Petrie’s Boyhood Dream Continues in Sacramento
December 29, 2009 by Andrew Nicholson
Sixteen years into his tenure with the Sacramento Kings, Geoff Petrie continues to relish the opportunity to live his youthful goal.
With a multi-year contract extension as the team’s President of Basketball Operations, Petrie joins the Maloof family in its enthusiasm about the job he’s done to date and the bright future the exciting young Kings have ahead.
“Geoff has been a jewel to work with,” Kings Co-Owner Gavin Maloof said. “He knows the game. You have to respect his knowledge, which we have, and being with an organization at the end of his contract, which will be almost 20 years, says a lot about his loyalty to us and our loyalty to him. It’s a very special situation.”
“I’m still living a boyhood dream,” Petrie said smiling. “I happen to be in a group of people who think the opportunity to work at this level in the NBA is a real honor and a real privilege.
“I want to thank Joe, Gavin and the rest of the Maloof family for the ongoing opportunity to grow our exciting young team. We all are looking forward to a brighter and more successful future.”
With the Kings (14-16) coming off another impressive performance, defeating the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets at ARCO Arena a night before, the announcement further solidifies the Maloof family’s commitment to showcasing winning basketball in California’s capital.
“We just feel the future is very bright with Geoff and this team he has been able to assemble,” Kings Co-Owner Joe Maloof said. “It’s a great, great basketball operations (department). I think we have one of the top basketball operations in the League.”
For the Kings early success this season, Petrie deflected praise and called honorably on his staff, which he characterized as confident, loyal and trustworthy, for it’s dedication to teamwork and player evaluation.
Among those who Petrie has worked closely with for more than a decade are his son Mike Petrie and Wayne Cooper, who both received promotions. Cooper has been named Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager while Mike has been named Assistant Vice President.
“I’m really excited and happy about the opportunity,” Mike said as he enjoyed lunch beside Kings ambassador Bobby Jackson at Riverside Clubhouse in downtown Sacramento. “I’ve been here 10 years now and been able to see pretty much all sides of basketball operations. I’m just looking forward to working more closely with my dad and Coop and Jason (Levien).
“I grew up watching (Geoff) play in alumni games and was there when he was with Portland and a ball boy there and all that kind of stuff, so I’ve been with him through it all pretty much.”
In all of their business ventures, the Maloofs have operated as a family, so it’s only fitting the relationship they share with the Petries is of equal ilk.
“We’ve forged a wonderful bond with Geoff and his family,” Gavin said. “It’s great to keep this consistency and continuity.”
Over the course of his dream-like career, Petrie has grown as a talent evaluator and decision maker, but along the way to where he is today, one of the longest tenured President’s of Basketball Operations in the League, it’s the work ethic and camaraderie he shares with his dedicated staff that has afforded the team success.
“It’s an inexact science, number one,” Petrie said of his career maturation. “But I’ve had a great staff that has been together a long time. We work together every year, collecting information, sharing information and opinion. At the end of the day, it’s all those things coming together to help make a final decision.”
Among the players Petrie and his staff drafted on this roster are rookies Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi and Jon Brockman and after a year like last season, Petrie admitted the team needed a strong draft, and it did just that. As for the rapid development and contribution of the Kings first-year players, Petrie is more fulfilled of he and his staff’s evaluation of their abilities than surprised about the players’ first trimester production.
“You don’t know what floor the elevator is going to stop and how quickly it’s going to get there when you draft somebody,” Petrie said with a laugh. “But they, at this point, have clearly accelerated their growth.”
The team’s impressive cohesion, play and record has sparked renewed interest around the city and bolstered attendance in recent games. For Kings fans who have given the exciting young team a chance to reignite their fanhood and fans who have stayed devoted through the ups and downs since the Vlade and C-Webb era, the Maloofs are thankful.
“We love the city,” Gavin said. “We love our fans. It’s almost more rewarding to go from where we were a couple of years ago and last year to where we are today than when we first purchased the team and started winning.
“That was great, too. But to be where we were last year, in last place, and to be where we are now and have this young group of players that get along really well, it’s very, very rewarding. I can’t tell you how pleased we are.
“I appreciate, and we thank, Kings fans for coming every night to see this young team,” Gavin continued. “We appreciate their support. We want them to keep coming. That’s how we can afford to pay more players. We’ll use that money to increase our talent level.
“Just come to the games and enjoy watching this young team rise and this coaching staff with Paul Westphal, who I believe is one of the best coaches in the League. If not (yet), he should be Coach of the Year. I’m already starting a campaign for him!”
Petrie’s extension is a product of he and his staff’s excellence. The team’s production has been a demonstration of Westphal’s brilliance at putting players in a position to be confident and successful. The Kings record is proof the players are dedicated to improving and winning.
As Gavin said at the press conference, it’s a great day for the Kings, Kings fans and Kings nation.
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