The ReBeam Team has emerged from the rubble of a not very merry December of Sacramento Kings basketball. The Doug Christie-led Kings are on a five-game winning streak following the departure of Mike Brown. Everyone can see that the vibes are night and day different in 2025. Monday’s thrilling double overtime victory at home against the Miami Heat on the second night of a back to back that began with a win over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco are prime examples of that.
I’ll shut up though, and let the players describe what is going on with Christie as the interim head coach:
“We bought in to what DC is doing. We all just bought in to it right now and we all feel good, and we’re confident in what he is saying. … He’s a player. He played before so I think he knows how to say it to us a little better than people that didn’t play the game before.”
“The belief, the energy, the vibes are at an all-time high. We’re just going out there and fighting for each other. We’re believing in what we’re doing. We could have folded [against the Heat] and we just kept fighting.”
“I think it just has been easier because there are not a lot of rules, honestly. The only real staple is going out there and playing hard, playing for each other. The offense, the defense is just playing aggressive and playing our game. He’s preached a lot of communication. On the defensive end, if we’re blitzing someone just talk about whatever we are doing. We run a bunch of different things, but it doesn’t matter as long as we’re communicating and getting through it, that’s all that matters. And then on the offensive end, you have the best players in the game so you’re giving them the ball. I think that was the first message he told us is it’s going to get real simple. Late game or whatever throughout the stretch, [De’Aaron] Fox you get it, we’re running this play, Deebo [DeRozan] you get it, whoever has it you guys are pros, you guys are the players out there. I’m going to give you the ball and you are going to go out there and make it happen. So, I think he just puts it all on us and I think he just wants us to go out there and play hard and play for each other.”
Christie wants his guys to play free, for themselves, for the city, for joy and he wants them to take joy from their opponent. He is emerging as a leader of men in the locker room and his respectful, simple, yet relatable (in terms of him being a former player) messaging has ignited the heart of a team that has had a good defensive, offensive and net rating all season, but wasn’t getting results. He is maximizing the talent on the roster despite the clear flaws we all know it has.
“We have more to give, we have more to accomplish, you individually have more in the tank, and that is what we’re here to do, and I’ll be damned if they went past more [against the Heat],” Christie said. “They went the most because two OTs and being down, and like I said fighting not just against a team, that’s a team [Miami Heat] and that is one hell of a coach [Erik Spoelstra], so they battled and to my guys, much respect, I love them for that.”
Christie is showing confidence in his guys and that has really helped Ellis.
“He’s given me a little bit more rope and I think late, when I had that turnover, those are crucial, but I mean he’s just like don’t worry about it, you’ll get it back. Just go get it on the other end. Things like that just kind of eases your mind a little bit,” Ellis said. “The faith that he has in me to play through it and correct myself is huge.”
For the fans, the Kings are doing a great job in the arena of displaying Doug’s reactions to plays on the big screen. When it cuts to him giving stank faces like this after Sabonis hit that clutch three late in the game, you feel him. You feel it. He is one of us. He is Sacramento.
Sabonis clearly felt it too.
— Domantas Sabonis (@Dsabonis11) January 7, 2025
Now, I’ll add the necessary caution to the excitement out of obligation, even though I really don’t want to. This all could very well be a Jeremy Lin-like, “Dougsanity” moment, right? Next month, reality could set in and this very well could have all been a honeymoon phase. Teams could catch up to Christie’s simplistic style of play. There were times early in the Heat game in which the offense looked very unstructured and confused, even though the Kings were playing tough on defense and making up for it. Opponents may be able to catch on to properly attacking a free-flowing offense over the course of a full game. Christie is OK with mistakes as long as his team plays together and plays hard.
OK, I got the disclaimer out of the way.
Now, let’s all enjoy this because dammit this is a hell of a moment, and it is fun. And if this former Kings legend can keep this up long-term, we could be looking at a truly great sports story.
I’m going to keep saying that I think we have the talent to be a second round, or better playoff team. I also didn’t think Brown was a bad coach. But listening to players, it sounds like he started thinking his coaching decisions were more important than his players.
Just the fact that Christie is seeing more success by simplifying the plays and the rotation, makes it feel like Brown was overthinking things.
I know it’s early and we still need to bring in a 4 before the trade deadline. But there is way too much talent on the floor for the way they were playing in November and December.
Brown could be a good coach and still be the wrong coach to maximize this team. Happens all the time in the NBA. Cavs went from Bickerstaff to Atkinson and became a juggernaut despite no changes to the actual roster. And then Detroit went from Monty Williams to Bickerstaff and became a better team (they did change their roster but you can see the difference in the coaching too). Finding the right mix of players and coaches is more art than science sometimes.
Completely agree.
Agree. After this stint with the Kings I am thinking Brown is better as a top assistant than head coach. I just don’t think he has the connection/personality/charisma whatever you want to call it to be the top guy.
Correct. He does not. It’s a players league. Brown was too his way or the highway type. That shit hasn’t worked for him and yet he’s too stubborn to change
I could see that style working in college if he could recruit.
Agree
And it’s also possible for him to have been the head coach the team needed two years ago to get them back on track, but the wrong coach to get them to the next level.
Was he our Mark Jackson?
Both Kerr and Christie were NBA guards that became commentators, but Christie got valuable assistant coaching experience, while Kerr was a GM before becoming a head coach.
Therefore Christie will be > Kerr
I said in another thread that I thought Kristy reminded me of Steve Kerr in that they both are very good at dealing with players, and also very intelligent basketball minds.
Will Doug need to learn how to adjust and run certain plays on all fence etc.? I don’t know but the narcissist owner might’ve just gotten lucky.
Whether by luck or intent will be irrelevant if Christie ends up being a quality find.
Kinda weird because I remember reading an article or seeing an interview with Brown where he said during his 6 years with Kerr he learned a lot as a coach, and how Kerr likes to be relatable to his players and not be too harsh like he used to be. Kerr does a good job at balancing both ways, can be strict but fair & easy going as well. Not the type of coach to be super buddy-buddy with all his guys, but doesn’t go over the top too frequently either. Seems like MB reverted back to his old ways, which is not too hard to do I guess…we are all inherently who we are sometimes.
This. Exactly.
I’m not saying NBA players need to be pampered, but they also don’t need to have their coach’s voice in their head the entire game. Christie seems to have changed that dynamic. Again, it wasn’t Brown being a bad coach, but maybe the players struggled to ever become comfortable (Keegan may be the prime case in this). As we all say, it’s early, but as Kangz as they have been through the Brown firing, free agent players may get a better attitude about playing in Sac if they have a coach that lets them play to their strengths and doesn’t make them a head case.
Brown was obviously making the players think too much when they played. They were being forced to do exactly what he wanted rather than being given the tools to expand. Bad coaching.
Brown was making the players think too much? Hmmmm how could one possibly conclude that. Browns record with the Kings was commensurate with the rosters he had. The big win year had a lot to do with a pretty healthy injury free roster and often teams were sitting out their top players against us.
When injuries subsequently hit the roster, Browns record began to diminish.
I think the reason those teams made a jump is mainly due to the growth of the young players on the roster. You saw a result and then tried to attribute it to something that really is flat out false. Coaches can’t make that kind of difference. Brown is a good enough to win with the right roster but not good enough to win with an inferior roster. That is the case with most/all coaches in the NBA.
Agree on Brown. He’s one of those coaches who believes his players should bend to his system. Unfortunately, that is bad coaching. You can only get so far that way unless your players perfectly fit your system.
that kind of stubborn coaching doesn’t cut it anymore. This is why Eric Bienemy (nfl) isn’t Coach anymore, and never became head coach.
I’m glad Brown is gone because I find this style of coaching egregious.
Fuck it, we deserve this.
If brevity is not really your thing, then I just have to say that the fight our guys are showing, the effort, the smiles, the energy, the convo on the roof of G1C, the WINS against good teams…how could you not love Coach Doug?
Doug has said he always feels like he has unfinished business bringing a championship to Sacramento. You can feel that in how he coaches. That attitude has to be crazy infectious for the locker room and he definitely got a front row seat for what wasn’t working for MB. I’m in. All in.
Well said, we definitely do.
This. Exactly.
Coaching is about people more than X’s and O’s. If the players don’t relate to or respect the coach it doesn’t matter how good the X’s and O’s are.
And it’s funny with MB’s 26x, record skipping, check if he is OK, possession after possession rant it is easy to imagine that was all the players were hearing from him Charlie Brown adult voices style.
That was the weirdest press conference I’ve ever seen and that includes all of Lose Walton’s and Kerr’s post-stomp conference.
For sure I thought my recording had a glitch or I needed to restart the router
Zing!
I don’t think I’ve seen this type of defensive intensity ever. Let’s see where it takes us, but I think we could be making alot of noise soon.
So I think the free flowing offense is great as long as he takes control and helps the team make adjustments when the other team adjusts and the free flowing stagnates. For example against the zone we started getting stagnant and that is when Doug needs to be able to call a play that has the team focus on exploiting the gaps to get to paint or requires quick ball movement to break it if the players are not naturally doing it… if this means calling a time out and reminding them of what they need to do to break it; or say hey we’re gonna run a few plays an see if we can get them out of this. So find balance to make adjustments and take control when the game requires it. With BROWN it always seemed like he failed to recognize and make mid game adjustments, and he never seemed to find the balance by allowing the players to play freely.
Hope we keep Lyles and package Huerter with whatever “asset” picks we can for the best defending forward or center available. Backcourt seems dialed with Foxy, Malik, Keon, and the rook. Obviously, Red Velvet is the better player at this moment but I think giving Carter those minutes now with whatever we get back for the Huerter trade would make the team better positioned to make a post-season run. Or, at least, an extended jog.
Giving Carter a lot of Huerter’s minutes means that only Monk is a liability on defense in the backcourt. Even then, Monk has made clear strides and isn’t the sieve that he once was on defense.
My question is whether a Huerter trade will return the Kings a 4/5 who will impact the team. At this point, I’m reluctant to include the players who might be packaged with him to get the player you want. I don’t think Keon, Carter, or Keegan should be untouchable but you better get a heck of a return if you include them.
I wonder what kind of value Huerter has. I think the Kings fans have a mostly negative/neutral view on him (earned) but is that league wide?
I wonder what Huerter and a protected 1st could get.
He’s a shooter on a (opinions may vary) good contract that expires next year. That with 1 or 2 first round picks is a valuable offer. Although, so much of it is circumstantial with the right team and players being available.
Seems like a tight fit, meaning the right team has to have that need AND see that value AND they need to have that player they are willing to let go that will help the Kings. Having my doubts Monte can pull something like that off.
I mostly agree. Definitely agree that it is a tight fit. I think Monte has the aptitude and ability to negotiate the deal if it’s available. I more so doubt the deal we need will be available, based on players/perceived value/team situations. You often hear GMs talk about how many deals are discussed and thrown around, then there’s some traction, then it’s derailed at the last minute for whatever reason. Seems a lot easier to make a trade than it is to make the right trade.
And with the way they are playing now it does not feel as urgent to make a move.
The backup big is the most urgent IMO. Domas is playing big minutes and they are all hustle minutes. Would be great to have a backup to throw in and not see a huge drop off.
What do you think it would take to get Jonas Valančiūnas? Huerter and a pick?
I don’t keep up on salary cap shit or teams other that Kings much so never have a good idea of these things.
Jonas makes $10m, Huerter ~$17m. There might need to be another player taken back from Washington, and the Kings have one 2nd round pick they can trade (two others are tied up in the Huerter swap with Atlanta.
A first for Jonas would be asinine, in my opinion, which leads me to believe that improving the roster is a challenge.
Thanks! Bring another player back then and send the 2nd if necessary. I would balk at a 1st too. I do think V could be a good option to be Domas’ backup.
I think right now we need a 3/4 defender more, but you might be right because we are so Domas dependent. We’ve shown we can win without Fox, I don’t have the same confidence without Domas. Would love to keep Len but Huerter and Len for a center does make sense.
With Lyles back and playing well it makes me shift more towards needing that backup 5, like you said they are very Domas dependent. He feels like the least replaceable, least redundant player on the team right now.
Len is OK for some spot defense and rebounding but is SO limited offensively there is always a huge drop off.
V can hit some 3s so there is the potential to go big (for once) and play him and Domas together a bit.
Let’s say Jonas is added. That means the Trey Lyles small ball Center doesn’t have to be the go to anymore. They could run Jonas at the 5, Lyles a the 4, and more Keegan at the 3. It gives them options when Domas sits. Len has been subpar this year, and Lyles is the only other player that can play “center” on the team.
Not saying Jonas should be the target, it’s just that a player of his level and position might help.
I’d imagine Washington is going to want draft capital and/or prospects in any Jonas deal. They are rebuilding. I’m of the opinion that Monte shouldn’t really give up draft capital for a guy who will backup the guy who gives 30+ minutes a night. Any backup to Sabonis should be on the cheap
…That is unless you plan at times to run Domas at the 4 and Jonas at the 5 and give him 25 minutes a night.
…That is unless you plan at times to run Domas at the 4 and Jonas at the 5 and give him 25 minutes a night.
This is my thought at least to have in the toolbox. Gives the Kings a whole other look they can throw at teams. And keeps Domas fresh. And another player to throw at the big, long centers who give Domas trouble.
If we are dealing with Washington, I’d like to rearrange the deck chairs and get some roster balance. I’d settle for Cobly Jones for Patrick Baldwin Jr. He’s a 6’9″ combo forward who just turned 22 and can hit from 3, who surprisingly can’t get minutes on a bad Wiz team. Let’s kick those tires.
Sounds fine to me. You definitely have more league wide roster knowledge than I do.
And to be clear I’m not saying it has to be V. He is just an example I could think of who could fit the bill and is actually gettable.
Baldwin was over hyped by the duds- that makes him suspicious
Dude, we are talking about Colby Jones here. There is no risk.
This is my thought, right now they don’t have much choice they have to use Lyles at the 5 often. Getting V or another legit backup center will give them many more options than they currently have.
I think the next couple weeks will determine what direction Monte goes. The vibes are good now, the team is playing together and the chemistry is there.
If things start to go a bit sideways before the deadline, I can see a few players being moved.
Friday should give us some sort of tell.
In my opinion Monte shouldn’t be going off of vibe. Pinpoint the players that you know if they were replaced by another player would either help your team get better or keep it the same at worst. Use those players with additional assets to make that happen. That player that is coveted and on a contract that is coveted while being redundant and replaceable with what you currently have is Kevin Huerter. Period end of story.
All we really need is a 3/4 or 4/5 with length that can play D and hit an open shot for the 2nd unit.
Starting 5 is pretty set with Keegan being the only option to move to the bench, but if you’re going to do that it might be better to trade him.
Hope Korea has been treating you well. Also hope this Doug juju rubs off on Keegan al-Gaib in a big way.
You don’t move Keegan to the bench. He is the best big man defender we have, You don’t trade him either. If you want to move somebody to the bench I suggest Demar Desozan. He can still get his minutes off the bench.
PS Example: Look what he did last night. 12 rebounds along with one of the most meaningful blocks in second overtime. Also shoots 4 of 6 from 3.
Another PS. If your argument is what he did last night in overtime he can do that coming off the bench.
Agree 100. It turns out the only reason Keegan wasn’t playing well is because his ankle is fucked up. I wish they’d let him sit longer, but maybe it’s one of those things really need surgery.
And DeRozan screams bench player. They don’t need him.
Would love him in the Iggy 2015 role, but we would need to trade for another starter or start Fox, Malik, and Keon. Wouldn’t be opposed but another starter would be nice.
Agreed. And DeMar would absolutely feast on most bench defenders.
I’m for DeMar off the bench or trade him, but it’s not going to happen
I think a trade may be difficult until his third year. But if you’re going to try to trade him, start by inquiring among the teams who pursued him this past offseason.
Who were they? I don’t recall.
The one I can think of was the Lakers, I believe. He certainly fits their timeline. Fits the Clips’ timeline, too, but I can’t recall if they pursued him. I wasn’t keeping close tabs on the DeMar “sweepstakes” because I didn’t think it was likely to acquire him until fairly late in the game.
Lakers make sense. DDR and Colby Jones for Rui and Vanderbilt.
Agree. I wish they would trade him but you know the owner doesn’t want that.
I didn’t like the pick up then and I don’t like it now.
I actually think they do need 3/4. Being OK with where the talent is is the reason Sacramento stuck right now. They should take advantage now and try to be aggressive and get better.
I seriously doubt what they have is enough to be a true title contender, which is what I want and what we all want.
I don’t like this thing where Sacramento thinks, just because we want a few games or went to the playoffs that the roster is good and set.
Maybe Herb Jones. Jones at small forward and Murray at power forward. The 2 together would ;produce one of the top defensive duos in the league.
You aren’t getting Herb Jones for Huerter. He’s gonna require 2 first picks at minimum. The guy is an All-Defensive type player.
With the addition of DFS in Lala land i can squint and maybe see Huerter and a 2nd rounder for Rui if the Lakers are indeed wanting more shooters, but Rui himself has been shooting better the Huerter this year.
I don’t think Herb Jones is the answer. This team needs size and length, of which he brings neither. He defends slightly above average at or below his position (3-1) and that’s about where the positives end for me. He shoots… ok. His team defense is… ok. He’s the kind of guy who looks good in a good system with a clearly defined role and then come to a team like Sacramento and completely regress.
Hard pass.
Easy for us to say we want a really good defender, realistically way harder for us to find a team willing to give up a good defender. Hopefully this hypothetical team needs a shooter and values first round picks.
The Pelicans are looking for a shooter and have at times been willing to make a trade involving Jones. Let Monte make an offer and see what happens.
I don’t think we need to add a starting 4/5. A dog like Stewart or a rotational piece that takes Len’s minutes and can occasionally play alongside Domas will do the trick. Getting someone like John Collins means you are moving Keegan and DDR to the bench and we’d have to give up a lot to get him. Watching Keegan with the backside swat against Miami is exactly what we need out of him. I just think we need a bit more backup for Domas than anything. It’s very clear that Len is a very decent guy but the Kings have a huge drop-off in talent when he enters the game. Lyles is the back up 4, small ball 5 they need and should be getting even more minutes. I don’t know what player out there is worth giving up picks and a player to replace Lyles. Huerter and the salary filler needed to get Stewart helps the Kings work within the roster the best, assuming he’s available. I assume Pistons need someone to replace Jaden Ivey.
They do still need a 3/4 defender and shooter, if for no other reason than to clear out all the guards.
And DDR on the bench would be perfect. I still don’t love him in this team. One trick pony
Huerter and Carter would match salary for Cameron Johnson. Throwing in an extra first rounder would give the nets the two first rounders/equivalent they seem to be seeking, if they value Carter as equivalent to a FRP
I agree with you here. Keep Fox, Monk, Ellis and Carter. let the young guy grow and see how things work out with Fox’s contract next year. Carter is an excellent un proven insurance policy on that. his high upside is obvious 3 games in with no training camp. Huerter needs to go (sadly). He does have value. Package his contract with picks and any combination of players not named Fox, Monk, Ellis, Carter, Keegan, Ox, or Lyles for a starting caliber forward like a John Collins and this team makes a tangible improvement while keeping continuity with what is working. This is how a good team gets more good.
How about Huerter and a first for Herb Jones.
Herb Jones would be amazing and up the ceiling of this team IMO. I have doubts if he is gettable.
I’m pleasantly surprised by how DC has moved the team forward. I thought that naming him the interim head coach was just another Vivek gimmick, and maybe it actually is, but it seems to be working right now. I still have massive heartburn over how the MB situation was handled, not just the weird timing of the firing and subsequent radio silence from the FO, but even handing MB the extension in the offseason in the first place when concerns about his coaching style abounded (concerns we’ve been raising this year too!). It all makes the management look like a bunch of fools, which they probably are but you don’t want to broadly proclaim it to the world like this. It just heaps onto the poor reputation that this org already has.
If the decision results in a playoff spot, I’m not going to lose any sleep about the org’s reputation. To paraphrase Willie from Bad Santa, if you think you can make
my lifethis organization’s reputation any worse, go right ahead!NO CLASS, NO BALLS
To be fair the firing of MB was devoid of class but definitely not of balls. It takes balls to fire the first unanimous CotY six months after a huge extension mid-season. I think it actually took a lot of balls knowing what the media and everyone would say afterwards.
It also takes balls to own up to your actions, though. Vivek and MM avoiding the media after the firing, rather than coming forth to explain their actions, shows a lack of balls imo.
That too, yes.
I think that Vivek and MM have maybe half a ball between them. Part of my ongoing fear that things will collapse again, despite the current streak, is my Kangz PTSD. Part of it is knowing that the team’s management sucks, well, balls…
Even the Raiders did a better job re: their firing Pierce. When you are running a professional sports organization and you’re looking up at the Raiders, you ain’t doing it right.
Being both a Kings and Raiders fan this makes me laugh and cry and drink…
Wish I could message Rob individually since most of you don’t care about this.
Been more focused on the Kings recently because the Raiders…well…yikes. Between Davis and Vivek I don’t know what I did to deserve them. Read about Pierce’s firing and it is sounding more iffy whether the Raiders did a better job. Davis is looking for their 15th head coach since 1995. This is pretty bad too.
….starting with a failure to secure a real answer at quarterback for Pierce, then ending with sending him out to address the media one day before he found out he was being fired. It was a situation so awkward inside the team’s headquarters that, according to sources who spoke with Yahoo Sports, Pierce had already started discussing potential coaching staff changes hours before he learned he was losing his job.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/raiders-first-problem-isnt-a-coach-or-quarterback-its-mark-davis-inability-to-find-his-own-identity-062449858.html
same
Raiders just fired their GM Telesco after a great draft BTW
I was thinking about what that press conference would sound like. They wouldn’t give any details about what was happening inside the building/locker room as that would unprofessional. The response would be something like:
“We had high expectations for this roster, and those expectations were not being met. We felt, at this time, to maximize the potential of this roster, we needed to go in a different direction. Doug has shown to be a capable leader during his time as an assistant coach, and we have full confidence in his ability to improve the results this season.”
Should they have addressed the move? It is standard in professional sports to do so. I just don’t think any answer would have been a revelation. At least in this community many of Brown’s flaws were known, and the firing made sense based on the results on the floor.
No doubt the press conference would have been awkward. Just releasing a statement though, like the one you wrote, would’ve made me respect them just a teeny bit more. As far as I know, they haven’t even done that.
Monte released one. It was like 13 words thanking Brown for his time in Sacramento. Not much.
I didn’t see it. Sounds like I didn’t miss much.
Ah yes, I agree with that.
What explanation was needed? Something had to happen, the kings were playing like doo doo.
If they had balls they would have denied him the premature extension and waited to see how he’d do this season.
I’d say likely Rich Paul spooked them into it, which would show a lack of balls.
I mean everyone spooked them into it. This site in particular was calling for MB’s extension as well.
I was watching a YouTube commenter who pointed out that after the Pacers loss where Huerter played 23 minutes and McDermott played 18, MB had the chutzpah to get in front of the media and say he “just couldn’t find the minutes” for Keon, who played 5 minutes of garbage time. I don’t blame Rich Paul for that transgression. All of us fans understood that was a horseshit approach.
I don’t think it was a ‘balls’ move, I think it was a panic move that is happening to work out so far
I’m not saying it wasn’t out of panic but still it took balls to pull the trigger on it. Not doing anything would be worse.
Agree that not doing anything would be worse. I just don’t equate panic to having balls, kinda the opposite.
And don’t get me wrong, however Christie got the gig so far it is working great and I am thrilled about that.
I disagree. It was another in a long line of knee-jerk reactions by the owner. All of the others which failed. He got lucky.
As I said, previously, if this was Monte telling the owner to make the switch, then it took balls. But this was more likely rich Paul coming in, and saying you better do some thing.
I don’t necessarily agree or disagree with the idea of it being a panic move. From the outside, it might appear that way. But we fans didn’t sit in practices observing MB’s and Doug’s interactions. Maybe they knew exactly what they were doing. Hard to know. Though I guess the one thing that argues against the “they knew what they were doing” idea is that they certainly didn’t go out of their way to project confidence that Doug was their man.
…the “they knew what they were doing” idea…
I think that gives them way too much credit considering the history of ineptitude. IMO, they panicked and had to make a move and did the easiest thing available.
And they got lucky and it happened to work out so far.
It wasn’t a a panic move. They knew all along what they were doing. Monte doen’t make panic moves.
IMO, the DDR S&T was a bit of a panic move. I really can’t imagine he was the target for the Kings going into the offseason.
All of this smacks of an over involved egomaniacal owner. It’s probably why they got to Rozen in the first place. That’s probably why they extended brown even though they didn’t need to. Etc.
It’s just business as usual for the stupid owner, but he got lucky with the coach. Or, it’s Monte McNair standing up to the owner.
Ownership is the one thing that’s not changing any time soon, so the conversations about how much of a dolt Vivek is amount to a fart in the wind to me. He sucks, he doesn’t suck – don’t care. As a Niner fan, I didn’t spend a lot of time talking about Jed York’s personal flaws during the Mike Singletary saga and Harbaugh firing and I certainly don’t have more than a passing interest in Vivek’s personal character. But, you know, that’s just like, my opinion, man.
Well said.
IMO Vivek has more than earned our wrath
No argument there. It’s just a little like complaining about the weather to me.
LOL, definitely. Isn’t that what most of this Herald stuff is?
I seem to remember that at the end of last season, with Monk out, there was a lot of talk about how the Kings didn’t have enough playmaking and couldn’t create offense efficiently inside the three point line to compete with actual playoff teams.
I could be just remembering the comments of the telecast/casual fans, but when they signed DDR, I definitely felt like the Kings were addressing a direct criticism of last year’s team. Granted, with full health, this is less of a need this year, however, I do feel like it was intentional.
I think what tips it for me is the DDR deal took place a full week in the free agency. Most of the other moves/players many of us were wishing for were gone by then. Looking back at it, it smells a bit of desperation in order to not roll back the same roster for the 3rd straight year. Monte cleared space with the Toronto deal, which took giving up assets, then nothing materialzed so he swung for DDR, which took additional assets. It reminds me a bit of when Vlade cleared space in the Philly deal only to swing and miss in free agency and settle upon Rajon Rando.
It was
n’ta panic move. They knew all alongwhat they were doing.Monte doesn’t makepanicmoves.It took an egomaniacal owner to be in this position where he extended a coach, and then fires him six months later. Nothing about this to cats or balls. Unless you’re talking about Monte McNair, letting Vivek know that this had to be done.
just because the owner might’ve fell backwards into a good situation doesn’t mean I’m letting him off the hook for being an asshole and a bad owner
I think it was Monte’s decision, and he had to convince Vivek. Not playing Keon was insane and Monte wasn’t having it.
This.
“Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé had the final say and ultimately gave the green light to pull the plug after practice Friday. But the decision to fire Brown was McNair’s, Amick and Slater reported, citing team sources.”
Amick citing team sources in the Athletic last Friday.
I’m not surprised that a GM thought it wise to greenlight the idea with his ownership first, seems like a prudent thing to do even when your boss isn’t a low-key megalomaniac. And definitely lends credence to the fact that Monte is, in fact, running the team currently.
Yep. I think the fanbase desire to take a shot at Vivek is out of line here. Monte found Keon. Keon is amazing. MB didn’t play him and it hurt the team big time plus the crazy rotations. I have to think discussions were had between MM and MB. When it reached unfixable MM went to VR and here we are.
I’m thinking of reputation in terms of trying to attract free agents. I guess that’s never really been something this org has been able to do, DDR notwithstanding, so maybe it doesn’t matter if reputation continues to tank.
Monk signed here too, and then he re-signed this past offseason rather quickly. But other than that and DeRozan, the FA signings have been “meh”.
Yeah, there’s been the occasional hit (Vlade too?) but Sac seems to have a reputation as a destination free agents avoid.
Kings also have not generally had the spending power to attract FAs. That, along with poor management and dismal results on the court, makes signing in Sacramento an afterthought for most players.
A lot of that is just the city. CA income taxes are high and Sacramento doesn’t provide the advertising opportunities that LA or SF do to offset the income loss. All things being equal, California doesn’t make it easy to recruit FAs strictly on NBA take home pay. Play in LA or SF and you’re getting national exposure and advertising opps.
That said, again, winning cures that problem. The 1999-2005 Kings were plastered all over national media.
Sac is the 4th of 4 largest California markets, (and 5th of 5 if you include Las Vegas (Laker town) and 6th of 6 if you include Phoenix) with California taxes and little name notoriety (not LA not Bay Area).
Throw in that LA has the Lakers (winning 17 Championship history, a winning tradition) and Golden State who are on the tail end of a dynasty (4 Championships) Sacramento has NO winning tradition, never has. Small Market San Antonio in general, Milwaukee and Denver who have won championships in the last 5 years have wins to brag about. Cleveland and OKC are the two latest small market juggernauts – but it’s only regular season.
So no winning tradition, mid -market (20th media market), Vivek ownership – no, Sac is not a free agent destination.
And yes, yes, yes – winning cures ALL ills.
But hey, at least we’re not as forlorn as Oakland!
Winning cures that problem. Win with Doug and nobody will care how they fired MB. We pulled DeMar in FA because, at the time, the franchise felt like it was on an upward trajectory. Same with Monk.
I think there’s truth to this. Can only hope that we become a consistently winning team again (despite Vivek).
I don’t buy that players, coaches, or agents are particularly “avoiding” the Kings. I think any player with goals of success prefers playing for the Lakers, Celtics, Heat Spurs, etc. (any team with a well established culture and recent history of success, really.) I think the reality of the NBA is closer to what any one of us experiences when it comes to “where” you work; you show up, do your job, and go home as much as possible so you can live your life. Is the job you’re at the definition of your “dream” job? no? Then you keep working towards that as much as you want to until you get picked up by a contender, whether through trade or free agency. A stop in Sacramento isn’t going to kill your career, necessarily. And in the case of Mike Brown I think it significantly helped it, if we’re being honest.
Couple of quick thoughts:
Okay, maybe that wasn’t so quick….as always, sorry for all the words!
I’m not overly concerned about zones. Zone defense can throw off an offense for any team if they’re executed well, and few teams execute zone as well as the Heat do. I also think that problem looked a lot worse with Fox not playing. Fox’s ability to get into the paint is how you break a zone.
Good point about Fox missing against the Heat. Still, though, I think the team’s inability to handle zones all year long I think is a problem. To your point about the Heat though, their length made their zone particularly difficult.
Fox can get the FT line and hit the jumper, which usually is the weak spot of a zone. DeRozan tried, Sabonis and Lyles tried, but they aren’t the guys that can drive past a player on the perimeter and stop for a quick jumper. DeRozan just isn’t quick enough to get there before the defense rotates.
Interestingly, Carter had a drive just past the FT line in that game where he was bumped while gathering the ball and threw a shot up, getting to the charity stripe for two. He has a nice little burst of speed but just isn’t ready for extended NBA minutes yet. I think he’ll eventually end up with the ability to bust a zone like Fox can.
I think Sacramento’s struggle against teams with length is the real issue, just as it has been for some time now.
I feel the Kings struggle in the half court set, and Miami’s zone magnified that. They excel in their transition game and fast break, especially under Christie’s new free flow play.
Length is definitely a factor, but lack of many true offensive sets, that tend to bog down into ISO for Fox, Monk and DDR seems to be hurting as well. I don have to give a hat tip to Spoelstra, because one way to slow down an offense that “free flowing” is to go into a zone. I wonder if we will see other teams go to it against these new Christie Kings.
I agree with this 100%.
I would expect more zones coming their way.
IMO the Kings thrive when it gets chaotic and fast like the GSW game.
So lean into that and play more press. With the guard rotation of Fox, Monk, Keon and Carter they have the legs and energy to do it. And Domas will make most other centers wilt with his endurance. And it keeps them out of the halfcourt game more. And helps with the defensive 3pt percentage issue. And makes lack of length less of an issue.
Yes. And this is some thing that Doug is going to have to prove and that this team has needed since the first playoff out. They have to be able to score in the half quart. They have to be able to run sets.
This team needs to be heading towards championship contending playoff winning basketball. That means half court O
Watching Mobley’s and Allen’s performance against the Thunder last night, I was feeling this comment.
Yeah, length wise the Cavs are the anti-Kings.
This. Exactly.
The zone has flustered the Kings since they traded Boogie, its absolutely not a new thing. But you’re right, they could def use some work on busting them. I thought they did a better job against the Heat with it. Domas particularly knew to get above the stripe, draw the defense, get the ball and kick out / spray. Its remedial fkn basketball but zones are that much a pain in the ass, that’s why they’re run.
I’m not too concerned either. There are tools the Kings have to break a zone.
More important to me was facing a good, tough Miami defense in a slugfest type of game and coming out on top after some adversity.
Don’t underestimate the value of him being a former player with a hard nosed, tough, willing to fight if necessary reputation.
A coach doesn’t have to be an ex player but I do think it gives him a little extra leash if the players start to doubt him.
I love Doug Christie and could have told you two years ago he’d be a better coach than Mike Brown. That said, I hope there’s more coaching, teaching and coordination of offense/defense than it seems. Just playing free is how you end up with terrible offensive flow and iso ball. If he is pulling from Carril and Adelman behind the scenes this team could be legit.
I know the team and the new coach can use the rest/practice time, but I want a game NOW!
I’ll mention that the success of the team, and the success of drafted Keegan, the steadily emerging undrafted Keon and the Free agent Summer signings of Malik Monk and DeMar DeRozan are feathers in the cap of the GM Team (MM and WW).
The best teams have a GM and Head Coach that can man a tandem bicycle down the same road (and great ownership, but that can’t be changed). Doug Christie finding the wins that have been missing with this same roster that Mike Brown had (and had to have influenced) can only bode well for the GM as they are judged (like coaches) on wins but also on roster.
The Kings still need to patch holes in the frontcourt, but not being a cellar dweller means not having to search for more band aid remedies, than wholesale changes, which is a lot easier. Sac is still 11th instead of 12th, despite a five game win streak – but as many will point out – they were closer to 13th than 10th before the current 18-19 record. Now the Kings are 0.5 games from the 10th (Play In) spot and 5 games to tie Portland for the 13th spot.
When NEW assistant coach Vivek Rana …..err Rivek Vanadive was asked what he thought about Ellis’ statement
Rivek answered: I view this team as a jazz band, where people can be individually showcased and improvised. What we need is a jazz director. I think that’s the kind of leadership moving forward
Please it’s not the coaching. We’ve had 13 coaches in 20 years and every time we have a decent run we go off about the coaching. Now it is possible after a coaching change there’s a temporary uptick in effort and motivation. Having said that, this roster is good enough to earn a late seed playoff spot and the team had been underperforming. But we don’t want a playoff appearance with a first round exit. We want to be championship competitive. So how do we get there. Very difficult with the plan we put in place three years ago. Management can say what they want but that blueprint was to get to this level with no real plan to get beyond this point. Here’s what must be done before we eventually have to tear this down and rebuild. Find a way to acquire Jimmy Butler without giving up Fox, Monk, Sabonis, and DeRozen (maybe). Maybe need a third team in the deal but we can give up Murray, a couple of first rounders and then figure out some salary fillers. A real GM gets it done.
Lastly, please don’t quote the players about the new coach. What do you expect them to say. My coach sucks and we are winning in spite of him.
Butler for murray and a couple firsts? Lay off the drugs my dude lol
Butler too old.Butler wouldn’t fit in the locker room. Butler is a ball hog.Butler not a team player.Murray up and coming. Will be a King for more than one year. Murray is a team player. What more do you want. Any way Monte isn’t traging Murray,
No. Just, no.
It works!!!
I love the part where it only boosts our projected wins by one game.
And it saves us 3 million to fill out our roster.
Whoops, my mistake. I just realized it LOWERS our win total by 2. There you have it folks, according to Hollinger, Jimmy Butler makes our team worse.
Trade our best defensive forward and two FRPs for 40-ish games of 35 year old career malcontent and team-killer Jimmy Butler? No, thank you. There’s a lot to like about Butler, but only from afar, imo.
Your coaching take doesn’t really resonate for me. If I extend your logical argument, whether peak Jerry Sloan or Luke Walton coaches the current Kings, there would be no difference in the results.
To hear you describe it in this post and others, the training, motivation style, schemes, and rotations of Mike Brown had zero effect on the team’s results. You attribute success / failure purely on player development as though coaches hold no influence over that player development. In your telling, the Kings would get equivalent results with an AI bot creating practice drills and substitution patterns.
And I’m not trying to overstate the effect of coaching. If the point is that peak Jerry Sloan couldn’t turn the 2024-25 Washington Wizards into playoff contenders, of course. But bad coaching can cost maybe 5-ish games over the course of the season. Poor rotations by Mike Brown alone over the last 1 1/2 seasons has clearly resulted in underperformance and converted an untold number of wins into losses.
I appreciate the Bucks doing their part to move the Kings into a tie for the final play-in spot by beating the Spurs tonight.
Fox for zion straight up works, who says no and if so what picks in what direction needed?
Fox is on the court. Zion is in the trainer’s room and buffet line. I wouldn’t take Zion and a first for Fox. Let’s see what we have in Carter before trading Fox.
I would rather trade Huerter, Lyles,Jones and a first and a second for Cam Johnson and Day Ron Sharpe. You have now solved your big wing and backup center spots. You now have to convince Derozan as a backup. You are the coach and you have the final say. If Derozan balks then try and trade him. Adamsite’s proposal to the Lakers I like so we would get Rui and Vanderbuilt. I personally think Derozan would go along and be a backup. Still would get his minutes. He is a professional and knows what to do.
If all that could happen I would do it. I think overall the team would be more balanced and better.
Whether Monte who does not seem to be able to pull the trigger can do something like this I have serious doubts.
You have not solved that problem if you are trading away Lyles. You need Cam and Day Ron PLUS Lyles.
I get those sound nice but those two are NOWHERE near zion level impact and Cam plays about as many games as zion anyways tbh
What we have in Carter before trading Fox. Oh geez.
I get that, but with fox we are NOT a championship contender, a healthy bought in Zion with the rest of the squad I think makes us a championship contender…it’s for sure risky, I just think it’s worth it and a team like Sac is NOT getting a zion level player any other way
Hahahaha – they may be the most ridiculous trade proposal I have ever read on this site. Trading the foundation of the franchise for a player who can’t get on the court.
Def not, you just proposed an absolute horrendous one the other day lol
Foundation of the franchise that is potentially going to have to be paid a supermax and is at a position we are flush at for a guy with more superstar potential than fox can ever have. Yes, obviously health a biiiiig risk factor.
Jimmy Butler is a proven winner that plays both sides of the ball. The guy you want doesn’t play either side of the ball and you want to give up Fox for him. Also, I doubt Murray gets much better from this point forward. True Butler has approached the back end of his career but he is still a shut down defender and clutch player and would give this roster a major upgrade. Probably have to give up Huerter to make the trade work. Who knows what’s going to happen with Butler but after serving a team suspension it’s hard to imagine he stays with the Heat. I guess Phoenix is the likely destination but Beal would have to waive his no trade clause which I think is unlikely.
If we could get Zion at about 250-260 then done. That’s not happening though
DC all about that healthy body player!
I think DC could run Zion into the ground right now
I think Fox is leaving, so before that, I would take Zion for Fox. I would take it further and trade Fox, Huerter and a 2nd for Zion, Herb Jones and Jordan Hawkins. Whadya think?
Further, I would trade Keegan for Cam Johnson straight up.
Monk, Derozan, Cam Johnson, Zion Domas would be potent. Personally, I would move Derozan to the bench and start Keon.
Yikes, I wouldn’t touch Zion with a ten foot pole. The dude is less durable than Marvin Bagley.
He’s had many chances to show that he wants to stay in shape, besides the injury history and this is a fleeting skill for him at this time.
I’d rather have Kawhi or Butler (and I don’t want them either).
Kangzy observations from the current West Standings:
Only 1 team in the top 13 has a below .500 home record. (Us)
Only 4 teams in the west have an above. 500 road record. (OKC, HOU, DEN, Us)
The Kings are outliers in some weird ways. The road record vs home record like you mentioned. Also, if you start looking at the Net Ratings their record should be much better.
If we want to continue to analyze the Mike Brown coaching ledger, (and that’s what we do) the home record, the positive net rating, the overall talent of the Core (Ox, Fox, Keegan, Monk, DeRozan, and now Keon (hopefully)) that’s an above average top 6 compared to most all the other teams and are all categorized in the red and can be used to bolster the decision to change coaches.
The home record went from .333 (6-12) to 10-12 or .454. Two more home wins (versus no losses) to get to .500.
Winning 5 games in a row is certainly better than losing 6 in a row and this sure doesn’t look great for Mike Brown at the moment, but a couple things.
1.) It’s going to take a lot more than 5 games against mostly subpar competition for me to believe this roster isn’t deeply flawed. I still don’t see nearly enough shooting or defense to compete for anything other than a play-in birth. After watching Cavs-Thunder last night, the gulf between us and that level is still WIDE.
2.) What does the starting lineup look like when everyone is healthy? I know what I’d like to see which is DeRozan move to the bench. One of the biggest issues we have is the way the offense stagnates when Fox and DeRozan are both on the court because neither is a great shooter and both operate in the same areas of the floor. It’s still a poor fit. When you add Derozan’s defensive liabilities it’s even worse.
Everyone should be back against a mostly healthy Boston team and I expect the Kings to get beat handily. I’d be impressed if they can just be competitive. I still think there’s a lot of work to be done with the roster if this team wants to be anything other than a play-in or easy first round exit.
Oh and the Keon Ellis situation remains the most perplexing Mike Brown decision. I think his firing was silly (happy to be proven wrong) but even I never understood the Keon Ellis benching’s and lack of minutes because he just does exactly what the team lacks. It’s just bizarre to me. He seemed to be held to a different standard than everyone else.
I’m trying to listen to more podcasts (not really my thing), but this one from today with Dan Devine and Tom Haberstroh dives into stats and really gives much love to Keon.
A discussion regarding Fox and DRR too, including some though-provoking numbers.
https://x.com/YourManDevine/status/1877406826423042179
Just listened to it, highly recommend. WOW to some of the Keon vs Fox numbers
Looking forward to checking this out later. I’ve been wondering about the Fox-DDR pairing because I just don’t think they fit together at all. It’ll be interesting to see what they look like tomorrow in Boston.
Thanks Rik!
Good listen, thanks!
Good listen. Thanks for sharing!
Basically pointing out what has been mentioned on this site many times, that Keon is an important player on the Kings (and the numbers show that).
As for why Fox is having a down season, the DeMar dynamic is interesting. Comes down to is the organization on Team Fox or Team DeMar. I don’t think both of them co-exist well on the roster as their games vastly different. But the front office has much to weigh with a possible extension for Fox, and also the age of DeMar, being the main factors on what path to take forward.
Do they choose to trade Fox (letting Keon continue being the starter) and add young wing players and picks to eventually replace DeMar?
Do they look at trading DeMar to find an upgrade for him this season and see where that gets them?
Ride it out this season and see how things unfold? Possibly waiting for Fox to decide whether he wants to be traded or not?
I can see the different options and how a team can justify them. I just want the team to have sustained success, and to be enjoyable to watch.
If Doug really is a Super Leader, then I would expect him to get the right assistants around him who can address things such as this. Maybe next year.
Yes, he just needs to surround himself with people that are way smarter than him . . . wait a minute!
Super Leader, just inexperienced
Vlade rec’d.
(I would have given you more rec’d two days ago)
No glass, no calls.
Amick’s interview today is not to be missed. I don’t recall seeing it so explicitly stated before that Vivek runs the team.
“Just say it. You can’t have this much power within the organization and pretend that you’re not running it.”
“What I don’t understand with this group is how they try to pretend it’s something that it’s not…”
He still thinks Fox is going to leave.
That was a good listen. Thank you. Amick brings the reality when talking Kings.
Vivek running things sure feels pretty spot on. Not surprising but not much to be encouraged about for the future.
A little bit of adversity has come and the Kings have responded well so far. They’ve got a tough row to hoe over the next few weeks and really the rest of the season, tho. I don’t envy what this team has to do to keep this going, getting to the playoffs is going to be some tough sledding.
I think what they have going is real, Coach Christie coaches the game on the floor at a respectable level and he obviously has what it takes to coach the locker room as well. He trusts his assistants, his players, and he works at keeping the machine rolling in whatever manner is necessary. There’s plenty to be concerned about, always, but this is the best this team has looked since BeamTeam1. Here’s to them winning lots more games, adversity be damned…!
Let’s. Fkn. Go!!!
Haven’t played in a few days but we’re now tied for the last play-in spot. Tomorrow will be another barometer game for this team. The win streak has been against mid-to-low tier teams. Tomorrow will be against one of the upper echelon teams. Very intrigued to see how it goes.
I don’t expect the Kings to win in Boston, but I will be looking at how competitive they are. Do they continue to fight, or do they get a thorough beat down from the defending champs?
Definitely not expecting a win but if we get one then, whoa….
Will be satisfied with a spirited effort
I was looking at some lineup data for the Kings this season…
Those are the top 6 lineups in minutes played. I noticed that the Fox/Monk lineups are the worst in the Plus/Minus. I am sure there are many reasons that impact the Plus/Minus, I just found it interesting that Fox/Monk lineups are not really working well. I wonder if that will impact any decisions that the front office makes in the next 3-4 weeks, or maybe even as we enter the offseason, if no moves are made at the deadline.
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