Welcome back to another edition of Chainmail. We’re looking for questions of any kind during these times that have yet to be precedented, whether they be about the upcoming draft, a trade suggestion, Luke Walton’s performance as a head coach, Bogdan Bogdanovic’s contract situation, Harry Giles’ declined option, De’Aaron Fox’s upcoming extension, or whatever else you have in mind.
You can ask questions by leaving them in the comments below, contacting us on Twitter at @TimMaxwell22, @WillofThaPeople, or @thekingsherald, or sending a handwritten letter to 2002 Western Conference Finals Road Sacramento, CA 95842.
Ask away!
If we could go back and redo the 2010 draft, who would we pick?
Wait, sorry. Wrong blog.
What would be the most reasonable/probable return if we are going to trade Bagley in this off-season…………?
CC. And not Sabathia.
IMO, it is way too soon to think about trading Bagley, unless he’s needed in securing a star player like a Bradley Beal in return. I think Bagley still has a lot of upside and it’s too early to give up on such a talent.
Alex Orakhi and a trade exception?
Would the Kings have avoided furloughs if they had collected another month of rent for the old arena?
Do you have concerns about over valuing Bogdanovic? Especially in regard to his efficacy regarding Buddy? He is a decent three point shooter, but not a marksman, he is at 36% for the last two seasons, and 37% for his career. Their turnover percent is very similar, despite his reputation for a superior IQ and lower usage rate. Without any elite skill, like Buddy’s shooting and quick release is, I wonder if he is more Evan Turner and Nicolas Batum. I appreciate his fire, his willingness to lead, and certainly has a skill set, but the overall productivity and seemingly battling injuries every season, do we really sacrifice Buddy, who is a genuine threat to shoot the team back into a game and durability and motor are outstanding.
Great question. Also Buddy has shown improvement, even if only marginal, in some areas of his game. Bogi has been pretty much the same player since he got here. With that said, the team performed better with Bogi in the starting lineup, even though Bogi didn’t perform all that well. A lot of people feel it is due to Bogi’s better playmaking, BBIQ. If you give Bogi a big contract, that’s a lot of your cap going to basically the shooting guard spot. Interested to hear others thoughts on this.
I think the big question isn’t really about whether Player A is “better” than Player B. I think it’s more one of team building. ie. Which player enables more team success? Does an elite shooter that doesn’t create or defend well contribute more to a team’s success than a more well-rounded player than may not do any one thing exceptionally well?
And I think the answer depends on the team.
For a team that has enough creation ability from other positions (say, if the Kings had drafted Doncic) and has the personnel to cover for him defensively, then I think Hield is clearly the better option. For a team that doesn’t have that those things and should still be looking to add elite talent wherever they can, Bogdan is probably a better option.
Personally, I tend to prefer more well-rounded players, especially on developing teams, because I believe a team shouldn’t be in a position where non-elite players are forcing their hand at other positions.
As always, I like Buddy and I think he’s fairly paid. But my question is how the Kings are going to make the roster improvements needed to take them from a fringe 8-seed contender to a solid playoff team? Personally, I don’t think they have the talent (or the time) to just wait on development and hope everybody takes big leaps and hits their theoretical ceiling. They’re going to have to make some great moves. Then the question becomes what assets the Kings have that carry enough value to bring quality back.
As a tangent, I feel like people forget what a good player Batum was. He was nothing short of excellent for a few season in the first half of his 20s. But he was still a good, versatile player throughout his 20s. His best years were significantly better than anything Hield or Bogdan or Turner has put up in their careers so far.
I used Evan Turner and Nick Batum as the low end and high end of what I thought Bogi could be the next couple of years. I would say the safest bet is that he is exactly who he has been his first three. I am not sure the height of adequacy is what the Kings need, I feel like elite skills have more value, at least in the hands of a competent coach and scheme.
In my opinion, I think Buddy’s improvement in creating got lost in Walton’s idea to make him Bradley Beal when Fox went down, and he has made improvement. On the flip side, I feel like Bogi’s mental mistakes of forcing shots and over dribbling seem underplayed compared to Buddy doing his best Cisco impersonation of one boneheaded play a game.
Good points from both of you guys. Not an easy situation and could lead to some long lasting effects on the team. It will be interesting to see which way the franchise goes. Got a feeling it may come down to what they can get in return by trading one of them.
Of course, as a perpetually sub-.500 team, the height of adequacy would be an upgrade.
I don’t think Buddy lacks the ability to create and defend because we’ve seem him do both at times. But, he doesn’t do those things consistently and further he makes boneheaded mistakes at critical points in the game. I used to attribute this to lack of BBIQ but lately I’ve come to the opinion that he has lapses of focus that end up in really dumb decisions. Lack of BBIQ is difficult to fix but focus is something that can be improved upon.
The front court seems like it needs a game plan. Is Holmes half season his true measure? Do we start him next year and hope to retain him? Despite his defensive limitations, Bjelly is a very effective player. Does he age well? Do we use his expiring next season at the trade deadline as stretch 4’s seem to always have value? Bagley is such a big question mark, though I am genuinely pulling for him, I felt like I saw some exciting things from him his rookie season. Is there much value in keeping Harry (a personal favorite) with both Bagley and Holmes on the roster? All four of those lack in size, there definitely seems to be a place on the roster for a seven footer who knows his role like Len. It seems like a poor use of roster spots and payroll to have all five on the roster unless the plan was to flip one or two during the season.
The whole team needs a game plan,offensively and defensively. The FO needs a plan. The coaching staff needs a plan.
I have been saying for years (on another site with recent actions that mock its once illustrious name) that tbhis organization needs a short, mid- and longterm plan; to decide upon a direction, to forge an identity (offensively and defensively) and to build on it.
For years, this team his zigged and zagged, from slow to fast paced, from building around Tyreke to wrecking around DMC, to running with Fox and ballhogging by Bagley. Karl was fast, Joerger was slow, then fast, then fired, then Walton came and that whatever the f#@k he was doing and now what?
What is our identity, who are we building around, what are we building towards? That applies to the front court, the back court, the style of play, the players who will be identified as core pieces.
If we remain stuck in solely short term goals as putting the ball in Bagley’s hands and let him “create”, you might as well gouge my eyes out. If you try to integrate him into a Fox led team where he is a rebounder, transition monster, constantly moving without the and roaming for the offensive boards, I might watch and be happy.
Buddy and Bogey are discussed above. If we want to keep them both and maximize their talent, we need to know what the plan is.
So my question for the mailbag: What is the plan?
Is Kyle Guy a worse Jimmer?
Which Kings players/staff have you met or seen in person?
I was just curious because of the “Top 50” threads going on andit was reminding me of all the members of the Kings I’ve seen in my lifetime. We got Jason Williams’ autograph when he showed up unplanned at our Asian Church Basketball league end-of-season dinner. In the 90s, Wayman Tisdale was at my brother’s Kindergarten graduation ceremony with other parents because his daughter went to the same school and was in the same grade level as my brother (Merryhill), and we saw Briant Grant at Caffe Latte in the Pocket/Greenhaven area. My parents and some family friends ran into Gavin Maloof in the early 2000s at Spaghetti Factory in downtown Sac.
We didn’t meet but saw Vlade Divac at Century theaters at Arden with his family, and my Dad saw Geoff Petrie at Nugget twice.
At one of the Fanfests I did get to talk to Jim Kozimor, and one of the games I went to I got to talk to Deuce Mason and show him my “Deuce and Mo” shirt.
And at one of the Sunday afternoon games I got tickets for my Mom and Dad (I wasn’t there), Vivek happened to be outside the Golden 1 Center before the game and my Dad got a picture with him.
I lived in Sacramento from like 2008 to 2015 (I think?), and the only Kings player staff I ever met was Travis Outlaw! I’d include Peaches but fuck him.
I snuck in some questions under the last PodCast topic about some subjects of my interest. There are so many possibilities with PodCasts now that most are sheltering in place. I always, at work, only had time to read short bursts. I never had time to look at videos before. More possibilities seem to be present at this time.
What influences encouraged you to have such horrible takes on food, Tim?
I think this needs to be addressed as well.
Have you seen his mustard takes?
Hard to swallow.
We’ve gotten to the point that when I agree with one of his food takes, I’m forced to really self-evaluate.
Amen.
With you on that one Otis.
Baby giraffes have a different palette than us cats and gremlins, though!
In Will’s photo illustration, Tim is obviously the giraffe and Will presumably is the orangutan. So who is the bird?
Dude that is Twitter man. Technology .. We both sometimes show our age. I got your back.
Three part question:
1) Besides Golden 1 Center and Arco 1 & 2, which NBA arenas have you guys visited, and which is your favorite. Which is your least favorite?
B) What NBA city would you most like to watch a Kings-away game at if you had the chance?
III) If you love wildlife animals and could only visit one of these two places before you kick the bucket, would you rather go to Australia or Africa?
III) Australia and looking at fish are also possible at the Great Barrier Reef. I guess I’d like to visit both.
B) Boston .. maybe up in Portland?
1) Arco 2 is my favorite. G1C is great, but needs wood floors for adequate stomp noise. Especially with Free Throws of other team.
OK the auto-expansion of html is ugly above. Gives a wordpress document symbol.
I’ve attended a game in Boston, but sadly it was early 2000’s when they were very bad. But the arena was nice. I totally agree with you about the wood floors–Arco Thunder!!!!
Weird, when I travel I rarely think about checking out an NBA stadium, but always look at checking out pro baseball (major or minor league).
The last Kings game I attended was also my first game at a non-Sacramento Arena. It was the game up in Portland. The Moda Center gave me a bit of Arco vibes, but with a really cool outdoor area for the fans. Portland itself is a really cool city, I’ll definitely visit again.
1. I’ve only ever watched NBA games outside of Sac at the Staples Center. Of course, you would know that. 😉
2. Maybe somewhere on the East Coast, like New York or Boston? Just to see how different East versus West is culturally.
3. That’s tough, because I’d like to do both, but if I had to choose, it would be Africa because I would absolutely love to go on a Gorilla trek. My brother did that when he went to Africa with a friend, and it looks so incredible to see in person.
Since I already travel to see A’s games, it would be so cool to catch both teams playing in the same away city at the same time, say Kings @ Suns plus watch A’s @ D’backs. OR, probably more likely, A’s @ Rangers/Asstros plus Kings @ Mavs/Rockets. That would make for a great weekend sports get-away trip!
It’s Australia hands down by a mile. I’ve traveled to 3 of their biggest cities and it is safe and fun. But I wouldn’t go back to Perth. Africa may have more exotic animals, butI’m not going anywhere where I need to watch my back for fear of kidnapping, muggings, etc… safety is my #1 concern when traveling.
That really depends on where you go in Africa. For example, in South Africa, parts of Joberg are sketchy, but the vast majority of the rest of the country is pretty safe for tourists. You don’t really need to watch your back any more than you do as a tourist pretty much anywhere else in the world. I’ve been to both, though not a lot of Australia, and I prefer South Africa.
Africa encompasses a HUGE swath of land with a huge variety of cultures, climates, and contexts.
Ah sorry guys, that’s my fault for just writing “Africa”, instead of a specific country.
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about, and briefly mentioned in one of the other threads. What’s your Mt Kangzmore of “the one that got away”. It can’t be like not drafting Kawhi because I don’t believe the Kings ever showed public interest in drafting him. It can include players that were traded away that became stars elsewhere. Gerald Wallace can be a candidate since the Kings had the power to keep him. I guess you can throw in players who’s career was cut short due to injury as well. Fired coaches/GMs can be included if you’re into that sort of thing.
I’m curious because the Kings have sucked for a very long time. There must’ve been amazingly poor decisions throughout their time in Sacramento, but I really am not knowledgeable enough to know if like the Kings brought in Dikembe for a workout, and told him he’d be the pick, but they already had Joe Kleine on the roster or whatever.
This is a terrific query
Jason Terry.
Jason Terry, James Anderson, PeteD and George Karl
6 off the top of my head:
IT
Lillard
Berry
Doncic
Wallace
Whiteside
Though I clearly can’t blame the org on Berry. Or even really Whiteside considering his path.
If I had to get it down to 4, Rushmore style, I’d lose Wallace and Whiteside.
That doesn’t even include 2013. Petrie said he was scouting Giannis. CJ McCollum said the Kings indicated they’d draft him if he was still there at #7. Say GP was just blowing smoke up our asses, does whiffing on McCollum jump into the top 4? Imagine if the new ownership’s first pick was a shooting guard that averages 20 PPG in year 3?
The one problem is that I don’t think CJ’s rookie year would’ve been enough to prevent the Kings from drafting Stauskas.
Also, there has to be a time that the late 80’s Kings traded a lottery pick that turned into like Dan Marjerle for Johnny “Crispy” Chickson who ended up selling used Pontiac Firebirds. How can those early Kings teams suck so bad? I get that when you decide to not draft Luka your team will not be good. I just want to believe the incompetence is not intensifying!
There are only two possible answers:
Luka and Doncic.
How would Kings fans feel about the hiring of Sam Hinkie for GM and a lighter version of “Trust the Process” west coast edition? Hinkie lives in Palo Alto. The Kings are my 2nd team and Philly is my 1st. And as a fan, I was 100% in support of Hinkie’s “Process.” Those 6er teams were perpetually stuck in the 7-10 range in the East. Would a Kings fanbase support such drastic measures to land top-tier talent? For the record, under Hinkie’s reign, his trades netted the 6ers a boatload of assets and 2 superstars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
uh oh, did I unknowingly touch the 3rd rail..?
TBH, there’s nothing similar about Sac now and Philly in 2013. So I have a hard time seeing ‘The Process’ again for that reason alone.
Yeah, I wouldn’t assume that’s Hinkie’s “style”, but it was what he felt was necessary in Philly at that particular time.
I think Moneyball is a much more apt comparison. This team will need to do more with less over the next several years. They will be cash poor (even more than they already were) until there’s a vaccine. They’re going to need to sign a lot more Richaun/Bjelly/Omri and a lot less Barnes/Hill/ZBo/Koufos/Joseph/Ariza’s. They’ll need to sell high, and buy low. They’ll need to pick through the scrap instead of overpaying for the steak at Applebees.
Vlade’s moves always remind me of Lloyd Christmas spending his last bit of cash on a giant cowboy hat. Technically, he might’ve paid fair value for the giant cowboy hat, but he was in no position to be spending the money on that hat in the first place, and the hat did not help them get to Aspen (where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano).
So maybe they don’t need to follow “The Process”, but they do need to start thinking and acting like they’re desperate by prioritizing needs over wants. Trade the Shaggin’ Wagons for some hogs that get 70 miles to the gallon.
I’ll put this here so I don’t de-rail the new thread but this is “The Process” I’m always harping on the Kings to follow and where I think they’ve failed most clearly:
From The Ringer, here
Just messing with you. In the past, Hinkie discussions tended to get a bit animated.
You mean on that one other website? I don’t remember the name of it….
Me Myself and Irene reference is good though….
It would be really cool if the poor bastar¦ err, the website developer could do a short, say weekly, update on what’s happening with the website, what’s new, what’s upcoming, etc¦ It would be a cool peek behind the curtain for those of us who have a morbid curiosity about such things.
BTW, I see that a ‘My Comments’ option was added to the Account button. 🙂
Well .. beating around the bush .. Release Notes .. He’s an IT guy.
Is there a new skill or hobby you’ve picked up during quarantine that you otherwise wouldn’t have mastered?
Mine is juggling bowling pins. It’s a long story, but I can’t do it now! Haha
That’s amazing! Congratulations
I’ve mastered the nap. 🙁
Dude, you too… Cat nap.
I’ve been thinking of a King promotion, not being a teeshirt. Can we have a COVID face covering in King colors .. with say Slamson in the middle? The new KingsHerald wear.
Um, also not the Gold Lame’, or not that red please!
Badge Legend