Sacramento Kings New Coach

The Kings have their new man, Maloofs or Petrie calling shots?

At the end of last season it was obvious the Sacramento Kings needed a change. As a matter of fact at the end of the prior season it was obvious they needed a change. Joe and Gavin Maloof are the owners. Jeff Petrie is the president of basketball operations. Granted the Maloofs do indeed own the team, Petrie has a track record for success (see the the Chris Webber/Vlade Divac era birthed in 1997) and should have at least 60 to 80 percent of the say in such major decisions as a new coach. He is after all, the "president" of basketball "operations."

The Kings have now made a change, and just as they did in the decision to fire Rick Adelman and bring in Ron Artest, the Maloofs are the ones deciding what is best for the team on the court. With most of their time spent in Sin City, one must wonder if the gambling bug has taken over the brothers who say the absolutely love Sacramento.

Petrie, after former head coach Eric Musselman was fired a little over two months ago, was supposedly put in charge of the selection process for a new head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Days after Musselman was fired Petrie made it clear the new coach should have some type of NBA coaching experience - over 90 percent of head coaches in the NBA have at some time in their careers at least been an assistant coach. Instead, long-time friend of the Maloofs and member of the first Sacramento team in 1985 Reggie Theus was hired with only a few years of college WAC-level coaching experience at New Mexico State University.

For those of you unfamiliar with that division of college basketball, don't feel bad. This is the same division that our very own Sacramento State Hornets can be found. There is nothing wrong with the stinging Hornets of course but two years of coaching in this division, even if it may include a very successful turn-around season, does not seem to merit the lead role of the King's Court.


Theus (NBA player for 13 years, TV announcer, college coach) himself is very confident and willing to reach out the community, two of the main reasons why the Maloofs hired him. A few other coaches available included: Larry Brown, Scott Brooks and Brian Shaw. All would have been capable.

Whether or not Petrie or the Maloofs are running the show in basketball operations may not be important though as the team is now in an obvious rebuilding mode with a lineup lacking talent, no cohesive locker room chemistry and arena issues. One thing Kings fan can't continue to do is dwell on the era mentioned above. Chris Webber and Vlade are gone and so is that confident swagger they, along with us had in 2001 and 2002.

Theus might be the players' coach to bring that swagger back or he might be the one who takes the team back to the days of when he played. A time when fans showed up at the games to see the opponents' players. Either way, the Maloofs, presidents of basketball operations have gone all in.