Would-be Kings coach explains

Using the Kings' plane and their paid driver was one thing, but no one can blame Stan Van Gundy for using their court today.

The NBA schedule says he has to be here, that this awkward and uncomfortable reunion of sorts has to happen because his Orlando Magic faces the Kings tonight at Arco Arena. Thus, Van Gundy – who came so close to becoming the Kings' coach in early June only to bolt back to Orlando, Fla., during his Sacramento visit when that job became available – opted for the preemptive mea culpa Monday.

"I can't say that it's one of the happiest chapters in my life, the way I handled that," he said while speaking exclusively to The Bee courtside at Arco Arena.

It was the strangest chapter in the Kings' two-month coaching search, one that ended with Reggie Theus as the surprising hire and Van Gundy manipulating his way onto a Magic bench ripe with talent and salary cap space as a rising Eastern Conference power. Van Gundy had the basketball world – most importantly, the Kings themselves – convinced he was headed to Sacramento.

When two interviews and a standing offer led to a Kings charter plane ride from Florida to Sacramento for Van Gundy and his wife, Kim, to go house hunting in a car also paid for by the Kings, basketball president Geoff Petrie – as he later acknowledged – said: "The presumption was that (Van Gundy) was coming here (to become the coach)." Van Gundy landed at 11 a.m. June 6, with the presumption the visit likely would lead to contract negotiations and perhaps a news conference announcing his hiring the next day if his wife approved of the area.

But around 4 p.m. Pacific time, Van Gundy said, "It started looking like it could work out (in Orlando)."

First, the Billy Donovan divorce was finalized after he reneged on a deal with Orlando. Second, compensation demands by Miami president Pat Riley related to Van Gundy's contract with the Heat had been minimized and met.

Instead of alerting Petrie – who was under the impression the Kings were alone in their serious pursuit of Van Gundy – he and his wife spent two hours at a local Kinko's faxing a signed contract to the Magic. Van Gundy waited until later in the evening to inform Petrie of his intentions in a brief conversation. He and his wife checked out early from the downtown Embassy Suites hotel at 10:45 p.m. and were gone, flying all night commercially to Orlando before addressing the Magic fans with bleary eyes a day later.

"I regret it," Van Gundy said, "because I probably should've called Geoff at that point to let him know what was going on, but it was still far from a sure thing. I guess (it's) self-preservation. I didn't want to screw the thing up (with the Kings)."

Van Gundy said he has not spoken with Petrie or the Maloof brothers, the team's co-owners, since.

"I regret (not informing Petrie) a little because I think Geoff's a class guy. The Maloofs are great. (Basketball vice president) Wayne (Cooper) is a class guy.

"For a day, or half a day, I left the thing in limbo. And from that standpoint, I do regret it."

The Kings, by all appearances, were a Plan B and leverage for a coach who was intensely motivated to return to the head-coaching ranks after leaving his Miami post in 2005 to spend more time with his family. By that measure, Van Gundy is nothing if not consistent.

Beyond the roster advantages and ideal salary cap situation, the Magic provided Van Gundy significant personal advantages. He has four school-age kids and in-laws in the Orlando area. And while Van Gundy attended high school in Martinez, his wife, Van Gundy said, is a Vermont native who had been to the West Coast just once before.

"One (team) was four hours away by car (from his Miami-area home), and one was six hours away by plane," he said. "(The decision) was from a personal, family situation. It was not a reflection of what I thought of the Kings or the ownership."

Fittingly, his wife might have had everything to do with clearing the obstacles keeping Van Gundy from heading to Orlando. Riley, who didn't want Van Gundy coaching in the same division as the Heat, lessened his demands after being alerted of Kim's concerns.

Ultimately, he went from asking for a first-round pick and $1 million to settling for the right to flip-flop first-round picks with Orlando in 2008 (although Miami has since traded its pick), a second-round pick from the Magic and $1 million.

"I think he understood how much it meant to my wife to be able to move (to Orlando)," said Van Gundy, who signed a four-year deal with approximately $16 million guaranteed. "They like each other very much. I always used to joke that Pat liked my wife a lot more than he liked me.

"In the end, I think that did have a lot to do with it. … With me, even though I think (Riley) likes me and cares about me, I think he could've kept it on the business level. With my wife, it's a whole different thing. I don't think Pat probably wants it out there that he has a heart, but he does."

Quite clearly, Van Gundy's heart was in Orlando all along.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582. Read his Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.