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Headline Would-be Kings coach explains
Origin Sam Amick = samick@sacbee.com
Publication Date 1/8/2008
Page C1
Section SPORTS
Edition METRO FINAL
Dateline  
Corrections  
Memo  
Body Text Using the Kings' plane and their paid driver = was one=20 thing, but no one can blame Stan Van Gundy for using their = court=20 today.

The NBA schedule says he has to be here, that = this=20 awkward and uncomfortable reunion of sorts has to happen = because his=20 Orlando Magic faces the Kings tonight at Arco Arena. Thus, = Van Gundy=20 -- who came so close to becoming the Kings' coach in early = June only=20 to bolt back to Orlando, Fla., during his Sacramento visit = when that=20 job became available -- opted for the preemptive mea culpa=20 Monday.

"I can't say that it's one of the happiest = chapters=20 in my life, the way I handled that," he said while speaking=20 exclusively to The Bee courtside at Arco Arena.

It = was the=20 strangest chapter in the Kings' two-month coaching search, = one that=20 ended with Reggie Theus as the surprising hire and Van Gundy = manipulating his way onto a Magic bench ripe with talent and = salary=20 cap space as a rising Eastern Conference power. Van Gundy = had the=20 basketball world -- most importantly, the Kings themselves = --=20 convinced he was headed to Sacramento.

When two = interviews=20 and a standing offer led to a Kings charter plane ride from = Florida=20 to Sacramento for Van Gundy and his wife, Kim, to go house = hunting=20 in a car also paid for by the Kings, basketball president = Geoff=20 Petrie -- as he later acknowledged -- said: "The presumption = was=20 that (Van Gundy) was coming here (to become the coach)." Van = Gundy=20 landed at 11 a.m. June 6, with the presumption the visit = likely=20 would lead to contract negotiations and perhaps a news = conference=20 announcing his hiring the next day if his wife approved of = the=20 area.

But around 4 p.m. Pacific time, Van Gundy said, = "It=20 started looking like it could work out (in = Orlando)."

First,=20 the Billy Donovan divorce was finalized after he reneged on = a deal=20 with Orlando. Second, compensation demands by Miami = president Pat=20 Riley related to Van Gundy's contract with the Heat had been = minimized and met.

Instead of alerting Petrie -- who = was=20 under the impression the Kings were alone in their serious = pursuit=20 of Van Gundy -- he and his wife spent two hours at a local = Kinko's=20 faxing a signed contract to the Magic. Van Gundy waited = until later=20 in the evening to inform Petrie of his intentions in a brief = conversation. He and his wife checked out early from the = downtown=20 Embassy Suites hotel at 10:45 p.m. and were gone, flying all = night=20 commercially to Orlando before addressing the Magic fans = with bleary=20 eyes a day later.

"I regret it," Van Gundy said, = "because I=20 probably should've called Geoff at that point to let him = know what=20 was going on, but it was still far from a sure thing. I = guess (it's)=20 self-preservation. I didn't want to screw the thing up (with = the=20 Kings)."

Van Gundy said he has not spoken with Petrie = or the=20 Maloof brothers, the team's co-owners, since.

"I = regret (not=20 informing Petrie) a little because I think Geoff's a class = guy. The=20 Maloofs are great. (Basketball vice president) Wayne = (Cooper) is a=20 class guy.

"For a day, or half a day, I left the = thing in=20 limbo. And from that standpoint, I do regret it."

The = Kings,=20 by all appearances, were a Plan B and leverage for a coach = who was=20 intensely motivated to return to the head-coaching ranks = after=20 leaving his Miami post in 2005 to spend more time with his = family.=20 By that measure, Van Gundy is nothing if not=20 consistent.

Beyond the roster advantages and ideal = salary cap=20 situation, the Magic provided Van Gundy significant personal = advantages. He has four school-age kids and in-laws in the = Orlando=20 area. And while Van Gundy attended high school in Martinez, = his=20 wife, Van Gundy said, is a Vermont native who had been to = the West=20 Coast just once before.

"One (team) was four hours = away by=20 car (from his Miami-area home), and one was six hours away = by=20 plane," he said. "(The decision) was from a personal, family = situation. It was not a reflection of what I thought of the = Kings or=20 the ownership."

Fittingly, his wife might have had = everything=20 to do with clearing the obstacles keeping Van Gundy from = heading to=20 Orlando. Riley, who didn't want Van Gundy coaching in the = same=20 division as the Heat, lessened his demands after being = alerted of=20 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=20 since traded its pick), a second-round pick from the Magic = and $1=20 million.

"I think he understood how much it meant to = my wife=20 to be able to move (to Orlando)," said Van Gundy, who signed = a=20 four-year deal with approximately $16 million guaranteed. = "They like=20 each other very much. I always used to joke that Pat liked = my wife a=20 lot more than he liked me.

"In the end, I think that = did have=20 a lot to do with it. ... With me, even though I think = (Riley) likes=20 me and cares about me, I think he could've kept it on the = business=20 level. With my wife, it's a whole different thing. I don't = think Pat=20 probably wants it out there that he has a heart, but he=20 does."

Quite clearly, Van Gundy's heart was in = Orlando all=20 along.


Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582. = Read his=20 Kings blog at=20 www.sacbee.com/blogs.
Graphic Text Jon=20 Way / Associated Press
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy's wife, = Kim,=20 had a lot to do with his decision to stay on the East Coast, = he=20 said.

Hector Gabino / McClatchy Tribune
Magic = coach Stan=20 Van Gundy was considered for the Kings=92 coaching = position.
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