Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Paul Westphal??? Really, Sacramento???


Some things I just don't understand. Ya know, like hiring a head coach that hadn't been one in the NBA since 2000. One whose last head coaching job netted a 7-20 record at Pepperdine.

We all know what's going on. The Sacramento Kings have gone cheap. Word is that they didn't want to pay much money for a head coach and they were giving only a two-year deal. What coach worth a crap would take that on? Especially when the team you are taking over is more than two years away from doing anything.

That's what Westphal is: a babysitter. The SacKings were one of the nice rising young franchises in the early 2000s. They had charismatic owners who seemed to love winning more than anything else (well, aside from self-publicity). Things were going well in the basketball and business lives that it was all fun and games.

That is until the economy went south. The men who made their living off others' disposable income (via casinos or NBA games) aren't seeing the cash flow like they were. Plus, they play in a barn that needs to be replaced. That can't happen when the state of California is seemingly bankrupt. How can any politician agree to fork over that kind of money to guys who flaunted their riches for most of the past decade?

It still could happen, just the timing is off. The Kings are a shell of what they were a few years ago. It seems that they know this and just want a guy who can just watch these guys on the cheap for a couple of seasons until they ripen.

If they ever do.

I can get with going cheap if you go after some new young blood. A guy who wants to make a name for himself (*cough* Reggie Theus). But it comes back to the ol' saying: You get what you pay for.

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