Vivek Ranadive, Joe Dumars, Mike Forde, and the Sacramento Kings are currently in the middle of a nationwide search to find their long term general manager. The Kings are taking their time, as they should, because this franchise cannot afford to get this hire wrong.
Throughout the early days of the hiring process, a common concern among general manager candidates has been the question of power. Who will this new general manager report to? How involved will Joe Dumars be after the hire is made? How much input does Vivek Ranadive want in basketball operations? Will the new general manager have autonomy to build out his or her front office and coaching staff from the ground up?
Some of those questions have been answered publicly, and some haven’t, but the unfortunate truth is that even if the Kings say the new general manager will have some level of autonomy, until they prove it, it’s fair to be skeptical. This has been an issue throughout Vivek Ranadive’s ownership tenure.
The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson added fuel to that skepticism in his mailbag on Thursday. While answering a question about Luke Walton’s job security moving forward, Anderson reported the following:
The new general manager will ultimately decide the fate of this coaching staff, but as recently as Monday league sources told The Sacramento Bee Walton is safe and will coach the team next season. The Kings are assuring Walton and making it clear to potential candidates they do not intend to make a coaching change prior to the 2020-21 season.
Even so, Walton will enter his second season in a tenuous position after agreeing to a four-year deal with the Kings last summer. New general managers usually end up bringing in new coaches, but Walton will have an opportunity to forge a relationship with his next boss before any decisions are made. Essentially, he will be auditioning for his own job.
If I’m confused about how much power this new general manager will have after reading a report like this, I can only imagine how confusing the messaging has been to potential hires. Anderson states that “the new general manager will ultimately decide the fate of this coaching staff” meanwhile the the Kings are actively telling Walton that his job is safe. Which is it?
We’ve seen this scenario play out time and time again in Sacramento. Michael Malone was hired before general manager Pete D’Alessandro. George Karl was hired before Vlade Divac was fully empowered. We’ve even heard through several grapevines that Dave Joerger wasn’t necessarily the coach Divac wanted.
What’s more frustrating than anything else is that the solution here is pretty simple. It’s obvious, really. The general manager needs to decide who is coaching his team. The Kings cannot be guaranteeing job security to their coach before that guy is even in the building.
This is a prototypical Kings error. For whatever reason they consistently reject NBA norms. You’d think that an organization in the midst of a 14 season playoff drought would look towards successful franchises and try to replicate what they do instead of blazing their own losing trail, but that has never been Ranadive’s style. They think they know better than everyone else.
It’s entirely possible that the Kings are just telling Walton that his job is safe because they have to keep the peace. The Kings wouldn’t be the first NBA organization to lie to their coach about job security, but for a franchise that already has some trouble attracting top-tier talent on the court, and in the front office, playing games with someone as plugged in to the NBA world as Walton is dangerous.
Walton has good relationships around the league, and the Kings are desperately trying to improve their reputation. Repeatedly telling Walton that his job is safe only to fire him in a few weeks wouldn’t be the best look.
One thing we can say for certain is that the Kings need to figure this out. The messaging to general manager candidates needs to be consistent and clear. There are legitimately troublesome financial ramifications of firing Walton this early into his contract, but reports like this tell candidates that they will not have the power to hire the coach they want, and that the Kings are in such financial stress that they cannot afford to fix their mistakes even if they wanted to.
If you’re trying to attract elite general manager candidates, this kind of messaging is the quickest way to eliminate the best options.
This is like deciding to replace your old junker car with a new car, but first removing the engine from the junker and placing it in the new car once you buy it. Same poop, different bowel movement. Kangz.
“I don’t make the same mistake twice. I make it three times!”
Time thief. 😉
NBA 3.0!
Jesus, these guys like to waste time. Luckily, I’m sure the rest of the league won’t be furiously working to get better while we kill a season with a lame duck coach.
This. Luke Walton isn’t the long term coach. So we are going to tell a new GM that they have control buuuuuut Luke’s job is safe for next year? Feels like a waste of a year.
This is why I don’t think the Kings will hire a GM candidate from another team. Who is going to leave a successful team to GM a shit team AND can’t hire their own coach? If they really want to hire a transformative GM they need to give that GM carte blanche.
My guess is the next GM will either be Dumars or someone not currently employed by the league. They only person not currently employed that I feel would be a reasonable choice is Hinkie, but he won’t come cheap or with limitations on his decision making.
Kings Reddit was trying to trend #KinkyforHinkie so let’s do that
Wasting time is a hallmark of the Ranadive era. And it coincides with another hallmark: lack of accountability. If they keep wasting time hitting the reset button on GM’s, coaches, players… they can kick the can down the road on accountability as well.
So when we hire Scott Perry, he will have a year to “evaluate” with no accountability for wins and losses. “Hey he has to clean up the mess Vlade left” say the same people who defended Vlade for the last 5 years.
Then after a 35 win season (not high enough for a top 10 pick), we finally get around to firing Walton. We hire some other retread desperate for a job since nobody else will come to this shitshow. Now we need “at least 3 years” to properly evaluate the new GM and coach combination. And that’s a minimum, because we’ll probably turn over the roster at least twice during that time. Can’t evaluate fully yet. Need time to gel.
Round and round we go on the Kangz circus of ineptitude.
“I only make the same mistake five times. Then I make it again and again after that.”
 – Vivek
The Kong’s:
?itemid=10892101
It’s a terrible decision from all angles, but I’m going to go ahead and convince myself they just figure it isn’t worth paying Luke + a new coach to lead the tank year.
What could possibly go wrong with having Fox and Bagley play and “develop” another year under a less-than competent head coach?
?itemid=5533590
Like, more wrong?
Like I said, it’s a terrible idea from all angles.
Not the least because Fox didn’t seem so impressed with Walton in the Bubble. He doesn’t exactly seem to have the lockerroom in his corner.
Fox. Buddy. Barnes. Dedmon. It seems that many players publicly questioned the game planning, attention to detail, role, rotation, etc.
What could possibly go wrong with having Fox and Bagley play and develop another year under a less-than competent head coach?
That right there is my #1 issue. It is what keeps the Kings down perpetually. If we had kept DJ, at least he was developing the guys in a direction. Bagley will be DMC 2.0 with a laundry list of coaches in his first 5 years in the NBA.
Bagley does not have a tenth of Dearest DeMarcus’ talent. He will have 3 coaches in 4 years though.
His primary coach might be the one in Stockton.
I could console myself with the idea that we’ll be so bad we tank and get a high draft pick, but then I remember what happened the last time we got a high draft pick.
Since Vlade’s gone & he apparently made the Bagley>Luka decision, I hope the next GM isn’t as big of an idiot in a situation where the Kings get a high pick.
Same shit, different day. #Kangz
Just so unbelievably frustrating the way this team constantly shoots itself in the foot.
Either the new GM has full control or they don’t. They can’t have full control with an asterisk. And if they don’t have full control, the Kings won’t be getting a top candidate.
Viviek on phone, “Hello highly qualified GM candidate. We like to off you the head position to our team…but with these certain limitations…”
GM candidate: *click*
Exactly this. Walton should be on the hot seat, and knows the deal with a new GM. Not sure why they feel the need to coddle him.
I’m actually okay with this. If I’m the new GM, then I’d actually prefer it this way even if it’s a bit coldhearted. If I’m going to hire a new coach, then I want to put him or her in the best position to succeed. The goal next season should be to not succeed from a wins and losses perspective.
Just look at Greg’s article in the Sac Bee today. His 3 step process to turn the team around is to play the young guys and move players like Holmes and Bjelica for picks. I totally agree with that premise. But if that’s your plan, then how do you convince a blue chip coach to take over a roster that’s clearly in a transition season? Are they going to want to coach a team that needs Nicolas Batum and Justin James to play 20 minutes a game on the wing while our draft pick Poku plays down in Stockton for a season?
Also, if I’m a GM interviewing for the job, then I say okay let’s keep Walton in place, so we aren’t paying 2 coaches next season the goal should be to suck anyways. BUT, I want to take some of the money we would’ve spent on the replacement coach to make sure we have a fully staffed bball ops dept.
That could all be true, but it’s stupid to leak that his job is safe. Almost as dumb as giving out extensions for doing mediocre work.
Ultimately, they’ll probably look stupid and get rid of Walton when a “squirrel” coaching candidate shows up on their radar.
Yup, why even say Walton isn’t going anywhere? Why not just say something like, “Right now our full attention is hiring a new GM to help lead the Kings in the right direction, and that direction is the playoffs.” Instead they paint themselves into a corner by saying Walton is safe.
Sounds like the new GM is gonna need to hire a new PR team as well.
A re-direction like that is pretty much telling the media he’s gone. From a competent team’s perspective, I understand that its the safest/most vanilla answer to give, while knowing full well it could be a complete lie. But its the Kings, so…..ahhh, F it….. Walton’s getting an extension this off-season.
yeah I mean I’m not going to get into the optics of it all. I don’t know enough about what’s going on behind the scenes or who Anderson’s source is. It could be Luke Walton for all we know.
Well, sure. We’re discussing this as if it’s actually true, but who knows?
My point is that you said it’s stupid to leak this stuff. And I’m saying the person that leaked could’ve been Luke himself or his agent or whatever. We don’t know if a member of the Kings management leaked this information to Anderson, so I’m not going judge the level of stupidity of the leak itself.
Well, if it helps, (if true) it’s stupid to tell candidates who will most likely leak the information.
Bingo. I think there’s a 99% chance the new GM would keep Walton for next season. That GM is probably still in the playoffs and by the time interviews are completed it is probably close to the end of September (if not later).
The new GM will come in an immediately have to conduct a very important draft and FA period and pretty quickly get into training camp.
Unless it is a very experienced GM with a coach he has an immediate relationship with – conducing a coaching search is a full process just like GM. There really won’t be time before the season to do it right. And frankly, if the GM wants a coach who is high profile, but maybe skeptical of coming here – getting everything set up for next year is probably the right step. Many new GMs do not immediately replace a coach unless it is just an interim.
That said, it does not good to leak this to the press and that should be a point of discussion in interviews. And even from a perception standpoint, the decision to keep Walton should come from the new GM.
The only caveat as with all leaks, we should consider who it might be coming from. It’s possible this is coming from Walton’s team in an effort to cement his job status or scare away GM candidates who would not want him coaching next season. So it’s worth taking this with a grain of salt.
If the leak came from Walton, that would be yet another reason to fire him.
Leaky Luke Walton.
I’m not totally sure the “plan” for when to start next season stays where it is. With all the things happening so far in 2020 I highly doubt the next season gets going at the end of the year.
What if other GM candidates have a different perspective?
That’s the point. Let that person decide.
The only real benefit to leaking this information, or telling it to GM candidates, is to give Walton some job security. Makes no sense, considering (as you noted) it could be a turnoff for potential GM candidates.
The Kings just don’t want other teams to poach Walton away from us. Ya, that’s it.
I wouldn’t want a GM that wants to pick a coach before he or she has had time to rebuild the roster.
I’m not a big fan of hard-and-fast rules generally, but this sounds especially bad. Seems you’d be boxing yourself into a subset of NBA coaches rather than the entirety of available options.
Let me put it this way – if a really good current NBA head coach or a highly sought after assistant becomes available, you’d ignore them because you haven’t assembled your roster yet?
Besides that, rebuilding the roster could take a few seasons. Not sure I want to see Walton finish his contract here.
I just don’t see how that’s realistic based on the timeline. I mean could it bite them in the ass? Sure. Will it? I have my doubts. I think the Kings have a much better shot at finding that type of coach once people in the NBA get a sense that the Kings are on a sustainable path with a solid young core in place.
But that’s the issue. If you hire a competent GM, they probably weren’t going to fire Luke day one anyway. But ownership putting out the expectation that the new GM has to keep Luke a year is unnecessary stupidity. A good GM might fire Luke midseason or next summer, but let them make that call.
Yep. And they’ll end up choosing a candidate based on the old GM’s shitty coach.
I just don’t think this is the type of thing that’s unreasonable enough to prevent a GM from taking the job. In a normal year, maybe I’d think differently about it. But money is going to be tight for everybody. Asking a new GM to wait a year before bring in their guy/gal doesn’t seem like a dealbreaker under the circumstances.
I think it might be for someone who knows he’s a commodity. Plus, it’s the Kings.
If we were a normal team with a good reputation, I’d agree. As a team with a history of a meddlesome owner, I think it could be enough to scare off a top candidate.
To your point, I just scrolled down the list of recent GM hires compared to their team coaches, and quite a few newer GMs did not hire the coach that is currently employed by the team. Philly, Wizards and Clippers are on that list.
That all being said, the list of newer GM’s which coaches being hired AFTER the GM, is far larger.
I don’t know. It would be all about picking the right coach, selling him on the diction, and giving him a voice/role in the decision-making. Brown and Atkinson are two immediate examples of coaches brought on at the beginning of a rebuild in such a way.
*direction. Not diction.
Your last paragraph is key for me. We aren’t getting a top GM candidate if the scouting and analytics department are a skeleton crew. The team has already fired the top training and fitness staff in the league for the hell of it (probably cost).
Boooooooooooooooooo!
As opposed as I am to having Lose Walton associated with the organization, I defy you to find someone more likely to lead the team to seventy losses next season.
You watch, the Kings will be in position to have the best odds at the #1 pick, and Walton will fuck it up by playing veterans and winning meaningless games in the last month of the season.
He’s just such a failure. Another unqualified legacy hire; just look at the state of the world and you’ll see how clowns like Walton have wrecked things with their confident incompetence.
Nah, 70 losses would actually help the team in the right direction. What Lose Alton will do is give vets more playing time, and scratch his way to a 35-40 win season. Out of the playoffs, but with no top 10 pick. Firmly entrenching us on the NBA mediocrity treadmill. Never contending. Never relevant. Lose Walton.
I guess the hope is that the new GM doesn’t put Luke in a position to play a bunch of vets that are capable of winning 35-40 games.
You know what would be easier? Just letting the new GM choose a coach that is on board with that GM’s long-term strategy. Walton will be coaching for his job and NBA future. If the new GM wants a high pick, that could create a conflict.
If the new GM wants Walton, fine. But it makes zero sense to proclaim the coach’s job is safe before securing a GM.
because that worked out so well for Brett Brown and the Sixers
I mean, it worked out pretty well. They’ve had three straight playoff appearances and two playoffs series wins. One of which they were a crazy multi-bounce last second shot away from beating the eventual NBA champs.
Obviously, they hoped for more, but I think every Kings fans would be thrilled with that outcome.
If they’re targeting Brett then they should definitely get Hinkie.
Kangz The Process.
The Process 2.0
There you go Vivek, there’s your tagline you can share with all your silicon valley buddies so you can pretend this was the plan all along.
Just give it Hinkie and stay out of his way. Unlike the last 7 years of whatever the hell you were doing.
It makes 100% sense if the reason is that the Kings can’t afford to pay two coaches, two GMs and fully fund a functioning front office due to a pandemic that’s decimated their revenue stream.
That would make sense in terms of why they’re doing it, but it doesn’t make sense to publicly announce it.
I’d rather they trade Buddy or Barnes for draft picks than skimp on hiring the people that can potentially drag us out of NBA suckitude.
I mean this is even setting aside the fact they have to pay two GM’s and potentially two coaches because of ridiculously bad decision-making on the part of their controlling partner.
And he seems poised to make the same mistake again. Another wasted season under a lame duck coach who was part of a regression last season.
If that’s not a way to further drive the business into the ground I don’t know what is.
I’m sure every NBA team is hurting right now. But is there another team so completely inept and directionless as the Kings? MAYBE the Knicks? But they’ll always be top 10 in merchandise sales, so they can afford to be shitty.
I understand that the new GM should take some time to evaluate the coaching staff.
But can’t he just watch the tape?
Luke’s probably hoarding it all, still watching how the season went to see if it ended differently.
This was always going to be the case IMO
Its a lot to ask an ownership group to cover 3 years of a FO and a coaching staff twice
team should be rebuilding, getting high draft picks for the foreseeable, and how is a bad coach wrong for that?
The GM will be allowed to pick his coach in time
Maybe they shoulda just kept Joerger.
Yeah, and MAYBE that 4 year extension for Vlade was a bad idea. Which pretty much everybody else knew at the time. Vivek should have to pay that out of pocket.
Ha!
perhaps there was a ceiling on him, I don’t see it, unfortunately for us
my foot would have have been so far up his behind..
i wouldve leaked it to the media before I fired him to humiliate him
Meanwhile, the rest of the NBA world would be talking about how incompetent you are. But you’d have felt good there for a few minutes!
Just a thought of hope….the new GM will at least have a say in the hiring of the next lead assistant. Maybe that person is hired to be the new coach when the times comes.
Why not hire Kenny Atkinson as the lead assistant, right?
But Kenny Atkinson is gonna be a head coach next season. Most likely Chicago or New Orleans.
Most likely Chicago.
Same ol’, same ol’ kAnGz. Not surprising, just disappointing. You can basically chalk up Scott Perry at this point.
Nothing to see here.
Nitpick time
is there a source to support this concern from GM candidates?
Throughout the early days of the hiring process, a common concern among general manager candidates has been the question of power. Who will this new general manager report to?
I have applied. And yes, I will go on record that I am concerned.
I can string together coherent sentences in English, know how to whipe a whiteboard, can use a moble phone and I do know what the Stretch Provision is.
I am afraid I may be overqualified.
Here’s another good one today.
Sacramento News and Review headline: Peaceful Protest.
Article body: there was some violence and vandalism
which is it?
It ain’t just SN&R…
worst rick roll ever
wait was it just my computer that showed a massive URL instead of pic before? Am I going crazy? Too drunk to see striaght? All of the above?
That’s incredible
Here:
https://theathletic.com/2007558/2020/08/19/intel-sharing-what-were-hearing-about-kings-gm-search-and-joe-dumars-role/?redirected=1
“The question of how Dumars fits in here was a natural one, especially considering the part that Dumars played in Divac’s departure. On Friday, Divac rejected Ranadive’s proposal that Dumars become the team’s top basketball executive before deciding to resign. The stated premise, of course, was that Dumars who was hired by Ranadive in June 2019 to play a Jerry West-like advisor role was about to become the Kings’ new basketball head and that Divac could play a complementary part. If that was the new front office structure going forward, it was sure to be a turn-off for many qualified candidates who want to have the final say on basketball decisions.”
Amick closed with: “Even with all the disappointments and dysfunction, the job holds great appeal for some of the league’s better basketball minds. So long as Dumars’ role is clear.”
We’ll probably go back and forth on semantics then.
To say it’s a common concern among general manager candidates suggests those candidates concerns have been compiled and cross referenced, and I’m not seeing evidence of any GM candidates concerns being revealed on any level.
Relax everyone, Walton will be coaching the Stockton Kings as Darrick Martin’s lead assistant! Jokes aside, I don’t think there is another way to respond about this situation-gotta save Walton’s face in the public. The kings couldn’t just throw a current coach under the bus like that
Maybe the new GM will be able to get him to watch the tape.
This is a masterpiece. Can anyone send this to Walton’s twitter?
This is “Vivek-Stauskas.gif” level of awesome.
Hello darkness my old friend.
This freaking team.
Vivek has always been the problem…
It’s kinda comforting, in a way.
In this time of tumult, all of us need a Shining Beacon of Stability in our lives.
The love of our family. The warmth of the greeting your dog gives you when you get home after work. A nice, well-prepared meal spent with family and friends.
And, of course, the Kangz.
Where would we be without them?
I actually don’t mind this. He’s pretty much just a placeholder and we need to tank the next two seasons anyway. Save on money, retain L. Alton.
Except Luke probably sucks at tanking too.
He tanked well enough to keep Lebron out of the playoffs last season!
Pretty sure the Lakers had traded their pick last season. So yeah, that was Walton coaching at his highest level.
When the new GM arrives Luke can pick him up at the airport.
Well this is lame, especially considering there are actual decent nba head coaches available (Kenny Atkinson, Nate McMillan, Brett Brown)
There are always good coaches available. It’s the talent and front office this franchise needs.
Take hope in the semantics!
They technically only said they won’t make a change BEFORE the 2020-21 season. They didn’t say he has safe for the who season.
Maybe Luke is safe the same way DMC was safe from being traded when he headed to the All-Star Game back in 2017.
okay. if Luke Walton comes back, can we please make this a good story and bring Giles back and have Luke Walton play Giles? Giles has enough of an impact on offense and helping his teammates to offset the fact that he is not a prototypical modern nba big man. I also think the leadership and playmaking of Giles can work well with a players coach, which I think Luke Walton is. Luke Walton may not be the best motivator but Harry Giles does not need motivation from an outside source. It could work.
This makes sense because the off-season or what little of it there will be is all going to be severely truncated, if the reports of a December start are to be believed. Nothing worse than getting a new coach who has no time and little in the way of training camp to implement a system. Probably aren’t going to see a ton of movement of coaches in the super short off season.
Does Luke even have a system?
I think he borrowed Igor Kokoskov’s system. Of course, Kokoskov won’t be on the coaching staff next season.
Boylen, Gentry, Brown, and McMillan have all been fired this off season, and Vaughn has only interim status. Malone could be in jeopardy if the Nuggets bow out in the first round. It seems like there’s plenty of head coach movement in progress.
Pretty sure Malone will be spared, at least until next season. D’Antoni and Morey will probably be gone if they don’t reach the Finals this year.
I don’t really get the Malone speculation. It isn’t like they have a talent level you would expect to perform better than they have. There isn’t really any reason to think Malone is holding them back at all.
Smh. Now we gotta wait 7 more years to make playoffs instead of 6.
Optimist.
Well…
We are obviously going to suck next year, no getting around that no matter who is GM. The changes needed to the roster, and with finances in a downward free fall there’s really not much the Kings can do in order to do a quick turnaround. It’s basically draft or bust, with maybe some decent role players brought in through free agency but no one that is going to be a huge star or push the needle.
If we are going to be a not good team, and our only real means of improvement is draft and players developing better that we already have on our roster, why would we keep a coach that plays veterans in meaningless games and who would appear to have lost the locker room already based on comments of the one player most would agree is the cornerstone to build around (Fox)?
In the one year here and looking back on his time in LA, we can already see that Walton is not the coach to develop young players. There is no reason to stunt another person’s growth in this years draft just because he’s only been here 1 year. If we want Fox and Bagley (who hopefully will eventually be able to get himself uninjured) to develop more the Walton is not that coach. I like a lot of the players on our team, but if the team actually commits to an actual rebuild and not a Kangz rebuild, then we will have a lot of younger players on this team who need developing by actual playing time and playing together. Walton is NOT that coach. Hell, even the bubble in 8 games proved that.
Who’s starting the billboard for that?
we will have a lot of younger players on this team who need developing
Who exactly on this roster do you see developing into solid NBA players?
DaQuan!
I don’t know enough about this years draft so I can’t comment on the people we could potentially pick.
As for currently on the roster, I’m talking about Giles, Fox, Hield, Boggie, Bagley and possibly Jefferies (though I didn’t watch enough of the games when he was in to really make an opinion). Taken individually, they all have talent to that any good team would want. Would they still be starters on say the Lakers/Clippers/Rockets/Bucks? Maybe, most likely not. But at least at this stage they would all be great additions to any number of teams, with maybe the exception of Bagley because of his injury issues. But as with good teams, they would develop them into roles or rotations they benefit from. Look at Giannis as an example; people thought he’d be okay, maybe a good bench player, and he became one of the best current players. Sure, he has the talent and drive to get there, but the team sure did help him along on that path. Who have the Kings ever really developed? KMart?
JJ and Guy might develop into…something… but at this point I’m not sure what to think since we hardly saw them. I honestly have no idea why they even brought Guy to the bubble, if they weren’t going to play him. There’s also a lot of Walton programming to undo.
thank you NinjaFetus for recognizing the existing talent on the roster. Fox, Bogi and Joseph (who you forgot to mention) would make an excellent guard rotation, and we can pick up the 4th in the draft in the 1st or 2nd round. Hield, Barnes and Bjelica (who you forgot to mention) would make an excellent rotation at the forward spots, and DaQuan can be the 4th. Bagley for now might develop better in Stockton to learn dribbling, passing, defense, defensive rebounding and court awareness, but yes, he can average 25 and 10 (with no assists and bad defense) if someone gets injured and Bagley gets called up to Sacramento. And at center, Giles is the man. and for depth chart Parker and DaQuan can play center if needed. Perhaps Bagley could be traded for another big who has those things Bagley lacks like Xavier Tillman who could back up Giles or play next to him. There is a lot to work with on this roster.
All these excellent guard and forward rotations couldn’t even get us to the play-ins.
I think we are overvaluing our players a bit.
This. Our roster isn’t very good. But I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion of what constitutes good.
Yeah, we see this with a lot of teams every season. Those rotations didn’t even get us especially close to .500. They clearly aren’t excellent.
They never were the rotations. Are you trolling or what?
Yes, we always do. I guess the bar is so low for Kings players that someone who comes in, hustles and actually knows how to play basketball is a legend in our corner of the world.
They never were the rotations.
I tried to be logical about it. If we’re talking about blowing things up then we don’t need veterans like CoJo or Bjelica on the team. I like what they bring, especially Cory in that we actually have a guard who tries to play defense for a change, but the time lines wouldn’t work with the current younger players we already have and the next 2-3 drafts. I don’t necessarily want them to move on, but if we are developing and banking on a youth movement then Joseph, Barnes, Bejlica, Parker, Len and Holmes would be better served playing for teams that are trying to win now. I like a lot of these guys and are happy they are on our team, but for both parties this is probably best.
Forgot to mention, for Giles to earn a starting C he HAS to learn how to not foul so frequently.
I’m not talking about blowing things up. I’m talking about staying competitive, putting a good team on the floor. Surrounding Fox with good basketball players. I agree that the Kings should not resign Len and should consider trading Holmes, but I disagree with pretty much everything else you said. Blowing this team up would only be logical if it wants to remain in the farm team cycle.
Meh. Whatever.
The Kings hired a reputable professional search firm to find the right GM. I don’t believe many GM’s will be down with keeping Luke. Not successful ones.
The Kings’s organization under Vivek has never been transparent. So, this type of report is par for the course. Quite contradictory. Luke’s job security is tenuous, at best. A fantastic GM will probably be aware Luke cannot coach. Number 2, the prospective GM probably has a coach in mind.
There is No reason for the Kings to be transparent now(What else is new). I am sure Luke knows he is not long for the Kings job either way.
It’s very plausible that the Kings brass doesn’t want any more drama. Especially, during the NBA playoffs.
Why add more tumult and negativity to an NBA season that’s been a disaster for the past 6 months.
A new GM will have his coach penciled in for the job from Day 1. The second case is Luke will get to keep his job a few more months and probably get fired before the ASB.
Along with Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, the Kings say Walton’s job is safe.
Last night and this afternoon:
Besides texting with friends and family, The Kings Herald really is my main computer mediated communication/community that I partake in. I love coming on here and scrolling through comments and literally laughing out loud at some of your guys posts.
With that said, what an unpleasant last night and this afternoon to hit the Kings Herald icon on my homepage and see Luke Walton’s obtuse mug taking up my screen. Literally did what a cup of coffee usually does and I went straight to relieve myself while sitting atop the great porcelain throne.
RIP Cliff Robinson.
Three players from that great 90s Blazers team dead (Duckworth and Kersey the others). Crazy.
With Mike Malone possibly available again, it is time to do the following: fire Walton, re-hire Malone, and re-sign DeMarcus Cousins. #BoogieBacktoSac
Make Sacramento Kangz Again.
I’d be open to IT coming back. No thanks on boogie though.
I don’t see any real reason to think Malone will be reliable. Nor have I seen any chatter about it from any real sources.
I don’t hate this. Luke didn’t exactly cover himself in glory this year but I think I understood where he was trying to go early in the season – if Fox worked on his shot from outside and Buddy developed his handle the backcourt would have been terrifying to defend. Fox’s shooting was improving somewhat (on the eye test anyways – he was getting it up faster and more often even if his accuracy was roughly the same) but Buddy’s handle remained a disaster so asking him to do more in that regard was killing the team. And Bagley being injured all year was problematic as well given how he figured into their plans.
Give him another year and please don’t Hinkie this team – you’ve got at least one keeper with Fox along with Buddy, Barnes and Bogi who are good pieces. If there are trades available that can make the team better, make them, but a 9 season (or even a 20 win season) would make me seriously reconsider my season tickets.
You’re asking to be in NBA limbo, IMO.
Where did the Hinkie process get the Sixers? Is that any different than NBA limbo?
Seriously? I think if the Kings had a couple 50 win seasons and were a fluky shot away from the conference finals we’d probably have another 20 years of highlights and memories the Kings social media can work with. Probably another few jerseys to retire as well.
Yuck. 50 win seasons and play-off are annoying; they just annoying distractions that get in the way of the stuff that really matters: lottery and draft nights.
Yeah I think in Sacramento they call those “Glory years”.
It got the Sixers to approximately where the Adelman/Petrie Kings got. Multiple relevant playoff years as plausible contenders.
Meanwhile, over the same time frame the kings did not reach the playoffs once.
Just for ‘fun’, I decided to compare the Sixers from the start of the Hinkie period to the present to the Kings win totals:
2013 – Kings 28-54 , Sixers 19-63
2014 – Kings 29-53 , Sixers 18-64
2015 – Kings 33-49 , Sixers 10-72
2016 – Kings 32-50 , Sixers 28-54
2017 – Kings 27-55 , Sixers 52-30 ECSemis
2018 – Kings 39-43 , Sixers 51-31 ECSemis
2019 – Kings 31-41, Sixers 43-30 EC1stRound
Key ‘Young’ Assets as of this offseason:
Kings:
Bagley (21), Fox (22), Bogdanovich (27), Hield (27), Barnes (28)
Sixers:
Simmons (24), Embiid (26), Harris (28), Horford (34)
I know which outcome I’d choose, and it’s not remotely hard, even with the crap asset management the Sixers FO has done since Hinkie’s departure (no idea what/how he would have done if he had been able to stay)
You’re being generous. If we’re listing guys like Bagley and Barnes, then 76ers like Milton, Thybulle, and Richardson absolutely make the list as well.
Yes, that’s different. And Hinkie didn’t even get to finish what he started.
“Where did the Hinkie process get the Sixers?”
Two All-Stars, two 50 win seasons, one win from the ECF, national relevance, and they were able to lure A-list free agents.
Other than that…
2/3 of Hinkie’s plan worked just fine, the other 1/3 was torpedoed by Adam Silver’s designated replacements. They simply walked out of the movie with 20 minutes left. A shame really.
Let it go Walton, we know you’re the one feeding the info.
Fox, Herro, Robinson, Wood, and Bagley.
We might win 28 games with that lineup.
That’s the point. High Draft pick. All young players. Infuse more youth. No reason to try and win next year. That will take care of Itself. Esp, in the West
Why would the Heat do that?
Not sure. It just sounds good. Their paying 15 mil to Iggy. They’re are not bringing back Dragic. Hield is better than Robinson and Herro right now. Heat are looking to add vet depth. Because, They are very close to winning the championship again. They will have a ton of money in 2021. They have a bunch of young talent and a few vets: Butler, Olynk, Hill, Crowder and Leonard. Heat want to free money. But, bring in some additional talent. Hill and Leonard come off the books this season. Olynk next year. thats’ 35 mil in salary. Ideally Heat is saving for a huge saving spree come next season. But, They have a great deal of young talent they can trade as well. Besides the players mentioned, they also have Kendrick Nunn, Derrick Jones, and Okpala. The Point is not to win games next year. But, get a youth infusion, picks and build properly.
Eh, I wouldn’t really say Hield is better than either of them. I certainly wouldn’t say having Hield on his contract is better than having Robinson or Herro on theirs.
Nice to see actual good basketball being played. Mitchell and Murray are fantastic, good thing we passed on both of them too.
Wait, we didn’t pass on Murray, we had the next pick. This was the year of Papa G.
Yeah, can’t get upset about Murray.
Murray (23), Porter (22), and Jokic (25) is one hell of a pre-prime core.
I don’t have a problem with this public front. As far back as I can remember, owners/GMs in every major sports league have given coaches “votes of confidence”, and that generally has jack shit to do with their actual job security. I’ll believe Walton is our coach next season, when he’s named in the Kings introductions on opening night. Until then, the only thing I’m focused on with any seriousness is who the GM is, and what sort of deals we make for Buddy, Barnes, Bjelica, Joseph, and Holmes.
I’d say Fox, but that would be trying to hit the game winning grand slam and I don’t think the org has the “political” capital, in terms of the fanbase, to even think about being that bold.
My wish list. Scott Perry and Nate McMillan
Definitely seems like a mistake
As though being a Kangz fan is not hard enough? I have to look at this mug for three straight days?
That’s an insult to mugs!
Here maybe this will cheer you up. #LetsgetHinkie
This team needs a lot of work IMO, almost total rebuild, so that’s going to take a few years. Get a good GM, play the long game, plenty to do in meantime for GM. And get a new coach by end of next year at latest. Just find the right GM and coach and it’s not that complicated to get good, you’re supposed to after sucking for 3-5 years, that’s what everyone else does.
My only fear is that Walton will fuck up our tanking next year by playing vets and not young guys, so that is a problem. He needs to get on board or GTFO.
So my mailbag question from last week stands: If we weren’t the Kings what GM candidates could we potentially expect, and which candidates can we realistically expect because, you know, we’re the Kangz…
Badge Legend