The Kings Herald Show is back for another episode, and the old basketball team in Sacramento gave Jerry Reynolds, Will Griffith, and Tony Xypteras plenty to talk about this week. We’ve got the NBA Draft, free agency, trades, summer league, and more coming up on the pod, and you can check it out in your browser by clicking the play button below, or find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
Timestamps:
- (1:08) On Davion Mitchell and the 2021 NBA Draft.
- (9:05) On Neemias Queta and where he fits on the Kings.
- (21:55) Richaun Holmes re-signs with the Kings.
- (24:05) Breaking down the Tristan Thompson trade.
- (35:30) Moe Harkless, Terence Davis, and Alex Len return to Sacramento.
- (39:00) Will Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley be traded before the season starts?
- (47:22) Pascal Siakam vs. Ben Simmons, who you got?
- (106:40) Breaking down the California Classic.
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In addition to our bi-weekly podcast with Jerry Reynolds, we also record a Patreon exclusive Q+A once a month where Patrons at any level can Ask Jerry Anything. We recorded our Patreon Q+A for July on the draft with Bryant and Brenden from Kings Pulse, and you can find that here.
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Knowing that you read the comments….
HI JERRY! LOVE YOU!!!
Outside their big four, Golden State doesn’t have much to offer, seemingly. I would offer Bagley and Buddy for Wiggins and Moody. Warriors get to break up a big contract into more movable pieces. Kings break up the logjam at SG and get a young pick. Doubt they return that call though.
Yeah, this narrative that Wiggins is good now is hilarious.
I mean, if he’s so good, why do you want to trade him? I don’t think the Warriors would take that deal simply because Bagley is negative asset.
If you swapped out Bagley with Barnes, it could probably happen, but then I don’t know if the Kings would do the trade.
Yes, the idea of Bagley going to the Ws and then winning a ring with the Ws while spending most of the time on the bench, makes me ill.
Just imagine what his dad would say.
“I knew my son was a champion. He just needed a team that recognized his genius.”
Ugh.
I’d be extremely surprised if the Warriors would be willing to do that but I would do it instantly. Moody is who I really wanted at 9 so I’m obviously even more biased.
Jerry gave a lot of props to TKH on Jason Ross 1140 ! Was on 3 to 6 ! Enjoyable and entertaining !
Jerry, regarding your Reynolds Wrap-up in this episode I just have to say:
Agree to disagree.
You really are trying hard to get Jerry to shout you out on the podcast, aren’t you? 😉
“That Scottish Grey cat…Gregory.”
Jerry Reynolds commentary was very disappointing in this episode. Where do I start?
Normally a beacon of truth and fountain of wisdom, this time I do not know what to say. Maybe the missus needs to add a scoop of protein isolate, flax seeds, fresh organic berries to your morning oatmeal, a dab of grass fed butter to the first coffee of the day to fortify your constitution and shake loose the mental cobwebs.
One: “Moody over Davion” Are you kidding me? After you advocated for Davion all along? Say it ain’t so, Jerr!
Moody has shown flashes in the SL but he offers NO defensive intensity or aptitude to want to be a lockdown defender. He is a straight line driver and spot shooter. So you have limited shot creation and defensive neutrality to irrelevance on the other and you choose him over Off Night?
Moody is more of a SG than SF, a below the rim player. This propsect is NOT more enticing than Off Night, not by a long shot, even when you factor positionality. And as I detailed in a previously, there is enough minutes for all 4 guards (including TD), if we play a three guard lineup for half the game.
Two: “TD is NOT a needle mover”. Really?! TD was incredibly streaky in his tryout with SAC, but when he was on, he was damn impactful. He was an absolute game changer at his best. There is reason to believe as he enters his 3rd year with a training camp and growing more acclimated to his teammates and system, this streakiness will subside and he will be more of a consistent force.
Even with cold spells TD was 57% TS%, a good number. When his shot was off, he showed ability to speed up the opponent, not unlike Davion, and make smart simple plays. In other words, even when his shot was not falling he could be a neutral to positive player (unlike Buddy). TD meets my qualifications for pivotal role player or intermittent star, same as Barnes, Ty and Holmes, to provide support to our perpetual star, Fox.
Do not let the cheap contract deceive you, based upon extenuating circusmtances. TD is a baller and a likely needle mover.
In the event this does not happen, it is because he went too many games not able to make shots, and falls out of the rotation. I think he’s too good not to make shots. Just like Davion, he has burst and juke moves and strength and speed to get clean looks. The ability to get clean looks precludes prolonged scoring slumps.
Three: “Davion is a good player , but not a star”. Say what, did I hear you correctly? Seems somewhat pessimisitic but lets explore this notion. Lets talk about what could inhibit his pending stardom. Jerry mentioned he has a terrible assist to turnover ratio. Well he had 9 assists and 0 turnovers after this Pod was recorded.
In the grander scheme, when Davion gets into the lane he does NOT have the advantage of a Fox or a Josh Giddy to see the passing angles over the top and to the weak side as readily because of his stature. This can lead to an abundance of TOs if a player consistenly gets into these trouble spots. Additionally he will have to become skilled creating space to get his shot over the trees in the lane and at the rim. The inability to make plays once he is run off the line where he is suffocated or swallowed up by the defense would make him a one dimensional player, a strong point of attack defender, average to good, but not a star.
If there is a hole in his game, as I see it, he does not have a floater. You could contend an unwillingness to settle for floater, a relatively low percentge shot to an open 3 or finish at the rim, is a strength not a weakness. Ultimately though it is a shot you want in your arsenal, as long as you do not resort to it excessively and meekly, a la Justin Jackson.
The non-star I just described pertains more to the good athlete but non elite. I contend Davion is an elite athlete even relative to other NBA PGs. He has amazing dunks in his HS videos. He has legs like tree trunks and may have the best lateral quickness in the NBA. A scout with a decade of experience said he is the best he has ever seen getting through picks. If you have this attribute about you, navigating your way through the paint for draw and kicks or finishes is a viable goal with time and experience. So in other words, there is a basis to expect his assist to turnover ratio will trend favorably sooner than later.
Selling him short as a non-star is premature and unfair. Again Jerry, you are better than this!
Four: “Woodard and Ramsey are not NBA players”. Finally this is a relatively minor nitpick, but I would not put Woodard and Ramsey in the same category, and this is before Ramsey played well in the last two games. Both guys are trying to develop and display requisite fundamentals to be rotational players. The difference is Ramsey is the far more fluid and capable NBA athlete than Woodard.
Ramsey just glides over the floor like a skater on the ice. His body type and mannerisms remind me of Westbrook. No, I am not saying Ramsey is a triple double machine in training, I am saying physically and athletically and even his even temperment are like Russ. That is a good place to begin if you aspire to be an NBA player!
Ramsey is a better prospect than Justin James, at a younger age. James showed belated growth last year especially with the floater before being waived. So whereas there is mild degree for optimism with Ramsey for the aforementioned reasons, there is NO hope for Woodard. I do not like that he seems to fancy himself a face up scorer, lacks a nasty streak and appetite for using his strength in the paint and around in the rim. I can see a path for Ramsey as a defensive specialist, spot shooter and straight line rim attacker, maybe a better version of Ben McLemore. I see no template for Woodard. We at least agree on this.
Besides all of this, you are spot on, Jerry. Now go have yourself a bowl of oatmeal 😉
391 words trying to quantify Mitchell’s weaknesses and gushing over his physique. What a turd of a post, all because you went out and got dude’s posters and slapped them all over your bedroom walls…lol
I think Mitchell has the highest floor of anyone in the draft and will be a part of the rotation instantly. Does he move the needle in terms of the team winning more games? Likely. How much remains to be seen, though. I like his defense, the rest of his game has a lot of room to grow, though, and I def have yet to see anything that screams All-Star. I’d go so far as to say he and Buddy are similar in that they are “elite” in one thing, pretty average in the rest but Mitchell is no CP3 level PG in the making, I can promise you.
I also like how you pre-blamed the organization for TD’s playing time before we’ve seen game 1. TD isn’t terrible and he’s definitely better than Ramsey but for now he is what he is: the 4th / 5th best guard on a team with 7 guards. He signed his contract with the Kings likely due to it being the most lucrative he had on the table. We do have a slightly better version of Ben McLemore, you’re correct, you’re just confused who it was.
Ramsey won’t be a King by the end of the season. If he is, it will be in Stockton, probably with Woodard. Justin James is the better piece of the 3 of them by far.
“Normally a beacon of truth and fountain of wisdom, this time I do not know what to say.”
As usual, you’d have been better off saying nothing at all.
You often make solid points but this is just more of a look at how smart I am and not pulling it off !🤪
I enjoy your posts. Sometimes I agree; sometimes not, but I like to hear different perspectives.
Take Jerry’s arguments to task. Lead on, MacDuff. However, you don’t need to joke about a person’s mental sharpness or age.
Wait until you get older and see how it feels. Try to get a job in your fifties. You’ll get taste of real discrimination.
Davion Mitchell = Pat Bev. Not a bad player to have, but the impact overall is minimal. Kangz will still have a losing season barring more drastic moves sadly.
So you’re saying that a low lottery pick may not be enough to improve the team by ten wins? Bold stuff.
Tyrese Haliburton could have been ROY last season, and the team posted the same exact w/l record as the previous season. The vast majority of rookies aren’t worth ten extra wins when they’re drafted. Suggesting that this is a useful metric by which to grade rookies seems pretty far off the mark.
We’ll see what Michell can do, and given that Luke Walton has no goals other than to save his job, the rookie is going to have an even harder time making an impact. I think he’s got the stuff to be a superior player to Patrick Beverly on offense, and if he’s only as good on defense, that would go substantially beyond the “useful player” level. Mitchell absolutely gives off a strong makes-his-teammates-better vibe.
I was hoping to see some life from this front office to make me believe they’d make the playoffs. At this point they it appears that they’re happy to be treading water while other teams in the West get drastically better.
in watching the 4 summer league games so far, it may be just me and my interest, but it is difficult to keep your eyes off of Mitchell. Same thing with Hali last year.
Mitchell is a good player, better than Pat Bev on offense and a slightly different style but just as effective on D.
I liked Sengun but Mitchell does have a special skill.
The rise in wins often comes from improvement in second and third year guys.
These are so great.
Thanks Jerry!
As it now occurs to me that the transaction frenzy has slowed to the point where a major deal this summer feels less-and-less likely. I’m now coming to terms with the notion, this may actually be the roster that begins the season in Sac. This roster has almost no wings.
I don’t really feel comfortable predicting the starting line-up with any surety at all. Maybe they go with the exact same starting line-up last year. They said the numbers were favorable for the starters last season, and blamed the bench (or lack thereof) for all they’re mis-fortune, so I can see them spinning it, just the way they used it as justification for keeping Walton. Many are assuming Buddy will go to the bench in favor of Hali, but that should have been done last year. People assume it was because they didn’t want to bench Buddy while they are shopping him. They’re shopping him now more than ever. I hope that bad feeling in my gut is wrong.
Also the forwards could be slotted a number of different ways. Barnes and Bags again? Harkless and Barnes? Three guards with Buddy at small forward? Maybe bench Buddy (do they have the guts?) and go with Fox, Hali? (Mitchell, Fox, Hali!?).
This roster is a mess as currently constructed. It should’ve been more balanced after the L!@#$ trade… So what is Walton gonna do?
They are likely to make a another move or two around the edges, but without the long-awaited “Needle-Mover,” this coming season may be a lot of waiting for Monte to finally stitch together, and complete a significant trade. And watching a lot of bad basketball in the interim.
Badge Legend