Sam Amick Q&A with Paul Westphal

[GeraldWallace#3]

Sam Amick, The Bee's Kings beat reporter, talked to new Kings coach Paul Westphal on Tuesday night shortly after he was hired.MORE...

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1935693.html

NOTE: It's okay to copy a line or two but PLEASE do not post entire Amick articles, at his request. THANK YOU! - VF21

 

[Kingster]

This might be one time where Petrie actually listens to what the coach says about a player in the draft. Westphal looks like he has credible experience in that area.

 

[Bricklayer]

Wanted no part of that Pepperdine thing there at the end.

Fortunately I really don't think its relevant -- college is not the NBA. Would be nice if he'd succeeded just anywhere after the Phoenix years, but oh well. Natt has helped us set a ceiling so low he can't help but do better in his first year at least. Also glad to see him immediately zoom in on the defense and rebounding as the key issues, and even seem to call for Geoff to get him some reinforcements in those areas. Of course this is nothe first time we've heard that -- Adelman said it in the later years, Muss was always wanting to dump his failure on Geoff, and Reggie openly politicked over it. At a certain point the GM has got to respond with something here other than another finesse player or shooter.

 

[Jespher]

I also wished that he would address the turnovers too, that was nearly as important as the rebounding deficiency. Hopefully the new PG will help there, but when the Kings didn't turn the ball over much they were in games, or they won, and when they had 15+ turnovers they almost always lost.

 

[ParniValjak]

Wanted no part of that Pepperdine thing there at the end.

Fortunately I really don't think its relevant -- college is not the NBA. Would be nice if he'd succeeded just anywhere after the Phoenix years, but oh well. Natt has helped us set a ceiling so low he can't help but do better in his first year at least. Also glad to see him immediately zoom in on the defense and rebounding as the key issues, and even seem to call for Geoff to get him some reinforcements in those areas. Of course this is nothe first time we've heard that -- Adelman said it in the later years, Muss was always wanting to dump his failure on Geoff, and Reggie openly politicked over it. At a certain point the GM has got to respond with something here other than another finesse player or shooter.

Marcin Gortat?!

 

[Löwenherz]

I also wished that he would address the turnovers too, that was nearly as important as the rebounding deficiency. Hopefully the new PG will help there, but when the Kings didn't turn the ball over much they were in games, or they won, and when they had 15+ turnovers they almost always lost.

As they should

 

[Bricklayer]

Marcin Gortat?!

I generally like his game. Do have some questions about his ego though. But beggars cannot necessarily be choosers.

 

[Entity]

I like the fact that he put getting ready for the draft as a higher priority than the coaching staff. I am suprised Amick didn't ask him if he had watched videos or analyzed any of the prospects.

 

[King Baller]

"On his general view of the job and what it will take to turn the Kings around...
"I'm convinced the Kings, the Maloofs, Geoff and everybody with the organization really want to turn this thing around and are willing to do what it takes to do that. I think, No. 1, there needs to be an improvement in the defense and rebounding. Without improvement in those two areas, wins aren't going to follow at all. I think that's a key thing we're going to have to focus on.
"I think there are some good pieces on this team. But if it doesn't get shored up in those areas, it's going to be hard to get wins. And you can't win in this league by letting teams shoot more than 40 percent on threes and by being outrebounded by a wide margin. Those are going to be big focuses."

Thank you Coach Westphal!!! Yes!!! Focus on defense and rebounding. All those teams posting record nights from the 3 point line may finally stop.

I can't wait to see what Petrie and Westphal put together.

Go Kings!

KB

 

[Aenadin]

what offensive schemes will we be running? run and gun? slow pace? princeton?

i know pete carril is here for the princeton...

and what kind of point guard will we draft... (rubio please )

btw can any body tell me how his player coach relationship? will he rub any one the wrong way?

 

[Kingster]

I like the fact that he put getting ready for the draft as a higher priority than the coaching staff. I am suprised Amick didn't ask him if he had watched videos or analyzed any of the prospects.

In an interview on the radio yesterday, Petrie sounded generally excited about working withm Westphal on personnel matters, not just the draft, but also for the existing team members. To me, he sounded considerably more excited about this prospect than with the previous coaches he's hired.

 

[Bricklayer]

In an interview on the radio yesterday, Petrie sounded generally excited about working withm Westphal on personnel matters, not just the draft, but also for the existing team members. To me, he sounded considerably more excited about this prospect than with the previous coaches he's hired.

To a certain degree that's really no surprise -- Westphal was a Petrie choice. He is of the same generation as Geoff, they were both in the league at the same time, they were both high scoring SGs back in the day for West Coast teams, and both guys have hung around the West Coast for most of their later careers. Throw in Westphal's low key demeanor and you have a similar dynamic to the Adelman relationship. Geoff's probably known him for decades, they likely share a wavelength or at least some life history, and there has to be a comfort zone there that was not there with a pompous little wannabe like Muss or a self-promoting slickster like Theus.

 

[Kingster]

To a certain degree that's really no surprise -- Westphal was a Petrie choice. He is of the same generation as Geoff, they were both in the league at the same time, they were both high scoring SGs back in the day for West Coast teams, and both guys have hung around the West Coast for most of their later careers. Throw in Westphal's low key demeanor and you have a similar dynamic to the Adelman relationship. Geoff's probably known him for decades, they likely share a wavelength or at least some life history, and there has to be a comfort zone there that was not there with a pompous little wannabe like Muss or a self-promoting slickster like Theus.

Add the fact that Westphal was involved in the personnel decisions that rebuilt Phoenix, and it looks to be a very good thing. The more brains, the better. (As an aside, I heard on the radio that Geoff really hasn't had any personal relationship with him over the years).

 

[Bricklayer]

Add the fact that Westphal was involved in the personnel decisions that rebuilt Phoenix, and it looks to be a very good thing.

Well...according to Westphal at least. Hi, I was the cashier but I was in line to maybe be an assistant manager one day so they sometimes let me sit in on meetings.

 

[Bart-Poland]

Marcin Gortat?!

Marcin from my country Poland and I'm proud with this
GO KINGSSS!!