The Sacramento Bee’s Sam Amick conducted his own exit interview with deposed Kings coach Rick Adelman :
The Maloofs have repeatedly expressed – both publicly and privately – a dissatisfaction with the alleged defensive struggles of the Adelman regime, all while forging a new defensive identity with the acquisition of players like Ron Artest, Bonzi Wells and Jason Hart, each known as defensive-minded players. The next step, the Maloofs contend, will be to sign a defensive-minded coach to continue the reformation. While Adelman is known as an offensive-minded coach, Elston Turner and assistant T.R. Dunn are seen as defensive specialists.
But the Maloofs’ contention left Adelman and his staff of four assistants not only unemployed, but offended, wondering why they were given mostly offensive players in the pre-Ron Artest era if defense was the owners’ preference.
“We didn’t have defensive players,” Adelman said. “It’s as simple as that. We haven’t had defensive players the last two or three years. If you want a defensive team, then go trade for defensive players. Go get (players) like San Antonio has or Detroit has. I don’t apologize for any of that.
“That team we had (in 2002-03) with Jimmy Jackson, Hedo (Turkoglu), Peja (Stojakovic), we had a lot of (defensive) flexibility on that team and we had the best (opponents’ field-goal percentage) in the league. And we just didn’t decide to go away from that.
“Our personnel changed. They let people go, traded people, and we had not as good a team as we had before. … When we got Ron Artest (this season), suddenly our defense picked up and we started looking better.”
Turner, who was a player known for his defensive prowess during his eight NBA seasons, was equally as defensive about the defense. He was with Adelman for the last six of his eight seasons.
“I’m looking at the players that come into uniform, and all of them had ‘offensive’ written all over them,” Turner said. “And you’ve just got to squeeze some defense out of them. I just know that we all had to work with the cards that we were dealt. … If they wanted defensive players, there were defensive players out there. Just sign them and we would’ve become better at it.”
While the rest of us were enjoying the Clippers’ blowout of the Suns last night, Wizznutzz was contending with some nasty technical difficulties.
What the www-dot-mustygrowler is KERNEL PANIC????!!!!!
It sounds familiar I know but i couldnt rememebr where from.
THEN i went thru my brain, and i remembered that EDu-tainment “NBA Cares” video that Steve Blake made last summer to play for the new Rookies at orientation camps. It was to teach them his lessons of what to expect in a lockerroom of experienced big men and about group shower etiquette etc.
I Heart KG alerts us to the existence of Mark Madsen’s blog. The nicest thing I can say about said effort is that at least he’s got more to say than David Wright.
Larry Bird (above) wrapped up Indiana’s ’05/06 year of underachievment by dumping on his players and coach yesterday. The Indy Star’s Bob Kravitz suggests if the Hick From French Lick wants to blame someone, he oughta take a look in the mirror.
In the three years he has been running this team alongside CEO Donnie Walsh — and Walsh’s contract ends next season, by the way — Bird has made one good move.
He fired Isiah Thomas. He hired Rick Carlisle. Period.
Beyond that?
Bird dealt the popular Al Harrington for the wildly inconsistent Stephen Jackson — mistake.
He threw his support behind Ron Artest, standing beside him on the Sports Illustrated cover — mistake.
He signed Sarunas Jasikevicius to a three-year deal — mistake.
In retrospect, the case can be made that the decision to obtain Peja Stojakovic was a mistake; both Corey Maggette and Bonzi Wells have had far better playoff seasons.
Yet, there was Bird on Wednesday, and while he wasn’t exactly throwing Carlisle under a bus the way Peyton Manning set up his offensive line, he was certainly backing over his coach and the assistants with a small van.