Please, let Petrie choose the next head coach.

[Warhawk]

Question for Brickie:

If Kenny Natt is the sturdy pickup truck and Reggie Theus was the twitchy sportscar, what was Eric Musselman?

This one?

http://www.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/lumber.asp

He always seemed to be taking on more than he could handle, right? And he's sleeping it off in the passenger seat.

 

[BMiller52]

Why doesnt anybody like Natt? I mean people want Shaw, Turner, Thibodeau.....Yet Natt has been an Ast for 15years....he has earned his do. I mean I like Flip and Mitchell....but the more and more I think about it...No Big name coach wants to come here at the moment...and not with "Return to the Kingdom coming".

Yeah I actually think I like Natt more than Turner or even Shaw. Natt has been Sloan's apprentice when they went to the finals twice and in 06 with Mike Brown. Shaw hasn't really proven anything and I don't think Thibodeao would come here.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm not sure Brick, I think that Musselman needs to be a car that looks really spiffy on the outside - but that constantly breaks down, is hard to drive, has a navigation system that send you in the wrong direction, and when it breaks down the car blames you for all of it's problems.

Hmm....

Thing is he never looked really neat on the outside to anybody except the Maloofs. Well, some portion of the fanbase who would never admit to it now were blathering about how he'd outperform Adelman, bring defense etc. And a certain prominent local blogger who will also go nameless tangled with me because he was blogging about how we were going to be a title contender with Muss and I told him he was an idiot...but generally, the powerpoint was a Maloof fascination.
http://bigmarketing.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/jaguar_s_type-_42.jpg

 

[fnordius]

If Kenny Natt is the sturdy pickup truck and Reggie Theus was the twitchy sportscar, what was Eric Musselman?

 

[Sptsjunkie]

Hmm....

Thing is he never looked really neat on the outside to anybody except the Maloofs. Well, some portion of the fanbase who would never admit to it now were blathering about how he'd outperform Adelman, bring defense etc. And a certain prominent local blogger who will also go nameless tangled with me because he was blogging about how we were going to be a title contender with Muss and I told him he was an idiot...but generally, the powerpoint was a Maloof fascination.

Hmm, good point about the Maloofs. Maybe this is the better car, we could call it The Muss...

Although, in fairness, I liked Muss at the time. One of my best friends is a huge Warriors fan and their best two seasons prior to Don Nelson coming in were with Muss. He seemed like a good gamble, but proved to be a bust. In hindsight, the talent on those Warriors team was probably more responsible for their performance than anything Muss did.

 

[NME]

How about a DeLorean, set to travel to 2002?

 

[bajaden]

Question for Brickie:

If Kenny Natt is the sturdy pickup truck and Reggie Theus was the twitchy sportscar, what was Eric Musselman?

An Edsel.

 

[Tmassfan4life]

I almost chose en El Camino, but it would be an insult to the car. This is more Muss's size:

 

[jon e]

marc stien just said on espn that the maloofs days of choosing head coaches are over and the next coach in his mind will be eddie jordan who petie thinks highly of

 

[Bricklayer]

marc stien just said on espn that the maloofs days of choosing head coaches are over and the next coach in his mind will be eddie jordan who petie thinks highly of

Because hey, if you can win 45 games and get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, in the East even, with three 20ppg All-Stars on your team you must be a genius right?

 

[PurpleHaze]

marc stien just said on espn that the maloofs days of choosing head coaches are over and the next coach in his mind will be eddie jordan who petie thinks highly of

Surely the Kings brass can't be that dumb to hire loser Eddie Jordan. Losing 229-279 (.452) in his overall head coaching career. Losing 197-224 at Washington and 1-10 this season before getting the ax. NO EDDIE JORDAN!!

 

[fnordius]

So if Geoff likes Eddie so much, why'd he fire him last time?

 

[VF21]

I don't think Marc Stein has any more insight this time than he has in the past. And the idea that Petrie has already decided upon Eddie Jordan is just plain silly IMHO.

 

[Kingster]

So if Geoff likes Eddie so much, why'd he fire him last time?

He didn't. It was the owner's call. Remember the Mitch Richmond prima donna fiasco?

 

[fnordius]

He didn't. It was the owner's call. Remember the Mitch Richmond prima donna fiasco?

Okay, so that presents us with the theory that the Maloofs have overridden Geoff's decisions pretty much from day one.

If I accept that, for purposes of discussion, then it's the Maloofs who fired him before, but who don't mind having him back on the payroll now. So then it makes sense (to people accepting of that theory), because the Maloofs can be portrayed as flawed and chaotic more easily than Geoff can.

I find the "sometimes reporters say things which are wrong" theory to be every bit as plausible.

 

[Section 101]

Okay, so that presents us with the theory that the Maloofs have overridden Geoff's decisions pretty much from day one.

If I accept that, for purposes of discussion, then it's the Maloofs who fired him before, but who don't mind having him back on the payroll now. So then it makes sense (to people accepting of that theory), because the Maloofs can be portrayed as flawed and chaotic more easily than Geoff can.

I find the "sometimes reporters say things which are wrong" theory to be every bit as plausible.

It was Jim Thomas not the Maloofs.

 

[Bricklayer]

It was Jim Thomas not the Maloofs.

Which I mostly don't buy because of this -- Jim Thomas was selling the team. You don't just sell the team in a week -- it takes a lot of talks, a lot of contracts, and a lot of money passing hands. So if Jim Thomas fired Eddie Jordan during the same offseason he sold the team, he pretty much did it either on the behest of the Maloofs (so they wouldn't look like they had done it as their first move) or as an extra enticement to the Maloofs to complete the purchase. Under no circumstances do I see the Maloofs, the young ambitious Maloofs, in any way ok with a losing coach with a dysfunctional lockerroom being retained because the system he used made their GM all misty-eyed about his college days in the 60s.

 

[fnordius]

It was Jim Thomas not the Maloofs.

Right, the Maloofs were still only 24% owners... I spaced out on the politics of that firing, since coach firings were so common back then. And Geoff did like Eddie and his Princeton.

So I'm going to partially eat my words. I now think that the rumor could be true... or false. But in any case, it's not in the category of rumors which have us planning to make an illegal trade.

If true, that would suggest locking us into a particular direction for some years, since the Princeton takes a suitable roster, and roster changes are incredibly expensive and glacially slow compared to coach changes.

I guess we'll find out by this summer...

*fidget*

 

[fnordius]

Brick, you might be suffering from the same sort of memory issue with this as I was. Way too many coach firings.

Jordan's firing was after the end of the '97-'98 season. The Maloofs had been part owners since Dec. '97 or Jan '98, but weren't in control until May '99. The Maloofs very likely were complicit in the firing, but I don't think anyone (who wasn't there) can say for sure that they instigated it.

Still, I'm hoping that it's not true, because I think that we could do better, and see no reason why we should stick with the Princeton. It was perfect for Vlade. It would not be as good with any NBA center who has played since, in my opinion.

 

[Bricklayer]

Brick, you might be suffering from the same sort of memory issue with this as I was. Way too many coach firings.

Jordan's firing was after the end of the '97-'98 season. The Maloofs had been part owners since Dec. '97 or Jan '98, but weren't in control until May '99. The Maloofs very likely were complicit in the firing, but I don't think anyone (who wasn't there) can say for sure that they instigated it.

Still, I'm hoping that it's not true, because I think that we could do better, and see no reason why we should stick with the Princeton. It was perfect for Vlade. It would not be as good with any NBA center who has played since, in my opinion.

"The Maloof family’s interest in purchasing the Kings, Monarchs, and ARCO Arena originated in 1997 when they contacted then-Managing General Partner Jim Thomas regarding the availability of the teams and arena. On January 14, 1998, the Maloofs completed the purchase of a minority limited partnership in the organization’s franchises and ARCO Arena. Although both the Kings and Monarchs suffered through subpar seasons in 1997- 98, the Maloofs continued their pursuit of primary ownership and on January 15, 1999, subsequently purchased controlling interest, effective July 1, 1999. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the ownership transfer on May 7, 1999, in New York, at which time the Board of Governors appointed Joe Maloof to the Board. The official closing of the ownership transaction took place on July 1, 1999."

From the kings.com bio -- they had been pursuing it for a year, completed the purchase by January (before the season began in that short year), and it was just the official paperwork that took till May/July.

 

[nbrans]

I think this is all overlooking one important thing: Eddie Jordan needed to go whether Geoff wanted to fire him or not. Those teams were horrific and there was no leadership. And hey, we ended up with Rick Adelman.

If the Maloofs pushed it it may have been one of their few good decisions over the years.

 

[Kingster]

"The Maloof family’s interest in purchasing the Kings, Monarchs, and ARCO Arena originated in 1997 when they contacted then-Managing General Partner Jim Thomas regarding the availability of the teams and arena. On January 14, 1998, the Maloofs completed the purchase of a minority limited partnership in the organization’s franchises and ARCO Arena. Although both the Kings and Monarchs suffered through subpar seasons in 1997- 98, the Maloofs continued their pursuit of primary ownership and on January 15, 1999, subsequently purchased controlling interest, effective July 1, 1999. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the ownership transfer on May 7, 1999, in New York, at which time the Board of Governors appointed Joe Maloof to the Board. The official closing of the ownership transaction took place on July 1, 1999."

From the kings.com bio -- they had been pursuing it for a year, completed the purchase by January (before the season began in that short year), and it was just the official paperwork that took till May/July.

Well, this is revisionist history. And while some revisionist history is true, others are not. It was reported at the time that it was a Thomas decision to fire Jordan. I never heard a peep about the Maloofs being instrumental in it. But who really knows about the exact negotiations? One thing I do recall very, very clearly is that it was reported that Petrie was very unhappy about the firing. Petrie definitely liked Jordan and he backed him when it came to prima donna Ritchmond.

 

[Bricklayer]

Well, this is revisionist history. And while some revisionist history is true, others are not. It was reported at the time that it was a Thomas decision to fire Jordan. I never heard a peep about the Maloofs being instrumental in it. But who really knows about the exact negotiations? One thing I do recall very, very clearly is that it was reported that Petrie was very unhappy about the firing. Petrie definitely liked Jordan and he backed him when it came to prima donna Ritchmond.

How would you ever hear a peep about what the Maloofs and Thomas were talking about?

Its simple really -- a guy who is about to sell something, anything, in any field, isn't going to make major changes to what he is selling without discussing it with the people he is selling it to. In fact he doesn't really have any interest in making any changes at all -- it is the new owners who are going to want to change things for the future. That applies in basketball, it applies if you are selling your house, your business, anything. If you are in talks to sell your house you don't just go chop down the big tree in your front yard without talking to the peope who are buying th house first. In fact you have no reason to chop down that tree at all -- in a few months its not going to be your problem or your tree.

 

[swisshh]

Um, it was fairly well known that Petrie didn't really want Theus. Reggie Theus, an UNLV alumnus AND then-coach of New Mexico, was very clearly the golden boy choice of the Maloofs. There's nothing revisionist about it at all...

I don't remember hearing any of that during the coaching search. The Maloofs claimed to be hands off and there was already a Theus connection through Garcia before. SVG really was the lustrous pick to be the coach. Theus was much less of a big splash than I'd expect from the Maloofs.

 

[FakeInjury]

I don't remember hearing any of that during the coaching search. The Maloofs claimed to be hands off and there was already a Theus connection through Garcia before. SVG really was the lustrous pick to be the coach. Theus was much less of a big splash than I'd expect from the Maloofs.

I have been thinking about that big splash. The Malloofs used to be "hammered" for kings games. Things might look bad from a basketball standpoint, but Joe and Gav were still "party". Over the past decade, they have matured, and stopped the "hard party lines". Congrats to them....but while they have matured as individuals, their franchise has not. Risk is the name of the game called life, and they(Petrie too) haven't made a big splash(risk) since aquiring Mobley from Orlando. I like to gamble, so maybe its just me, but the ONE thing i learned from it all is, you can't win big if you don't bet big. The kings are "pussyfooting" through another season, thats 2 and counting.

 

[VF21]

I don't remember hearing any of that during the coaching search. The Maloofs claimed to be hands off and there was already a Theus connection through Garcia before. SVG really was the lustrous pick to be the coach. Theus was much less of a big splash than I'd expect from the Maloofs.

I'm sorry if you didn't hear about it but it doesn't mean it wasn't being discussed.

 

[Kingster]

How would you ever hear a peep about what the Maloofs and Thomas were talking about?

Its simple really -- a guy who is about to sell something, anything, in any field, isn't going to make major changes to what he is selling without discussing it with the people he is selling it to. In fact he doesn't really have any interest in making any changes at all -- it is the new owners who are going to want to change things for the future. That applies in basketball, it applies if you are selling your house, your business, anything. If you are in talks to sell your house you don't just go chop down the big tree in your front yard without talking to the peope who are buying th house first. In fact you have no reason to chop down that tree at all -- in a few months its not going to be your problem or your tree.

What you're leaving out is when exactly does the potential buyer presume to tell the seller what to do with his coach? That is something we just don't know. We also don't know how fluid these negotiations were. They could have been on again, off again, rather than some straight line projection. Lots of imponderables. It's not a given that Thomas fired Jordan because he was "directed" by the Maloofs to do it.

 

[Bricklayer]

What you're leaving out is when exactly does the potential buyer presume to tell the seller what to do with his coach? That is something we just don't know. We also don't know how fluid these negotiations were. They could have been on again, off again, rather than some straight line projection. Lots of imponderables. It's not a given that Thomas fired Jordan because he was "directed" by the Maloofs to do it.

Ah, but now to complete the picture:

-- The Maloofs offically purchase on Jan 15, 1999 (nearly exactly 1 year after they bought their minority shares on Jan 13, 1998 which is suspicious on its own that it was all planned from the beginning).

-- Eddie Jordan is not fired until Aug 19 1998. Source

-- Rick Adelman is hired on Sept 17, 1998. Source

-- And here is thing: its long been reported that the Maloofs nixed earlier Geoff ideas to be their first coach, and that Adelman was not the first choice. If that is true that means they are involved as the powers that be at least before Sept. 17, and within a month of Jordan's firing. And with Jordan not being fired until 3 months after the season, what changed? If Thomas wanted him out why not axe him in May? I'll tell you one likely explanation: he was in talks with the Maloofs and so held off, once they took control behind the scenes, the axe fell.

 

[swisshh]

I'm sorry if you didn't hear about it but it doesn't mean it wasn't being discussed.

I'm just wondering where it was being said.