Rumor: Kings mgmt wanted to draft Elfrid Payton, but owner Ranadive overruled for Stauskas
- Thread starter King Baller
- Start date
Sac.Kings
All-Star
Old news, but I have always believed that Vivek included himself in far too many things as an owner. It's acceptable to watch the draft process, but you should always let your staff (that you paid for) make those decisions. They spend months-years scouting players, they know what they are doing!
KingsFanGER
Starter
More gossip, more speculation.....it won't stop till the Kings are winning again.
To make an article out of this is kinda telling about the qualitiy of sports journalism in relation to the Kings.
To make an article out of this is kinda telling about the qualitiy of sports journalism in relation to the Kings.
HndsmCelt
Hall of Famer
Ok so regardless of this stories truth or falsehood, what I have to wonder is who is leaking this and to what purpose? We have all seen the draft night video, so if it is true the FO wanted Payton, the problem is that in the effort to look "smart & right" they just make the entire FO look like a craven bunch of sycophants at least one of which will eventually stop kissing butt to place a dagger 16 inches higher up.Color me unimpressed. I have to say being wrong or over involved is not the worst thing an owner new to the NBA could do. On the other hand lacking courage, back biting, killing a successful team/coach for personal power... that makes a GM toxic and nonredeemable in my eyes. VR can and likely will learn and grow, does anyone think PDA can change his stripes?
I still want to know the whole story of Shareef Abdur-Rahim's departure. He always struck me as a very smart, thoughtful guy and Petrie clearly thought a lot about his potential as an NBA executive. To be summarily dismissed because he disagreed with a draft pick or strategy paints yet another unflattering picture of the chaos in the Kings front office/ownership.
Yeah, this isn't news. Which makes me wonder why it's news.
Is this Chad Ford expanding on his comments about the Kings front office disarray and recounting an old story? Or is someone (PDA most likely) leaking this info again now?
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
All I know is that all these rumors just need to come to a complete halt...I mean I have never heard so many different rumors swirling around a NBA team as I have this season with the Kings. I guess it makes me appreciate Petrie's silence that much more, better to hear no news than a 100 different ones.
lawlman91
Starter
It also shows how much *Vivek voice on* passion *Vivek voice off* he had for his job.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
As I've said before, they should rehire Shareef and fire PDA. But a lousy org does just the opposite, giving PDA apparently to the end of his contract to leave, or not, whenever he may choose. Now that's taking the bull by the horns!
As I've said before, they should rehire Shareef and fire PDA. But a lousy org does just the opposite, giving PDA apparently to the end of his contract to leave, or not, whenever he may choose. Now that's taking the bull by the horns!
I don't know how well Shareef evaluated talent or how well he knew the salary cap etc but the fact that he was aligned with the coach and actively trying to help give him the tools he needs to have a successful team puts me in his corner.
John Galt
Starter
I would be shocked if in a situation like this, the "good guys" are ever fully vindicated. I reality, the bite that scumbags like Pete D'Alessandro can take out of your a$$ are substantial, and they hurt for a long time, and you never really get even. You can just hope he goes away and starts ruining some other people's lives instead (on another coast hopefully). And maybe the prlck will have some remorse over how he wrecked things here with his sleezy ways but in reality those sleezy ways are how he has always climbed the ladder before - I doubt any serious introspection ever happens where he "regrets" any of the wreckage in his wake.
I don't see any way that Michael Malone and Shareef Abdur Rahim and Chris Jent ever really get to say "in the end we won".
But we can just stop the evil guy from doing more and worse TO US by shipping him out - that's all I really hope for.
I don't see any way that Michael Malone and Shareef Abdur Rahim and Chris Jent ever really get to say "in the end we won".
But we can just stop the evil guy from doing more and worse TO US by shipping him out - that's all I really hope for.
IfAt1st
Starter
It would be nice if unsourced reports like this at least gave us the courtesy of revealing approximately how long ago this was told to them.
Without telling us whether this was a new leak or an old leak is worse than useless.
If its just repeating the old leak, this guy seriously embarrassed himself.
Without telling us whether this was a new leak or an old leak is worse than useless.
If its just repeating the old leak, this guy seriously embarrassed himself.
rhythmless
Starter
Malone definitely won. He got leaguewide recognition for the surprising start. He did it on defense with a band of guys who weren't strong individual defenders and he was able to connect with DMC. Before his head coach position he was a pretty well regarded assistant (won an award even) and was on track for head coaching opportunities even without Mr. Nepotism helping him out.
In the end, Malone gets to sit back, watch Vivek implode the team while he got 2M last year, and will get 2M this year. All while knowing he escaped one of the worst owners in sports (thus far) with his reputation not only intact, but bolstered.
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
My guess is it is truth being leaked by PDAs camp. Stauskas was obviously the wrong pick and from the video it seems that Vivek was pushing his own agenda on everyone else. To me just a case of a new, overzealous owner the (hopefully wiyh the Vlade hiring) has finally figured it out that he should let basketball minds be.....basketball minds?
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
I honestly think PDA was a lame duck GM. A 'yes' man that did what his boss requested. A PR foul up that was available to the people but did what his boss (Vivek) suggested with no spine in his back. I can just imagine Vivek panicking early in the season and calling up PDA (who should know better than to answer the call at 8:30) and telling him that it was time to fire Malone.
LPKingsFan
All-Star
As I posted in the other thread that brought up this "story" first, this "article" really just re-hashes the Chad Ford "report." There's no semblance of reporting, a "sources say", nothing original at all.
sigh...
Again, with this "Who the hell is running things????" report.
Vlade seems like he's done a great job at this so far, but I want HIM being the dictator in the front office when it comes to decisions. He needs to make sure that everyone knows he's the big cheese in the FO and if they don't like it, they can go find work elsewhere. 2-3 years down the road, the product on the floor should be Vlade's product, not a conglomeration of Vivek/PDA/Malone/Karl/Intern/Secretary's team.
Again, with this "Who the hell is running things????" report.
Vlade seems like he's done a great job at this so far, but I want HIM being the dictator in the front office when it comes to decisions. He needs to make sure that everyone knows he's the big cheese in the FO and if they don't like it, they can go find work elsewhere. 2-3 years down the road, the product on the floor should be Vlade's product, not a conglomeration of Vivek/PDA/Malone/Karl/Intern/Secretary's team.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Well, we have good reason to believe that Shareef wanted Payton instead of Stauskas; that's a win in my book. We also heard when he was working for Petrie that he was held in high regard. We also heard that when he was retained by PDA he was held in high regard around the league. Also, FWIW, there are internet articles prior to his being fired about him being regarded as potential future GM material. All of the above gives me confidence that he would be a plus for this organization. Also, another FWIW - I never heard him suck-up to his superiors like PDA did from Day 1 - another win in my book.
And on this point I'm continuing off the cliff of redundancy - If PDA doesn't move out of the Kings org by his own volition in very short order, Vlade Divac should fire him. What a lousy message it send the team, the league and the fans - to retain a guy of the lowest caliber in your organization like a PDA. (The recent info on this board just highlights that fact). If Divac keeps him for the remainder of his contract, it doesn't speak well for Vlade Divac, much less PDA. Nobody can tell me that PDA's capologist ability can't be replaced in short order. Accountant types are a dime-a-dozen, whereas astute talent evaluators aren't.
One and Done
Bench
So far, Stauskas over Payton was a bad call. I booed this mercilessly on draft night in Brooklyn (much to the dismay of the Michigan fans in front of me), and man, do I hate being right...thus far. If Payton hits a brick wall, gets injured or declines and Stauskas makes a historical level of improvement, this conversation will be moot. Of course, we're stuck with Stauskas as a player and trade asset, so I'm hopeful for exponential improvement on his end.
Regardless of who's at fault, the wrong decision was made (thus far). The GM is supposed to provide his best recommendation and the owner signs off. Just be thankful that changes are being made quickly, and hopefully with that, better choices are made.
Regardless of who's at fault, the wrong decision was made (thus far). The GM is supposed to provide his best recommendation and the owner signs off. Just be thankful that changes are being made quickly, and hopefully with that, better choices are made.
Peter_Gibbons
Starter
No one should be surprised. I'll say it again, watch the video of the war room decision on draft night, Vivek clearly overruled PDA and everyone else.
Vivek basically imposed Nik onto PDA and being the "Yes Man" that he is, PDA just paused for 10 secs and then agreed to Nik Stauskas. It's the same way when he basically forced the whole crew to chant "Nik Rocks". You can see in Mullin's eyes... like he's thinking "The things I have to do for a dollar these days".
Vivek basically imposed Nik onto PDA and being the "Yes Man" that he is, PDA just paused for 10 secs and then agreed to Nik Stauskas. It's the same way when he basically forced the whole crew to chant "Nik Rocks". You can see in Mullin's eyes... like he's thinking "The things I have to do for a dollar these days".
IfAt1st
Starter
Good observation.
Actually, it's pretty clear to me that at 3:30 when the crowdsourced fan was talking about Stauskas' 22-pt half in the tournament, and how most of that wasn't catch and shoot, PDA looked at (Richmond?) like, "This guy's saying exactly what we talked about - this is the validation we needed to pick Stauskas."
Bratz intimates something similar when he admits "You guys (pro-Stauskas) have really cleared things up for us."
So it seemed that the crowdsource group may have led them right where they wanted to go - but we don't know how heavily edited this video was, and how many crowdsourced fans wanted Stauskas and how many wanted Payton.
They had Payton on their board at 8, and Stauskas at 10, and likely edited the video to highlight the one guy who thought Stauskas was "lights out from 3", over the majority who thought Payton's defensive impact was more reliable than Stauskas' shooting.
PDA wanted Embiid - bad. Wanted to trade up for him.
He also views rookies as 2 year projects (in other words, we won't know about Stauskas until after next year).
PDA, Richmond, Bratz, and Vivek all quite clearly wanted Stauskas, even over MArcus Smart (since Vivek said Smart going at 6 to Boston was "good for us".)
Actually, it's pretty clear to me that at 3:30 when the crowdsourced fan was talking about Stauskas' 22-pt half in the tournament, and how most of that wasn't catch and shoot, PDA looked at (Richmond?) like, "This guy's saying exactly what we talked about - this is the validation we needed to pick Stauskas."
Bratz intimates something similar when he admits "You guys (pro-Stauskas) have really cleared things up for us."
So it seemed that the crowdsource group may have led them right where they wanted to go - but we don't know how heavily edited this video was, and how many crowdsourced fans wanted Stauskas and how many wanted Payton.
They had Payton on their board at 8, and Stauskas at 10, and likely edited the video to highlight the one guy who thought Stauskas was "lights out from 3", over the majority who thought Payton's defensive impact was more reliable than Stauskas' shooting.
PDA wanted Embiid - bad. Wanted to trade up for him.
He also views rookies as 2 year projects (in other words, we won't know about Stauskas until after next year).
PDA, Richmond, Bratz, and Vivek all quite clearly wanted Stauskas, even over MArcus Smart (since Vivek said Smart going at 6 to Boston was "good for us".)
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King Baller
All-Star
Agreed, I think the judgement comes in the players fifth year. Right now Elfrid does have the significant edge though. These players are so young many do no bloom until their mid-twenties.
KB
Jerichoholic
Bench
Exactly! Especially with these one and done drafts the rookie quality takes a huge dip as these players aren't getting the experience in college, but in the NBA instead which means that not only does it take longer to see which rookies actually turn out, but I would guess more overall failures as well.
I'm not a fan of D'Alessandro and I do believe he has been the "yes man" for Ranadive. That being said while he has made some dubious moves, I don't think his drafting has been the biggest problem. The last two drafts have been awful, McLemore had star potential, we had to take a chance, especially that no one drafted after him as really done that well. With Stauskas he fit many needs that we were looking for and if he simply did what he is best at doing it would have been a solid rookie year, he just didn't for whatever reason. There weren't many players that had good years taken after him either.
When it comes to Payton, he's alright. Let's not go too far though, it wasn't a great year. The guy played over 30 minutes a game and started 63 of them. He got consistent minutes under one coach and one system. He shot 43% from the field, 26% on 3-pointers, and 55% from the line. His defense was also quite overrated. So if we are going to compare him to Stauskas I want to see him get a consistent 30 minutes a game under one coach and one system. Not an inconsistent 15 minutes a game with three coaches and three systems. The Per 36 stat doesn't work here either as the minutes were so inconsistent that no rhythm could ever develop and under those conditions I consider the stat flawed.
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