Locker room dissention plus confusion on the court equaled the firing of Paul Westphal as coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Keith Smart will take over in the interim, starting Thursday night when the Kings host the Bucks.
The Kings were 2-5 but not really playing even that well, with both an offense and defense in the bottom five in the league (in points scored/allowed per 100 possessions). After a loss the other night point guard Tyreke Evans said nobody really knew what the offense was supposed to be in crunch time.
Then there was the ongoing feud with DeMarcus Cousins. The second-year center is a Primma Donna who has detractors in the organization and around the league, but the public feuds and recent sitting him for a game had become a bigger distraction than it needed to be. By Westphal releasing a statement to the press saying Cousins demanded a trade he created wedge that didn?t need to exist, but Westphal was clearly frustrated and not sure how to handle Cousins.
According to Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, Westphal?s firing is more about the fact the team stunk and was not improving than it was about Cousins. NBA.com?s David Aldridge spoke to Maloof and then tweeted this.
Kings co-owner Joe Maloof says while the Cousins/Westphal dynamic was part of the issue, ?none of the guys were playing to their potential.?
Source: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/05/kings-fire-paul-westphal-as-coach/related/
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