Welcome back to Chainmail! It’s been an exciting couple of weeks in the fandom. Let’s recap, shall we?
- The Kings have made two big free agency acquisitions over the last few weeks. After signing guard Malik Monk to a 2-year deal worth just under $20 million, Monte McNair traded Justin Holiday, Maurice Harkless, and a protected future first round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for guard/wing Kevin Huerter. Shooting was a major weak point for the Kings heading into the offseason, and Sacramento’s front office managed to address it several times over with Monk, Huerter, and the drafting of Keegan Murray.
- And speaking of Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick has impressed in almost every single one of his Summer League appearances, showing out as one of the best players to step onto the court. The rookie is averaging 20.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on 49% shooting from the floor and 42% shooting from deep.
- Murray’s 20.4 points are the highest average of any Kings lottery pick in Summer League, and his field goal percentage is the second-highest, trailing only Willie Cauley-Stein
- Neemias Queta has also raised some eyebrows with his Summer League showing. The young big is putting up 14.4 points and 7.5 boards a night, and he’s also knocked down a couple of three-pointers. While Queta still has some obvious rough spots in his game, there’s no doubt he’s put in some serious work over the last few months. Alex Len may have some competition for that third-string center position.
- Undrafted free agent Keon Ellis has also started to get comfortable in Las Vegas. After struggling with his shot in Golden State, Ellis has knocked down 62% of his long-balls in Vegas, while averaging 15 points per game and playing stellar defense on the perimeter.
- The Kings may have hit a snag in their negotiations with EuroLeague forward Sasha Vezenkov. He was originally slated to fly to Las Vegas to meet with Sacramento leadership, but he has since canceled those plans. The front office has until July 20th to negotiate his NBA buyout. If that doesn’t happen, Vezenkov will not join the Kings this season.
- With the offseason action starting to dwindle, the Kings still have a couple of spending tools available, as well as at least two roster spots to fill. Sacramento has a small portion of the mid-level exception to use, as well as the entire bi-annual exception, worth around 2 years, $8.3 million. Outside of trades and those tools, the Kings can sign any player to a minimum veteran contract.
The Kings have had quite a lot happening over the last few weeks, so get to asking, so we can get to answering!
Are Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes being traded today, next week, or in one month?
KEON ELLIS
Give him a max contract now.
Giving him a Terrance Mann deal would be genius. Quetta too. Emulating the Clippers is not a bad idea.
I feel incredibly optimistic on Fox for this upcoming season. It seems like the recipe is finally there for him to go up a level. Am I wrong for believing he will ACTUALLY take a huge leap this season?
With Fox, I don’t think a huge leap is what’s needed. Over the past three seasons, Fox has averaged 23.2/3.8/6.5. If he can get his three-point percentage to 35% or better, that would have a cascade effect that would help the other aspects of Fox’s game, and also benefit his teammates by spreading the defense and keeping things less congested in the paint.
I expect his defense to be better, and my hope is that with the additional guard depth, he’ll be able to play fewer minutes and be fresher as the season wears on.
The biggest “leap” he needs to take is breaching the 60 games played barrier!
Yes, and actually working on/improving his shot, off ball movement and D effort.
Heard about Sabs working on 3 ball with shot Dr. What about Fox?
If he doesn’t turn it up this year he won’t. Has to happen as Kings have bet on building around Fox forever. Never been a proponent of that but this is the time
What talent did the Kings skip in to keep Fox? They traded Haliburton for Sabonis….who is talented. Vlade Divac was a horrible GM who shouldnt have been sitting in that chair and never had a sane or logical reason for passing on Luka Doncic.
So what talent did the Kings skip out on exactly?
What talent wants to play with Fox?
The free agent market is not exactly pro Kings and Fox.
KanGZ have to trade talent to get talent. Makes it more difficult unfortunately.
Passing on Luka was epic failure but I am not sure Fox is still here if they have Luka?
Edited: Eh, wrong person. I give up. Tomorrow is a new day.
I don’t believe I said anything about skipping talent.
I said I didn’t like idea of building around Fox—-because he’s not a shooter and can’t play without the ball. (which is why no Luca and Hali gone-rather build around Hali )
I don’t like the idea of building around non shooter needs ball,
in addition, he hasn’t put full D effort in off season.
Not once did I say it was about skipping talent.
Good analysis of Fox and his reality as a player and the impact he has had on this team.
Yeah…Hali was a building block that could lead. Problem is they cannot trade Fox for anything decent in return. In order to improve Haliburton had to go because he is the only player that brings back borderline all star talent,
And I’m an idiot-forgot I talked about skipping later.
Though I did list who/what they passed on in reply to Sims
It appears that you have an exclusive story here, about Fox not working on his shooting.
I found Amico’s burner account!
Maybe he is but I didn’t hear about it. Yet I heard Sabonis was working with shot Dr.
Wouldnt I have heard about Fox too. I think more likely than not.
And your snark is never appreciated.
Fox has already been paid. He is no longer interested in the work. Charity max deal from the KanGZ determined Fox’s fate.
The snark is garbage too.
That is not what they talked about the other day. If I remember correctly Fox has been working out every day with trainers or a coach. He got married and asked his wife to let one of the coaches come along so he can get work outs in. Last year he bulked up. Dude worked his ass of to make it to the NBA and has continued to improve, but ya dude doesn’t work.
If you mean he needs to get better at x, ok well sure there is room to debate, but to say the man does not put in work is sloppy and disingenuous. Id say that you might want to put in a little more work on your posts.
Bigger Fox did not shoot the ball for shit last year. Remember that?
Fox playing isolation offense off of the dribble hucking up shots in the crowd. Remember that?
Fox throwing the ball into the crowd and turning it over when under pressure. Remember that?
Fox is a decent role player. Fox is not a leader. Fox is not a player that wins games. Fox did better with Sabonis because the game was being run through Sabonis. No more Fox dominating the ball and killing the flow of the game.
Fox plays amazing defense too. It is all effort on defense.
Fox is not a leader. Fox is a role player,
You don’t seem to know anything about what you post but feel free to continue spouting your nonsense, its like getting your news from the crazy lady on the corner who drags her luggage around all day.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
I’ve not known Fox to be particularly active on social media, as far as posting videos or providing a steady stream of updates.
I didn’t learn that I had a pancreas until I was about nine, but it turns out that it was there the whole time.
I think he can easily be at 26/4/7 with decent enough shooting splits… big year for him coming up
It’ll be interesting to see if playing with Sabonis flattens Fox’s assist numbers a bit, because of how good Sabs is at running the offense.
My expectation is that with the addition of shooters this offseason, Fox has a good chance to increase his assists, and also bump up his scoring. Still, with more scorers around him, there may not be such an onus on him to pile up buckets just to keep the Kings in a game.
I see the Hoping for Magical Player Transformation era hasn’t completely ended.
Yeah. A guy who cannot play without the ball in his hands is going to get better when others have the ball more.
KANGZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually, if he is not having to shoulder the scoring as much, he can have some more energy on defense and some of his defense stats could improve. This is a regular thing in the NBA.
Also, people knocking down shots will help Fox. The attention that Ox got helped improve the Fox’s game, just look at the numbers. A coach can help a player improve in various ways too. Shall I go on?
I understand what you are saying. Problem is that Fox is not a player that likes to play off of he ball. His lack of defensive energy has nothing to do with having shooters next to him. Coaching can definitely help a player, Fox has had plenty of coaches unfortunately.
Peak Fox has already happened in my opinion, Fox and Sabonis is a better product but still not a play off team.
Just my opinion. Would love it if Fox had any value and he was gone instead of Haliburton. Is what it is.
You could, but it’s not going to help.
He has to be much better on defense, he has to be a more efficient scorer and have a better understanding of the flow of a game; when to defer, when to take control, when and whom to pass to.
He must avoid a weak opening to the season and can’t take too many plays and games oof. He needs a consistent motor.
I don’t care much about individual stats, but how he can help impact winning. As said before, he’s out of excuses.
Agree. No more working on the wrong things or not enough in the off season fir Fox.
All these years, skipping talent to build around Fox had better start working.
Yeah, that explains why we didn’t draft BPA guards like Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell, and Jaden Ivey.
“Skipping talent to build around Fox.” Aside from Doncic, a decision made by a Grade A moron, that’s a steaming pile of horseshit.
Oops. Forgot about this. Ha.
But skipping Doncic is enough in and of itself.
And they got rid of Hali rather then Fox and build around Hali.
I believe they also passed in Donovan because of Fox?
Passing on Doncic was a titanic failure. The guy who did it is gone, and will never hold a position of authority ever again.
What has that got to do with what McNair has done, and how is any of it Fox’s fault?
He makes a lot of money. It doesn’t mean he’s got his hands on the wheel.
There are plenty who thought Bagley could have been a be a star and very few thought Luka would be a MVP, possible all star, ok. If Bagley went to the Mavs he might have been a different player. Luka might have been different too, although the chance of Luka falling flat on his face seem small now. I was cool with Luka, but kind of wanted to trade down and get those two low picks, the trade one of those for Porter Jr and somethIng else.
At least we were not the only one to pass on Luka and they had his former coach. That’s not to say that there was not incompetence in the origination, its just that people dwell on Luka to much, not saying you are one of those people, but plenty here can’t let it go. I think of that scene in Hitch where he knocks in the window when his Lady is cheating on him, and he is just there crying in the rain.
Are the one’s that obsessively cry about Luka the same who could not let it go about Isaiah?
Again just jumping off of your post, not saying you this is you.
Vlade is rubber you’re glue.
How many MVPs is Murray going to win?
In all seriousness, seems the Kings are right on the fringe of making the play-in in the West (once again). What’s your trade to put them over the tipping point?
I expect Ellis to spend a lot of time in Sacramento this season, and also that he’ll be able to play effective minutes at SF because of his length on defense, and his ability to hit shots on offense.
In non-crunch time situations, i.e. most of the game, would you stagger Ellis and Mitchell most of the time for defensive purposes, or do you think Brown will be able to get the team to play competent defense consistently?
To my mind, the addition of Ellis presents the opportunity for Mitchell to start games alongside Fox, but I wouldn’t quibble with either Monk or Huerter. I’d be interested to know if you think Huerter makes more sense on the roster spending most of his minutes at SF, in order to get more mileage from the smaller guards.
I have a lot of questions, it seems, and I will DM you about the more personal stuff.
I think Ellis is gonna lack the strength to spend much time defending forwards this season, and will even be a problem against a few guards. A year in the Kings strength program will do wonders. I’m optimistic about his potential for sure tho
Huerter can snugly start at the 2 and also play the backup 3 position in staggered lineups, much like Horford starts at the 4 and plays backup 5. Having him in the starting unit maximizes his abilities as a spot up shooter & gives better size/switchability for that unit.
It also allows Monk to be a bench sparkplug, which I think is the best place for him — his ability to create shots and finish plays in the 2nd unit will be invaluable.
Good points, all.
Davis seems to be the odd man out here, which is unfortunate, because I’m not convinced that Monk is the better player. I hope that TD gets real opportunities to earn minutes, I think he’s got an X-factor to his game that hasn’t been realized due to inconsistent minutes, and his unfortunately-timed injury last season.
Nothing wrong with a little competition!
Monk is the starting 2 guard. It just makes sense. Bring Huerter off the bench to give Monk or Barnes a break. We now have s legit second unit. I don’t see much of a drop off.
I would be pretty shocked if Huerter isn’t starting this season. He’s a better play maker and defender than Monk and that’s more important in the starting lineup. He’s also just bigger. Monk will be a great scorer off the bench and can close some games for you if he gets hot but I don’t really think he should be the starter.
???? ???? ???? fair enough point.
Third highest paid player on the team at $16M and you traded all those assets, including a protected FRP.
Huerter was obtained to start. If he ain’t starting, Kings made a lame trade. (In other words – he is a starter). Now – you could start him at the 3 or 2.
Good point, I imagine there will be at least a few games where Monk and Huerter both start. Perhaps that will even be the opening night lineup, depending on trades and fit
Given the variety of talent and skillsets, I’d think that there will be a lot of testing out different lineups. On the other hand, maybe Mike Brown knows exactly what he wants, and will test it until it proves ineffective.
Keon Ellis, greatest 2-way player in NBA history, or Scottie Pippen 3.0?
Or Scottie Pippen, Jr. 2.0?
Wing Depth… who can we realistically get for Holmes. I think we Keep Barnes and I don’t see Murray playing much 3 unless it is a bigger 3 he is defending. I see Guerrero as playing 3 but if he or Barnes goes down we are in trouble..
To preface, I’m a Trey Murphy III stan, so I’d love to see the Kings go out and get him from the Pels. He’s now buried on a deep wing rotation in N.O. I wonder if the Pels would like more reliable center depth behind Valanciunas. I also would’t mind getting Kira Lewis Jr. (if he’s healthy) from them as a 3rd PG. Maybe a Holmes for Lewis and Murphy III package?
I had to go read up on him; seems like the type of player that could be a diamond in the rough. Definitely a 3 and d player. ESPN has him listed as a SG but clearly more if of a true SF size wise.
this is the type of player that we need to find where we get a good long term player for a smaller price.
Yeah, I think he is definitely a diamond in the rough. A long 6’8″ wing with a 7″ wingspan who can hit from 3? Sign me up. The dude shot 50,40, 90 during his last year at Virginia. He was on my list of the guys I would have reached for at #12 in the 2021 draft.
With the Pels drafting Dyson Daniels and already having Ingram, Herb Jones, Nance Jr, and Temple at the wings, maybe he could be swooped up by trade.
Maybe a Metu for Murphy III trade? Metu’s a serviceable big, perhaps NO would want one who could fill both backup big spots if necessary.
I’m not sure they’ll trade Murphy III though. He’s under contract for potentially three more years (including 22-23).
I think Herb Jones may have set the future for Murphy III. Jones is going to need to get an extension before Murphy and they already have a ton tied up in CJ, Ingram and now Williamson.
I like your idea of Metu. They are a bit weak at the 4 and 5 spots, especially with the fragility of Williamson.
Although he too has legal troubles with DV, the Pels might be looking to move Jaxson Hayes as he’s a RFA next summer. He and Murphy for Holmes works numbers wise, but I’m not sure I can deal with another DV issue on the roster.
Wow just read about DV charges. Like I did with Holmes I will reserve judgement until things are investigated. It appears he may have made things worse by resisting arrest. I am never a proponent of Resisting but also try to be open minded when it comes to frustration over not being able to go into the house. I know officers hate going to DV situations as they are incredibly volatile and quite frankly dangerous.
Resisting arrest ranges from slugging a cop all the way down to not responding quickly enough to a command by police. It’s a bullshit charge 99% of the time.
How do I know this? People get hauled off to jail all the time, with the only charge being resisting arrest. Okay fine. Why was he being arrested? If you can’t charge additional crimes, that suggests that there weren’t any actionable reasons for police to arrest someone in the first place. So why put a person who wasn’t doing anything illegal in a position to resist arrest, whatever that happens to mean?
Judges & prosecutors ought to throw out every single RA charge if its the only one filed against a person.
There were multiple charges aside from resisting… Don’t want to get into a conversation about your thoughts on policing and resisting charges since we will probably agree to disagree and neither of would probably truly listen to one another and this is a sports blog so no need to clutter it with less fun conversations..
but I do appreciate and respect that we may see things differently ..
Of course! I was speaking in much more general terms about an RA charge. I don’t have any details about Bridge’s arrest.
i figured it was general… BTW we are taking about Jaxson Hayes not Bridges and his DV charges look to be even worse!
I am so sure that this is your area of expertise that you should be writing about.
The breadth of things that you don’t know is so large that not even the JWST can bring it into focus.
I enjoy your reflexive responses to all of my comments, it’s like I have you on a string and can make you dance any time I choose.
Snarky today.
My God you actually don’t know who prosecutes cases do you?
Don’t know why your law takes would be any better than your hoops takes.
OK. Presume a cop goes to a domestic…man is non compliant and physical with the cop…man is arrested…woman refuses to further cooperate, no domestic charges. Resisting charge stands. Grade A moron, steaming pile of horseshit!
BTW Thanks for letting me know it is ok to write this about somebody. I would have thought it improper, but since you did it, surely it’s ok.
Thank you.
I honestly don’t understand what you’re trying to say. District Attorneys generally assign cases to ADAs for prosecution. Are you aware of some other authority that is prosecuting criminal cases?
Well the general public and media are pretty good at prosecuting in the court of public opinion….but that is a different story and you probably don’t need my smart ass response as you deal with your fans … carry on!
murphy is tearing up summer league…
If Phoenix doesn’t sign Ayton you might grab Crowder for Holmes. Crowder actually plays good defense.
Eh. I’d say Barnes is a better playmaker and actually looks solid when he’s aggressive attacking the rim on offense. Crowder is more just a catch and shoot guy, and a really good cog in a well oiled machine but the kings might put him in bad situations like they are so prone to do
Crowder could work but I thought he is more of a small ball 4..
Not a question, I just wanted to chime in and say I hope Jared Rhoden gets a shot in Stockton. He’s put together some solid games this summer, enough to definitely warrant a shot at the development level, in my opinion.
How much are we going to regret trading jaden hardy for two second round picks?
Honestly, How much are we going to regret not taking Ivey? Dude has looked the most special out of all the top 5 picks. I don’t really see anything wrong with his shot either
He has? I have t seen that at all.
He’s only played like 35 minutes total in Summer League. If that doesn’t intimate greatness in every way possible, what would?
Donte Greene’d
(Not that Ivey is going to fail, but the Summer League Small Sample Size Institute does not have a great track record of producing stars.)
Summer League: where you see what you wanna see!
Agreed. I haven’t seen 10 top out of him at all. I’ll take Murray anyday.
Keep in mind the best producers in SL are almost always guards as the games are better geared to hucking and chucking…
I would have taken Ivey over Murray but the answer to who should have been picked is 1-3 years away.
I hope both end up being great.
I just hope Keegan better! Making him the greatest!
True, but Ivey just looks to have that IT factor you see from all the superstars. I know it’s only a couple games in the summer league but he was making plays with his feet, passing, and shooting. Banchero looked like it too
As a Kings fan, I have all too often seen the agony of da feet.
U put his speed, playmaking, and shooting ability together and you got something there
He is not even rated in top for summer league mvp ladder, btw the only rookie in top 10 at number 5 is Keegan Murray
Actually Harden was more impressive in his first game than Ivy. He is now a first ballot hall of Famer too.
Where TH is Vezenkov?
Can I hang out in the tent?
Which Tent.. appear to be several
The round one. With stripes.
I found Carmen Sandiego! Alas, no Vezenkov.
Is she still a hottie?
As she ever was!
She’s a badass with a Fedora. Hard to top that.
She is not into below average. She prefers at least average I am sure of it.
You humbly state that you are tiny.
I wasn’t being humble. I was calling you a cock jocking moron.
“Just so you know, my very small penis is …….”
You conveniently forgot that part. We all know your ego is bigger than your brain and apparently your anatomy in general.
I see the one guy who took Vezenkov’s red and white jersey and wrapped it on his head like a knit cap. But no Sasha.
Let’s see if Monte can find him. FYI if you find Waldo in the picture , you find Sasha 😀
I’ve literally never found Waldo as fast as I just did. Pleased with meself lol
Took me a while to find him, when I did I put Vezenkov next to him
Is positionless basketball actually a thing, or does a team need a real SF?
I am in a group chat full of Kings fans and the below was written by our friend/Warriors fan who is also in the chat and has witnessed the same cycle of emotions for several years. It’s so good I had to share:
Kangz Fan Annual Season Timeline,
October: We’re gonna be good this year!
November: Oh no we suck again!
December: Team is actually good but the coach sucks.
January: New coach also sucks so it’s probably our GM that sucks.
February: We can turn this season around at the trade deadline!
March: We definitely still suck we should tank but why are winning now?
April: We suck and our draft pick sucks.
May: Our draft pick doesn’t suck. Hope!
June: The guy we drafted/traded for is awesome. More hope!
July: Bro… Our Summer League guys look sick!
August: Positive training Camp news! Mega hope!
September: Undefeated in Pre-Season. 5 seed?
This shit is so spot on
Yeah, the unbridled, over the top positivism from May to October is a given.
The off-season is OUR season!
I lol’d at work. Thanks for this!
LMAO
I would do a Warriors one in response but I don’t have enough whiskey on-hand.
please do, I would be glad to share it with him!
Suppose the Kings were involved as the 3rd team to help facilitate a KD trade. Do you think it would be better to help with a trade to Phoenix/Miami, or another location to help the current Kings roster?
I’ve seen some writers put out some absolute fanciful trades that only occur in 2K, so I’m interested to see what would actually be realistic.
1 — Bill Simmons did his trade value podcast and listed Murray ahead of Fox, but behind lots of others. Is there anyone on that 1-64 list that you *wouldn’t* trade Fox and/or Murray for individually?
2 — Why aren’t the Kings considering some kind of mega home run type trade to get Kevin Durant or another malcontent piece? It worked with Chris Webber, and, frankly, nothing else is working. Why not try it again? [I know, Huerter trade messed up the pick situation, but in theory, why are the Kings never really in on those?]
Simmons Link: https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/7/11/23203674/bill-simmons-nba-trade-value-2022-summer-list
These things are so subjective but…..two things stuck out to me personally. Why the hell is RJ Barrett in that top 64? And even worse, how the hell is Jalen Green almost 30 on that list?
And1: I suppose I should add that I don’t really care, but the questionable inclusions are just that. I would never put Zion Williamson that high, for instance, until he proves he can play a lot more games than he has.
It is Bill Simmons, after all….
Aye. Truer words have never been spoken.
It’s not a listing of quality, it’s a trade value ranking. So it’s heavily influenced by contract and perceived upside.
It’s still usually pretty dumb though.
I know that Greg. Believe it or not, I’ve actually read Bill Simmons before. These trade columns, incidentally, are also not a new idea.
My issue is with where they are placed (or on the list period in Barrett’s case). I simply disagree. Is that okay, or do I have to get your permission first to have an opinion regarding the most prominent sportswriter of the 21st century?
Bill Simmons judging BBall talent is a notch below SA Smith .
I don’t recall seeing any reports that Sacramento was absolutely not considering the type of trade you described. More likely than not, one won’t happen, but that has more to do with trades like that being incredibly rare, than it does about some supposed unwillingness to conceive or take part in such deals.
Burden of proof fallacy.
I’m shocked he didn’t suggest that there is a Fox trade with the Knicks, as that’s his go to
The list of available malcontent stars:
Westbrick
Kryrie
Kmee
I think his list is more talent + age + contract, not just talent. Simmons and Russillo were very complimentary of Fox, but that contract is pretty big.
Herb Jones over both Tyrese’s was pretty interesting. Ivey being 41 and Murray not on the list feels like an overreaction, but that’s why they play the games.
It filled an hour podcast, and got us talking here, so the list did it’s job. That’s all its really good for.
I’ve not looked at the list or listened to the podcast, because I’d rather chew glass, but Simmons actually has guys on the list who’ve never played a single minute in the NBA?
Sensible take!
That’s right. Chet hasn’t played a game therefore no NBA front office would trade anything for him?
Sensible take?
Here’s the best part. Just finished listening to the whole thing.
They had Keegan at 58. Bill asked Ryen about him. Ryen’s dispute was “you’re going to have a guy on there who’s never played? What if he’s a bust?” So they take him off the list and move up Draymond.
Yet they leave Ivey at 41, and Paolo, Jabari and Chet stay there as well.
This is why I don’t get too upset over things like this. They’re not consistent with their stuff.
Are our 2 most recent Lottery Picks both coming off the bench this year?
I’m somewhat expecting some sort of starting lineup of, at least to start the season:
Fox
Monk
Huerter
Barnes
Sabonis
That lineup gives up a million points per game.
All good since we will score 1,000,001 a game. 82-0 baby!
It is the only consistent thing this team has.
I agree, but do you see them doing anything different?
Barnes isn’t coming off the bench, they didn’t just put all that money/effort bro Monk & Huerter to come off the bench & get pissy like DDV. They brought them in to surround Fox & Sabonis with shooters.
Hard to not see both of our most recent lottery picks come off the bench.
Monk signed the partial MLE — a contract that’s often used for quality role players and fringe starters. That dude is not coming in with an ego demanding and looking to secure his next bag like DDV, he’s looking to contribute however it takes to win.
If Monk starts, it’s because he earned it. But he was signed with full knowledge that he’s expected to contribute regardless of his role.
I bet Mitchell comes off the bench and Murray starts. It just makes sense — Murray is an ideal stretch 4 and provides some shot blocking — two things sorely needed in the frontcourt
Got it- so you think Huerter starts at the 2, Barnes at the 3, & Murray at the 4?
Then it’s Mitchell & Monk as the 2nd unit back court?
It’s hard not to think (even with the contract & no ego) that the Kings are trying to put Fox & Monk together for as many minutes as possible. They need Fox to succeed, putting his close friend/old teammate (noting the pair thrived together to be lottery picks) next to each other as much as they can seems important…
As in, “we’ve given Fox EVERYTHING WE CAN to make him excel, this is the last chance” type of “need” to put Fox in a place to justify making him the focal point.
If we don’t go to the playoffs this year, Fox is out the door.
I think you are spot on with that SL prediction
Keon, Keegan, Neemias.
I hope LiAngelo Ball steals them some sunglasses…because their futures are bright.
He’s not very good at stealing. Gets caught.
Probably not the brightest idea to steal in a country where you’re two feet taller than everyone else…oh and they make police states look cute.
He’s lucky he didn’t get the Griner treatment.
They probably let him go just so they didn’t have to listen to his dad.
Does Monte have to make the playoffs or not?
Must’ve been covered in the last Chain mail
Yes DAMN RIGHT. 16 and counting isn’t a good look.
Kings still need a 3rd string PG. Who would you target now in free agency or trade?
Lin
Delly
Tyreke
Elfrid
I wouldn’t mind Delly, and he has played with Coach Brown before. Kings could likely get him for the vet minimum and save the BAE for something else.
Tyreke would be interesting, and he could also play the 3, but I’m guessing there is a reason he hasn’t been picked up by the other 29 teams. He hasn’t played pro ball anywhere for over 3 years.
Delly seems like the best option.
Vivek hearing the news that the play-in tournament is permanently here to stay:
Seems like we are short one backup ball handler and a rim protector.
Guessing some combo of TD, Holmes and Barnes is gone to fill these two gaping roster holes.
Delly!
Two birds, one stone
Trade for Ben Simmons. You get your ball handler and improved defense. He can guard one-five.
Perhaps that’s the move MM is referring to and it’s pending the Kyrie and KD situations.
Fox
Monk
Heurter
Simmons
Sabonis
That spacing is gonna be a huge problem
Take the offseason as a whole at this point, what is your rational take heading into the season versus what your gut feeling is going into 22/23?
Heart: Keegan wins ROTY, Fox averages 27/7/3 on 48/36/80 with average defense, both He and Sabonis are All-Stars, the team has enough length and shooting to overcome mediocre defensive capabilities and we glide into the 7-8 spot in the West.
Head: Keegan will be decent, Fox is who we think he is – good but not great, team scoring cannot overcome bad defense against league average teams, and we MAYBE snag the last play-in spot against a fairly deep West.
Who will be the last man standing on this team – Keegan Murray, Monte McNair, or Mike Brown?
This is the best question.
The best of questions and the worst of questions. But all 3 of them will have their names in the rafters.
Divac has his name in the rafters.
Damn. That stings. But it’s a fact, have a thumb’s up.
That one is easy. Doug Christie.
Agree, as long as Matina is employed.
Is this a .500 team? I’ll be archiving your answers.
You expect a commitment to an answer here?
This season?
maybe a few games under 500
No. It’s possible, but I think 60/40 against. I have them in the high 30s, which means mid 30s isn’t super unlikely, and neither is low 40s.
45 wins. That’s my prediction.
I was thinking 42-43 wins… I think that this roster is stronger than last years and we have an actual coach.. I think last years roster way under performed
I’d agree on the underperformance part, and I think it’s also helpful that A) Brown and McNair are at least on the same page (right now) and B) I don’t think the Kings are going to tank chemistry by playing players who don’t really want to play here like Hield and Bagley.
I have a feeling, too, Fox will be a lot better from game 1 to game 82 as well. Sabonis will be Sabonis (which is very good of course), and then I think the possibility of having six 36% or better 3PT shooters (Huerter, Monk, Murray, Barnes, Mitchell and Davis) will help matters as well.
I was thinking last season could have a fun ending…..and well that didnt obviously happen. This year, I’m a lot more excited…and will be a lot more disappointed if they don’t win 40+ games.
So it’s probably time to go ahead and shut Murray down for the summer, right?
The one obvious hole in Murray’s game is off-the-dribble creation. Have you seen anything yet in Summer League to make you think he may improve in this area?
I think it’s just a matter of him improving his handle & decision making — he’s shown he can hit pull up shots, moving shots, and contested shots inside and on the perimeter.
The issue he has right now is turnovers from losing his dribble or passing into traffic. The good thing is, he wont be relied on for much that this season. Fox, Sabonis, Barnes, and Mitchell can all create shots for themselves and others. Same with Monk and Huerter, to a lesser extent.
All Keegan needs to do this season is finish plays, and I think that’s his specialty.
You have to place a win number on what it would take to extend Monte. What is that number?
You can say whatever you want about whether the Kings should have picked Ivey over Keegan but I believe he’s shown that he can compete against any of the 5 draft picks and far more than hold his own or show out over them.
I put less credence into the “IT” factor than I do into LVSL stats being predictive of much beyond basic competence. Does Keegan have game? Fuck yes! Can that do anything but help this team?. Uh yeah…He can only help the Kings. So even as a rook will the team be better for drafting him? Absolutely.
The only thing I’m almost fairly sure about is that this season is the most important one so far in Fox’s career and will go a long way towards defining whether long term he’s merely a very good player or a player who can be a foundational part of a Kings future where whether they can contend or not is immediately less important than becoming relevant again in a league where the competition has largely just marked Sac a a given loss on their schedule.
Have you guys lost your writers? The Kings played their last game 2 days ago, and nothing written about the game and how the lads did. You do a Chain Mail article regurgitating what the team did over the last month; that’s important, but their last game means nothing. I thought this was a Kings forum. For everyone out there, the Kings won by the way. I like up to the date information, not days or weeks old. If you’re the King’s Blog, I want to get my up to date info from you, not someone else. If I can’t get up to date info from you, it kind of makes you irrelevant.
Thanks for stopping by.
I’m sure all these fine people don’t have other jobs, lives, families or anything. I’m sure they’re all just sitting around being lazy with those massive TKH salaries.
I hear Greg is still living off his Ziller Bucks severance package from StR and has yet to even touch his per diem from TKH. Fat cats indeed
Hey that cat can plug up a lane. Sign him!
I understand what you mean; TKH is my ONLY source of Kings information and content. I love this website and members.
However, I do understand the amount of work that needs to be done for every article. Content creators, be they writers or vloggers, do go through stress as they have to make quality content with deadlines all on his/her own time.
Remember this is a free website operated by fans, not an official source paid by Vivek nor a subscription based website. I was paying a monthly fee for content, yes I would absolutely be expecting recaps for each Summer League game (and 24 hour live feeds of Luca Doncic). This is not the case.
As they say, vote with your wallet. We are all free to go to other websites to be up to date if this blog doesn’t meet our standards. Again, keep in mind this is the off-season, these writers have lives, and there are no obligations for both readers and staff.
This conversation has inspired me to become a Patreon supporter, not out of expectation of changes, but because the discussion makes me realize how much I appreciate The Kings Herald.
Summer Leagues come and Summer Leagues go and in the end they tend to blend together over the years and then are forgotten. The reason there has been as much discussion as we have recently seen is only due to Keegan Murray’s first LVSL game becoming something of an instant classic.
If you want LVSL stats go to NBA.com Please………go
This is a horrible take. Honestly, these guys are incredible with what they do put out (look at all the pre-draft content!!). Not always up to the second info on summer league, oh no!
The other part about this is all the people. The takes are funny for the most part and pretty well reasoned with just the right amount of crazy shit thrown in for good measure. Become a paying member if you want to have a moan and if enough people do they could probably make an actual living doing this.
As an aside it would be nice to have a sporadic donation option vs normal subscription. My wife would definitely cancel this as an ongoing expense but can’t stop me throwing a few bucks randomly…
You inspired me to become a Patron of The Kings Herald.
Ahh, I see the play here. Somebody writes a cranky comment to complain that the TKH writers aren’t posting enough content. Multiple readers then jump to the writers’ defense and contribute money to the site. Clearly, “Raiderfusion” is the TKH writers’ joint burner account, and they posted this to drum up support and make some extra moolah to finance a fancy schmanzy staff retreat to Maui or Cancun or somewhere this summer! The board gets its bonuses and the shareholders see extra-large dividends at the end of Q3. Well played, you diabolical capitalist masterminds, well played.
????
Greg just sent out the marketing brochure for the staff retreat location…
Damn! They’re onto us!
Warriors and Clippers are locks to be high seeds if they can avoid injuries to their top guy or guys. Mavs, Grizzlies, and Suns are close, but their margin is tighter. This group is highly likely to be the top five in the West.
Spurs, Thunder, and Rockets look to be the bottom three. Lakers and Jazz are right there with them.
Nuggets,Wolves, Pelicans. Blazers and Kings are somewhere in the 6-10 range. Definite play-in, maybe playoffs. All flawed, equally likely to make the jump or fall back.
If this ends up being how it turns out, is this enough progress to call the season a success?
Wow the fact that you put the Kings in the same tier as Nugs, Wolves, Pels, Blazers is very optimistic IMO. I would not say they are equally likely to make the jump.
The Spurs Rockets and Thunder are my bottom tier, so we agree there. (Utah is a wildcard and may join them is D-Mitch is dealt for picks).
Then in the next lowest tier I have the Kings, Lakers and Portland. Sucky teams that might make a play in. NOP and Wolves are significantly better than the Kings, and the Nugs are a whole universe better as long as Joker is healthy.
Who will lead the team in 3 pt attempts this year?
This is a very strong draft, IMO. I could see any of the Top 6 as eventually becoming All-Stars based on the quick glimpse of Summer League basketball.
Given the hype that surrounds these picks, for this year, there were four players that were given Top 2 Tier status (I would call this a 3 +1 grouping with Jaden Ivey bestowed the +1 and Banchero, Holmgren and Smith, Jr. solidly at the top level.
If any of the other Top 5 (that Tier 2 of 3 +1 and Keegan Murray) were to have been drafted by Sacramento, I am convinced that the Kings would feel pressure to start them on Opening Day, whether they deserved that status or not. (One could argue well that McNair would not have acquired either Monk, Huerter or perhaps neither had the Kings drafted Ivey.
Given the maturity of Keegan Murray, it would not surprise me if he was not an Opening Day starter. That would help allow the coaching staff to find the best situations to play him and find success – most all of the past draft choices were automatic starters because Kangz (sell tickets! promote hope at all costs!) which isn’t always the best way to advance a rookie career (e.g. Tyreke 20-5-5 Evans ROY campaign).
(Prologue over): Question: Would you expect any of the other draft choices to accept not being an Opening Day starter for Sacramento? Of course, Murray may yet be an Opening Day starter – injuries, match up and mostly – coaches decision.
Bonus Burning Question: Keegan Murray nicknames: The Hawk, Keegan Thee Stallion, The Medium Fundamental, Slim Duncan, KDawg, KeeDawg, K13. Any of these monikers fit or gonna stick with the Kings new draft choice? Any others to add?
Someone on twitter wrote KeeGOAT Murray 😀
Smith, Holmgren or Ivy have not been better than Murray in summer league . In fact, Jaden Hardy had the most impressive game by a guard , not Ivy .
Keegz Kangz
What’s a reasonable successful rookie season look like for Murray?
One thing I keep thinking is that Monte is leaving those 3 roster spots open to possibly be a 3rd or 4th team in a blockbuster deal for Durant or Mitchell. Kings have a TPE for $4M that they could use to eat a contract in a large deal or even send out Holmes to make contracts work. Maybe Monte is just waiting for the opportunity?
Adding…this assumes Durant and Mitchell are not traded for each other, which I think could be a real possibility.
This is an interesting theory. I’ve seen Tobias Harris discussed too. Which I think makes sense.
Hey everyone just wanted to say on the most recent Hoop Collective J. Spears and Windhorst spent a good 30 minutes on the Kings in maybe the most comprehensive and fair synopsis I have heard on a national stage in a while. Spears was glowing on Murray and his profile was great if you have not read it. They also had good nuggets on Brown and some things he’s doing behind closed doors.
Most interestingly Windy said the Kings and Sabonis are in a very positive place right now and might even discuss an extension THIS offseason. Spears seconded the notion and said that Sabonis has spoken glowingly in settling with his family in Napa, and commuting to Sacramento.
I don’t know how realistic a Domas extension is, but its nice to hear some validation from league wide sources that the org is positive and engaging.
Anyone know if Domas had the house in Napa before the trade or is it something he acquired once he arrived. I also believe I read somewhere that his wife is from the California. I only ask, because if he is anchored here it may be a good sign for a possible extension.
She’s from SoCal but I think they had the house before the trade. They have a house in SoCal too.
I think more or less what Domas is saying he won’t commit to buying a house in Sac under the current circumstances. Which I get. I wouldn’t either were I him.
nonstripe,
That is an excellent podcast. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the tip, much appreciated.
So “Chainmail” is Murray’s nick? I like it. Maloneous. It’s a word shut up!
All credit goes to Be The Ball on this question based on a comment he posted in another thread.
Will Rhoden, Seton Hall, be awarded a position on the Stockton Kings? As BTB noted he has had a very productive Summer Leagues season, on Offense and Defense.
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