Yahoo: Kings mulling over ex-Monarchs coach

[jon e]

did anybody see the bee today? it has the monarchs training camp schrimaging with the yuba college mens team...

with that said, i really hope pj is at least interviewed this time. he said he was surprised that the kings didnt even call him last time. who has better credentials than pj who has been underneath gregg popovich for a few years? i dont know about you guys but id rather have a spurs assistant coach than a suns head coach in marc ivaronni. i dont think that he or d'antoni have much to do with coaching except screaming "give steve the ball!!!" easiest coaching job ever

 

[Jerryaki]

I agreed. I never said we should hire Whisenant as coach and I know there are much better candidates out there. I just dont think we should judge him because hes an WNBA coach and never been in the NBA.

if you're on the board of trustees for a company and you need to hire a new CEO, do you go for CEOs with some sort of track record in being a CEO, or do you hire someone random who may or may not have the potential to succeed (e.g. professors, new graduates, etc.)? same thing goes for hiring people into specific industries.

you need SOME sort of criterion to judge. that's what the resume is for.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

...at least time enough to trade Artest.

I dont think this is going to happen, which is fine with me because I actually want to keep him here...but I could be wrong.

 

[VF21]

To me it's disconcerning because it might mean the Maloofs still can't keep their stinking paws out of the basketball decisions. I think this offseason Petrie finally gets what he needs to do and if the Maloofs will let him do it he can do a good job. They just need to stay the F out of it, they're not basketball minds despite how much they'd like to believe they are.

It might mean anything BUT it most likely means nothing. When your "sources" are a conference official and a league official and you're dealing with someone as tight-lipped as Petrie, I honestly think it's pretty clear this is NOTHING but wild speculation.

And, just as was common with a lot of the arena stuff, it's pointing the finger unfairly at the Maloofs. They haven't said anything about Whisenant. The situation that got them to look further last time took him out of the running. There's nothing at all to indicate that has changed.

There are trustworthy sources who do get rumors worth discussing. And then there are things like this.

 

[VF21]

with that said, i really hope pj is at least interviewed this time. he said he was surprised that the kings didnt even call him last time. who has better credentials than pj who has been underneath gregg popovich for a few years? i dont know about you guys but id rather have a spurs assistant coach than a suns head coach in marc ivaronni. i dont think that he or d'antoni have much to do with coaching except screaming "give steve the ball!!!" easiest coaching job ever

That statement is just silly.

 

[Wuster]

If GP and the Maloofs/FO do the proper management practice of holding a reflective review concerning the Musselman hiring, tenure, firing debacle, of course Wiz's name will come up in those discussions. But I hope the heck it is only in the context of lessons learned. More than anything this summer, the selection of a new coach will say more about this franchise and where things are headed, IMO.

 

[jon e]

That statement is just silly.

haha

 

[rhythmless]

i think that if petrie is going to build around the kids, and complement their style, then maybe ivaroni would be better suited for the job

 

[Vlade4GM]

It might mean anything BUT it most likely means nothing. When your "sources" are a conference official and a league official and you're dealing with someone as tight-lipped as Petrie, I honestly think it's pretty clear this is NOTHING but wild speculation.

And, just as was common with a lot of the arena stuff, it's pointing the finger unfairly at the Maloofs. They haven't said anything about Whisenant. The situation that got them to look further last time took him out of the running. There's nothing at all to indicate that has changed.

There are trustworthy sources who do get rumors worth discussing. And then there are things like this.

I'm just bracing for the worst, hopefully you're right.

 

[Superman]

There is a long list of qualified, and not so qualified NBA personnel to choose form on this one, Whiz is not even on the list. His lone qualification remains that he is the family bootlicker. There is not another team in the NBA that would remotely consider him for their position, and there is a reason for that.

And that's the reality of it. No other team in the NBA - not even a college team - has been reported as looking at Whisenant as head coach. There are dozens of candidates that would NOT have these questions marks hanging over their heads all season long. Why not hire one of them, instead of taking a flyer at a guy with absolutely NO NBA experience?

Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to become an NBA head coach? Unless you were a player, you have to pay your dues in order to get a job as a head coach in the NBA. And even players have to pay dues most of the time (see: Avery Johnson).

No sense in doing all this typing again; I said the same things last summer.

(Posted 5-29-2006)This is an NBA issue. And Whisenant has NO NBA experience on any level: player, assistant coach, front office experience, scout, etc. He's never even sniffed the NBA. He has no tangible qualifications for the job aside from having a successful stint in the WNBA. There's nothing wrong with that, in itself. But that's all he has to his credit. And it's not enough to convince me or anyone else that he's the most qualified candidate for the job.

I'd rather have Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, Chuck Daly, Don Nelson, Stan van Gundy, Jeff Bzdelik, Del Harris, Mario Elie, Elston Turner, etc. Why? They all have extensive NBA experience, which - in my opinion - makes them far more qualified than John Whisenant or any other candidate with no NBA experience whatsoever.

This guy isn't the best candidate available for the job. And that's all that matters to me. Give me a guy who will undoubtedly come in and have the respect of his team because of his track record and reputation.

 

[Vlade4GM]

And that's the reality of it. No other team in the NBA - not even a college team - has been reported as looking at Whisenant as head coach. There are dozens of candidates that would NOT have these questions marks hanging over their heads all season long. Why not hire one of them, instead of taking a flyer at a guy with absolutely NO NBA experience?

Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to become an NBA head coach? Unless you were a player, you have to pay your dues in order to get a job as a head coach in the NBA. And even players have to pay dues most of the time (see: Avery Johnson).

No sense in doing all this typing again; I said the same things last summer.



This guy isn't the best candidate available for the job. And that's all that matters to me. Give me a guy who will undoubtedly come in and have the respect of his team because of his track record and reputation.

I think you also need to take into consideration who will fit our situation best. Who will be best for a rebuilding situation?

 

[Bricklayer]

did anybody see the bee today? it has the monarchs training camp schrimaging with the yuba college mens team...

with that said, i really hope pj is at least interviewed this time. he said he was surprised that the kings didnt even call him last time. who has better credentials than pj who has been underneath gregg popovich for a few years? i dont know about you guys but id rather have a spurs assistant coach than a suns head coach in marc ivaronni. i dont think that he or d'antoni have much to do with coaching except screaming "give steve the ball!!!" easiest coaching job ever

People forget with PJ that before he was a Spurs assistant, he just was NOT a very successful NBA coach. Choking incident aside, he never showed he could make a team anything more than mediocre in 6 years of coaching (his 6 year record 183-222). And of course the choking incident was just the tip of the iceberg as far as how much his players hated him. So yeah, he's Pop's assistant, and that's all well and good, but he has to be just about the WORST looking top assistant to a guy like Pop that oyu could find, because he failed, and he failed ugly, when he was a head coach. Phil Johnson, our first coach in Sacto has been Sloan's #1 for forever too. Doesn't mean I would be eager to see us run over and tap him as our next head guy either. Sometimes guys just make better behind the scnes guys than leads.

Think PJ may get another shot from somebody at some point, but if all you look at is "oohh Pop's assistant" when evaluating him, you are entirely missing the considerable risk factor there.

 

[Superman]

Think PJ may get another shot from somebody at some point, but if all you look at is "oohh Pop's assistant" when evaluating him, you are entirely missing the considerable risk factor there.

Same thing with Del Harris. Bombed as a head coach (of course he had some serious expectations in LA), and looks great as an assistant. Doesn't mean we should be running to hire him.

That having been said, I'd much rather have Harris than Carlesimo.

 

[PurpleHaze]

And that's the reality of it. No other team in the NBA - not even a college team - has been reported as looking at Whisenant as head coach. There are dozens of candidates that would NOT have these questions marks hanging over their heads all season long. Why not hire one of them, instead of taking a flyer at a guy with absolutely NO NBA experience?

IF, and its a big IF, this plan to hire Whiz is under consideration then Theus is the key to it. The Maloofs would be presumably giving the new head coach a one year contract only, and Theus a longer deal - meaning he takes over afterwards. Theus would have the respect of the players and because of the reality of it be virtual assistant head coach instead of the usual "top assistant." I'm not saying I would necessarily be for it, but I like it better than a lot of other alternatives I've heard many of which are simply never going to happen.

I originally thought Stan Van Gundy was one of the two or three best choices or more accurately, available choices out there. The less I hear talk of him the more I think maybe he's still just "wanting to spend time with family" and remain a college sports consultant in the Miami area. Of course, Larry Brown, Rick Adelman, and a short-list of other NBA retreads will not happen. The NBA assistant coach ranks plus various college head coaches are a possibility but again, IMO no more or less likely than the Whiz & Reggie show in Sac for 2007-08 and Theus at the helm afterwards.

 

[nbrans]

I disagree, PurpleHaze, Whisenant and Theus is by far the worst idea I've yet heard. Like VF21 I don't believe it's true, but we'd be better off with Slamson.

Hiring Whisenant to tutor Theus is like hiring a blind person to teach someone how to see.

 

[Jerryaki]

I disagree, PurpleHaze, Whisenant and Theus is by far the worst idea I've yet heard. Like VF21 I don't believe it's true, but we'd be better off with Slamson.

Hiring Whisenant to tutor Theus is like hiring a blind person to teach someone how to see.

and even if it were the plan, what is the rationale for bringing in an NBA-inexperienced coach for that one year? so whiz can set things up for theus??? a guy who was already an NBA player?

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

I disagree, PurpleHaze, Whisenant and Theus is by far the worst idea I've yet heard. Like VF21 I don't believe it's true, but we'd be better off with Slamson.

Hiring Whisenant to tutor Theus is like hiring a blind person to teach someone how to see.

...or how to drive. I wouldnt do this move in 1000 years. I'd rather dig up Dick Motta than hire Ole Whiz...and Dick Motta was the worst coach in this franchise's history, by far. Now if, per say, you brought in a guy like Hubie Brown or Larry Brown, and had Theus as an assistant, THAT would be a good situation for him to be 'shown the ropes' because he actually has someone to learn from...what's Ole Whiz going to show Reggie...'Um...Reggie, here's the 'white line' defense...um...and um what well, what else am I supposed to show you??' Not alot for Whiz to show anyone, IMO.

 

[NoBonus]

...or how to drive. I wouldnt do this move in 1000 years. I'd rather dig up Dick Motta than hire Ole Whiz...and Dick Motta was the worst coach in this franchise's history, by far. Now if, per say, you brought in a guy like Hubie Brown or Larry Brown, and had Theus as an assistant, THAT would be a good situation for him to be 'shown the ropes' because he actually has someone to learn from...what's Ole Whiz going to show Reggie...'Um...Reggie, here's the 'white line' defense...um...and um what well, what else am I supposed to show you??' Not alot for Whiz to show anyone, IMO.

I agree. Bringing in "Cheese- Whiz" to show Theus the ropes is flat nuts. Maybe the Maloofs are spreading these rumors of what sort of horrible ting could happen to make their eventual choice seem like a really good idea by comparison. Just like last time... they threatened to hire Cheese-Whiz and switched to Muss; it seemed like a good idea at the time especially considering we were all expecting Cheese-Whiz who, with little argument, would have been a terrible choice.

 

[VF21]

It is NOT going to happen. You guys are delusional and it's only April. Pace yourselves - we have a long way to go until November.

 

[VF21]

How can you be angry about something like this? Honestly, it means less than nothing.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

How can you be angry about something like this? Honestly, it means less than nothing.

What do you think Reggie is saying as he reads this under 'rumors'?? I wonder if he even has the foggiest?

 

[Kingster]

To me it's disconcerning because it might mean the Maloofs still can't keep their stinking paws out of the basketball decisions. I think this offseason Petrie finally gets what he needs to do and if the Maloofs will let him do it he can do a good job. They just need to stay the F out of it, they're not basketball minds despite how much they'd like to believe they are.

I'm with you. I just think this is a rumor at this point and if I get upset about all these upcoming rumors I'll probably take years off my life. Next, we're going here that the Sacramento State coach is in the running... We're going to have an interesting exercise of connecting the dots over this offseason. The coaching decision will be one dot and hopefully several trades will occur for the other dots. Then we should be able to see how much the Maloofs get their "paws" into the process. We should also see what the "vision" of Petrie and/or the Maloofs. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

 

[Kingster]

This has got me thinking... the universal standard for a coach is his W-L record. Even assuming a minor miracle or two over the summer and very shrewd coaching afterwards, we're not going to be winning a ton of games next year. Best possible case for us right now would be to have 3 each of Kevin, Ronnie, Cisco and Justin on the roster, and the $10M budget that would go with that. But that's not reality, reality is that, doing things right, it's still probably going to take 3-4 years, which might make a lot of coaches go ballistic. Maybe it's a mistake to think about trying to talk some primadonna coach into ruining his precious W-L record with a rebuild, when what we really want is a guy who can patiently teach kids, keep their morale up while they're losing, and neutralize bad locker room influences.

In business, there are manager whose whole gig is taking over sickly old companies and doing the hard stuff which will give them the potential to be healthy again in the future. The coaching equivalent would have a pretty abysmal W-L record, but should be very much in demand despite that.

Has the NBA failed to evolve in ways that other businesses have? Are there no coaches whose whole gig is doing rebuilds?

Couldn't agree more. Bickerstaff, with Charlotte, was specifically hired to develop the young guys. AND, they made a decision not to bring in the older players who would usurp the playing time of the young guys. Now THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! But, if we decide to go for the quick fix and go with the middle talent level vets - looking to be good, but never good enough to get a ring - then developing skills is not quite as important. I hope we go with the former!

 

[CruzDude]

One thing that has become evident in NBA coaching the past few years, new coaches specifically, is that the new and very young generation of players, many with only 1 or 2 years of college, listen to a coach who was a player, who has "been there done that". I'm not saying that is right or wrong only that the new generation of player looks for credibility and "been there done that" is much cred vs. a wise, maybe bit older coach with coaching background but no real player experience.

Adelman played as a guard for 5-6 years. Scott, Jordan, Phil Jackson even, Riley, and 8-10 more, all played in the NBA. Heck, Riley was a broadcaster for 2-3 years before he got into coaching.

That said, getting a Reggie Theus in as an assistant COULD make sense. Personally I think Scott Brooks may be ready to coach. He seems to be in high regards by players and staff alike. and the brief feedback when Muss was suspended for a few games was very good.

If Petrie cleans house then a new, young coach could make as much sense as an older, more experience coach. But if there are a bunch of new, younger players, they need a firm hand and someone who has "been there done that" including being in playoffs.

 

[Superman]

How can you be angry about something like this? Honestly, it means less than nothing.

I'm not angry about it, and I don't think this "source" is any more credible than any of us throwing around ideas are.

However, we were "this close" to hiring this dude last season, right? It's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Maloofs convince themselves that they should have trusted their first instinct and hired him, especially since Musselman bombed the way he did.

And if that happens, then I'll be angry. I'm passionate in my belief that Whisenant should NOT be a head coach anywhere in the NBA, and I will display that passion, but I'm not angry. Hopefully I won't have a reason to be, either.

 

[Superman]

Adelman played as a guard for 5-6 years. Scott, Jordan, Phil Jackson even, Riley, and 8-10 more, all played in the NBA. Heck, Riley was a broadcaster for 2-3 years before he got into coaching.

That said, getting a Reggie Theus in as an assistant COULD make sense. Personally I think Scott Brooks may be ready to coach. He seems to be in high regards by players and staff alike. and the brief feedback when Muss was suspended for a few games was very good.

I was never a "Fire Adelman" type of guy, but it pisses me off that we didn't retain Byron Scott. Now that he's done his thing with two different teams under varying circumstances, I would love to have him as head coach. Seeing as how we pulled Adelman's plug anyways, we should have just handed it over to Byron in 2003.

 

[Bricklayer]

I was never a "Fire Adelman" type of guy, but it pisses me off that we didn't retain Byron Scott. Now that he's done his thing with two different teams under varying circumstances, I would love to have him as head coach. Seeing as how we pulled Adelman's plug anyways, we should have just handed it over to Byron in 2003.

Er...well that's a bit of a stretch. No coach is going to last forever. Not as if Byron left last year or some such. Saying, well we fireed rick after 8 years, guess we should ahve fired him after 3 so we could hire his assistant is a bit much.

 

[Superman]

Er...well that's a bit of a stretch. No coach is going to last forever. Not as if Byron left last year or some such. Saying, well we fireed rick after 8 years, guess we should ahve fired him after 3 so we could hire his assistant is a bit much.

Absolutely.

I'm saying that I'd rather have Byron Scott than anyone else, and it bothers me that he's not available now that we need a head coach.

 

[BRad1055]

My top 5 choices for next kings head coach:

1. Terry Porter
2. Mario Elie
3. Mark Iavaroni
4. Reggie Theus
5. Rudy Tomjanovich

 

[Fear the Putin]

AH CRAP!! NOT THIS AGAIN!!!! Yeah, looks like I'll be needing some vodka a lot sooner than I was hoping.

as a fellow Russian I will keep you great company
you will never get bored drinking with a Russian....I guarantee you