Welcome back to Chainmail!
We’re two games deep into the all-important, all-deciding preseason, and several themes have already emerged.
- Future All-NBA defender (yeah, I said it) Tyrese Haliburton had a stellar second game, in which he filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and 0 turnovers after a rough start in game one.
- De’Aaron Fox has…not looked like the All-Star everyone proclaimed in camp. Thus far, he’s averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers, as well as 38% shooting from the floor, 23% shooting from three-point range, and 50% from the charity stripe. Woof.
- Buddy Hield has had one great shooting game with little other production and one awful shooting game in which he recorded seven assists. Overall, he’s looking much closer to his 2018-2019 self.
- Robert Woodard, Jahmi’us Ramsey, Chimezie Metu, and Kyle Guy have all had some impressive moments in preseason.
- The Kings are playing much faster than last season, currently sitting at a pace of 106.25.
Before we get to your questions, we want to thank our sponsor for the mailbag, Carter Imports! Carter Imports is a Sacramento-based company that imports some of the very best Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Cretan Thyme Honey available in the world today. There has never been a better time to support one of our own than right now!
Let’s dive right in!
The preseason is a different animal, of course, but do you expect that as the season begins, the Kings will still be playing 12+ guys a night, or will things tighten up considerably?
As the season begins, clearly Walton will double down on this successful strategy and we may even see 24 players per night.
We can run and stay fresh if everyone is playing 10mpg. I dare you to find a single flaw in this logic.
I’ll be damned if I can find any holes in it. Airtight and bulletproof. The games will be like parades!
We were robbed of seeing something like this implemented when they fired David Arseneault Jr.
It’s not much of a stretch from there to the 4 on 5 strategy that Vivek was proposing. How long before we see that on the floor.
We already have been the last two years when Bagley’s on the court.
Who wants to keep talking about the Kings on a Sacramento Kings board? Probably no one. So what are your super spicy takes on some of the other players in the 2020 draft class based on the 1-2 games they have played so far? Any others you think we might regret passing on or not trading up for and any bullets we potentially dodged?
Deni Avdija yesterday looked awesome. He was the only guy I liked more than Haliburton and I think he’s going to be really good. I’m also glad we didn’t even have the opportunity to draft Edwards. I just don’t see it with him despite all his physical gifts.
To be fair, I really only have gotten to watch the Kings game, but from box scores – you are right about Deni. Great numbers yesterday running with the starters.
Okoro had a great first line. Poku also had a nice first game. Hayes still needs to cut down on the TOs, but had some solid lines. Ball shot terribly, but already putting up other numbers. Obi is exactly what I thought he would be so far. Ditto with Edwards. Bey has been equally meh.
Bulls fans on Twitter seem happy with Williams. But his lines have been pretty meh, including a jarring 0 assists and 7 turnovers.
I have watched pieces of most of the new guys games and Deni definitely looks the part to me. Didn’t get to see any of Okoro but his line was definitely solid. It’s interesting, I watched a decent amount of Lamelo and despite the fact that I don’t know if he can score at all, all the other pieces of his game looked pretty great. To pass it the way he can at 6’8 is pretty special. Poku on the other hand, despite the stat line, had some of the most insane (in a bad way) plays I’ve ever witnessed on an NBA basketball court. I would just say he does not lack for confidence. Watched quite a bit of Edwards first game and he really does not look great to me but obviously it’s early.
Ball strikes me as a guy I’ll love to watch but wouldn’t want on my team. His shooting, shot selection, and defense are painful. But man those passes! Actually now that I say it, sounds kinda like JWill.
Yeah that’s actually a great comp! I’m not sure he’ll ever be a winning player but the passing is as advertised. It is really special.
Yeah, going back to my draft guide, it was part of why I said if I was the GM at #1, I would probably have to talk myself into Ball (if I couldn’t trade down), but also hate the pick. He’s a flawed prospect who could be a really unique player that’s hard to fit into most lineups without designing the lineup for him (something you only want to do for a superstar), but you can also see he has some very special characteristics and tremendous basketball IQ and he is probably the most likely player in this draft to become a superstar (again, saying more about the lack of star talent).
Basically, if Ball hits his 10% probability upside, you have a star player. But even in the middle ground, there’s a lot of weird outcomes.
People have mentioned most of them. But Bane looked as good as anyone when I saw him.
Only saw the statline, but looked good for Bane and less good for Tillman.
Any insights into how Bane played? Did you watch?
I saw bits and pieces. From what I saw he played well. Active. Knew how to relocate. Anticipated rotations. Hit his shots. Finished well inside (which was a question because of his lack of length). Looked like a guy that can be a very solid rotation piece/fringe starter in the right situation in a couple years. Something around a Harrison Barnes level contributor. He isn’t going to carry your team, but he isn’t going to hurt it either. (Unless you’re overpaying him.)
As a Uk fan I pay about 200 US a year to watch all the kings games with voice commentary but no studio half time etc extras. How much does it cost local guys to watch all the match’s on your local network and what is the cost of a budget season ticket ? Thanks
Is anyone else glad that preseason is shortened? I mean, I like some hot takes occasionally, but the the stuff people say after a few preseason games is beyond silly.
Having said that, the Euro/international players will clearly take this season by storm! Maledon, Hayes, Avdija, Poku, Achiuwa, Bolmaro and Campazzo. MEGA!
It is known.
What are the odds Kyle Guy can become a rotation player? He looks strong and quick enough to hold his own defensively, or at least enough so that his offense is still worth having on the floor. He moves well off-ball and would be a good as a third-string PG or as a floor spacer next to Fox.
Saw him in the last two games, he’s definitely improved and playing much better and has good chemistry with the 2nd unit. I see Monte giving Guy a contract later this season.
With Luke’s failures on coaching defense last offseason, what do you think of Rex taking that over? I loved what the young guys did defensively during the 4Q last night.
Rex replaced Bob Beyer as the de facto defensive coordinator.
Someone remind me to ask Jerry in the next Q&A how the typical coaching staff handles the various coaching responsibilities. I’ve always wondered about that kind of stuff. Like when we say “Luke’s offensive/defensive sets/schemes” are we really talking about “the schemes/sets that Igor/Beyer designed, and Augmon/Hines taught in practice, and Luke ran in the games?” I’ve never played basketball on an actual team, so how that all works is kind of a mystery to me.
Given what we’ve seen of Hali and Fox and the rest of the players, and assuming there’s no Buddy trade happening soon, what’s your ideal guard rotation to start the season?
And, on a different note, what, if anything, makes you feel hopeful (about anything) this holiday season, given the year that’s happened?
What is the trade value of Fox right now?
This is a Carolina Reaper hot take and I’m all for getting an answer to it for discussion’s sake.
I love Fox. He’s probably not at the level of a best player on contender, but he has leadership qualities and loads of talent. I would consider a trade for a godfather offer, but who would pay that?
I’m not certain I’ve seen leadership qualities yet.
Bagley’s injuries have dug himself into a hole. Will his minutes continue to be babied and hovering between 24-28 mpg?
Also, with the crowded 4-5 rotation and this early preseason switch to small ball, quick passes, and 3 pointers, along with his injury history, how worried are you (from 1 to 10) that Bagley will actually earn the 30-34 minutes he needs to accelerate his development?
With the consistent, hysterical overreactions and wild 180 degree pivots over 24 hour periods, do Kings fans have any business calling the front office morons, the players low BBIQ? In short, do we have the dumbest fan base in the NBA?
Is Rosevillain a burner account?
I believe Jerry Reynolds lives in Roseville. Just sayin’.
OTOH we are definitely the best looking fan base.
We are the best fanbase for midnight culinary creation at gas stations.
gotta start a petition to bring RORDOGs to Golden 1.
See what the hell you did? Why do you encourage this shit? WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Ay ay ay.
If there was a badge for down votes…rosevillain might be close. Every time I scroll through a thread, he or she is getting hit with these down votes.
(S)he pulled the message board classic “people challenge my hot takes so I’m going to lash out at everybody.” Personally, I’m not a big down-voter for anything that isn’t overtly detestable, but there are certainly posters that seem to consistently foster conflict and, thus, down-votes.
This person can dissent from the prevailing wisdom as they best see fit. This is an excellent site, and will continue to be, but it suffers from groupthink just as much as any other collection of humans.
That said, “this person” in the post referred to, is clearly just trolling.
I think you misspelled “passionate”. The game threads are annoying as hell and awesome. Pure emotion, whatever the direction.
Every fan base is dumb in their own particular way. There were (and still are) plenty of Giants fans that thought Bruce Bochy was a crap manager, even after the third ring.
Will the front office mandate Walton play the youngsters, or are we going to see lots and lots of Janari Parker and his ilk this season?
Did Jabari play at all in the 2nd pre-season game? I don’t remember his name being mentioned on the broadcast.
He was injured. Back soreness, so was not available to play.
Thoughts on who has looked like our top 3 players through two preseason games? I love a good overreaction on limited sample sizes! But seriously, reputations of players aside- which 3 have looked most impressive to y’all?
Bonus question: Did I miss what happened to Rose and Edwards who aren’t on our nba.com roster or on box scores?
Fox has started the preseason by doubling his three point attempt average. He has especially shot a lot of pull up 3’s. Do you think this carries over into the season or is he trying out something new in the preseason?
With Haliburton in the fold how quickly can we dump Cojo? We can’t always count on him having back spasms thereby freeing up minutes for Hali.
Can we come up with a better nickname for Haliburton than “Hali?” Too close to Halle Berry IMO. I vote for Ty or TH since I’m into the whole brevity thing
TH seems kinda nice since we are on TKH. Works well with the site. Ty probably better though.
Ty Burton’s the Nightmare on Defense?
Isn’t the Halle Berry reference fitting since he already seems like a Monster Baller?
I haven’t seen Monster’s Ball because there’s nudity, so I wouldn’t know. Or would I?!
The nudity is the point, man.
lol
But if you seriously haven’t seen it, and without knowing anything about your taste in movies, you should. It’s really good, IMO.
I’ve seen it, but it’s probably been almost two decades since I last watched it. Is it streaming? It’s so hard to figure out how to watch a movie these days.
Looks like it’s on Hulu and Prime.
I need to switch my Hulu. I got it free with Spotify, but that limits your options for some reason. I need to do the Hulu/ESPN+/Disney+ bundle instead.
Yeah, that’s the bundle we do. Which has been great so far.
One can never be too close to Halle Berry.
Comment of the year, this or any other.
Baby Christie?
We could call him Dick Cheney.
Nah! Unlike Dick Cheney, Tyrese seems to have a lot of ¤ï¸.
Why is the Kings schedule overlaying the rest of the content on the page preventing you from clicking anything it is overlaying?
We had a recent site update. Clear your cache in your browser and the issue should be fixed.
What do you need to see from De’Aaron Fox this season in order to feel good about his contract moving forward?
Is De’Aaron Fox a poor man’s Tyrese Haliburton?
Seriously though, which player do you see as more conducive to winning in today’s NBA (long term)?
Can we collectively do something to help the kids this year? I know we typically buy tickets for kids to go to games, but that’s probably not happening this season. CD is doing a thing with Sac FC and the Robla School District.
Whats your projected (and realistic) starting lineup for the 2021-2022 season?
Fox – Haliburton – Cunningham – Isaac – Turner
that’s the good shit
The full frontal sees Hield + a good 2nd to ORL for Fournier + Isaac. Then Fox to NYK at the deadline for their 2021 1st + 2023 1st + Robinson + Filler. Then we open 2021 with a Suggs/Halliburton/Cunningham/Isaac/Robinson lineup.
https://images.app.goo.gl/C1zqVs33bMjb7Mr79
That didn’t work how I wanted it to.
What haul can a Fox-type of player can get in today’s NBA market?
The Knicks still don’t have a decent PG and still have 5 1sts over the next 3 years and a C prospect that could fit nicely.
I’m interested.
What are the odds of Metu being retained and who do you think will be let go as the preseason ends?
I like Metu hopefully Monte retains him.
It seemed like the projected starters/key role players played a lot in the first 2 games. On the other hand, it seemed like Dame and CJ hardly played in the 2nd game. What is the average minutes played by starters in preseason games-and how do the Kings players compare to others?
2nd question – It seems like Haliburton is a natural PG. I would love to see him get the keys to the 2nd unit and flourish. Do you see Joseph being traded, and if so, what are some pieces you might want in return?
Thanks everyone and Happy Holidays!
I’ll be happy if they can move Joseph without paying to do it. I wouldn’t expect anything of value to come back.
but he signed one of Ken Catanella’s super savvy contracts!
With the way we’re built right now, where do you think we’ll end up in the draft?
how many searches would it take to get Google autocorrect to really autocorrect Sacramento Kings to Sacramento Kongs?
What do you think the chances of Robert Woodard being a 15-20 MPG player in the next 2 seasons is/are?
Would DJ Wilson interest you as an RFA in the 2021 off-season?
Probably not. But I may be interested in him as a UFA on the minimum after they renounce their rights to him.
On second thought, still probably not.
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