Geoff Petrie's Magical Flak Jacket

When most people think of those teams, they mostly remember the offense, but our defense was top what, 5-7 in those days? So how’d we do it? The only guy that I remember being a top flight defender was Doug, with most of the other guys being around average. Are the players we have now just that much worse as defenders? Is our team defense just worse now? All of the above?

that we didn’t trade for Sammy because of his offense. I think that with Head, Sammy, Greene, and even to some extent ’Reke, we have a pretty decent starting defensive squad. Two games could still be an anomaly, but if we manage to slow the Jazz down tonight, we could actually be a defense-minded team.

As far as Petrie, I don’t think he is perfect by any stretch, but he has had his hands tied quite a bit in the past by budget, the Maloofs desires for the Kings to stay relevant, and existing players. I like we we are currently at with great youngs, a couple of solid vets, and pretty serious cap room for next year.

And one I’ve been harping about lately as well, especially in regards to the rotation. Petrie’s handed Westphal a team with too many decent/good players that all do the same thing and not enough good/very good players that complement each other well. Good teams don’t have inconsistent lineups because they have 8-9 guys they know they can count on.

Now, I’m not saying Petrie expects PW to play random scrap heap pickups (Jackson, Wright) over guys he invested in with high picks or trades (Thompson, Casspi). That’s a PW fetish that rests squarely on his own shoulders. But right now, we have 11ish guys who could all make a case for minutes. This depth needs to be consolidated at some point before the guys that get buried lose their trade value completely.

Geoff Petrie job is to know talent. This article argues that over the last six years he has lost his touch to find specific talent which is evenly balanced for both offense and defense. The reason there is so much faith in Petrie is because of his track record of actually finding that talent. Doug Christie and Ron Artest alone make up the framework of a plausible defensive minded team. It was said, at the time, that their defensive prowess was contagious. And while the failed experiment of the defensive minded / offensively challenged potential gambles of Ime Udoka, Antoine Wright, Orien Greene, Shelden Williams, Hilton Armstrong and Dominic McGuire were mentioned we must remember that Petrie’s previous gambles have proven to be vindicated in the past. He sought after and received complete role players whose play on both ends of the court led to success. Guys like Bobby Jackson, Jimmy Jackson, Tony Delk, Sharif Abdul Rahim, Bonzi Wells. This is a young team and any such success is viewed upon as ever growing. Weezer currently has one of the top downloaded tracks on Itunes, Charles Barkley lost a lot of weight, and Geoff Petrie can still find overall talent.

for most consecutive losing seasons for a GM that keeps his job?

Has Geoff Petrie lost his touch?

Are Kevin Pritchard and Mario Elie a better answer for this franchise going forward than Geoff Petrie and Paul Westphal?

I don’t know the answers, but you bring up some interesting points.

He still has bosses to answer to. I believe the Maloofs give him guidelines & he has to stay within those lines. First it was build a winner he did that. Then it was just keep us relevant & in the playoffs, he did that. Then it was cut salary while drafting for the future, he did that. Now it DON’T SPEND ANYTHING so we can break even & that’s what he’s doing.

So in terms of doing his job & doing it well he is doing that. It’s just not under the guidelines the fans have in mind.

but I think that those excuses do absolve him more than the overall tone of your post seems to suggest. Obviously, as you indicate, these past 5 years have not been played in a vacuum (the restrictions from ownership, the bad coaching, etc.), and I think probably most important in that regard is the fact that in that time the team has undergone a massive teardown/rebuild.

Personally, I think that team chemistry is much more important to overall defensive performance than having a few ace individual defenders. I believe that the Glory Years saw some great defensive teams due primarily to team chemistry and communication as opposed to having good defensive coaching or good defensive players. Part of that is simply the amount of time spent together by the core players, part of that is how most of the guys seemed to genuinely like each other and get along on and off the court, and I’m sure a big part of it was that those guys knew they were championship contenders if they stayed focused and worked hard together.

How could the Kings teams of the past 5 seasons have developed anything close to that kind of chemistry? Who has been our “core” over that time? It’s not just the dramatic roster turnover each season (both during the offseason and often in-season as well), but the fact that many of the players on the team during those years must have felt and/or hoped that Sacramento was just a temporary stay for them. It can’t be easy to invest yourself in developing real chemistry with your teammates if you know the team is headed for the lottery once again and the roster churning will continue.

My hope is that we now, finally, have turned a corner on the “rebuild” and the core of the team is starting to really come into focus. There are still some challenges for this team to overcome if they want to become a consistently good defensive team. Obviously, the youth and inexperience is affecting things. I think there’s still a little bit of a “culture of losing” that needs to be overcome for these guys to really push themselves to work as a team. And I also think this team has a challenge in finding one or two key guys that will be leading the communication on the defensive end, considering the on-court personalities of our best players (maybe Head has been taking charge in that regard since he’s been a starter? Anyone with good seats notice anything like that?) In any case, I sure as hell love what I’ve been seeing from this team defensively over the past few games. If that means Beno is on a short leash (though, he did seem to be much more defensively focused last night, to my eyes) and Omri needs to fight his way back into the rotation, so be it.

of establishing an identity. 2 game of good defense – if they can put 2 or 3 more games together like this i think the defensive mentality will set in for the long haul. problem with these young guys is they play 1 game well and can’t repeat it. if they can establish that identity Petrie will once again look like a genius because he will have transformed a soft squad into a defensive/rebounding focus squad.

i don’t think you can overstate the impact of coaching on the equation. establishing roles, getting guys to do what you want, have a system that will work – those are all things that the coach must do. yesterday was a great example – why on earth would you ever run a play for Sam on offense? you would be better off throwing the ball out of bounds so you can get back and set up your defense than to run a play for him. Petrie has provided the tools – it’s up to PW to use them correctly.

75% of Weezer is still good. 25% is crap

Is that the Kings went 3 consecutive years with zero impact player out of the draft:

2006: Quincy Douby
2007: Spencer Hawes
2008: Jason Thompson

The common perception is Q-Doub was the big swing and miss, but Shock and Hawes are both turning into secondary role players and not capable starters. To be fair, at where they were picked, this likelihood in late lottery was as strong as otherwise, but still their talents have not developed as Petrie envisioned. Strike 1, 2, and 3 in three years for a team on the bottom is not a way to get off the mat.

So if Petrie is going to be criticized in my mind it can be for finding no gems in the draft for 3 consecutive years. If one of the two big men the Kings picked could have been a true cornerstone player this team would not be in the struggling shape it currently is in, but neither one of them could deliver, regardless of Kings fans recent praises over JT and his whopping 5 and 4.

As cherry picked contrast of what could/should(?) have been: Javal McGee – Two years younger at 22, twice as athletic. 9 PTS 8 REBs on 59% shooting and 2nd in the NBA in blocks @ 2.83! I love the potential of this guy ever since I saw him play as a rookie, and not sure what Petrie saw lacking. I guess JT was the more polished offensive player, allegedly, out of Rider, so there’s more to support the theme of Ziller’s post. Offense before defense.

It is difficult for me to criticize free-agent and trades because I am not certain how much Petrie has been limited by spending restrictions. The Kings needed to add more help in the backcourt over the offseason other signing Pooh Jeter. I advocated Nate Robinson and think he’d have a big role on this team with enthusiasm and to spark our anemic offense. The contract Nate signed was modest (2 year, 8.7 million). A 3 year 12 million dollar deal would have made more sense than signing Pooh and Wright (2 million spent in minimum deals for zero return so far).

Petrie avoids criticism I think too because he is a self-assured cool cat. So he gives off the vibe he knows what is doing. There is never a chink in his armor when he opens his mouth, partly because he rarely says anything. So the impression he makes is a man in charge, ahead of the game, a visionary and a shrewd tactician of NBA roster design, regardless that recent returns show none of this to be completely true.

so my short version, we never like GP when he is decontructing, prior to 2000 calls for dismissal we rampant. We love him while he is building. Next year is the big jump in the build. Judge then, right now its all premature exclamations.

Yeah, certain guys are just amazing defenders. Part of it is natural ability, but a big part is the effort. Bruce Bowen was never a good offensive player, except for his ability to hit those corner threes. But he dedicated himself to defense, and learning a few dirty tricks, and he stuck around in this league.

These Kings have shown that they can be a great offensive unit. And in the past two games they’ve shown some actual defense as well. Now, they have to find a way to put it together. They need to keep working their asses off on defense. But, the offense, by all accounts, needs to set up quicker. Tyreke’s going to have to make more plays. Donte needs to develop some consistency on the offensive end. Cousins will develop and learn to foul less. They just need to put it all together.

Is the GM usually a micro manager? Or, does he hire the coach and let him decide what type of players he has and which he would like to add. Certainly the GM has a vision, but in the end isn’t it a collaboration?

The GM, as others have pointed out, then has to try and acquire the players that he and the coach needs using the resources that the Owners will allow. And, when the GM brings guys in to training camp, who has the final say on who stays? Isn’t it the coach?

And, when the GM drafts an 18 yr old with lots of raw talent, isn’t the coach at least the slightest bid responsible for his development. And, while it would be nice if every kid leaving college early to enter the NBA, had a two way game. That is seldom the case even for top draft picks let along kids taken in the 20’s. So, is the GM also responsible for picking players that know their rotations on defense in a team sport.

Given the financial limitations imposed by the CBA and his owners, and the luck we’ve experienced health wise and in the lottery, I’d give GP an above average rating as far as the players go. But, considering the overall impact that the coach has on the development of your player acquisitions and the overall continuity of your squad, I’d have to give him a below average rating on coach selection.

There are some who may say that the Maloofs tied his hands when it came to picking his coaches. But, he did have a choice of refusing to let them dictate the final decision. Yes, he may have been fired, but he would have found another job, and in the end the outcome of not standing up to the owners falls on his shoulders and not the owners.

I voted to keep both GP & PW. Both have not always made the best decisions, but everyone is capable of changing for the better. I think that GP has changed and is getting better at his job. Let’s hope the same can be said for Paul.

If the Kings return to playoff prominence under Petrie, it’s likely drafted players will play a limited role on the court for the Kings.

The Kings have made the playoffs in nine seasons under Petrie, and only four players drafted by him have averaged more than 30 minutes per game for the Kings in a season in which the Kings made the playoffs: Brian Grant and Tyus Edney in 1995-96, Peja Stojakovic five times and Jason Williams twice.

Players drafted by Petrie did bring us Doug Christie, Mike Bibby, Brad Miller and Ron Artest in trades. And Christie eventially brought us Cuttino Mobley for half a season. All averaged at least 30 minutes per game in playoff seasons at least once for the Kings: Christie and Bibby four times, Miller twice and Artest and Mobley once.

Of players drafted by Petrie, only Corliss Williamson, Peja, Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia played for the Kings for more than three seasons.

So it won’t be a surprise if guys like Tyreke, Cousins and JT end up as trade bait. Let’s not get too attached.

touted for being by so many naive observers. Just exactly who was available to the Kings was important. But again, how many former Kings players were traded who still play and for teams with winning records – Bibby, Peja, Terkolu, House, etc., Yes,yes, yes, I know there were contract considerations as well as the need to fully turn the page and rebuild which necessitated dumping players, not to mention the financial aspect. Petrie is probably operating under some edict from the Maloofs to hold the line financially especially until the new CBA is signed. All that is well and good. However, I still cannot help feeling that other teams have chosen more cleverly and implemented more astutely….

Had a team full of shooters and no rebounders or defense oriented players, and hears “We need rebounders and post players, not these soft shooters”

Makes changes to get bigger and more defensive, and now it’s “we need more skilled players”