Kings Blog and Q&A

Bee coverage:

• "(Keith) Smart's toughest task might be figuring out how to get his players to trust and believe in his approach and to trust each other on the court," Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) writes in today's newspaper.
• "Smart, who coached the Golden State Warriors last season, signed a two-year deal with the Kings," Jones wrote in yesterday's newspaper.

• "The Kings don't know all that Smart plans to implement, but that shouldn't stop them from hustling," Jones wrote in yesterday's newspaper.
• Jones, in a blog post yesterday, wrote about how Smart ended up with the Kings and not the Dallas Mavericks.
• "This was a necessary move, the obvious move, the only move," wrote Ailene Voisin (@ailene_voisin) in a column in yesterday's newspaper.
• View a photo gallery of previous Kings coaches.
• Take a look at Paul Westphal's two-plus seasons as Kings coach in this timeline.

More news and analysis on the coaching change:

• "Though Westphal was privately frustrated that his wishes regarding (DeMarcus) Cousins had not been granted, the steps toward his removal were slowly being taken back in Sacramento," writes Sam Amick (@sam_amick) in a story for Sports Illustrated.
• "In Smart, the Kings hope to have found someone capable of developing a stronger bond with Cousins and the rest of their young players," writes Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) in a story for Yahoo! Sports.
• "Will new coach Keith Smart do any better? It will be interesting to watch," writes Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_SI) in a blog post on The Point Forward for Sports Illustrated. "He's a defense-first coach, a former guard who will push his young guards hard to be better on that end."
• Henry Abbott (@TrueHoop), J.A. Adande (@jadande), Kevin Arnovitz (@kevinarnovitz), James Ham (@James_Ham) and Zach Harper (@talkhoops) weigh in on the firing of Westphal in a story for ESPN.
• Abbott interviews John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) on the firing of Westphal on TrueHoop TV for ESPN.
• "It seemed to be an impossible situation for whoever was chosen to replace the fired Paul Westphal," writes Benjamin Hoffman (@NYTCloseUp) in a blog post on the Off the Dribble blog for the New York Times. "Enter Keith Smart, a coach who has plenty of experience with impossible situations."
• "Westphal was a tautology, a guy who got to be a coach because he had been a coach," writes Bethlehem Shoals (@freedarko) in a blog post on Balls Out for GQ.
• "It was only a matter of time for Westphal, who you should have known would not finish the season on the Kings' bench after the craziness that transpired," writes Sekou Smith (@SekouSmithNBA) in a blog post on the Hang Time Blog for NBA.com.
• Ben Golliver (@blazersedge), Royce Young (@dailythunder) and Matt Moore (@MattMooreCBS) discuss Cousins and the firing of Westphal in the 3-on-2 on the Eye on Basketball blog for CBSSports.
• "(Geoff) Petrie should have expected more of Westphal," writes John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) in his a column for The Sports Network. "The record speaks for itself and Cousins was hardly the only disgruntled player during the Westphal-Era."
• "In his introductory press conference, Smart actually got into Xs and Os, saying that his style is up-tempo, but that he feels the Kings have the size to rebound and run," writes Tom Ziller (@teamziller) in a blog post for SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty.
• Former King Beno Udrih was surprised by Westphal's firing, reports Jonathan Santiago (@itsJONsantiago) in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Cowbell Kingdom.
• "Paul Westphal is the latest example of how a coach never really has any authority inside an NBA locker room," Rob McAllister (@Rob_McAllister) writes in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Cowbell Kingdom.
• "Make no mistake - removing Paul Westphal from the Kings isn't a quick fix to solve their problems," writes Bryan Rosa writes in a blog post on FanSided affiliate A Royal Pain.
• "Westphal is a true professional and an extremely kind man, but the team had quit on him," writes Blake Ellington (@blakeellington) in a blog post on Sacramento Connect partner Bleed Black And Purple.
• "The Kings have set themselves up for long-term failure by appeasing a malcontent and firing the coach," writes Paul Clegg in a blog post on Sacramento Connect partner Game to 100.

More news and analysis:

• "DeMarcus Cousins is only responsible for the problems of being DeMarcus Cousins," writes Moore in a column for ProBasketballTalk.
• Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) confirms interest from eight teams interested in acquiring Cousins in his Weekend Dime for ESPN.
• Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) breaks down Cousins poor shooting percentage in a blog post for Basketball Prospectus.
• Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) gives us of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" of the first week of the season on SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty.
• Hassan Whiteside tallied 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks and Tyler Honeycutt scored four points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal for the Reno Bighorns in Friday's loss 109-78 to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. View the box score at NBA.com.

Audio:

• Marcos Breton (@MarcosBreton) talks about the Kings firing coach Paul Westphal on KFBK.

• Smith talks to Grant Napear about his vision for the team:

• Sean Salisbury (@SeanUnfiltered) talks to Carmichael Dave about the firing of Westphal:

Tweets of the day:

Bout to chill outside on my balcony and look at the stars and think about how far GOD has brought me and my family #trulyblessed

— Marcus Thornton (@OfficialMT23) January 7, 2012

The @NBA really needs to start recording Charges drawn as a boxscore statistic. Willing to bet DeMarcus Cousins is leading the league.

— Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) January 7, 2012

We underrated the comic potential of The Mike Bibby Experience + Knicks fans.

— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) January 7, 2012

Online coverage from The Bee this season:

• LIVE CHATS: Join The Bee's Matt Kawahara for in-game chats during every Kings home game, just before tipoff right through the final buzzer.

• VIDEOS: Find out what some Kings players and coach Paul Westphal have to say about the upcoming season - and much more.

• BLOG: Stay up to date on the team's happenings with Jason Jones, Ailene Voisin and Matt Kawahara on The Bee's Kings blog.

• FACEBOOK: "Like" the Sacramento Kings Corner page and join Bee staffers and fans in discussions about the team and players.

• TWITTER: Follow The Bee's Jason Jones for up-to-the-minute developments, in-game updates and much more about the Kings.

If you see a Sacramento Kings-related story or blog post that we should feature, e-mail me at nmiller@sacbee.com or send me reply on Twitter at @journalistnate.