Tag: VLade Divac

Cousins suspended by Kings

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

demarcus cousins sac kings bing photo

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings have suspended center DeMarcus Cousins for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. The announcement was made by Vlade Divac, Vice President of Basket Operations for Sacramento. Cousins will sit out the game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night and forfeit his pay for that game.

The suspension was imposed because Cousins began yelling at head coach George Karl during a timeout in the game versus Cleveland on Wednesday night. In video posted by the Sacramento Bee, Cousins can be seen being very animated while sitting during the timeout. Rudy Gay and assistant coach Corliss Williamson can be seen trying to calm Cousins. Rajon Rondo then stepped in front of Cousins in order to block his view of Karl.

Reports are indicating that Cousins was upset because Karl was not doing enough to defend him with the referees in the game last night. Frankly in this reporter’s opinion, the game was not well officiated. Cousins did take a beating under the basket and did not receive obvious foul calls. However, there was not much Karl could have done to change the situation.

The officiating crew called three technical fouls including one on Cousins – his 15th “T” of the season. Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue was issued a technical and is still not sure what he did to deserve the call. This reporter could not see where Lue’s actions deserved the call from my position on press row.

This was the second time this season that Cousins reportedly yelled at his head coach. Earlier in the season, he went into a tirade aimed at Karl after a Kings loss. It was reported that Karl wanted to suspend Cousins at the time but was overruled by Divac and the front office.

Kings Update: No trades and one assistant fired

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Former Kings assistant coach Vance Walberg

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The NBA trade deadline was Thursday at 12:00 PM (PST). The deadline came and went without the Kings being able to make a move.

There had been multiple reports that the team had made Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore available on the trade market. Cleveland and Chicago had been rumored to be interested in one or more of those players.

One scenario had the Bulls Pau Gasol and his expiring contract coming to Sacramento in exchange for Koufos and McLemore. The deal would have also altered the draft pick provisions of the selection the Kings owe the Bulls.

There had also been rumors that Cleveland was interested in a trade for Koufos.

Ultimately, the Kings were unable to make any trade so the current roster will stay intact. That does not mean the playoff push is over but it does mean that the current players will have to make the adjustments on defense in order to make the team more competitive.

Walberg terminated

In a surprise move, the Kings fired assistant coach Vance Walberg on Wednesday. The move was reportedly made despite a protest from head coach George Karl. Karl and Walberg have been colleagues and friends for years. Walberg was a member of Karl’s coaching staff in Denver.

Walberg is known as the father of the “dribble-drive motion offense” also known as the “Memphis Attack”. The dribble-drive motion offense has been used successfully in the NBA by Denver and at the college level by Kentucky. Walberg has taught the offense in clinics around the world.

George Karl instituted the offensive scheme in order to meet the expectations of Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive. Ranadive wanted his team to play uptempo basketball more in the style of the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings offense has not been the problem. The team ranks number three in points scored at 107.1 per game. The defense has been the problem.

Sacramento gives up more points per game than any other team in the association at 109.1. The team has not been able to transition from the uptempo offense to defense all season.

The firing of Walberg would indicate that Vlade Divac feels that the offense needs to change in order for the team to play better defense.

The Vertical.com has reported that former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach Mike Brown is being considered to replace Walberg. Brown is known for his defensive expertise.

 

In a surprise move Karl will continue to coach the Kings

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

IMG_2244by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings made a surprise announcement today that George Karl will remain the coach of the team. Multiple sources had been reporting that Karl would be fired between now and the All-Star Break.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac told CSN California,”George is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”

Yahoo Sports is reporting that Vlade Divac and George Karl had a conversation by telephone and the two agreed to work together especially on improving the defense. The Kings have given up an average of 125 points per game to their last three opponents.

The Kings have lost eight of their last 10 games. Even with the recent losing streak the Kings are just five games behind in the battle for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Why did the Kings choose to stay with Karl? George Karl is the fifth winningest coach in NBA history. He is a sure Hall of Fame coach. Karl did not just get stupid and forget how to coach a team. He also has a great history of taking poor performing franchises and turning them into winners. Karl also has a history of having “prickly” relationships with star players and still being successful.

A second reason the Kings have chosen to keep Karl may be the need to appear to be a stable organization. Sacramento has fired three coaches in two seasons. If they would have fired Karl, the team and its management would have looked to be totally unstable in the eyes of the league, the fans and the press. No free agent or potential coach wants to join an organization that lacks stability.

The third reason may be money. Karl signed a four year $15-million contract and is still owed approximately $10-million. That is a large amount to be paying out as “dead money” while having to pay a new head coach a substantial amount. Even the deep pockets of Vivek Ranadive have their limits.

No matter what the reason – keeping George Karl is the right move for now. Karl deserves the chance to turn the team around and stay in the playoff hunt. If he is unsuccessful in that quest, then the Kings may look elsewhere for head man or woman to lead them into the “promise land” next year.

 

 

 

 

 

George Karl is still the Kings Head Coach … for now

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Karl 1-2-16

by Charlie O. Mallonee

There are numerous reports that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and vice-president of basketball operations Vlade Divac were furious after Sacramento lost to Brooklyn on Friday night 128-119. The loss dropped the Kings record to 1-6 over the last seven games.

DeMarcus Cousins made reference to a “big issue” that the team needs to deal with in order to move forward. Cousins made it clear it was not just energy and effort. One did not have to stretch the imagination too far to include the coaching staff in the “big issue”.

George Karl has been under fire in since the off-season after it was revealed that he wanted to trade DeMarcus Cousins and reconfigure the team to fit his playing style. Reports surfaced then that Ranadive wanted to fire Karl but cooler heads prevailed and Karl was retained.

Then came the infamous shouting match that followed a Kings loss early in the season when DeMarcus Cousins “unloaded” on Karl. It was reported that Karl wanted to suspend Cousins and he was overruled by Divac and Ranadive. Frankly, that move took away the power of the head coach and gave it to Cousins. To his credit, Karl has tried to work around the problem.

Things were fine when Karl and the Kings won five consecutive games and put themselves in contention for the number eight spot in the playoff race. Now that the team has hit a rough spot and fallen to 10th in the Western Conference standings the talk of a coaching change can be found all over the internet.

The Kings problem is simple. They are not playing defense. Part of the reason the Kings won five straight games was the solid defense they played. Over the last seven games the defensive component has been missing. The Kings can score enough points to win but they cannot stop enough points to keep from losing.

George Karl was not hired to coach defense. Vivek Ranadive wanted his team to play an uptempo offense that scored 100-plus points per game. He did not like the more deliberate defensive style of Michael Malone who he fired for not installing an uptempo game. George Karl has delivered th0se 100-plus games but his team has given up 100-plus points to their opponents.

Vivek Ranadive wants the Kings to make the playoffs. Check that – Ranadive wants the Kings to win the NBA Championship now. The problem is the Kings are not anywhere near a championship level yet. If the Western Conference was not having a down year, the Kings would not be in the playoff race.

It takes time to cultivate a winning organization. In order to turn a team around, it takes five to seven years of solid drafts, player development and organizational stability. Ranadive has owned the team for almost three years and it has not been a stable organization (see the resumes of the three head coaches he has hired). Building a championship team is like developing a fine wine – it takes time.

Ranadive is going to fire George Karl. It may not be on Sunday after the Boston game. It may not be during the All-Star Break. It may not happen until the end of the season but George Karl is a “dead man walking”. He has been since Ranadive wanted to fire him for suggesting the team should trade Cousins during the off-season.

Another coaching change will just add instability to an unstable organization. Changing the coach will not bring the Kings a championship. Only time, solid drafts, good free agent signings and organizational stability will lead the Kings to where they want to be.

In the meantime hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeff Hall: Team built around Cousins Kings hopes this is their season and beyond

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Jeff Hall

photo credit google images Kings GM Vlade Divac

SACRAMENTO–The Kings went through three coaches last season Mike Malone, Ty Corbin and George Karl this year if all goes to plan Karl should be their man. The Kings are looking to make a big statement this year. Also the Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and we were just talking about it minute ago that Cousins isn’t the biggest problem on the team.

It’s not going to be about how the management runs this team it’s going to be about those guys down on the floor and the Kings will see how it goes and how Cousins handles it. He’s got a goal going into this year and he’s going to accomplish his goals whatever goal he makes.

The Kings Rudy Gay will be back at small forward this season and with him teaming up with Cousins that should be a helpful force and after the season that he had last year it should be interesting to see what he does this season. Cousins will be Cousins and Gay will be Gay in what they bring to the game this season.

This could be the season for the Kings and Karl would love to have this season to be the one where the club is headed for a shot at post season and the organization is looking forward to getting into the new arena in October 2016. The Kings general manager Vlade Divac is coming into his second season as Kings general manager and he’s not playing over his head.

Divac was involved in the draft pick as he signed Willie Cauley-Stein and that was Divac’s deal and not former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro. Divac is not coming into something that he didn’t develop and he’s been part of the signing of Kings guard and forward Marco Belinelli. Divac is providing a new scene especially with the new building Golden 1 Arena going into next season. This is not the old situation for the Kings but just the beginning of new era.

Jeff Hall covers the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast