Maroon87
05-24-2006, 10:38 PM
Kings granted permission to speak with Warriors' Elie
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
The Sacramento Kings have received permission from the Golden State Warriors to interview Mario Elie for their head-coaching vacancy, according to NBA coaching sources.
Elie, who just completed his second season as a Warriors assistant to Mike Montgomery, is expected to meet with Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie by week's end.
Joe Maloof told ESPN.com Tuesday that he was heading to Las Vegas to join his brother and Petrie to conduct multiple interviews this week, as the Kings intensify their search to replace Rick Adelman.
Memphis assistant Eric Musselman interviewed with the Kings on Wednesday.
Maloof also said Tuesday that the Kings are planning to request permission to speak with San Antonio assistant P.J. Carlesimo.
Carlesimo hasn't been an NBA head coach since a Golden State tenure (1997-99) most remembered for the Latrell Sprewell choking incident. Yet he quickly surfaced as a potential Adelman replacement, with the Maloofs known to be big admirers of San Antonio's defense-first philosophy and approach to team-building.
But Elie, 43, has Spurs ties as well, after helping San Antonio win its first of three championships as a player in 1999. And Elie's candidacy in Sacramento, according to coaching sources, could be enhanced by the Dallas Mavericks' playoff success.
Sacramento, according to sources, sees some Avery Johnson potential in Elie, after Johnson and Elie combined to supply much of the vocal leadership for the Spurs' first championship team in 1999.
In his first full season in Dallas, Johnson quickly lived up to his reputation as an X-and-O natural, intensely guiding the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals and winning Coach of the Year honors.
Elie, an assistant for one season in San Antonio before joining the Warriors, was also known for his intensity as a player and has an existing relationship with fellow New Yorker Ron Artest, Sacramento's enigmatic new franchise player.
Besides Elie and Musselman, it's believed that John Whisenant of the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs will also be interviewed this week.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
The Sacramento Kings have received permission from the Golden State Warriors to interview Mario Elie for their head-coaching vacancy, according to NBA coaching sources.
Elie, who just completed his second season as a Warriors assistant to Mike Montgomery, is expected to meet with Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie by week's end.
Joe Maloof told ESPN.com Tuesday that he was heading to Las Vegas to join his brother and Petrie to conduct multiple interviews this week, as the Kings intensify their search to replace Rick Adelman.
Memphis assistant Eric Musselman interviewed with the Kings on Wednesday.
Maloof also said Tuesday that the Kings are planning to request permission to speak with San Antonio assistant P.J. Carlesimo.
Carlesimo hasn't been an NBA head coach since a Golden State tenure (1997-99) most remembered for the Latrell Sprewell choking incident. Yet he quickly surfaced as a potential Adelman replacement, with the Maloofs known to be big admirers of San Antonio's defense-first philosophy and approach to team-building.
But Elie, 43, has Spurs ties as well, after helping San Antonio win its first of three championships as a player in 1999. And Elie's candidacy in Sacramento, according to coaching sources, could be enhanced by the Dallas Mavericks' playoff success.
Sacramento, according to sources, sees some Avery Johnson potential in Elie, after Johnson and Elie combined to supply much of the vocal leadership for the Spurs' first championship team in 1999.
In his first full season in Dallas, Johnson quickly lived up to his reputation as an X-and-O natural, intensely guiding the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals and winning Coach of the Year honors.
Elie, an assistant for one season in San Antonio before joining the Warriors, was also known for his intensity as a player and has an existing relationship with fellow New Yorker Ron Artest, Sacramento's enigmatic new franchise player.
Besides Elie and Musselman, it's believed that John Whisenant of the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs will also be interviewed this week.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.