News broke over the past hour that the Sacramento Kings were letting go of their head coach, Paul Westphal, and handing the team over on an interim basis to Keith Smart.
Now, obviously the Kings have not had a great record under coach Westphal, as they put up just 51 wins in 171 games, including a 2-5 record to start out this season.
When commenting on why Westphal was let go, Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie alluded to the team's performance rather than Westphal's recent clashes with the young DeMarcus Cousins, saying, "The overall performance level of the team has not approached what we felt was reasonable to expect."
Clearly Sacramento has not played well, but what were those expectations that Petrie had of this team full of me-first basketball players?
Their top five offensive guys—Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, DeMarcus Cousins, John Salmons and Jimmer Fredette—need the ball in their hands to produce. Ball movement has been at the bare minimum and they are dead last in the league in assists.
That's not exactly a team that can be coached into the playoffs.
It's obvious that Geoff Petrie knows how to build a team, as he was the mastermind behind the early 2000s Kings (winning Executive of the Year twice), but it seems that this team is more poorly put together than poorly coached and Westphal is now the scapegoat.
Last time Petrie let go of a coach with a good reputation was back in 2006 when the Kings decided to let go of Rick Adelman prior to his contract expiring. It was speculated then that this firing was the order of the owners of the team, the Maloof Brothers.
Adelman had just finished his eighth straight season making the playoffs in eight years with the Kings (pretty fair record, I should say) as the Kings had been trying to cling to a dynasty that never was two years after it ended.
I can't say I agreed with the team firing Adelman in 2006 and I don't see how firing Westphal helps them now.
Westphal was what this team needed. He was a hard-nosed, yet fair and soft-spoken guy who would be tough with players when necessary and easy on them when unnecessary.
In other words, he was what they needed as a young team with an array of personalities.
Realistically, he's been a part of some rough patches in NBA's history. He coached the Suns when Charles Barkley was taking them to the top of the heap in the West, but he was also canned when he was being a diva and was run out of town on a rail.
He joined the Sonics in 1999 when the NBA had a 50-game season and they missed the playoffs. The next season he took them to the playoffs, but was fired 15 games into the following season. Now he's the scapegoat of one of the most tight-pocketed ownership groups in the NBA.
Put this man on a competent team in a desirable situation and he's a great coach.
Jhan Marinez Anibal Sanchez John Baker Brad Davis Logan Morrison Mike Stanton
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