Quick Poll: Changes at the Top?

Still only 10 games in. I see it doing more harm than good.

Then again, the Maloofs would probably know a lot more about the GM/Coach/Team than we do, and would probably have better judgement.

In Geoff Maloofs we trust?

If Westphal is still jerking the players around like his own personal army of hyper-athletic toy soldiers at the end of this season, then we can talk about replacing him. But for now, I’m willing to wait it out and pull my hair out at every insane decision.

If they fire the coach they will not go out & pay big money for a better coach. If there is even a better coach out there so what’s the point? Unless they see a coach like Mario Ellie as a long term option it’s really pointless.

On another not I think GP has done the absolute best job he possibly can with the restrictions(maloofs tight wallets) he has to deal with. We have good players but for whatever reason(most likely the coach) they can’t put it together.

In other words the only way to fix this is with money the maloofs aren’t willing to spend. Not careless Isiah Thomas spending but GP spending should only help. Without that what can they do thatt they haven’t already done?

Coach Westphal, as befuddling as some of his decisions have been, should still get the benefit of the doubt at this point. If he says that the team’s big problem right now is focus and he needs to find the right group of guys to set the tone, and let the individual players’ ability to stay focused on the court dictate their floor time, I think he should be given a real chance to play that out and try to fix this thing. That all changes, in my book, if it begins to look like Westphal is losing the team. Right now, based on the quotes and behind-the-scenes insight from JJ and others (but mostly JJ), it seems like the players are still blaming themselves for the losses and saying that they need to play better, even the guys who are struggling to understand their role on the team. If the players start throwing their hands up or pointing fingers, then it’s time to really be concerned about Westphal’s ability to communicate with the guys and keep control of the team.

As for Petrie, I really do think he virtually has a lifetime contract with this team. Short of going completely senile and/or climbing on Joe Maloof’s desk and dropping a deuce, I don’t think Petrie will be forced out any time soon. Maybe Geoff gets tired of it all and decides to walk away, but I doubt that day is near, either.

that goes directly on Paul’s shoulders. However, I believe we should give the guy at least another month. But if we don’t see significant improvement…

I don’t see how anyone could blame Petrie for any of this. Both Tyreke and Cousins were obviously the BPA at their respective positions in the draft, and I don’t see how anyone could argue Landry and Dalembert were awful trades.

As of right now, I would opt for the end of this season at the earliest. I don’t think that his removal solves anything. After our run of Musselman/Theus/Natt, I would prefer leaving the coaching staff alone for a two year run.

Now, if Jackson or Sloan or Popovich or a coach of that caliber is available and interested in coming to Sacramento, that’s a different story. Otherwise, I just don’t see the point.

Now, if this team is still playing like this in a month, I’m likely to change my mind and favor expediting the process.

As far as Petrie is concerned, never. It’s going to take me at least another couple of years to pull my head out of his arse, and that’s if I started the process today.

And this sort of doesn’t have much to do with this thread, but I’m hoping HighTops sees it, since its a reply to him.

I think I remember HT saying that we’ll need to win 44.4% of our games just to get to 35, a target many of us (myself included) thought was a reasonable target at the beginning of the season. But we would’ve had to win 42.7% just to get there from the start of the season, so its not as if we’re soooo far behind.

Back on topic, I voted for replace neither. I think Westphal definitely has another year, I think Petrie has until he retires.

Westphal coaching at all. It’s not “just 10 games”. It’s 92 games with no clue of a plan or defensive try. But I can’t vote, because having no coach is worse than Westphal. We know first hand how difficult is to find a good coach, so unless there’s someone good available, it would be bad to fire him now and keep an interim one or hire another under the mid-season pressure. It would be nice for the office though to make a research of a potential successor. The best thing would probably be to leave things as they are and watch them unfold and decide during summer.. The worst thing that can happen (and it’s not far from reality) is to get closer to the “Thunder model” aka “have one more top 5 pick for a 3rd consecutive year”.

 I just saw that there’s an option about replacing Petrie. Seriously?

I’m going to wait until mid-December to evaluate this team and whether they can continue or not.

Think things are inconsistent now? Changing coaches is pretty much the only way to make sure it gets worse.

but if things are this disorganized at that point – I say give Mario a try as your coach. I’d like to see how he’d do and want to have enough games to get a true idea of how the players respond to him.

Westphal’s been inconsistent in my eyes. I also think he’s had no real choice. If things continue this way then I’d understand letting him go, be it midseason or offseason. I think Elie could do a perfectly good job as interim head coach. But I also think that Westphal sticking it out wouldn’t be as toxic as keeping Reggie Theus around would have been.

Changes are needed, that’s an obvious from any fan’s perspective, but the options available didn’t adequately describe what I believe needs to be changed. IMHO, I think the coaching pieces are decent. I think our management is slightly above decent, and I think our personnel has the potential to be way better than just decent.
However, what seems to be lacking is cohesion and a gameplan that fits our personnel. What I mean is, with a roster full of young talent (and its a relief to say that we finally have some talent and it not actually just be homerism,) the coaching staff ought to be taking advantage of that surplus energy and instilling the idea that they need to RUN. I cannot comprehend what advantage PW thinks this team might have by walking the ball into (weak) half court sets instead of initiating a fast break pace at every opportunity. We’ve got interchangeable pieces for those who may get gassed quickly, yet some players are languishing on the bench 3 – 4 games straight with DNPs or minimal minutes. If I have to watch a season full of Tyreke crossing the half court line with the shot clock already down to 17 seconds I’m going to lose it. This is a team full of impalas and they’re playing at a buffalo pace, and that’s what needs to change IMHO…

and scared that we will blow this chance at being playoff contenders for the future.

Something needs to happen. We can’t waste Tyreke/Demarcus time, talents, and youth in limbo like this.

Needed that in the poll. Let’s be honest here… Maloof’s honestly care about cutting costs more then spending what needs to be spent to bring the talent (players/coaches) to really give a great product to the fans, and too honestly compete in this league.

They keep cutting payroll costs, the Kings keep losing games, the Kings keep losing paying customers to watch this crappy circus act and slight of hand lineups (now you see it, now ya don’t)… If the Maloofs want to continue with this strategy then feel free to move the team.

If you do so without selective editing…

If the Maloofs want to continue with this strategy then feel free to move the team.

Team is not benefiting from rotations. How can he explain making the last guy on bench a starter? PW is either preoccupied with addressing matchups or is still trying to find combinations that score and defend. Since the trade talk has been minimized, it may be time for coaching change. No evidence PW has implemented a system that gets the most out of players. Maybe there is no system. This should be viewed as a serious problem. No reason to give him more time to tinker. With all GP’s experience and basketball savy, he should have been working with PW to get this team on track. If the team does not win a few of the next ten games, PW should be replaced.