Welcome to the 30Q edition of the Chainmail mailbag!
Where’s the question you ask? Well, frankly, we’re tired of doing all of the question asking – it’s your turn!
Add your questions in the comments below, just like a normal mailbag; however, our responses will be a little different than normal. Instead of answering as many questions as possible within a single response, the staff will pick a few of the best or most upvoted comments to answer in a much more in-depth format. Wondering about some stats or lineups or options for next year? Throw them in the comments! Want to know our opinion surrounding a potential trade target? Ask away! Curious if the Kings should sign Dewayne Dedmon as the starting shooting guard? Me too!
And if you can’t think of a great question, don’t let that limit your contributions! Upvote your favorite questions that you would like to see us take on!
If your question isn’t picked, don’t sweat it. We’ll finish out this mini-series with rapid fire responses to the reasonable questions we didn’t pick, similar to our normal process.
Now, get to asking before another Greg Wissinger-themed fan fiction is published!
Keegan has been totally overlooked this offseason. He’s in the third year of his career and now playing for his next paycheck. Should we expect a big leap from him? What are your expectations?
Do you think the Kings need a backup 4/5 to round out the roster? If so do you have any recommendations?
I was thinking a bit about this the past couple days and think DDR really complicates this issue. Any forward worthy of starting would force DDR to become the SG – pushing Ellis out of the lineup or off the team altogether.
I don’t think that’s how to best mask DDR’s weaknesses on defense. You’d essentially be swapping out more defense in the frontcourt for less defense in the backcourt. DDR needs to be a forward imo, and if that’s the case, idk how many forwards are available that fill the 3&D role alongside him better than Keegan does.
So if you’re not going to get a starting caliber forward, then you’d be looking to acquire a guy like Portis Jr. or Tari Eason to be a backup. But would those guys be so significantly better than Lyles that it’d be worth making the necessary concessions to acquire them (aka Ellis and/or picks)? I’m not sure.
For now, I think Lyles exactly fits the mold of what we’re looking for, and if he can perform consistently on both ends he’s perhaps quietly the X-factor on this team. If not, then maybe you need a forward that’s so talented on both ends that they make Keegan the backup. It’s probably the only scenario in which parting with Keon and picks would be justified.
I agree with you totally. Lyles could be the X-factor and shares a lot of the elements we are supposed to be looking for. He doesn’t make the Kings a long or athletic team, but he provides toughness that has been lacking. I’d at least try him during camp and the start of the season and have the forward rotation be Lyles, Keegan, DDR, and Huerter (and perhaps anyone who emerges from those on a training camp deal). As an old sportswriter, I can tell you most of the athletes read things posted on this site and if I was Lyles, I would have something to prove.
I love the idea of a four on this team. I think that makes this team championship caliber. That might relegate Ellis to the bench but he can still play. Lyles and Huerter can get a four in return and that might happen? Ellis has low salary so he can be traded but will have to be packaged to make the math work. Fortunately that means it is less likely that Ellis traded. I am guessing Ellis will gladly accept a championship ring in lieu of starting. Dude is a team guy that wants to win!
super solid points. I do think Lyle’s is a great fit. Better than anything available at the moment, that’s 100% sure.
I tend to think the kings don’t need a back up PF as much as they need a long, athletic SF who can play PF occasionally. That keeps Lyes in his spot as a backup PF to Keegan. He’s very very good as the backup to Spock and as a small ball center. The kings seem to need that athletic SF who can defend guys like Lebron, KD, etcetera. A guy who can relieve DeRozan with a defensive edge. Honestly I would feel better if the kings still had Kessler Edwards on the roster. Now, I think they should have been able to acquire someone better than him in free agency and or in a trade this past off season. That’s the part that I’m a bit disappointed in. It’s the player type we lack that prevents me from being completely sold on whether or not this roster is elite and ready to compete for a championship. Imagine Dorian Finney Smith on this roster as the go to backup SF. Right now I believe the back up SF is Huerter which is excellent for more shooting but leaves a lot to be desired defensively on the large, elite SF’s around the league. To Huerters credit though, I do think he will have more success defending SF’s than SG’s.
Tari Eason would be amazing and I don’t think that changes the starting lineup at all. He’d be a backup just like Lyles. We probably wouldn’t see any Len if we had Tari. Isaac Okoro would have been really cool.
What about Nassir Little the Kings are working out right now? Plays really good defense. Can be a backup at SF. Also Kevin Huerter can play SF.
PS. Tari Eason is one of my favotite gets.
I’d really like Little, only 25 and still has some room to grow. Good defender, rebounder and shoots high percentage on his 2 pt shots…just has to get that 3 pt shot goin’. He’s 6’6″ with a 6’9″ wingspan and has played 33% of his career minutes at PF too.
I like him best of the three I heard they are working out for the reasons you said.
I like the idea TJ Warren too. More off what he looked like he once was. Sadly it has been escaping him for two full seasons. Escaping him to the point that he’s still unsigned at this moment which should probably kill any hope of him finding his old form which if he did it would be an absolute game changer. Jae Crowder… fills a hole in theory but I wouldn’t be too excited. I would be hopeful for whichever one they sign honestly. If they do. Maybe the best move would be buying out Colby jones and signing 2 of the three. But I’m just spit balling at the moment.
I was thinking of a backup center and power forward. Someone like Isiah Steward. He could do both. In order to get him you probably will give up Kevin Huerter plus compensation. Now you need to replace him. My idea is Coumani Camara of the Blazers. Won’t cost much but a young heck of a player.
PS If not Huerter then maybe Lyles Jones and McDaniels. Now you keep Huerter and don’t need Camara. I really like Camara as a up and coming young player. Chech out his highlights.
Of course they do, the entire universe does. I am curious about their recommendations though.
Provided that there are no major changes to the roster between now and the beginning of the regular season, what do you see as the rotation and minutes distribution for the team (with standard health)?
Love this question!
Standard health meaning the assumption in the equation is that Carter is good to go and Huerter is not day to day? Like what would this teams rotation and minute distribution be based on the players under contract?
Since there seems to be confusion, this mailbag is about the team. Not about other users.
Sorry about that. My question is, can Trey Lyles fill the role that people believe is missing on this team in a power forward?
Is it crazy to think that the addition of Derozan will create more opportunity for Sabonis and Fox to excel and finally be recognized as the All Stars that they truly are? Maybe even Derozan making a return to the All Star Game?
I feel this can happen because now the defense needs to cover three truly great offensive threats. All three can benefit from this. The All Star voting is a popularity contest and Derozan on the roster might draw some attention to this team. Just outside the popularity contest for the All Star game is the pure offensive dominance that can get a player put on the team.
The addition of Derozan in the mix might help one of the three put up absurdly high numbers at times?
We know how much of a rollercoaster ride the NBA can be, how difficult it can be for teams and organizations to have stability year to year, to stay competitive and improve and keep windows open.
How would you project the next five years of the Kings based on likely* best case scenario, realistic scenario, and likely* worst case scenario?
*I include likely here because we could all say the best case is the Kings are the first five-peat champions in the league or that Sacramento floods and causes every player to demand a trade.
What needs to happen for the Kings to make the leap to being a top 10 defense? Is it likely to happen, given the personnel on hand, currently? Where do you see the team landing in the Western Conference if they could crack the top 10?
You have two really good defenders as starters already. Ellis and Murray. Fox has the potential to be a good defender. Mext not right now but soon you have Devin Carter. I don’t think you need much more but one more would help. I don’t know why the Suns dropped Nassir Little. IMO he could play some minutes. A very good defender and has a motor.
Fox is a good defender. Tell me, how many if any starting point guards are better defensively than Fox? Personally, I would say zero. Marcus smart is probably his only competition in that category.
Throw on that Fox will no longer have to carry the offensive load the entire game and I could easily see him proving even better as a defender this season.
Jrue
What does “progression” look like this season for Mike Brown? Monte?
What will the Kings need to achieve this season in order for Monte to warrant an extension similar to the one Mike Brown received?
If they make the playoffs I think it’s an easy extension for the front office considering how nasty the west is. I have a hard time imagining a new GM could come in and do better in 2025/2026 then Monty who has been and still is building something.
Who will be the random role player who starts way too many games this year?
This is in Mike Brown’s traditional Okpala/Duarte role.
I don’t think this team leaves the window open for a weird starting player as the last two seasons invited. So, nobody.
When do you punch the reset button and break the Fox/Domas duo up?
If this team is unable to get to the second round this season and next?
And what is needed to keep working to build the team around the Fox/Domas duo?
Reaching the WFC in the next 2/3 years?
A different three headed monster. Interesting!
This is a legit question. If a healthy Kings team fails to make the second round, do they continue to build and pay the duo of Fox and Sabonis after 3 seasons of mediocrity?
Put it this way, better teams (Utah, OKC, Nets) have recently hit the reset button and sold the farm after achieving more the this current Kings squad has.
The Fox and Sabonis duo should have a run time determined on the output. The measure should be deep playoff runs and championship contention. Most of the NBA has rotated through superstars or elite combinations until victories are found. Undying blind loyalty is toxic. I truly do think Fox is good but I also do not think he is franchise player good. Sabonis brings the next level opportunities.
What changes in the offensive scheme, now with DeRozan, do you think the staff will implement?
With Vlade, he had many bad moves, but one that stood out (MBIII). What is McNair’s worst move as GM?
Keegan is a good start for my question:
Q: What progress would you either expect to see or want to see from his game this season?
If that is a leap – how much leap, how little?
Let’s apply that question to Keon Ellis as well –
Q: What aspects of his game are expected to advance?
The Coaches: Mike Brown still large and in charge, but Jordi is gone, Triano is promoted. Luke Loucks, Doug Christie, Leandro Barbosa, Riccardo Fois, Jim Mohan fill out the coaching seats.
Q: Do you expect a change in Mike Brown’s coaching style with a different set of assistants?
(trivia: Mike Brown went to High School in Würzberg, Germany (born 1970, Dirk Nowitzki born 1978 also, and more famously, from Würzberg. The American high school he attended (Brown), was a part of the Dept of Defense dependent school system. Interesting. I wonder if Mike Brown speaks any German. Maybe?)
I think Keegan is going to make the leap offensively that we hoped for last year and get back to a 40+% 3pt shooter. Cool thing is now you can throw in the high level defense that was unexpected. I also predict his defense improves as well.
Huerter Question:
Do you think Kevin Huerter can become the full time backup SF once he is cleared to play?
Until Huerter is cleared to play, who do you see getting minutes at SF besides DeRozan and Keegan?
My bet is that KH bounces back this season and is awesome in his 24mpg off the bench. Something like 10/3/3 on good efficiency with his shooting and size enabling a lot of different lineups. He will be key to this teams versatility and bench production.
Top 3 realistic trade targets. In exchange for who? Go!
Tari Eason for Keon + 1sts (if and only if one of Devin Carter/Colby Jones/Mason Jones looks capable of replacing Keon’s production, so probably a move for next offseason)
Portis Jr for Lyles, McDaniels, + 1sts (don’t know if the Bucks would do it but I think it’s fair value)
DFS for KH (This trade might be a lateral move, and might not be worth disrupting team chemistry for. KH also is younger and has a better chance of being good the next couple seasons than DFS)
Huerter plus 2 seconds for Wendell Carter Jr. Colby Jones and 2 seconds for Touimani Camara. That will do it.
Since Carter is sometimes a starter you might have to trade a first instead of seconds but I still think it is worth it. I really like Camara.
Duop Reath is also interesting from Portland. Kind of a breakout season last year. He cooked the Kings in their embarrassing loss to the Trail Blazers. Long athletic forward that can stretch the floor.
you got me on board. I knew nothing of this Camara guy. Did some research. I’m sold. Well done man. He should be attainable and is a very goood fit!
Will Mike Brown be on the hot seat if the Kings don’t make the post season again, or have a 45 win type year and get bounced out quickly in the 1st round?
And Monte? We once again have an unbalanced roster with plenty of smallish guards, a smallish guy pushed from SG to SF and a physically unimposing SF pushed to PF.
But I for one was unimpressed with Brown last season so he will likely have the hotter seat if we can’t reach the second round of the playoffs.
Yeah for sure, crazy to think of them both being in that position. But it’s such a results oriented business and ultimately I guess, the Kings don’t have 3-5 of Fox and Domas prime years to waste.
Who is the most important X-factor this year between Keegan, Keon & Kevin?
Whoa, I was going to post this same question.
Would Monte go after Nassir Little? He can play really good defense, has a high motor, is young and still improving. Probably get him pretty cheap.
We have to be wary about Little having been cut by the Suns. The Suns are competing for a championship yet they cut him. I think he is a long shot.
I think they stick to the current roster. I just don’t think Monte is willing to go into the luxury tax for any of those tryout guys.
The Suns had to be aggressive in changing the team because they went big last year in contract signings. Everyone thought they were done for the foreseeable future because of that. The NBA is built for rapid change and that allows teams to take risks and rapidly recover. Cutting Little was probably part of that big change. All that being said I don’t know much about him as a player.
He is kind of like Robinson from Miami isn’t he?
Similar to Jalen Mac. Jalen in Charlotte was better than Little ever was.
Yep! Had to cut costs to rearrange the money to keep the core while improving the support of the core.
Maybe they don’t even replace him?
They are the opposite of the Kings. They have ten forwards on the roster.
Um, there is just Durant. Every one else is like 6’6″ and below.
I just got the number by counting the players listed as a forward or forward/center on the Suns website.
What do I know? Maybe Durant is the only Forward? A whole bunch of 6’8″ – 6’11” guys on the roster?
Is there another NBA team in Phoenix?
Too bad Little got picked up by the Heat. Intriguing guy, and decent amount of potential but might not ever be more than that, who knows? lol
Keegan Murray.
What do you make of the recent workouts of vet wings that are currently unemployed? Is Monte still looking to fill a hole, just doing his due diligence, much ado about nothing or something else?
What do you see as the finishing order of the Pacific Division? I can see the Kings holding off the Suns for the division title, followed by the… by the… hell if I know! The Clippers lost PG and I don’t trust Harden or Kawhi to stay healthy. The Lakers got older and the Warriors have an awful lot of eggs in one man’s basket.
What would the circumstances have to be for you to be ok with the Kings making a win-now move at the trade deadline this year a la the Pacers going after Siakam or Raptors going after Kwahi? Something where the Kings give up real (possibly painful) assets to get what could be a rental, but might move them towards true contender status?
Based on how you think the standings will shake out in the west, what would be the most favorable path for the Kings through to the finals and what would be the least favorable (so if you think the Kings are a 6 seed, who is your ideal first round opponent, what would be the 2/7 matchup you’d like to see for the kings, etc.)
Who is going to be the team in the West (not Sacramento) who disappoints the most this year?
Who will be the next King to make an all-star game not named Sabonis? (Keegan, Fox, someone else?
Fox
Derozan is the next All Star if I had to pick. There is a glut of point guards in the West that will go before Fox.
Will either Fox or DeRozan win Clutch player of the year? Who will score more 4th quarter points for the Kings this season?
They will both win and share the status – only this season it will be known as the Double Clutch award.
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