| Grading The Deal: Kings Fall On Face With Westphal Hire Authored by Patric J. Austin - June 10, 2009 - 6:36 pm
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Oh boy, what a hot commodity. The Kings were wise the snatch him up.
Reports indicate Westphal wasn’t their first choice, preferring Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis. It’s always embarrassing when such information gets released to the public because it immediately undermines Westphal. Players are going to read that and think to themselves, 'Is management really committed to this guy?'
It appears talks deteriorated with Rambis because he wanted more time to negotiate and really think about taking the position. The Maloof Brothers decided impatience was the best course of action and went with Westphal.
I just don’t understand this line of thinking. Honestly, what’s the rush? I guess the Kings wanted a head coach in place prior to the draft, but Rambis could have been hired in plenty of time, even if the Finals go seven games.
Okay, enough about Rambis. The big question remains – can Westphal make a difference in Sacramento? The answer is… not likely. Westphal is a decent coach but he doesn’t have a track record of turning a franchise around. The success he enjoyed in the 90s as head coach of the Phoenix Suns was primarily due to luck since he coached a team featuring a hall of famer in Charles Barkley, two all-star caliber scorers in Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle, and a sage veteran in Danny Ainge.
The Kings are in a totally different situation. They have a ton of young talent that needs to be developed and it will take time for the team to gel in order to truly compete in a loaded Western Conference.
Can he be successful? It’s certainly possible. Anything is possible. However, the Maloof Brothers have shown a predilection for impatience, not only with Rambis but with the firing of Reggie Theus last season. There’s a good chance Westphal won’t even have enough time to make an indelible impact on the team if they struggle early on.
Of course, things could be made a lot easier with the right personnel moves on the court. Westphal has proven he can coach great talent so if the Kings go bold and make a trade for someone like Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh, the scenario for success becomes much easier to bring to fruition.
Grade: D+
If you’d like to submit feedback to Patrick, his e-mail address is pja123@hotmail.com |
