A Word About, and From, David Thorpe
by Tom Ziller on Feb 18, 2010 5:48 PM PST
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PrintThe first time David Thorpe emailed me was back in February 2006. We talked about Kevin Martin, his client. We talked about Rick Adelman. We talked about Mike Bibby.
We kept talking about Martin, and the Kings, over the years. No one knows Martin as a person and player better than Thorpe, who helped build the scrawny kid from Zanesville, Ohio, into a top-10 scorer in the NBA. Those talks were valuable. Thorpe's perspective helped me see things I would have otherwise missed; my proximity to the pulse of the fan base, I think, helped Thorpe understood the mood in Sacramento.
But better than those shop talks was the friendship Thorpe and I built. While that's not over, it seems like a good time to thank Thorpe for it, and for the insight that's helped shape my worldview on the Kings and the NBA. Thorpe has also been a silent member of this community -- a lurker -- and asked me to pass on a few words.
His entire letter is the community is below. Ignore the parts where he says nice things to me, and focus on the parts where he says nice things about you.
Remember, though I may be a "connected" NBA guy now, thanks to my place at ESPN and the players I have spent time with, I was once an unknown coach trying to follow a beloved student on his journey through the NBA. Sactown Royalty was, to me, like the Sports Illustrated mags I once waited for each week at my mailbox when I was a kid. Only this gift kept coming, every day, and sometimes multiple times each day.
Your writing is fresh and smart, and fair too. And the game comments help a weary traveler, like me sometimes, who misses the game but could get the gist of it through those game threads. I appreciate and respect most of the people that comment on your site, as they help STR breathe and live in unique ways. For years, there were only two blogs I read-yours and Truehoop.
I have many great memories of reading a smart post on your blog and smiling from the insight. Though the winds out there have been turning against Kevin for some time now, I thought that most people connected with STR could always see through the BS and find the hidden truth. So thank you for that. And, thanks again for being such a trustworthy place for news and Kings love.
Kevin is leaving, but I'm sure that you will continue to lead STR into a future that looks considerably bright, and I will be there for the ride (though without the same rooting interest).
Also, can you thank all of your readers for me? They have helped make the experience of being a Kings fan far more richer than it otherwise would have been. Sacramento is a special place to play NBA basketball at, and I hope they can build a team worthy of the fans there.
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Damn I'm sad.
Can’t kick it
Wait....Why is everybody clapping? Everyone around me is clapping.... I guess I should be clapping too... GO LAKERS!!! I hate living in So Cal
How does that move cliche go?
“If you love them, you will let them go”… or something like that. Now I’m going to sit here and drown my sorrows in this tub of ice cream while watching Hoosiers.
Tyrefic! Hawesome! Casstastic!
"If you love them, let them go and if they come back it was meant to be."?
I've got gas - yea, i'm enviromentally friendly
Who wants them back once they have slept with a ton of other people during the break?
"If you told him to head-butt the wall, he would do it." -- Paul Westphal re: Brockness Monster.
by PhutureKings on Feb 18, 2010 7:07 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You sound like a girl.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
The quintessential Carl response.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
'm not sure Donald Sterling is a human being. He had to have been manufactured by someone, possibly David Stern, so that one team could solely just make profit for the NBA while doing nothing good for themselves. -- Aykis 16
it was a little verbose
for Carl.
What we've got here is, failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.
That's a double negative Gras.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
'm not sure Donald Sterling is a human being. He had to have been manufactured by someone, possibly David Stern, so that one team could solely just make profit for the NBA while doing nothing good for themselves. -- Aykis 16
For all you know, I may be bald.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
It is dusty in here.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
by Ice_9ine on Feb 18, 2010 5:57 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I think Omri just worked out at IMG
I don’t think that David Thorpe is his actual personal coach.
Aw dammit David
I had already tried to move on. Now you got me all sad.
Thanks for all the work you put into Kevin. Thanks for once using the “Zohan” in a public chat (Too bad it hasn’t caught on… yet!). I’m sure if you read this site, Kevin knows how much he’ll be missed here. That makes me feel better.
I hope Kevin realizes his potential and dreams in Houston, or wherever else, before his career ends. He deserves it.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
Great stuff
Thanks for passing it along Ziller. And thanks for the kind words Coach. Let Kevin know many/most of us wish him well and will miss him. I hope you keep working with Omri and stay somewhat connected to the Kings.
Don't say stupid shit. You won’t be perceived as stupid. - pookeyguru
by Kfan in Korea on Feb 18, 2010 6:12 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
+1
Let Kevin know many/most of us wish him well and will miss him. I hope you keep working with Omri and stay somewhat connected to the Kings.
GREENE! You’ve been superfluously apostrophe’d! - andy sims
by iashwash on Feb 18, 2010 6:23 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
ditto
"every once in a while a kernel of truth...uhh... corn is revealed in my usual pile of poop" - betweentheeyes
I'm pretty sure Thorpe was talking about me :-)
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
Wow. Touching read. Thanks for this.
I look forward to seeing Coach Adelman help Kevin reach his full All-Star potential.
33 Wins. Yeah, I said it.
all-star?
Probably wont get enough shots to be an all star with Ming, ariza, and brooks hoisting shots. A great fit for Houston though!
1 billion Chinese voters think differently
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2010 6:24 PM PST up reply actions
Don't even get me started.
"If you told him to head-butt the wall, he would do it." -- Paul Westphal re: Brockness Monster.
by PhutureKings on Feb 18, 2010 7:09 PM PST up reply actions
PS3
PSn name = SPACIAL-D
If you request to be friends, just let me know you’re from str.
"If you told him to head-butt the wall, he would do it." -- Paul Westphal re: Brockness Monster.
by PhutureKings on Feb 18, 2010 11:40 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah
All-Star.
I’m calling it now.
Don’t complain when he makes the All-Star team as a Rocket. You helped drive him out of town. If he never makes it, I’ll gladly admit it was wrong.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
by JediLeroy on Feb 18, 2010 6:26 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Who drove K-Mart out of town?
The fans had nothing to do with it. I think JT had as much to do with the trade as did Tyreke and Kevin himself. I may expand on this in another post, but we have not had a real low post threat since Ron Artest left, and there has been a gaping hole in our offense ever since his departure. There were numerous factors in play that precipitated this deal, of course, but don’t discount the weeks and weeks of sub-par performance by JT as a primary catalyst. A team cannot thrive, let alone sniff mediocrity, when your PF is so inconsistent and ineffective. Geoff Petrie identified the primary need of our team, porous play at the power forward spot, and made a bold move to rectify that need, albeit at significant cost. While I will always be a fan of K-Mart, and hope to finds more success than ever, I applaud this move. Instead of hoping for JT to become a player he will likely never be, we went out and added a player who can show him how it is done.
Disagree
The fans had nothing to do with it.
There’s no way you can know that. At the very least, the mounting criticism of Kevin from fans like elSAVinator gave the Kings a reason to doubt keeping him on. At worst, Kevin was affected mentally by the boos and the attacks from Napear, to where he didn’t feel like part of the team.
It’s clear to me that something was going on. To go from “no way we trade Martin” to actually trading him in a week or two, something had to have changed.
I can’t say for sure what it was, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the fallout from the K-Mart bashing had at least something to do with it. And remember, these people (eS included) were calling for Martin to be traded after every game.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Martin IS Peaches. Peaches IS Martin!
Peaches is a MAN!
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
Greene has been playing the PF position very successfully
I seriously doubt that JT’s play had anything to do with a decision to trade away Kevin Martin. It is a big decision to trade Kevin. JT’s play does not merit it.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
The question is:
how is K-Mart going to beat out Tyreke for an All Star spot in the future? I just don’t see it happening.
by Pollard4LIfe on Feb 18, 2010 6:30 PM PST up reply actions
Rockets have retired 22, 23, 24
So Kevin won’t be 23.
Here’s a photoshop of what he’ll look like in a Rockets Jersey. Surreal.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
He will look good, but Kevin would look good in anything.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
Ah, New York
The place where Houston guards go to retire.
by CloudyEyes on Feb 18, 2010 6:36 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
That's a clean ass Photoshop, my man.
Captures them justly too;
KMart the assassin and Sleepy the underachiever..
Sound the trumpets, Raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile
I didn't do the photoshop
I wish.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
I know, but you found it and it is slick.
You’ve done a bang up job through this crazy ass day, and I salute you.
Sound the trumpets, Raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile
Weird, I see the picture now
Something must have been wrong with my home computer.
Never forget: I am a complete idiot
I was just watching Channel 10 News
Apparently, in an interview with Petrie, the Kings just “pulled the trigger” to trade Kevin last night. So, I have to wonder if the incident with Kevin Martin not entering the Celtics game in the 4th, the night before, could have had any last minute bearing to decision.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
I think it had to
the biggest knock on Martin was that the Kings wing players had developed faster than expected and made Martin expendable. Martin conceded that fact when he decided that he couldn’t improve on the lineup that the Kings had out there against the Celtics.
by Pollard4LIfe on Feb 18, 2010 6:37 PM PST up reply actions
Sounded more like they came back with an offer he couldn't refuse
I suspect they threw in Landry
There are some guys smarter than me, some guys better looking, I take comfort in the fact that there is no guy that is both.
That is an interesting way of explaning why Kevin didn't enter the game.
That thought hadn’t even entered my mind. You’re right, Kevin did concede that fact.
To be the best, you have to do your best. Otherwise, you are only second-rate.
From the Morey press conference
The Rockets have been apparently asking for Martin for several years but it wasn’t until Landry made the leap and was also made available that the Kings were willing to part with Martin. I would think the 4th quarter thing is more coincidence than anything and the trade deadline was what really prompted what seems like a sudden move.
by PhilippeinBoston on Feb 18, 2010 7:05 PM PST up reply actions
And maybe Coach Thorpe
can remind Kevin for us that Sacramento has a great tradition of not forgetting former Kings. We look forward to filling the arena and making a lot of noise for him when he returns.
Once a King, always a King.
Lower their expectations and rise to met them
[raises glass to Kev and DT]
“May you both continue to prosper with the class and skill that you were born with”
Sound the trumpets, Raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile
and maybe
in a few years when his contract is up, and we are looking for that 6th man to come off the bench and give us 10-15 pts a night we can call KMart
by shadowchicken on Feb 18, 2010 7:04 PM PST up reply actions
I'm hoping he is commanding LeBro money by then... :)
Sound the trumpets, Raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile
Cheers!
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on Feb 18, 2010 8:26 PM PST up reply actions
Kind words Mr. Thorpe
you are a class act. I am still in disbelief that my favorite player is no longer going to be a Sacramento King. I hope this works out well for the future of the Sacramento franchise. I have always been a closet Rockets fan since Bobby Jackson was playing there. Now I can go ahead and say I will root for the Rockets except when they play our Kings. Good luck to you Kevin I am and always will be a huge fan!
I like Thorpe and thought his assessment of the trade was spot on.
It was time for everyone to move on. We’re all better off because of this trade.
The only reason this stings a bit is because we all like K-Mart, which is a testament to his game and abilities.
Still, it’s a good trade and I think the Kings and Martin both come out ahead. You can’t ask for much more than that.
"If you told him to head-butt the wall, he would do it." -- Paul Westphal re: Brockness Monster.
by PhutureKings on Feb 18, 2010 7:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Thanks coach
Let Kevin know many of us wish him well. He will always be remembered by the true Kings fans
"Children want what they want when they want it." ... Andy Sims
As a HUGE Kevin Martin fan
I can’t imagine a better place for him than Houston. Adelman is a truly excellent coach, he will have excellent teammates, his skill set is absolutely what they need, I am sure it will be successful for him.
Aw, Thorpey
We love you too.
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on Feb 18, 2010 8:28 PM PST reply actions
with fingers spread and eyebrow raised
“Live long and prosper. We have been and always shall be, your friend”
"every once in a while a kernel of truth...uhh... corn is revealed in my usual pile of poop" - betweentheeyes
Thanks for all the hard work you did in helping Kevin become what he is.
And for the continued effort with Omri. I’m hoping with Kevin gone, you might need another Sacramento client, perhaps Jason Thompson or Donté Greene?
Thank you also for lurking, Ziller runs a good site.
Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen.
David Thorpe is one of the best.
Should be interesting to see how everyone moves forward from this.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
'm not sure Donald Sterling is a human being. He had to have been manufactured by someone, possibly David Stern, so that one team could solely just make profit for the NBA while doing nothing good for themselves. -- Aykis 16
D Thorpe - the biggest compliment a coach can get is the success of their students
Kevin provides the heart and hard work and your guidance rings true. You should be proud. As a Sacramento Kings fan your passion and expertise has been well represented here, Kevin Martin has been a gem.
As a fan of basketball, I look forward to sharing your successes as these young men continue to show us the wonder and joy of the game.
by betweentheeyes on Feb 18, 2010 11:11 PM PST reply actions
Stay classy DT
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
THORPEDO!
If I liked basketball more than va-jay, Thorpe would be my number one hero!
"If you told him to head-butt the wall, he would do it." -- Paul Westphal re: Brockness Monster.
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