Sacramento Kings fire head coach Paul Westphal; Name Keith Smart for the job - NBA Update
Just ten days into the compressed season and we have our first firing.
Paul Westphal who has been at the helm of affairs at Sacramento for the last two years has been fired after he publically lashed out against the eccentric yet talented second year centre DeMarcus Cousins.
Westphal questioned Cousin’s commitment to the team and had said that the centre had demanded a trade. Cousins and his agent however refuted those allegations the very next day and as such the spat between the two was starting
to affect the atmosphere in the dressing room.
Sacramento King had to take an action and Westphal was eventually made the scapegoat, instead of trading a big, who has the potential to be an All-Star. Dishing out the particulars for this move, Kings President of basketball operations,
Geoff Petrie said;
"We're in a situation here where you can't take a philosophical vacation because things are happening in real time. You start to keep seeing the same things over and over again, you can't sit around and meditate forever about how
you're going to approach them or try and change them."
The 61 years old coach, who led a rebuilding team to a 51-120 record while in- charge took the decision respectfully and did not lash out on the management. According to him, he had a good time with the team and the players during
his stint.
"While the job is far from finished, I am proud of the strides we were able to make,"
Cousins, who has been involved in fights with players and coaches even before he made it to NBA admitted it was a tough week for him, but cleared it that firing Westphal was completely management decisions and he had nothing to
do with it.
"It's been an emotional week and a lot of misunderstandings. He was a great teacher to a lot of us and a good coach. But this was a management decision." He said.
Now with Westphal out, former Golden State Warriors coach Keith Smart, who was serving in the capacity of an assistant to Westphal, will take charge as the head coach of Kings. No details about the contract are out as yet though.
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