Marc Stein: Vlade in charge

annihilator_33

annihilator_33

Starter
#1
#1
Very very very interesting read in my opinon.....
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12644960/vlade-divac-emerges-sacramento-kings-lead-voice

Vlade Divac has quietly emerged as the new lead voice of the Sacramento Kings' front office, according to league sources.

‎Sources told ESPN.com ‎that Divac, who was recently hired by the Kings under the seemingly broad title of vice president of basketball and franchise operations, is indeed regarded as the team's top basketball official by owner Vivek Ranadive after months of turbulence in Sacramento.
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biltalent

biltalent

Starter
#2
#2
Seems like PDA's days are definitely numbered

"Sources told ESPN.com ‎that Divac,[...] is indeed regarded as the team's top basketball official by owner Vivek Ranadive after months of turbulence in Sacramento."

" "I understand his frustration," Divac told The Bee in Tuesday's editions. "We need better shooting, more talent. That's obvious. And five years in the league and five coaches; DeMarcus needs stability. We're trying to bring that with [Karl], myself and make this a stable situation. [...] George is going to develop his passing abilities, create more opportunities for him because everybody is moving around. We're going to help him. Believe me. Next year will be very different." "

That's music to my ears!


Edit: Jason Jones tweeted the following regarding Stein's article:

Jason Jones @mr_jasonjones · 50 Min.Vor 50 Minuten
Falls in line with what I reported last week. Vlade is here to repair the mess after Vivek lost faith in front office plan

Jason Jones @mr_jasonjones · 44 Min.Vor 44 Minuten
This is all fallout from how Shareef Abdur-Rahim was treated and the Malone firing and Corbin's stint

Jason Jones @mr_jasonjones · 41 Min.Vor 41 Minuten
Remember Vivek said it was Mullin/D'Allesandro who urged him constantly to fire Malone. How this plays out will be interesting.

Edit²: from Carmichael Dave's twitter:

Carmichael Dave @carmichaeldave · 41 Min.Vor 41 Minuten
Carmichael Dave retweetete Chase Everett
No. I would expect him to be relieved very shortly after season's end.
Chase Everett @Chase_everett_
@carmichaeldave so, what does this mean for Pete? Will he be hear next year in your opinion?
 
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PurpleHaze

PurpleHaze

All-Star
#5
#5
Next year very different part intrigues me the most. Moving the ball for Boogie's sake means those who don't are gone and that means A LOT of current Kings will be jettisoned. Hallelujah!!
 
macadocious

macadocious

Starter
#6
#6
It's nice that Mark Stein is reporting this, but this report could have been written by half this board. There is nothing new in there except for we are getting confirmation of what we have all been believing for a long time.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#8
#8
Would also conveniently go a long way to reestablishing Vivek as just the naive and ignorant new owner who made bad hiring decisions to begin his tenure, rather than the meddling monstrosity that was always going to be in the way. In this nice logical version of events Mullin becomes the root of the initial evil, who whispers in Vivek's ear to help get his former flunkie hired as GM, and then conspires with said former flunkie as he tries to consolidate all basketball power. Together they start chasing away good people who are dissenting voices from their Nellieball plan.

Ironically the Dastardly Duo meet their end when their slimy maneuverings are brought out into the light by the naivete of their inexperienced owner, who hearing their constant complaints about Malone decides to try to resolve the situation the only way he can see, and just pull the bandaid off and dump Malone immediately, The poor naive owner not knowing any better after years of Grima Wormtonguing. This isn't really what the Dastardly Duo had in mind, as it exposes their slitherings to the bright light of public review when they wanted to just once again slip the knife in quietly when nobody was looking, and the end result is that all their connivings begin to fall apart as the disastrous move sets in motion a slow motion demolition they are powerless to stop.

Shakespeare would have liked it. We even get the fun of watching the ghost of Michael Malone reaching out from the grave to bring down the Dastardly Duo that killed him.
 
allrightythen

allrightythen

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#9
#9
I think it's become clear the Pete was the wrong guy for the GM job and we were all witnesses to what the effects a wrong hire like that can have on a franchise. I don't dislike Pete at all as he seems like a really genuine guy and I'm sure he'll continue to work in the NBA but he wasn't the right guy for this organization. I would still contend that Mike Malone was the right hire though and Vivek was pretty smart to hire him. I'm sure he'll learn a lot from this process and the mistakes that have been made. Its not a shock or anything but it is daunting to see what the wrong GM hire can do to a franchise.
 
allrightythen

allrightythen

Starter
#11
#11
macadocious said:
It's nice that Mark Stein is reporting this, but this report could have been written by half this board. There is nothing new in there except for we are getting confirmation of what we have all been believing for a long time.
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Yeah wasn't Jason Jones on this a week ago? I didn't go look for it but I seem to remember a conversation in here about how all of sudden Vlade and Vivek were everywhere together and PDA was kinda gone and that was right after he was hired. Either way I like hearing it.
 
gunks

gunks

Hall of Famer
#12
#12
Even if this is just Vivek scapegoating his underlings, it shows that he (hopefully) learned from his mistake(s).

If its true that he was just led along by Mullin and PDA (which isn't all that unlikely), than we are still in good shape because one of those guys is gone and the other is on the way out.

The FO is actually saying the right things. They need to put their money where their mouth is over the summer, but for the first time in awhile I dont feel like a sucker for feeling a bit optimistic.
 
chasen4r1

chasen4r1

Starter
#14
#14
Wow, this is such a relief to see that would maybe, just maybe, be on the way up. It is a shame, though, that it took so long to get here.

While we may have been spoiled by such a hot start, and that pace (forgive me for using that word) may have been unsustainable, we were still a very competitive team. Our success at the time was not a fluke. We should have never been in the position we are in today.

The time to correct this is now, and it looks like a plan is in the works. And how wonderful that Vlade gets to help save the Sacramento Kings not just once, but twice!
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#15
#15
Wow....Divac sure is a breath of fresh air, isn't he? This is nothing but music to my ears. I hope we see Vlade named the next GM is possible....Vlade knows what he is doing and he says all the right things. This offseason will be very telling in terms of the direction the organization wants to head towards, my favorite part was addressing the defense first and foremost and building around your franchise player. Enough is enough, no other franchise has gone through so much turmoil since DeMarcus' stint here. I will be doing cart wheels if we see the demise of Pete after April 15th.
 
macadocious

macadocious

Starter
#16
#16
kingsboi said:
Wow....Divac sure is a breath of fresh air, isn't he? This is nothing but music to my ears. I hope we see Vlade named the next GM is possible....Vlade knows what he is doing and he says all the right things. This offseason will be very telling in terms of the direction the organization wants to head towards, my favorite part was addressing the defense first and foremost and building around your franchise player. Enough is enough, no other franchise has gone through so much turmoil since DeMarcus' stint here. I will be doing cart wheels if we see the demise of Pete after April 15th.
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Don't get ahead of yourself here. Vlade is great, he personable, he's very knowledgable but that doesn't mean he has a great eye for talent or that he can be a successful contract negotiator or would work well with other GMs. He's a complete unknown in this realm.
 
H

HighFlyingMonkey

Starter
#18
#18
Its becoming clear that two major issues predominated the structure Vivek installed back when he bought the team:

1. The philosophies of Malone, Abdur-Rahim, D'Alessandro, and Mullin were vastly different. What kind of offense would they run? How fast would they want to play? What kind of player combinations should be playing? Which players would they target?

2. There was no clear hierarchy in the structure. The moves the Kings made in the last two years don't make sense when taken as a whole, and the reason is probably because they were pushed by different individuals within this weird amorphous front-office-by-committee that was in place. Getting a decision made had to be done through politicking as opposed to prudence.

Lets hope that now Vlade is in charge as the final decisionmaker and any other executives added to the mix have to be on the same philosophical page as Vlade and Karl. Get a consistent voice moving forward with like-minded individuals.
 
ockingsfan

ockingsfan

Starter
#19
#19
Could there be a Geoff Petrie sighting coming?

I could see Vlade turning to GP as a mentor and maybe bring him back as GM, if PDA is let go. Vlade would still have final say, but GP gives him the experience to guide Vlade.

I think GP with an open wallet and not being hogtied by having no money, may be a good voice for Vlade to lean on as he learns the ropes.
 
S

swisshh

Starter
#20
#20
My only question is whether Vlade has the skills to manage salaries, trade rules and such. That's like a whole other subject to study and learn outside of just being a good basketball guy.
 
ockingsfan

ockingsfan

Starter
#21
#21
swisshh said:
My only question is whether Vlade has the skills to manage salaries, trade rules and such. That's like a whole other subject to study and learn outside of just being a good basketball guy.
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The salary cap crunching may be the only thing that saves PDA now, as he is supposed to be a salary cap guru.
 
hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#22
#22
Well, if you're going to make a mistake (and rookie owners always make mistakes) better to do it quickly and get it over with than a long slow bleed. Clearing out Mullin and PDA over the course of one season is better than I could have hoped for. I feel confident with Divac running the show because he's a longtime Sacramento guy and he's got a lot of experience cooperating with different kinds of people in a managerial role. It doesn't really matter how much of a genius you are if you can't get other people to work with you. That's an important part of the GM skillset.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#25
#25
ForlornKing said:
So we here at KF knew that Mulley was released because he didn't take the job after Malone was fired?

News to me.
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That actually had been speculated on, but just as one possibility amongst many.

However, like the Mullin/PDA St. John's connection in addition to their Golden State connection mentioned in a recent article, this escaped my particular notice:

and as part of a successful cabinet with Bratz and Oliver in Denver under Masai Ujiri.
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I didn't trust Bratz's history, then Dean Oliver shows up, but only now is it recognizable as PDA trying to reconstruct his entire group of Denver friends after getting rid of everybody else. When I compared the Golden State and Denver elements who slipped into this franchise to a cancer I don't think I was doing them full justice. Like a trojan horse, except of course to some of us arriving outside the walls with a giant DANGER DO NOT OPEN printed on the side.
 
L

Larry David

Starter
#27
#27
Good, Valde is calling the shots and they plan to get him somebody that can do the nuts and bolts GM work at the minimum and perhaps even an outright GM with Valde calling the shots above him.

If all goes well, we'll be well run and can make a case to DMC that we: are now a playoff team; and made some early mistakes but now Vivek has the right people in place an his hands off basketball operations.

If Valde isn't up to the task, Vivek will: (1) have allowed DMC, Sacramento 1st franchise player since Webber, to get away; and (2) eventually need to fire Vlade, the most beloved player in Sacramento's history within his first 5-6 years. Based upon those two punches to the gut and this year, I cannot comprehend how Vivek could get on the right page with fans for another 4-5 years thereafter, so we'd probably be getting a new owner at some point as Vivek does the this was fun at times, I've made some money, but I don't have the touch for this and that can get expensive (fans also hate me) sale.

Sure, there are lots of possible landing spots in the middle, but most likely this move goes really really well or really really really bad in the next 2-4 years. It's going to get a lot better, or hold onto your hat if you think we are near the bottom. Since we've been stuck in mediocrity and poor management for a long while, I'd love some success and competence but could also accept a broken structure finally burning down to the ground in the hopes that one day we'll be well owned.
 
L

Larry David

Starter
#29
#29
Bricklayer said:
When I compared the Golden State and Denver elements who slipped into this franchise to a cancer I don't think I was doing them full justice. Like a trojan horse, except of course to some of us arriving outside the walls with a giant DANGER DO NOT OPEN printed on the side.
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For the most part, the Golden State transactions for Mullin/PDA and then mostly Mullin were just putrid. When they control in Sacramento, they continued their track records of botching draft picks and gambling on large distressed contracts, it was right for everybody to be concerned.

Rudy has panned out ok, but thank god our brain trust didn't land Josh Smith or Rondo.

PDA gave Carmichael Dave great access and they really seemed to get along. Dave tried really hard to get PDA right with his infamous hour town hall. The conditions were favorable, many of the questions topics could be found ahead of time, the Kings have PR folks to coach people up for crisis management situations like this ... and in the end, PDA showed his true colors and used that hour to dig himself a deeper hole and bury himself inside. He's been dead man walking for months.
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#30
#30
This is good and bad.

It's good because Vivek appears to have recognized a few of the mistakes he made and is clearing house, attempting to clean out the dissension and get this FO on the right track.

Also a negative in my eyes that he's apparently taking little responsibility for what's happened. I don't believe for a second this was all on PDA and Mullin. There's too much smoke suggesting Vivek meddled, from rumors of texting Malone to demanding Royce White play to the draft video and Nik and comments on the style of play he wants and what's transpired in Reno, where I posted a report strongly implying Vivek is the one who has his hands all over Reno, to this whole Sim thing. Does anyone believe it was our scouts who presented Sim to our FO, said we have to sign this guy on ability and bring him along, or would it make more sense there's something to the Indian connection and Vivek pushing for it?

So if Vivek is recognizing errors in judgement and is attempting to repair this FO, move forward, good and we'll all hope for the best. But it's also not about just cleaning out the FO, Vivek himself needs to learn to take a step back which remains to be seen.
 
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