New Kings coach Eric Musselman is settling in to his new city after signing a three-year deal.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14263958p-15076773c.html
Four months.
The product can't be revealed until then, when the Kings finally tip off in October and new coach Eric Musselman plans to prove that his new bosses made the right call in his hiring. Such as it was, Musselman began the off-the-court portion of his new job Saturday afternoon at Arden Fair Mall, playing the part of a seasoned politician and willing community member for some 1,500 fans who came to welcome him.
He signed autographs, took pictures and made small talk until the line of fans dwindled before he finally left. Just before the end, a woman asked him to sign her dollar bill.
"Can I keep it?" Musselman joked, to which she replied, "Oh, I know you don't need it."
The woman couldn't have been more right. At 10 a.m. Saturday morning, Musselman and Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie inked a three-year deal worth more than $7 million, according to team co-owner Joe Maloof. There is also a team option for a fourth year that could push the total to more than $10 million.
Hours later, the man who made his way through nearly every forum of professional basketball and is back for his second NBA head-coaching job spoke for the first time about how he plans to earn his dough in Sacramento.
"The thing about people who rise up through the minor leagues, the Phil Jacksons, the George Karls and the Flip Saunders, is that when you're used to fluctuating rosters, then your style has to fluctuate," said Musselman, the former Memphis assistant and Golden State head coach, who spent seven seasons as a CBA head coach.
"Obviously, we're going to focus and put a heavy emphasis on our defense, and we still want to score points because you can't win unless you score. So we'll have it as good as we can get it once training camp's over. We want to win right out of the gate."
And for all the talk of defense, which was the indisputable platform on which this coaching search was based, Musselman brings a blend that complements the defense-obsessed Maloofs and offensive-minded Petrie.
"He's certainly among the best and the brightest," Petrie said. "He comes with a defensive mindset, but he's proved that he's not afraid to juice his offense. And I think when you look at going forward and trying to improve your team, both of those things are important."
Mostly, though, the Kings' brass believes its franchise is again harmonious because they have a coach the owners can support. In the days that followed the dismissal of Rick Adelman, the lack of a relationship between the former coach and the Maloofs became clear. As if on cue, Musselman wasted no time in addressing that topic.
"I look forward to being able to pick up the phone and call them, or they can call me with questions," Musselman said. "Hopefully, it'll be a unique situation between coach and owner that you don't see a lot in the professional sports world."
The importance of relationships was the thesis of Musselman's first coaching speech. It was a keen approach, considering the general consensus of how and why he was fired after two seasons with the Warriors. Despite showing near-historic improvement -- the Warriors going 75-89 from 2002 to 2004 -- Musselman reportedly lost his team.
"The key is to try to touch your players every day, to try to find which buttons you can push to bring out the maximum effort and the maximum ability that they have," he said. "When (Washington guard and former Warriors player) Gilbert Arenas gives you a big hug, and whispers in your ear about what an impact you've had on his career.… The Speedy Claxtons, Brian Cardinals, Erick Dampiers. As a coach, if we can maximize each guy on our roster, and bring their value up in their own minds, I think that does nothing but benefit the organization and benefit the players."
And while Musselman has yet to meet any of his players, it appears his relationship with free-agent-to-be Bonzi Wells can't hurt the Kings' chances of holding onto the shooting guard.
While Wells' Memphis stay ended in 2005 with a one-game playoff suspension issued by coach Mike Fratello, Musselman said he and Wells had a solid relationship. What's more, Musselman's father, the late Bill Musselman, was an assistant coach in Portland during Wells' Trail Blazers days.
"In the summers, my dad would fly from his home in Florida to work Bonzi out in (Wells' hometown of) Muncie, Indiana, in his high school gym," Musselman said. "Because he knows my family, I feel like there's a solid bond there. There's a lot of talent in Bonzi Wells. There's no question about it."
He also coached Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim in Atlanta during the 2001-2002 season.
It may have taken two interviews for Musselman to land the Kings job, but he said he thought the job was his after the first session on May 24.
"I called Lonnie Cooper, my agent (afterward)," Musselman said. "He was more excited than me, and he asked how it went. And I said, 'I got the job.' He said, 'what do you mean you got the job?' I said, 'I got the job.' "
"With Joe and Gavin and Geoff, it was just free-flowing. I didn't know when it was going to end. I got back up (after the interview), and it was three hours and something. It could've gone into the night."
But the Maloofs and Petrie weren't ready to hire him quite yet. They heightened their background check, exhausting every last resource around the league.
"I've been in the league 28 years," said vice president of basketball operations Wayne Cooper. "I know everybody."
And none of them, Cooper said, had anything bad to say about Musselman. Least of all was Grizzlies general manager Jerry West, who endorsed Musselman in multiple conversations with Petrie but was certainly disappointed to see him go. Musselman is expected to attend pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., with Petrie on Tuesday, with an additional side duty of finding his new staff of assistants as soon as possible.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14263958p-15076773c.html
Four months.
The product can't be revealed until then, when the Kings finally tip off in October and new coach Eric Musselman plans to prove that his new bosses made the right call in his hiring. Such as it was, Musselman began the off-the-court portion of his new job Saturday afternoon at Arden Fair Mall, playing the part of a seasoned politician and willing community member for some 1,500 fans who came to welcome him.
He signed autographs, took pictures and made small talk until the line of fans dwindled before he finally left. Just before the end, a woman asked him to sign her dollar bill.
"Can I keep it?" Musselman joked, to which she replied, "Oh, I know you don't need it."
The woman couldn't have been more right. At 10 a.m. Saturday morning, Musselman and Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie inked a three-year deal worth more than $7 million, according to team co-owner Joe Maloof. There is also a team option for a fourth year that could push the total to more than $10 million.
Hours later, the man who made his way through nearly every forum of professional basketball and is back for his second NBA head-coaching job spoke for the first time about how he plans to earn his dough in Sacramento.
"The thing about people who rise up through the minor leagues, the Phil Jacksons, the George Karls and the Flip Saunders, is that when you're used to fluctuating rosters, then your style has to fluctuate," said Musselman, the former Memphis assistant and Golden State head coach, who spent seven seasons as a CBA head coach.
"Obviously, we're going to focus and put a heavy emphasis on our defense, and we still want to score points because you can't win unless you score. So we'll have it as good as we can get it once training camp's over. We want to win right out of the gate."
And for all the talk of defense, which was the indisputable platform on which this coaching search was based, Musselman brings a blend that complements the defense-obsessed Maloofs and offensive-minded Petrie.
"He's certainly among the best and the brightest," Petrie said. "He comes with a defensive mindset, but he's proved that he's not afraid to juice his offense. And I think when you look at going forward and trying to improve your team, both of those things are important."
Mostly, though, the Kings' brass believes its franchise is again harmonious because they have a coach the owners can support. In the days that followed the dismissal of Rick Adelman, the lack of a relationship between the former coach and the Maloofs became clear. As if on cue, Musselman wasted no time in addressing that topic.
"I look forward to being able to pick up the phone and call them, or they can call me with questions," Musselman said. "Hopefully, it'll be a unique situation between coach and owner that you don't see a lot in the professional sports world."
The importance of relationships was the thesis of Musselman's first coaching speech. It was a keen approach, considering the general consensus of how and why he was fired after two seasons with the Warriors. Despite showing near-historic improvement -- the Warriors going 75-89 from 2002 to 2004 -- Musselman reportedly lost his team.
"The key is to try to touch your players every day, to try to find which buttons you can push to bring out the maximum effort and the maximum ability that they have," he said. "When (Washington guard and former Warriors player) Gilbert Arenas gives you a big hug, and whispers in your ear about what an impact you've had on his career.… The Speedy Claxtons, Brian Cardinals, Erick Dampiers. As a coach, if we can maximize each guy on our roster, and bring their value up in their own minds, I think that does nothing but benefit the organization and benefit the players."
And while Musselman has yet to meet any of his players, it appears his relationship with free-agent-to-be Bonzi Wells can't hurt the Kings' chances of holding onto the shooting guard.
While Wells' Memphis stay ended in 2005 with a one-game playoff suspension issued by coach Mike Fratello, Musselman said he and Wells had a solid relationship. What's more, Musselman's father, the late Bill Musselman, was an assistant coach in Portland during Wells' Trail Blazers days.
"In the summers, my dad would fly from his home in Florida to work Bonzi out in (Wells' hometown of) Muncie, Indiana, in his high school gym," Musselman said. "Because he knows my family, I feel like there's a solid bond there. There's a lot of talent in Bonzi Wells. There's no question about it."
He also coached Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim in Atlanta during the 2001-2002 season.
It may have taken two interviews for Musselman to land the Kings job, but he said he thought the job was his after the first session on May 24.
"I called Lonnie Cooper, my agent (afterward)," Musselman said. "He was more excited than me, and he asked how it went. And I said, 'I got the job.' He said, 'what do you mean you got the job?' I said, 'I got the job.' "
"With Joe and Gavin and Geoff, it was just free-flowing. I didn't know when it was going to end. I got back up (after the interview), and it was three hours and something. It could've gone into the night."
But the Maloofs and Petrie weren't ready to hire him quite yet. They heightened their background check, exhausting every last resource around the league.
"I've been in the league 28 years," said vice president of basketball operations Wayne Cooper. "I know everybody."
And none of them, Cooper said, had anything bad to say about Musselman. Least of all was Grizzlies general manager Jerry West, who endorsed Musselman in multiple conversations with Petrie but was certainly disappointed to see him go. Musselman is expected to attend pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., with Petrie on Tuesday, with an additional side duty of finding his new staff of assistants as soon as possible.
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) I'm hoping at least one of the assistant coaching staff will be some sort of diplomatic type, a ruffled feather smoother, since I foresee a few of those.
