Name Change

Let me first say the address to this website isn't changing. It's still 49er16.blogspot.com so you'll still be able to access the blog itself. Second the Fire Paul Westphal Now! blog name will stay until the Sacramento Kings fire Paul Westphal. Once he's no longer coaching my Sacramento Kings, I'll go back to the original name of this blog, Keith's Sports Journal.

The name change is part homage to Justin's first name of his blog, Fire Andy Reid Now! but also it's what I feel about the current Sacramento Kings coach.

The Kings must fire Paul Westphal. This team is a mess and he's a big part of why they're a mess.


Between throwing players right under the bus (See: DeMarcus Cousins) lack of defense, lack of offense, not taking responsibility at all for the Kings poor play, and general crappiness of this team, Westphal must go.

This is my biggest problem though with Paul Westphal. The NBA is littered with guys like DeMarcus Cousins. Hot-headed players aren't uncommon in the NBA or in sports in general. And the majority of the hot-headed players are usually the most talented players on the team. You deal with these players very delicately. Westphal has no clue how to do this.

The Kings played the Nuggets last night who are coached by George Karl. Karl has dealt with some explosive personalities in his lifetime of coaching. Most famously Gary Payton. I'm sure there were times Karl wanted to bang his head against the wall and say "fuck it" and throw Payton right under the bus in the press. He didn't do it. He worked with his explosive point guard and never let his own ego get in the way of his player or team working on the court.

Westphal is incapable of doing this. Westphal is a politician who is only concerned about how he looks even if the rest of the organization is burning to the ground. Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and SB Nation does a better job explaining the situation that I can:

"One of the features that attracted the Kings to Westphal was that he talks a good game. In 2009, Sacramento had the opportunity to hire Tom Thibodeau; he interviewed with the team a couple times, and the front office found him brilliant but awkward. Westphal is a political man at heart -- he apparently counts Rush Limbaugh as a good friend -- and he knows how to spin everything in a positive fashion ... for his own sake. He said everything the Kings wanted to hear in 2009, and that was all the opposite of that which Reggie Theus (the previous hire) stood for: personal accountability, toughness, strong effort.

But Westphal's version of accountability doesn't fly. Nothing is ever this coach's fault. The team got blown out Saturday at home by the Knicks. Westphal's starting point guard Tyreke Evans told the media that the players are lost in the offense. Cousins indicated similar displeasure with the offense in front of the media. Reports indicate J.J. Hickson -- J.J. Hickson! -- warned Cousins not to talk about his issues in front of tape recorders during the session. So Cousins takes it private with Westphal and ... gets suspended?"

This is why Westphal needs to be fired. He doesn't take personal accountability for himself. Westphal is a typical politician. Nothing is his fault.

So this site will be called Fire Paul Westphal Now! until Paul Westphal is fired. I'll keep updating the situation on the Kings the best I can until Westphal is fired and Kings fans can once again enjoy basketball. You can follow these updates by clicking on this tag.

Fire Paul Westphal Now!

(Picture and more Kings coverage via Sactown Royalty)