Paul Westphal stood away from the fray Friday afternoon, having just completed the most official portion of his four-day media tour as the new Kings coach.

For nearly 30 minutes at his introductory news conference, Westphal, 58, the fourth Kings coach since Rick Adelman departed in 2006, discussed a basketball life that spanned nearly five decades and almost never involved failure.

But as Westphal was pulled away after the spotlight dimmed, he was reminded of the contrasting reality: He inherits a job that one of his most famous former players, Charles Barkley, equated to being "captain of the Titanic." And, as the Kings come off a franchise-low 17-win season and record-low support in a city once known for its purple passion, he is being asked to help raise the sunken ship.

"There are no coaching saviors in this league," said Westphal, who signed a deal for two guaranteed seasons worth a league-low $1.5 million per season but could earn upward of $2 million in his first season, based on incentives. "We've got to get that right straight from the start. Coaches can help, but players win the games."

It is a point often lost in the Kings' recent history. A coaching carousel that included Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus and Kenny Natt before Westphal was hardly the sole reason for this era of rebuilding rigor mortis. There was the matter of diminishing talent as well: trades that sent respected players out and brought unproven players in, free agents who were paid handsomely but hardly paid off.

The problems have spilled off the court, too. Regular sellouts have turned into empty seats. The quest for a new arena is in a holding pattern.

Back on the court, it is a new challenge for Westphal in that sense, because his Suns and SuperSonics teams were often stocked with All-Star talent.

"They've got to get some players, man," said Barkley, a TNT analyst who played for Westphal from his first season as Phoenix's head coach in 1992 until Westphal was fired midway through the 1995-96 season. "That's the bottom line. I mean, it doesn't matter who the coach is, they've got to get some better players."

Westphal excelled during a 12-year playing career, with five All-Star selections, one championship in Boston and an NBA Finals appearance with Phoenix. During his five full seasons and two partial ones as an NBA head coach in Phoenix and Seattle, he had a .627 winning percentage, seventh among those who have coached at least 400 games. He also coached the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993.

Despite a glowing résumé, Westphal – whose last season as an NBA coach was in Seattle in 2000 – now faces some critics who question whether he is the right person to guide such a young team. The doubt is largely tied to his five seasons at Pepperdine University, where he took over a program in 2001 that had gone 83-41 in the four previous seasons and went 76-72 with one NCAA appearance in five seasons.

"I think he's great for young guys," Barkley said. "He's going to teach them how to play the game, and I think he didn't get enough credit for that in Phoenix.

"He is very good creatively, offensively, and that's what Sacramento needs, is something to excite their fan base."

Yet while the organization certainly needs a spike in attendance after finishing last in the league, blogger Tom Ziller disputes the notion that a coach can do that. "I think the idea that fans will buy tickets based on a coach is really overblown. … That's a lot of lip service, I think, the idea that a coach can excite the fans," Ziller said. "We saw Reggie (Theus), who was maybe the most popular hire since Bill Russell (by the Kings) … and attendance almost immediately went in the tank."

Ziller, after being critical of Westphal early in the hiring process on his blog – www.sactownroyalty.com – said he and many fans are pleased by the decision.

"(Westphal) may not turn the team around completely, but certainly you can't get worse," he said. "I think he's a good shepherd toward a rise. It's just a matter of how long that rise takes."

Former Kings season ticket holder Larry Livingston wishes Westphal well, but he said he isn't ready to renew just yet. From the late 1990s until 2007, Livingston had season-ticket packages for four seats for his company, Livingston Concrete, and two more for his family.

"I think Paul will help the team, but I don't think he'll make them any better because a coach doesn't make the baskets or help them rebound," Livingston said. "If you were to ask me who I would've liked to have seen them pick up, I would've said either (Lakers assistant) Kurt Rambis or (former Houston and New York coach) Jeff Van Gundy, but (Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof) don't have that kind of money to spend, and I understand that. It's a tough market right now."

And a tough job ahead for Westphal.

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.