The Sacramento Kings have selected Alvin Gentry as the interim head coach. Sam Amick was the first to report the news.
Kings have tabbed Alvin Gentry as the next coach, source tells @TheAthletic
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) November 21, 2021
Following the announcement that Luke Walton had been fired, there was speculation whether the Kings would pick Gentry or if they would select Doug Christie. Doug is a fan favorite but only has 17 games experience on an NBA coaching staff.
Gentry has a career head coaching record of 510 wins and 595 losses, a slightly better career winning percentage than Luke Walton.
It should be noted that Gentry wanted some guarantees and benchmarks to take the job, which also includes a contract through next season.
https://twitter.com/SeanCunningham/status/1462506366350729223
That seems like more futility in the making.
I believe it’s quite standard for an assistant to leverage that position and improve the terms of his contract in such a situation.
He was already signed beyond this year as well.
Not for the same money ! Deck chairs moved !
Oh no. What the fuck? Can’t these idiots do anything correctly.
This is pretty standard, in fact.
I’m sending a theme here 🤮🤮🤮
A loser coach for a loser franchise.
Futile. Pathetic.
Vivek is a fool.
Monte is a lifeless no-talent.
And the fans should just stay home.
Really not certain how much money is saved by letting go of Walton now – if that was the motive for keeping him in the first place. If money were the motive, then you’d probably commit to the guy at least through the trade deadline even if the team performed as badly as it did, right? The lack of foresight to not see how it could’ve easily gone tits up as it has, and that you may suddenly want to the fire guy makes the front office look short-sighted, volatile, and poorly managed.
Either fire Walton this past offseason, do a proper coaching search, and go into the season with someone you can get your team and base around – or – commit to saving dough with Walton. They’ve instead decided to be indecisive and be in this no man’s land where we hope Gentry comes to save the day taking over nearly a quarter of the way into the season? What’s the value in that?
Then again, maybe the motive was that McNair and/or Vivek truly believed that Walton was their guy. In either case, another gigantic front office failure.
Now let’s fire up the trade hotline and look forward to the possibility of an actual off-season coaching search, for once.
Let’s hope this is the start of a complete restart.
These idiots should have done a total reboot 2 years ago. Now they have cumbersome contracts and no cap space.
So what did Monte say at the press conference?
Anything noteworthy?
I would be surprised, but hope springs eternal.
Ugh, his coaching history doesn’t bode well IMO.
Interim coach, doesn’t really matter.
Boring…..
i’m ok with this – at least we have somebody who can bring stability and sanity for the next few moths and maybe we will have a better idea of what the players can do now that they are not crippled by absolute incompetence at the top. Long term answer? probably not. short term caretaker? why not?
Walton handed over the keys to Fox and got fired. Obviously it’s not the only reason, but it is one of them. Fox’s turnover in the final seconds at OKC was the end for Walton. I wonder if Gentry recognizes that and will do something about it, or just give us more catering to the max contract “star”.
No lies spoken.
https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/1462487762578247684
While I agree with him on most points, what did he expect us to do? Continue with that sham of a coach?
rec’d
Agree. Vivek—get the fuck out
This front office needs to own some of that. It’s ownership, but it’s not only ownership.
Sounded like you said ‘ownershit’.
For this franchise, it’s historically accurate
Eh. The Kings didn’t pay money for Tristan Thompson, they traded for him. And they didn’t freeze on Barnes, they just didn’t trade him and his value is higher now than it was. Bill’s just pissed because he wanted Barnes in Boston last season.
Facts.
This. The ownership part is true, the rest of it….as you say, is just Bill Simmons complaining.
This organization is an absolute joke, firing Luke Walton — yes I typed that and never thought in a million years I would — is proving it yet again.
Only the Sacramento Kings could make Luke Walton look shinier in exiting. They did him a favor.
Defending the Kangz is like eating soup with a fork.
Barnes value is probably higher today too!
Is this Bill related to Ben at all?!
There’s no comparison really. The one Simmons is far worse than the other.
Vivek’s the biggest problem w/the Kings, but I would call Hali a combo G (& he was BPA in his draft), there weren’t any good offers for Barnes last season (hopefully that changes this season) & the FO tried to sign & trade BB8 to the Bucks.
Time to trade some guys including Fox
So many careers to destroy, so little time.
It’s an improvement in the sense that I don’t actively despise the coach now.
True. Only way I’m ok with this is if they fucking rebuild already.
But this feels like Vivek and Co still thinking play in.
#Preach
Let’s talk in a week.
I’m still not watching or supporting the team, so it’s not much progress on their part.
You will!
Sort of OT, copied from the other thread:
LOL, Carmichael Dave on Twitter Spaces asking why fans believe that they do not have the influence to demand a change for ownership.
The same Carmichael Dave who came to tell us at the old site that we shouldn’t have a billboard targeting Vivek.
Dave has long been a bit of a clown.
He raised the topic and built the escape hatch with “I’m not saying I’m there yet…”
In typical Dave fashion…if you always hedge your bets, you never really take the loss.
Be sure to be dickish about what everyone else wants to do and vague about why they’re wrong.
Also why he never can earn a win. He is a poster of accepting mediocrity. In dreams of finally the kings becoming relevant. Word of advice to Carmichael Dave from the current super bowl champs “ no risk it, no biscuit”. Take a little more time to research your stuff so you can be confident, win or loss, in your decision. See if it sticks #mediocredave.
Dave pretends he’s not a franchise tool, but he clearly has to watch his words.
I get it.
But he bailed water for Vlade for years without a hint of introspection until he was canned.
The fans have stopped showing up and Gentry will inspire no one to buy tix. The fans ARE speaking.
On Carmichael Dave, he entertains me, but ever since jay bilas clowned him years ago on sacramento being a joke I’ve been out on taking him seriously. He is optimistic to the point of being oblivious to call out the obvious. Vivek started bad with firing Malone, yet has never owned his mistakes that’s why we continue to see the doubling down of foolishness. If Carmichael Dave can finally call a spade a spade and just admit Vivek has been an awful owner on the basketball side, then I could somewhat take him seriously. Until then, just sounds like the cigarettes are destroying brain cells.
So does this now make Doug lead assistant and will the Kings be hiring anyone else for the bench?
Can the Kings find anyone willing to be part of the staff?
I wouldn’t think he would be, considering he has the least tenure by a country mile.
I wonder if Rico Hines will be moved up the bench. He’s been progressing through the coaching ranks since the G League team moved to Stockton and is a favorite off-season coach of several players.
The pursuit of mediocrity continues.
I think it’s more just stumbling and fumbling around. I’d be ecstatic if the team actually followed a plan to pursue anything.
Some day we’ll get there!
This move was sort of to be expected. It gives Monty some time to pick a permanent coach at the end of the season whether it be from within or from outside. Now if he can just do something with the roster.
I’m not sure that McNair is going to be the one picking the next coach.
It won’t matter who picks the next coach as long as Vivek is there.
#herewestayoutoftheplayoffs
Agreed. Vivek will be the guy to decide who’s up next.
I’m glad Walton is gone, but Gentry is a placeholder. There’s no coach we can hire that can succeed with this roster. This season is likely lost while the front office finally, FINALLY gets to work on the roster. A placeholder coach is fine for this season, until the team starts to build with players that can realistically form a winning team.
Yep, this season was lost the moment they didn’t fire Walton over the off season. At least it’s finally done.
But is he a placeholder with a contract for next year?
Gentry will set the plate for a Top5 pick.
How he keeps getting jobs as a HC is baffling. The man has a total of 3 winning seasons out of 17 as a head coach. The likelihood Gentry will improve this team 1 iota is very very slim.
if he comes back next year as HC, this team really is a mess.
Gentry is signed through next season, so don’t put it past Vivek to keep him since he still has to pay Luke this and next,
Exactly. This doesn’t look like placeholder to me.
Sadly, I think all of us would take 3 winning seasons in the last 17 years.
Gentry is scary here because all 3 of those winning seasons came as an interim coach in this position.
Gentry will set the plate for a Top5 pick.How he keeps getting jobs as a HC is baffling. The man has a total of 3 winning seasons out of 17 as a head coach. The likelihood Gentry will improve this team 1 iota is very very slim.if he comes back next year as HC, this team really is a mess.Ftfy
Think of it like this: When he is inevitably let go he will have been the HC of 6 NBA franchises.
A record no HC will ever surpass, least of all Luke Walton. It could have been worse……………..I’m sure it could have been worse, Kenny Natt comes to mind.
I’m sure Vivek is fine with this move.
Still aiming to be like the Warriors. We are doomed
We could trade squads with the Warriors and still fuck it up.
That said, I’d much rather root for him than Luke.
Oh yes, me too.
This move will take us solidly from 12th place in the West to 11th.
Alvin Gentry is neither good or bad.
What is good is that Luke Walton has been moved on. That’s a step in the right direction.
Wow, a person who just called into the Deuce and Mo podcast slammed TKH for pushing bad takes that are negative on the Kings. I thought, maybe, Deuce or Mo would stick up for TKH but they said nothing.
The caller gave D&M props for “keeping it real,” but they’re total homers most of the time. They said things about Walton today that they would have never said before.
Yeah, because the empty seats suggest otherwise.
TKH is responsible for the empty seats in G1C. It is known.
Did the caller happen to identify himself as Vivek?
Ha! Seriously, it was baffling. I expected D&M to say something like “hey we love the folks over at TKH” but they said nothing. I lost some of the small amount of respect I had for them. Plus, Mo nailed Walton in a way that she would have never done even up to last night.
Mo didn’t say anything, but deuce did a little. He said look all the fans are tired of losing.
Yeah she did. She said it was very possible that a few players liked Luke as a person but that the team may have NEVER backed his coaching philosophy and that he may have NEVER had the locker room from an X’s and O’s standpoint. (1:12:20 mark in today’s podcast)
No, I’m saying she didn’t say anything in defense of the tkh writers. Sorry, I realized what I wrote was vague.
Gotcha! Mo was really critical of Walton after the 1:12:20 mark. Frustrating because she said stuff she never would have said as late as last night. They’ve been hard on folks who’ve called for firing Luke during the podcast, now she unloads on him. Kind of a joke.
Typical Sacramento media take. They’re pretty much universally afraid to bite the hand that feeds them. Better to attack fans who can’t defend themselves.
More like a typical Sacramento organization media take Spackler. If you’re not obligated to kiss their ass as often, you’ll call it a lot more like you see it.
If you knew Walton wasn’t the answer this past offseason, you shouldn’t have kept him.
If you were going to roll into the season with him, be prepared to deal with the lows that were inevitably going to come.
Lord this franchise is so stupid it’s amazing to me.
This organization
Ego over rationale
Yep!
It’s no surprise, considering shes a quasi team employee now. Meanwhile, James Ham has been providing vastly better team coverage since his release from NBCSports, than he did as a Kings Insider. So much so that I even began following him again on Twitter.
I love fresh Ham!
They work for the team. They can’t say shit
This ^
Not negative bad takes. It’s a little something called the truth. (Or at least presenting both sides)
The truth hurts-especially when you are on the opposite side….I’m looking at you Vivdreck and all
your media yes men.
Walton has coached in
YOU’VE GOT NEXT, CLIPPERS
As a reminder, the wins Luke rolled up in GS were while he covered for Kerr when he was out on medical leave. He was implementing Kerr’s plan, not his own.
It’s strange that a coach with Gentry’s lack of success was in a position to leverage anything, to be frank. I’d guess his salary is low, relative to other NBA head coaches, so dumping or demoting him after the season won’t be too big of a pill to swallow. As others havevpointed out, the org was already on the hook for Gentry until 2023.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that he is not Luke Walton.
This. Gentry can’t be worse.
Any other NBA team. “We have talked to a few coaching candidates. We would like to offer you the job. We are offering $X….”..
Prospective NBA coach…”Yes, thank you.”
Kangz…”We need you to coach the team starting now.”
Gentry…”Pay me and I will consider it”
Per Woj, the Hawks went through a similar process when they fired Lloyd Pierce and had to negotiate with Nate McMillan to agree to become interim head coach:
You’re welcome.
Amazing Avatar
George rocks!
https://twitter.com/CoachKarl22/status/1462510607542861825
Please George can you make the sale happen?
I feel like every person that I’ve met who has been in the presence of Vivek, and the past employees of the Kings, have the same opinion of Vivek. A dismissive little chap might be more of a compliment at this point. No one, and I mean no one, speaks highly of him.
He’s rotting the Kings from inside out.
This is what happens egos run an organization.
He’s a horrible owner for the way he handles the team. He’s a not so great person for the way he treats his employees.
Vivek 4 on 5 does not work in the NBA. I appreciate here we stayed but when you surround yourself with admirers or hangers on you give your people a product to puke over. We will revolt and you have already seen it with the empty seats. Vivek let go and let the basketball minds preform there job and stay in your lane on the business end. Thank you GK for being a straight shooter
Goddamn, this is fantastic! I often wonder what Karl could have done if the front office worked with him, instead of immediately knee-capping him and then actively trying to fuck him over at every turn.
There is little chance that Alvin and the Chipmunks see much improvement.
It’s all about Fox right now
And fat and lifeless ain’t gonna win games.
Drunk and stupid is no way to go through life Mr. Fox!
I agree that Fox has regressed, but you can’t lay all the blame on him working with a dysfunctional coach and guard heavy mismatched roster. Let’s see what happens, the season is still early.
Gentry is just another horse on the carousel. So who should be the next Head Coach? Missed the window to get Shaka Smart.
Hasn’t Larry Brown been talking about getting back into coaching? Do you think the young players would respond to an older coach like (or would they even know who he is)?
Is Larry Brown still alive? I’d take Brown’s corpse coaching this team over Walton
He’s working as an assistant coach for Penny Hardaway at Memphis. Maybe this is where I heard he was looking at getting back to coaching so maybe he isn’t looking at getting back to coaching in the NBA.
While it would be nice if VR would sell the team, I fear that anybody looking to buy will have Seattle of Las Vegas on their mind. I’d rather have a poorly run Kings than have to read about the new Sonics or the Las Vegas whatevers.
30 year lease.
Been 8, feels like 30 though.
5 at G1C, but yes. Can’t imagine 25 more with Vivs.
Minor expense considering the price for a team.
I think the lease specifically states they aren’t allowed to leave Sac for 30 years
I’d rather them leave than the chances that they’re here for 30 years still being ass. That’s embarrassing.
This is exactly right. The next owner of the Kings will relocate them. It won’t be fair to do so, but it’ll be justified by saying that the “best fans in the league” have stopped showing up, and they’ll be right.
The fans are in no way to blame for any of it, but at least when Ranadive took over, the place was pretty packed. That had held true through good times, bad times, more bad times, and then some more bad times, and I don’t blame fans for voting with their wallets. It’s really the only power that you have left.
I’m hoping that with Walton gone, maybe the chains are off of McNair (at least a little bit), and he can start bringing in people that he believes in enough to hire.
I want to know if
1) has McNair gave a full interview and explanation on why it takes so long to fire Walton ?
(Before the season started, McNair said he would stick with Walton. This is just a bad decision by the FO by retaining Walton)
2) Who is the realistic target for next head coach (As Gentry really not a difference maker)
This is definitely a strike against Monte.
Is it to late for Luke to use his challenge?
He has to watch the tape first.
Pretty sure he used it during the shootaround.
It is silly for all the voices calling for LW to be fired to now turn around and criticize them for finally doing it. It is almost like anti-schilling. The Kings are in a better place with LW gone. Still a lot of work to be done. AG is a place holder until they can find a quality coach. Perhaps Terry Stotts deserves a look. Perhaps they can make some trades to improve the balance of the roster. They won’t improve the quality of the players on the roster with trades, since you have to give some to get some. Before this bad stretch we were saying the roster is more talented this year than last. Jerry on the podcast thinks so. I am hopeful but skeptical.
Hard nope from me on that from 2019 when this roster was asembled.
There are, in fact, fans of the team that hate them more than they love them at this point. I begrudge them none of it, but take your victories where you can get them, and stop pretending that any of this is happening in a vacuum, as if decisions and their timing were in no way related to anything that has ever happened or will happen.
McNair was dealt an absolute shit hand in having Walton under contract for three more years. I’m not thrilled about Gentry, but the gargantuan mistake that was hiring Luke Fucking Walton has been stemmed. There will be problems, because you can’t just unfuck an NBA organization in one shot, but the organization has finally stopped beating its head against this particular brick wall.
If you want to feel like a step in the right direction is of no use because it didn’t solve everything immediately, go right ahead. I’m not going to let your ulcer make my stomach hurt.
Here We Vomit
Let’s give Gentry a chance. He had some pretty high octane Phoenix teams. Maybe he can replicate that success here. Doug needs a full season as assistant before he interviews for that head coaching job!
Who knows, maybe these guys need to play for their dad, instead of some bro they pound beers with.
Walton
Give the other team credit….
The guys worked hard tonight….
We are going to watch the tape and see what happened…..
Shots just not falling. We got good looks….
A coach to be named later that might win…
We sucked tonight. If guys want to play on this team they need to earn it….
A few guys took the night off tonight. They won’t play here tomorrow…..
Our game plan is simple. The guys know it and need to execute it…..
NBA players have some bad nights but I expect them to make free throws….
I’m glad Walton is gone but let’s be honest here: the coach is irrelevant, the front office is irrelevant and the players are mostly irrelevant as long as Vivek owns the team. There’s nothing any of us can do about it but that’s the truth. I do not believe this team will make the playoffs as long as he owns the team. There’s too much talent around the league and too many smart teams for it to be any other way.
100% accurate ! Coaches , players and GM’s have all been changes several times and what remains the constant !
While mostly true, at least I can feel good about rooting for likable, upstanding Gentry.
Yeah I agree with that. I’m just past the point of believing that firing a coach or even a GM makes any difference at all. It doesn’t. It hasn’t.
Things have been pretty great since Petrie was fired, you have to admit.
Half-a-decade of stepping on landmines that Divac himself put down, and another fifteen years of watching Luka Doncic complete his resume for the Hall of Fame.
So yeah, I do think that the GM matters, as does the coach.
Vivek hired Vlade and PDA ! He is the actual GM and why he hires inexperienced people he can control !
We’re on GM number 3 and coach number 7? 8? Of the Vivek era? The results have not changed at all. Whether we win 31 games with Vlade and Joerger or McNair and Walton or McNair and Gentry, or Petey D and Corbin, does it really make a difference? Sure doesn’t seem that it does. There’s one constant.
And while we’re at it, I think I’m at the point where I can say that Vivek is a worse owner that the Maloofs in terms of putting together a functional NBA organization.
Does that count as another moral victory?
Agreed that Vivek is clearly the root of the problem, but I think that fans can do a couple of things about it. First, don’t give this team another dime until it starts behaving like a professional organization. Don’t attend any games or buy any merchandise. I’d even suggest not watching any games on TV (choke off the ad revenue), but I know that’ll be hard for many folks. Additionally, we can and should embarrass Vivek. He’s a prima donna who wants to be seen as cool and innovative. I think that calls to radio shows, messages on billboards, and posts to forums all shouting out that he’s obviously the problem will affect him personally. He absolutely needs to understand that fans have grown tired of his incompetence.
I stopped spending money on this team quite awhile ago but I honestly don’t think Vivek cares about any of it. He’s probably tripled his investment since buying the team and when the new tv deal gets worked out in the next couple years he going to make a ton more money. I wish we could shame him into changing or selling the team but I just don’t think it matters.
100% this.
Yeah Vivek is “clearly” the problem….if you are incapable of logic and do not require evidence.
Do you know that the owner for the Warriors pretty much drafted Kuminga?
None of the Vivek detractors even raised an eyebrow to that until I brought it up.
Seems rather hypocritical to me.
Who cares? The Warriors owner has won 3 championship rings in the last decade so he gets to do that. That’s been widely reported since the draft. It’s not a secret. Vivek has only ever failed. If the Kings has won a couple championship rings, he’d get a lot more leeway. Context matters.
Stauskas? Stauskas? Stauskas? It’s Stauskas!
1,2,3….Nik Rocks!!
Ownership definitely plays the biggest role in winning but the Suns have competed under Sarver, the Clippers were contenders while still being owned by Sterling. I guess what I’m saying is it’s not likely but not impossible to win with a bad owner. You just need Chris Paul on your roster.
And that’s where market probably comes into play. The Clippers are still in LA and Phoenix is a solid destination as well. The Kings have to trade for talent which I don’t believe they’re competent enough to do. If the GM’s are bad, it the owners fault for hiring bad GM’s over and over again.
I’m just going to say that Phoenix could only possibly be a target destination for people who have never been there.
I don’t claim to understand it because I wouldn’t want to live there but it’s a big city with a lot of NBA history and it’s warm. They can at least get a meeting with solid free agents and have even signed a couple guys in the past unlike us sadly.
Worst take ever. You are jealous of a billionaire, could that not be the real issue?
My understanding of the issue among some fans with Vivek is that he is too meddlesome and he does not allow the basketball side of the operations to do their job.
Do I have it about right? And if so:
Why did Vivek not meddle when Vlade chose Bagley over Luka?
Why did Vivek not meddle when Vlade traded the #10 pick for Harry and Jackson, when he could have had Donovan or OG Anunoby among others?
Maybe he should have been more meddlesome.
Last time I check the guy who saved the team from leaving SAC was responsbile for hiring Malone and Joerger, while he allowed Vlade to hire Fluke.
Where was the meddling to demand that a more thorough coaching search be done instead of green lighting this hire?
If Vivek is this “agent of chaos” why he not have insisted our GM fire Walton at the end of last season?
We were exceedilngly patient to allow this guy the chance to firgure it out in the name of continuity and stability and he could not get it done.
Where Vivek went wrong is hiring Vlade in the first place, which was a PR move following the PDA debacle. He over-corrected from an analytics pencil pusher with a politics background for a beloved name from the glory days. That was the big mistake but he corrected it when he hired McGenius.
The latest turn in this drama has little to nothing to do with Vivek so quit recylcing stale and boring and disproven takes and try again.
The evidence is NOT there to support your theory Vivek is this cancer that must be excised. He may not annoying and intrusive but to a degree he has that right. He writes the checks.
And his latest move of hiring McGenius was genius.
Maybe he did meddle with the Bagley pick and trading the #10 pick?
Thanks Matina !
Wow the projection is strong with this one! I didn’t mention Vivek meddling at any point in any of my comments. In fact I didn’t mention anything you just blathered on about for far too long. You created a narrative based on your assumptions. Quite frankly I don’t care. At this point I have one requirement: win basketball games. Don’t care how, don’t care for any excuses or promises of future success. Just win. That’s the only measure I choose to use. If you win, you succeed. If you don’t you fail. And I don’t even need to win a lot. A championship? No chance so how about the playoffs? Or even 50% of your games? But that’s too high a bar. So then I look around and there’s only one constant: Vivek. Even the Maloofs had a run of success despite being broke. But Vivek? Nope.
The first few games were fun. Now it’s time to get back to 0.333 winning percentage and rule the bottom third of the Western Conference so team can get the #8 lottery pick next year. NBA 3.0!
#8? I love your optimism!
Gentry makes the most sense as an interim coach, but I’ll be upset if he’s the permanent coach.
That’s pretty much the whole thing, right there.
Thank you Marcos Breton!
Yes, absolutely!
Amick on D&M:
Wes Wilcox nearly equal to Monte McNair, Monte is the “public face.” Vivek always has the next GM lying in wait. This is the first time we’ve likely known Monte’s potential successor.
Also, Amick does not think Fox is on the Sixer’s list of 30 players for BS.
This is very bad.
Also completely unsurprising. Vivek is all that matters and the organization will never function normally while he’s here.
Anyone watch that McNair presser? What a waste of 15 minutes. All I heard is this roster is great, we will get to the playoffs with gentry, and Rico Hines will get a bigger role. I’m not impressed.
Seriously? Does this guy ever get tired of looking like an asshole? He literally said the same thing 17 games ago about the coach he (justifiably) fired.
The chance of getting into the playoff with Gentry is of course bigger than Walton..
I only know we are not going far…with the performance of certain players…..(Mainly Fox, Mitchell)
Still look forwards to the adjustment made by Gentry…if he plans to push the pace, then good……and why not give some minutes to Ramsey. He is agressive to attack the basket.
All running rotation:
PG: Fox, Mitchell
SG: Tyrese, Ramsey
SF: Harkless, Hield
PF: Barnes, Metu
C: Holmes, Jones (Jones run the floor better than Len)
I fear this is true but I just cant understand how at best a 10% percent chance of the playoffs is a wiser more sustainable building block than any number of trades and likely tanking. Monte doesn’t offer any public insight so this has less to do with his comments. But knowing ownership and the top down structure I expect that this is their sentiment which is beyond me.
I hope that some are trying to get crafty with the variables. This timing of the fire maybe give some leeway in when that has to be fully decided around the trade deadline, but still. This team has an unreliable foundation. Any one-off peaks or avoiding decisions and crossing fingers wont change that.
It’s just kind of weird and dumb. Isn’t McNair a numbers guy? Shouldn’t his statistical modeling show that this group, as currently constructed, is maybe a play in team? Aim for long term success and stop spinning wheels.
This is like a lot of Kings mistakes, inevitable. But I fear actual marginal improvement under Gentry, that leads to an 11th seed a miss of the play in and in proper lottery luck. Marginal gains on either front in actually being the 10th seed or 12th would be the same difference. The Kings have to sort themselves out plain and simple.
Obviously roots of problems are Vivek, but thats a factor I would be scared to change considering relocation. The hope has to be that he matures out of being omnipresent. But I think Monte has to likely overhaul the roster and create a new challenge for a new coach and team. This team is filled with trades and its ability to leverage the remaining years of Barnes, Hield even Fox on the court a foolhardy vision. A reroute to those players returns, Haliburton and Mitchell and your coming lottery first should (should have been) the goal.
I see little reason to play out this experiment when you have limited time in maximizing assets, little playoff odds and enough young players only 2 years in longterm. Give up on any semblance of a short sided playoff goal. Its almost always a bad choice. I have been on both sites arguing against it for a decade. It was dumb in the Rudy Gay deal, the Rondo, Bellinelli deal, the Randolph George Hill deal. It’s sacrificing everything for mediocrity that doesn’t even achieve its goal.
With that in mind I hope this triggers movement beyond the bench
Badge Legend