however doesn't mean PDA hasn't made mistakes or there's clear areas this roster can't still improve. For one, adding Robin Lopez to our frontcourt would improve this team. That DWill trade was a mistake. While Landry is starting to contribute for us, I still would have preferred his contract going elsewhere. Not signing a backup center who is worthy of actually stepping on the floor, as Malone appears to have zero confidence in Hollins is another mistake/weakness. And as we all know, the NBA is a long season, there's ups and down, strengths weaknesses come to the forefront over 82 games, not a 5 game stretch.

Whether a plan is having current/early success and whether there's better pieces which could fit the plan are two different discussions yet you appear to be suggesting that because we're 4-1 through an 82 game schedule, any previous criticism/concern was wrong.
 
pshn80 said:
I saw the high five but didn't notice it was "awkward".

We're 4-1 and that's good. I'm pleasantly surprised. PDA was hired to improve a lousy team and given the "money" to do so. It's happening. I've not been a critic of Petrie or PDA so I can't gloat or apologize. I'm just happy it looks like it's going in the right direction. Right now I'm a happy fan.
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There's video of it around, where you can see him mouth..."do you want to high five", before they do it. As if there was a question of whether it would be appropriate at that point in front of the camera o_O :D
 
rainmaker said:
I kind of disagree with the premise you've presented here, that it's either luck or PDA has a plan which can't be criticized. That presents a black and white argument which isn't really the black and white argument people have been debating. PDA has made good decisions and questionable decisions and for the most part, folks have debated the decisions on their own merit and expressed their concerns. So I'm not really sure what you're asking, was PDA wrong about what?
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I'll disagree primarily over minutiae. There are more than just a few who have been very critical of everything PDA has done, never giving much credit and only begrudgingly admitting any "good decisions." A recurring theme around here for some has been that PDA is a gerbil, a neophyte who has merely gotten lucky a few times and really has no idea of what he's doing.

Bottom line, though, is that I posted a brief comment to get the discussion started. It wasn't meant to be all-encompassing in its breadth.
 
Why was the D-Will trade a failure again? I know letting Aldrich go will make this franchise have nightmares, but Luc is still a role player on bad teams.
 
I give credit to PDA for the Gay trade and signing Collison and Casspi. The results are actually more hingent on the team buying into what Malone is preaching, Cousins becoming an anchor on defense while being even more dominant on offense. Landry is a meh signing, certainly the injuries made it seem like he was a waste of space, but now that he is coming around to his old self it is what it is. A little overpaid maybe but he is a solid roleplaying big. He is a good player to have, but I don't feel like he is an essential piece if we are talking about having a core of guys to build around, he doesn't move the needle very much in either direction. Williams was a huge mistake, but at the time i guess you couldn't blame him for going after a super athletic former #2 overall pick for junk.
 
VF21 said:
I'll disagree primarily over minutiae. There are more than just a few who have been very critical of everything PDA has done, never giving much credit and only begrudgingly admitting any "good decisions." A recurring theme around here for some has been that PDA is a gerbil, a neophyte who has merely gotten lucky a few times and really has no idea of what he's doing.

Bottom line, though, is that I posted a brief comment to get the discussion started. It wasn't meant to be all-encompassing in its breadth.
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Unless PDA bats 1.000, people will hold the Robin Lopez fiasco against him forever. We don't know the specifics behind why Lopez wasn't a King. Maybe he didn't want to play backup to Cousins because he knew he wouldn't get minutes. The assumption around here was that PDA doesn't like defensive, so it was adios Lopez, but he did let a huge defensive liability go in IT.
 
Please don't sweat the details. The team that the Kings put together and is playing looks more better than worse. Hope it keeps up. So far PDA has proven he's been more right than wrong but, don't worry critics, there's plenty of time for it to go all wrong.
 
TheBadGuy said:
Before Gay was traded, Williams has good games but had bad games also, he's always inconsistent and there are players who dominated in the NCAA but didn't in the NBA like Reddick, Fredette, Shelden Williams to name a few.
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Ahhhhh, Reddick seems to be fitting in rather well me thinks... I Get your point though.
 
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jpsls said:
Why was the D-Will trade a failure again? I know letting Aldrich go will make this franchise have nightmares, but Luc is still a role player on bad teams.
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I wouldn't call it a "failure", but Moute would sure be a nice player to have right now. As solid as we're playing defense, he would be the best defensive player on the team by far. Wish we could get him
 
I've been thinking that we need an "Alternate Dimensions" thread to truly celebrate these Kings, where we postulate what might have been IF...

- Westphal had been retained
- Bonzi had taken the golden check
- Etc.

MizzouKing

Mr. S£im Citrus said:
I have been critical of D'Alessandro, and I'm still not all the way sold (ask me again when we find out where Derrick Williams is at the end of the year), but I'll definitely give him credit for building a culture that can help Cousins mature, between Michael Malone and his coaching staff, and the veterans he's brought on board. There's a perfectly cromulent alternate dimension where DeMarcus Cousins becomes Rasheed Wallace 2.0, so kudos to D'Alessandro for not letting that happen.

Granted, he didn't technically hire Malone, but he's mostly gotten the guys that Malone said he needed, and it appears to be working out.
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Before we completely decide on IT we need to see if that Trade Exception turns into a draft pick or another complimentary piece depending on where we are at the trade deadline.

I don't want to get too far ahead but if the team is contending for a spot, that piece might bring us a solid vet in an area of need without having to give anything in return.
 
randymoss1881 said:
The next moves PDA makes are gonna be important. Does he go after Hibbert moving DMC to the 4 or does he take a chance at josh smith.
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Oh god I hope not. I think we should just roll with what works. I don't think Hibbert would be a good player next to Cuz. It would automatically force Cuz into guarding PFs... he'd foul out within 5 mins.
 
jcwkings said:
I give credit to PDA for the Gay trade and signing Collison and Casspi. The results are actually more hingent on the team buying into what Malone is preaching, Cousins becoming an anchor on defense while being even more dominant on offense. Landry is a meh signing, certainly the injuries made it seem like he was a waste of space, but now that he is coming around to his old self it is what it is. A little overpaid maybe but he is a solid roleplaying big. He is a good player to have, but I don't feel like he is an essential piece if we are talking about having a core of guys to build around, he doesn't move the needle very much in either direction. Williams was a huge mistake, but at the time i guess you couldn't blame him for going after a super athletic former #2 overall pick for junk.
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The biggest difference this season I think is that PDA went out of his way to move all the players who weren't buying into Malone's system and weren't playing for the team. Keeping Cousins, trading for Rudy, going after Darren Collison -- those were the key team building moves. But remember Carl was already a Malone guy when we acquired him. Reggie Evans has proven to be more than just a salary matching throw-in, he's exactly the type of hard nosed guy that is willing to carry out Malone's philosophy on the court. Ray McCallum was a nice find in the second round and he's always at Coach's side listening intently before he comes into the game. Casspi has been a revelation off the bench this year. Consummate team player. Winning games is about more than just acquiring talent, it's about forging an identity. For all the talk of advanced stats and NBA 2.0 evaluation methods, what we've got this season is a team of guys who trust each other and enjoy playing together. I don't see how anyone can look at a team where 12 out of 14 players were acquired in the last 18 months and say that's an accident.
 
He deserves credit, but in order of who is responsible for this season I'd go:

1- KJ / Vivek (with assist by Burkle)
2- DMC for playing like a monster (Petrie and Team USA get some credit here too)
3- Malone for building an impressive system, putting guys into roles that work, creating a real offense, implementing a good defensive system, and overseeing a positive and functional locker room. I think he also gets credit for a lot of personnel moves, and am 100% positive that he was a big motivating force in letting IT go based on locker room and in-the-huddle knowledge
4-PDA, acquiring Gay and signing Collison. These are critical, but simply don't work without the above

In other words, I believe in the Kings management TEAM. Not sure why we have to single out individuals for praise and blame, especially because we don't know how a lot of the key decisions (particularly Tyreke, Gay, IT, and Collison) were made
 
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