Musselman appears on his way out, sources say

christophergentry110401 · April 19, 2007

Geoff Petrie stood in his usual spot in the Arco Arena tunnel Wednesday night, the Kings' basketball president watching his team fall again as a season of so much strife and struggle finally ended.

He gazed out on the floor and in the direction of coach Eric Musselman, who -- according to numerous sources close to the team -- will not return to his courtside position with the Kings.

The team's future as it pertains to Musselman will reach a quick resolution. Petrie will conduct one-on-one interviews with the players today and meet with Musselman on Friday in what some close to the situation see as a mere formality. By Sunday evening, Petrie will be headed to Europe on a two-week scouting trip, and he said he wants to "address as much as I can as quickly as I can" in relation to the team.

But Petrie would neither confirm nor deny that Musselman is on his way out.

"My plans are pretty well set for the next two days," Petrie said. "I can't speculate beyond that, obviously. People seem to know what I'm thinking or what I'm going to do, then they ought to stand up and own up to it."

According to one source, a meeting in Las Vegas between Petrie and co-owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof was originally scheduled for immediately after the season but was changed. The Maloofs were in Miami during the season finale, a 117-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and were taping a television segment with Oprah Winfrey.

By all accounts, the decision is Petrie's to make and the Maloofs' to sign off on. Firing Musselman after just the first year of his three-year contract would cost them approximately $5 million.

Musselman had requested to meet with the Maloofs to discuss the season and the future just after the season. It is not known whether that meeting has been rescheduled.

Asked after the game about when his meeting would be, Musselman -- who had told the Maloofs he wanted to show them a book as part of his analysis of the season -- had a curious answer that did not involve the Maloofs.

"My office is right next door to Geoff, and I'm sure Geoff and I will talk like we do every day and Geoff will meet with the players," he said. "I'll meet with the players. I'll start focusing on summer league and get ready for the draft."

As for today's player meetings, Petrie said it is a chance to get a better sense of the situation.

"It's just an opportunity for me to talk individually to all of them, talk about not just the team situation but their personal situation," he said. "(You) try to come up with something collective after all of that, and go from there."

Where they go from here is a question for Petrie to confront. He is facing what might be the most significant offseason since he revived the franchise and sparked the stretch of eight consecutive playoff berths that ended this season. At 33-49, the Kings tied with Charlotte and New York for the eighth-worst record.

Mike Bibby had 17 points in what might have been his last game with the Kings. The point guard was nearly traded to Cleveland just before the February deadline and could be on his way out again.

Also among the players in question is small forward Ron Artest, whose tumultuous season came to a close bathed mostly in silence. The talkative talent grew quiet as the season ended and would not discuss the future or the past before or after the loss to the Lakers.

"A lot of things happened this year, a lot of distractions," forward Corliss Williamson said. "Unfortunately, we just never could get on the right path, whether it was the distractions or whether it was us as players or whatever the case was. We couldn't be consistent enough to play to our potential."

Sacramento Bee

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/45714/20070419/s..._done_in_sacramento/

christophergentry110401 · April 19, 2007