Kings To Interview Eddie Jordan
May 8, 2009 by Troy Hanson
From The Practice Facility
Geoff Petrie recently has been in contact with some of the potential coaching candidates, and we are now currently in the process of scheduling an interview with Eddie Jordan, hopefully for some time next week before Geoff heads back to Europe.
Additionally, there have been some rumblings regarding Rick Pitino and the Kings coaching search. It has never been in the Kings’ organizational makeup to contact a coach who is under contract with another team or institution. And that is the case here as the Kings have not reached out to Pitino, nor has Pitino contacted the Kings.
[...] a report from Troy Hanson, the Sacramento Kings confirmed this evening that they have scheduled an interview with the former [...]
What's the attraction for Eddie Jordan? Don't know much about him other than he was the Wiz Coach.
He knows the Princeton offense, has coached Kings before. Petrie had to fire him even though he didnt want to. has worked with Pete Carril.
Nothing against Eddie Jordan, but what has he done? He has been an NBA head coach for 8 years, but only made the playoffs 3 times. Of those 3 playoff appearances, his teams lost in the 1st round twice and only made it to the 2nd round once……No excitement there.
Who would you have on your wish list for coach?
GET MARK JACKSON!!!!!!!! i cant say it enough.. the kings need a strong educated basketball mind.,.. hes a proven leader who will bring the best out of these rooks!!!
I'd like to see Reggie Theus, with the record he had with that team. He's a Phil Jackson of tomorrow. He was just a scapegoat.
I like the passion and opinions in these comments. Keep them coming. Makes for fun off-season discussion.
Couple notes on Eddie - he guided his Washington teams to the Playoffs in four of the five full seasons he was there and was the Eastern Conference All-Star Coach in 2007. He also was the lead assistant at New Jersey for four seasons, including when they made the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. On a personal note, I have known Eddie for quite awhile because I was here when he coached with the Kings in the mid-90s. Back in those days my primary responsibility was to write the media/fan game notes for each upcoming game. On most nights this would require me to be in the office till 2am or later (I know I still can't believe I used to do that, lol). Anyways, during those times there often would be only one other person in the building other than the security guard on duty … and that was Eddie Jordan. He would come down the hall and visit me when he would take breaks from editing video for the next day's practice or game. Not trying to change anyone's opinion if you feel otherwise. Just my two cents that I felt he worked very hard when he was here back in those days. Long way to go in this coaching search, just wanted to throw those couple of nuggets into the mix.
Troy
Why Eddie Jordan because he comes cheap! Mr. Jordan seems like a real nice man. However",he's a looser". He coached for two teams (one Sacramento) and has a ,444 % winning average. He has been fired from both teams and no other team wants him. Kings please make sure of one thing. Hire a winner!
Correction: 4 playoff appearances with first round losses in 3 of the years.
I am a huge Louisville fan, and have a lot of respect for Pitino. As much as I like the Kings, I am worried if Pitino leaves the Ville they will go down hill. ALTHOUGH I would love for my Kings to RISE back to glory at the hands of RICKY P.
Thanks for the insight Troy. Like I said above, I don't know much about him, but his Wiz teams were fun to watch, and knowing he has a strong work ethic is a positive sign. Does he have a strong history of developing young players?
Avery he doesnt mess around aand will make the players ply or else!!!! He beleives in defense,……
LBAtison-
Excellent question and one that certainly will be a focal point (development of youth) during the interview process. One thing I want everyone to know is that I am going to be careful in presenting too much opinion in this blog. I am primarily trying to help present the facts to all of you and then let you form your own opinions. That will especially be true when we starting working out draft prospects in the upcoming weeks. On occasion, when necessary, I may provide a quote or statement from Geoff Petrie on a topic because he is certainly our main decision-maker when it comes to anything basketball-related.
Now with all that said, as far as your question regarding Eddie Jordan's history of developing youth, I would say this … He inherited a very young Washington team after Michael Jordan's stint with the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas was only 21 years old (I believe) at the time when the Wizards signed him from the Warriors and he went on to enjoy some All-Star seasons. Additionally, some of the other young/drafted players that were in Washington while Eddie was there include Steve Blake, Jared Jeffries, Jarvis Hayes, and Roger Mason. When he was the lead assistant at New Jersey they had a couple standout rookies, at the time, in Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin. Lastly, in his lone full season as head coach with the Kings (1997-98) we had four rookies who played significant minutes that year - first round pick Tariq Abdul-Wahad (6.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.9 apg) and second rounders Anthony Johnson (7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.3 apg), Lawrence Funderburke (9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.2 apg), and Michael Stewart (4.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.41 bpg) - the numbers in parenthesis were their individual averages in '97-98.
Long answer there but hopefully the info helps.
Troy
Well I have to say, I think Eddie might be a really good fit for us! He's great with young teams and (obviously) know how to turn young players into star quality players. Although I will agree with Danny, Reggie was a scapegoat, which kinda sucks cause I think he's actually a really good coach! But we'll see how the off season go's!
I agree with you. I think Kings should interview Avery Johnson. I hear he is a good Christian, too. Maybe, he can bring different perspectives to the team. I mean, sure religions don't matter much in pro leagues. But Kings should be open for any help out there
I personally think that Kings need someone who knows about the bball very well. Good coaches understand how to lead their team in and out of the court. Having said, I think Kings should talk to couple former all star players( since all the good coaches are taken at this point). And here the people I have in mind……..
- John Stockton
Kings need a good point gourd. No offense to Beno, but I'm sure he could use some help from all time NBA assist & steal leader.
- Vlade Divac
He was a very smart people. People outside Sacramento thought he was a big time flopper. Though, Shaq often struggled playing against him. Vlade is a great guy and has many connections in Europe. So I can see him being a good scout. But I still feel like he can coach the young fellas well.
- David Robinson
"The General" can bring deciplans, good team chemistry, and toughness,
Of course, none of them are experienced as a coach. So it might be safe to go for Eddie Jordan. If I remember it right, Wiz played up-tempo when he was coaching and that should work good with Kings, too. However, Kings still a need leader. We have good players with good tools. I'm hoping Garcia can step up both offensively and defensively and lead the team. But yeah, it should be interesting next year
Eddie Jordan is the man for this job for multiple reasons. He's worked in the Kings coaching staff when we they were good and was a popular figurehead, he'll re-install the Princeton offense that was so succesful in the Kings hay-day and with a new star he can build it around (hopefully Rubio) The Kings are in a tricky but trying position- they must get a great draft pick that they can build on as "their guy" to attract free agents in the loaded Summer of 2010 and they must do it in a very weak draft, with another new coaching staff, for a city that might lose its team in the worst economical crisis since the great depression. The Kings can't do very much except hope that the odds stay in their favor in getting one of the top two lottery picks and getting either Griffin or Rubio, but I am telling you this- If the Kings can manage to get Rubio, he will re-ignite this city basketball-wise and give Kings' fans a reason to be proud of their team again and Eddie Jordan should be their to help him, Jason and Spencer see what they can do with that pick-and-roll. It's what needs to be done.
Eddie Jordan is a good coach taking teams to the playoffs. I am sure he will improve the Kings regular season. It seems like in today’s league you have to have "superstars" on the team to get to the NBA Playoffs and NBA Championship Game. The Cavaliers have Lebron James. The Lakers have Kobi Bryant. It has been mentioned before that Chris Bosh will be a free agent. He could be the Veteran player that our team can rally behind. Also, Shawn Marion would be a good pickup. We really need more defending players on the basketball court. We need a coach that really can get the team to play defense. If Eddie Jordan can do that, then the Kings would be in a better position to get into the NBA Playoffs.
With all that being said, I'm not sure that who the Kings will hire is as important as what happens afterward. The team won't have a huge turn around right away so will the Maloofs stick with this coach or bail out early making him a scapegoat? The player moves are just as important. Getting some talent here is crucial. I wonder how much the Maloofs have their hands in running the team. Granted, it is their team but they need to quit boggong down the process and let management make the decisions.
No offense to eddie jordan he's can be a good coach but the kings doesnt need a good coach they need a great coach and i think if the kings, petrie, or the maloofs actually wants to get any near a NBA finals they have to pick up a coach like avery johnson, players such as chris bosh, shawn marion, grant hill, michael redd…..but thats juss me….well we'll see
In my opinion we have t hire someone who will command the attention of the young players and in my eyes it should only be a one man race and it should be hands down Avery Johnson he is a commanding figure in the locker room and on the on the bench. The young players need a guy they can respond to and look at with respect and i feel Johnson could bring the best in this team.
Vladi Divac
continued above Vladi will bring the game back to life.
I have to say that the coach is the person who will run the team and I have been less than pleased with the Maloof boys and their decisions going back to Rick Adelman. I was furious when they did not even give Adelman a chance to coach a full year with the group he had (And look where he is now). They traded away players (Lots of them in the playoffs this year) and brought in Eric Musselman who was a disappointment to say the least. Next came Reggie Theus who I thought was a good coach. He was the scapegoat and everybody knows it. He was the type of coach who would sit a player for not playing defense and that is what it is all about. Theus should have never been fired, and poor Kenny Natt was left with not much to work with. The Kings have got to get better defensively. I love Garcia as he plays hard at both ends, Thompson has been great, Hawes continues to improve and I think he will be great (assuming he can control his temper). The rest of the crew needs to play defense and if they don't sit em down….
Can hardly wait for the draft and a better year next year……I love my Kings!
And I forgot to say I do like Avery Johnson. I thought he did a pretty good job with Dallas playing defense. I hope Sacramento does not just rush into another coaching decision. They need to pick a tough, defense minded coach who will make ALL the Kings play defense or not play at all….
Avery Johnson is the man if he is interested. Rubio would thrive under him, and Avery will definatley attract some big names in 2010.
[...] on the first two announced coaching candidate interviews with Eddie Jordan and Paul Westphal fitting into the three areas he is using to gauge potential coaches: “I [...]
Kings need a strong coach that we'll sit them down when they don't play defense. Avery Johnson would've been great. Kings suck so he wouldn't do it. Petrie has to settle for rejects.