<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ESPN.com's Marc Stein is reporting that the Sacramento Kings have hired Memphis assistant Eric Musselman as head coach. A press conference is scheduled for Saturday. Musselman, who coached the Golden State Warriors from 2002-04, appears to be the leading candidate among the three coaches interviewed by the Kings, who parted ways with Rick Adelman on May 9. Musselman spoke with the entire Maloof clan -- including Colleen Maloof, the mother of four sons who preside over the family's extensive business empire -- and president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie at the Maloofs' casino in Las Vegas in his second interview on Thursday. The Kings have conducted a deliberate search since announcing Adelman's contract wouldn't be renewed after 395 victories in eight consecutive winning seasons. Sacramento, which lost to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, has the NBA's only coaching vacancy. The Kings have also interviewed Golden State assistant Mario Elie and Sacramento Monarchs coach John Whisenant for the job, and each of the three candidates has been rumored to be the front-runner at some point during the last week. The tightlipped Petrie and the Maloofs apparently did not have interest in higher-profile candidates such as former Dallas coach Don Nelson or New York's Larry Brown, whose dismissal has been rumored for weeks. Although Musselman isn't a big-name coach yet, the top assistant in Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello's defense-heavy system already has many of the qualities necessary to impress the Maloofs. Musselman, a former assistant in Minnesota, Orlando and Atlanta, was considered well-prepared, energetic and knowledgeable during his tenure in Golden State, where he went 75-89. Though his teams were more competitive than any Warriors clubs in the previous half-decade, he was fired when he clashed with players and incoming boss Chris Mullin. Whisenant, a longtime family friend of the Maloofs who never played or coached in the NBA, was thought to be the family's choice for the job last weekend. But after the Monarchs' win over Seattle on Wednesday night, Whisenant said he wasn't scheduled for a second interview in Las Vegas.</div> Source
This should be a better situation for Musselman than Golden State. Hope he does well in Sac town. Problem may be that the Maloofs will probably let him go if he doesn't win a championship in 2 or 3 years.
I still think it was dumb for us to fire Rick Adelman........but hopefully Eric can help us out and lead us to the playoffs and then a championship.
Congratulations on a great hire. I loved Musselman while he was at Golden State and was sorry to see him leave. He got the most out of his players and his equation, which should fit in well with Artest and Wells and Bibby, is if you play hard on D, he will let loose with the chains on offense. Under Muss, Arenas blossomed from a 2nd round afterthought into a near All-Star; Dampier became an active wanted commodity who got $49M from the Mavericks. I like Mullin but sure wish the Warriors had kept Musselman. Unlike other Warrior fans, I do not hate the Kings. Good luck.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting philsmith75:</div><div class="quote_post">Congratulations on a great hire. I loved Musselman while he was at Golden State and was sorry to see him leave. He got the most out of his players and his equation, which should fit in well with Artest and Wells and Bibby, is if you play hard on D, he will let loose with the chains on offense. Under Muss, Arenas blossomed from a 2nd round afterthought into a near All-Star; Dampier became an active wanted commodity who got $49M from the Mavericks. I like Mullin but sure wish the Warriors had kept Musselman. Unlike other Warrior fans, I do not hate the Kings. Good luck.</div> I thought Damp got 73 mil? No way he could have been signed for 49 mil considering we dropped him and signed Foyle to 40 mil. Especially since Foyle sucks sooooooooooooooooo badly.
i didnt really like the firing of adelman either and I am one of the very few that though wiz would have made a good coach. but as all other decisions that petrie has made that I didnt really care for, i will see how this one works out.. every time i have called petrie nuts for making a decision i have been wrong (and yes, I know the maloofs had much to do with it, but you better believe that petrie had a lot to do with who got hired as well)
musselman stresses in team chemistry on both ends of the floor i think he will do well in sacramento but again Truwarrier has to like him....if not then you guys are in trouble musselman is dedicated and works very hard and is very well respected around the league i believe his style ....balance....is what kings need now as you guys have no superstars balance can win you games at a consistent level and hopefully next year when you guys have financial problems cleared out you can acquire a superstar then kings shall rise to the top
