Search over?

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VF21 said:
I've heard that the search for Kings head coach is very, very close to being over. The decision has, according to reliable sources, been made but not yet official. It should be announced shortly, which will probably mean sometime tomorrow...
VF, who is DEEP THROAT?
 
Warhawk said:
Yeah, I've seen this several times. It doesn't change anything I wrote, does it?

Like someone said above - sometimes coaches "just fit". This may be one of those times. Or it may not. Impossible to say until it is tried.

I am not saying he is my first choice, but if he is chosen, just give the guy a chance to show what he can do, will ya? Let's not light those torches yet....
but why even broach the subject of risk? why bother taking the risk when there are clearly more qualified people available? whenever you change head coaches, there are a certain amount of unknowns involved, but it is the owner's and GM's responsibility to see that they minimize the amount of unknowns by hiring the person most qualified to coach the specific team in question.

i'll give whisenant a chance like i'll give any new head coach a chance, but its gonna take a lot for him to earn the respect of the fans considering his extremely short and largely undecorated resume. mario elie would have earned the respect of fans much quicker, with a resume that includes an entire career's worth of playing time in the nba, 3 championship rings, hard-nosed defensive play, strong work ethic, and a 2-year stint as an assistant coach of the golden state warriors. that resume isn't as glowing as, say, phil jackson's, pat riley's, or red auerbach's, but its among the best resume's of any coach prospect on the kings short list. and, last time i checked, it is the employer's responsibility to hire the most qualified candidate for a position. elie seems to be the most qualified given the kings needs. but no, the maloofs make the irresponsible decision of hiring the family friend who is, of course, less qualified than elie, mussleman, or even PJ carlesimo.
 
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Maybe the Maloofs want Whisenhart, but they are unsure of how the city of Sacramento and the rest of the NBA would take it. So in order to gain a better understanding of what the reaction to Whisenhart's hiring would be, they are putting out 'feelers' in the form of misleading information. After seeing the negative reaction that Whisenhart's hiring would seem to promote, the Maloofs will pull back and hire someone like Elie. Man, if this isn't wishful thinking I don't know what is! lol
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Padrino said:
this was revealed not too long ago. now, if she could tell us who shot JFK, then i'd be damn impressed!

:D
I could tell you...

...

(wait for it)

...

...

...

...

(just a bit longer)

...

...

...

but then I'd have to kill you.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
walker60 said:
Maybe the Maloofs want Whisenhart, but they are unsure of how the city of Sacramento and the rest of the NBA would take it. So in order to gain a better understanding of what the reaction to Whisenhart's hiring would be, they are putting out 'feelers' in the form of misleading information. After seeing the negative reaction that Whisenhart's hiring would seem to promote, the Maloofs will pull back and hire someone like Elie. Man, if this isn't wishful thinking I don't know what is! lol
I'm right there with you.

I would LOVE for this to end up not happening.
 
Padrino said:
but why even broach the subject of risk? why bother taking the risk when there are clearly more qualified people available? whenever you change head coaches, there are a certain amount of unknowns involved, but it is the owner's and GM's responsibility to see that they minimize the amount of unknowns by hiring the person most qualified to coach the specific team in question.

i'll give whisenant a chance like i'll give any new head coach a chance, but its gonna take a lot for him to earn the respect of the fans considering his extremely short and largely undecorated resume. mario elie would have earned the respect of fans much quicker, with a resume that includes an entire career's worth of playing time in the nba, 3 championship rings, hard-nosed defensive play, strong work ethic, and a 2-year stint as an assistant coach of the golden state warriors. that resume isn't as glowing as, say, phil jackson's, pat riley's, or red auerbach's, but its among the best resume's of any coach prospect on the kings short list. and, last time i checked, it is the employer's responsibility to hire the most qualified candidate for a position. elie seems to be the most qualified given the kings needs. but no, the maloofs make the irresponsible decision of hiring the family friend who is, of course, less qualified than elie, mussleman, or even PJ carlesimo.
Yes, we're simply asking owners of our beloved Kings to hire someone who is BEST QUALIFIED on the basis of their history, resume, and interview. Getting fired because you don't communicate often (i.e. Adelman and his 700+ wins) and getting the nod because you are a family friend (0 NBA experience) is not what I call hiring on the basis of qualification.
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
Padrino said:
but why even broach the subject of risk? why bother taking the risk when there are clearly more qualified people available?
Oh, so you mean hiring Bill Russell as coach was a great idea? Or Larry going to New York - shoot, that worked out well, didn't it?

Point is, it has to be a match with the team and the coach. I trust Petrie and the Maloofs to do a good job to make a match that will work. Who do you think will look like the biggest fools if it doesn't? The Maloofs. They are not going to intentinally screw this up, and unintentional screwups can happen no matter who they choose for a variety of reasons.

Nobody has any idea how well received Mario would be in the locker room any more that Whiz.
 
DocHolliday said:
The Maloofs have also said the whole Maloof family and GEOFF agree on all decisions. That's how they have always done it, and how they will continue to do it. That means Geoff agreed with letting go of Rick, and the hiring of Whis if he is in fact the new coach.
No it doesn't. It means Geoff is a good corporate soldier - that's ALL it means.

It goes like this:

Joe: "shall we make it unanimous Geoff?" with raised eyebrows.

Geoff: "aye"
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
Again, it isn't the choice I would make, but I am also not in the interview room, either, and have no idea what has been said or transpired behind those doors.

I have to trust that the same drive that pushed for the Peja-Ron trade is moving their decisions in this deal as well. And how do you know that this isn't the choice that Ron wants? How do we know that there hasn't been some communication with a few players to see if this would work? We are operating in a vacuum, and those with the knowledge aren't talking right now. It's their $$$ and their title hopes on the line, you know.

This still isn't a done deal, as far as we know, but I think we all trust VF21 enough to go with it. Let's see where this leads, shall we?
 
I'm waiting before I judge and make an opinion out of this whole thing. Sure he has no NBA experience, but every great NBA coach started somewhere.


Welcome Coach Whiz!


Wait. Does this mean he's going to finish the WNBA season and then join the Kings? He'll be so drained and fatigued by NBA all-star weekend...
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Warhawk said:
I have to trust that the same drive that pushed for the Peja-Ron trade is moving their decisions in this deal as well. And how do you know that this isn't the choice that Ron wants? How do we know that there hasn't been some communication with a few players to see if this would work? We are operating in a vacuum, and those with the knowledge aren't talking right now. It's their $$$ and their title hopes on the line, you know.

This still isn't a done deal, as far as we know, but I think we all trust VF21 enough to go with it. Let's see where this leads, shall we?
I don't know about anyone else but I've loved this team since 1985. When I saw things like Bill Russell being named as coach - or Jerry Reynolds the SECOND Time - I knew right away something was amiss. Just because it's not our $$$ doesn't mean we can't sense when something might be terribly awry.

Once the official announcement is made, I'm pretty sure most Kings fans will eventually embrace the idea. I don't think, however, that there's anything wrong in them expressing their dissatisfaction. Fans support the team and ultimately the owner's "title hopes" by being devoted followers of the team. We spend our hard-earned $$$ on shirts with someone else's name on them. We drive long distances to attend a game in person we could actually see more of if we stayed home. We can't actually make any decisions about how our team is run but we should certainly be able to voice our views over WHAT is done.

If this works, the Maloofs look like geniuses. If it doesn't, how long do you think before people start clamoring for heads to roll? All of a sudden the decision to dismiss Adelman is going to come under a lot more scrunity, ESPECIALLY since Whisenant is a close friend of the Maloof family.
 
Warhawk said:
Oh, so you mean hiring Bill Russell as coach was a great idea? Or Larry going to New York - shoot, that worked out well, didn't it?

Point is, it has to be a match with the team and the coach. I trust Petrie and the Maloofs to do a good job to make a match that will work. Who do you think will look like the biggest fools if it doesn't? The Maloofs. They are not going to intentinally screw this up, and unintentional screwups can happen no matter who they choose for a variety of reasons.

Nobody has any idea how well received Mario would be in the locker room any more that Whiz.
no. bill russel was not a good coach, but neither was the kings team that played under him any good. and no, larry brown is not a good coach for the knicks, but neither is the team that played under him any good. point is that the ownership and GM's are different in all of those situations. here in sacramento, we have owners that love their team and want to win and we have one of the best GM's in the league. however, the owners are extremely emotional and undeniably reactionary, and they move with and without the full cooperation of their GM. good move in the artest case. bad move in the adelman case. bad move in the case of the hiring of john whisenant.

new york is the joke of the league. more specifically, isiah thomas and larry brown are the joke of the league. that team is going nowhere fast. the kings, on the other hand, are a team poised to enter into elite status again. changing coaches when you finally start to build continuity was a bad move to begin with, but hiring a completely inexperienced coach to that mix is icing on the cake of ineptitude. like i've said, i do not rule out the possibility that john whisenant does what few coaches in nba history have done in their first year on the bench: win. however, there is no indication that he will. there is no indication that he can lead a team full of NBA players to the playoffs. do you know why there is no indication? because he doesn't have an ounce of experience in the nba. he never played and he hasn't coached. that simple but oh-so-true fact puts the kings at a disadvantage from the start.

a veteran team is only as good as the veteran coach behind it. a young team can thrive with a young and relatively inexperienced head coach, because they are all on the same page. the kings players, on the other hand, are miles ahead of john whisenant, and he's gonna have to play catch-up in his first couple of seasons, and i don't foresee it going well. people can claim all they want that they have a feeling that it could work out. well i don't give a **** about a "feeling." i want my team to win. and i see great potential in this team, but it starts with the coach.

you are right that nobody has any idea how the lockerroom would look with either whisenant or elie, but i'll take my chances with elie everyday of the week and twice on sunday. the man played in the nba. he can actually relate to the players. he's coached at the assistant level in the nba for two seasons. he has a feel for the nba bench and the nba lockerroom, not to mention the fact that he has a great hard-nosed no-nonsense attitude. whisenant has none of that, except possibly for the attitude, and this is no rookie team we're talking about. if you want to start a genuine youth movement, fine. bring on whisenant. but if you want to win, bring in somebody who knows what it takes to win at the nba level, and has tasted victory at the nba level. mario elie fits that description, if you ask me.
 
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Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
VF21 said:
I don't know about anyone else but I've loved this team since 1985. When I saw things like Bill Russell being named as coach - or Jerry Reynolds the SECOND Time - I knew right away something was amiss. Just because it's not our $$$ doesn't mean we can't sense when something might be terribly awry.

Once the official announcement is made, I'm pretty sure most Kings fans will eventually embrace the idea. I don't think, however, that there's anything wrong in them expressing their dissatisfaction. Fans support the team and ultimately the owner's "title hopes" by being devoted followers of the team. We spend our hard-earned $$$ on shirts with someone else's name on them. We drive long distances to attend a game in person we could actually see more of if we stayed home. We can't actually make any decisions about how our team is run but we should certainly be able to voice our views over WHAT is done.

If this works, the Maloofs look like geniuses. If it doesn't, how long do you think before people start clamoring for heads to roll? All of a sudden the decision to dismiss Adelman is going to come under a lot more scrunity, ESPECIALLY since Whisenant is a close friend of the Maloof family.
Oh, I agree with you, and wasn't putting down the fans at all, but right now it is dissatisfaction over an unannounced decision (that we all are rightly taking your word on) assuming that the guy can't get it done. It's not like he's been a coach and failed miserably at it, it's that he's been successful everywhere else but hasn't tried this level yet. There's a big difference - it's a new challenge, but one he's responded to every time he's done it before.

Again, I would have probably gone with a Mario first, but we have no idea what the interviews were like or what other individuals have been contacted.

I would like to know what are the plans for the Monarchs as well, since this doesn't bode well for them ATM.

We also don't know how a Mario (or other assistant) would coach. Yes, he's been an assistant. OK, but how does that translate to being the coach? I'm not bashing him at all, I just have no idea.

Just because someone was a good player and looks good "on paper" doesn't mean it can translate to the bench. We know this guy can coach. He just has to show he can step it up to the NBA level. I prefer to assume he can (based on his history of coaching) than bash him because he hasn't done it before, when in all honesty guys like Mario haven't either.

But, like others have said, I probably would have chosen him before Whiz. I guess I just feel that some are going a bit overboard on the negaitvity right now. Maybe all the recent "changes" to our beloved Kings is making all of us a bit on the tempermental side, including me....
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Warhawk said:
But, like others have said, I probably would have chosen him before Whiz. I guess I just feel that some are going a bit overboard on the negaitvity right now. Maybe all the recent "changes" to our beloved Kings is making all of us a bit on the tempermental side, including me....
Oh no -- the negativity is because this candidate is roughly the least qualified person I've ever seen hired to take over an NBA team. Its like hiring a headhunter to find somebody to take over as President of your Fortune 500 company, and then instead on a whim hiring some friend who has been a really good manager at Taco Bell and was once president of his chess club. COULD it work? Anything's possible. But its still an irresponsible B.S. move reeking of nepotism and cronyism. Not in a million years would this guy have gotten so much as a sniff if he had been coaching some other WNBA team and not had his nose rammed up Maloof hind end for the past decade.
 
Bricklayer said:
Oh no -- the negativity is because this candidate is roughly the least qualified person I've ever seen hired to take over an NBA team. Its like hiring a headhunter to find somebody to take over as President of your Fortune 500 company, and then instead on a whim hiring some friend who has been a really good manager at Taco Bell and was once president of his chess club. COULD it work? Anything's possible. But its still an irresponsible B.S. move reeking of nepotism and cronyism. Not in a million years would this guy have gotten so much as a sniff if he had been coaching some other WNBA team and not had his nose rammed up Maloof hind end for the past decade.
indeed
 
Once again it is sort of more about the "how" than the "what".

The Maloofs represented that there would be an exhaustive, thorough, deliberate process to find the right guy.

This ain't that.

This makes it look like the Whisenant decision was made in January and everything else is a farce.

I think that is the turnoff. It seems like the Maloofs are gangsters looking to have a better party with their pals (read brownnosers). Not NBA businessmen conducting an exhaustive search for the "right coach".
 
Warhawk said:
Oh, I agree with you, and wasn't putting down the fans at all, but right now it is dissatisfaction over an unannounced decision (that we all are rightly taking your word on) assuming that the guy can't get it done. It's not like he's been a coach and failed miserably at it, it's that he's been successful everywhere else but hasn't tried this level yet. There's a big difference - it's a new challenge, but one he's responded to every time he's done it before.

Again, I would have probably gone with a Mario first, but we have no idea what the interviews were like or what other individuals have been contacted.

I would like to know what are the plans for the Monarchs as well, since this doesn't bode well for them ATM.

We also don't know how a Mario (or other assistant) would coach. Yes, he's been an assistant. OK, but how does that translate to being the coach? I'm not bashing him at all, I just have no idea.

Just because someone was a good player and looks good "on paper" doesn't mean it can translate to the bench. We know this guy can coach. He just has to show he can step it up to the NBA level. I prefer to assume he can (based on his history of coaching) than bash him because he hasn't done it before, when in all honesty guys like Mario haven't either.

But, like others have said, I probably would have chosen him before Whiz. I guess I just feel that some are going a bit overboard on the negaitvity right now. Maybe all the recent "changes" to our beloved Kings is making all of us a bit on the tempermental side, including me....
I am still with you. It is kind of entertaining how we all think that we know what to do better than the Maloofs and Petrie, especially given the fact that I do not think that I single person on this board was involved in the interviews and actually knows what is happening. There will always be second guessing. If Mario gets the job there will be people saying "how can we hire a coach that was just an assistant coach on a very bad team last year?" Again, I trust the Maloofs. The have played a huge role in turning this franchise around. History tells me that they have an idea what they doing.
 
Bricklayer said:
Oh no -- the negativity is because this candidate is roughly the least qualified person I've ever seen hired to take over an NBA team. Its like hiring a headhunter to find somebody to take over as President of your Fortune 500 company, and then instead on a whim hiring some friend who has been a really good manager at Taco Bell and was once president of his chess club. COULD it work? Anything's possible. But its still an irresponsible B.S. move reeking of nepotism and cronyism. Not in a million years would this guy have gotten so much as a sniff if he had been coaching some other WNBA team and not had his nose rammed up Maloof hind end for the past decade.
Yes, anything is possible, but this type of thing has a very little chance to be a resounding success and all kinds of things that can go wrong. Just think about it, I am sure that all of us were in situation where we didn't like some deal because it smacked of chronyism, nepotism or insiderism of any kind. Maybe you just felt uncomfortable using your real estate broker's wife to obtain mortgage or going in on a deal with someone who hires relatives and friends to fill up all he key positions. You don't have to be gazzilioner with NBA franchise to know that this BS can be really disastrous in the long term:

- What of Petrie? Can he work with a hand-picked newbie once Maloofs "step back"?
- Will Whiz feel insecure and go over Petrie's head to his friends, the Maloofs every time he needs something done (right or wrong)?

This is ripe for all kinds of ego fueled fireworks in the house, cliques developing within organization (insiders - outsiders) and eventual fallouts. This, precisely because coach Whis' only qualifications are minor coaching stints AND relationship with Maloofs.

Having said that, I'll give Whis a chance and all the support that fan can give a new coach, but if this move flops it will be all on the Maloofs.
 
kupman said:
I am still with you. It is kind of entertaining how we all think that we know what to do better than the Maloofs and Petrie, especially given the fact that I do not think that I single person on this board was involved in the interviews and actually knows what is happening. There will always be second guessing. If Mario gets the job there will be people saying "how can we hire a coach that was just an assistant coach on a very bad team last year?" Again, I trust the Maloofs. The have played a huge role in turning this franchise around. History tells me that they have an idea what they doing.
better a coach that was an assistant on a bad team, an nba player, a defensive stalwart, a clutch shooter, and an nba champion, than somebody who has never even had a whiff of the nba experience.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
Well, the Maloofs love the spotlight.

Negative publicity is better than no publicity.

With Elie/Musselman/Calisimo it would just be another coach, with Whiz, we're going to get reactions...We're going to get critisized.

It's going to put the spotlight on this team...And sadly I think that may be the Maloofs biggest agenda.
 
I don't think Whis is the best choice but I find the whole situation kinda funny. Think about it...the same people who were criticizing the Maloofs for getting rid of Rick Adelman without having a replacement in mind are criticizing them for being wishy-washy about the interviewing process probably because they already had a replacement in mind! And if that doesn't make sense it is probably because I was just caught up in that stoner thread.

Bottom line: we can cry all day about what we think our owners/GM should and shouldn't do, but if they bring us a championship we will be happy. If they lead us towards a championship then we will be happy. As long as there isn't another 50 years of being suckey, we will be happy.

This last year has brought us a plethora of changes. And change is not bad, it is just hard to swallow. The fact is that if we are stuck with the Maloofs for better or worse. And while it might help you sleep at night to know that the owners are making the best decisions in your minds, we still have to see how it all plays out before we can jump on them. I distinctly remember the outrage that surfaced when we were making the Artest trade and that situation turned out well despite the criticism. So before we publicly hang the Maloofs, I say lets just see what happens.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
One question, BawLa. If you're okay with everything that happens to/on the team, why even post on a message board?

And the incongruity with the whole Adelman scenario is that if they had Whisenant in mind all along, why bother with the "interviews" and the public comments about them wanting to do a big search to make sure they got the best candidate?

Whisenant ISN'T the best candidate. If he's the one they want, fine. Why not just say that? The apparent need by the Maloofs to continually spin things is getting more than a little ridiculous.

Webber was traded because he wasn't going to be able to play at a top level any more.

Peja was going to be given a max deal.

Rick Adelman's dismissal was a "mutual decision."

...

There's a pattern emerging there. And I don't think it's a very good one, especially for owners who are trying to get the public to buy into a massive arena project.
 
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