Report: Kings’ Vlade Divac not returning calls from other GMs

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/01/15/report-kings-vlade-divac-not-returning-calls-from-other-gms/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs








Report: Kings’ Vlade Divac not returning calls from other GMs


By Dan Feldman


Jan 15, 2016, 3:42 PM EST





The 76ers’ Sam Hinkie is the poster boy for an NBA executive whose poor communication skills have ruffled feathers.

But he’s apparently not the only one.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac has his own issues when other general managers call.

Brian Windhorst on The Lowe Post podcast:

Sometimes, Vlade doesn’t call them back. Like, they’ll call, because this is what guys do. “Hey, you know…” to sort of get a feel. I can’t say for sure. I don’t know how many calls Vlade is getting. But I’ve heard from people that sometimes, they call him and Vlade’s just like, “We’re not doing business now, so I’m not calling you back.”

To give Divac the benefit of the doubt, that could be a negotiating ploy. Make potential trade partners desperate for your players.

I don’t think that would work. It takes conversations to gain an understanding of what the other side hopes to accomplish.

I also don’t think Divac is being savvy.

Zach Lowe:

When they made that trade with the Sixers, where the Sixers got Stauskas and swap rights and two swap rights and a pick for taking on dead money basically, Vlade was not aware that there was a trade call to the league office, apparently. And the Sixers had to tell him, “No, no. We have to call to finalize this trade.”

The 76ers robbed the Kings blind in that trade, and it’s a easier to understand why now. Do you trust someone who doesn’t even know about a trade call to properly negotiate pick swaps and protections?

If I were a general manager, as soon as I saw that trade, I’d call Divac immediately to see whether I could also pull one over on him. His phone was probably ringing off the hook – which could explain the unreturned calls.

Divac adds value to the Kings. It seems he’s done a good job smoothing the DeMarcus Cousins-George Karl rift, and that’s important for a franchise that has suffered so much turmoil from within.

But there’s still little evidence he’s the person you want assembling your roster. Perhaps, he’ll grow into that duty. This is his first front-office job. Then again, why hire a general whose understanding of the job is so limited?

As usual, the Kings’ problems flow up to owner Vivek Ranadivé.



bob
MY NOTE:  Vlade is in denial that the roster he thinks is so good sucks so badly. The thought is that a player knows talent and that's who you want to be in charge of trading talent-for-talent. It's a bit more complicated than that. Danny Ainge went from player to coach and gained some insight into management in the process. I think this article was well-written. Divac doesn't know what he's doing but he deserves credit for getting Boogie and Karl to agree to not rip each others' throats out. I'm not sure "preventing murder" is the most important trait in a GM but that's what he's got.

As far as Danny's chances of landing Cousins go I think this article pretty much sums those odds up. You cannot trade for someone if your trading partner is intentionally incommunicado.


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No Cousins?....

How many other teams out there wants our Nets pick?

Dboss

dboss wrote:No Cousins?....

How many other teams out there wants our Nets pick?

Dboss

Dboss,

If they hire Thibs, like the rumor mill is saying, fewer and fewer.


bob


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Not sure of Divac's plan going forward, but his team clearly needs a different plan than what they have been using for the last 8-10 years because what they have been doing has not worked well at all.

Winning only 29 games per year is really not good enough for such a long period of time in my opinion if I were a fan.

Time to try something different in Sacremento. Changing coaches every 18 months is a good way to start a team heading downhill and the Kings have championed this philosophy for far too long. Now they have a solid head coach and they need to build around him and his basketball philosophy.

With that said, it may be time to blow up the roster and begin again with getting some quality vets for leadership, getting some top draft picks and then fill in with a variety of role type players.

Expecting Cousins when they drafted him to provide team leadership as a 20 year old rookie was a mistake. Drafting him was not a mistake as he is very talented, but rookies are not usually very successful serving as team leaders in the NBA.

Now Cousins is still their best player and is old enough to lead, but the time he has spent there needs to end. The team has just lost too often for success with him as the alpha dog in Sacremento. Even the thought that the best player and the head coach do not get along is something that will never be lifted out there. He and the team need a new start.

He will bring some quality draft picks and perhaps a couple of good young players as well as probably a guy with an expiring contract to make the trade work, but such a move should be the first step in turning around their franchise.

The Kings could use the Celtics trading of their best players last year (Rondo and Green) as an example to show that you sometimes do need to trade your best player(s) to have your team get better.