Sactown Royalty

:(

Aykis16 - January 1, 2012 reply

This is such a mess

Hell of a way to kick off 2012.

Christina_J - January 1, 2012 reply

...OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!!!!!

paleface - January 1, 2012 reply

This cannot be purple fast enough

IMHO I think Westphal is covering his own ass

I think those “trade demands” were DMC yelling in the heat of the moment, not a formal request. But now we have this whole situation now where Cousins might actually ask to be traded rather than deal with this deep mess

This

glazier_25 - January 1, 2012 reply

This is where Petrie steps in.

Or at least should. Players and coaches alike should be allowed to lost their temper and spout off. If this is what Cousins did, and then Westphal goes public with it…that is on the coach. Don’t breakdown a relationship with one of your best players to punish him or to make his behavior a bigger deal than your short comings. Petrie will get this figured out and decide what needs to happen.

My first guess is that the whole thing blows over and we continue to see our beloved brand of mediocre basketball. My second guess is that Westphal is fired.

I just hope that this does not result in a chest bump between this two.

Jim Les - January 1, 2012 reply

DRIVE ANGRY!!

Dub_TC - January 1, 2012 via Android app reply

The teams plays like such a mess.

How is that DMC fault? PW is the coach he needs to man up and take responsibility. I don’t see how this move is effective at all.

carlsbadace - January 1, 2012 reply

You have to look at it from the other side too.

Cousins has played a big role on this, young and impressionable, team since he was drafted.. If he is turning players against the coaching staff and playing like shit on purpose, then he probably has a lot to do with whats going on…

Make up stories much?

Was just thinkin the same thing.

My god, apart from his shooting, Cousins has been a rare bright spot.

Let's be real, he's been mediocre

And the entire team has been either the same or worse.

I’d saying putting up a double double three out of four games is doing pretty good on this team.

He's rebounded well and defended well

Offensively, he’s been an abomination.

But I agree with you, if we’re grading on a curve.

I didnt make a single claim...

I said if… as in IF this is happening? get it?

Read much?

Is that a personal attack?

BTW – You did make up a story.

Seriously.

Chill out.

We’re all discussing this and not everyone is in agreement. That’s fine.

What we’re not doing is lashing out.

Are you kidding?

People are so two faced with that personal attack shit… You get to call me a liar, and I cant say that you misread what I wrote

I made up a story in the other thread about Bobby Jackson having a unicorn shoot out his butt

good times!

What?

That wasn’t real?

swoosh91 - January 1, 2012 reply

no, it was a raindbow

unicorns aren’t real silly.

The Crown Royal Gentleman - January 1, 2012 reply

UNICORNS ARE REAL!!!

lies in fettle position

They are.

I watch Red Eye.

Please point out this story I made up.

Where did he make up a story?

I think people are just agitated and not reading things clearrly...

I got one

DeMarcus hates puppies..

its true…

did you guys hear?

DeMarcus just punched baby..

haha damnit!

a* baby

All I said was

IF < notice the if there… IF Cousins is causing problems he needs to go.

No.

All you did was make a huge, baseless assumption about the situation in order to advance your point that Cousins should go.

I for one don’t really appreciate that.

But hey, free country.

k.

Wow.

Aren't we all trying to adnave our points?

and you are assuming my assumption is baseless :P

advance... need to clean our the keyboard

jesus...

Well, have to admit

playing like shit on purpose would be pretty baseless. That’s a pretty strong accusation.

Alright. I am done with this.

I guess no one wants to take the time to comprehend what I actually wrote.

It must be lonely being the only one that knows what you wrote.

Look

I know you said "if". I understand it was not a personal attack. I’m just pissed. No problems.

“We’re like Tim Duncan and David Robinson. But a younger version. I really feel that.” – Charlie Villanueva about himself and Chris Bosh.

by kwill on Jan 1, 2012 5:52 PM PST up reply actions

So does the prove I know you made up a hypothetical story that denegrates DMC's character or not?

:D

To be fair

it does seem you understood what he wrote 20 minutes ago.

Exactly

But there needed to be a retort because of the condescending comment.

ease up smoosh

you just literally wrote

you are assuming my assumption is baseless.

Yes I saw the “if” I also saw you write “you are assuming my assumption is baseless.”

Not that big of a deal either way. I think the “if” situation you got up above with the “playing like shit” on purpose is … well, baseless. That’s it.

I should have said

not playing 100%

Without knowing the situation

How can you assume that Cousins is turning players against the coach and playing poorly on purpose, especially since he has been one of the better performers outside of struggling with his shot.

THEN, you come back with a “-- much?” line to insult our intelligence.

I don’t think I am wrong in feeling a bit perturbed with you.

Sure, we are all trying to advance our points, but most of us are trying to point to what little we know about the situation. Not what we’re assuming.

Look

I know you said “if”. I understand it was not a personal attack. I’m just pissed. No problems.

Cool man, thanks

We are all a little bewildered at the moment

Try not to pull a hammy jumping to conclusions like this

Rec'd for "pull a hammy..."

Fyre Westfail!!

Rise the Hot Hand!

HeuristicLineup - January 1, 2012 reply

I mean really

At some point, this is a management issue. Collectively, posters on this sight mock or deride national writers who have claimed that our front office is a mess, our lack of advance scouts, advance statistics, not working the phones at trade deadlines. How many instances do we need to prove it. We have a head coach that likes to publicly butt heads with players.

He has mismanaged Kevin Martin, and we traded one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA.
He publicly threw his young center under the bus, who was thusly traded.
His first season he did a horrible job of juggling rotations, even getting mild criticism from the player who was given free reign.
He had a seasoned, well-respected veteran in Udoka questioning his techniques.
He had Dally not want to come back.
He coaxed Landry into the worst performance of his career.
167 games into his tenure, we still do not know how to run a pick and roll.
Announcers and columnists around the league cannot talk about the Kings without commenting on our lack of an offensive scheme.
He did not know how to handle a talented young player in Omri, who spoke up, and was traded.
A hard working JT has not grown at all under his watch.
The point guard who he has bet the whole team on doesn’t think his coach knows very good plays.

And he seems to have the full support of the FO, or else why in the hell would a press release go out like that.

To all those poster’s who thought it was funny to post a pic of Chicken Little, do you really think it is too early to worry in a season that is just proving to be a more disgusting version of the previous two?

There is a systemic failure in the Kings FO that is allowing for the continued mediocrity of this team. If they have to trade DMC, so be it, he isn’t as good as he thinks he is, but Westphal must go.

Omri isn't exactly lighting it up in Cleveland...

and Hickson isn't exactly Karl Malone Redux here either.

no hes not.

he appears to be Jason Thompson redux

How can you redux something that has yet to be fully duxed?

im not even going to pretend i ever had any idea what redux meant...

And you made me laugh. Don't ruin my perfectly good bad mood.

so it;s possible that both JT and JJ could both get duexed for the first time in their professional careers

Katy, barr the door!

JT without the hustle

my point being, if we are going to grade Omri on his first four games as a Cav, JJ has to have the same attention.

and i gave it to him

Then we probably disagree

But I would rather have Omri than JJ, all other things being equal.

This is true...

Ultrakingsfan - January 1, 2012 reply

Well written.

Completely correct.

We are of like mind.

cowboyron96@yahoo.com - January 1, 2012 reply

I concur!!!!

Thank you MichaelMack for summiing it all up in a concise and accurate manner

I think Westphal signed his own death warrant with that press release and that’s why Petrie let him do it.

Nail on the head Michael

Crappy head coaches

are easily found and readily available.

Talented 21 year old big men are not. The solution to this problem is easy.

TTown Kings - January 1, 2012 reply

Agree

But can any coach handle a kid that flies this far off the handle after a three bad losses? I can understand a bad relationship, no longer traveling with the team …

This has been building.

That’s obvious. Probably carried over from last season.

Coach Cal

just sayin

Shizzo - January 1, 2012 reply

Yes.

This is a PR disaster

It looks totally classless and this is the type of thing that burns bridges. If the Kings ever expect Cousins to return on good terms, they need to shut the heck up. Westphal needs to be canned, this is another in a long line of issues. This team is fragile enough as is to have a coach and management that don’t support a player that should be a big part of this team’s future. I really don’t know what to do right now. This is a situation that could set this team back far more than they already are.

maybe they let westphal release this statement so that they can fire him for it.

SMOKESCREEN~!

Maybe that is part of the Maloof's plan.

Major League part deux

Goodbye Coach Westphal

Hello Jerry Sloan?

vfettke - January 1, 2012 reply

Will we get to his first fight with DMC on PPV?

It'll be epic

But at the same time, Sloan has an actual offensive system. And having an offense based around a Reke/DMC pick and roll would be amazing. If DMC listens to Sloan and lights it up due to his system, there won’t be much arguing.

vfettke - January 1, 2012 reply

Yeah if I were Jerry I would under no circumstance answer the phone

I would

Once again… Tyreke. DeMarcus. Pick and Roll.

vfettke - January 1, 2012 reply

only problem with that...

neither player can consistently hit a jumper.

roll and roll

You can learn to shoot

Its much harder to find an agile skilled and young big man and a guard that can get to the rim at will when he really wants to. I think Sloan is the exact coach we need, but I agree if I were him I wouldn’t even pick up that phone.

Merickel - January 1, 2012 via mobile reply

if he couldnt handle williams, you think he is going to work with dmc and reke?

At this point firing PW won't do any additional harm

Just toss the keys to Keith Smart and let him finish driving the bus off the cliff, then reevaluate things after the season. It will be a lot easier replacing PW than it will be getting equal value for DMC. The words “Ed Monroe, Sacramento King” do nothing for me, and I have a feeling we’d be lucky to even get that much.

Totally confused Ed Davis and Greg Monroe

I would much rather have DMC than either of them, though.

or half of either of them.

http://tbt.blogs.nba.com/2012/01/01/hornets-at-kings-9-p-m-et/

Did you guys see this?

Before the game, Westphal elaborated on the Cousins situation, "He can only have so many chances and something has to be done. And it’s time something has to be done." Westphal is not sure if Cousins will travel with the team on their two game road trip that begins on Tuesday in Memphis. He did say that Cousins needed to do some "soul searching" and that he hopes that, "DeMarcus has a change of heart and joins up with full reinstatement, that’s really up to him and I hope that."

Westphal and Rex Ryan

Need to take a class on shutting the hell up.

HeuristicLineup - January 1, 2012 reply

I wonder if PW has a foot fetish too

To misquote Tom from Twitter

Demarcus gets to decide on his own suspension now?

Doesn’t PW have accountability for anything?

So he suspeneded himself?

49er16 - January 1, 2012 reply

There is no way this can be about his play.

This is about him throwing Westphal under the bus on camera.

That is it.

I find it interesting that this comment came from Westphal, instead of Petrie. If the team/organization is going to release a big public statement criticizing a player it comes off as being an organization-wide stance if it’s signed off on by the GM, imo. With it coming from Westphal it has much more of a feeling of player vs. coach.

tecolote5 - January 1, 2012 reply

Agreed.

Good point.

bench_blob - January 1, 2012 reply

It just reinforces my feeling that Petrie might be mailing it in these days

The Magoofs are the root of the problem unfortunately

It’s like a contingent of soldiers that are continuously led into harm’s way with no plan. The Kings have no idea what to do on the court and are only going to win games based on individual talent. On top of that, management is in disarray and nobody seems too concerned about the decisions that are made by Westphal. Clearly this team is in a holding pattern even with the addition of what was thought to be better players than what they had last year. Nothing is going to change until Westphal is fired, period.

Love your post.

I agree completely.

Seriously – doesn’t this look just like Major League? (Poor owners helping their team lose so that they can relocate them)

Yes lol

That thought has certainly cross my mind.

NewEraKings - January 1, 2012 reply

I have news for you all in the form of a prediction

I feel a chest bump coming on!

betweentheeyes - January 1, 2012 reply

I so missed this reference

See Hawes, Spencer 2010

betweentheeyes - January 1, 2012 reply

that will be disgusting

I sincerely hope PW has more class and sense to have some staged public reconciliation again.

They're both idiots

Cousins and Westphal both say and do stupid crap all the time. It’s Westphal handling players wrong both on and off the court, or it’s Cousins acting like a self-entitled turd. I guess Ziller’s snarky ass, “Everything OK, You Guys”, column was dead wrong.

youknowit100 - January 1, 2012 reply

Amnesty Ziller!

you can only amnesty someone once

betweentheeyes - January 1, 2012 reply

I'll gladly eat crow

for not knowing in advance that one of our central players would throw a fit and demand/not demand a trade four games into the season.

jveezy - January 1, 2012 reply

FIRE WESTPHAL!

49er16 - January 1, 2012 reply

DMC needs to grow up though

Westphal has been a disaster, but DMC needs to fucking grow up. Calipari had his issues with him as well.

49er16 - January 1, 2012 reply

Very true however....

..that can be managed and improved. DMC is not remotely the first good young player to have some maturity issues. Good franchises address this in house.

On the other hand, the Kings have no legitimate reason to keep supporting a genuinely terrible coach.

Glad im not in charge of that

Managing immature players is usually cured by winning. I’m really not sure how the Kings are going to cure this situation because A.) They don’t have much veteran leadership other than Hayes and Salmons and B.) They sure as heck aren’t winning games. Maybe trading Tyreke for John Wall could be a solution; that’s being dead serious.

I don't disagree with you at all.

Problem is he isn't that good

He’s got some skills, but he’s not athletic and has a piss-poor attitude and appears to easily give up when the going gets tough.

This season he’s lost weight, but he still can’t finish around the basket to save his life. I suspect he’ll never be the low post beast everyone wants him to be, but could be more of a defensive presence with an average repertoire of offensive skills.

He does get declared a "beast" often

and I think he is a very very good rebounder, but he isn’t some low-post scoring machine.

Amen, amen, amen

but he still can’t finish around the basket to save his life

NewEraKings - January 1, 2012 reply

after they fire PW..

And they continue to lose then what will the excuse be. At some point the player gotta make plays.

Howard Nevens IV - January 1, 2012 via mobile reply

I wasn't a proponent of axing Westphal....

but it really seems that there is no other recourse at this point.
Right?

Ichiban - January 1, 2012 reply

I remeber reading once

about a Polish conman who attempted to impersonate a Russian royal. When the Russkies found out they had him drawn and quartered. They then had the body parts stuffed into a large cannon and fired in the direction of Poland.

So I guess there are other options right?

that could be a slight over reaction to Westphal's mediocre coaching and piss poor people skills but then again it might be perfect

Kings currently with a .400 win rate which is about where most they would be which would work to around 26 wins for the season. Too high? Just right?

I agree.

SacKingsfanforever - January 1, 2012 reply

Cousins has more trade value after the season

Westphal has no trade value. If Petrie is smart he let’s Westphal get his ass fired by continued under- performance and they bring DMC back to finish out the season. He shouldn’t let a 21 year old immature baby hold a gun to the head of the franchise. We will get more value for DMC after this all blows over and he Plays for a new coach.

Agreed.

This is lose/lose for the entire organization. I believe that DMC is a douche and needs to be slapped upside the head, but this weird publicizing of internal team conflict by Westphal shows how weak his position is as well. Signs of a desperate man.

Westphal is canned soon, but DMC needs to be shown that he does not have power over the organization either.

Variant - January 1, 2012 reply

I'm at the game. Did anyone notice the Kings flag near southeast corner is flying at half mast?

SacKingsfanforever - January 1, 2012 reply

Seriously?

SacKingsfanforever - January 1, 2012 reply

Yes. I am not kidding.

I would really like to punch Westphal in the face right now.

He’s spouting BS on my TV and I don’t appreciate it.

What's he saying?

Same stuff that's been reported.

It just irritates me to watch him say it.

"Well it's all up to him..."

“I don’t hold myself accountable. Why should I do it for him? Blah, blah, blah..not my fault.”

That sad sack routine is really wearing thin.

Class act

I think Paul Westphal is a class act guy. Not a great coach by far but a class act!

Boot Scoot Baby - January 1, 2012 reply

This whole thing is showing me otherwise.

Funny.

We thought Westphal’s new goatee made him look like evil Westphal.

Perhaps there is an underlying Rocky and Bulwinkle plot playing out here unbestowed to us.

Sam Amick Twitter

They contend it was responsive, as in “If you don’t like me, then trade me now.” Westphal-Cousins relationship obviously in dire straits./blockquote>
Westphal is blowing this out of proportion to cover his own ass and save his job, not the first time

Did Amick actually say the second part?

No, thats me

Still figuring out the whole block quote thing

may I?

No need for the “/blockquote” thing. If you just put a “bq.” in the front of a sentence or paragraph then after said sentence or paragraph you click the return button twice you get this

They contend it was responsive, as in "If you don’t like me, then trade me now." Westphal-Cousins relationship obviously in dire straits.

Westphal is blowing this out of proportion to cover his own ass and save his job, not the first time

Thanks

Appreciate it

Awsome Wally - thanks could never figure that out looked like the old dos days

My New Years resolution: Post a block qoute on StR. This could actually happen.

I am going to practice that.

Let’s see if it works.

Sweet.

PhutureKings - January 2, 2012 reply

I believe this means

that if Cousins is traded, Petrie believes Cousins was the problem. If he isn’t, even if Westphal is fired or not, it would have to be because Petrie believes Cousins was right and the Maloofs didn’t let him fire Westphal.

caseycheesecake - January 1, 2012 reply

Westphal just said

…I hope this is something the team can use to band together, which is something I think a new team needs..

Who is he kidding!? You don’t alienate your starting center and think that its going to cause the team to “band together”. How about giving them an actual playbook and an offense that they can be held accountable for!?
smh

It does...

… if your starting center is an immature douche and the rest of his teammates realize it and are frustrated with the distraction his attitude is causing.

So far am seeing more energy from the team tonight.

PW’s best hope is that the team plays well during DMC’s absence and he comes back to the fold a bit more respectful of authority.

Variant - January 1, 2012 reply

I've seen nothing from his teammates to indicate

anyone has a problem with Cousins. It all seems to be a problem with Westphal.

deadenddude - January 1, 2012 reply

Agree

Evans and Cousins chummy against the Knicks. I doubt the players are angry at Cuzz, because I have seen nothing to validate that sentiment.

Doesn't mean ...

… that they still might not know the guy is a big time distraction. I’ve played on sports teams with guys I really liked, but were so mercurial that everyone was frustrated with them (though of course still supportive of a teammate).

I’m certainly not seeing anything tonight to indicate the team is upset with Westphal. They’re playing harder than I’ve seen the last few outings.

Variant - January 1, 2012 reply

Playing harder...

…could be just a matter of pride, or flat out excitement to be playing such a bad defensive team as the Hornets.

diehardNFFLbarnone - January 1, 2012 reply

Hire that guy who used to be an assistant with the Cavs

and is now with the Warriors and see how Cousins behaves then.

Amick Again

Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, when asked if ownership approved the move to send Cousins home, tells SI “Yeah, we back the coach.”/blockquote>
Shit

Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, when asked if ownership approved the move to send Cousins home, tells SI “Yeah, we back the coach.”

/facepalm

well of course they're going to say that

i’d be surprised if they back that up by letting Westphal last the year, though.

deadenddude - January 1, 2012 reply

Vote of confidence

Usually means the guys out the door.

Especially a vote of confidence from the Malindas....

cowboyron96@yahoo.com - January 1, 2012 reply

Thats the kiss of death

SharkKings49 - January 2, 2012 reply

What We Haven't Heard

…is word one from Petrie.

I think that’s telling that PW speaks out, the Maloofs are saying “we back the coach,” and Petrie has been silent.

Seems like Ownership and the Coach are on the same page on this, but Petrie may not be.

EGKF - January 1, 2012 reply

Petrie is mostly silent

And very deliberate. Remember, this just came out this afternoon.

section214 - January 1, 2012 reply

Jason Jones Twitter

Jason Jones: Asked Geoff Petrie if the Kigns intend to trade Cousins. His answer: “No.”Plans to meet with Cousins tomorrow.

Jimmered. - January 1, 2012 reply

If I May?

I was telling you guys last year that westphal needed to go! now we are going to lose a great player because petrie and the magoofs think westphal is the answer……i am so pissed,dude.this is the wrong time for this to happen because we are trying to get a new arena etc….please fire westphal and make keith smart interm coach.

Rec'd all over.

well said