I'm guessing that Malone was front and center on bringing in Landry since he had him in Golden State and Landry played very well. I'm hoping that Malones influence on the team can help guys produce at higher levels....speaking of the holdover personnel.
Voisin interviews Coach Malone
- Thread starter VF21
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I'm guessing that Malone was front and center on bringing in Landry since he had him in Golden State and Landry played very well. I'm hoping that Malones influence on the team can help guys produce at higher levels....speaking of the holdover personnel.
Factually accurate though that may be, his mere addition doesn't particularly make us a better defensive team, unless you believe that Mbah a Moute can cover four players on the court, at the same time, by himself. If you have three guys rated in the low-to-mid seventies defensively, and you replace them with one guy in the low eighties, and two guys in the high sixties, did you really get better?
Important point, IMHO. I don't think the culture change is complete, just as I do not believe the roster we have right now is going to be our roster after the trade deadline or in the next season or two. I guess I just view things differently because I'm not looking at this as a fait accompli. It's clearly still at the design stage.
I think it is still in the hooking up the computer stage before the real design works starts. At least I hope so. The moves so far may yield results bigger than the sum of their parts, however they have not been anything to think any kind of real "stamp" has been placed on the team as of yet. Maybe when the season starts we will have a better idea on things. Like VF said, I am not going to expect major improvements in record based on what we have seen with personnel changes. I hope Malone can live up to what he has done in the past and that is what makes me the most optimistic about some improvements this year (so far).
Chubbs
Starter
If he was highly involved, then I am highly terrified. I realize the team has a lot of dead weight (Hayes, salmons, outlaw for starters). But we cut none of it, and lost a key piece.
Vazquez is the key to all this. Can he make the offense better enough to make up for the d? I dunno. At min, he has size. You can say a lot of things about IT, but size isn't an attribute. The thing about Vazquez, and this is just on paper, that I keep coming back to is team assists for the kings vs Vazquez's hornets/pelicans. 21.0 New Orleans, 20.8 sac. That's it. Sure, Vazquez got 9 per game. But he wasn't part of an unselfish pass first offense. When Nash was MVP level, he had huge assist numbers, but so did the suns, leading the league or right near the top. With Vazquez, New Orleans was still in the bottom 1/3 of the league, nearly identical to the kings. I hope his unselfishness is contagious, but numbers say it wasn't in New Orleans. For whatever that's worth. This is IF he starts. IT will not go quietly.
Anyway, I keep reminding myself this has to be a 3-4 year plan. Rough rough start to it. But if there was a season to take a step backward from a draft perspective, this was it. But that doesn't seem to be what they were trying to do.
We've heard all of this from the last 4 coaches, one of whom (musselman) had an almost identical résumé coming to the kings as malone. all that musselman was missing was bringing his father along. I have to be skeptical. If malone gets a dui right before the season, the deja vu will be complete.
We've heard it all before. The problem is, we have selfish players. It's the same guys who played selfishly last year. A coach can't change the core identity of players. Guys like Landry, Thornton, being selfish is what they do best. Making others better is not part of their games. Culture change works best with personnel change. We seem to have resigned ourselves to the fact that contracts are just going to have to expire for a large chunk of the roster.
Chubbs
Starter
Agreed on mbah a moute. I question whether his skills are enough to be a starter though. On this team, maybe. The fact that I'm wondering whether he can beat out salmons should tell you all u need to know. Salmons was among the worst sfs in the league in efficiency rating. Mbah a moute was worse.
Malone for sure wanted Landry. He coached him last year. He clearly views him as a leader for this team. This just blindly ignores we already tried that with the same Carl,Landry. And not that long ago. He played with cousins. But I'm sure it'll work this time around.
Gary
All-Star
It can't be any worse than watching 5 individuals on offense and 5 individual defenders who had no idea of the team concept on either end.
True, but can't you put a little more positive twist on that - just for me, anyway?
And, remember, the same five individuals play offfence and defense making it a better teaching situation thn teaching ten. Yes, I guess I am being a smart***. But it's all in the way it's said. It will be better, for me, watching the Kings this year than last year. But it always is at the time you have to pay for your season tickets.
ninjabiscuit
Bench
Malone for sure wanted Landry. He coached him last year. He clearly views him as a leader for this team. This just blindly ignores we already tried that with the same Carl,Landry. And not that long ago. He played with cousins. But I'm sure it'll work this time around.
At the risk of saying something positive, I think the difference this time around is that Carl Landry played in Malone's system last year. He can be a leader and help explain the system to the players. It's a different situation than last time we had Landry. I believe the coach is trying to put in his system ASAP, and a player who already knows the system can help do that.
Gary
All-Star
I am a fan of traditional basketball. I think it's because I grew up watching guys like Stockton, Bird, ect ect. I see all these "talented" players that come out who have no idea how to play with four other players that are looking to get their shots too because when they were in college they were "the man".
Selfish behavior has ruined BBall for me somewhat. I grew up watching Stockton, Magic, and Bird. Now we have guys that have a lot of talent but who also have no idea how to play in a team setting. That's why I never really liked players like Iverson, Carmello, and others.
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Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Carmelo career playoff games (10 years): 66
Iverson career playoff games (14 years): 71
Sac Kings franchise playoff games (29 years): 76
Which is why I will repeat again and again and again, talent wins in this league. Any talent. Any superstar > any non-superstar. Always. Now in the end the flawed/selfish superstars will get beaten by the less flawed/less selfish superstars. But they're all going to routinely outperform the team without any at all.
Bosnian Diehard
Starter
Very nice article. I loved hearing some of Malone's comments, especially the one originally pointed out in the OP about Cousins telling Malone a coahc nevr ran sprints with him before. We have a coach that is active with the players for once.
Gary
All-Star
If your ok with mostly mediocre play off teams that underachieve per the "talent" they supposedly have then have at it. I would rather attempt to build a team than 5 individuals.
Something you fail to realize is that there is talent, and then talent which actually helps the team get to that next level. I am NOT OK with building a team which will always lose in the first or second round of the playoffs.
There is only so far an individual with Anthony's talent can take you. Once he's exposed his team is usually done.
rainmaker
Hall of Famer
Have you considered watching Euro ball more? That seems it'd be more to your liking since going from your recent posting history you don't seem to like star talent(almost always are good 1v1, iso players) and frankly, probably don't like the modern game which is more reliant on 1v1 play.
Not nearly as much selfishness in Euro ball.
Gary
All-Star
Oh come on.. I love the NBA or I wouldn't have had season tickets for many many years. I just don't like the style of basketball we have had for the past few years. It's not all 1v1 in the NBA. There are teams who still pass the ball. That's all I want.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
...says the fan of the team with 7 less appearances in the playoffs than Anthony over the last 7 years
And I don't like Anthony one bit. However I am purely practical about such matters. If we had Carmelo Anthony on this team and had made the playoffs for 7 straight seasons, even had a deep run once, we would be a much happier, and larger, fanbase than we are today.
Superstar, ANY superstar > no superstar. And once you have one, you are always just one player away from a serious shot. Even Iverson, as apparently oil and water with any other star as any superstar in history, made it to the NBA Finals, which is one more appearance for his team than this franchise has had in 50 years.
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Your point is clear and valid when it comes to results in the standings but I'm afraid I am not "purely practical" when it comes to this. I would much rather not have a Carmelo or an Iverson, I would and have taken the best and worst the Kings had to offer. Webber was a guy I had a hard time warming up to. No, I'm afraid I'm in favor of the "good guy" movement going on right now.
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Gary
All-Star
The only time I would want a superstar like you had said is if they are trade bait. I just cannot get that excited for a team that has selfish players on it, and that's what we had last year. IMO Denver did better without Anthony. It's not like they missed him much, if at all.
Yeah! Denver totally won the championship without Anthony! Wait... you mean, that didn't happen? Well, they still got out of the first round without him! Huh? That didn't happen, either? Oh. Well, it was prettier basketball, damn it, and that's what's important!
Gary
All-Star
So in your sarcastic reply you're trying to say that Denver was better with Anthony eh? Oh how I bow to your knowledge of basketball greatness, but you're kind of wrong. Go ahead and say that in a Nugget's forum and make sure you use that sarcasm as well, because at least you'll be able to play the "I was just kidding" card after they rip you a new one.
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