Vivek interviewed by the writer of erotic fiction

[Tetsujin]

By jove, it appears Vivek finally has started to understand the owner's role in the entire thing (I hope).

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article200865784.html

 

[VF21]

Nice tease in the thread title.

I haven't read the article yet. Can I dare to hope she doesn't make any comments about Vivek's rippling muscles?

 

[pdxKingsFan]

He comes across as someone who might be overly optimistic but finally has gotten an understanding of what he's doing and what the goal is. And he's not sugarcoating anything with promises he can't keep.

 

[kingsfan1984]

Awesome! Ive always had faith in Vivek and felt a little patience would be rewarded.

 

[Tetsujin]

He comes across as someone who might be overly optimistic but finally has gotten an understanding of what he's doing and what the goal is. And he's not sugarcoating anything with promises he can't keep.

To be fair, I'd be more concerned if the owner of my favorite team was superpessimistic about his squad.

 

[whozit]

I saw this largely as a fluff piece (no harm in that). This was done perhaps to get the author back in the good graces of the team (don't know and doesn't matter). If I'm going to be critical (I.e. dismiss) of her the rest of the time, then I shouldn't applaud her when she writes something I like.

However, the were a few nuggets that if true is potentially good news. The team has been criticized for being cheap in the scouting department but perhaps that is simply residue from the past. If he has invested in the support staff, hopefully that includes the scouting department.

 

[Gliesian]

Interesting that he says the Cuz trade was his hardest decision. I wonder if he meant the royal He, or whatever the antonym for nosism is lol. But I think this confirms it was indeed his decision.
My only other gripe with Vivek is his big brother attitude, ever since he had those security robots with facial/audio/license plate/infrared scanners scoping us out. I would hate being watched all the time as a player.
I appreciate Vivek's honesty and he is growing as an owner. Just leave my biometric data alone and we're gucci

 

[bajaden]

Interesting that he says the Cuz trade was his hardest decision. I wonder if he meant the royal He, or whatever the antonym for nosism is lol. But I think this confirms it was indeed his decision.
My only other gripe with Vivek is his big brother attitude, ever since he had those security robots with facial/audio/license plate/infrared scanners scoping us out. I would hate being watched all the time as a player.
I appreciate Vivek's honesty and he is growing as an owner. Just leave my biometric data alone and we're gucci

The only correction I would make is that the final decision was Vivek's. Which is usually the case when the GM wants to trade the teams best player. If nothing else came out of the article than, Vlade did and does indeed have a plan, it's worth the read. I hope some people who have been critical in that area realize that regardless of what kind of long team plan you might have, the need for readjustments of said plan are going to happen. Unforeseen events are going to occur that might require a temporary change in directions. If and when that happens, it doesn't mean you don't have a plan.

I, like you, always have mixed emotions when anything resembles big brother. In this case it appears to be singularly related to player development, and not if someone is tampering with the coke machine in the wee small hours of the morning. I'm sure the players know that the camera's are there and that they're being recorded. So enter, and practice at the risk of management seeing how bad your jumpshot is. The most damaging information might not be about whose there practicing, but who isn't practicing.

 

[Sactown ExPat]

I thought it was interesting that he referenced Buddy’s midnight shootarounds. Sometimes, I feel like the front office will keep Buddy around as much for his being a work ethic stalking horse than for anything he does on the court. He’s just a legendary hard worker.

 

[gunks]

I'm still not sold on Vivek.

His most recent blunder was the Cuz trade, that isn't exactly ancient history. Are we better off going full rebuild? Maybe. But the way that trade went down left a lot to be desired.

I don't think it's far fetched to think we could have gotten more for the big fella if Vivek didn't wait until the 25th hour to make him available AND have a return of either Buddy or Ingram a requisite. Kinda ****'d our options.

I want to like Vivek, he's enthusiastic, and you can tell he wants his team to be contending again, but still.... I need a solid two seasons without him messing something up before I jump on the "he's learned" bandwagon.

At least he's on board with the rebuild, I'll give him that. But who knows how long that lasts!

 

[allrightythen]

I'm still not sold on Vivek.

His most recent blunder was the Cuz trade, that isn't exactly ancient history. Are we better off going full rebuild? Maybe. But the way that trade went down left a lot to be desired.

I don't think it's far fetched to think we could have gotten more for the big fella if Vivek didn't wait until the 25th hour to make him available AND have a return of either Buddy or Ingram a requisite. Kinda ****'d our options.

I want to like Vivek, he's enthusiastic, and you can tell he wants his team to be great again, but still.... I need a solid two seasons without him messing something up before I jump on the "he's learned" bandwagon.

Is anyone? I might be among the more optimistic people around and I'm not at convinced that Vivek is a good owner. Unfortunately it doesn't matter how bad the Kings are, Vivek can't be fired.

 

[kingsboi]

despite how we feel about Vivek, he is around for the long term most likely and all we can do is hold out hope that maybe one day he gets it

 

[bajaden]

Is anyone? I might be among the more optimistic people around and I'm not at convinced that Vivek is a good owner. Unfortunately it doesn't matter how bad the Kings are, Vivek can't be fired.

I always remind myself that the Kings wouldn't even be here if not for Vivek, and a little help from his friends. ( Kevin Johnson etc. ) I'd also like to point out, that most brand new owners tend to trip over themselves for a while, thinking they can run a team the same way they ran their company. Mark Cuban admitted he made a lot of mistakes when he first bought the Mav's. If your smart, you learn. It appears that Vivek might be learning..

 

[allrightythen]

I always remind myself that the Kings wouldn't even be here if not for Vivek, and a little help from his friends. ( Kevin Johnson etc. ) I'd also like to point out, that most brand new owners tend to trip over themselves for a while, thinking they can run a team the same way they ran their company. Mark Cuban admitted he made a lot of mistakes when he first bought the Mav's. If your smart, you learn. It appears that Vivek might be learning..

He appears to be a slow learner, but I do think he is learning nonetheless.

 

[VF21]

I'm still not sold on Vivek.

His most recent blunder was the Cuz trade, that isn't exactly ancient history. Are we better off going full rebuild? Maybe. But the way that trade went down left a lot to be desired.

I don't think it's far fetched to think we could have gotten more for the big fella if Vivek didn't wait until the 25th hour to make him available AND have a return of either Buddy or Ingram a requisite. Kinda ****'d our options.

I want to like Vivek, he's enthusiastic, and you can tell he wants his team to be contending again, but still.... I need a solid two seasons without him messing something up before I jump on the "he's learned" bandwagon.

At least he's on board with the rebuild, I'll give him that. But who knows how long that lasts!

You're a tough sell, dude.

I await the day you finally let go of your Vivek animus.

 

[VF21]

He appears to be a slow learner, but I do think he is learning nonetheless.

I kind of disagree with this assessment. I believe Vivek has taken the blame unfairly in a lot of instances by a fan base so poisoned by the actions of the Maloofs they're all too quick to point fingers.

Under his leadership, the Kings are looking forward for the first time in forever. We have a new arena. We even have NEW FLOORS to match our various new jerseys. I cannot recall ever seeing that before. We''re innovative and leading the way in a lot of technology-related areas. Yes he may have made some missteps but I'm pretty happy with how things are going right now.

 

[allrightythen]

I kind of disagree with this assessment. I believe Vivek has taken the blame unfairly in a lot of instances by a fan base so poisoned by the actions of the Maloofs they're all too quick to point fingers.

Under his leadership, the Kings are looking forward for the first time in forever. We have a new arena. We even have NEW FLOORS to match our various new jerseys. I cannot recall ever seeing that before. We''re innovative and leading the way in a lot of technology-related areas. Yes he may have made some missteps but I'm pretty happy with how things are going right now.

I was really only speaking about the Basketball side of things. From all accounts, outside of the actual basketball decisions he has been great from the start. I think its taken him some time to figure out how to even talk about basketball let alone understand what makes a winning organization. To be fair I have no illusions that what he is doing is easy or that I could do it better.

It's possible that my expectations were a little high as I figured we would see success on the court sooner than we have, but I do like the direction we're moving right now. I still have doubts though. I still hear/read whispers and rumors of his influence on decisions that I don't have any way of verifying one way or the other. I'm not sold on his ability to identify basketball talent at this point. The next year or so could go a long ways towards selling me though.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Like many new owners he probably jumped in all guns blazing thinking he could get involved in basketball operations before realizing he needed to step back. Honestly it took him far less time than it's taken many other owners. And most owners don't walk into a position where the previous owner was actively sabotaging the team.

 

[Kingsfan23]

He understands we are trying to build through the draft, so his tolerance for Joerger trying to win meaningless games has to be nil as well. Play the youth

 

[VF21]

I was really only speaking about the Basketball side of things. From all accounts, outside of the actual basketball decisions he has been great from the start. I think its taken him some time to figure out how to even talk about basketball let alone understand what makes a winning organization. To be fair I have no illusions that what he is doing is easy or that I could do it better.

It's possible that my expectations were a little high as I figured we would see success on the court sooner than we have, but I do like the direction we're moving right now. I still have doubts though. I still hear/read whispers and rumors of his influence on decisions that I don't have any way of verifying one way or the other. I'm not sold on his ability to identify basketball talent at this point. The next year or so could go a long ways towards selling me though.

Everything else will impact the basketball side of things. Sacramento is in the discussions for an All-Star weekend. When things like that start to happen, it will be a factor for free agents. While as a small market we'll never have the same draw as the big market teams, having a lot of the frills just might make enough of a difference to bring us some of those players who wouldn't have considered us before. And yes, that's me in my purple-tinted glasses.

 

[LPKingsFan]

On one hand, you could dismiss this as Vivek "just saying the right things." Actions, not words, will have the final say.

On the other hand, Vivek was not even saying the right things before. So, even the right words are progress.

 

[gunks]

I kind of disagree with this assessment. I believe Vivek has taken the blame unfairly in a lot of instances by a fan base so poisoned by the actions of the Maloofs they're all too quick to point fingers.

Under his leadership, the Kings are looking forward for the first time in forever. We have a new arena. We even have NEW FLOORS to match our various new jerseys. I cannot recall ever seeing that before. We''re innovative and leading the way in a lot of technology-related areas. Yes he may have made some missteps but I'm pretty happy with how things are going right now.

Vivek has done a lot of good outside of his basketball decisions, I'll give him that!

He wants this team to be great, and I love his enthusiasm as an owner. He's made strides, I just don't think he's there yet.

You're a tough sell, dude.

I await the day you finally let go of your Vivek animus.

.... And to be fair, me "not being sold" on Vivek is an improvement over how I've felt about him in past years!

 

[ParniValjak]

I thought it was interesting that he referenced Buddy’s midnight shootarounds. Sometimes, I feel like the front office will keep Buddy around as much for his being a work ethic stalking horse than for anything he does on the court. He’s just a legendary hard worker.

Well one of Ben McLemore's best traits was indeed that he is one of the hardest workers around.

You know what they say its not practice that makes perfect but perfect practice makes perfect. Work ethic is super important but it doesn't mean much if its not "clicking" for the player.

 

[Sac.1989]

Have to justify the Cousins trade somehow and Buddy was the main piece coming back so talking up his work ethic and alluding to his potential is what we will hang our hat on.

Vivek loves a good shooter, we all know he wanted Buddy since the draft. Vlade leveraged that for sure. I just hope to god his plan is not for us to be golden state 2.0 because that is a fallacy

 

[mac]

Have to justify the Cousins trade somehow and Buddy was the main piece coming back so talking up his work ethic and alluding to his potential is what we will hang our hat on.

Vivek loves a good shooter, we all know he wanted Buddy since the draft. Vlade leveraged that for sure. I just hope to god his plan is not for us to be golden state 2.0 because that is a fallacy

I used to say that we shouldn't be golden state 2.0, but at some point you do have to recognize that for a few years now perimeter-oriented teams are finding far greater/easier success than those built around bigs. Or put in another way, you need spacing and a star perimeter player more than you do a star inside presence.

 

[Sac.1989]

I used to say that we shouldn't be golden state 2.0, but at some point you do have to recognize that for a few years now perimeter-oriented teams are finding far greater/easier success than those built around bigs. Or put in another way, you need spacing and a star perimeter player more than you do a star inside presence.

I agree things are trending that way but its only because everyone is trying to emulate GS. The way to beat them is with size inside, that is their weak point. Im looking forward to a full season of Davis and Boogie and to a lesser extent, Drummond and Griffin. Golden state is very beatable.

The Celtics next big splash will be on a big man, Ainge will flip assets in a bid to land a legit star inside and the way they are constructed, will be set for the foreseeable future