Question: The way the coaching search has been handled has been horrible. If they would of made an offer to Stan Van Gundy (“the guy they coveted and wanted”) just three days earlier, they could have had him. I guess that (Geoff Petrie’s) two-week scouting trip in Europe that delayed our interviews sure was worthwhile, huh?
-- Steve, Roseville
Answer: Petrie said from the beginning that he wasn’t concerned about the delay, which at least tells you one thing: he always planned on taking his time and possibly waiting for certain candidates to become available.
The Kings may have the least desirable job of the bunch when you weigh the roster, lack of salary cap space, and the fact that they’re coming off a 33-win season, so it seems like they had to wait for other teams to fill spots to see who still wanted to come their way. Guys like Van Gundy were always going to consider Sacramento a backup plan.
Maybe the lesson here is that you just can’t open coaching searches to every possible type of candidate. Petrie said from the beginning that the next Kings coach could be a college coach, an NBA assistant, former head coach or even a big name head coach. Maybe it is easier to peg a couple guys you know – from personal knowledge – could work well with the organization and believe could work with your team. That may end up happening in the end if Scott Brooks becomes the man.
-- Sam Amick
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