Q & A with the Maloofs
- Thread starter BigWaxer
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T
thesanityannex
Guest
could you post it for those of us that don't have a sac bee account.
BigWaxer
Starter
The Bee's Sam Amick caught up with Gavin Maloof poolside at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and had an extended conversation. Here's an excerpt of that Q&A.
Q: So has it been fun having your two passions collide this week (NBA summer league and Las Vegas)?
A: I think it should be here every year. I think the players are having a great time. Some of them may have never been to Vegas. It's either here or in Long Beach, and nothing against Long Beach but I think everybody wants to come here. Some of the NBA owners are here: Jim Dolan of the Knicks and I guess Paul Allen (of Portland) was here. So you get more interest and people want to come here. Why not have events where people want to go? Does that make sense, crazy as it sounds? But I was impressed. I think we should have it here every year.
Q: You guys have always trusted Geoff (Petrie) to no end (with the basketball decisions), but over the years have you made an effort to educate yourselves more and know what you're talking about?
A: To a certain extent, we know what we're talking about. They say we know just enough to be dangerous, I guess is the old saying (laughs). But we listen to Geoff. Like with this (first-round draft) pick (Francisco Garcia), you have to trust your people, and he's had a track record of picking some good talent. At the end of the day, you're not going to be 100 percent. But that's why you have to have experts. I learned long ago you can't cross pollinate one expert in one field to another field. You have to listen to whoever's an expert in the particular field.
Q: What's the latest on the free-agent market?
A: I'm really not at liberty to talk about free agents, but who knows what might happen.
Q: Might we see a few new names on the roster?
A: You never know what's going to happen. You really can't predict the future. This free agent comes available, then it leads to another one, the domino effect. Nobody goes into free agency knowing what's going to happen. It's just trial and error really.
Q: Are you putting a lot of weight in free agency this year, maybe more than most?
A: We're always looking to better our team. That's free agents, or trading, or draft picks, or moving up, that's our focus. How are we going to get better talent-wise?
Q: Anything new on the arena front?
A: No, not really. We're still trying to find a way. We've got a lot of smart people working on it, so hopefully we can find a way to get it done. We're trying. We're trying, doing everything we can.
Q: Are there ever times when you say to yourself, ‘Geez, wouldn't it be a blast to have the Kings in Vegas?'
A: No, no, no. When I say I want a team here, of course I don't want our team here (laughs).
Q: On another issue, you guys have taken a lot of flack for the Phil Jackson situation and how it was handled, if and when (Adelman) was told about it. He was upset, as you know. Was the criticism fair or was it a case of you not planning on anything leaking out?
A: Yeah, I thought all of it would be behind the scenes, and it got out.
Q: What was going through your head as you saw that (hiring Jackson) was a possibility, then thinking through about how to play the situation?
A: It was just an opportunity to look at a great coach. He was available, let's look at it. More exploratory. It's nothing against Rick. He's done a great job. But when you get a guy with nine titles, you've got to look at it (laughs). And that's what it was.
Q: Do you regret not contacting him before getting in touch with Phil, or if you had it to do over again, would you make the same play?
A: I don't know if I would've done it differently. I really don't. (Petrie) had just gotten sick (with a heart problem that resulted in an angioplasty). Joe contacted his agent. We never even spoke to Phil Jackson, just (agent) Todd (Musburger). I think it was just like if there was a great player out there that we're going to go for, then you do everything you can to get him. That's really what it was.
Q: So has it been fun having your two passions collide this week (NBA summer league and Las Vegas)?
A: I think it should be here every year. I think the players are having a great time. Some of them may have never been to Vegas. It's either here or in Long Beach, and nothing against Long Beach but I think everybody wants to come here. Some of the NBA owners are here: Jim Dolan of the Knicks and I guess Paul Allen (of Portland) was here. So you get more interest and people want to come here. Why not have events where people want to go? Does that make sense, crazy as it sounds? But I was impressed. I think we should have it here every year.
Q: You guys have always trusted Geoff (Petrie) to no end (with the basketball decisions), but over the years have you made an effort to educate yourselves more and know what you're talking about?
A: To a certain extent, we know what we're talking about. They say we know just enough to be dangerous, I guess is the old saying (laughs). But we listen to Geoff. Like with this (first-round draft) pick (Francisco Garcia), you have to trust your people, and he's had a track record of picking some good talent. At the end of the day, you're not going to be 100 percent. But that's why you have to have experts. I learned long ago you can't cross pollinate one expert in one field to another field. You have to listen to whoever's an expert in the particular field.
Q: What's the latest on the free-agent market?
A: I'm really not at liberty to talk about free agents, but who knows what might happen.
Q: Might we see a few new names on the roster?
A: You never know what's going to happen. You really can't predict the future. This free agent comes available, then it leads to another one, the domino effect. Nobody goes into free agency knowing what's going to happen. It's just trial and error really.
Q: Are you putting a lot of weight in free agency this year, maybe more than most?
A: We're always looking to better our team. That's free agents, or trading, or draft picks, or moving up, that's our focus. How are we going to get better talent-wise?
Q: Anything new on the arena front?
A: No, not really. We're still trying to find a way. We've got a lot of smart people working on it, so hopefully we can find a way to get it done. We're trying. We're trying, doing everything we can.
Q: Are there ever times when you say to yourself, ‘Geez, wouldn't it be a blast to have the Kings in Vegas?'
A: No, no, no. When I say I want a team here, of course I don't want our team here (laughs).
Q: On another issue, you guys have taken a lot of flack for the Phil Jackson situation and how it was handled, if and when (Adelman) was told about it. He was upset, as you know. Was the criticism fair or was it a case of you not planning on anything leaking out?
A: Yeah, I thought all of it would be behind the scenes, and it got out.
Q: What was going through your head as you saw that (hiring Jackson) was a possibility, then thinking through about how to play the situation?
A: It was just an opportunity to look at a great coach. He was available, let's look at it. More exploratory. It's nothing against Rick. He's done a great job. But when you get a guy with nine titles, you've got to look at it (laughs). And that's what it was.
Q: Do you regret not contacting him before getting in touch with Phil, or if you had it to do over again, would you make the same play?
A: I don't know if I would've done it differently. I really don't. (Petrie) had just gotten sick (with a heart problem that resulted in an angioplasty). Joe contacted his agent. We never even spoke to Phil Jackson, just (agent) Todd (Musburger). I think it was just like if there was a great player out there that we're going to go for, then you do everything you can to get him. That's really what it was.
T
thesanityannex
Guest
muchos gracias el grande waxer.
Prophetess
Gallifrayain
thank you. it kind of disappoints me that he thinks he would of handled it the same way.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Prophetess said:
remember the interesting dynamic here -- Joe Maloof apparently made teh move without even talking to Gavin, who found out through the papers. So Gavin might just be covering for his brother here by saying he might do it the same way, as opposed to saying he would do it differently which would be an implied ciritcism of Joe (warranted BTW).
