Sources: Sacramento Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro - who lost authority to Vlade Divac - will be a significant candidate for St. John's AD job.
PDA on the way out??
- Thread starter Albatros
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Sources: Sacramento Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro - who lost authority to Vlade Divac - will be a significant candidate for St. John's AD job.
If someone told me two months ago that Mullin and D'Alessandro would be gone by June, I'd have kissed them. Sure hope it is true - those guys were poison. The cherry on the sundae is if Leslie Moore is gone too (she seems to be). Vivek's three worst minions, all gone. Good deal - lets all start over.
I questioned every move D'Alessandro made up until the beginning of this season when the Kings (after a first game beatdown by the soon-to-be champion Warriors) had a really strong start. Then I was ready to drop my criticism of him as a general manager because it sure looked to me like he built an ideal roster for Mike Malone's style of basketball. When Malone was fired and PDA claimed it was because they weren't playing the style of ball he envisioned I realized that D'Alessandro's didn't even understand the team that he'd built and lost faith in him completely.
D'Alessandro got Peter Principled into a GM job and that was a mistake but I honestly would have no issue with him staying on in an assisting role provided that he was actually onboard with the rest of the front office. The people that make up the front office should obviously be allowed to challenge ideas & strategies behind closed doors but when decisions are made they should be made with one voice and everyone on the same page. Vivek shouldn't be overruling draft picks, the GM shouldn't be plotting to get the coach fired and the players should see that there is a solid plan and commitment to improving the team.
I don't think D'Alessandro necessarily has to go, but if he wants to leave I'm fine with that too.
D'Alessandro got Peter Principled into a GM job and that was a mistake but I honestly would have no issue with him staying on in an assisting role provided that he was actually onboard with the rest of the front office. The people that make up the front office should obviously be allowed to challenge ideas & strategies behind closed doors but when decisions are made they should be made with one voice and everyone on the same page. Vivek shouldn't be overruling draft picks, the GM shouldn't be plotting to get the coach fired and the players should see that there is a solid plan and commitment to improving the team.
I don't think D'Alessandro necessarily has to go, but if he wants to leave I'm fine with that too.
Wow. I'm not a fan of PDA based upon some of his plans / moves ... but taking the only person with real GM work experience out of a front office with Vlade (no relevant on-job experience), Bratz (lifer second or third banana, who is more of a scout), Oliver (data guy), and Vivek ... who has no issues about pushing / intervening on things he knows very little about is more than a little spooky.
Sure, they will make a move if PDA leaves but when the front office was rolled out 6 weeks ago a lot of folks here were saying "Well, I'm not sure this mix makes perfect sense, but I'm guessing there is another move coming to complete this puzzle (a KF staple) / I bet we've already found a young but experienced basketball operations person on another team and we are just waiting for their season to end to make the hire official. But, nope. This is our front office right now.
To me, Vivek has set up a front office that: (1) has a bunch of second and third tier staff, who won't mind listening to all of his stupid questions (Instead, of asking for some space to let them do their job and then they can bring him things to approve or decline); (2) will protect him from the heat he's already facing and his upcoming stupid moves because folks love Vlade and will both back him and give him the benefit of the doubt for 2 years. That makes a ton of sense for him, but otherwise has a lot of red flags and possible issues. I get folks want the team to do well and love Vlade, but this front office might not be staffed well.
If PDA leaves, we are such a mess and a joke that I think it's going to be hard for us to find somebody to come in and do the laboring oar of our basketball operations work, while being dependent upon both Vivek and Vlade to see and make the correct move and follow his advice. You are also signing up for a job where you'll probably be forced to trade Cousins in 2 years and both the owner and fans are going to be upset the team didn't "do more to keep him."
Sure, they will make a move if PDA leaves but when the front office was rolled out 6 weeks ago a lot of folks here were saying "Well, I'm not sure this mix makes perfect sense, but I'm guessing there is another move coming to complete this puzzle (a KF staple) / I bet we've already found a young but experienced basketball operations person on another team and we are just waiting for their season to end to make the hire official. But, nope. This is our front office right now.
To me, Vivek has set up a front office that: (1) has a bunch of second and third tier staff, who won't mind listening to all of his stupid questions (Instead, of asking for some space to let them do their job and then they can bring him things to approve or decline); (2) will protect him from the heat he's already facing and his upcoming stupid moves because folks love Vlade and will both back him and give him the benefit of the doubt for 2 years. That makes a ton of sense for him, but otherwise has a lot of red flags and possible issues. I get folks want the team to do well and love Vlade, but this front office might not be staffed well.
If PDA leaves, we are such a mess and a joke that I think it's going to be hard for us to find somebody to come in and do the laboring oar of our basketball operations work, while being dependent upon both Vivek and Vlade to see and make the correct move and follow his advice. You are also signing up for a job where you'll probably be forced to trade Cousins in 2 years and both the owner and fans are going to be upset the team didn't "do more to keep him."
Bratz is probably gone too as he was a part of the Mullin/Pete crew. But who knows maybe this is just being floated out their to Woj as a sort of a power play before the draft as Pete has a history of weaseling and creating factions in the FO. All of the toxicity of last year needs to be removed and a fresh start is needed. The problem with that is Vivek has made the same mistake as before with hiring a coach before a GM. We will continue in a losing cycle until unity and experience is brought to the FO.
There is NEVER a good reason to keep an incompetent in place ESPECIALLY an important position. PDA leaving is important for this team to move forward, perhaps Vladie may not be the guy take over at GM but I cant believe that Karl, Vladie and Bratz cannot find a better replacement AND take the team forward.
PDA's only "real GM" work experience is a crappy mix of being a yes man, a snake in the grass, and an inept bumbler. He had his shot and he blew it.
When he came out saying something to the effect of "I think our roster is complete, we'll stand pat" when we had our early success, despite the fact that it was glaringly obvious that our bench was a steaming pile of poop and our success was all thanks to Cousins and Malone, I lost faith.
Never mind all his weaseling and back stabbing...
Vlade is well respected in this league, and has applicable experience. Every amazing GM had to start somewhere. Unknowns are scary. But we know what PDA was about, and it wasnt anything positive.
When he came out saying something to the effect of "I think our roster is complete, we'll stand pat" when we had our early success, despite the fact that it was glaringly obvious that our bench was a steaming pile of poop and our success was all thanks to Cousins and Malone, I lost faith.
Never mind all his weaseling and back stabbing...
Vlade is well respected in this league, and has applicable experience. Every amazing GM had to start somewhere. Unknowns are scary. But we know what PDA was about, and it wasnt anything positive.
I saw on STR that a poster was referencing another poster that claimed to have seen Petrie at dinner with Karl and Vlade. If true, makes sense considering the recent reports from cowbellkingdom in regards Petrie. http://cowbellkingdom.com/sunday-musings-does-a-return-of-geoff-petrie-make-sense/
I'd love a trio of Petrie/Karl/Vlade
See what Petrie can do with an open check book
I'd love a trio of Petrie/Karl/Vlade
See what Petrie can do with an open check book
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