Now don't get me wrong, Paul Westphal was the best available candidate for the job and actually wanted to come to Sacramento to take on the challenge of coaching a 17-win team. The problem is that after a grueling 47-day search, the Kings settled for another NBA retread like a Hollywood movie studio casting Keanu Reeves or Nicolas Cage in the lead role. The positive spin is that Westphal is "a proven commodity," a respected winner who boasts a sparkling 267-159 career coaching record and led Phoenix to the 1993 Finals. And yet, his last NBA head coaching experience came nearly nine years ago, when he was unceremoniously fired by Seattle 15 games into the 2000-01 season. Not to mention, he was let go by Pepperdine after a disastrous 7-20 record in 2005-06. So I'm not exactly dancing in the rain about his hiring.
After the Kings fell for Eric Musselman's pretty PowerPoint presentations and Reggie Theus' winning smile, Geoff Petrie was adamant about bringing in a veteran coach with a respected track record. Jeff Van Gundy, Avery Johnson, and Mike Fratello never showed any serious interest in the job. Eddie Jordan had already failed once in Sacramento, and shockingly opted for more money to coach a playoff team in Philadelphia. Since Italian coach Ettore Messina was inexplicably never given serious consideration for the job, Sacramento was down to Westphal and two other B-list candidates, Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis and Celtics defensive guru Tom Thibodeau, neither of whom had much head coaching experience.
Rambis interviewed for the same Kings job in 2007, and ultimately lost out to Theus. That should say it all right there. He's been on Phil Jackson's coaching staff for the last decade after registering a 24-13 record as the team's interim coach during the 1998-99 season, and was passed over in favor of Rudy Tomjanovich (and then fellow assistant Frank Hamblen) during Jackson's one-year sabbatical. I can't remember his name coming up for any other head coaching jobs, perhaps because his only qualifications are sitting next to a coaching legend and wearing thick-rimmed glasses.
Article comments
1 - Matt Sussman
The Kings have my blessing on this hiring, provided they send me a 11 x 15-ft reprint of that SI cover.