In Two Games, Musselman is History

by Ziller on Apr 16, 2007 11:09 AM PDT in Commentary Comment 13 comments

It might not be fair, or it might be fair. It could be smart and lead to a brighter tomorrow, or it could be another step toward foreseeable mediocredom.

But it's going to happen. There is no escaping the maelstrom to come - Eric Musselman will not be Sacramento's head coach next year.

Evidence, from Sam Amick's rather eyepopping Sunday story:

Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof said Musselman has asked to meet with the team's owners immediately after the season. [...]

"He's got a book he wants to show us, I guess," Gavin Maloof said. "He's analytical, so I'm sure we'll see a lot of stats." [...]

"We knew we had a good team," Gavin Maloof said. "Could we repeat what we did last year? Well, we thought so. We at least thought we could make it in the playoffs. And then when we didn't, that was disappointing.

"I think maybe a new coach, a new system, you have to take it all into account. To (Musselman's) credit, he's worked hard. But for whatever reason, it just didn't jell this year." [...]

"There were a lot of distractions this year. ... He's still our coach. We haven't said he's not our coach." [...]

"I've always tried to be real confident in my coach, always (had) an understanding of, What do you want? What do we need as a team?" [Brad Miller] said. "But sometimes there was more emphasis on, Do we want me to shoot it more? Do you want me to pass? And that goes in terms of everybody." [...]

"There's going to be change," Gavin Maloof said. "It's impossible to say that there isn't going to be change. We're always looking to improve our team, and there will be change.

"We just don't know if it'll be big change, little change, but there will be change. That's just the way business happens."

There is no way in hell Musselman survives this, and that's sort of sad considering how hard the team's played all year.

Obviously, we'll be discussing heavily the candidates to come. One thing that is apparent: the Maloofs are still making calls when it comes to the head coach position. Otherwise, Musselman wouldn't be begging to meet with them at season's end, to try an encore Powerpoint performance. He'd be talking with Geoff Petrie, who's around him every day. Maybe he has, and he realizes his only shot to stay employed is to appeal to Petrie's bosses? Whatever. It's not going to work. Muss is toast.

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Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

Yep, looks like this is a done deal. Too bad - everyone knows my opinion on Muss, so I won't go over those details again.

There's no denying his firing will partially be the result of many self-inflicted wounds. There was never any kind of cohesive rotation established, his timeout management was questionable and he didn't discover the apparent talent in his younger players until the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention.

I still think this roster needs a major shakeup though - Petrie needs to be heavily involved in the next hiring, since he clearly builds a roster around his idea of good basketball, and expects his coach to adapt.

by otis29 on Apr 16, 2007 11:37 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

Amen. Amen. Amen.

by Ziller on Apr 16, 2007 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

Perfectly put. 1 more thing if the owners and the 'president of basketball operations' dont agree on what the direction of the team should be ,firing muss wont matter. That will be equally as aggravating as firing musselman amid these circumstances.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Apr 16, 2007 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

first of all, anyone who puts stock into what brad miller says is a moron. second, did brad remove that wad of crap in his lower lip before he talked? if he didn't, who knows what he said. he could of said "i a reckon i'm a goin fishin when this here season is dun."

by Cynema the Band on Apr 16, 2007 11:56 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

See ya Muss: Don't let the door smack you on the ass when you leave.

I'm still not convinced he's going to be fired, though. I'll celebrate when I see the news prominently displayed on this exceptional blog.

If you fire him, though, who do you replace him with? Let's not make the same mistake as last year. That's how this mess started. Rick should have never been fired. And then to make matters worse, he was replaced by an adolescent and his frat buddies.

Don't get me wrong: Muss sucks. But let's not replace with him with somebody worse or another unknown. If the Maloofs and Petrie can't find a real candidate, they may have to live with the devil they know and see how it plays out.

by Kusian on Apr 16, 2007 1:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

I was never sold on Musselman and quite frankly I really don't give a crap whether the team plays hard or not, I wanted to see W's. Effort in the NBA, IMO is a given but W's are what these players are getting paid to play for. What angers me most is tha this team plays with almost no discipline down the stretch. So many potential game winners, game tying shots become turnovers instead of shot attempts and shot attempts at the end of the games are forced and have no chance of going in. I know what I just said may contradict what I feel about losing out for the lottery but the lottery is what I wanted at this point in time. If people think I'm taking a lot of joy in seeing the team lose the way they are is full of themselves. What goes around comes around, Musselman did a terrible job and he deserves to have his coaching responsibilities revoked.

I wish for the Greg Oden Era.

by kingme18 on Apr 16, 2007 2:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

Although we've had issues with the coaching, it is very difficult to see how a one-term head coach can be blamed for the team's demise outright. Typically, they should be involved in the acquisition and molding of a team, not just its day to day. In one year, you can't shape a team to your liking, whether you're Musselman or Phil Jackson. To give him all the blame when the Kings lose is to give him all the credit when they win.

Is Dick Motta available? :-)

Kings-obsessed. A's obsessed. More ramblings: louisgray.com

by louismg on Apr 16, 2007 2:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

Muss sucked bad. But this was also a horribly flawed team with no frontcourt.

by SJP on Apr 16, 2007 3:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

So now that muss is out of the way who's next to blame? Petrie the maloofs or both? I say both with a nod to circumstances that require fan's understand in rebuilding years.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Apr 16, 2007 3:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

i was a supporter of musselman but as the season went on, this was a bad situation for him because i don't think he had any connection with the veterans on the team (in golden state, there was "heated debate" amongst dampier and arenas; and it looked like he sided with arenas). i think he would be a good college coach.

by dun on Apr 16, 2007 4:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

I didn't watch kings games as closely as other people here this year (losing creates some apathy) so I won't comment much on the quality of Muss's coaching. I'll just say that there were myriad problems with this team up and down from the management to the coaching to the roster both on and off the court and I don't know how successful anyone else could have been. However, no one fully appreciated Rick until he was gone (including myself).

Also, I think you guys should read this interesting article on Sam Mitchell I saw on sportsillustrated today. It talks about how he has been under fire this year and in the past and how he's helped lead the raptors to a probable division title this year (yes I know the east sucks, but just read it).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/paul_forrester/04/12/mitchell.notes/index.html

by thekangarooster on Apr 16, 2007 8:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

read it...excellent points about mitchell...also he pointed out sac has no nightlife (a point i dont care he makes) and also mentions ron artest's down season on the court. I dont get that. Artest has been the kings best player while on it. Even with all his crappy shots taken.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Apr 16, 2007 8:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: In Two Games, Musselman is History

2. Worst performance by a player: Ron Artest, Kings

Maybe someone should check Artest's hand for "the ring" since he's destroying franchises at a rate Sauron would be proud of. Last year's run into the playoffs offered the Kings hope that Artest would be the game-changing player his talent promises. Too bad the lure of "the precious" overtook Artest again this season. After starting the campaign by jacking up so many bad shots his teammates couldn't help but be annoyed, he further puzzled the locker room by openly speculating about retiring after the season. He also was arrested after a domestic dispute. In his wake, Artest has left behind a club about to finish off its worst season in almost a decade, a coach perhaps on his way out and a GM facing a major rebuilding project. Sounds a lot like a certain team in Indiana Artest used to play for, no? New York Knicks, here's your man.

This is what i mean. All of this is true but artest didnt singlehandlely decide the outcome of the season. Like in memphis, others helped. Here's a link to this funny column. http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/sports_columnists/article/0,1426,MCA_468_5477137,00.html
If you think im hard on the maloof's, imagine what kind of target Heisley would give me. Calkins was being kind. For the record i rank heisley among the 3 worst owners in the NBA.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Apr 16, 2007 8:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs