Even though not everyone working here is a basketball fan, how could they not know Hansen while working in a basketball-related environment?
And so, Hansen was catered to.
This VIP restaurant is quite large, able to accommodate over 400 people dining at the same time. The most distinctive feature here is the bar, and according to the staff, there are over 1,000 types of alcohol, capable of mixing into any taste you desire.
Because they still had to train later, they just had a simple meal before leaving. They figured they could come back for a drink if the opportunity arises.
Finally, the locker room.
This isn’t much different from Cleveland’s current design. Previously, when Cleveland renovated the arena, the locker room was a focal point.
Hansen was originally planning to bring his training clothes, but upon entering the locker room, he found his electronic nameplate, along with his jersey and other things, already prepared.
The Kings might not play well, but everything else they handled seemed nicely organized.
After changing into their training clothes, they went to the training facility.
Hansen and Mitchell played a bit of one-on-one.
Mitchell was nicknamed "Little Wade" during the draft, referring to his athleticism and breakthrough ability. His way of charging into the paint and stopping abruptly to finish was very similar to Wade.
However, compared to Wade, his three-point ability is much better, or you could say his current playing style is quite "magic ball," mainly relying on breakthroughs and threes.
What pleasantly surprised Hansen was that Mitchell had developed a bit of stop-and-pop mid-range ability.
Although it wasn’t very stable yet, it showed Mitchell’s desire to improve.
Of course, Mitchell’s problems were also quite apparent. Aside from break-ins, his other scoring methods, including threes, are not stable enough.
For a playoff team, his ability is sufficient, but for a championship contender, he’s still far off.
But, as before, the most impressive thing about Mitchell is his desire to win. Even if it doesn’t show on his face, he’s the type who would keep fighting even if he’s getting beaten badly.
From this perspective, choosing Mitchell might be more suitable than choosing Doncic.
Hansen doesn’t want to deal with teammates who just spread their hands and complain on the court.
After this day of training, Hansen experienced his most relaxed day since arriving in Sacramento.
His schedule was basically filled after this.
Coming to a new city, his sponsors would follow and set up stores for major promotional events, filming ads and such, all requiring Hansen’s appearance to some extent.
It was also during this time that the Cavaliers and Kings formally reached a trade agreement after negotiations.
The Cavaliers signed Hansen to a 5-year, $200 million contract (including a no-trade clause) and then packaged him and Conningham to the Kings, receiving Luca Doncic, George Hill, and the 2020 first-round draft pick, as well as the 2021 second-round draft pick.
After this trade was accomplished, an interesting thing happened: Doncic and Jokic, both from Europe, became teammates.
More accurately, two players from the Balkan Peninsula region became teammates in the NBA.
There was once a country called Yugoslavia, whose basketball level could directly compete with the American Dream Team.
Due to political reasons, Doncic and Jokic representing the same national team became an impossibility, but it was realized now in Cleveland. This update ıs available on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
Also, after the trade was finalized, Divac once again visited Hansen’s manor to talk to him about two important things.
One was the press conference about Hansen joining the Kings, and the other was about the team’s head coach issue.
Speaking of which, Malone had previously resigned from the Kings and then went to coach the Cavaliers. After Malone left, they successively hired three coaches.
The first was Tyronn Lue, originally the chief assistant coach of the team. Unfortunately, he had a big falling out with Cousins, leading to a fight and being fired. The Kings then hired the famous coach George Karl.
Then Karl had an even bigger conflict with Cousins, eventually leading the Kings to trade Cousins away and fire Karl as well.
Finally, the team’s last head coach was Dave Joerger.
Well, another familiar face.
However, Joerger couldn’t lead the team into the playoffs last season and also left the Kings.
So as of now, the Kings essentially do not have a head coach.
Everything for the Kings is now decided by Hansen, so naturally, his opinion is needed in choosing the head coach.
There are quite a few free agents in the coach market now, like Mike Budenholzer, who just resigned from the Hawks last season, and Frank Vogel, who also lost his job in Orlando, Stan Van Gundy, who coached the Pistons last season, and Jeff Hornacek, just fired by the New York Knicks, all of whom are well-known coaches in the league.
In some sense, NBA coaching jobs are more precious than player roles, as there are only 30 spots in the entire league.
So it’s always been a tradition in the NBA for coaches to take the blame because it’s cost-effective and there’s no shortage of replacements.
Divac provided his candidate suggestion, believing Jeff Hornacek was the most suitable.
According to Divac, Hornacek is the kind of coach that players like; he could make people feel comfortable and maintain harmonious relationships within the team.
After Divac finished speaking, Hansen couldn’t help but look up at the Kings legend.
He recalled Divac’s previous decision to trade Tatum.
Logically, Divac was known for his high basketball IQ as a player, so why does he always seem to make the worst choice when in management?
Among those people mentioned, if it were about being personable, Hornacek would certainly be the best, but in terms of coaching abilities, Hornacek only has his character left.
Speaking of which, there are many NBA players who have transitioned into management positions, but only a few can truly excel, with "Magic" Johnson being the most prominent negative example. No one had higher basketball intelligence than Johnson, but his career as a manager could only be described as disastrous.
However, Divac’s reasoning gave Hansen a new perspective.
Among the coaches he’s worked with over the years, Brown and Hollins are the famous types.
This type of coach is flattering if described as persistent and unkind if described as stubborn.
By comparison, coaches with less fame, like Malone and Joerger, were more pleasant to work with Hansen.
Moreover, from the past few years’ experience, it’s not the teammates’ performance on the court that distracts Hansen, but some off-the-field issues.
So compared to that, finding a coach who can ensure harmonious player relationships without off-field issues is a better choice.
"I have someone in mind."
Hansen said, attracting the attention of Divac and Rondo.
"You mean the Cavaliers’ assistant coach?" Divac realized.
"I know his capability; he can take this position." Hansen explained.
There is no rule that a head coach must be the most capable one. As long as someone can handle the relationship between the team and management well, and can shout a few "come on" and "let’s go," they can potentially be a good coach.
Otherwise, Rivers, known as the "master of blown leads," could still find a job immediately after being unemployed.
Lue had worked with Hansen for so many years, and in these areas, there was no problem.
"But his coaching skill..." Divac frowned.
Hansen thought that from Divac’s perspective, he always seemed to make the wrong choices, and his suggestions were always rejected, so his mood wouldn’t be too good.
Of course, the bigger issue is that Lue previously was just an assistant coach, and it’s against common sense to choose an assistant when there are so many established head coaches available.
"If you’re concerned, we can hire a knowledgeable assistant coach."
There are plenty of coaches unable to find head coaching roles who return as assistants in the NBA. The past few years have seen quite a few assistant coaches in the Warriors finding roles elsewhere, not to mention Hansen knows Antony even became Nash’s assistant coach in "history."
"Let’s decide on it then. Once Tyronn arrives, we’ll pick a suitable assistant coach together." Rondo made the decision directly as he saw Divac wanted to speak up.
Divac got a bit overzealous, not realizing Hansen’s words were final decisions.