IT'S OFFICIAL KINGS FIRE WESTY ! YES

[pillwenney]

If this team doesn't start showing signs of improvement between now and the end of next season, do you guys think the head coach might not be the only problem of our organization? We've gone through how many head coaches now?

I know this could be a sore subject, but I mean, there comes a time when you have to look at the team and how the pieces fit. I love Petrie and what he did for us throughout most of his tenure here, but lately, his moves or lack of, have been questionable at best.

If we were going to let Dally walk this season, why not trade him and get some value in return? Draft pick for 2012's loaded draft? Why did we sign John Salmons? Just to make a move? Plenty of other guys on the team to fill the same role (Cisco/Donte).

I think Petrie definitely has an eye for draft talent, but in terms of trades and signings, they've mostly been terrible. Two words, Kenny Thomas.

What do you guys think?

Well Westphal is the only coach that has had the current group of guys we have. Musselman did a bad job with the talent he had, but Theus and Natt both might not have gotten a fair shake. Although with Theus, I seem to recall there was apparently some kind of locker room issue that we didn't totally know about.

Petrie's far from infallible, but his eye for talent makes him worth keeping him around. I just wish he was a little bit more shrewd. His draft picks still look like they could turn out to be great. It just looks bad right now because of the situation with the whole team.

Chuck Hayes was, I think, a good signing. He and Sam bring different things. I think with the team the way it is we need Chuck's unselfish leadership now more than we need Sam's size and shotblocking.

I'm still not a fan of the Salmons trade. But let's not forget the Thornton trade was just a few months before. So it's ups and downs.

I also think Petrie was, in part, trying to build this roster to fit what Westphal wanted--which would explain the lack of a real PG. But of course none of us can really know that.

But this team has talent. Without it, we'd be 0-7 right now. Because the tiny bit of success we've had sure as hell hasn't been because we're a well run team.

[KF10]

Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-'13 season.

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

Damn, that was fast.

[pillwenney]

I don't know what our obsession is with committing to guys long term before we know what we've got. I mean Smart looked decent last year, but what if he blows this year? We'll be on the hook for another year.

[tru6playa]

Oh, and I'd just like to add this. When you think about Westphal's tenure with this team, the odds aren't very good that a guy brought in at the beginning of a transition period is going to be the "right" guy. Think about this, when Westphal started this team's big 3 was Reke, JT, and Hawes!

Now this is on the Maloofs, plain and simple, and Petrie too. Things as far as the roster is concerned are beginning to finally look more towards the long term where you may have a combined level of talent and skill that can work. They have to find the RIGHT guy now. A guy that can do a little pampering for his stars but also instill a system that makes use of the passing of guys like Chuck and Demarcus, the driving ability of Tyreke, the off the ball movement and shooting of Thornton and Fredette, and that kind of coach isn't going to be found at the flea market. Time to open the wallet fellas, and Petrie, it's time to find YOUR guy because we all know what type of team you're building here.

Well, I don't think it's all GP's fault. I feel about the Kings like I felt about the 49ers for the past few years. We had the talent - but the past coaches failed to put a structured system together to maximize his player's abilities. In comes Harbaugh, and wah-laa! Success with almost the same exact team. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether or not the issue is talent, or the way the talent is being utilized.

[tru6playa]

Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-'13 season.

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

Damn, that was fast.

That is so bizarre...why not drive the car around before buying it blind?

[DieHardKingsFan]

Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-'13 season.

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

Damn, that was fast.

Yeah, seriously fast. Hopefully Smart's rotations will be better than Westphal's.

[City of Trees]

Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-'13 season.

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

Damn, that was fast.

No one conducts a coaching search that fast. I think this says a lot about how short the leash was for Westphal. I am glad he is no longer the Kings coach however he seems like a good person so it is sad to watch his career crumble. After this I doubt he will get another HC gig. I bet he will hate Cousins for eternity

[SacKingZZZ]

I don't know what our obsession is with committing to guys long term before we know what we've got. I mean Smart looked decent last year, but what if he blows this year? We'll be on the hook for another year.

Yikes, yeah, that's kind of a shock, but I can see why Smart took over now. That answers my questions about him taking the gig. I was surprised he didn't turn them down, now I know why.

Still on the Maloofs now, time to put their money where their mouths are, if it doesn't work spend that money you didn't in free agency, cut your losses and find the right guy.

[SacKingZZZ]

Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-'13 season.

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

Damn, that was fast.

That is so bizarre...why not drive the car around before buying it blind?

Two points I think weighed into this decision:

1. Smart isn't stupid (no pun intended ). He's not going to take an "interim" gig and put any marks on his resume without some guarantee.

2. The Kings don't want some idea that these are players playing under another lame duck. This for all intents and purposes, is going to be the coach of the Kings so get used it.

3. They were interested in him to begin with and signed him as a safety valve they knew they may have to use at some point soon.

[jeffjtk1234]

Yeah I have no problem with it...he was going to finish this year out anyways (which could already be a lost season due to lock-out, westphal, etc.) then they give him one offseason and a full go as a coach in an 82 game year.

Seems fine to me...not sure what about this screams "long term." Its for 142 games...max

[pillwenney]

I have to think Smart would have taken the interim gig regardless.

[SacKingsPejaFan]

I think one of four things happened with Smart:

(1) The cynical view: The Maloofs know that if Smart does well this year, and they want to keep him on board, he will cost more than what he costs right now. They're cheap, end of story.

(2) The naive view: Smart gave one hell of a pitch to Petrie and the Maloofs after the Westphal firing, and he's impressed as an assistant so much that he earned the contract.

(3) The presumptuous view: He's been insurance all along. Petrie and the Maloofs vetted Smart before the season, perhaps secretly, for the head coaching position just in case disaster struck. It did.

(4) The pragmatic view: Smart didn't want an interim job and/or management wanted to show him support, but management still may fire him at the end of the year if better coaches become available through firings or retired coaches wanting a come back.

[floppymoose]

I don't know what our obsession is with committing to guys long term before we know what we've got. I mean Smart looked decent last year, but what if he blows this year? We'll be on the hook for another year.

I get ya, but one thing it does is send a message to the players. "We're on the hook to pay this guy, so we aren't going to fire him without thinking about it a lot first. So burn bridges with him at your own risk."

It's good for Cousins to have that thought in the back of his mind.

[City of Trees]

The Kings had to sign Smart for at least 2 years to give him credibility to stand on with the players. Lets be honest though, if it does not work out this season the Kings can easily fire him and go fishing for a big name coach.

I see no risk other than the committed 2nd year salary which I am sure is not a large amount for a guy like Smart.

Overall I think the Kings handled the Smart situation, well, smart-ly

[SacKingZZZ]

I think one of four things happened with Smart:

(1) The cynical view: The Maloofs know that if Smart does well this year, and they want to keep him on board, he will cost more than what he costs right now. They're cheap, end of story.

(2) The naive view: Smart gave one hell of a pitch to Petrie and the Maloofs after the Westphal firing, and he's impressed as an assistant so much that he earned the contract.

(3) The presumptuous view: He's been insurance all along. Petrie and the Maloofs vetted Smart before the season, perhaps secretly, for the head coaching position just in case disaster struck. It did.

(4) The pragmatic view: Smart didn't want an interim job and/or management wanted to show him support, but management still may fire him at the end of the year if better coaches become available through firings or retired coaches wanting a come back.

Petrie is very calculating, and I doubt Smart is a Maloof guy. They've probably been screaming for their boy Nelly the entire time.

If I were the Kings GM, and I'm sure Petrie followed the same route, he darn well knew who Smart was, what he's done, and what he might do long before he got here. I think it's kind of funny that Westphal in his exit statement basically implies that Smart coming aboard was his idea, much like Cousins great game last night was a result of his punishment perhaps? I think number 3 is the obvious one and we all figured this out to an extent when they hired him at the last second. I also think number 4 is very likely as well. I just hope the Maloofs pull the trigger if it needs to be pulled. They're investing their money here by sending a message that he's no lame duck coach which is a good thing. If he fails and they don't want to eat the last year, then they've failed as owners.

[SacKingZZZ]

Was on the Sacbee page and I read through Voisons chat earlier, mentioned Sloan might be looking to coach again and he likes some of the Kings pieces. Hmmmm.... odd huh? Coach of the exact system they're trying to run! Hmmmm... maybe not so odd.

[aznkillabeezZz]

Well, you're only as good as your record in the NBA.. so it's a good firing.

[Sandlot]

I know you can't blame it all on PW but the team was terrible. I don't really know how much of that was his fault. I just want to say that our defense has been garbage. I seriously saw a jr. high game with better rotation when the ball was being moved around. If I were any other team I would just make sure we were moving and passing because one of the Kings will leave their mark. I saw it again tonight so I'm hoping that gets worked on. I believe we have talented guys but I'm starting to doubt a little.

[deNIEd]

I love the move, but I think we should all be careful about Keith Smart or any other coach.

What I've noticed the past few years, is that whenever we seem to bottom out and suck like no other, we can the coach. Our next coach is able to hide a few of the issues we had before or even fix a few problems, but we then fail to address the remaining problems our teams have had, and thus, we end up sucking again next year.

Yes, firing Westphal was a great move and needed for this team, even if we end up doing better this season under Smart, we can't neglect some of the issues this roster has that MUST be addressed.
Problems such as ball movement, having a true floor general, improved free throw shooting, improved motivation and effort, pride, maturity, etc. Some of these can be addressed by a coach, but some of these issues lie within the talent we have on this roster and ALSO must be addressed.

[VeeJay24]

I think this is Petrie cleaning up his or the Maloof's mess. It started when they hired Westphal instead of Thibodeau or Shaw and got worst when they didn't can Westphal during the lockout. I don't know if they thought the season will be cancelled and were caught by surprise or what but they were able to steal Smart from the Mavs at the last moment. I don't think they thought it was going to go this bad this fast but they knew they were more than likely going to have to replace Westphal.

I think Smart is a good coach but I think he really has to do well even though he secured another year. If not, the Kings will go after one of the named coaches on the sideline right now. The Maloof's just can't afford not to. They need a financing for a new building in Sacramento and if that doesn't happen they need a buzz if they move.

So we will see if Smart can create his own buzz.......