RA on grant right now.

  • Thread starter Thread starter sanchosforhire
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BigWaxer said:
If we had, which I will argue hands down the best “O” then couple that with the “ELITE” “D” Then how did we not get a ring? I agree luck has some factor in it ( I play Poker, I know about luck... :) ). Add in that crappy ref called game. Not to mention I figure we were playing against the two best players in the game at that time.

I agree Brick with most of what you’re saying. I would say we had a decent, mid/upper level D.

Some of the main reasons/players for our great D stats decided to go in hiding playoff time which was our downfall that year.

Er... you're thinking of 01-02, and maybe that's why you and Brick have such different opinions here. (Unless you consider Nowitzki and Van Exel the two best players at that time). :)

02-03 we had Keon & JJax, and we WERE an elite defensive team, arguably the BEST defensive team that year. Of course after Webb collapsed we were toast, regardless of our previous defensive prowess.
~~
 
BigWaxer said:
If we had, which I will argue hands down the best “O” then couple that with the “ELITE” “D” Then how did we not get a ring? I agree luck has some factor in it ( I play Poker, I know about luck... :) ). Add in that crappy ref called game. Not to mention I figure we were playing against the two best players in the game at that time.

Brick and BigWaxer, I think the two of you are referring to different Kings' teams. BigWaxer, I think you're referring to the Kings' team that lost to the Lakers in 7 games with homecourt advantage --- that team did not really suffer from bad luck as much as it suffered from chokitis at the free throw line in game 7 (although Peja being injured in the Dallas series didn't help matters, and neither did game 6).

The team Brick is talking about that had the great defensive stats is the team from the next year, the team that had Keon Clark patroling the middle when Vlade or Chris left the game and Jim Jackson off the bench at SG and SF to add some defensive muscle, the team that had DC at the highest of his defensive abilities, the team that was favored by just about everyone to run through the playoffs and claim what they had "rightfully" earned due to the disappointment against the Lakers the year before, and the team that flamed out in Dallas in game 7 after CWebb went down with a knee injury in game 2 of that series.

The team that played against the Lakers was not nearly the defensive team that played the following year with the additions of Keon Clark and Jim Jackson. I agree with BigWaxer about that Kings' team's defensive shortcomings, and I agree with Brick about the next Kings' team's defensive prowess.
 
Alacron said:
Er... you're thinking of 01-02, and maybe that's why you and Brick have such different opinions here. 02-03 we had Keon & JJax, and we WERE an elite defensive team, arguably the BEST defensive team that year. Of course after Webb collapsed we were toast, regardless of our previous defensive prowess.
~~

Beat me to the punch...
 
but wasnt our defense dictated by our offense? with all of the passers and shooters that we had, no one could cheat off of them for fast break points if the shot didnt go in... thats what happened in '03 when webber went down, we couldnt dictate the offence so our defense suffered....
 
AriesMar27 said:
but wasnt our defense dictated by our offense? with all of the passers and shooters that we had, no one could cheat off of them for fast break points if the shot didnt go in... thats what happened in '03 when webber went down, we couldnt dictate the offence so our defense suffered....


Semantics. Sometimes Manu throws up early shots. . .the Spurs still get back.
 
I don't like to disagree with Brick... :) As I usually agree with 99.999% of his opinions...

I think maybe we are thinking of two different teams then. Not sure

All I know is this.

RA is lame duck unless re-up'd, Our team as of late doesn't want to play "D" although of our current players are capable if pushed.

I just want a ring dangit!

:)
 
on the topic of our d, both 01 and 02 were very good defensive years in sacramento, esp compared to this year. Although, like others have said, it was not shown by low points against but instead by low fg%.

i personally think the kings of 01-03 will be seen as one of the best teams to not win a championship.
 
funkykingston said:
It was said that these moves were going to be made for flexibility for making moves in the future. If so, Petrie needs to start making those moves. Right now, all he's done is move two contracts and leave the team with holes at the SG & PF.

He can't do anything until Friday, so have a little patience. Last time I checked the season doesn't start this weekend. The free agent frenzy will begin this Friday and teams can't sign players for another two weeks. RA even referred to the free agent period tonight in his interview on 1140. They clearly have a plan and I'm sure that the pieces they got back from Philly have something to do with it. This is what GP was referring to when he initally said that the Webb trade provided the team with more "flexibility." Sure, it would have been nice to get a quality star in return for Webb, but NOBODY, I mean NOBODY wanted him and when Philly came calling they jumped at the chance to get rid of him like they should have. There's a reason why GP has been the NBA Executive of the Year two times over the last 6 or so seasons and I think that come October he will have proven why.
 
BigWaxer said:
I just want a ring dangit!
:)

I just want us to play good basketball again. As I was saying that I thought, "We won 50 games. That is pretty good." But y'all know what I mean. I miss being excited, optimistic, and hopeful about our games. I miss being surprised when we lost, not satisfied if we did not lose too badly. I miss not being nervous about what team we were playing. I WANTED them to play the tough teams to show everyone how good we were. I miss . . . THE KINGS. Last year started horribly, got better, and ended worse. I want a better season.

I do not blame just Adleman ( I am a BIG supporter of his), Petrie (same), the Maloofs, or the players. It was a combination of all. I expect more out of them all this season. If RA expects more from the players, I hope he expects more from himself as well.
 
Bricklayer said:
3 years ago this same coach coached an elite defensive squad.

Not sure why people have such a hard time putting two and two together.

Same coach, '02-03 players = top defensive team.

Same coach, '04-05 players = bad defensive team.


But somehow we get out of that that it is the COACH making us a bad defensive team? The coach hasn't changed. The players have. At some point people have to wake up and starting pointing fingers where they belong (if they are to be pointed at all) -- toward a front office who's only defensive player of note it has acquired in 3 years has been the much maligned Greg Ostertag (who I DO think should have played more of course). Our player analysis at this point seems to have been reduced to one silly question -- can he shoot? If the answer is yes, end of inquiry. We never seem to get down to silly irrelevant questions such as size, defense, toughness etc.

Even with all that - after 7 years somebody else should try it.
 
Did he happen to mention if we have officially made a qualifying offer to Darious or Mo? The deadline is the 30th. Any news about it?
 
chelle - Adelman doesn't usually discuss personnel stuff like that. Petrie does...and I'm pretty sure he was quoted as saying a couple of different times that they would be making offers to both Darius and Mo.

Does anybody have anything more about the interview?
 
chelle said:
Did he happen to mention if we have officially made a qualifying offer to Darious or Mo? The deadline is the 30th. Any news about it?

Neither one of them will do us any good.

Only thing that can come out of this is a potential sign and trade
 
piksi said:
Neither one of them will do us any good.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? I think they both have value, if they can be brought back reasonably. Look at our roster. We have a whole bunch of guys making tons of money and virtually no one in the lower ranges. You can't do much bargaining with just a couple of really big chips.
 
VF21 said:
Guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? I think they both have value, if they can be brought back reasonably. Look at our roster. We have a whole bunch of guys making tons of money and virtually no one in the lower ranges. You can't do much bargaining with just a couple of really big chips.

You absolutely right - they are better than nothing.

I was just thinking a a bigger picture here. If Kings are to get back in the hunt - Mobley and Darius (who I really like as a player) will not be part of it. Same goea for Thomas and Williamson. Skinner might be usefull.

It will be a lot of work for GP this summer especially because "our core" desperately needs players which will cover their weaknesses like lack of speed and athleticism, defense, rebounding etc.
 
I really don't see Petrie doing it all in one year. He didn't the first time. It took several years for him to get all the pieces he wanted. He even mentioned a couple of times in either 2000 or 2001 that people would be surprised to know how long he'd been thinking about a couple of the acquisitions he made.

I've said it before - Petrie is like a chess master. We're watching him make move #5 when he's already figuring out what he's going to do in move #17.

At this point, I'm actually starting to look forward to seeing just how the game plays out.
 
Thanks, Twix. I just started to download it. Let's see how long it takes on my fantastic, lightning-quick dial-up.

;)
 
D-Mass said:
14000+ posts on a dial-up? I'm impressed!

you would think that vf had a t3 connection.... how on earth did vf do the play-by-play on dial up? i cant even check my e-mail on dial up.... id have a heart attack from the slow loading time....:D
 
hopefully both martin and garcia hit the gym sometime in the near future.... god knows they need it.... i think i might mail them some weight gainer 3000 or something....
 
Awesome interview, thanks a lot for posting it Twix. He called out Mike on D pretty good, and it sounds like he thinks Kevin has a chance to play more next year depending on how his summer and camp goes. That was one of the more candid interviews I've ever heard from Rick, he said we will get better defensively(like we were a couple of years ago) if we can aquire some better defensive players and if the big 3(especially Mike) make the commitment and set the example at the defensive end.
 
Here's a transcript:

Rick, how are ya?

I'm fine Grant, doing good.

Of course, you got the steal of the draft, the guy who's gonna be the all-star for the next five years and you watch all this stuff, you must just chuckle when all the so-called experts come out and give their quick synopsis of any draft pick, and they can play or they can't play, and you've been in this business long enough to know there are steals in the draft, there are busts, and you never know until you see the guy play on the court.

No you really don't know, and I think yesterday was almost even worse because you have people who have no idea who these people are, I mean Steven A. Smith, if he'd seen any of these guys play I'd be shocked. I heard you guys earlier say Toranto did a terrible job, and that's what he said, but his basis for them doing a terrible job is they drafted a power forward now they got Chris bosh, yet Charlotte drafted May and they have the ROY in Okofor. So you don't know what other teams are doing, they have their sights set on certain people, and you take what happens. There's nothing you can do about it. You try to go thru it in a process, and every team does the same thing, we did the same thing and see who's there, and you make the best judgment you can.

Lamb: When you think about a guy coming out of college and, this is your dream world, if you had a guy who was either a smart guy or a competitive guy, and you had to pick between the two of those, which do you put a higher premium on?

I really put a higher premium on the fact that a guy, number one, if he knows the game and plays hard, that's a key for me. The guy's gonna put it on the line and he's a smart player, that's really a key for me. If the guy's just an athelete and can play, but sometimes that doesn't translate into anything. That's a great example about May, I think he's a smart player with a high skill level, who plays hard. That pretty good (inaudible)...Sometimes you take just a guy who's atheletic and has done a lot of good things because he just dominates the person athletically, that doesn't always work out. I'd rather have a guy, and I guess maybe I'm talking about Tim Duncan, who's very highly skilled and plays hard, and does all the right things, and he's gonna take your team a long ways.

Lamb: How rare is it to have a guy like Tim Duncan who is a superstar but, he just doesn't have that personality and, to me,that's what sets him apart from a lot of other guys.

You know, you read that and I just find it really amusing that people say "he's boring", and he's this and that, and "in the finals he wasn't stepping up". He has a personality it's just the right one. (laughter) He goes out and he plays the game, and he plays the game to the highest level. A great player, not only is he good but he makes his team good. And if you watch that 7th game, who was it that found Bowen and who was it that found Ginobili, becaue they couldn't play him inside. I think it's rare when you have a guy like that, and I don't think he has to be that vocal, he doesn't have to sound off, he's probably going to be that way moreso as he goes on in his career. But They won three championships with him. Everyone talks about how great Shaq is, well he's won three too. I think Duncan is a pretty good example of what you'd like to have, I just don't think they're gonna trade him to us, I'd love to see that happen, but I just don't think that's gonna happen. Geoff's good, but I don't know if he's that good.

Rant: We haven't had a chance to talk to you since the end of the season, and obviously a lot has gone on since the end of the season. And recently in the Sacramento Bee you were quoted as how you were a little unahppy with the way everything transpired with the Phil Jackson rumours and etc. I don't want to rehash that too much, but I do want to ask you once training camp opens in early October is that going to mean anthing? I mean, it's still your basketball team, you're still the coach, you've obvioulsy won 50 games five years in a row, is everything going to be okay in terms of moving on?

Well, Grant, it's not going to mean anything because I have a job, I have to go out and coach a team. And which ever team we have it's going to be no different than it was before. The only thing that's going to be different is I'm going to be asked about it then too. And that's just the way it is. And yeah, I don't think I was out of line by saying I wasn't extremely happy with that, I don't think we would have won 50 games five years in a row, I think there's four teams that has been in the playoffs last four years, we're one of them. Three have been in the playoffs in the last seven, we're one of them. I think people think being in the playoffs is a given, they're not given, not in our conference. I just think the Maloof's, who have been terrific to me, they want to make a change, that's fine. I just didn't understand, as good a coach Phil Jackson is, what was he going to change in our season last year, I just didn't understand that. We made two major trades, traded our best player away an won 50 games and lost in the first round. I didn't want to lose in the first round, but I just didn't undersatnd what was the kneejerk reaction so quickly when the season ended, I think we've always talked about things, so, you know, it wasn't handled in the right way but we've moved on and we're trying to get this team ready and Phil Jackson, he didn't decided to come. I'm just glad they didn't go after Red Auerbach! (laughter)...

Lamb: Let me ask you about Francisco Garcia and what you like about him and what you know about him and how you think he's gonna fit.

Well Mike, when you look at the draft and you go thru it, we rely a lot on our scouts and we have a great scouting staff, you know Geoff and Coop, put together Scottie Sterling and Keith Drohme (sp) and Jerry Reynolds, I mean everybody looks at all these people. And we had a lot of people say "these guys may be here", and Garcia we did not think would be there. But you know we have to look at it, you talk about our FA's and we have two guards, Cuttino and Maurice, who are FA's and we have Darius. Well you don't know what's gonna happen in the future. And what happened was Francisco came down to us and we think he's a really good player, we think he's a solid player, he can play, I think he can play two positions. Not only can he play but it's kind of an insurance as to what's gonna happen in the future. And if everything works out for us then fine, but I think he was the best player when we looked at all the people there and everybody that went, he was the guy that we had up there at 23, you want a player that is gonna fulfil some needs, but a player that's gonna play in the league. I think that was the key, we felt he's definitely going to playin the league, he's definitely going to contribute right away, you can probably put him in the game and he'll probably find a way to succeed, and for me that's a key. Cause I don't know what's gonna happen this summer thru free agency, but I think we got a good player. I don't know how good he's gonna be, but I think he has a chance because of how hard he works and his skill level, he has a chance to be a good player in this league. And that's really one of the keys with him, is he works extremely hard and he wants to play, he wants to practice, he wants to do all the right things and, you know, that's what we're looking for

Rant: Obviously every player around the world now is under a microscope. And it doesn't matter where you're playing, if you're good they're gonna find you. And with Francisco Garcia, everybody knew about him, they watched him, but when you have an assistant coach like Reggie Theus who was a longtime member of this franchise, who knows what it's like to play in the NBA, and he validates this guy to a very high level to a confidant and a Jerry Reynolds who coached him (Theus), how important is that type of an endorsement from somebody who watches a player like a Francisco Garcia every single day?

You had me until you told me Jerry Reynlds (laughter). No, I think Jerry knows Reggie very good, he told us what Reggie thought, and Reggie's been in this league, he knows what it takes. You know, the biggest thing too is Jerry said he (Theus) was around the kid all the time, and that tells you lots. Not that that's gonna make him a payer, but any information you get like that really helps you, the people you trust, the people that will tell you the truth, some times people don't tell you the truth. But I think having Jerry's input there and Keith Drohm (sp) has seen this kid play a lot. I just think everybody combined, we had a pretty good comfort level with him. And again, people say "I didn't think he was gonna be there", well we really didn't think he was gonna be there. Alot of people didn't think Granger was gonna go where he went. I think it's a good pick for us, and we're gonna give the kid a chance and I think if he's the type of kid if he can grow and learn to play our game, I think he can be a good addition for us.

Lamb: Does it even come into the equation where he played and who he played for? Because obviously Rick Putino wants certain things from his players, and he wants them done a certain way. And they played a very competitive conference as a team that has been successful. Does any of that come into the equation, or are you looking at him as more of an individual, rather than the way he fit in and the way he learned from Rich Putino?
 
Part II

You know Mike, I think we look at all that, but I think when you look at the way Putino plays, they get after it. Every coach has his pros and cons, but one thing you can say about Rick Putino is his people play very hard. And they know what it's like to play hard. And I think Francisco, you can see that. And they play an uptempo game, they do a lot of cutting, a lot of passing and movement, that's gonna help him. I think it just adds to the equation. I think when you know he's played in that type of system....again, when you turn it the other way, when I've heard some people say "well, he's not that good an on-the-ball defender". Now we'll find that out, cause I don't know in college how many people play that much on-the-ball defense, you know we'll find that out in our league. I think the kid, he has skills and he plays hard and he will push himself to be a good player. But the way they play, I think you have a real good comfort level, you know that every day in practice he's gonna play hard, every game he's gonna play hard.

Rant: Rick, about three or four weeks ago we had Joe Maloof on and he stressed to us that when you all met in Vegas, which I guess was done recently, that one of the main topics was gonna be defense and improved defnese. And as an owner I know he was pretty adamant about that. I know you hear this all the time; you're the head coach and people always ask "why can't the Kings play better defense"? It's obviously easier said than done, but is there going to be any different focal point/attention to that area of your team when basketball camp opens in October?

No. I mean, we do it all the time. I don't understand. I can understand because we don't defend as well as we would like, but I till go back...and maybe it's trying to bring up past history, but two years ago we had the best defensive team, field goal percentage against us. But since then, we only have two players from that team. We changed dramatically, we're not as long, we're not as flexible, we don't have guys who can play multi positions, I mean everything just changed for us. And unless you can bring in the two Wallaces or Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan...we'll be much better defensively immediately. You know, we have not changed, as a coaching staff, our emphasis in practice and our pushing people, or anything else. And I still think...and that being said...we have to keep pushing that and find a way to be better defensively

Lamb: Two years ago you had Doug Christie and we can't go back in time, but...Geoff Petrie made a comment to Grant and I one day that one player is not going to make a difference, and I'm not going to second guess him (Petrie). But doug seemingly was the guy who relished that role. Is that something that, maybe you can find a player...and I don't know if it's going to be Francisco, I don't know if it's going to be Kevin Martin or whoever, but you can determine that he is going to be a defensive guy, and that's going to be something that he can bring to the team?
When I look at our team, the three guys that we've talked about consistantly is Mike Bibby and Peja and Brad, the three we're building around. Now when you look at those three players, you're looking at the offensive end; you're not looking at the defensive end. And so that being said, if they're going to be the leaders of this team - and I've seen Mike say that, that he wants to be the leader - then he's gotta do more at the defensive end. He's got to pick his game up, he has got to do that. And Peja has to do more, and Brad has to do more. But you're right, you have to find people around them that gives you that. Gives you that energy, gives you that input. And we're going to try to, as much as we can, push these guys to be a better defensive team. Becasue we are a good offensive team, everybody knows that. You gotta remember that last year we made two changes in our team, Doug Christie and then Chris Webber and the other two guys (Barnes and Bradley), and we have twenty something games left. And two games after we made that trade Brad Miller broke his leg. And all we were trying to do was get thru the season, find a way for this team to be competitive, and the best way for that to happen was to try to score points, that's just the way it was.

And so, I think next year with the training camp I think the guys we brought in, if we push start our returning guys to do more, I think we can do better defensively. We're not going to be Detroit and SA, but I think we can be better defensively and we're not going to change in our stance of trying to make that happen. And if it means our coaching staff has to do different things, we're gonna do different things. But I also feel like, you gotta be a little realistic here. I mean, we don't have two all-defensive players like SA does, and we don't have a lot of guys like Detroit does. We just don't have them! And so, we CAN push these guys and if we can add people that are going to help us in that area, and we get a training camp and we get a philosophy...you know, all the guys had different philosophies from where they came...I think we can be better. I don't know how much better, but that's my job, I have to make them better.

Lamb: If the team is able to keep Maurice Evans, how much higher is the level of trust with him, from when he stepped into your practice facility, to where he ended up this last year?

I think Maurice has shown he can play in the league last year, and if we get Maurice back...like I said, you never know what's going to happen this summer....he has shown he can make open shots, he's shown that he can make stand-still shots from the 3 point line and in. There's been times he's been spectacular going to the basket and getting offensive rebounds, and shown atheletic ability. But he does have some areas he does have to get better in, and that's handling the ball, number one. And offensively he's got to go to his strengths and not try to go to his weaknesses. And honestly, I've heard this before, he's got to get better at defending people. You know, he is not the best defensive player. He gets lost, he runs into picks, he gets beat off the dribble. I think he can do those things, but the guy has to get it into his mind that "that's what I'm going to do" to get more time. And I think that that was kind of a ....when you're coaching a team, some people perceive that a guy can do certian things. But if another player, say Cuttino Mobley, he can do more for you because he's so good offensively, than Maurice can do for you defensively, then you're going to go with the other guy. So I think Maurice showed he can play in this league, now it's up to him to expand his game, and do other things so he can stay in the league and keep progressing. We're very high on him, he has shown he has flashes of just greatness, his atheletic ability...but he's just got to learn how to do other things.

Rant: Before we let you go, you're going to be on your way to Vegas next week with the rest of the front office personnel and the players on your camp roster, and we know Kevin Martin's going to be there. I know he's been working out hard. And he showed some signs that he can play in this league as well, obviously with him it's experience as well, and some other things. But this is going to be a very intereting summer for him, isn't it? I mean, he's gotta step up to the next level, I would think.

You're right Grant, we're very high on Kevin. We didn't have him on our playoff roster, but I tell you the kid has so much atheletic ability, he's so quick and so fast. He's got to harness it, he gotta learn when to use it. He's got to learn to play when he doesn't have the ball, and play consistantly all the time. Kevin was drafted last year and I think he kinda went thru his rookie season, kind of in awe that he was there. Geoff and I both told him "Your rookie season's over with, you have to start with the summer league and you have to say 'I don't care who's here, that starting 2 guard job, the minutes at the 2 guard, that's mine'". That's the attitude he's gotta have. I have a lot of confidence in him, he showed us he could defend, he's one guy on our team who can guard people and keep in front of them. And I think if he can learn to channel his atheletic ability, with his speed and quickness, he could become a very good player in this league. But you're right, this summer is going to really crucial for him, and the way he approaches it and how he does it. I just like a lot of things about Kevin, I think we just have to find a way to tap that now, to bring it out. It's going to be really crucial for him in Vegas, but after Vegas, what he does the rest of the summer, how he works at things. Give him credit, he has been in our facility every day, right up until now, he's been here for a whole month. And we didn't see that last year. So I think the kid has a chance, I mean he's certainly got the ability to do it.

Rant: Thank you Rick, take care, yadda yadda yadda....
 
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