Paul Westphal’s going to be the coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Not Paul Westhead, it should be noted. An ESPN anchor last night confused the two while relaying the news,Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Low PE Mens Shoes White Red, not referring to Westphal as "Westhead," but by mentioning the latter’s up-and-down style of offense. For the trillionth time,NIKE AIR MAX 2012 WOMENS Peach Red Purple, there is a distinction. Westhead is an older gentleman who makes Mike D’Antoni look like Doug Collins in terms of rolling out the ball.
Paul Westphal is a different story. An athletic, cerebral guard for the Celtics and Suns in the 1970s, he first came to coaching prominence running the Charles Barkley-era Phoenix Suns. After winning 62 games and coaching a Finals participant in his first year as a head man, Westphal nearly hung around for the duration of the Barkley era before getting the axe 33 games into Barkley’s final year with the Suns.
A three-year run as Seattle SuperSonics boss was a little hairier.
Westphal took over after George Karl lost a power struggle with SuperSonics GM Wally Walker in 1998. Karl had taken in Vin Baker(notes) in a trade that sent Shawn Kemp away from Seattle the previous September, and while Baker enjoyed an All-Star campaign with his new team, his confidence was shot toward the end of Seattle’s playoff run as Karl decided to let Baker guard then-Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal(notes) in a second round loss to Los Angeles.
The NBA lockout hit, Westphal was introduced as the new Seattle coach, and Baker fell into a downward spiral of drink and depression that more or less submarined Westphal’s chances as coach of the SuperSonics. That isn’t to say he was a basketball martyr up in Seattle, but he really never had a chance with Baker out of shape, unable to consistently perform, unable to consistently practice, reluctant to play in the post (for fear of getting fouled), and completely lacking in confidence.
Westphal also feuded, constantly, with star guard Gary Payton(notes). Payton was a big fan of Karl, and a bigger fan of Nate McMillan, who was an assistant coach under Westphal, and likely Payton’s preferred choice for head man. Though Payton feuded with both Karl and McMillan eventually (sensing a theme here?), his battles with Westphal left the coach at odds with a locker room that likely didn’t respect him. Months into the 2000-01 season and weeks after offering to resign, he was out as Seattle coach.
Here’s the thing about Westphal. He doesn’t curse. He doesn’t cuss. He doesn’t go blue. He doesn’t Redd Foxx-it up. And in an atmosphere where millionaires are still playing the part of 12-year old boys between quarters and before and after games, he just came over as a walkover in Phoenix and Seattle. This isn’t revisionist history, this was the word out of both camps in both instances as Westphal left town.
How that translates to his on-court play is entirely up to the players. The Kings have a good locker room, full of good guys. They may not always try the hardest, certainly not last season, but most on the squad have been known to work at it, and the on-court chemistry (to these eyes) seemed to change a bit with the acquisition of firebrand forward Andres Nocioni(notes) last February.
Westphal is an offensive guy, not unlike the man he’s often confused for. Unlike Paul Westhead, though, Westphal doesn’t have a long history of encouraging an all-out running attack. The SuperSonics were 10th, 13th, and 16th (though a good chunk of that slowed attack has to be due to McMillan taking over as coach in the third year) in possessions per game in Seattle.
Some of that, possibly, could be due to Gary Payton’s reluctance to push the ball. Westphal’s time in Phoenix saw the Suns go from 3rd to 9th in possessions per game, even with Charles Barkley becoming increasingly reliant on a post-up game that often saw him starting to back down his defender from the three-point line,Nike Zoom rookie Penny Hardaway III Womens Black Purple, taking up 10-15 seconds just backing opponents down.
So, plenty of running, and then a style that was not unlike the style of play (slow offense, but underrated and ultra-efficient offense) Nate McMillan later became known for (at least by those who were paying attention) in Seattle and Portland. What does Westphal encourage in Sacramento?
Hard to say. Just about everyone on the Kings roster, save for Kevin Martin(notes), Spencer Hawes(notes), Jason Thompson(notes), and possibly Francisco Garcia(notes), is available in a trade. Actually, it’s a little tougher than that. The list of non-tradees is just about the entire roster, the rest of the group consists of contracts nobody wants, and the Kings should have a goodly amount of cap space and roster spots available provided they pass on signing Rashard McCants and Ike Diogu(notes) to Qualifying Offer deals. But will they use it?
This is a long way of saying that, for years, the Kings have appeared to be a team without a plan. Kevin Martin is a definite talent, and a proven scorer, but he was also revealed last year as a guy best suited for a secondary role, even if he stays a team’s top scorer. The rest of the group doesn’t knock you over. Hawes and Thompson have talent and are legitimate starters, but they don’t have All-Star games in their futures.
The fourth pick in a weak draft, a coach hired on the cheap (three years and $5 million, according to some reports), an unclear future in Sacramento, and a few steps (contracts, really) to go before we can really get to a point where the Kings can completely rebuild.
Kind of a downer, ‘eh? Well, sometimes you need a low point. The Kings were awful last season, the worst defensive team in the NBA and one of the worst on offense. They were tough to watch, not very tough to play against, all while boasting the sort of payroll that you would expect a 45-win team to own.
So maybe this turns the team around. No more letting the owners hire the coaches (though the owners’ slim checkbook, pricing Kurt Rambis out of the gig, may have made the final call), no more signing veterans to the MLE as a stopgap, and (possibly) no more building around Kevin Martin.
The Kings are building around Paul Westphal. We’ll see how that turns out.
