Impatience, thy name is Maloof...

[JoMal]

Musselman out as Kings coach

Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer

Eric Musselman was fired as Kings coach Friday after one season on the job, The Bee has learned through an anonymous source who wouldn't go on record for fear of retribution.

The decision comes after the Kings' 33-49 finish marked their worst season since 1998-99, with Musselman only part of what was a flawed formula from the start. From his arrest for driving under the influence after the team's first home exhibition win to a late stretch in which the Kings lost 17 of 23 games, very little went right for the coach or his team.

After former coach Rick Adelman was not resigned last May, it became clear that his team's perceived inability to defend consistently was a major factor in a decision to let him go driven by team co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof. Musselman - who was given a three-year contract worth more than $7 million - entered with a defensive mindset and, as Petrie said at the time, was "not afraid to juice up the offense." 

But his defense finished the regular season ranked 24th in the league (103.1 points per game), far below the 2005-06 Kings team that was 17th (97.3). There was some juice in the offense, if not as much ball movement or chemistry as in years past. The Kings finished ranked eight in scoring (101.3 points per game).

Okay, so basically the same squad that made the playoffs last year and gave the Spurs all they could handle in the first round back then, has not performed nearly as well under Musselman. Could it be that it was due to Bonzi Wells opting to screw himself and the Kings by not resigning with the team? Yeah, that must be why the Kings failed so miserably this year.

Actually, The King's failures have more to do with a huge lack of leadership on the court. Ron Artest took over the leadership reins from Mike Bibby, who never fit the role, and Brad Miller, who refuses to act like a leader. Neither Miller nor Bibby played with any heart this season, and that was with Bibby looking for a new contract. Artest typically ran into trouble off the court, negating his leadership qualities on it. And then the lack of atheleticism and rebounders gave Musselman little to work with but a bunch of swingmen youngsters not quite ready for full time play, other then Kevin Martin.

So, the Maloofs suggested to all that Geoff Petrie will be dealing with their couch, and went to South Florida to peek at bikini clad coeds, or something. Far removed from what Petrie clearly was told to do, dump the young, inexperienced coach and bring in.......uh, oh.........

Who is out there worth hiring now?

[westkoast]

Hay at least I hope they realize what they lost with Adleman.  Don't quite think by accident that before Adleman was there the Kings couldn't make the playoffs then when he shows up they go 8-9 times in a row only to not show up the following year when he is gone.

Musselman may be a good x's and o'x guy but I don't know if he is an NBA coach.  Maybe more of a college coach.  I don't feel like he knows how to properly use talent on his teams or against other coaches.  The Warriors teams had some talented players on the squad.  The core up there right now is the same core that he had (save Stephen Jackson).  The Kings team has some talented players on that squad also.  The fact that the defense was so horrible this year actually makes the Maloof's look a little less trigger happy.

Who is worth hiring out there?  Rick Adleman. 

[rickortreat]

The Maloof brothers won't admit they made a mistake and rehire Adleman.

IMO, There are plenty of other coaches out there who can do a better job than Musselman with the Kings.

Still the team seems to be in disarray and floundering.  Mike Bibby isn't a strong player and neither is Brad Miller.  I would be looking to replace them and right now they're among the top players on the squad. 

Artest isn't really the answer either.  He'd be good on a squad with some discipline and established leadership, and right now that isn't the Kings.

This team is a long way away from being good again.  Maybe they'll get a good pick in the draft.

[JoMal]

If nothing else, this really shows how impatience the Maloofs are. They admit to being used to their teams getting into the playoffs regularly. I just don't think you dump on the coach after one year when your players are just not top notch guys in the League at their positions. And the fact is, the Kings have weak and non-atheletic power forwards on the team. Kenny Thomas is taking up too much cap space for too little production, and he pouts when benched. Sharif Addur-Rahim is just a below average PF who can't carry a team, has little strenght, and no leadership qualities. Corliss Williamson is clearly the best of the bunch, but at 6'7" and also non-atheletic..... uh uh.

The non-drafted rookie, Justin Williams, has the desire, and could develop a game, but maybe if he puts on 40 or 50 pounds, he could compete night in and night out.

Give the new coach a rebounding power forward with some atheleticism before blaming the coach on the teams lack of defense. That and a coach that would have the respect of the players. Musselman really never had that. Plus, and I am not sure how this sounds, but Eric was just a tad weird.

An example - and this is NOT current, of course, but just lays the groundwork for what came later. A former NBA referee (I missed his name) was interviewed on the local radio sports station (about the Duncan/Crawford incident, but that is neither here nor there). This guy was refing a game in the CBA years ago that featured Eric's dad Bill as one of the coaches and Eric, then 12 years old, sat on the bench with him. Every time Bill yelled something about a call the ref made, like "That was a bad call, ref", Eric would immediately yell out "Bad call ref". Bill would yell, "what a dumb-ass call!' and Eric would chime in "Dumb-ass call!". Everything Bill said, Eric would shout out the key phrase right afterwards.

He still seems to be looking for a mentor to mimick.