Sacramento Kings Players Aren't In Lockstep With The Coaches

You thought the Washington Wizards were a mess. The Sacramento Kings talk like they're trying to get head coach Paul Westphal a bus ticket out of town.

It doesn't look good when two of your supposed future cornerstones are questioning what the coach is drawing up on the sidelines. I know Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins aren't the model citizens of the NBA, but if they have doubt in the coach and respected veteran Chuck Hayes feeling like he made a bad move by signing with the Kings, it may be time to cut bait with Westphal.

"Teams go on 10-0 runs, and we cave in," forward Chuck Hayes said.

"It's like we shoot because we haven't put up a shot after three times up and down the court," Hayes said.


Hayes is probably wondering what he signed up for.

"What offense?" Cousins replied when asked about the Kings' most obvious weakness. "I really don't want to say anything."

"It seems like everybody is out there for themselves. He (Westphal) says to push the ball, but it's like when the first pass gets through, we're done," Evans said.



From what I saw is that there is too much dribbling and not enough cohesion on a team that some thought would show some improvement this season.

"Everybody keeps blaming the coach, about the plays, the plays not (being) good, but, hey, it be like that sometime,"  Evans said. "You've just got to play."

"We just look lost, "Evans said. "We're just playing off our natural talent to get our points. It's terrible right now. We've just got to figure something out."

"I don't know what that was," center DeMarcus Cousins said. "Running the offense coach tells us to run. Just doing what coach say. Got to do what your coach say."

Let me translate those thoughts. We're only doing what coach tells us but the plan he has isn't working and we need to try something different.

I know players play and coaches coach, but for Westphal's sake the Kings better get it together before he finds himself out of a job.    

Michael Finley Still Has More To Give

The last time anyone saw Micahel Finley in the NBA he was a spare part in the Boston Celtics' run to the NBA finals in 2010. His ankle hadn't fully healed from injury so he wasn't used in the playoffs. Everyone figured that Finley was done, but he never officially retired. Well, Finley feels that he still has more left in the tank and wants another shot in the NBA. 

“When I went to Boston, my ankle wasn’t 100 percent,” Finley said. “So afer that season, I got my ankle worked on. I’ve been working hard to get that at 100 percent. I feel a lot better than during my time in Boston.



“With the lockout and the shortened season, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more injuries than usual since there’s been not much of a training camp. I’m just working hard to be in shape and prepared in case an NBA team calls me.”

“I got offers from the D-League before (Ricky Davis or Greg Ostertag) ever thought about playing in the D-League,” Finley said. “My thing is, I want to play basketball, I would enjoy playing in the D-League, but at the same time I don’t want to take an opportunity away from a young guy to get exposure. I’m still thinking about it. If the right situation comes, where I could be something like a player-coach, maybe I would take that opportunity.”


So he's still open to playing overseas or in the D-league. At least he doesn't feel that he should be given a shot because of past accomplishments. He wants to try to earn a spot. If he shows that he could still be a contributor he might get the opportunity. I think it could work for him on a team chasing a title. There a lesser players in the league right now that are sitting the bench stealing money.