Sunday was a tough day for Kings fans. Bogdan Bogdanovic signed an offer sheet with the Atlanta Hawks, and it's unclear if the Kings will match or lose Bogi for nothing. Harry Giles signed with the Trail Blazers. Kent Bazemore signed with the Warriors. In one day the Kings may have lost three players that had endeared themselves to fans, particularly Harry and Bogi.
The cherry on top of the turd sundae is a new report from The Athletic's Sam Amick that Vivek Ranadive may be up to his old meddling way. Sam is as in tune with the Kings as anyone, so where he says something is happening, there's reason to believe him.
A few Sunday night thoughts on the Bogdanovic situation, via our “Real-Time” feature in the @TheAthletic app (all of our folks are constantly adding tidbits/perspective there that’s available to non-subscribers, FYI) pic.twitter.com/eeD1qwknrG
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) November 23, 2020
There's a lot there, so before we get to Vivek, let's talk about everything else.
McNair has a plan
Amick says that part of what McNair will weigh when deciding whether or not to match Bogi is the market for Buddy Hield. The logic is that it doesn't make sense to run it back with Bogi and Buddy fighting over the starting role. It's maximizes neither player, and buries Tyrese Haliburton in the rotation.
Amick adds that part of McNair's pitch to earn his job was building the Kings around De'Aaron Fox, and surrounding Fox with players who fit his timeline. Haliburton is two years younger. Bagley fits that timeline. And in the failed sign-and-trade with Milwaukee the Kings would have gotten Donte DiVincenzo who would have also fit the timeline.
This framework also aligns with other things we've seen. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported earlier Sunday that the Kings didn't seek to retain Bazemore, specifically because they want to get younger.
It seems clear that McNair has a goal for the type of players he wants to add, and the primary factor is how they fit with Fox. However, if McNair wants to build young around Fox, one has to wonder where rumors of Sacramento's interest in Hassan Whiteside are coming from. Whiteside is 31 years old and wouldn't fit it all with Fox's style of play.
Vivek's meddling
It's absolutely insane to be hearing that Vivek is meddling in basketball ops so early in Monte McNair's tenure. Vivek was too involved when Pete D'Alessandro was in charge, and it ended badly. There were constant reports of Vivek's involvement in Vlade's reign, including an attempt to insert Joe Dumars above Vlade at the end of last season, and it ended badly.
We had also heard that Aneel Ranadive had been involved in GM interviews, which I actually didn't have a problem with. But if he's now exerting influence over basketball decisions then it does nothing but compound the Vivek problem. Too many cooks in the kitchen is a problem even if all the cooks are qualified. When it comes to basketball decisions, Vivek and Aneel are not.
Vivek seems like a smart guy outside of basketball, but he can't seem to recognize the obvious pattern that he has been chairman of the Kings for seven and a half years and his meddling has never once helped the Kings be successful on the court.
The Kings hired an experienced, intelligent executive to run their basketball team. It's time to stop making the same mistake over and over, and instead get the hell out of the way and let McNair do his job.
No. Greg, the answer is no.
I’m tired.
Vivek is the slowest learning smart guy I’ve ever met.
That’s if he’s even learning…..i think for a man like him who came from nothing and worked his way into becoming a billionaire there are some level of arrogances that comes with it.
This a thousand times over. Rich guys think they’re smarter than everyone else about everything.
LOL that you think Vivek is learning.
The answer to this is obvious: No. And just when I thought the Kings might act like a professional franchise, this same crap keeps surfacing.
All things being equal….oh shit it’s the real world where there’s no such thing. You don’t get your cake and eat it too.
I really fucking hate this franchise right now (and I wish I didn’t), and I really hate Vivek Ranadive’s stewardship of this franchise. Sucking donkey balls would be a dramatic improvement for him.
Un. Fucking. Believable.
This news is literally the cherry on top a shit Sund(ae)y
Yep, same as it ever was in the Kangdom. One step forward (the draft), followed by a step back. End result: We go nowhere.
I think these tidbits by Amick are just preparing us for what is to come. His sources are likely inside the org, and they carry water for Vivek. Basically, Vivek wants Buddy. Monte probably wants Bogi. I’m sure there are suitors for Buddy, but no offers that meet Vivek’s lofty standards for his prized 2 guard. So Monte’s hands are tied, and now we are likely to lose Bogi (the better, more valuable all around player between the two) … for nothing.
Interesting they say Bogi wants out. Bogi is a professional basketball player. He wants to get paid fairly. ATL gave him a fair offer. We would be wise to match. If Bogi does want out, it is because he sees how this Mickey Mouse operation runs here under Vivek.
So in summary, Bogi’s gone. The org is in damage control feeding their sources bullshit about why that’s OK. Just look at our shiny new draft pick.
Maybe we get REAL close to that 9th seed this year. Or likely another draft pick 8-12. Never contending. Never relevant. Kangz.
I suspect that in a few years we may learn that it was Vivek whispering Marvin in Vlade’s ear in 2018. Would fit a long pattern.
Yes. And 1 thing, Vivek… F*** You.
Seriously, it takes a huge ego and an asshole to not see HE is the problem. And now he’s bringing his son in? Really gross behavior.
We may need another billboard.
What good will a billboard do? It’s not like people would see it since we’re all (or most of us) staying home.
i meant eventually. Obviously, not now.
I was trying to say a measure like billboard/etc may be needed in order to try to do something to stop the next 20 years of Vivek’s ineptitude and ego.
Hard to fathom an ego so big you’d screw an entire city and fan base. He is an unbelievably selfish human being.
A billboard isn’t going to do anything to change Vivek operating the team.
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe this to be true. Vlade never wavered from standing by that decision as his own, and acknowledged that while he thought Doncic would be good, he didn’t think he’d be this good, and he thought Bagley was a better fit.
I think part of the reason it was leaked that Bagley was the pick to keep Vivek from taking Doncic. The FO had a vision, and strangely Vivek later changed his mind that it was a good idea.
You can never trust Vivek Ranadive is the moral of this story.
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” — Steve Jobs
“I hire people brighter than me and get out of their way.” — Lee Iacocca
“Work like a jazz band.” — Vivek Ranadive
Stupid is as stupid does Forrest Gump
Vivek’s mantra from the tech world was to “fail quickly and move on”. It’s time to move on from owning this basketball team.
Technically neither Bogi nor Buddy meet the timeline if that’s what Vivek or McNair want-they are both a few years older than Fox/Bagley. Keep them both to start the season. One or both can be traded later. I think Vivek is still learning about patience and I suspect McNair already understands the concept based on what he saw in Houston. I’m optimistic. And patient given my commitment to this team since the 1980s. It doesn’t hurt to have too many good players. Well, I’m not the one paying the bills for this team during a pandemic so maybe it does hurt. But this season is gonna hurt anyways. This is my first post on this site but I’ve been lurking for awhile. Kudos to the amazing and committed writers here at the Herald.
It’s interesting to hear that the market is tepid for Buddy. So it does make you wonder how movable he is. Because he or Bogi would need to be moved at some point.
Truth be told, I highly doubt either one is on the next Kings playoff team.
At this point, I’m not sure there IS a next Kings playoff team.
Yeah we have reached the point that the idea of the Kings making the playoffs at some point is purely theoretical.
The proof is in the pudding. If McNair finds a way to trade Buddy in order to match Bogi, we are OK and making the best out of a bad situation. Hopefully, McNair knows how to manage Vivek’s ego while making good decisions. I mean, it’s not like he didn’t know what he was getting into when he took the job, so I assume he has some idea on how to deal with it.
I’m getting too old for this shit
//:0
This one hits the feels.
If it comes to it: have any other franchises ever had success with fans protesting ownership in some way? I’m assuming there’s nothing we can do and we’re stuck with Vivek but curious if there’s ever been an instance of some sort of fan intervention. We’d love a winner but at the end of the day what we really want is a legitimate attempt at competence, and that seems highly unlikely if he keeps Jerry Jonesing it up.
My guess (for whatever that is worth) is that there is a way for the ownership group/minority owners to supplant Vivek due to incompetence during his 7-8 years of being the person in charge. Maybe if there is enough rumblings from fans, and the team keeps losing money, then something will happen.
Free agency news today was sad and frustrating, but we would have moved on and figured it out.
Vivek meddling news is just devastating
I can’t f’n take this anymore from this jock-sniffing a-hole and his offspring. No more of this.
It is really tough to be a Kings’ fan. Wednesday night we were feeling great about the draft despite the collapse of the sign and trade. Now everything has changed in less than 100 hours.
Earlier tonight, I was all for matching the offer for Bogi and running a line-up of Fox, Buddy, Bogi at the 1-3 with Haliburton as the super-sub, Barnes at the 4 and hopefully Bagley at the 5. Now, since Bogi really wants out, I think it may be just best to not match and move on. Of all the key players, Bogi seems least comfortable in a fast-paced environment. The one hope I still have is that the Kings play fast again as they keep talking about. They need an identity, and that is their identity. As the designated shooter who runs and runs, Buddy should do great in the fast-paced environment.
If Vivek is meddling again, all bets are off. We don’t know if McNair will be successful, but Vivek needs to give him a chance at least.
The Sacramento learned their lesson last time and has a strong lease. Vivek has, by NBA standards, shallow pockets. Vivek seems to have thin skin.
If lots of people keep giving him their money, die hards take the he’s not so bad spin as gospel, and he’s not James Dolan level unpopular in town … then no, he’s never going to change and he won’t sell for a long time.
If fans vote with their wallets, then for a time he will touch the stove less. At some point, if he swimming in equity, cash flow is often an issue and it no longer fun for him … maybe the 5th time is the charm for owners.
Sadly, McNair may need to fail to advance the Vivek timeline(s).
C’mon Sam Amick come up with a new story line. He has zero factual information, evidence, or proof that Vivek is meddling. These so-called beat writers come up with this BS for attention. Ham did it earlier today with the Miles Turner S&T story which was obvious BS. When these guys speculate for click-bait you can likely be assured the opposite is happening. Now Monte just wait the 47 hours and 59 minutes and then match!
Amick is the most trusted name in the Kingdom for a reason. If a writer of his caliber was looking for clickbait, he sure as hell wouldn’t waste his time with an unimportant, shit organization like the Sacramento Kings. No one cares about us, but us.
You may not enjoy the message, but questioning the messenger isn’t going to change reality.
I mean that’s the thing, what’s the message man?
that it would be a bummer if Vivek and his son are meddling? That maybe this conundrum with Bogi and Buddy is associated with to many cooks in the kitchen?
that’s what he’s insinuating. Am I wrong?
hes insinuating that. He’s not backing up by even saying that he heard people rumbling about they’re meddling.
it’s true, I don’t want what he is speculating to be true but it’s pure speculation so I don’t see how one can rationally get mad about someone’s speculation about someone else.
maybe it wasn’t intended for clickbait. That’s my bad if that offends you. Sorry. It’s one of the big name things happening in free agency right now and people do care about outside of Sacramento, that’s why he’s writing about it. The Bogi signing wherever has turned in to theatre. He’s writing about because people are interested. He just speculated and many seem to be taking it as fact. That’s all I’m saying.
I think he’s insinuating that McNair has a vision for what he wants to do, and Vivek and his crew are already interfering with that plan.
Now, I for sure don’t know exactly how that relates to the Bogi situation. Does Vivek want to keep Bogi and McNair wants to let him walk? Or did McNair make one suggestion and Aneel said something else should happen? I wish we had more information about the specificity or severity of the meddling. I’m with you there.
In the end, I’m gonna look at the reputation of two individuals. Amick has proven himself as an upright and reliable reporter, while Vivek has proven himself to be a meddling owner who can’t get out of his own way and will make snap decisions without any hesitation, and I’m going to assume that both of those individuals haven’t suddenly switched their entire personalities around.
Could Amick be flat out misinformed? It’s possible (but unlikely), but I don’t think he’s the kind of journalist to report things just because they’re inflammatory. You’ve gotta imagine there’s a treasure trove of stories he’s heard that have never, ever seen the light of day because they can’t be fully corroborated.
I agree with everything you say here basically except that I didn’t read what he wrote as reporting as in relaying factual information or piecing together reputable rumors and whispers in the hall. I read it as him simply speculating a situation and the challenges that are there. Just laying out for people what the Kings front office is facing and some of the issues in the past that could still be lingering.
Yeah, I have to agree with AT.
I don’t see much new information here. Vivek is a meddling owner, the Kings are no better off or worse off than they were before Amick’s report/tweet. If Amick heard something new, he didn’t do a great job saying what it was.
Name me an instance where Vivek mandated a particular player adding or subtracting. Is there any evidence of that?
Even going back to “Stauskas , Stauskas, Stauskas” I think he was just the most excited guy in the room when the GM at the time had targeted said player.
I do not think anyone ever reported that Vivek overrode the decision of the GM to take Stauskas.
I am not defending Vivek, I just want to know the nature of the meddling, he’s truly acting as the GM or is he perhaps just an overbearing intrusive personality ?
I mean, we’re debating at this point whether Vivek has meddled at all…ever?
Come on now.
He literally told New Orleans Pelicans Buddy from the sidelines that, “We are going to get you” months before they traded for him.
+1
…insert “STAUSKUS!” video
So if McNair’s vision is to let Bogi walk for nothing (because he is too old), but Vivek is saying we should match and try to get something for him later, why is that a bad thing? The owner is saying he will spend a shitload of money to not lose the asset for nothing.
That would definitely be a bad thing. Even if it turns out to be the right decision, it’s terrible process (and terrible precedent).
I still believe that the final decision is McNair’s, not matter what “meddling” is going on.
I am just saying if part of the process is your owner telling the GM not to worry about the money, that seems like a good thing. Much better than the owner saying he can’t afford it.
I didn’t think we were talking about simply approving money to be spent.
I guess I just dont understand on this Bogi issue, given how Amick framed it, what the “meddling” could be other than Vivek wanting to spend money.
Either way though, I think the decision is going to end up being McNair’s, as it should be.
I don’t see that in Sam’s tweets, but it’s certainly possible.
However, it’s pretty hard to imagine the financials haven’t been discussed between these guys already – I mean, there have always been a limited number of scenarios on the Bogdan front.
Adding – in my opinion, the owner (who isn’t qualified to understand team building) gives the person running his operations (and making those decisions) an idea of his budgeted salaries for the next few years.
If McNair and Ranadive agreed to those parameters, then McNair should get Ranadive’s input/approval if he’s breaching them for an unexpected occurrence or opportunity.
In my world, that’s not meddling, and I doubt it would be in McNair’s view (or Amick’s, for that matter).
We are blaming the Bucks for a Woj victory lap. Maybe it was Vivek?
Bogi isn’t an asset for this team unless Buddy is traded. And if I remember correctly, if the Kings match, the team can’t trade him to any team other than the Hawks until mid-season and have to wait a year to trade him to the Hawks if they are still interested. Matching with the belief that the player can be traded down the road doesn’t always work out
While I understand your point, an asset is an asset. It may gain or lose value dependent on other factors, but Bogi for $18M/yr is reasonable and tradeable.
In this current market where Joe Harris got 4/$75M ($18.75M/yr) and Bertans for 5/$80M ($16M/yr), I’d feel comfortable slotting Bogi between those players as I think Joe Harris is a little better than Bogi and Bogi is a much better player than Bertans but Bertans being elite at the most coveted of NBA skills, it makes sense why he was paid handsomely for it.
I don’t know what’s with all the hand-wringing about keeping a player of Bogi’s caliber for nothing more than his salary. Other than Bogi’s age, he is the exact type of player McNair is looking to acquire (versatile, high BBIQ, good shooter).
You need to reread that – he’s not speculating on Vivek’s involvement.
Yes but what form did the alleged meddling take? That is what I want to know.
If Vivek is rejecting trades and player signings and pushing for others, that is egregious meddling. But if he is inquiring as to the reasoning and basis for particular decisions, pending or completed, that is just being a overbearing nuisance.
Is Vivek just not getting out of the way and allowing full autonomy? This is a distinction that Amick does not delineate, as far as I can see. If you have a GM complaining about owner oversight, that is one thing, being overbearing and intrusively inquisitive.
But that is different than dictating or mandating particular moves. Meddling is draft this player, trade for this player, or this trade idea you submit to me I am rejecting because I don’t like it. Is there evidence of that or is there not?
If Sam Amick is so “respected and trusted” where is he to get down to the granularity of the issue, the heart of the story?
Lets not play games, here, stir up drama, and that is what he is doing without the complete context.
Happy to see I’m not the only one seeing this as a hit job. This seems like pure click bate stuff to me guys. Just sayin.
there’s no facts or even evidence to anything he said there except that his son helped hire Monte. And…? He was there for the process, he’s learning the business and will eventually be more involved maybe even take over 20 years from now.
insinuating that Vivek and his son are getting in the way of what Monte wants to do is bull shit in my book. Show me some evidence of that, don’t just say it. Look how everyone is reacting to your speculation because you’re supposedly reputable. Kinda disappointing by him I gotta say.
show me something real and I’ll very quickly be piling on to the frustration and anger that seems miss guided at this point. No offense to anyone. I get the gut reaction feel anger towards Vivek when someone like this puts a speculative report out like this. Bummer.
I can understand this attitude. At the same time, it’s really a matter of credibility, and whether it’s deserved or not, the overwhelming majority of people in this fanbase and probably in the league at large give Amick more credibility than Vivek.
I give Amick WAAAAAAY more credibility then Vivek. 100%. If I didn’t hate when people say 110% I would say 110%.
Vivek has basically zero credibility when it comes to basketball related stuff.
that said, what my point comes down to is when I read all that from Amick I was ready to be very angry, my blood was boiling. Then I read it and was like well there not much there, he’s just kinda thinking out loud, laying out the challenges the new GM might be facing and need to be cautious of. No biggie.
LOL, this. A guy with Amick’s reputation doing clickbait…on the Kings? GTFO. Arco might need to step away for a bit.
Yea agree just seems like an unnecessary jab with zero credibility behind it.
Two questions I think you should contemplate using when looking at this situation:
In his dozens of years of insider information regarding the Kings, how many times has Sam Amick been completely, dead wrong, Amico-style?
What kind of evidence would you like to see? A reporter would never give up his sources, whether they’re minor ones like we sometimes have here at TKH or major ones like Sam does. If he talked to 3 or 5 or 8 people involved in the situation, and they all shared the same reliable info, how should he prove those conversations took place?
When looking at these kinds of reports, the only real way we have to determine the veracity is to look at the relatability and consistency of the one sharing the info. If this was Skip Bayless saying this stuff, it would be an entirely different conversation.
But he didn’t. Not in my reading of his comments. Seemed like he was just speculating. Did t really reference talking to multiple sources close to the organization or anything like that.
i seem to be getting turned in to a Vivek apologist here and that is Sooooooooooo far from the case when it comes to me. Just so you know.
I just re-read the statement from Sam and honestly all he is giving is his opinion. If you want to believe Sam’s opinion based on his past credibility that’s fine. But I guess I don’t agree with a reporter dropping an opinion that he knows will create overreactions. But then again I wouldn’t be reading his statements and debating on this great platform if he wouldn’t have dropped his opinion. So there you go. It’s working for him.
Amick lives in Sacramento (I don’t know his actual address so metro area). He is a member of this community. He went from local beat writer to national NBA reporter based on being good at what he does. If you think he would jeopardize his job by pretending his speculation is sourced reporting then you haven’t been paying attention to who he is, and what he’s about.
I dont think anyone is insinuating that Amick is making shit up.
I can only speak for myself and interpret what Not always Logic said. What I gather, Amick is only stating his opinion or just explaining a situation to his followers. He’s explaining what he thinks the challenges are and some other things that have caused issues in the past. Amick even introduces the tweet comments he posted with “Heres some thoughts”, thats all it is, just some thoughts not anything that is necessarily facts he’s relaying to us. I dont think any one is questioning Amicks integrity here. I certainly am not doing that.
he wouldn’t put that out there if his thoughts were not fact-based. I just think you probably haven’t read his articles or heard his interviews, so you don’t understand how careful he is to always separate his opinion from intel.
His statement of Vivek’s involvement isn’t written as speculation.
I may be misinterpreting others posts, but it seems to me the “opposition” take is that this is not new.
Is it really news that Vivek is still Vivek and Kings GMs will have to deal with a meddling owner?
I don’t think Amick is lying, I just don’t think this is anything other than what Vivek has always done, its just a new post about the owner doing the same thing he’s always done, this time to a new GM. I too wish he wouldn’t do it, but its who he is; I would argue that anyone who thought he would change was being a little naive.
I was fairly relieved that this was the only thing Amick reported, my initial concern when seeing the headline was that Vivek said something publicly that harmed negotiations of some sort.
User name checks out.
Username checks out.
Us ername checks out.
And this is why, as I sit in my apartment as the rain falls in Portland, I instead choose to give my emotional energy to the positive moves the Blazers made this weekend.
Sacramento, I love you, I miss you, but damn, we need better basketball owners.
Kudos to the front office exec who felt obligated to alert Sam.
Sounds like this insider wants what we want.
This team is exhausting. That’s all I’ve really got for analysis.
…proceeds to analyze the messages in the comments and debate with people as to the reliability of the report.
Just to re address what you and I are debating here.
I don’t think the messenger is unreliable. I just think the message is a sharing of information on situation that has some challenges that not all fans are likely aware of. In addition to the money challenges and tradability challenges are the possibility of to many cooks in the kitchen which in the past was a problem. He doesn’t know if that’s happening now, he’s just saying that maybe it could be considering how hectic and discombobulated the whirlwind of Bogis free agency has been.
I will stop now.
love discussing all this tuff with you guys and getting al worked up over a game we love. 🙂
Well I hate you and you’re wrong and you’re stupid and you’re banned for life.
Just kidding – Greg lost the ban hammer in the move.
So Greg DOES secretly wish he was still part of the website-that-shall-not-be-named! 😉
When Vivek bought the team to keep it here, did anyone look around to see if a monkey paw curled its finger?
The fact that Hield is untradeable is a major problem too.
I mean… here we are again. I don’t know. Every time one of these articles comes out it gets a little bit easier not to care. The apathy will be real at some point and I think we’re getting there.
Spoiler alert: this will be a negative post, and from someone who has never been to Sacramento, no less.
Is anyone surprised?
People do not change easily. People beyond a certain age do change even less easily. Dismissive little people who are full of themselves change the least of them all.
Being a minority owner of a franchise – who solely by agreement has the majority owner tag – and using the franchiser as his own personal toy and giving his unqualified son an important role is a huge red flag.
Having such an owner make a new GM accept the existing coach keeping the current (bad) coach, for whatever reason, is a red flag.
Creating a new management structure with two people (Monte and Dumars) reporting individually to the owner on basketball matters, no matter how you spin it, is a red flag.
When some guys started the #HereWeBillboard action, our initial message was that Vivek had to go (and take Vlade/Matina with him). Vlade was seen as a symptom, not the disease. Ultimately we got convinced that it was an unattainable goal and we shifted our sights to Vlade, but as is becoming clear now, it was not really about Vlade.
Maybe Monte was too convinced of his own ability to navigate the political waters here, maybe he thought it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he jumped ship from Houston, reading the situation and ownership there, and thinking it could not be worse. i don’t know. He has a tall task ahead of him, but he stepped into it with eyes wide open.
Is Monte the one pursuing Hassan Whiteside, or is Vivek pushing for him? Does Monte have free hand to either match Bogi, or are financials constricting him and/or is Vivek unwilling to entertain the thought of trading his favorite, Buddy? We don’tr know, and we go back to second-guessing every FO move.
But I am sure we will convince ourselves that things will be better. This is a perfect year for a tanking shit-show, right?
Your negativity is fine with me. Certainly warranted.
I get your initial anger. When I started reading my mood was boiling and I was ready to explode. However I think it’s more speculation then fact. So maybe we shouldn’t be getting so pissed off? I mean I get it, there’s reason to be super pissed if in fact vivek and now his son are meddling. However I don’t see where Amick said he knows this is happening or that other people are whispering about this possibly happening.
not telling you to not be mad, you do you. I mean, if you read any of my comments earlier I’m still super pissed off about Monte not going out of his way to bring back Giles. I need someone to talk me down from that stupid decision.
i think you just made a very good point (room for Vivek meddling speculation) about Buddy here. Will Vivek allow Monte to trade Buddy? It’s what seems to be the smart play that most pundits around the league agree with but yet we hear about a disgruntled buddy staying and a happy more talented Bogi leaving.
Curious what you thought about the dealings with Harry Giles ArcoThunder. Could he have been a legitimate starter with the Kings this season?
I doubt that it is speculation.
I am curious if Jerry would be able or willing to lift a bit of the veil during the next podcast. I was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t shy from some critical comments about the former FO and some players in the first two podcasts. All stated in the polite, friendly Jerry-manner, but still.
I am not even angry; just despondent and moving towards apathetic. Which is worse than anger.
I have to admit, I think I was wrong about the Whiteside thing. I assumed it was a thing that a savvy GM would come up with. If you can get a guy at a discount due to his reputation, then you might be able to flip him at the deadline if he exceeds the artificially low expectations. Now it just seems like Aneel had Whiteside on his full MLE wishlist.
Yeah, I think it already broadly known that Vivek and now Aneel are heavily involved. The hope is that McNair has the gravitas and judgement to weight the opinions of those around him appropriately . He has to understand that as the GM, he is the one who will held accountable for the end result.
Insightful analysis
Hey RikSmits, I heard your RikSmits question to Jerry on the podcast. Welp, see ya later.
Hah, yeah, that was great.
It was bad enough that we we’re a team run by a guy who thought he was an expert because he coached his daughter’s rec-league team and won games. Now we have his trust fund baby sticking his nose in, too.
Kangz as usual.
Vivek’s presence is like the ex lover of yours who wouldn’t and couldn’t let you move on with your life. I am actually okay with Aneel being involved since he advocated for picking Doncic. I am actually okay with letting Bogi walk and chuck it up as the damages from the previous regime. But if Vivek is again in the center of the issues I think that would be a more serious problem.
Welcome to Sacramento, Tyrese!
Perfection.
F*ck this org, can’t get its act together with their previous meddling and now this. God f*cking dammit Vivek, let the man do his damn job!!!
The problem is that Vivek has a challenging financial situation here that Monty has to also work within.
Y’all know what the worst part is? Nowadays the fan base is so broken and apathetic that we probably couldn’t rise up and try to oust Vivek. Back during the relocation controversy, everyone banded together because we were passionate and proud about our team. Can anyone say that now? Cause I can’t.
Yup. I can only see it happening if people with a large following like Carmichael Dave start to lead the charge in that respect.
I understand the apathy. It makes perfect sense and I feel bad for Kings fans. We all deserve so much better than this for all of the years we paid money to watch games and supported the team. Sacramento fans deserve a competently-run, competitive team to root for.
That being said, I will help if anyone wants to make something like The Billboard.
Though like SMF-PDX pointed out maybe a billboard won’t be so effective at this time, with no normal daily commutes like before, and lots of people staying home.
So social media might be a possible option.
Or how about an Op-ed in the Sacramento Bee for the TKH folks who are also part of that circle?
What if we all wrote letters to The Bee? Overwhelm them with our letters so that they might feel compelled to write about how unhappy the fanbase is?
I know it’s not likely to oust Vivek, but maybe there is some way that it does help? Maybe it gives the other owners some kind of proof to show that the fans are not happy with his stewardship so that maybe they can put more pressure on him to stop meddling?
At the very least, it gives fans a voice to speak their minds and let Vivek know. Maybe he doesn’t know? Maybe he’s surrounded by sycophants who keep all the negative