Voisin: Ranadive interview

Oh God, what is the irritant going to say this time?

*clicks link*

....Well, Vlade's quote at the end is most telling "No separate agendas". It was pretty obvious that our FO was fractured last season, but I think this is the first time anyone has acknowledged that. Good to see that they will hopefully be moving forward as a cohesive unit.

Things I took away: Vivek knows he blew it big time last season, hopefully he learns from his mistakes. Even when I was typing out my most vitriolic criticism of Vivek, I acknowledged that his heart is in the right place, his head just needs to follow. Vivek wants to win.

Mully is gone. That is huge. **** Mully. PDA is marginalized. That is awesome. Vlade is an unknown however, so this summer is going to be another leap of faith for all of us in Kings land. One thing I like about having Vlade as a top decision maker is that he is 7 feet tall. If there is anyone out there who will want to build around a big, it is a former big.

I don't mind Karl having his say either. The coach SHOULD have his say in the players he wants. Otherwise you have Mully and PDA giving Malone crap and whining and getting him fired when he cant turn said crap into gold.

At this point, I'm going to choose to be optimistic, because honestly, optimism is the only thing keeping me a fan of this goofball franchise.
 
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“(It’s the) last time (in the lottery),” said Divac, who will represent the Kings at the proceedings. “We’re going to move fast, and like Vivek said, we are all in this together. Me, coach, Pete, Mike (Bratz). No separate agendas. Our only agenda now is to win.”

I like the confidence, but I'll believe it when I see it.
 
As I said in another thread, good interview, good article, good confirmation that things are going in a better direction. Ranadive never turned the managing over to Mullin's or PDA but he has to Divak. Good.
 
“Vlade makes the decisions,” said Ranadive, noting that Divac’s title as vice president of basketball and franchise operations positions him above general manager Pete D’Alessandro. “Two people report directly to me. Chris Granger, who runs the business side, and Vlade from the basketball side. I want to make that clear as we move forward. We have a lot of work to do, and we are all in this together.”
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I know a lot of you are not yet convinced, but I think Vivek is on the right track. I'm going to continue to give him the benefit of the doubt and see how things shake out.
 
Big Cuz 15 said:
same here. same bullcrap from irritant.
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I dunno.... Before it was "jazz band this" and "cherry picking offense" that....Now he seems more...contrite?

I totally understand where you are coming from though. Our FO has been saying the right things every TDOS going back to the days of the Magoofs. It is high time the people in charge of this team finally put their money where their mouth is.
 
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gunks said:
I dunno.... Before it was "jazz band this" and "cherry picking offense" that....Now he seems more...contrite?

I totally understand where you are coming from though. Our FO has been saying the right things every TDOS going back to the days of the Magoofs. It is high time the people in charge of this team finally put their money where their mouth is.
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all TALK. lets see some action before giving him the pass.
 
gunks said:
I dunno.... Before it was "jazz band this" and "cherry picking offense" that....Now he seems more...contrite?

I totally understand where you are coming from though. Our FO has been saying the right things every TDOS going back to the days of the Magoofs. It is high time the people in charge of this team finally put their money where their mouth is.
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Vivek has admitted he made mistakes. He has admitted he shouldn't have jumped so quickly to hire a coach. He has made a lot of public actions of contrition.

I think it was an excellent interview from a man who has not had to admit to making a lot of errors in his life. While some are going to find reasons to call him names and make spiteful comments, I'd like to think most Kings fans are willing to at least wait and see what happens under the Divac-Karl era.

As far as somebody putting their money where their mouth is, I think Vivek has already done that. ;)
 
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gunks said:
I dunno.... Before it was "jazz band this" and "cherry picking offense" that....Now he seems more...contrite?

I totally understand where you are coming from though. Our FO has been saying the right things every TDOS going back to the days of the Magoofs. It is high time the people in charge of this team finally put their money where their mouth is.
Click to expand...

I'm on the wait and see side. I have no doubt Vivek knows he messed up. We just won't know if he knows what to do until some more things unfold. I want to see how he handles the draft and trades. Meaning, will he stay out of the way. The owner should be a cheerleader on the basketball part of the business and if he wants to be in the spotlight, do it on the business side.
 
This is the part which gives me optimism.

“All of us have different skills,” Ranadive said, “and everyone has their roles. Vlade is a unifier, a conductor, and he is very smart. People probably don’t realize that when he was back in Serbia (as head of the Olympic committee), he was dealing with political leaders at the highest level. He can interact with the person who carries your bag and interact with the president of a country. And he has a strong stomach. He wears big-boy pants. George, he is a future Hall of Fame coach. I have always respected him as a coach, and now I am getting to know him as a human being. And, yes, I ask dumb questions, and I am still an irritant. But I am counting on Vlade to pull this all together.”

Vlade without a doubt has experience dealing with various agendas and high-powered individuals. In Serbian politics, some of those individuals will go well beyond being "shady" characters. And throughout various ventures Vlade has regularly been regarded as a leader. Why's all this important? I don't see any issues he'll face in our organization being anything he hasn't come across before, to the extent I'd say it's child's play compared to what he's dealt with abroad.

He'll have little issue laying down the law. He's got backbone. He'll cut out much of the nonsense our weaker minded leadership has failed to wash aside. We're in vital need of a leader who can run this ship as well as keep Vivek in check. And as I said I'm fairly optimistic Vlade is that guy. The actual basketball related decisions and how those pan out we'll have to wait and see though.

The Vladfather, we need it.

For me it's not so much about Vivek and his rhetoric. It's about handing the keys over to Vlade, stepping the F back and letting the Vladfather do his job unimpeded. And I presume that's what happening.
 
rainmaker said:
This is the part which gives me optimism.

“All of us have different skills,” Ranadive said, “and everyone has their roles. Vlade is a unifier, a conductor, and he is very smart. People probably don’t realize that when he was back in Serbia (as head of the Olympic committee), he was dealing with political leaders at the highest level. He can interact with the person who carries your bag and interact with the president of a country. And he has a strong stomach. He wears big-boy pants. George, he is a future Hall of Fame coach. I have always respected him as a coach, and now I am getting to know him as a human being. And, yes, I ask dumb questions, and I am still an irritant. But I am counting on Vlade to pull this all together.”

Vlade without a doubt has experience dealing with various agendas and high-powered individuals. In Serbian politics, some of those individuals will go well beyond being "shady" characters. And throughout various ventures Vlade has regularly been regarded as a leader. Why's all this important? I don't see any issues he'll face in our organization being anything he hasn't come across before, to the extent I'd say it's child's play compared to what he's dealt with abroad.

He'll have little issue laying down the law. He's got backbone. He'll cut out much of the nonsense our weaker minded leadership has failed to wash aside. We're in vital need of a leader who can run this ship as well as keep Vivek in check. And as I said I'm fairly optimistic Vlade is that guy. The actual basketball related decisions and how those pan out we'll have to wait and see though.

The Vladfather, we need it.

For me it's not so much about Vivek and his rhetoric. It's about handing the keys over to Vlade, stepping the F back and letting the Vladfather do his job unimpeded. And I presume that's what happening.
Click to expand...

I think your right on. I've said many times, leaders are born, not made. Your either a leader or you not. I'll tell a Vlade story that I've told before, but maybe some have never heard it. I was at a Kings game sitting in the first row right behind the Kings bench. Not my tickets. A friend who couldn't go gave them to me. The Kings had just called a time out, and the last two heading to the bench were J. Will and Funderburke. As he walked toward the bench, J. Will was turning his head and jawing over his shoulder at Funderburke. Just as he arrived at the bench, Funderburke said something to J.Will, and J. Will's face instantly got beet red, he spun around and headed for Funderburke, who was aggressively walking toward J. Will. I thought, my god, I'm going to see the two of them duke it out right in front of me.

Vlade alertly stepped between them, got both players in a headlock, and started talking to them, the whole time with a smile on his face. After a few moments of conversation that I couldn't hear, he released both players and had them shake hands. He was able to defuse a volatile situation very quickly, and made it look easy. Not sure they would have listened to anyone else.
 
miltonap said:
“(It’s the) last time (in the lottery),” said Divac, who will represent the Kings at the proceedings. “We’re going to move fast, and like Vivek said, we are all in this together. Me, coach, Pete, Mike (Bratz). No separate agendas. Our only agenda now is to win.”

I like the confidence, but I'll believe it when I see it.
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ahhh I remember the 2010 or 2011 lottery and the Maloofs saying this was our last time in the lottery and yet here we are...they just need to stop saying that and go out there and put a team out there that compliments your best players.
 
I think we can make the post season next year.

We still need to address depth in the front court. We need one big that can play defense and is talented enough to warrant 20+ minutes a night. Taj and/or WCS would do the trick. If Moreland (or even Sim) is ready to go for 10-15mpg, that is just gravy.

We need to address consistency at the 2. There are always a lot of vet guards out there that can give us 10ppg and solid D. Heck, we might not even need a starter at SG if Ben and/or Nik can show some growth this summer. Malone had Ben looking pretty good early on, maybe he can get back on track.

I actually think we are ok at the point if DC can stay healthy. Andre wants to come back, and I feel like Ray can be alright in a backup role, those two guys can split up the minutes behind Collison.

Honestly, if we nail the draft and make only one or two solid FA signings, we are in the hunt for the post season. Obviously it will take a few more upgrades (as well as continued player development and improved chemistry) to really be a post season threat or (dare I say it?) a contender, but we are closer to a 40-45 win team than this past season's record would indicate.

It is a testament to the ineptness of the PDA/Mully/Vivek "think tank" that they were able to torpedo last season. It started with blowing the draft (Nik over Payton, not that I dont like Nik as a prospect, I just didnt like his fit). A so so attempt to improve the roster through FA (DC and Omri were good signings, but signing a journeyman and an undrafted rookie to address our depth issues in the front court was doomed to failure). And of course the final nail in last season's coffin was Malone getting canned (but now we have Karl, so it is all good).

Well, PDA is marginalized, Vivek has (hopefully) learned to step back a little bit, and Mully is gone. All Vlade has to do is not go out of his way to **** up, and we should be back on track.
 
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I think we will have to wait and see. We pretty much hear the same things every time. There is a massive PR spin coming out of the franchise to try and buy back some trust which they destroyed last season. Vlade was brought in to not only unify the franchise itself, but to reconnect franchise back with the fans. That bridge was set on fire last season, he is not trying to rebuild it.

The biggest challenge here is getting Boogie's trust. The kid is super smart. You burn him once, you are shut out for good. I have no doubt that PDA has lost his trust. Hopefully, Vlade has it. If he doesn't it gets real ugly real fast. I am not convinced that Karl has his trust either. A bit of smoke coming out of that relationship.
 
I am completely immune to PR and management-speak.

I recognize when the story says "Vivek has apologized repeatedly", but Vivek has never once apologized for anything important, nor taken blame for any of the mistakes that were made.

He has ONLY apologized for hiring Malone before the GM. That was not the mistake. Not being able to have those adults work things out, and having egos and personal agendas take over to the detriment of the team, was.

I will ONLY change my opinion of the FO and owner when they prove to me with actions that they learned anything from this debacle of self-inflicted wounds this year.
 
Vivek sounds like he is all in on the Kings. He does need to let the basketball people make the basketball decisions. There can be no repeat of the ill fated video of the Kings 2014 draft room.

Optimism reins supreme with the lottery balls telling some of our fate on the 20th. Here is to hoping Vlade witnesses a top 3 selection for the Kings.

I hope Coach Karl and his hand picked assistants are watching the Grizzlies and what their defense is doing to the Warriors. Finally a team is on the ball and turning them into passers or drivers with Big Marc Gasol ready to swat them in the paint. Watching Tony Allen and Mike Conley is a thing of beauty!
 
VF21 said:
I know a lot of you are not yet convinced, but I think Vivek is on the right track. I'm going to continue to give him the benefit of the doubt and see how things shake out.
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I always figured it would be two tough years before improvement, he could of kept the drama and hired Karl before the season started if that was the reason Malone was fired.

I have no idea what to expect now.
 
"One of the most interesting parts of the conversation, which Divac and D’Alessandro joined briefly, was Ranadive’s thought process behind the recent hirings. For someone who normally approaches problems in a methodical, analytical manner, his two most important and impressive changes seem more instinctive than calculating."

So far, Vivek's instincts have been downright sh**ty, which doesn't give me confidence about these moves. If Vlade is the ultimate decision maker and PDA has been put in the corner to do calculations and contract negotiations, Vlade becomes the de facto GM - the guy who really does pull the trigger on draft selections and trades and FA. Yet when Vivek is talking about Vlade, those skills aren't mentioned, that track record isn't referenced. (It's hard to reference something that doesn't exist). Vlade, the team builder, is referenced, not Vlade the GM. At this point these dots don't connect. If you want to go down the route of "In Vlade We Trust", then it's fine and dandy. Roll the dice and take a hang glider from Mt. Whitney on your introductory flight.
 
I believe that Vlade will be the final decision on personnel moves if I read it correctly but like any organization or rather good organization, input from others should be taken but in the end, it has to be Vlade's call ......and that includes input from Coach Karl. Those 2 guys matter the most.
 
Kingster said:
"One of the most interesting parts of the conversation, which Divac and D’Alessandro joined briefly, was Ranadive’s thought process behind the recent hirings. For someone who normally approaches problems in a methodical, analytical manner, his two most important and impressive changes seem more instinctive than calculating."

So far, Vivek's instincts have been downright sh**ty, which doesn't give me confidence about these moves. If Vlade is the ultimate decision maker and PDA has been put in the corner to do calculations and contract negotiations, Vlade becomes the de facto GM - the guy who really does pull the trigger on draft selections and trades and FA. Yet when Vivek is talking about Vlade, those skills aren't mentioned, that track record isn't referenced. (It's hard to reference something that doesn't exist). Vlade, the team builder, is referenced, not Vlade the GM. At this point these dots don't connect. If you want to go down the route of "In Vlade We Trust", then it's fine and dandy. Roll the dice and take a hang glider from Mt. Whitney on your introductory flight.
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Agreed. It's scary that all of our hopes in turning this thing around rely on another guy who has never done this at this level. Shows how bad things have become.
 
sdballer said:
Agreed. It's scary that all of our hopes in turning this thing around rely on another guy who has never done this at this level. Shows how bad things have become.
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I don't think that's scary. When Vivek bought the Kings and hired PDA we were relying on a guy who has never done this at this level. Many of the other names floated at the time (Hinkie, Schlenk etc) had never done this at this level. And the guys who DID have GM experience were Chris Wallace, David Kahn etc.

Being an NBA GM isn't exactly rocket science. Acquire your horses and the pieces to compliment them. It requires a successful vision and execution to bring it to life. Understanding cap implications and being able to look ahead a few steps (not a dig at PDA) and an eye for talent are things that your organization must have but that doesn't mean those responsibilities rest solely on Vlade's shoulders. Petrie's greatest asset was probably his talent evaluation but Divac can lean heavily on his scouts if need be.

There are zero guarantees on any GM, no matter their pedigree. Just like I did with D'Alessandro his first offseason, I'm giving Vlade the benefit of the doubt. And just like PDA I don't care what Vlade or anybody else from the Kings FO says. I'll judge each move individually on its merits and as a whole. In the meantime I'm choosing to be optimistic. It doesn't cost any more and makes thinking about the Kings more pleasant for the time being.
 
sdballer said:
Agreed. It's scary that all of our hopes in turning this thing around rely on another guy who has never done this at this level. Shows how bad things have become.
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I'm guessing Karl calls the shots or has the most influence.
 
One thing for certain though with Vlade, he gets along well with other people, so communication with other teams should be good. Also if we ever have some seconds to burn he may have some reliable information with international players others may not have.
 
funkykingston said:
I don't think that's scary. When Vivek bought the Kings and hired PDA we were relying on a guy who has never done this at this level. Many of the other names floated at the time (Hinkie, Schlenk etc) had never done this at this level. And the guys who DID have GM experience were Chris Wallace, David Kahn etc.

Being an NBA GM isn't exactly rocket science. Acquire your horses and the pieces to compliment them. It requires a successful vision and execution to bring it to life. Understanding cap implications and being able to look ahead a few steps (not a dig at PDA) and an eye for talent are things that your organization must have but that doesn't mean those responsibilities rest solely on Vlade's shoulders. Petrie's greatest asset was probably his talent evaluation but Divac can lean heavily on his scouts if need be.

There are zero guarantees on any GM, no matter their pedigree. Just like I did with D'Alessandro his first offseason, I'm giving Vlade the benefit of the doubt. And just like PDA I don't care what Vlade or anybody else from the Kings FO says. I'll judge each move individually on its merits and as a whole. In the meantime I'm choosing to be optimistic. It doesn't cost any more and makes thinking about the Kings more pleasant for the time being.
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This is the nihilist approach - it doesn't matter who the Kings hire as de facto GM because it's all random chance anyway, so who the heck cares.
 
Kingster said:
This is the nihilist approach - it doesn't matter who the Kings hire as de facto GM because it's all random chance anyway, so who the heck cares.
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I never said it was random chance. I don't believe that either. Quite the opposite in fact. But what I do believe is that there is pretty much no way to predict how good anyone will be as a GM until they actually do the job. If anyone can point me to any actual future predictors of success for a GM I'd love to see them.

How many Kings fans were briefly excited about the prospect of Phil Jackson taking the Sacramento job? How many thought Danny Ferry was building a powerhouse in Atlanta? The guy I wanted was Sam Hinkie but I'm not sure I could stomach the kind of seasons Philly has had the last two years.

If Vlade just gets everyone on the same page and focused on the same goals that would be a huge upgrade and that's exactly where his strengths lie. But whether he makes the right personnel moves (draft, free agents, trades) to acquire talent and build a cohesive roster I'll just have to wait and see.

I wish there was an experienced NBA GM with a track record of success available to be hired but I'm struggling to think who that would be. I WOULD love to see Petrie brought back in as a consultant but I have no idea how likely that would be or if he'd even consider it.
 
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