NBA Trade Deadline Open Thread

Howdy Michael.

I watched the game last night and synced up the tv play by play with G man on the radio. With about two minutes left in the first period you could hear Gerry’s voice speed up in tempo and pace and his game call fill up with the excitement in his voice as the pitch of his voice went higher and the adjectives grew longer.

And it built like a staircase from there through the end of the game. It was the most enjoyable game I have seen all year.

The bonus…I recorded the Wolves play by play on League Pass and now that the dust is clearing on the end of the trade deadline I am going to watch that game.

Like most of us here, all I need is hope and a path forward to better play, high BBIQ players, and players that respect their teammates and are motivated to challenge themselves to be better than they might otherwise be by the way they play as a team rather than how they play as a single player, how thirsty they may be for their solitary stats. The whole has to be better than the sum of the parts to win in the NBA.

The game last night is a start. Just a start. Hard work and hard choices are yet to come. Today was a good day for the Kings. Giving Monte the authority to make these trades is a window into what the entire organization can do. Vivek needs to do his corporate job, which is to “Meet, Present and Report” to the collective ownership and the corporate business of running a business. That is his role. No more, no less. Let Monte form and run the team and it’s players and coaches and trainers. The last several days everyone was within their roles. A start.

The players they have turned and acquired shows there is more work to be done and a better return may come in the days and hours leading up to the draft.

Parting notes—I would bet a cheeseburger Monte talked to Bobby Jackson about several players on the team, new and vets, as he formed his plan for moving players out and bringing in new players to remake the roster. Just my two cents. Those two guys were everywhere together at the LV Summer League. Married at the hip, so to speak.

A pivotal play in the game last night, the tipping point in my opinion, was Richaun Holmes blocking a shot by (I believe) KAT at about the 4:15 mark of the 4th period. From there the Kings went on a ten point run. It is fitting it was Richaun that made the play. Particularly in light of a reduced role for him going forward. I hope the Kings and Richaun can go forward together, but understand if a good deal comes along around draft time that he may be going to another team. I respect him and his play as a teammate a great deal and hope nothing but the best for him. He has earned that much at least. A lion for his team.