Question: what’s the worst way imaginable to follow up a second loss in a row at home to the best team in the West, led by the reigning MVP, and with your own All-Star center sidelined with a thumb injury? Answer: immediately playing them again the next night. After losing a close battle with the Nuggets last night, the Kings got Domantas Sabonis back, but had to quickly lace them up again to face Michael Malone and his multi-threat offense. It’s been seven days since we’ve last seen the beam, and this city and my heart are ready to bask in its purple warmth once again. All the Kings had to do was beat one of the best teams with one of the best players on the second night of back-to-back. No big deal, right? Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 127-126
Sacramento Kings: 127 pts, 52.8% fg, 45.2% 3 pt, 76.0% ft, 32 ast, 34 reb, 12 to
Denver Nuggets: 126 pts, 57.6% fg, 44.4% 3 pt, 88.9% ft, 31 ast, 34 reb, 16 to
In what I can only imagine was the loudest environment that Golden 1 Center has experienced this year, the Kings overcame a 19-point deficit to extinguish the Nuggets’ spirits and light the beautiful beam. After slowly chipping away through the first three quarters, the Kings finally made some headway into the Nuggets’ comfortable lead during the 4th quarter by increasing their intensity on defense, getting out in transition, and having De’Aaron Fox go into full sicko mode. The final minutes teetered between a tie game and a 2-point lead for the Kings. In the Kings’ final possession, with the game tied and 2.1 seconds on the clock, Jordi Fernandez and crew drew up an incredible play to get Malik Monk an open runway on the baseline to the rim. Denver was forced to foul Monk with 0.7 seconds left. In dramatic fashion, Monk missed the first free throw but drained the second. The game ended on a rare miss from Nikola Jokic and the Kings officially completed their biggest comeback of the season.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- Starting with Defense: The first three quarters were quite a lull. First, the Kings struggled to score, shooting just 3-10 from the 3-point line and only scoring 24 points to end the first quarter. The scoring picked up, but the defense did not. Every time the Kings found some rhythm in scoring, Nikola Jokic (40 points, 15-24 fg), Bones Hyland (20 points, 11 assists), and Michael Porter Jr. (19 points, 4-8 3-pt) all found ways to add to their own point totals to keep the Kings at a comfortable distance. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Kings finally started to gain traction, and it started on the defensive end. Davion Mitchell, KZ Okpala, and Trey Lyles provided some huge defensive plays for the Kings, which gave them the momentum and opportunity to score in transition. This increased the pace of the game, allowing the Kings to capitalize on some quick scoring. As bad as it was for a majority of the game, it was ultimately the Kings’ defense that got them back and over the hump to victory.
- Fantastic Mr. Fox: De’Aaron Fox looked borderline unconscious tonight. After going scoreless in the 1st quarter, Fox found a good rhythm in the 2nd, finishing the half with 14 points. It was just enough to keep the Kings alive and prevent the Nuggets from burying Sacramento before the 2nd half. Then, after a quiet 3rd quarter, where he had four points, Fox engaged the jets and went full supernova in the 4th, scoring 13 of his 31 points. What was most impressive was the calm and collected nature of his demeanor while doing it all. None of us are surprised that he can do this, but it felt extra assassin-like that he barely bat an eye as middy after middy hit nothing but net. Fox also added 13 assists to complete a double double for the night. I, personally, love Assassin Fox.
- One Tough Thumb: Domantas Sabonis is one tough dude. MY chest hurts just from watching him take hit after hit while trying to defend the behemoth that is Nikola Jokic. Tonight being his first night back after suffering his fractured ligament injury in his thumb, Sabonis picked up right where he left off, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Sabonis is so tough that it makes me wonder how important thumb ligaments really are?
The BAd
- Snooze Button: The Kings we know and love hit the snooze button too many times, overslept, and didn’t show up until the 4th quarter.
The Ugly
- Turned Heads: In their worst sequences on defense, the Kings got lost in their focus on Nikola Jokic. Being one of the best passers in the league, Jokic took every small advantage of these defensive breakdowns by finding cutters for easy buckets. While the Kings had their heads turned toward him, Jokic racked up six easy assists.
The King(s) of Kings
I’m breaking the rules here because I originally made the rules here in this segment, so I can do what I want. I’m giving TWO crowns out tonight, one for each side of the ball.
For leading the team on offense with 33 points, 12 made field goals, four made 3-pointers, and a game-winning free throw, Malik Monk is tonight’s first King of Kings. Monk’s spark and consistent production off the bench not only kept the Kings in this game, but ultimately won it for them.
And for being an absolute menace on defense, Davion Mitchell is our next King of Kings. The defensive intensity started on the ball, and Mitchell gave Bones Hyland all-caps FITS whenever he had the ball in his hands. A crucial defensive stop in final possessions ended in a Nikola Jokic miss, but it started with Mitchell’s ball pressure on Hyland. He forced Hyland to dribble for about 18 seconds before getting Jokic the ball, forcing Jokic to rush into a tough shot. And that was just one snapshot of all the dirty work Mitchell did tonight.
Up Next
Friday, December 30th vs. Utah Jazz – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
https://twitter.com/nbcskings/status/1608338986959003648?s=46&t=Zpabr0wr7jmyzzL5x4VQbA
Doin’ the Denver dance!
I did a double take – I thought I saw the Church Lady (“isn’t that special”)
Without the caption, I would’ve thought that was Christian Bale wearing a wig.
dance ..
It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves.
What a difference a half makes!
24 little minutes 😜
Perfectly stated.
Truly is was the blurst of times.
A highlight of the game was the longer post game TV feed. Usually League Pass cuts away from the signal immediately after the game, and the screen goes black.
As the Kings sealed the comeback win after Jokic’s missed shot, all the players from both teams met near the logo on the court and greeted each other, it was a really classy act by both teams, including the Nuggets, who were heartily congratulating Kings players on the win even though it stung to do so after being up 19.
It’s nice to see good sportsmanship, but the postgame greetings seem normal these days. However, it’s probably tougher to do it after a loss like that. What was more interesting to me was that Brad Miller was high fiving the fans around him & Vlade wasn’t.
That was interesting Richie, Vlade had his hands in his pockets and his lips puckered up, sort of wandered for a few steps and then waked off. Excellent observation.
Up 20 last night, lose. Down 19 tonight, win. That’s the beauty of the NBA.
This has been a wild season league wide. Going game by game through a teams record, there are some remarkable wins and losses.
Its like the whole league is Kangzing.
Good write-up. In particular, I enjoyed this sentence: “Sabonis is so tough that it makes me wonder how important thumb ligaments really are?”
You’re wrong with your “ugly” point. Jokic averages 9.5 assists per game and 3.5 turnovers per game. By swarming him, kings turned that into only 6 assists and 5 turnovers. When you literally can’t stop Jokic in the post, it’s the next best option
You’re right, I didn’t explain my original thought well! I mostly noticed that when Jokic got the ball, heads would all turn towards him and backs to other Denver jerseys, so there were a lot of easy back cuts that went unseen until they received the ball under the basket for easy buckets. But you make a great point – holding him to 6 assists was impressive!
A look at the stats will have you do a /smh
Denver shoots 57.6% FG, 44.4% 3FG% and just under 89% from the line – and loses!
A-mazing! How many open looks did the Kings miss? Fox, Murray, Monk? Silly turnovers? When Monk missed that first free throw? C’mon- did you cover your eyes? Did you have nasty expletives at the edge of your lips? I know I did.
And yet – somehow, someway, Sac eeked out the win. That was just flat out freaking eeking.
Time for a Nugget dance:
&ct=g
That’s because it’s really a tale of two halves. I didn’t see most of the game so I won’t comment on how bad the 1st half was. But….. it seems really bad.
1st half defensive eFG%: 71.2%, 1st half DRtg: 147 1st half ORtg: 119, 1st half offensive eFG%: 50%, 1st half TOVs: 5 (points by Den off TOV: 9), 1st half TOVs forced: 7 (points by Sac off TOV: 6) Paint Points Denver: 38 Paint Points Sac: 28, Free Throws Denver: 8-9 Free Throws Sac: 11-13. Denver scored 21 points on 3’s, 8 on FTs and 46 points on 2 (38 of which are in the paint), and lastly Sac had 12 points in the fastbreak to Denver’s 9. Bench points were also a factor and Sac had 22 bench points to Denver’s 13 bench points. Basically, Denver scores 67 of their 75 points in highly efficient fashion. And their starters score 62 of their total points in the 1st half.
Also, Nnaji scored 10 of his 14 points in the 1st half, Porter scored 16 of his 19 points in the 2nd half and Caldwell-Pope scored all of his 7 points in that 1st half. That’s 3 of the 5 Denver starters. Jokic scored 20 in each half and Hyland scored 9 of his 20 in the 1st half (and 18 of his 20 points by the end of the 3rd qtr). The Nuggets starters accounted for 100 of their 126 points, and 38 of those came in the 2nd half.
2nd half defensive eFG%: 56.6%, 2nd half DRtg: 104 2nd half ORtg: 135, 2nd half offensive eFG%: 75%, 2nd half TOVs: 7 (points by Den off TOV: 4), 2nd half TOVs forced: 9 (points by Sac off TOV: 10) Paint Points Denver: 24 Paint Points Sac: 26, Free Throws Denver: 8-9 Free Throws Sac: 8-12 and lastly Sac had 9 points in the fastbreak to Denver’s ‘0’ (not a typo; Denver had none). Denver scored 15 points on 3’s, 8 on FTs and 28 points on 2 (24 of which are in the paint). Bench points were also a factor and Sac had 24 (19 are Monk’s alone) bench points to Denver’s 13 bench points. So basically, Denver scores 47 of their 51 points in efficient fashion but not good enough to cover up for horrific defense.
Here’s a simple way to look at it: The Kings had more depth overall and were at home. It was the 3rd game in 4 nights for Denver, and they were missing 3 starters. This is a game that, really, a top team blows out Denver and they pack it in late 3rd. They just didn’t get enough contribution offensively from Barnes, Murray, Huerter, or Mitchell.
Am I upset or surprised? Nope. This has been an emerging pattern for awhile. But it’s no doubt disappointing to see this trend continuing of playing down to circumstances. This homestand was ripe for a 5-1 record and they’ll be lucky to be 3-3 before hitting Memphis on New Year’s Day.
Denver is a really good team so beating them without Sabonis was always going to be difficult. But if the Kings aren’t capable of doing anything offensively without Domas on the court consistently, they are going to lose plenty of winnable games due to the inability to run quality offense.
Denver isn’t quite as great as some are making them out to be, either. They are heavily reliant on Jokic, and they need Porter and Murray to carry a greater weight than they are atm. (They might be able to by March. We’ll see.) But I think last night proves the Kings can win on any given night. They just have to expend the effort to do so. And they aren’t as often as they need to to remain in the playoff hunt in a parity stricken but deep Western Conference. Last night’s W would be alot more exciting if you hadn’t gotten curb stomped by the fucking Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. You have to win 6 or 8 in a row to remove that stain off your record.
And demz da breaks of da game…..
This is spot on. After the initial elation of the come from behind victory wore off, I have to say it is not strange that Denver ran out of gas and it is in fact not an impressive victory.
And I don’t care about what the team would have done in previous years. We always had such games once in a blue moon, sucvh as the huge comeback agaisnt Chicago. Didn’t make us a good team then, and neither does this game now.
Kings outplayed them when it counted the most.
While this is true, it’s still not as big a deal as you would like either in context.
I guess this team coulda quit, but that’s just another edition of Kangz insert year here.
I don’t think this team is a lost cause, I just think last night isn’t as big of a deal as we would like.
It’s one win, no more, and also no less. Part of the context is it was a win against the best team in the West.
And the other part of the context is that they were missing 3 starters and they were playing their third game in 4 nights on the road…
If the same circumstances were to apply to the Kings, many would call it a scheduled loss.
For many it was still a scheduled loss for the Kings, even with all those context circumstances. The Kings still won. One win. Not a
loss. That is what matters.
Agreed. Whilst I enjoy assigning meaning and context to each loss or win as fodder for conversation, when I look at the standings each day, there are still only two columns, so I find quite a bit of the commentary deciding if a win was “good” or “meaningful” to be naval gazing to an extent.
I would think each game is its own thing, I think there are few instances that carry game to game, bad losses being the the most likely to have a hangover.
The context that makes it impressive to me is that the Kings were down by 19 in the 3rd against a team w/the reigning 2x MVP. However, it doesn’t make up for the losses to the Wizards & Hornets.
The stink of the Hornets and Wizards takes beating teams that the Kings are not supposed to beat- at least 3 times to make up for those two stinkeroos.
This is one- despite Denver being tired- this is one.
Davion Mitchell is going to be soooo underpaid on his next contract. I sure hope it’s with the Kings.
This team had no business winning this game after that first half, wow.
For me, the key things that turned this game around were Mitchell’s defense on Hyland and poor time-management/decision-making by the Nuggets. Mitchell’s defense in the last eight minutes of the fourth ground Denver’s offense to a halt, leading to a lot of forced shots late in the shot clock. This is were I felt Malone lost the game for them: they didn’t adjust. They simply let Hyland dribble the ball up, let the shot clock wind down to 7 before running some action.
Obviously, Fox, Monk and Sabonis all had magnificent games that allowed for the Kings to overcome that deficit, but for me the game ball goes to Mitchell. Just wonderful stuff defensively.
I caught the 2nd half this morning. Bones was almost a non-factor once Davion got the assignment. Amazing effort.
Denver started to play not to lose, rather than continue to win. Bad mistake
Three players with 30 plus points. The last time the Kings did that was in 1979 with Phil Ford, Otis Birdsong and Scottie Wedman getting the points. I saw that team play in Kansas City a few times. They were a good team. In ’81 they went to the Western Conference Finals. I’m pretty sure North Carolina’s Phil Ford was Michael Jordan’s idol when Jordan was in high school. Of course, five years later they left town and I never heard from them again.
I’d been wondering about that when I looked at the box score after the game. Thanks for the info!
I liked that team. I bet Sam Lacey could play a big role in today’s game with his defense and ability to distribute from the elbow. I loved Otis Birdsong as well, I tried to imitate his jumper as a kid. Some fun guys too in Reggie King and the legendary Bill Robinzine, immortalized in song for his unfortunate role in a Daryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins shattering of a backboard. Daryl Dawkins was a specimen, who might have been one of the NBA’s first foreign born players, as I recall, he was from the planet Lovetron.
There are a lot of great clips of him on YouTube:
Rec for a great post and link and the history.
Phil Ford and Scott Wedman were excellent players.
Slammin Sam Lacey and Nate The Skate Archibald came to the Kings (Royals) in the same draft I believe. 1st and 2nd round draft choices.
I was a fan of Phil Ford’s when he was at NC, back when players were in college for four years and you could really develop a fandom. There were so many great college rivalries then, with North Carolina, Louisville, Dupaul, and so many having great programs.
Wedman had a really nice career, some good years as a reserve on those excellent Celtics teams in the mid 80’s.
I couldn’t believe when a team I followed moved to Sacramento, and a decent one at that. The decency wore off quickly, but it was still fun.
Love the Daryl Dawkins reference! Drafted out of high school (Florida), he was drafted 5th in the 1975 draft though, as mentioned, he hailed from the Planet Lovetron. He set an NBA record for fouls in a season (386) and was the reason the NBA switched to breakaway rims (he also shattered some backboards).
According to Wikipedia – and I did not know this – apparently, Chocolate Thunder was bestowed on him by none other than Stevie Wonder!
He was drafted out of high school in 1975 after Moses Malone was drafted in 1974. Bill Willoughby (who?) was drafted 19th out of high school in that same ’75 draft class.
Other than Shawn (Reign Man) Kemp was drafted in 1989 (enrolled but never played college ball), no high schoolers were drafted after 1975. Then 1995 had Kevin Garnett at the 5th pick, followed by Kobe (Lower Marion, PA) and Jermaine O’Neal (Eu Claire in South Carolina) in 1996.
Do you remember Johnny Newman. ABA. First $1MM contract.
Look at FF coming in with some context!
I was a fan of Bill Willoughby! Really skinny pogo stick of a small forward. I became a fan of the NBA after a Boy’s Life article on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1978, and that was a time when Basketball Digest and The Sporting News were published weekly, so it was easy to get information on the league, and it was when Zander Hollander was putting out books every year for the NBA (and MLB and NFL) with information on every player in the league. I really miss those books, and still have about twenty different copies on my bookshelf.
As a young kid, I loved players who could sky, so David Thompson, Dr J, and some more obscure players like Willoughby, Greg Kelser, and Terry Tyler (Kings legend!) were players I hoped were televised on Saturdays and Sundays.
Ken Durrett, and the forever cursed Royals….
Your right crowd was one of the loudest I’ve been to. In the run during 4th you could feel the energy building as they got stops and scores. Great win still lots of room for improvement.
Light The Beam!!
Once again, Marty silently trips out at the folks on the game thread who think this team is out of it in the 3Q.
HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?
Not surprised at all they cut the lead, and no matter how hard Mark and (((shudder))) Kayte try to ruin the experience, that was fun.
Yeah, our announcing team is absolutely brutal. And No, I don’t care that Mark Jones is a big shot ESPN guy. He should stay there.
Kayte is unlistenable.
I mute much of the game . These people suck the fun out of the game .
Broadcasting student: “Hi, I’d like a mentor and possibly an internship.”
Kayte: “I’m available.”
Broadcasting student: “Anyone else?”
Trey lyles is the MVP.
His hustle play and pass to Sabonis and crucial “block” on KCP’3
That play where he was on the ground and punched the ball to Sabonis was incredible. He and Davion and KZ really did a lot of dirty work last night. Impressive.
I ask: Does the use of KZ this season make sense? I just don’t get why the guy doesn’t play.
I’ll admit I’m easily confused.
KZ racks up a ton of fouls and his offense is pretty bad. I think spot minutes make sense, but putting him in for extended is asking for trouble.
I think he is still getting comfortable, or at the very least, the coaching staff figuring out situations where he can be productive. I would bet by the last thirty games of the season his role is much more defined.
I hope so. And I do not doubt it’s possible.
NBA last 2 minute report says we got the benefit of two no calls in that sequence. Sabonis fouled Jokic to cause the loose ball, and Lyles tapped the ball to Sabonis while his foot was out-of-bounds.
That’s offset a bit by a no call on Hyland, fouling Fox, on the next play that ended with Braun’s dunk.
It’s also offset by the truly horrendous calls against us in those 2 games early in the season.
The report also said that Monk did not hook KCP on our last possession, and it was not a foul when Sabonis jumped into Jokic while shooting on the play before. That surprised me – thought those would be ruled INCs.
This team cares about winning and fighting for the Sac fans a lot more than past teams for sure. I actually don’t think this group is that talented but they make the most out of what they have, play team ball, and fight hard. So I’m stoked on every one of these wins they get.
Yes
I doubt it.
These people play for themselves, their families, their teammates and their coaches. Perhaps also for a few persons in the FO. But the majority of these guys are professional mercenaries, and once they sign elsewhere or get traded they say a nice thank you and pivot to the next “best fanbase in the NBA” with smiles and platitudes.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
I see no reason why the fans or players should waste their time on bullshit platitudes like loyalty. No such thing exists. I only know for certain I waste no time on such things.
I do appreciate the way these guys get after it alot of nights.
On a different point about the fans (not disagreeing with Rik), the crazy fans did help the team win I believe. To that extent they care about the fans: in the moment they are playing for them. But that’s not the same as any lasting loyalty to Sacramento.
It’s a positive feedback loop
You don’t want to get too loyal when you can get traded tomorrow, but I’m sure players that play multiple years for a team will mostly think fondly of that team and continue to bitch about how their time with that team ended.
But Hali, it seems, was genuinely hurt by being traded. He didn’t yet understand the business.
Ahead of the B2B, I think both teams would have been happy with the split but they both probably feel like they let the sweep get away from them now. I definitely picked the wrong game to attend, that’s for sure – I hope whoever bought my seats for last night had a blast.
I thought Trey Lyles had a low-key great game in the minutes he was out there and he does that on a pretty regular basis. Nobody is going to confuse him with a starter but as a bench big making $2.7m he’s a fantastic piece. If Monte can get him back on a similar 1+1 deal I’d be all for it.
Lyles has been very good. He’s a smart player who puts himself in the right place on both sides of the ball. Even though (by NBA standards) he’s not the most athletic player, he still manages to get blocks and deflections on defense.
I’m guessing his price goes up in the offseason. I’d say that Len and Metu are safe bets to be elsewhere next year, which leaves Lyles, Barnes and (in my opinion) Davis as the expirings to focus on, assuming any or all aren’t traded. There’s also Dellavadova, who I’m hoping won’t be kept around as a favor, I’d rather his $2.6 million elsewhere. Full disclosure: My understanding of the salary cap is right up there with my knowledge of particle physics.
If Barnes remains, you have to take a long look at re-signing him. I’d guess he could be had for less than he’s making now if he’s offered three years, but I can imagine salary numbers where it could be better to let him walk. I continue to think that HB is invaluable with this roster, but can his money be used to make the team better next season? I truly don’t know, and there good arguments that can be made from a number of angles.
The good thing about Barnes is that he and the Kings can agree to an extension right up to June 30th. If things go well this season and he is happy being here, I can totally see them coming to a deal to keep him in Sac for 3-4 more years. That being said, if things to to shit, Kings miss the playoffs and Barnes is still here post trade deadline, he may walk in free agency for greener pastures.
The bottom line is, he is good for one more good contract that takes him to his mid 30’s and the the Kings can give it to him. He’s already made a ton of money and won a championship, so it may just come down to his desire to put roots down in Sac.
Any thoughts as to the right number for the Kings in regard to years and salary, as opposed to the minimum of what Barnes might want?
An extension could be the right move, although if I understand correctly (particle physics again), wouldn’t it be better to wait until free agency? If the Kings target someone expensive and sign him, then a Barnes contract could go over the cap because of Bird rights. It’s risky, unless you already have some off-the-books agreement with Barnes, and again, I’m speaking with no certainty at all about cap stuff.
I would expect if HB re-signs/extends it would be for the same money (or more). He’s a starter, he’s a positive on the court and in the locker room (not one but two (@!) DPOGs), Murray Mentor, very reliable, and exceedingly professional. I would place him as the 3rd best player on the Kings so far this season. Maybe that says more about the Kings, but there you are. After Domas, who else is there in the frontcourt?
The reason I expect same (or more) money is that the salary cap is going up over the next few years. It’s sort of like inflation – same money is relatively less.
As pointed out, the Kings have the luxury of time – they should use that to their advantage. Barnes will do the same – if he is hearing that his value is on the upswing, he may chose to see what he can get on the open market if he doesn’t get an offer by Sac in the near future. That’s why they pay
Vivek MatinaAneelAnjaliMM and WW the big bucks.This.
I feel Monte won’t extend Barnes until after the deadline or even right up to the end of the contract season in June. He may get some outrages offer for an expiring Barnes at the deadline that is too good to pass up, so extending him now may not be wise. Let the deadline pass and if Barnes is still wearing a Kings jersey then and the team is still in the playoff hunt, then approach with an extension. He may also get a clearer view of his market value then.
I’d not considered the fact that the cap is going up, that certainly requires a different way of considering what “fair value” will mean for new deals.
Good points, both of you!
I don’t believe the Kings will have the ability to go over the cap to re-sign Barnes once July 1st (free agency) hits. He is a UFA and the Bird Rights only afford the Kings an extra year to his contract at that point. Going over the cap to re-sing him only works if he is a RFA. This is why extensions are the route to go to retain stars once they are off of their rookie deals. I’m not 100% on this, but I’m sure Nate could clear it up for us.
As to numbers, I’ve floated a 3year $50M deal (roughly $16M per year) with the third year being a PO. If Barnes really wants more I could be talked into a 4 year $70M deal ($17.5M per year) with a partial guaranteed on the 4th year.
Throw this whole paragraph out the window. This is completely false. Forget yout read it if possible.
The whole point of Bird rights is to be able to sign a player workout having cap space to do so. That’s why having full Bird rights (as the Kings do w/r/t Barnes) is important. It allows you to resign a player up to the maximum years and dollars allowed for that particular player.
The issue with signing Barnes over the summer vs signing FAs is where you start talking about things like cap holds and functional cap space (Keith Smith calls it practical cap space at Spotrac). Right now the Kings have 12 spots locked up between guaranteed deals and incoming 1st/2nd rd picks.
But in order to get cap space, you have to renounce all FAs (that means taking cap holds off your books like Barnes), account for your incoming rookies AND you know, get the player to agree with what you’re selling. The Kings could have around 20M in total cap space…. but is that worth it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
***
IMO, it doesn’t matter when you sign Barnes. You’re not likely to have cap space until 2024 either way. I highly doubt the Kings won’t resign Barnes because they are trying to hoard cap space. That’s Miami in 2010 shit. If both sides are comfortable with the years and dollars, Barnes could sign an extension. They could wait until July and sign a new deal or pull off a S&T. They could let him walk for reasons we don’t know right now.
I don’t think it matters when Barnes gets a new deal, it matters IF. Barnes will likely wait until the summer to sign anything because you lose leverage signing an extension early or unnecessarily.
I’m expecting Barnes to either sign an extension in late June or July when he’s a FA. Not anytime before, I think McNair and the FO knows that and understand why given their own situations. I’m sure that isn’t very helpful for Barnes in signing an extension.
The thing is, Adam likes certainty. But…. this just isn’t a certain type of deal. Many things in the NBA, like life, are TBD. It’s like the Kuzma deal in Washington. It’s hardly the end of the world if Kuzma walks for nothing. Most teams won’t give up anything of value for the guy, he’s not that good. But there will be Wizards media and fans acting like it’s an egregious error to let Kuzma walk for nothing. It’s a tale as old as time. It seems significant and is said to be such but in reality means jack diddly squadoosh. Players like Kuzma don’t make or break you, it’s why you don’t get much value in walk years in trade and why you don’t lose much if they do indeed walk for nothing. It’s very much the same for Barnes but I think he’s more valuable than Kuzma.
TL;DR: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So what you are saying is that it is entirely possible for the Kings and Barnes to have an agreement in principal (or at least wink wink right of first refusal), let him hit free agency in July, spend as much as the cap allows on other free agents, and then come to official terms with Barnes which exceeds the cap?
What I don’t understand is if his cap hold is in place come July 1st, how do they have room to sign anyone else? And if they renounce his rights to remove the cap hold, then they don’t have his Bird Rights to go over the cap? It seems to me it’s like wanting your cake and eating it too.
In the end, my gut says the Kings and Barnes will come to some agreement prior to July, just like they did last time when they re-signed him in 2019. Barnes had the option to hit the open market in his prime, but chose to stay with the Kings, and that was when Vlade was still in charge. Since there is precedent, it may be a good indicator.
I would think they do as well Adam. With how HB takes care of his body, he seems like his game will be a gentle slide down the scale of productivity, and he plays a position that will always be in demand, and with the cap increasing, his signing a contract in the 14m-18m a year range would be pretty fungible in any trade.
Goodness gracious no. This is exactly the type of scenario I’m trying to point out why cap holds exist. To keep teams from exploiting loopholes like this one. And I’ve been telling you this for at least a decade.
I’ll keep it simple Adam: The Kings won’t have cap room and be able to resign Barnes with his Bird rights.
They wouldn’t, they’d have the Bird rights and exceptions like the MLE OR cap room. They won’t have both, or at least not as of now.
That’s why cap holds are there. To keep know it all assholes like Pat Riley and Sam Presti and Daryl Morey and Masai Ujiri from exploiting these kinds of situations. You can guarantee they would, it’s called obtaining a competitive advantage.
Cap holds have been around since at least 1999. So, it’s not like it’s a new idea.
So it is what it is, but like I’ll be saying for awhile, they aren’t having cap room for awhile. At least until 2024 in all likelihood.
This is cool.
https://twitter.com/SacHistMuseum/status/1608336307901853696?s=20&t=IfB7QmK_qTsveDTyuVD43g
If there was any doubt to Sabonis being the engine to this team or his toughness, then one should have their head checked. The Kings don’t win this game without him and they will win very few if he misses time. According to the excellent article by Slater and Amick this morning over at The Athletic. Sabonis passed on surgery that would have sidelined for possibly 20 games. He’s playing through the pain.
Some key takeaways: Sabonis used he chest a lot to guard Jokic,
This dude is tough as nails. It’s a good article at the Athletic, which is worth the paywall, IMO.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1608492571831193600
What an absolute beast
On the one hand (see what I did there?), what an absolute stud. On the other, is there any risk of long term damage by playing through it? Can it heal correctly? I love the guy and that was a pretty courageous effort last night but if this lingers into the future because he didn’t have surgery, that would make me nervous for us and for him.
I was wondering this as well.
These are the games that good teams need to win to off-set bad losses like CHA and WAS. Utah will be a challenge, would love to see them wrap-up the homestand with a win.
Can Sabonis’s injury heal without surgery? Can the injury cause long term damage to his finger without surgery? Guy is tough to play through the pain.
Ok Kings fans, would you trade Halliburton for Sabonis today?
Yeah, and twice on Sunday.
I wouldn’t have then but would now. I even understand keeping Fox over Hali at this point just in terms of his massive improvement in shooting and change of pace speed to compliment Sabonis in the paint.
Yes.
Still, the biggest hangup for me is control of contract. Indy still has Hali on a rookie deal, has lots of control over him, and can pay him more than anyone else for years to come. Sabonis, on the other hand, is a UFA in 18 months. Kings can still offer a 5 year deal while no one else can, but there is a sliver of worry about the future of Sabonis.
Ideally Halliburton never goes. Reality is the team had to change and Haliburton was who Indiana wanted.
Yep. I don’t really hesitate either. I’m less a fan of Hali than others though. And Domas’ gallup is worth the price of admission alone IMO.
Agreed. I will admit to my bias of Sabonis being one of my three favorite non-Kings in the league prior to the trade (along with Jrue and Dejaunte, and his space now occupied by Mikal), but he his motor, his strength, his IQ, are just a rarer collection of talents than he has been given credit for. Hali has some very obvious strengths, but he seems like he is going to be the highest end of an important complimentary player to the star of the team, rather than the foundation like Sabonis is proving he can be. (Also, in a petty moment, I do not enjoy Haliburton’s preening and continued conversation about his hurt feelings. I hope he matures out of that part and genuinely becomes a leader.)
I wouldn’t have then and I still wouldn’t. Probably not a popular opinion but I still think it’s infinitely easier to build around Haliburton than it is Sabonis. It’s nothing against Sabonis because I think he’s great and thought they before the trade. I just think Haliburton is going to be a multi-time all star and all nba guy. Factor in the age difference and it’s pretty easy for me personally. But the Kings have decided to go this route and I’ll just happily go along for the ride and hope we make the playoffs.
To be fair to McNair, I really liked all of his ancillary moves and I don’t have at least some confidence that he’s got a plan and a path to execute it. I don’t really see how this team ever competes for anything other than a lower playoff seed with this core but you never know!
I mostly agree w/you, but I think this depends on the development of Keegan.
Great point and he’s definitely the wild card. I think in order for this team to compete, he’s needs at or better than a Fox level player. Fox is good but I still don’t think he’s an all star level guy. Sabonis is. Murray needs to be in that neighborhood to really make noise.
No, but it’s a much harder decision for me now than it would’ve been at the time of the trade.
It felt like Jokic couldn’t miss inside 15 feet. I thought his last shot in the paint was going to fall. So glad it didn’t
He really has an incredibly soft touch. He is having a remarkable career, it will be interesting to see where his career winds up among all time centers.
Badge Legend