It appears that this conversation has degenerated into a referedum on Petrie. Going so far as to say he should just give up his job, rather than endure the limitations put on him by the Maloofs. Easy for someone on the outside to say from the comfort of his own home. I'm always amazed how cavalier we are with others lives. This isn't as easy as being a used car salesman, and changing dealerships. Your kids aren't changing schools, towns or states in that instance.
When I was 30 or 40 years old, I leaped at every opportunity available, and when I did change jobs, I always had another job to go to in advance. When you get older, your mindset changes. Your tired of the grind, and your looking for stability to some extent. And if you find that, your reluctant to just throw it away. I do know Petrie a little bit. I sat next to him at some Sacramento Capitol games. I spoke with him at summer league. I know he loves sacramento, and there's probably only one other town that he finds as attractive, and thats Portland. Unfortunately he doesn't have a job in Portland, and I doubt one will be offered. Lest anyone forget, he didn't leave on the best of terms with ownership there. He gave up his job in support of Adelman.
Petrie is big on loyality, and staying the course. And while on the surface he appears to be a laid back easy going nice guy, you'll find he can be quite ruthless if you betray that loyality. Your either on team Petrie, or your not. There's no inbetween. Thats why, in part, you never hear of the deals that didn't come to fruition. He won't bandy players names around in the press until he knows for a fact that a deal is done. And he then always tries to make sure the player, or players hear it from him first, and not on Sportscenter. For that same reason, he'll never blame anyone else for his successes or failures. My point is, its easy for us to throw the Maloof's under the bus, but Petrie won't. Rightly or wrongly, he's just not into the deferrment business.
Now none of this has anything to do with the decisions he or the orginization have made. It doesn't really matter who made them, the result doesn't change or improve with internal knowledge. I was taught at a young age, to never point my finger of blame at anyone. Especially if I first wet it and stick it in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. So I try not to play the blame game. Which doesn't mean someone isn't accountable. It just means I personally don't have enough information. I guess you can play the buck stops here game. And I suspose thats fair. I mean if you hold the title, it comes with responsibility. So whatever floats your boat. And speaking of boats, I guess I'm not on board with the Petrie lynch mob. I mean, logically, it just doesn't make sense that he's lost all ability to judge talent or know how to put a team together.
On the other hand, I do think that all good things come to an end. That you can, for whatever reason, get stale at your job, and need a change of scenery. In Petrie's case, I think retirement would come before a change of venue. I think he likes his house in the foothills. But hey, I could be wrong. As for Smart, I can understand why management did what they did, and I don't really think its that big a deal. Now if he were making 5 mil a year, then that would be a big deal. But he's not, and if he completely fails, they can always cut their losses and fire him. Actually, they may have made a smart financial move. They currently have him locked into a very cheap contract for the next two years. If they hadn't extended him, and lets say he leads the team to the 8th and final playoff spot this season, or even comes close to the final spot, then suddenly they have to negotiate a new, and logically more expensive contract. So from that prespective, they may have just saved themselves some money.
Its always about money, isn't it? I mean the only difference between the Kings and the Lakers, is that we shop at different stores. The Lakers shop at I. Magnum's and Tiffanys, while the Kings are currently shopping at GoodWill.........
