Sacramento Kings big man Richaun Holmes has spent the offseason working on different ways he can impact the game. He said he will always be a roller looking to put pressure on the rim, but he knows in today’s NBA game you need to be a threat from the perimeter.
He’s been working on his shooting mechanics and spent countless hours in the gym in recent months.
Just adding that part to my game so people can respect that shot, respect the floor spacing I think it’s important for our team, said the 27-year-old Holmes said on Thursday during a media call. I think it’s going to pay dividends. ¦ If I’m open I’m looking to shoot it.
Let’s take a quick look at his shooting history.
With the 76ers in 2016-17 Holmes averaged 1.4 three point attempts per game and averaged 35 percent on those shots. In Phoenix the following year, that dropped to .6 attempts per game and only 12 percent. What is interesting is it appears he has not attempted a single three-point shot in his last two seasons. Not that he needed to for the Kings last season. He was very effective when healthy last season averaging 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He did shoot 78 percent from the free throw line last season, the highest of his career. This puts him in the top 10 in centers (if you want to classify him as a center). He was also pretty effective with his floater shot near the basket (see the picture above). So the shooting capability may be there.
Coming out of Bowling Green State in 2014-15, Holmes shot 41.9 percent from three and improved his free throw percentage to 71 percent. His jump shot was still considered a weakness coming out of college though.
Holmes said he’s also been working on his playmaking from the middle of the floor and watching film of Bam Adebayo and how he operates as an outlet for the Heat.
He’s the guy who kind of gets the offense going for Miami and the way he does things. Just looking at him as kind of an example of things I can do and see how I can impact the game in the same way, Holmes said.
With Hassan Whiteside joining the Kings this season and his ability to serve as an enforcer at the rim, Holmes adding a shot to his already versatile game may be a way for him to stand out in a now crowded front court. Considering he once had a shot as part of his game it could have been a lack of opportunity these past couple of seasons. This will be something to monitor as the season gets underway.
Holmes also added that he thinks the Kings have a chip on their shoulders based on how things went in the NBA Bubble in Orlando and that they won’t be an easy matchup for most teams this season.
There’s a ton of talent here and there’s a lot of hungry guys. So it’s not going to be a cake walk when people play Sacramento. It’s not going to be an easy game when they play Sacramento, Holmes said. We’ve got a lot of tough-minded guys here, a lot of competitors and we’re looking forward to getting after it every night. And I think people are going to see something a little different than they were expecting.
He has that nice free throw stroke, and was just under 79% last year, plus his history of being decent from outside. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he made that a reliable part of his game.
I am for any improvements in Holmes’ game that would translate in him being on the floor more – he’s fun to watch.
This.
100%
I just want to like this year’s team…more Holmes will help with that
Agreed. I think he’s my favorite King at the moment. And if anyone can do it I think it’s him.
Yeah, currently my favorite King.
I hope he has a good year.
If he could even shoot a respectable 30% from three, his pick and roll/pop with Fox could really be something. It would also make Holmes a very very valuable trade asset come the deadline.
Holmes has a fairly accurate push shot where he takes his non-shooting hand off the ball.
Does he have a different shooting motion to shoot threes? I guess we’ll see soon enough.
I would be thrilled if Holmes started and played 25+ mins per game.
They just picked up the Bagley option too
You pretty much have to. When you still don’t know what it is that you’ve got, you have to pay for potential. When he’s healthy, he produces, let’s that hope his injuries are behind him.
Something tells me Bagley isn’t going to be extended next offseason. I imagine there’s a huge gulf between his expected payday and what we’re willing to offer.
The max QO is the same as a max extension anyway. No reason to offer Bagley a max extension. And a Max QO comes with the added bonus of no options. Or it did. I should look that up to make sure that’s true.
Does that come with medical? Asking for a friend.
SOP for 1st round picks.
They couldn’t wait a few months?
No. The deadline is sometime in the next few weeks. Normally it’s October 31st, but because this year is weird I’m not sure what the date is. Just that it’s probably by December 31st at the latest.
We’re tanking, so I say “fire away Richaun! You miss, we get a better pick, you make, your trade value just went up!”
Does it sound like we are tanking when you read Holmes quote at the end of this article?
You may want the team to tank, but that does not make it so.
Would love to see Richaun return the 3pt aspect of his game. He’s got great form at the free throw line, so hopefully with the work he’s put in we can see some success again.
Accurate, fact-based reporting? YAWN. I demand hot takes!
Love it. Good to hear!!
How happy would this place be if this article was exactly the same but instead had the name Bagley in every spot where it says Holmes or Richuan?
I love Holmes’ game.
Man, I really don’t like the comments about his trade value. He is such a high character, team first player. If anything, I’ve always hoped that kings would adopt his style of play into their identity. He is young enough to squeeze into Fox’s timeline and even post prime, I’d love to have him around in that Udonis Haslem role. Like what’s the most you’d expect a team to give up for Holmes? Late first round? Couple of second rounders? I think he’d be worth more to us on the team, starter or of the bench, than whatever value those picks might add.
I’m just here to say that I am really enjoying all the fresh new content. Thanks guys, and keep up the good work.
John in Grass Valley
Need to avoid the drama of BB8 to Atlanta .. Something that can’t be changed .. but gets people excited? Thanks for another thread.
Holmes is hands down the best free agent signing Vlade had. Too bad this is the only one….
I think Bjelica would be right there as well. But yeah, Holmes was a really nice acquisition.
Agreed on Bjelly and Holmes. Which illustrates how bad his tenure was overall, unfortunately.
Hey, there’s always Bagley to make it 3! He’s gonna make us all forgot that don guy.
It was obvious at the time Holmes was an emerging player with the Suns. He torched the Kings in 2-3 games. It did not take any special discernment to recognize his talent.
In fact, if Vlade knew Holmes was as good as he has turned out to be, I would argue that he should have locked him in to 3 year deal instead of 2 year deal, or two year + team option
You guys, Richaun Holmes (27) is really pretty young. He’s basically a year younger than Buddy Hield. I’d really like to keep him long-term unless we get a really good offer for him. He has the right attitude and is a solid player.
I agree completely, Holmes is just entering his prime… He has 7 or 8 years of good basketball left in him at the minimum. The Kings should be aiming to compete at a high level in 3 to 4 years (if not sooner). Richaun Holmes should still be a good basketball player at that point, especially if he continues to improve his game… Which is very possible based on the growth he showed last year, his work ethic and the talk of him adding range to his game!
I’m with Sir Tajj. I mainly lurk here and read the comments and you guys make this one of the most knowledgeable sport sites I’ve seen (no bias there at all), but I never understood the want to move Holmes at the deadline so badly. He’s just young enough to fit into the rebuilding timeline if that’s the way Monte goes, will cause absolutely NO drama based off what we’ve seen from his career so far, and can be productive when healthy and on the floor. I get the want to move Buddy, Barnes, Bjelly, CoJo, etc., but Holmes really seems like a guy you would want to keep around, especially considering how cheap he was/will most likely be.
I’d imagine people want to move him because he’ll be a free agent after this season, and there’s no guarantee he stays, and if he does he’s probably want more money. Trading him could get us something that will be useful beyond this season.
Love me some Holmes. If he hit at a 35% rate from three on 2-3 attempts per game I’m fine with that. I think he will be the energy back up to Whiteside. Hope he gets around 20 minutes per game. Nice to see he’s looking to improve his game and not plateau.
I hope Holmes continues to start…he can actually run the floor with pace and Whiteside would serve as a defensive backstop/rebounder for the bench lineup.
Bagley and Whiteside clogging up the paint together should be avoided unless surrounded by shooters while the Bagley/Holmes pairing allows for a spread floor if only of the two is in the paint at any one time. They both should be capable of shooting a decent 3pt clip, just enough to make defenses honest.
I like Bagley and Holmes as a high energy 2nd unit PF/C.
Start Whiteside and Barnes at the PF/C.
Starting backcourt Buddy/Fox.
Starting SF????? Up for grabs…
May the best camp participant win!
Someone needs to make sure Holmes knows where to get his wings!
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