Keith Smart had an impossible situation in Golden State when he became head coach. Not long after he was hired the team was sold to new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber whose mandate was to change the culture of a franchise that had been to the playoffs once in 17 years. Smart coached the Warriors to 36 wins — about what should be expected of the roster he was given — but he had no chance, he was swept up in the tide of change and washed out to sea.
Now, he’s taking over as head coach mid-season for a Sacramento squad where the team looks lost on the court, the old head coach feuded with the young star center, and the entire franchise is in danger of packing up and moving out of the city all together.
Yes, that’s much more stable.
But the Kings are at least giving him a chance, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via twitter).
He’s at least being given a chance. That’s all he can ask.
But he’s got a full plate to clean up after Paul Westphal. The Kings run a simplistic (read: easy to defend) offense that had little off the ball movement and relied on Tyreke Evans in the pick-and-roll and DeMarcus Cousins in the post. Smart needs to get the Kings and their young athletes out and running more, plus he needs to diversify and add some movement to the half court offense.
He has to get them to play much better defense.
And having a better relationship with Cousins wouldn’t hurt, either.