The Sacramento Kings have stunk for a long time, but hope springs anew every fall. We convince ourselves that this year’s rookie will change the direction of the franchise, that this crop of free agents really will fix the Kings’ depth issues, that this is the year De’Aaron Fox will play defense. That this is the coach who will get the players to listen, who will institute the grand Kings culture we’ve been promised for years, and that meaningful basketball will be played in Sacramento in late April. Of course, it never does. Every year, some of us delude ourselves into thinking it might be this season. But… this might be the year?
But optimism is fickle and meaningless compared to actual trust. Pretend for a moment that this IS the year that the Kings take those meaningful steps forward; how far into the year will it take before we collectively trust in this team again? When would a majority of us be able to watch a Kings game without instinctively bracing ourselves for a Kangz meltdown? Do the Kings have to be .500 in March before I can say “I think this is the year the Kings make the playoffs” and actually believe it when I say it?
16 years of Kangz basketball has crushed my own ability to trust my own optimism, but I think this might be the year. I think there’s a real chance that this is the year Fox takes that next leap into consistent stardom and plays with pace, aggression, and steadiness on both ends. I think that Domas Sabonis can elevate this team beyond the sum of its parts. I think there’s a real chance that those of us who doubted Keegan Murray’s upside pre-draft are feeling foolish come end-of-season. I think there’s a real chance that the Kings depth has enough shooting to fill out around Fox and Sabonis without sacrificing everything defensively. And I think that Mike Brown can get this team to be “fine” defensively, even with only a few truly proven defenders on this roster. But do I truly believe that all of this will come to pass? Absolutely not.
The Sacramento Kings will be good long before I will actually believe that the Sacramento Kings are good again. It’s the cost of too many terrible seasons, too many awful draft picks, and too many half-started, unfinished rebuilds. I can find all the reasons for optimism that I want, but it’ll take many games of consistency, from Fox and Sabonis all the way down the bench, before I’ll truly trust them again.
I thought today’s article should be like “Kings Media Day”….to see what those players said….
Already got it!
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4102644/MediaDayBingo2.0.PNG)
This template is Perfect………!!!
Not Hakeem Olajuwon. It was a yoga podcast with Hakeem Davis.
Thank God for Life, Health, and Strength
I don’t like looking at his face. Makes my stomach upset
Three straight playoffs trips with at least one second round visit.
By that standard, the Grizzlies and Suns aren’t good teams yet.
I’m interested in sustainability. We have a lot more stink to shake off. No flash in the pan BS, feels like we already had that with the 39 win season under Joerger. If the addition of Mike Brown and some of these players is about setting a culture, that foundation isn’t happening in one season. Plenty of teams have had one or two good seasons and then stagnated or fell apart again for any number of reasons (injuries, coaching, bad trades). If this team actually wants my attention as a fan again, I don’t want to see a repeat of the Jimmy Butler TWolves or We Believe Warriors, especially since the Kings are trapped in the West.
The Grizzlies were never this bad. Even when they started up and missed for a decade at the beginning. Since 2004, they’ve made the playoffs 60% of the time.
Even the Suns, as horrific as they were in the ’10s, have made the playoffs 6 times in 16 years. And have made a WCF and Finals 2 of those.
If the Clippers weren’t so historically awful, the Kings would hands down be the worst NBA team in the history of the NBA. The Kings, dating back to their Rochester years, have won 45 games THIRTEEN times in 75 years.
Are you really going to argue that from a historical ineptitude standpoint SMF is wrong here?
No fair shifting the goalposts, Nate. The premise of this article is when will we trust the Kings are good again. SMF said:
That is SMF’s standard, which is totally fair. I just noted that means current “good teams” wouldn’t be classified as good under those standards. Don’t read too much into it.
I’m not shifting the goalposts. The reality is neither the Suns, nor Grizzlies, despite long stretches of futility for both, have been anywhere this bad.
FTFY since it seemed necessary. Neither the Grizzlies or Suns have this level of historical ineptitude. Despite long stretches of ineptitude for both.
Really, what the Kings are doing is truly historic. Why should this standard be applied to anyone outside of the Sacramento Kings?
This is my answer.
I think we can be confident that the team is headed in the right direction, and it’s not foolish to root for them to make the playoffs this year.
This is pretty straight forward to me.
1) you obviously have to be over .500 to even be considered a good team
2) I personally raise that to at least 5 games over .500, because a good team shouldn’t fall below .500 again once over that mark.
When was the last time the Kings, at any point in the season, got 5 games above .500 you ask?
.
.
.
game 81 of the 05-06 season. Adelman’s last year, and the last playoff appearance of the team. That is the last time the Kings might be considered to be a “good.”
If this year’s Kings, at any point, get 5 games above .500, I’m buying “good team.”
Living in the present is hard enough.
When the Ruland’s Cow gets dressed in Kings Purple?
I think Will needs to see this picture…
Probably already has. Do we know for sure that he doesn’t have a Greta Gerwig shrine somewhere in his domicile already?
To answer this day’s Q, what Adam said.
In response to this snippet by Bryant:
I know from experience during the playoff drought when this will be. After a 39-win season (or less is actually fine too) when it looks like the Kings have an identity and a clear path forward into competence.
I can’t remember what I predicted prior to 2018-19, but I know it was far fewer wins than 39. I was dead wrong, and it was AWESOME. I would love to be wrong about the Kings again. But that’s a separate topic.
I just need to see a positive direction, and I’ll buy in and believe again.
It has to be over the course of several seasons.
I can see them sneak into the play-in or -offs this season, given the amount of teams forfeiting victories for Victor.
And a few of these teams are set up to leapfrog the Kings quite fast, I fear.
Also, I would want to see if Sabonis stays. That’s material to sustained success, in my view.
Several seasons…like say, 16?
There is a subtext here that suggests that you think tanking would be the way to go, in order that the Kings don’t get leapfrogged, and that wins this season may end up hurting the franchise. Is there anything to that?
No.
The main thing is that I believe the FO is trying to thread a very thin needle here with a team based around Fox and Sabonis, and I am having doubts that it can lead to sustained success. And because of that doubt, I also fear that Sabonis will be gone by the end of the next season.
The other option is that they re-sign Sabonis to a max contract before knowing whether the Fox-Sabonis pairing can lead to sustained success.
So I would not tank now, necessarily. I would have done a few things differently than where we have ended up now. Now, the team has to actually go more or less all-in top avoid losing Sabonis for little or nothing.
I think that Sabonis staying is the biggest indicator of whether or not the Kings will become “good” anytime soon. Within the next year, if he isn’t convinced that the franchise/team is going in a positive direction, we will be trading him for picks before the 2023/2024 trade deadline. I would think that losing him would mean that Monty would also be gone, and we would be stuck in rebuild mode…again.
When?
Probably a long time from now.
I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever this season will be a complete disaster.
None.
This is perfect for the “i can’t trust my optimism”.
I am optimistic but then I read a statement like this and my reaction is “Hmm, he’s probably right”.
A lot of things would need to fall into place for Sacramento to crack the top eight. For me, if the Kings are playing consistently good basketball, showing effort at both ends, being competitive in the majority of games, and not fumbling away leads in the fourth, I’ll feel pretty good about the direction of the team.
I think Mike Brown is going to have a positive influence, and at the very least, the season is going to be a true step forward for the franchise.
And maybe we catch lightning in a bottle.
Leads in the fourth are rare after refusing to participate in the third.
More leads fumbling away in the fourth is progress.
For me, the difference between this team and teams of the past is that I can’t single out a player I don’t want to to be in the roster. (Except maybe Fox, if he doesn’t make the necessary leap and plays sloppy defense and/or smiles after a brutal loss).
For so many years we endured the likes of Jason Thompson (stayed with the Kings for tooooo long, Cousins who hurt more than he helped, Buddy Hield whose trade was at least a year late and others who had character issues.
If this current iteration is still bad, I will still enjoy rooting for the players, especially Keegan’s development. Almost all the players now are very likeable.
It will all come down to Fox. He’s got the bag, the best roster assembled since he’s been here, and no excuses. Elevate his game to: put the team on his back against contenders, play consistent D, improve 3%, and bring it every night. Dog Mindset every night.
If we continue to see the Fox of the past 5 years, this team is no better than a play in exit.
This is the best hotdog I’ve ever bought from a guy standing next to an outhouse, and who didn’t have a hotdog cart!
“Best” and “good” are not synonymous.
These are the types of expectations that I think are unfair to Fox and drive the fans to distraction and the team to ruin.
Don’t worry this is the year he transforms.
All of his potential. Too much to expect.
They should really move the Kings’ preseason press day to February 2nd.
When will Vivek sell the team? Oh, not any time soon? Never in that case.
12 months ago I was ready to move on and never think about this team again. Now, I am absolutely stoked about this season.
Mike Brown impresses me every time I see him speak. Luke Walton was a guy who had failed upward so many times in his career that having him as coach made as much sense as Hunter Biden running a Ukrainian energy company.
That’s not the case with Brown. If there’s a guy who has the results to back up the talk, it’s him. There is something about his presence that is commanding. He oozes legitimacy. I’m excited to see him lead this squad and implement a solid defensive scheme, regardless of what the personnel is actually capable of producing.
Fox and Sabonis are going to be so fun. In terms of basketball gravity, some guys in the league are black holes like Giannis and Curry. We don’t have one of those guys, but we do have seemingly two large planets that orbit around one another. I believe that their gravity in the PnR, whether Fox is zipping to the cup or Sabonis is bruising his way there, will leave no shortage of opportunity for Monk, Huerter, Barnes, Murray, and Davion to FEAST on open threes. This offense will be Top 10, bank on it.
And then there’s all of the young talent. Murray could be the 3rd option on this team by the All-Star break. Huerter, Monk, and Fox are all proven entities, but still have the ability to hit a new level. And then there’s Davion going into his second year, and we don’t even talk about him! Davion could quietly be the 3rd best player on this team right now but nobody knows it yet!
There’s so much about this team that mirrors what other successful organizations have done. I just can’t imagine that all these good decisions in terms of young talent, flexible contracts, complementary skillsets/fit, experienced leadership, etc. could end up as bad as we are dreading. I know these are the Kings, but this isn’t Vlade’s team anymore. These guys have everything they need to be successful.
So here’s the Hot Take that will go bad 4 weeks into the season: THE KINGS ARE ALREADY GOOD! Now we just need to see it.
I’m just being nosy, but do you have a win total for this group in mind by any chance?
I expect .500 ball, so 40-42 wins
Cool. I’m at 45 wins myself. Not sure we see that much differently about this roster.
I’m at 45 wins, as well.
(I’m usually off by 10 wins once the season actually plays out.)
Here’s to 55 wins then, Gonzo!!!!!
haha 🙂
Solid take. I think this is where I’m at as well.
I enjoyed clicking the thumbs up icon but also felt like I just disrespected myself while doing it.
When they secure a playoff spot. Nothing else will make me trust. Hard to believe this actually happens as long as anyone named Ranadive is calling the shots.
I think it depends on your definition of “good.” I would really enjoy being able to turn on the game and know the kings have a legitimate chance of winning most nights. Maybe that’s 41-41 or 46-36. Personally, I want to NEED to watch the Kings after January to believe this team is average to good.
Badge Legend