FanHouse Paul Westphal

SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal continues to maintain he hasn't yet settled on a starting small forward. He talks of possibly using either Kevin Martin there or perhaps rookie Tyreke Evans.

But that's only if he decides to roll out a smaller lineup that would include Beno Udrih as the starting point guard. Westphal has even suggested that rookie Omri Casspi is in the mix, saying he likes Casspi's hustle and competitiveness.

And Westphal also claims he hasn't ruled out Andres Nocioni -- despite acknowledging that he likes Nocioni off the bench. But if you've been watching the Kings in the preseason, it's starting to seem apparent who's going to get the nod for the regular-season opener against Oklahoma City: Desmond Mason.

BRADENTON, Fla. – It's not easy being the best player on the worst team in the league.

It's why Sacramento guard Kevin Martin is wearing blinders this summer -- looking only straight ahead.

"All the losing is tough -- it wears on you -- but this time of year I try not to worry about things I don't control,'' he said. "What I can control is that I can become a better player every summer by working at it.''

Before naming Paul Westphal the new coach of the Kings, Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie asked all three candidates (including Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis) if the team's set salary structure (two years at $1.5 million, a third year team option at $2 million) would work for them. If not, you know, see ya.

According to the team, Rambis -- mired in the Finals -- refused to answer if the salary structure would work. On Tuesday, Petrie pushed forth with the question. Rambis' agent Warren LeGarie said his client couldn't be bothered to think about it right now ... so Petrie hired Westphal. Now accusations that LeGarie had been ripping Westphal behind the scenes have come out, while Rambis claims he actually turned down the job.

It's a lot of drama for a job almost no one outside of Sacramento cares about.

Yeoman beat writer Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reported late Tuesday that the Kings are set to announce the hire of Paul Westphal as the team's new head coach. The Kings had one of the few openings this summer, with Washington and Philadelphia having already filled their vacancies. Westphal last coached the Sonics at the turn of the millenium, after a highly successful run with the Barkley-K.J. Suns in the mid-1990s.

While Westphal has strong credentials (a 63% winning percentage as coach, including a 55% playoffs winning clip), he comes with questions. Specifically, he had a terrible run coaching Pepperdine of the Western Atheltic Conference, and is seen as having quickly let Seattle go to rubble in 1999 and 2000. It doesn't help that the Kings reportedly put a fairly tight budget on the coaching hire, leaving big-time options on the sidelines. Amick reports the deal will pay Westphal $3 million for two years. It is believed Phil Jackson has in-grown hairs bigger than that.

UPDATE: The Kings quickly confirmed Amick's report.

I apologize if the headline is too graphic, but that's what comes to mind when I read paragraphs like this in the Chicago Tribune:

[John] Paxson made it clear that he was unlikely to pick a permanent successor this season, or as permanent as a coach can be in the NBA these days. Sources say inquiries have already been made on behalf of Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown, each a former coach of the year, and Paul Westphal, who's back on an NBA bench as a Dallas assistant.

Granted, that article was penned by noted rumormonger Sam Smith, but it's not entirely surprising. I've already campaigned for Carlisle to get the job, and so long as Brown is alive we shouldn't be surprised that he wants to return to the bench.

But seeing Paul Westphal's name really took me back. I assumed for a moment that Smith was mistaking Westphal for Paul Westhead, who guided the WNBA Phoenix Mercury to a title last year before returning to the NBA, but then I remembered that Westhead is in Seattle. After some quick poking around, I saw Westphal was indeed with the Mavs (which explains his picture above with Avery Johnson).

What makes me so intrigued by him? A touch of nostalgia, for sure, but he had the Suns (and later the Sonics) running and gunning in the early 90's long before Steve Nash was even in the league. I have no idea if he's the best all-around candidate, but his offensive acumen would be a welcome addition to a squad that quite possibly possesses the worst offense in the entire NBA.