No judgements until he gets a few games under his belt.

Although refusing to start Shock & Hawes would certainly be political suicide.

at least now I know I can just buy 41 $10 seats and hop on down to the lower lever by halftime every game instead of season tickets.

Unless Westphal refuses to teach in practice, or refuses to hire teachers for his staff, or refuses to start the Jason Thompson/Spencer Hawes frontline from Day 1, or refuses to find some minutes for Donté Greene, or refuses to punch Peaches in the face at least twice per season, this can’t fail. Our team just won 17 games in 82 tries. You can only complain while remaining reasonable if the team does not change course (it was the most active team at the deadline, and has remarkably few guaranteed contracts on the books) or if the team repeats mistakes (hey, Muss didn’t get a Jordan-like return opportunity! three cheers for small victories).

Truer words have never been said. Amen TZ. Buzzed fo sho.

It seems right. He is a mature choice and will obviously get along with Geoff Petrie (they are contemporaries – just two years apart in age and both top flight players in their day), he can also help co-mentor Jason Levien. He is quiet, conscientious and comfortable with the limelight but does not seek it out. He is not someone who will have to run everything through his agent.

About the worst thing that can be said, and don’t ban me TZ, is that he is not Voison sexy.

So – reading the Wiki June 11th date: is that the press appearance date?

can’t wait till Vegas.

sorry I couldn’t resist

I like PW. I was a fan of the Barkley-led Suns back in the day, and I like his track record. Everyone points to his career hicups, but don’t you think he learned from them? I mean, I touched a red hot iron once and burned my finger. Did I do it again? Natt no!

Say what you will about Theus, but he was very right about one thing. During his press conference when he was hired, he said: “besides, you couldn’t pick a Laker…” Despite the dormant rivalry, I am inclined to agree with him on that.

Lastly, there’s alot to be said for someone who WANTS to be in Sac doing the job. Best of luck to you Paul, and welcome aboard.

But, I certainly hope he brings a team concept and our guys continue to develop. No one knows right now if he is or isn’t a good choice, but we can all hope.

I’ve been withholding my reactions since I heard about this. Aside from a few punchlines I put in the thread from last night, I’ve avoiding saying anything. Well, I’ve slept on it, mulled the decision, and gathered my thoughts. They’re random, and not in any particular order

-I still felt a sense of disappointment that we didn’t end up with Eddie Jordan.
-I want Westphal to make me say “Eddie who?”
-Westphal is the only candidate (out of the final three) who met the stated criteria that Petrie wanted. If Petrie gets what Petrie wants, I’m good with it.
-He genuinely wanted to come here. It wasn’t a stepping stone, it wasn’t that it was the only open position, he is excited to be here. That’s big.
-He knows what it takes to be an NBA coach. Muss, Theus, and Natt all lacked this quality.
-In my warped mind, I see PW talking to KJ, and helping KJ figure out the new arena deal.
-As TZ said, we can’t get much worse. If we do, we can form a mob and storm the practice facility.
-Before we form a mob, we have to give it time. It is very possible that we could look horrible the first few games of the season as the team and coaching staff adjust to each other
-I’ll be excited if PW can bring in Porter and Elie. I honestly would feel very, very good about a coaching staff that involved PW’s experience combined with two good assistants.

In summary, I feel good about this. I probably would have been too excited about Jordan. I can feel good about this, but I can remain rational. If we combine this with a good draft, I’ll be really excited to watch next season. And you can bet your ass I’ll be watching.

Westphal has succeeded in the NBA, period. There’s no NBA-related reason to doubt he’ll do well here, other than the fact he’s been out of the league for some time. It’s not like we’re bringing in Dick Motta. Throw the Pepperdine thing out the window. I think Westphal will do as well as Petrie’s roster allows him to do. If the roster sucks, it won’t matter who’s coaching. If Petrie continues bringin in young talent, I think Westphal can maximize it.

The last few days I’ve been thinking I preferred Rambis (I voted for him in the poll), figuring he had the higher potential ceiling and would be a more exciting choice, but when I learned last night about hiring Westphal I had a real honest sense of relief. It was weird and unexpected. Maybe my mind knew to instantly start convincing myself that I always wanted Westphal, but I don’t think that was it. I genuinely feel good about this.

I suppose that ultimately it just feels to me like Westphal fits us. In a way, he’s kind of in the same boat we are; past glory being increasingly clouded by time and recent failures. He’s been taking a lot of kicks in the ribs through this whole thing, and it’s been a rough couple of years for us; maybe this is a chance for us to heal together and for team and coach to each reclaim their good name.

We are the worst team in the league. Last season was frustrating and embarrassing. We got screwed by the lottery. But this is still our team, and Coach Westphal genuinely wanted it to be his team. He wouldn’t take that chance unless he didn’t sincerely believe it could be great; I think we at least owe him the chance to make that happen. Our team will still be bad; I’m sure it will test Coach’s patience more than he expects, and that’s where our support can really help. Patience.

Go Kings.

E-Muss rehire?

“WestFAIL” is just a stupid moniker. Ban, BAN the fools who use it.

“WestPHAIL” really maintains a much truer spirit, I feel.

Alas, it is done, he has my support. I know from past experience it could be a whole lot worse. Vive le Paul!