Welcome back to Chainmail, where the answers are made up and the Kings don’t matter! This has been quite the fun week in Kings land. Let’s review, shall we?
- We should Cameo LeBron James, because the Kings have lost not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but eight games in a row! Say no to tanking, you fools!
- Luke Walton has no desire to change the starting lineup or the rotation in general…for…reasons? We’re not sure, he has to go watch the tape.
- Sacramento is currently posting the worst defensive rating in NBA history. Hey, at least we’re first in something.
- Hassan Whiteside was recently linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as a potential trade target, and neither he nor Nemanja Bjelica, another likely trade candidate, saw the court versus the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday evening. Jabari Parker also didn’t play, but well, ya know, we’re not exactly surprised over here at TKH headquarters.
- The Kings are currently in a virtual tie with the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 4th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. SAY NO TO TANKING.
- Robert Woodard has been pretty impressive in the G League bubble!
Now get to asking, so we can get to answering!
As a Kings, why? But also when? And more importantly, what?
Ok seriously though, what does your ideal Kings roster look like post trade deadline? This factors in trades, waiving players and potential coaching changes.
What’s the kind of deadline move that would give you hope in Monte executing his vision, and alternatively, what’s the kind of move that you’d see as a result of Vivek meddling?
Pro Monte: Trading Buddy for anything, Trading Barnes, Cojo, and Bjelica to embrace the youth movement, which would truly erase Vlade’s stamp on this team.
Pro Vivek: Standing pat
Hield for “anything.”
This is a poor bargaining strategy.
Kings have nothing to bargain with right now.
Get rid of the contract and put Tyrese in the starting 5. That should be priority. I bet my fandom he’s only in the starting 5 to give the illusion that he has trade value as a starter. If he’s not traded, as soon as that deadline passes, boop, in goes Tyrese, to the bench goes Buddy and out come the tweets and snark with the media further tanking his value. Time to cut bait asap.
I wouldn’t argue that Haliburton would work starting next to Fox, but that isn’t the same as suggesting that Hield has no value. In fact, if you work with the notion that Hield’s likely best situation has him as a super sixth man, a la Lou Williams, then making the switch may end up improving Buddy’s play, and with it, his value.
With Hield, Barnes, Holmes, and to a lesser extent, Whiteside and Bjelica, the Kings have an absolute cornucopia of assets with which to bargain. I’m open-minded, so should you disagree, I’d be interested in your reasoning.
Agreed. I don’t get the reasoning not to bring Buddy off the bench now.
a) He’s playing like crap now, seemingly couldn’t be worse
b) Just last season he made the switch and played his best ball of the year coming off the bench. Also so did the Kings.
c) He can chuck all he wants with that second unit as he would be the go to.
The bench sucks as it is…how much worse can it get? I would make the switch and see if you can get Buddy going again. We now have a season and half of him being less than optimal in the starting line up.
Do you see Monte firing Luke before the season is over?
Also
Would it be better to shop Holmes before the deadline or try and resign him in the summer?
If we assume for a moment that the Kings are able to clear Hield and Barnes off the books, what should they actually do with all that cap room?
Dogecoin.
Much stonks, wow.
Any concern over Haliburton’s inability to get to the line? Or do you think it’s the result of his slight frame?
In a lot of the draft previews I read, one of the knocks on Haliburton was that he avoided contact, almost to a fault. He’s still productive as hell around the rim, but with practice, getting an additional five or six FTAs per game seems quite achievable.
I like to dream big. Would you be ok with McNair tanking for not one, but TWO seasons? I’m talking 20 wins.
Trust the process. 🙂
I’m not sure the ownership would be ok with tanking another season if fans are allowed back into the arena at near full capacity by the fall. As much as people on here love to talk about tanking, it does have real implications on the bottom line and I’m sure the ownership group is already in the red from this season.
Speaking of money, why hasn’t anyone in the media looked into why we’re the only team without a jersey sponsor this season?
As I used to say on STR, it’s courage that’s needed and I understand the reality of a front office being unable to stomach it. With no fans this year, seems like the perfect time for a two year tank, but I’m one of the ones who would definitely trade Fox and go all in so I don’t expect my take here to be embraced.
A full tank should’ve been embraced when Vivek first took over the team. They could’ve walked into Golden1 with a much more talented team. Instead, the playoff draught has been extended and now I’m not sure if the ownership group could stomach another couple of seasons of intentional losing.
It’s a vicious cycle the team is stuck in and I have no idea how they’ll get out. Can’t afford to tank and not good enough to compete.
They also should’ve not fired Malone, Jaeger, drafted Luca… Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.
Why Hield had been regressed all in a sudden ?
His shot is not falling, and his shot selection had been BAD, and he no longer hustling for offensive rebound / put-back….
p.s. I wish when the time my question being answered, Hield is no longer a Kings…..(please trade him away along with Bagley)…
What would you think of a Fox, Haliburton, Jeffries, Barnes, Holmes lineup?
What are the advantages and disadvantages to firing Luke Walton before season’s end? Is getting rid of an objectively bad/underwhelming/lame/[insert negative adjective her] coach worth the cost, or should McNair wait until the tank has gone fully over the cliff? (Cost would include, but not be limited to: $$ to hire a replacement for 1/2 a season, fuel for the national KANGZ narrative, potential grumbling in locker room, etc.)
There are several guys already in-house who would instantly be better than Walton, whether in an interim, or possibly permanent promotion to head coach. There would be no additional outlay needed by the org, and coach-shopping could begin while the season is still happening. At season’s end, you’d likely have one solid in-house candidate, a number of outside possibilities, and could strike while other teams are still getting their coaching searches together.
Under such a circumstance, there’s really no downside to making that move.
If, say, Gentry became head coach, then there would be two additional outlays: Gentry would get a raise and whoever replaced him as associate head coach would also get a raise since they both were given a promotion.
Yes, I was assuming an internal promotion would result in a (significant) raise. But if McNair sees Gentry as a good long-term fit with this roster, it may be a beneficial move.
IMHO, since the clear future of this team is Fox + Hali, the Kings need a coach who fits with Fox + Hali’s skills and personalities. In a word: CRAZY SMART. An x’s and o’s savant who can fully capitalize on Hali’s professor-level BBIQ, Fox’s quickness (of body and mind), and their mutual drive to maximize their potential. Luke is clearly not a basketball intellectual; he’s a classic “player’s coach” who is good at building rapport and keeping people feeling good. That’s a good thing, but it’s not what Fox and Hali need (IMHO) to reach their full potential.
You didn’t need to qualify Walton’s intellectual abilities by qualifying it with “basketball.”
I feel like there’d be natural tendency to find a coach that can fix the team’s biggest weakness. The Kings don’t really have a problem scoring. They’re basically top-10 in offensive efficiency. Defense is obviously the most glaring issue. I wonder if McNair would look to a coach like Jeff Bzedlik. He was the defensive coordinator in Houston, he was associate head coach under Gentry last season, and has NBA head coaching experience (Denver).
The Kings should also take a look at David Vanterpool, the current associate head coach for defense in Minnesota. He just got passed over for even an interim look when the T-Wolves hired their new head coach, but he gets high recommendations from Lillard and McCollum based on his previous work with the Blazers.
A new contract isn’t required for an interim position. Until a head coach is hired from within or without, there’s no additional money on the books.
How many consecutive losses before the front office makes any kind of move, whether that’s coaching change like Minnesota, trades, new directives to the coaching staff, playing our guys from the g league, etc.?
Say we do get a top 5 pick in this draft. 3 of the top 5 are all guards, so chances are likely that we could end up with another guard. If that guard turns out to be really good, where would he fit in the lineup? If he’s better than tyrese, would you look to trade tyrese to make space, or simply move him to the bench?
Run a 3 guard starting lineup like the old suns did with Chapman as the third guard. The league’s gotten smaller and smaller anyway.
Tyrese at Point Center, small ball.
Magic Johnson, only with small ball.
They aren’t really guards. They’re all wings between 6’6 and 6’8. They can easily play SF along with with Fox & Hali/Hield. Heck, even Suggs is probably good enough and big enough to justify a 3-guard lineup.
Is Buddy untradeable at this point? Trying to ease the blow by getting fans to expect that he’s here to stay.
A) No contender would want him and none can even or should want to match salaries for him
2) No team chasing the playoffs would want him as he doesn’t really move the needle to get over the hump unless absolutely desperate.
C) Too old for a rebuilding team.
4) He’s not worth a 1st right now so does that force Monte to hold out longer to try to get at least a 1st?
As much as I love the A-2-C-4 ordering (not being ironic, either), the first two are likely untrue, the third is not that big of a factor, and the fourth I would conditionally agree with. Hield still possesses a premiere skill, and a bad stretch doesn’t change that fact. Unless the suggestion is that how he’s shooting now is actually who he is, and that his career three-point percentage above forty percent on high volume was a four-year fluke, then it would be rash to dump him just to dump him.
My observation is that most GMs in the league aren’t idiots (there are glaring exceptions, of course), that they are aware of Hield’s history, and that the ongoing Walton fiasco factors heavily into his more recent backsliding. If Buddy lands on a playoff team, then he’s a lot more likely to have better weapons around him on offense, which will allow him better looks at the basket. He’s worth a back-end first-rounder and maybe younger player who hasn’t advanced the way his organization expected. I don’t expect McNair is going to shove Hield out the door this season unless the move has real potential to improve the team.
I have a feeling that Barnes is about 50/50 to be moved this season, and Hield is about one in three. Having one or both on the roster at the start of next season shouldn’t be considered a failure unless McNair passed up on a really good offer. That seems pretty unlikely.
I think Hield is still very trade-able for a below-value price. He can still get a 1st in return, though it won’t be a lottery pick. A win-now team that needs a sniper could be quite willing to part with a future asset in exchange for Hield’s present-day shooting. The Kings would “lose” the trade based on value, but who cares? Hali is the 2-guard of the future in Sac, not Hield.
I should think anyone would be tradable if you’re willing to take back a return of lesser value.
What do you think of this 5 on the floor together? Fox, Haliburton, Jeffries, Barnes, Holmes.
A bad defensive lineup still. Front court lacks length and rebounding.
Outside of the players generally considered the top-5 in the draft (Cade, Mobley, Suggs, Cuminga and Green), which player do you think has the best mix of upside and fit with Fox/Haliburton/Bagley?
After them, I like Ziaire Williams and Moses Moody. I’m not a fan of Scottie Barnes so I hope we stay top 7.
If we were to trade for Boston’s pick and Jalen Johnson is near 15-20, I would take a chance on him there. His value could fall because he left school and is getting a lot of heat for it.
Jalen Johnson is a better prospect to me than Jalen Green. Dude’s size, athleticism, scoring, passing, all project as a legit 20+ppg point forward. That’s the missing ingredient for a team that will be built around Fox and Hali. Terciary ballhandler, primary scorer, reliable defender, always makes the right play. I get the concerns around him, but none of the concerns are related to his actual skills on the court. Dude is a certified BALLER. If you pick in the Top 7, that’s a guaranteed one of Cade, Mobley, Kuminga, Suggs, Moody, JJ, and Green (at least how my Kings big board goes).
Q1: What did Harden/Irving say to Haliburton?
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Q2: Now that the refs saw those two superstars seeking out Haliburton after the game, should they not give Haliburton superstar calls? Methinks they should!

Q: When will the Tyrese Haliburton / Sub Zero hoodies be available on the TKH store?
(kudos to Rob Hessing for the brilliant name)
Is it a possibility McNair likes Walton as the head coach, and feels the Kings need better players that fit Walton’s system as opposed to hiring a different coach without changing the roster?
De’Aaron got some love ahead of the All Star Game decisions. Let’s assume he would have had a better coaching environment in the past – do you think he’d be further in his development? Where could he be?
From an outside perspective selling at the deadline (trading away Buddy, Barnes, etc.) looks like the smart move. How does this affect a player like Fox? Does selling veterans who are solid in the locker room and on the floor negatively impact Fox’s perception of the franchise and its direction or does it not matter and is it more about front office communication with the star player?
Any chance/reason the Kings take a look at Isaiah Thomas for a backup pg role?
Two trades in one, who says no?
First: Buddy and our two later 2nds to the Sixers for Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle. It’s as simple and straightforward as it can be for both teams. Sixers get their shooting help (if you can call him that anymore, maybe Morey will see Buddy’s potential through the numbers) and a couple of picks for an expiring contract, and two solid prospects. Thybulle would be wonderful to see on the defensive end for this team, and Korkmaz has intriguing potential as a scorer. Both could be added to the core.
Second: Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes, Nemenja Bjelica to Pacers for Myles Turner, Doug McDermott, and Justin Holiday. Been riding the Turner Train for a while now. Pacers are a middle of the road team that would get three valuable rotation pieces who fill important roles that they’re lacking. Barnes is a terrific, championship caliber leader in his prime, Holmes would fill the Turner void and brings tremendous energy, and Bjelica would be a dynamic backup stretch 4 for them that they could get into a lot of interesting rotations. They’d have a terrific 10-man rotation on bargain deals. In return, we get a great young asset in Turner who fits the timeline and is on a great contract. His game blends well with Fox and Bagley and he’d be a terrific anchor for the defense. Holiday is a solid defensive rotation player on a manageable contract, definite trade asset and McDermott would be great in replacement of Barnes for the time he was here to make the kids feel safe while Walton drives the tank.
I think there’s a lot to like for both teams. If Kings looked like this heading into the offseason, I’d be a very happy man:
Fox-Guy-Ramsay
Hali-Thybulle-James
1st rdr-DaQuan-Holiday
Bagley-Woodard-Korkmaz
Turner-Metu-2nd rdr
Badge Legend