Kings Owner Puts Reggie Theus on Notice

About 10 days ago, I offered up Reggie Theus as the premier(e) candidate for the 2008-09 NBA Coaching Guillotine. The Kings, 0-4 and without hope, immediately turned things around with 3-1 homestand and a road win against the healthy Clippers. Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports today that Kings management indeed discussed firing Theus after the awful start; the winning homestand saved the coach from the gallows, however. And honestly, the Kings are better for it. Theus has had a young, injury-depleted squad in hanging tough (or winning) in each of the past six games.

Co-owner Joe Maloof, however, has a bit of a different perspective. On Friday, Maloof (he's the blond one) went on local sports radio and basically put Theus on trial, criticizing his lack of a "system" and the team's piss-poor defense (especially the inability to close out on threes). Maloof continued his remarks later in an interview with Amick. The reporter then went to Theus.

"I'm coming to work with my hard hat on, lights blinking," he said. "That's what I do. Whatever they decide to do, it's up to them. I think if you were putting a checklist together in terms of what we said in the beginning of the season and what's going on right now, I think we've done that. I will be here with my hard hat on, doing my job."

Clearly, Theus disagrees with Maloof's assessment of the the coach's performance. And I tend to agree with the coach ... though I've voiced similar concerns about the team's lack of cogent direction and identity. The Kings could be playing better, but they could also easily be worse.

At this point, there's no telling if Maloof's displeasure will translate to an early sacking. Geoff Petrie was involved in the discussions Amick reported, surely. And Petrie reportedly preferred Lakers assistant Brian Shaw as the Maloofs pushed Theus (an old friend) for the job. Sacramento's best bet is most likely allowing Theus to finish the season, and judging him from there. Theus' contract expires this summer, and the coaching pool could get deeper by then. (If nothing else, Shaw is still available.)