Basketball Kings go with Westphal as new coach

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After the relatively unproven Reggie Theus lasted a little more than a season in Sacramento, the Kings are reportedly going with a more proven commodity this time around.

Former Suns and SuperSonics coach Paul Westphal will be named to take over the Kings, the Sacramento Bee reported on Tuesday.

Westphal coached Phoenix from 1992-96 and Seattle from 1998-2001. His greatest success came in his first season on the bench, leading the Suns to the NBA Finals where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

Westphal was a five-time All-Star as a player from 1972-84 with the Celtics, Suns and Knicks. He won one title with the Celtics in 1973-74 and lost to Boston in the Finals while with the Suns in 1975-76. He finished his career with averages of 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game.

The Bee reports that Westphal agreed to a deal with two guaranteed years at $1.5 million per season. The team holds an option on the third year at $1.7 million.

The Kings spoke with Eddie Jordan, who took the 76ers job, Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau and Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis.

The Kings finished with the worst record in the league last year at 17-65. They had the greatest percentage chance of landing the top pick in the June 25 draft and selecting Oklahoma phenom Blake Griffin, but the ping pong balls didn't fall their way and they plummeted to fourth.
 
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