Dec

7

Westphal Getting Last Laugh In Sacramento

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under COMMENTARY, Outside The Lines 

For us NBA purists, we know about Paul Westphal, the player. Former Celtic, SuperSonics and Suns player. Perhaps what isn’t known about Westphal is his career outside the hardwood.

He coached a small private Arizona college to a national championship (true story!), coached the Phoenix Suns for 5 seasons, taking them to the NBA Finals in his first season. He also coached as an assistant coach at  high school before he returned to coach the then-Seattle SuperSonics. Following his time in Seattle, he returned to the NCAA ranks, coaching the Pepperdine Wave in 2001 to the NCAA tournament, but would get canned 5 years later.

Westphal would proceed to get a studio analyst gig with FoxSportsNet West/Prime Ticket for both Lakers and Clippers games while announcing USC basketball games for Prime Ticket; in 2007, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks under Avery Johnson. Two years later, here he is, the current coach of the Sacramento Kings. And interestingly enough, the Kings didn’t actively pursue him; as a matter of fact, it was quite the contrary.

Truth be told, the then-Kings coaching vacancy was not exactly a coveted job. And it was certainly available before the June draft, with their bargaining chip being the #4, #23 and second-round pick and not necessarily the overachieving trio of Tyreke Evans. Omri Casspi and Jon Brockman.

And there were other coaches who were being pursued besides Westphal: Eddie Jordan and Kurt Rambis. For a while, Rambis was the prohibitive favorite, with the Maloof brothers even going to Los Angeles to court him. Eddie Jordan? Not so much. Which brings us to Westphal. How in the world did he manage to get the Kings job where Rambis and Jordan could not?

The answer is pretty simple, despite the storyline: money and determination. Unlike the vast majority of coaching candidates, Westphal actually pursued the Kings job; as a result, the Maloofs were duly impressed and would subsequently hire him. Meanwhile, Rambis was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves while Jordan was taken by the 76ers – both took the bigger payday instead of looking at the “big picture.”

Fast-forward to December and it looks like the Kings got the better end of the deal here. The Timberwolves, under Rambis, are an underwhelming 3-17 while Philadelphia, under Jordan, are no better at 5-15 and now dealing with the recent acquisition of Allen Iverson. Meanwhile, the Kings are the surprise of the NBA with a 9-10 record, which by all rights should be closer to 6-13 or thereabouts.

As of right now, the Maloofs are looking like geniuses for lucking into Westphal; but to be fair, the season’s one-fourth completed, so anything can happen in the 60 or so games left in the season. Come to think of it, Evans – questionably the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year – along with Casspi and Brockman playing no small part in making Westphal the current success that he is. What is particularly impressive is the fact that the Kings are 9-10 without the services of one Kevin Martin,.

When Martin returns, there is no telling how good the Kings can be with a prospective starting lineup of Evans at the point, Martin at the 2, Spencer Hawes manning center, Jason Thompson at power forward while Donte Greene getting the majority of starts at small forward. Let’s not forget that eventual return of Francisco Garcia, who will probably be the sixth man. Assuming things fall into place, the Kings could very well visit someplace that they only get to see only when they are paying customers: the NBA playoffs. And Westphal will get some consideration for the NBA Coach of the Year. And he won’t have to lobby anyone to get that well-deserved consideration.


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