Questions sent to Dave

[Bricklayer]

The questions have already been sent in.

Might be, and I don't want to displace anybody's questions, but I'm telling you right now the phrasing on some of those questions is going to let PDA go directly into pitch mode. He's going to chew those up and give you nothing. It really is about framing. Same question, some content, can be asked, but in a way that actually gets an answer or challenges him.

Just an example:

One and Done - What is your realistic timeframe to reach the playoffs?

People want to know, but written that way 100% of NBA GMs, 100% of player agents, and 100% of adequately trained lawyers of any type will vague it up, offer platitudes, and say next year.

Multipart and tighten that to:

"The team seemed to be in the playoff hunt, then you fired its coach and its fallen apart. Did you actually think firing Malone was going to get us to the playoffs this year? And if not, when exactly do you plan to make the playoffs?"

something like that, its the same idea, but it pins him like a bug on a board, and adds urgency to the same question. He might feel compelled to offer more than a platitude.

 

[Bricklayer]

Livinthedream - What qualities are you looking for in a coach that the previous coach/staff did not possess that will take the team to the next level that you spoke of.


Same idea, just provide some preamble boundaries to not let him B.S.:

"Coach Malone appeared to have the players' loyalty, Boogie, Rudy, DC and Ben were all having career years, the team was playing defense, rebounding, and competing. if that wasn't enough then what qualities are you looking for in a coach that the previous coach/staff did not possess that will take the team to the next level that you spoke of."

Its the same question, you are just taking away escape opportunities from an experienced bser (and yes, so am I or anybody in the general business).

 

[Glenn]

If his answers are vague, that in itself will tell me something. If he throws back BS, I will not be happy. If he throws back BS, he underestimates the intelligence level of the Kings fans.

 

[steelevt]

Might be, and I don't want to displace anybody's questions, but I'm telling you right now the phrasing on some of those questions is going to let PDA go directly into pitch mode. He's going to chew those up and give you nothing. It really is about framing. Same question, some content, can be asked, but in a way that actually gets an answer or challenges him.

Yeah I was hoping we could do that too. Get the questions up earlier. Let the members/mods edit the questions to be phrased perfectly then send them in. Also get to vote on the top 10 questions sent in by poll after it was narrowed down and sorted out in a separate thread. But I guess with the amount of time given, I think the job was done well.

 

[VF21]

NOTE: There were a couple of posts in here about the Voisin article. I moved them to the thread about the Voisin article, in case anyone wonders where they went.

 

[funkykingston]

You can spin your way out of anything really. My PDA-like answers in bold:

The key is the single question format, you have to counter that with framing, you can't set him up with one question, then follow (although if you are alert you might be able to follow up another person's question with your own), so you have to partially answer your own question and force him to operate within a box that might get him off message and into some truth.

How to frame a furry critter:

1) Framing:
"On November 25 the Kings were 9-5, had beaten some of the best teams in the league, while playing the toughest schedule in the league, Boogie was being mentioned as a darkhorse MVP candidate, Collison was impressing, Ben was emerging...and yet by your own admission you were already looking to replace Coach Malone. What more could you possibly have wanted? Who wasn't thriving who should have been?"

Coach Malone absolutely gave us a foundation. We're just looking to build on that to have even greater success.

2) Hard jab that might ruffle him and get him off message:
"In the past 35 years the Golden State Warriors have made the playoffs a total of 8 times, and never advanced past the second round even once. Why on earth would you model yourself after that franchise of all franchises?"

The Kings are the Kings and the Warriors are the Warriors. We're not looking to model ourselves after anyone else. If anything we're looking back to glory days of Webber and Divac and Bibby. We think Kings fans deserve the best product we can put on the floor.

3) Snark
"At what point during Tyrone Corbin's 29win campaign in Utah last year that ended with his dismissal did you think, this is our guy? Or was it not until you saw him coach in summer league?"

Letting Coach Malone go wasn't necessarily about promoting Tyrone Corbin. It was about the Kings organization being of one mind going forward and becoming the type of team we want to be.

4) Sense of history, with a jab that might get him riffing:
"Over the past 8 seasons the Kings have been dead last, 30th out of 30 NBA teams, in Defensive Rating. Not coincidentally we have also missed the playoffs for 8 straight seasons. How could you or Vivek possibly think we wanted to see yet more of that nonsense?"

We appreciate the work that Coach Malone put in improving the defense. We don't want to get away from that - we want to build on it. To have a great defensive team AND a great offensive team. There's been some struggles under Coach Corbin as the players adjust and adapt to the changes but we expect to get back to being a hardnosed defensive team that also shares the ball and scores easily.

5) Pin him with Vivek's words, see if a rift emerges:
"Vivek has stated about the firing that he thought we were going to miss the playoffs by only one or two games, and that Ty Corbin was going to lead us to the playoffs. That hasn't happened. On the day you fired Michael Malone, what were YOUR expectations for how the rest of the season would go?"

Vivek wants to win. He's a super competitive guy and I love that about him. For me it's about building things the right way. I felt we needed a change in direction and I expect us to see that by the end of the season. But changing coaches to me wasn't about immediate returns. It was about building something special in Sacramento. A team that can compete at the highest level for years to come.

6) Spin a talking point back against him, with some facts:
"In the year and a half since you took over as GM, the Kings have managed to only win TWO games without DeMarcus Cousins. Their record is 2-20, and the two wins weren't impressive. Other teams survive without their stars. The Clippers survived without Chris Paul, the Thunder survived without Westbrook, Houston survived without Dwight. What does that say about our roster construction?

-- careful on the last one, as a clever gerbil could spin that into a riff on how necessary it is to run and play jazz so you don;t depend on the big guy

You can't be too dependent on one player, no matter how good. San Antonio has been great for years because they have a system that all their guys have bought into and that they know leads to wins whether they are missing Duncan, or Parker or Ginobili. It's about maximizing your best guys but also being able to not be dead in the water when they are out.

7) playstyle
"You have the league's most dominant post player, your #2 weapon is also a post player, so is your best bench scorer (Landry), who looks at that and thinks run n gun?"

We don't want run and gun. We want to be opportunistic. Push the pace whenever it gives us an advantage. But we have to succeed in the half court too, but with ball movement and easy looks, especially for Demarcus and Rudy.

8) Direct attack, and limit his escape routes:
"Did you underestimate Michael Malone's importance to this team's spirit? If not, why on earth would you do what you did?"

We knew coach Malone had formed a bond with his players and that speaks to his ability as a teacher and coach. But sometimes we have to make tough decisions based on the big picture. It was time for us to move in a new direction and I am confident the next coach of the Kings will take the team to the next level and have the trust of our players.

9) Make him squirm:
"Do you think its more important for a GM to have chemistry with his coach, or for the players to have chemistry with their coach?"

I don't think you should have to choose one or the other. It's about an organization being of one mind and one direction. We have to be in sync to reach the highest levels

10) Make him squirm Boogie style:
"If your franchise player likes his coach and is thriving, shouldn't he have a major say in whether that coach is retained or not?"

I've talked to DeMarcus several time in the last couple week. Yes, he liked playing for Coach Malone but he has reiterated that he has faith in the organization and with our vision. And while I have great respect for Mike Malone as a coach DeMarcus is an all-star, All-NBA talent that is impossible to stop and that's about his ability more than who is calling the plays.

11) Give him room to roam:
" In just who's best interest was this firing?"

Everything we do it to put the best product we can on the floor for Kings fans. Things are a bit rocky now but this was a move that had to be made for the team to grow.

more later..

D'Alessandro knows the Kings fans are going to be angry. He'll come in calm and be looking to deflect and diffuse.

 

[Bricklayer]

You can spin your way out of anything really. My PDA-like answers in bold:



D'Alessandro knows the Kings fans are going to be angry. He'll come in calm and be looking to deflect and diffuse.

Oh sure, if he's that cool a cucumber and wants to go that route he'll probably be stoned, or at least egged, upon exiting the building. Impossible to truly avoid in a single question format, but when you ask a targeted question, the standard evasions jump out.

I actually think that only increases the importance of having questions that poke the bear a bit and present an argument. More likely to draw him out and make him try to counter an argument he doesn't like.

Scenario 1: Pete, how would you assess your performance thus far as GM?
Scenario 2: Pete, your performance thus far as GM has been crap, how do you plan to improve it?

you can platitude your way out of either scenario, but the second one is much more likely to elicit some sort of response or rattle the respondent.

 

[funkykingston]

Oh sure, if he's that cool a cucumber and wants to go that route he'll probably be stoned, or at least egged, upon exiting the building. Impossible to truly avoid in a single question format, but when you ask a targeted question, the standard evasions jump out.

I actually think that only increases the importance of having questions that poke the bear a bit and present an argument. More likely to draw him out and make him try to counter the argument.

I'm pretty sure he will go that route. I'm going to be in studio and I don't expect fireworks. I expect spin, spin, spin. I don't think D'Alessandro will lose his cool. But my hope is that he sees how upset the fan base is. More importantly I hope ownership sees that.

I have no interest in being disrespectful but I'll ask a pointed question for sure.

 

[ForlornKing]

Agree 100% with brick when I read the questions.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm pretty sure he will go that route. I'm going to be in studio and I don't expect fireworks. I expect spin, spin, spin. I don't think D'Alessandro will lose his cool. But my hope is that he sees how upset the fan base is. More importantly I hope ownership sees that.

I have no interest in being disrespectful but I'll ask a pointed question for sure.

I wonder. Guess we're going to find out, but it seems like if you just wanted to spout the normal talking points you could have just done s standard interview somewhere. Seems kind of pointless and almost trolling to get involved in an invite the public thing and then work off a queue sheet. But i guess we'll see. Or you guys will. I have recently discovered khtk has a stream now, but doubt I'll be able to listen. Somehow I suspect it may be mentioned a few times around here though, so I'll get the gist.

P.S. As an aside, I do think there is some question about the purpose of all of this. As in what is to be gained by us. For some, perhaps they are actually expecting answers. The minority play might be PDA or Mullin or somebody committing seppuku. But for me realistically I am just looking for them to absolutely feel the fans wrath, and from a practical standpoint, be cowed away from ever doing anything like this, and maybe blunting their NBA 3.0 confidence. Hence for me you don't really need to get answers, you jsut need to make him feel heat on the questions.

 

[SacTownKid]

Oh sure, if he's that cool a cucumber and wants to go that route he'll probably be stoned, or at least egged, upon exiting the building. Impossible to truly avoid in a single question format, but when you ask a targeted question, the standard evasions jump out.

I actually think that only increases the importance of having questions that poke the bear a bit and present an argument. More likely to draw him out and make him try to counter an argument he doesn't like.

Scenario 1: Pete, how would you assess your performance thus far as GM?
Scenario 2: Pete, your performance thus far as GM has been poopoo, how do you plan to improve it?

you can platitude your way out of either scenario, but the second one is much more likely to elicit some sort of response or rattle the respondent.

Scenario 2 is just harsh, but yeah, that's kind of the only way to do it to where any deflection would be so overt that it wouldn't fly for anyone within ear shot. Don't worry about trying to live up to anyones expectations, it's not like our entire lives are riding on this Funky.

But they are just so you know!!

Pete seems like a nice dude, I'm sure it will be a good conversation.

 

[funkykingston]

I've been thinking of a few more questions of my own:

"Does it bother you that the national narrative around the Kings went from being about the team's surprising hot start and competitiveness to being a punchline?" That instead of talking about DeMarcus' all-star likelihood or tough defense or possible playoff hopes everyone is now talking about 4 on 5 defense, run-and-gun, the Kings blowing another chance, what are they thinking etc?

"Is there ever a point where you stop and think that if the fans, players, local media, national media, hall of fame coaches (Popovich), opposing broadcast teams all think you made a mistake firing Malone that you DID make a mistake? Isn't the team falling out of the playoff hunt and their terrible play evidence of that?

 

[ForlornKing]

I've been thinking of a few more questions of my own:

"Does it bother you that the national narrative around the Kings went from being about the team's surprising hot start and competitiveness to being a punchline?" That instead of talking about DeMarcus' all-star likelihood or tough defense or possible playoff hopes everyone is now talking about 4 on 5 defense, run-and-gun, the Kings blowing another chance, what are they thinking etc?

"Is there ever a point where you stop and think that if the fans, players, local media, national media, hall of fame coaches (Popovich), opposing broadcast teams all think you made a mistake firing Malone that you DID make a mistake? Isn't the team falling out of the playoff hunt and their terrible play evidence of that?

THERE we go

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Dave posted some info about tomorrow and it said something about all of the questions submitted by the Kings fan sites to him will be narrowed down to 10 total............

 

[VF21]

Dave posted some info about tomorrow and it said something about all of the questions submitted by the Kings fan sites to him will be narrowed down to 10 total............

I posted his comments in the other thread. He only has an hour (commercial free, thanks to his bosses) and he's got phone calls and folks in person. PLUS he has to give PDA time to respond.

 

[Iced Espresso]

I am looking forward to this, I expect political answers and cryptic answers for further let down however.

I have been patient, wanted to see how the team would respond.
I wanted to see what Corbin can do.
Waited to see if a new coach came.
Have seen the effect on the players and fans.

I am now ready to say I see nothing has improved, every single positive thing we built has stagnated at best to now being complete and utter trash now.

So I expect only annoyance from Pete in the morning.

And currently, have little desire to watch them much, where as before I never missed a game, although I DVR'd some, and don;t expect to attend another game this season.

 

[randymoss1881]

When does this start

 

[Chicken Chaser]

You guys know what will happen after tomorrow's show? Every beat writer will cover it. Every piercing question, every PDA answer will be quoted, tweeted, and scrutinized in an article. Breton, Jones, Voison, et al. If PDA tries to spin his way out, he will find himself on his way out.

 

[chasen4r1]

I've been thinking of a few more questions of my own:

"Does it bother you that the national narrative around the Kings went from being about the team's surprising hot start and competitiveness to being a punchline?" That instead of talking about DeMarcus' all-star likelihood or tough defense or possible playoff hopes everyone is now talking about 4 on 5 defense, run-and-gun, the Kings blowing another chance, what are they thinking etc?

"Is there ever a point where you stop and think that if the fans, players, local media, national media, hall of fame coaches (Popovich), opposing broadcast teams all think you made a mistake firing Malone that you DID make a mistake? Isn't the team falling out of the playoff hunt and their terrible play evidence of that?

That 2nd question is on the money.

 

[chasen4r1]

You guys know what will happen after tomorrow's show? Every beat writer will cover it. Every piercing question, every PDA answer will be quoted, tweeted, and scrutinized in an article. Breton, Jones, Voison, et al. If PDA tries to spin his way out, he will find himself on his way out.

Oh please please please let it be so!

 

[HereWeBoogie]

When does this start

8am

 

[VF21]

When does this start

8 a.m. to 9 a.m. without commercial interruption on 1140 (www.khtk.com)

 

[ESP47]

I imagine it going something along the lines of this...

 

[kingsfan1984]

Ok just send bricks list...

My god this is my new wet dream!!!! I would gladly spring for Bricks whole airfare even if I need a second job if half his list of questions get asked and Brick would become my new hero!

I have strong faith in Funky and Cap that they will bring these type of questions tomorrow too. Can't wait to hear. Hope you make the Gerbil want to run back to his hole. Bring the Kings Thunder!

 

[Albatros]

Pete was just responding to people on twitter, and i appreciate it's only 140 characters but if those answers are a preview of this forum then you're not going to get much more than "sit back and trust us" by the looks of it.

 

[chasen4r1]

Apparently KHTK is going to have a video stream as well. Haven't confirmed the link though...

 

[John Galt]

Pete was just responding to people on twitter, and i appreciate it's only 140 characters but if those answers are a preview of this forum then you're not going to get much more than "sit back and trust us" by the looks of it.

Yeah those twitter responses were the stuff of an over-the-top arrogant smug corporate rodent. Nothing that made me the slightest bit more willing to break out the checkbook for renewals, unfortunately. So depressing that we are locked in with Pete D'Alessandro as GM

 

[John Galt]

Question to Pete "Why did you fire Malone?"
Pete reply "believe"

Thanks Pete for the candor

 

[chasen4r1]

Yeah those twitter responses were the stuff of an over-the-top arrogant smug corporate rodent. Nothing that made me the slightest bit more willing to break out the checkbook for renewals, unfortunately. So depressing that we are locked in with Pete D'Alessandro as GM

Oh my lord, just starting going through his responses. Here is a screen shot of one:





Really Pete? We're all about Winning? Sure looks like it...

 

[chasen4r1]

I already responded to this tweet, but here's another snippet:



How insulting to tell a Kings fan to calm down right now. Must be nice to be under the warm wing of Mullin and bringing in millions on the paycheck while nearly single-handedly ruining any hope or momentum we had for this season and maybe more.

Get a grip Pete, we're not idiots.