Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair held a press conference Friday to discuss yesterday’s trade deadline.
McNair said he was looking to add defense and depth (specifically guys who bring versatility position wise) around this core. He also reiterated his support of head coach Luke Walton.
Below are some excerpts:
On the trade deadline:
“One of our goals was to add depth and especially some defense and I think we did that with the four guys that we were able to acquire. Delon, of course a veteran in the league, two-way player and I think defensively he’s going to bring a ton of versatility. And then offensively the ability to play on and off the ball as a playmaker, shooter and finisher is really exciting. A guy we have definitely targeted to bring here. Moe Harkless, another veteran played on a lot of winning teams and a combo forward we’re excited to see what he can do for us. Terence Davis – knock down shooter and competitive defender, and Chris Silva, an athletic big who brings some rim protection. So, I think we came in with a systematic approach to continue to improve the team and set us up for the future and I think we did that.”
“Delon can certainly play on the ball or off the ball. He can play next Ty, next to De’Aaron or he can run the offense if needed.”
“There was maybe some traditional buy/sell moves, but I think where we categorize ourselves was value buyers. We kind of explore all opportunities and this is what kind of came to the forefront. These guys that we acquired, the ability to maybe help us this year of course, but also be a part of our future. It allowed us also to maintain all of that optionality I think going forward and set us up well. We always try to be flexible as possible and not cut off any avenues and see what’s out there and do the best we can.”
“We want to add value when we see it and I think all of these guys can not just help us now but potentially be a part of our future. We target not just young players who can continue to develop and progress, but guys who are in their prime or just about to enter it and continue to be a part of this team if we’re able to do that. I think all four of these guys can step in and be part of what we’re trying to do.”
“It was less of looking at the standings and more of looking at what was out there. ¦ Guys that give us the ability to build out the team of the future.”
On keeping the core:
“I think we certainly evaluate all our options, but I think our core has shown to be really productive this year and I think one of our goals was to improve the depth around it so I think the guys we brought in will do that and I think also complement our core guys on both ends and allow them to do what they do best.”
On Luke Walton:
“Luke has been great. As we’ve talked about before, it’s a tough situation for him for a new GM to come in. We’ve had injuries throughout the year. Everybody knows what a crazy year it’s been in the world and certainly for the NBA. He’s kind of juggled all that I think really well and has the team playing well again. And hopefully these guys will come in and stabilize even further where if we do take injuries or hit a tougher patch of the schedule then those guys can come in and give us a little more punch, especially off the bench. But Luke has been great and done a great job to keep the guys steady through those tougher patches and also not let them get too high, obviously we’ve had some good stretches as well.”
On Terence Davis’ off-court situation:
“We certainly take all that stuff very seriously. His case is closed and I think going forward, we’ll of course, uphold the standards that we’ve set here.”
McNair discussed many other topics. See below to watch the full press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XUyaJ4BySc
McNair was asked to clarify if he was buying or selling and he wouldn’t answer it clearly. It seems he was trying to not say he wanted to move a contract without it being a story and having players take it the wrong way.
he also seemed to talk about Walton in a regular he’s doing great professional way without saying anything of sure commitment when it came to the future.
I feel like he was disappointed in not getting the deals he wanted but also happy with the small moves he made which he feels will help with setting the tone on the style of play he wants to see.
I agree with your opinion. Some of these responses, I believe he is stuck saying. He still needs Vivek approval to fire Walton. Perhaps the Kings have been such a system of abuse for other teams during the past 2 decades during the trade deadline, that it will take some time for him to establish respect from other GMs in trade proposals.
I agree with your agreement and opinion. Coach speak for the most part.
Seems like he wasn’t getting decent offers for the pieces he was looking to move and you make a good point of rebuilding a perception of competency with current GMs. Just look at Danny Ainge, his own perception of trying to squeeze every little thing he can from a trade has rubbed GMs the wrong way.
Ainge made a lowball offer to Orlando for Griffin and they didn’t bother to renegotiate with him, they just took Denver’s offer, Ainge was complaining about “not getting a chance to add more to his offer”.
Perceptions matter in the league and despite teams knowing who Morey is, they still lowball the Kings with Vlade-level offers and I think they try to get Vivek to step in and screw the Kings over with his opinion on the matter.
Yeah no GM (other than Divac) would go on record in public to say anything bad about their current coaches but it’s telling he mentioned Luke started the season tough having to work under a new GM. I think McNair was definitely implying the fact that retaining Walton may not have been his first choice.
I don’t agree with kings approach on being a value buyer because there really wasn’t much incentive to drop out of top-5 selection at the draft this year but I can see his reasoning. But being any sort of buyer is a direct contradiction to his own words of being flexible and an eventual perennial competitor. I do hope this direction came from him, not Vivek.
If we have constant outcome from the draft like the one we just had a year ago then I am excited about this team. If not, I am not watching another decade and half of this incompetent sh*tshow
This late into the season? I don’t really think the kings can tank hard enough into the bottom 5 anyways, unless you just blatantly sit Fox.
I’ll have to wait and see what the Kings do this off season. The SF option for FA looks pretty thin. Notable players are Oubre, Otto, and Gay. I’d think Barnes at 20M followed by 18M is decent value for what he can offer (remember when his contract was supposed to be atrocious?).
I agree with your point about McNair. He may not say much, however he will most likely also not say the ‘wrong’ thing too, which is sort of refreshing?
We don’t know if the Kings want to ‘tank’. That seems to be the favorable general conscious of this board, and I get it. I want the highest pick possible too, however bottom 5 isn’t the same guarantee these days. Tyreke Evans was the perfect example of the bottom team not getting the ping pong balls, without current structure changes (nor a team trying to tank – that was just a bad team that hasn’t improved greatly since).
I don’t think these deadline moves, move the needle greatly either way, however I do think our bench has been improved (on paper), so it may mean Kings are in it for longer. I could be wrong (and if I am, so be it).
The flexibility stuff, there is still a lot to play out. If Kings want to keep Holmes, I think they figure out a way. McNair seems to be savvy enough, and a analytical numbers type of dude to not screw himself. Also, over next couple of years, the landscape of cap space for Kings will change greatly (meaning potentially pushing for playoffs or greater).
Either way, McNair’s press interviews are anyone’s guess, since he speaks without saying much.
Yes. This all has the stench of an overbearing Vivek.
Great point. Think about your own jobs, don’t most of us think we can do our boss’s job? That may be true! Either way, the first year is likely to be a rough adjustment. Monte McNair might be a fantastic GM or the second coming of Petey D & the Bad Radio Spot Bunch. Thus, I have no idea. At this point, I guess I’m glad his adjustment year hasn’t been too awful?
The primary hole in his story is keeping financial flexibility when his moves prevent the team from having sufficient room to keep Holmes. Pete mentions value a lot. Moreyball did funky things with centers, like not play them. His flexibility statement only holds true if he does not want to pay centers. If Vlade found Holmes at $5M per year, he may believe he could do the same thing.
What little one can glean off a presser like this, there’s nothing here that screams incompetence or no vision like some around here want to insinuate. It sucks and we obviously don’t want to hear it, but he can’t just fix this in less than a season. Unless your fix is for a blow up…then I guess he could do that quick.
I would feel more comfortable making big judgement statements about Monte moves until after the next deadline.
He did acknowledge that the core has played well and they want to build around that. Some disagree which is fair considering record, but so many metrics do place the current starting 5 as being playoff caliber good, regardless of HB “drifting” in and out of games, Buddy dribbling off his foot or Holmes not having ideal size. They just play well together. Eye test and data back it up for most part.
I would rather be in a position to rebuild a bench, than rebuild a group of good starters. We shall see how it plays out.
I think we can glean a lot more from the call in he did with Jason and Doug than McNair’s press conference. He talks about how he perceives value, and how different moves can help to accomplish different goals. For anyone that is confused about the plan, I highly recommend really listening to what he has to say. There is a philosophy there.
Gotta say I am not as hopeful about Harkless’ revival as he is.
The call is a good listen. Favorite part:
“Doug knows. He was never the best player on any of the teams he’s been on.”
– Monte McNair
Sometimes it just takes the change in scenery to give a guy new life. Bazemore looked pretty washed before he got traded here, then played pretty well. Shump had his moments. Gay, Casspi, and Barnes have been serviceable. Harkless was above replacement level in 2019, and he’s still conceivably in his prime. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if he’s a decent facsimile for Bjelly in terms of overall impact.
Thanks for the link Rordog. Its a good listen.
I heard a fair amount of it, it was enlightening, and the joking around with Doug with fun.
To me, this sounded like 3 dopes who think the team they work for is much better than it is.
He said pretty much what you’d expect him to say, he earns some respect for that. Reading between the lines a bit seems like there wasn’t much of a worthy deal out there so he did what he could.
McGenius! I wish a media person would’ve asked if he thinks Buddy can play at SF and HB at PF permanently or if he thinks they are playing out of position….
Oh good, Ham asked this question re: Buddy at 25:00 mark. Sounds like Buddy is our new permanent SF. I think is good news and only unfortunate it did not happen sooner, as soon as before the season began when I suggested it.
McGenius is an impressive guy. We are going to be a great team with him calling the shots!
His answer at the end re: Marvin was total B.S. and his “great improvement”. Pfft. But this is the game you have to play as the GM so I do not mean it as a criticism.
Marvin has made modest strides that still amount to a player awkward and indecisive and ineffective. So even if he has gotten marginally better he’s still a guy that does not help you and worse drags down the whole team with him. Metu is better, especially as a pick setter and selective shot taker and a guy who will rebound outside his area.
This is what McGenius would say to you off the record after a couple of beers.
Silva and Terrence Davis should be given the chance to play their way into the rotation but they first need to outplay Jefferies and Metu in practice.
This coach best not be automatically awarding PT to the new guys except Delon.
And just because Delon is a two way combo guard does not mean Kyle Guy should return to the bench. We need to find minutes for Guy as a spark plug playmaker and shooter, he can do way he did v GSW if only given the chance.
Guy does finally look like a spark plug off the bench. Sure, he did against a depleted team, but he finally looked confident.
I don’t what you mean “finally”? It takes a bit of time for any player including Guy to find his groove and rhythm, and Guy has not been granted that time. Yet.
Guy has basically sat on the bench while Joseph has f*cked our season, mercifully exiled to wherever ( I don’t care where) and about to be waived out of the NBA.
I was thinking it may be time for me lay off the Kool-Aid a bit. Thanks for making me feel like a modest drinker!
Haha youre welcome
Walton’s post-game press conference answers are kind of grating.
GS, Dallas, Memphis and NO may all lose tonight.
Good news. We’ll only be one back in the loss column to the Warriors. I think San Antonio is also in play to be caught. 8 versus 9 is a big difference in the playin tournament.
they all lost. now kings please take care of business.
If Delon, Harkless and Davis all prove to be difference makers off the bench replacing CoJo and Bjelica, I can now see these deals in the sense that they are bargain contracts for solid depth that might have been overpriced if you were to have found it on the open market this season. Buddy as the permanent SF is an interesting idea that I think can work in the modern NBA, but I’m still skeptical of whether Buddy himself is capable of playing the role. Time will tell. Barnes is and has been a prototypical stretch 4 so slotting him in as such is great news and solves two long-term problems in one; what are we gonna do about Barnes? He stays! Bagley? He’s replaced by Barnes! Solving both those Q’s in house is well done. Fox-Hali-Barnes seems to be the only true medium-term core I see this team has committed to in its operations, perhaps Holmes as well? I think it works for the modern league and makes sense fiscally. If you could flip Bagley and Hield for a more reliable 3 or find one in the draft this off-season, this could start to come into focus. Then it would be just about upgrading the center position/replacing Holmes. Alright, McNair. I’ll wait and see some more.
If this team is seriously going to take the next step, then they need to figure out how to force Buddy to embrace the Clarkson/LouWill role. I’m hoping they can find the Mikal Bridges type player to supplant Buddy in the starting lineup, and Buddy accepts his super sixth man role. Then they’d really be cooking with fish grease.
Or at least make him a top mileage guy in the NBA again like a previous coach did by running him off countless screens and limiting his ball handling.
Agreed. Buddy could definitely be a sixth man of the year contender. That being said, our current five is very fun to watch, on the offensive side of the ball at least.
So I’m assuming we’re going to be drafting between 10 and 14, I kind of like the small forward Franz Wagner out of Michigan if this is where we’re drafting, he’s a good passer decent ball handler
Don’t know much about Wagner, but Roko Prkacin and Jalen Johnson are both intriguing in the mid-lottery stage to me
At the moment, both of those guys look like they may be big steals. If we’re looking at combo F-sized wing initiators, Josh Giddey is probably the best initiator, but the worst defensive prospect and doesn’t trust his own shot much. But if he falls into the mid-2nd or so, he could be a huge steal. Later in the draft there are also wings with some facilitation upside like Herb Jones, and Watford. I think somewhere around that 10-14 (even starting as high as 8) spot is where you start getting into the range where a trade down starts to make a lot of sense. That’s when I start seeing guys that don’t necessarily have a meaningful advantage (in my opinion) over guys you could get later.
And he plays really hard on D.
Harkless, Silva, and Davis don’t have to prove anything since only Delon Write’s contract is guaranteed for next season. If they prove to be any value going forward, that’s just a bonus.
No chance of upgrading at Center If Holmes is lost !
“Buddy as the permanent SF is an interesting idea that I think can work in the modern NBA, but I’m still skeptical of whether Buddy himself is capable of playing the role.”
I guess the question is which is worse, when you get torched by the other team’s SG or whether the other team’s SF does it.
If I can put in an article request, it would be nice to see what Delon Wright can bring to this team. The advanced stats paint a picture of Wright having a similar impact on winning as Holmes, but at the guard position. I feel like the transaction is not getting the recognition it deserves.
I have Delon and Saddiq Bey on one of my fantasy teams, and have been watching a lot of Piston basketball. He is a very easy guy to root for. Gets to the basket well, and is a very versatile defensive player. Almost an ideal guy to backup our current talent.
Yeah I think the fact that the kings didn’t make a big move kinda overshadows the Wright trade for whatever reason. Wright has been as impactful as Fox and Haliburton this season if you believe the advanced stats. He may not have the upside those two have, but that’s still a heck of an upgrade to the guard rotation.
I have always liked Wright as a third guard and his advanced numbers always seem to indicate he impacts winning in a positive way. To get him for Cojo and a couple non-picks really is a steal. A Fox, Haliburton, Wright back court rotation is pretty good.
For all the Nesmith fans. He finally got in and I saw him. Need more to evaluate but tonight 14 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound and was 0 for 4 from the floor.
Thank you for your service
You’re welcome you can take a break off the blog for a few minutes. Gets some fresh air.
I will never log off
Now that’s one of your predictions we can agree on.
I’m sure you’ll also agree that I’ve done my part to make this a thought provoking site regardless of whether or not you’ve agreed with the rest of my posts.
But what if you have to clear your browser cache?
Nesmith has been not much but still better than Langford ! Maybe two lottery misses by Ainge !
Sounds like the moneyball approach in NBA terms.
Sounds like we are probably fucked in another Vivek delusion.
Basically, we have to hope to get a great draft pick, resign Holmes, get a better coach etc. Though I’m not sure Vivek will let Luke go.
Trying to thread the needle against logic and reason, again and again.
. .
Yup. “Value Buyers” is what makes me think the same. IMO, the problem with that approach in the NBA, is the league is so small. It is hard to find diamonds for the price of copper in a league this size. Everyone knows everyone, including the G-League, so it is not the same as MLB with numerous farm leagues with thousands of players to pull from.
In the end, the Kings still lowered there cap sheet by a few million this year, taking the team with the 3rd lowest payroll, while also getting $2M in cash from the Clippers deal. That indicates to me the operation plan going forward and makes me really concerned that the Kings will not spend to keep Holmes.
There are quite a few players released and bought out that may be interesting if we are really going for the play-in (sigh).
If Monte is really inent on being a Value Buyer, that’s where he can show his stuff and add some more (quality) depth.
Exactly. If someone like Otto Porter Jr. is bought out or released, Monte going after him for a {cough} playoff push {cough}, that would indicate to me he is putting his money where his mouth is.
Sloghtly OT.
The league really should do something about the buy-out market. It is such an easy and cheap way for championship contenders to fill out their rosters with still useful vets (f.i. the Nets with Blake Griffin).
The rich get richer.
Totally agree. Contenders have no interest in trading for expiring vets, like an Andre Drummond or Blake Griffin, if they know they can just pick them up for cheap on the buyout market. This leaves teams, especially bottom dwellers, at a disadvantage with those kinds of deals when the deadline comes.
I’ve often thought that either the buyout market should have a much earlier deadline or that any team signing a player on the buyout market should have to pay a certain percentage of the players previous deal, instead of the vet’s minimum. Maybe something like 25% of their former deal? In this way, someone like Drummond would cost like $7M to a tax paying contender rather than the vet’s minimum.
I don’t agree with this, Adam. Just take a look a Toronto and Miami. It’s almost like they find a diamond in the rough every year. I don’t think it has as much to do with the player but the culture they’ve built that promotes hard work. Of course if you’re in the NBA, you can play high level basketball. Work ethic is what takes their game to the next level and they foster that environment better than anyone. Listening to McNair on the radio interview, it sounded like that’s what he’s trying build. I think he said something along of the lines of regardless of talent, you’re expected to win.
You could be right, we just have to wait and see what McNair’s talent evaluation is like. The only player I like that he acquired is Wright. I really don’t think Silva or Harkless move the needle, let alone crack the rotation, but I’d love to be proven wrong.
I’m intruiged by Silva, although I doubt that he’ll see the court much, if at all.
Off topic, but is it just me or is Haliburton our best shooter? He is 52 52 93 or something like that since being in the starting lineup for Bagley.
My polish grandma used to sneak us off to a flea market on Saturdays in southeastern Pennsylvania. Cowtown is what they called it. I have no idea where it was, those trips didn’t last long.
You could buy buckets of plastic spoons and gallon jars of mustard. They had car stereos with names you never heard of, velvet rock-n-roll posters, and lots of used tools. It was held in some sort of converted barn that still had the livestock stalls lined up like they were in use during the week. Real shady.
She was a Value Buyer, grandma was.
Sounds like my Grandmother. She once brought near a dozen toasters from a damaged appliance shop because the price was just too good, nevermind she didn’t need them, but she thought someone, someday might want them. She also once bought a bunch of old hair drying chairs from a salon going out of business, thinking they would be good investments. She wasn’t in the hair styling business so they then ended up sitting on the side of the house for years until the family paid someone to haul them away.
Buying other people’s trash on the cheap is still buying other people’s trash.
Sounds like Denio’s in Roseville.
First of all he has an annoying tendency to scratch and fidget; not a good look. He seemed otherwise composed and non-evasive. Of course he wanted more back than he offered, but that’s true of every team and unless you’re trading an all-star, all you can do is tread water, which talent-wise is what he did, but contract-wise was a net-plus. I think that was
vivek’s mandate: make a salary dump smell as sweet as possible.
This sounds right, except it’s factually incorrect
“Luke has been great.”
This is bad
He has to say that. One thing that is clear about Monte, is that it appears no “We had a better deal 2 days ago” statements will be made.
I about fainted when Monte talked about “Sonic’s” shirt someone was staying. I thought it was Seattle until he said there were a lot around Texas and I realized it was the restaurant…
Walton will coach out the remainder of his contract. Buddy, Holmes (the Kings may have to overpay) and Bagley (still developing) aren’t going anywhere. I said this earlier and I’ll say it again, the same core will be back next year (maybe even Barnes) with a better bench.
I do realize that hot takes and overreactions is what makes being a fan fun. But I feel as if I’m not seeing things from the majority perspective and I would like to know why I’m so off base with everyone else.
The way I see it, let’s start with Vivek meddling issue. Do I think Vivek probably pushed Monte to win games? Sure. But based on the transactions made, non of those are Vivek(vlade) type players. From past decade, we know Vivek players. Bellineli, Rondo, Affalos of the NBA that come with some name recognition but cost more than the value added. Players we brought in are the opposite of that. Hell I’m even willing to bet that Vivek probably didn’t even know any of those guys existed until after the trade. If anything, that makes me think ownership wants to win but is letting Monte do it his way.
Value buyers . If Monte has done one thing consistently so far, that’s value shopping. After the draft, FA and now the deadline, my first thoughts have been moneyball. Is there really a difference in value buyer and moneyball? I fail to see it. I, as a fan of warren buffet, am all about value shopping and the best GM’s like Riley and Masai are pro’s at it.
are we buyers or sellers? If you really think about it, are those two the only options for a team? We have a core with high upside, but I’m not willing to sell the Barn and go all in just yet. Give them a better supporting crew and see if they are in fact worth selling the barn for and if they are, that’s when you pull the trigger on a star and leverage the future. Like Tim asked if we would’ve made that Vuc deal. Hell no. Not right now at least. Maybe in a year or two when we know Hali and Fox is for sure a real deal. That’s why I hate what bulls did. They are not beating top teams in the east over next 3 years. But I do understand they had to do something to keep Lavine bought in long term.
As for tanking, unless Fox or Hali got hurt, or we shut them down for the season(that sends an awful message to the players), this team was still too good for the tank. We would’ve ended up 9-14 all while watching CoJo, with love and all due respect, laying bricks. Not to mention the crazy minutes that starting 5 has been logging to make up for the lack of talent on the bench. Look, I get it that we need to see what the two ways and rooks have to offer but c’mon, cream rises to the top and for all the trash lineups that Walton puts out there, he has given minutes to players that make a positive impact like Metu.
compliments. I’ll add that to list of words we can use to describe Mcnairs philosophy. Individually non of the players we brought in move the needle but they do complement the core in a way that collectively raises the floor for the team. If you can somehow put aside TD’s off court issues, he is oozing with potential. I spent some time looking up fan opinions for TD, Wright and Silva. Fans love them as players and I couldn’t find anyone happy to see them go so cheap. Price we paid, 2nd round picks for Wright and TD is in fact great value. If we kept the picks in hopes to draft players that provide equal value, what are the odds of that happening?
lastly, resigning Holmes is not going to be an Issue. If they really want to retain him, they’ll find a way. It seems likely since there really isn’t a FA 5 that can provide his value. Also, Holmes benefits just as much from playing with Fox and Hali as he benefits the kings. I’m not sure if any team is thinking of him as guy who can generate his own offense or that he is elite enough defensively to warrant some ridiculous contract. Unless they go after a guy like Turner via trade, I wouldn’t loose sleep over it. Worst case scenario just buy out Bagley if you can’t get a future pick.
looking up, I realize this is way too long to read haha but if someone does, I’d love to know what I’m getting wrong here
I feel like a lot of us see this perspective. I disagree with you on Holmes though, the league knows how he operates, and it’s a guard driven league now where if you don’t have a guard who can operate the pick and roll and having a big that spreads the floor vertically, you’re behind the 8-ball.
Teams, I’m afraid, are going to go after Holmes hard. I hope they retain him, otherwise it will be a huge mistake not to capitalize on him with something in return over the deadline.
Agree, this league will go hard after Holmes ! A unselfish big that is getting better, does not demand the ball and still scores, rebounds highly efficiently ! Also, the leagues best center at defending wings out on the floor ! Lose him a big step back !
I agree with you there. Of course teams would be interested in his services. My point was that if kings really wanted him back, they’d find a way to bring him back. From my understanding, we can offer 4/40. Maybe up that a bit by moving some pieces around. But by hard if you mean some team will offer him like 4/70 or 4/80, at that point you have to just be happy for Holmes and let him walk. Cost would be greater than value for me at that point. And I’m a big fan of Holmes
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