With the 4th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings have selected forward Keegan Murray out of Iowa!
Murray’s selection makes a ton of sense for a team with Sacramento’s needs. He was one of the best and most complete players in college basketball last season, as the breakout sophomore put up 23.5 points, 8.7 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, and his two-way versatility should serve as a solution for many of the roster’s issues last season. Murray’s long-term pairing with Domantas Sabonis is particularly exciting, as any big man next to Sabonis must to be able to space the floor (Murray shot 40% from deep on 4.7 attempts per game), protect the rim on the weak side (1.9 blocks per game), and act as a defensive sweeper when opposing guards penetrate the lane. Murray doesn’t carry the defensive pedigree of a Davion Mitchell or Herb Jones or Mikal Bridges, but he should be a much more dynamic defensive contributor than Harrison Barnes.
Offensively, Murray carried a massive offensive burden at Iowa and rarely fell through for his team. He scored in double-digits in 34 of his 35 games, and his ability to score, and score efficiently, from the post, on drives, and from beyond the arc should translate to the NBA, even if he doesn’t finish his career as a 20-point scorer. With De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis as the primary offensive outlets, the Kings don’t necessarily need their third guy to be an all-time scorer, but Murray’s scoring prowess will act as an important safety valve for his more tenured teammates, especially if one is on the bench or out due to injury.
The biggest question mark facing Murray isn’t one of translation or ability, but rather it’s one of questionable star potential. Many will likely criticize the Kings for what they would consider to be a slight reach at the fourth spot, but Murray’s underrated two-way ceiling and his fit with Sacramento’s two cornerstones makes this an understandable and justifiable choice by General Manager Monte McNair. As Bryant wrote, for a team looking to win much sooner rather than later, Murray’s abilities may unlock the next level of this roster:
Murray would undoubtedly help the Kings, or any lottery team, on both ends of the court. He’d become the second best shooter in Sacramento (behind Harrison Barnes), provide further spacing for De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and add another transition threat. On defense, he’d give them a semi-switchable combo forward who can play with physicality, offer some rim protection, and attack the passing lanes. The Kings haven’t prioritized forward talent for a decade and a half, and adding one with Keegan’s combination of versatility and composure would help this team tremendously in a lot of eras they struggle in.
Welcome to Sacramento, Keegan!
The Kings still own the 37th pick in the draft, so stay tuned to The Kings Herald for more coverage.
I love it.
Cheaper than Collins. Wanted to be here. Ready to contribute on Day 1. Ain’t electric.
Could be a disaster. More likely a very safe pick.
Not to pick on ImpossibleNapear’s use of wording here, but I dislike the “safe” pick talk and the negative connotations it comes with…when did someone being so solid in their game that it somehow becomes a negative to their value while someone not playing for year has “mystery” that somehow adds to their worth as a draft pick, I just don’t get it.
Safe means safe.
Yeah, it may not have been the best post to respond to as you didn’t use in a negative way. I just meant to say that safe doesn’t mean that he can’t be a star, it just means less likely to bust.
Most likely to contribute from day 1 on both offense and defense. High floor. I sort of doubt he’ll be the best player from the class in 5 years, but I wouldn’t bet against him either.
Other than we drafted him and we’re cursed. Sorry Murray!
Monte McNair’s safe word is Keegan Murray
I’ll add:
Tyrese Halliburton
Davion Mitchell
I do see a certain type of player emerging in the choices.
creepy and sad that safe means San Antonio
I don’t get it either. Keegan Murray reminds me of a Tim Duncan style player. Fundamentally sound, well rounded game, kind of boring while doing the right thing. I’m good with Boring, if it brings a better quality of play. And now I’m not saying that Keegan Murray will have the same career or be near as good as Tim Duncan, but I’ll take 75% of Tim Duncan all day
Did you say electric or eclectic?
I really like the pick too. Murray was my very first draft crush this year. I was rooting to somehow thread the needle of getting Murray and scoring an additional asset. Oh well. Welcome to Sac!
Solid. No fears with him, but hopefully he has some greatness in him.
I think he’ll at least be good & he could potentially be great.
Want to feel better about not drafting Ivey. Read this scorchingly bad review of his game from a guy who watched every shot last season https://www.detroitbadboys.com/2022/5/17/23068617/nba-draft-detroit-pistons-jaden-ivey-what-i-learned-from-watching-every-shot-assist-turnover-steal
I read that before the draft. It reflects my concerns about Ivey (though I’m not as pessimistic about him as that writer).
Ivey was my third favorite prospect after Banchero and then Jabari and ahead of Murray. I’ve been wrong before though!
I thought Ivey was the 5th best prospect, but I thought he was a tier below Murray.
Meh.
Yes!
Yeah boy!
Kings got better
I thought Smith is going to fall to #4 when Paolo is taken at #1
I hoped that’d happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen. However, it came closer to happening than I expected. At any rate, I think Murray was the BPA.
Agreed Richie. There is just a ton to like about Murray, and he is a size and position of genuine importance in todays game.
Haters take it somewhere else. You know you’re gonna be cheering for him 😂😂😂
This is gospel.
No it’s not! People have a right to be pissed. You cannot possibly tell me your happy with this teams decisions over the last 16 years right? I wish the guy well but I already know this will be an over paid role player for us in 6 years.
You do not know that . You think you know that .
The Kings have made a lot of bad to awful decisions, but I don’t think this is 1 of them. At the very least, Murray should be a solid starter & I think he could potentially be a star. He seemed like the BPA to me.
I like your basketball takes a good portion of the time, but that’s a really disgusting comment man.
Why?…too soon?
Or perhaps too early?
This guy gets it.
The very notion of such a thing is disgusting, but incel vibes are incel vibes.
As someone that teaches 3rd and 4th graders, go fuck yourself
Your worst takes are the worst takes on this board. Shame on you.
The wing is THE most important position in the current NBA.
He reminds me of Siakim. But I think he will be better than him on defense.
I’m not sure Murray is a wing, although that assessment applies more to defense than offense. He’ll figure it out.
Agreed.
he’s a large wing, and can probably effectively cover some of your larger SFs
He is much better on defense than he is given credit for.
SportsJunkies’ excellent summary and models, but more importantly his analytical notes re what the data was telling him about Keegan’s defense and ability to block shots, among other notes, is worth a second review after the draft dust settles.
I agree with you. I don’t know how much opportunity he had to deal with really athletic wings, since (I think) he spent a lot of time banging with centers and power forwards.
Anyway, he’s a rookie, and will get burnt from time to time. I’m certain that he’s capable of learning and improving, but he might not be a great match-up on hyper-athletic wings. Then again, few are.
I’d say he’s a forward. I think he’ll be able to guard most PF’s & some SF’s & small ball C’s.
It’s the player i wanted, but the inability to extract another asset and still get him makes me question the deftness of the front office.
Murray wouldnt fall past 5. And Detroit had no reason to make a trade with us
This.
You and your, simple, logical, and obvious explanations.
my thoughts as well. Much better fit than Ivey. But I thought Monte could extract something from Detroit but thy must have know that this was a smokescreen and a trade to Pacers was off the table since Pacers would have taken Murray at 4.
It was like a game of chicken with Monte and Detroit, and Detroit called his bluff. Would Monte take the guy he didn’t want, who was the worse fit? He didn’t, to his credit, would have been a pernicious move.
I favored Ivey, but am glad both players ended up with the teams they hoped for.
Makes a Collins trade less likely, me thinks
probably takes it off the table. King really liked Murray, who was redundant with Collins and Hawks wanted too much- like Davion or a 2023 pick
with that said, I’d much rather have traded Barnes and Mitchell to end up with Ivey and Collins!!
Looking to getting another ROY (fingers crossed) and a better future than our last one (fingers crossed really hard)
The guy I wanted, so I’m happy. I don’t really consider it much of a reach either, considering he’d be gone by 5 or 6.
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
As much as I like Keegans game I have fears based on the precedence of this franchise drafting older rookies and factoring fit more than most teams in the draft. I think the Kings mediocrity has been mostly based being a bit short sided. I like Keegans game and I think its not egregious. He has a lot of things I personally value. But the age and upside makes me worried and the kings leash to take risks in those areas is short.
That said welcome Keegan!
Man. He’s 22! He’s a kid everywhere but in the NBA. I think getting guys who have been coached, grown, learned to play. I love this pick. Age. Sheesh.
he’s only 21…at least for another 2mos
He’s been getting better so rapidly, that I don’t think he’s already reached his ceiling.
Mediocrity?? The kings haven’t been even mediocre in 15 years. The draft busts have a lot to do with that, and I would be surprised if Keenan turns into a bust.
Some of the lottery picks will be busts . There always are a few .
Thanks?
At the ancient age of twenty-two, I peaked. I never learned anything new, and never got better at anything.
A typical experience, if the comments are any guide.
By most metrics and statistical models a basketball player is closer to the player they will be at 22 then they are at 18. He is likely on precedent closer to the player he will ultimately be the majority of his career. Dramatic growth post 25 is rare statistically which he is three years away from. Thats of course not set in stone, and the improvements made in that time could be enough, but the examples are smaller in relation to a growth curve for an older rookie then a younger one.
Granted if his production and impact can translate in a jump in competition then this isn’t really an issue. I will preface I really do like Murrays game and even more his ethos, but my main issue with the Kings is process and outcome in relation to their decisions which overrules me aesthetically enjoying a guys game. This isnt as clear black and white as past blunders made with similar rationale but still has overlaps that make me raise concerns.
Murray’s only 1 year older than Ivey, so it isn’t a major difference. I’d say Ivey needs to improve a lot more than Murray, so I think Murray will likely be a better player than Ivey.
Its not easy to get the 4th pick, especially since the Kings are usually just terrible enough to not be dead last. With the fourth pick in a 4-6 player draft lottery, you don’t aim for adjectives like “safe/solid/good … fits a need” — you always take best talent with highest ceiling, which a majority of experts agreed was Ivey.
The Kings have shown a pattern of drafting for fit, which neatly fits their timeline pattern for losing — and being the most mocked and player-despised team in the NBA. If the Kings ignored Ivey b/c he didn’t want to come to Sacto, they should put on big-boy pants, grow thicker skin, or maybe just ignore prob 95 percent of NBA players … because nobody wants to be there. But winning cures all.
I bet Ivey would’ve fallen in love w/the Kings had he been given a chance to be our tough/go-to scorer that we so desperately need down the stretch of games, someone who cannot be stopped (plus he’s an underrated passer) … instead, weirdly, we continue to treat Fox as if he’s a franchise player that the entire Kings universe must revolve around. He’s just not. I gave him plenty of chances. Still his only elite attribute is speed, and that is fading fast like a cheap rose. Ideally, Fox is a slashing/scoring six man like Ben Gordon or someone who comes in for bursts of scoring. NAH the PG who makes others better and brings joy to all who watch. That was Tyrese Halliburton, we had a great one that slipped through our fingers bc …. of Fox.
Keegan is a nice role player, seems to have decent bball IQ, but at 22 is not likely to suddenly take another big leap into star potential at NBA . I hope he proves me wrong, and of course, Ill root for him — But its going to be so painful to possibly watch Ivey — who has the freakish athleticism to be dominant in this league — become the next exciting player to watch, like Jah — and to know gee, Monty, we could’ve breathed some life back into the purple corpse of the Kangz, if only … If only we learned from our mistakes.
Murray may (technically) be the better rounded player right now, but Ivey is dangerous and he’s coming …Plus after the legendary Doncic foulup … if Ivey does become a star, Ranadive should be gagged and bound during all basketball decisions, I don’t need to know his latest silly heart throb .. and the Kings really should consider drafting by online poll w/Kings fans. Would likely work out much better.
Must be a heavy burden always being right! I’m curious if Ivey flames out or is average will you come here and admit that you are not always right?
Certainly applies to me!
You know sims – I’ve only met you twice at SacTown Royalty nights at ARCO but I have always wondered about that.
Should only be good for 12 years . Big concern .
Damn.
Just realizing our playoff drought is longer than many players’ entire careers.
This makes me want to research how many players are left in the NBA that were playing when the Kings last made the playoffs in 05-06.
Carmelo Anthony, Udonis Haslem, LeBron James, Trevor Ariza,Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala, Joe Johnson, Chris Paul, and Lou Williams.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo entered the following year
I agree with this. Most people are going to mock the age thing and compare it regular aspects of life. Fact is most elite NBA players over the last 15 years have the ability to opt to enter the draft at 19-20 because they display elite talent and will be picked in the lottery. Doesnt always pan out but it’s true more often than Murray’s path.
I’ve posted it before but if you look at players 21 or older at draft time in the lottery, the results aren’t good over the last decade. Not all busts, but not a ton of franchise altering talent. Being 22 itself when drafted isn’t terrible…if it didn’t mean you were playing against many 18-20 year olds who you developmentally are superior too. That matters.
I don’t hate the pick. I wasn’t enamored with Ivey or Sharpe by the end here…so it’s fine. But history over last 10-12 years would suggest Murray is likely nothing more than a Solid starter at best…which feels disappointing when drafting 4th. Drafting 8-12 is a different story.
Im rooting for Keegan and there is some stuff to like. Go Kings.
Better said than I Wizs. I dont mean to be a buzzkill, especially for a player I do aesthetically enjoy to watch and find really engaging. But the opportunity costs, precedence and frustrations I have had with the franchise in approaching a fair amount of decisions with similar rationale, is what it is.
I really agree with the hesitations on the alternatives which is important to weigh. But the growth plate as you state is smaller with less assurance for an older rookie then the other options. We dont have to look that far in our own draft history (with picks largely justified on win now and fit aspirations) to see case and point.
Its there that is the crux personally. I have harped process to outcome questions on the teams FO for a decade on this blog. Failing and succeeding will happen, but neither are necessarily proof of concept. Its how and with what rationale we make decisions that is informative and in our case inconsistent or not what I would prioritize.
Murray in a vacuum is really intriguing, maybe even for the Kings having forced a timeline in a way I wouldnt have. If another team picked him I would have gone out of may way to watch him play. But thats a different factor based on the opportunity costs and when pertaining to us.
I think the age thing is real for athletes. but I don’t think 1 year necessarily makes a difference for Murray & Ivey since I think that Ivey needs to improve a lot more than Murray.
Why did Monte not trade up for Jabari!?
I thought the same thing.
but the asking price maybe just too high
absolutely no way that Houston would do that. They were happy with Smith
I suppose if I told you that Houston didn’t want to trade, you’d accuse me of spinning a conspiracy theory.
But that’s what happened.
What could the Kings offer that HOU would have wanted more than Jabari?
Unprotected first in 2023
Which would’ve been dumb.
IOW, The most valuable unrealized assett in the whole damn league.
Not selecting Ivey could set the Kangz back another 5 years
or “selecting Ivey could set the Kings back another 5 years”…you don’t know.
Keegan is no bust. I’d be surprised if Ivey is a franchise changing talent. You might consider that you’re probably overreacting.
And you might also consider that nearly every NBA expert disagrees with you and thinks that Ivey might be one of the only talents in this draft that could blossom into an all-star, franchise changer …. Keegan is def. not on that list. Ivey is a maybe.
Keegan’s not bad if the Kings were drafting between 7-10 — but bottom line is Keegan had one surprisingly good, big step-up season during a weak Big 10 year. And he’s 22.
You don’t blow the #4 on a safe, potential Barnes in the making. Just my opinion. No, I think the Kings were scared of drafting a malcontent. And yes, I’m still mad that they didn’t do everything they could to keep Haliburton and get rid of Fox (a coming attraction for someone’s 6 man bench scorer).
Halburton and Ivey are going to be on highlight reels, putting butts in seats, for years to come … Keegan and Foxy, not so much, I’m afraid. But let’s hope I’m wrong and Keegan is surprise at this level.
Just no
You know that how ! Ivy may be the next Killian Hayes that Pistons drafted at 5 two seasons ago to be a star point . Now bust .
In what I consider to be sort of a meh draft, I think this was the right choice. Very happy with the selection!
You can pretty much mark it down that Ivey will be MVP in a year or two, now — nice job, Kings. Way to learn from your own idiocy. You just picked a younger, pale shadow of Harrison Barnes, who you’re currently trying to trade away. Bagley was a great fit too, compared to Doncic. Keep going for the fit around Fox (a terrible PG) and ignoring the good players bc of the owner who wanted one player to stand on a stepladder beneath the basket the whole game… We are officially the laughing stock of pro sports. Don’t stop until the most remote indigenous villages around the globe know that Sacramento equals basketball hell.
Lol…seems a bit of an over-reaction. I hope you intend to stay around a bit.
“You can pretty much mark it down that Ivey will be MVP in a year or two”
I’ll bet any amount of money you want that this doesn’t happen. I’ll even spot you 2 more years.
Id prefer you spot me a real NBA team run by humans w/functioning brains.
I feel like I need to say this too often, but being the fan of a team is strictly voluntary.
You would think so, but after an untold number of wasted years rooting for the worst team in sports (and blowing far too much $), it becomes involuntary to a degree, sadly.
And after listening to fans whine and argue incessantly about missing Doncic 24-7 for years now, I don’t feel the slightest bit bad about bemoaning a “safe,” low-ceiling pick by a team that has needed a star for about 16 years now … and just passed on a guy being called a cross between Morant and Dwayne Wade.
Will Ivey by MVP candidate in two years, like Doncic? Probably not. That’s what they call hyperbole. It def. shouldn’t be a foreign word for Kings fans by now. And I hope I’m wrong about the Keegan, the dude who got jacked by the perennially unranked Richmond Spiders in first round of tournament.
Now let’s figure out who else we can get to compliment Tyreke Evans. Another overhyped PG that it took the Kings a few years too many to figure out was leading them nowhere.
If you want to bankroll wagers, might I suggest the Virginia Beach Kings?
21/9/2/1/1 on .611 TS% vs Richmond.
Meanwhile, Ivey got knocked out by powerhouse St. Peters by putting up a 9/8/2/0/0 game with 6 TOs.
There you go again. Ruining a completely obtuse narrative by stating facts. Why are you the way that you are BHE.
Um … you want obtuse? Yes, Keegan was the team’s All-American star and yes, you quote stats well — he did somehow manage to get his (lower than?) average numbers in a huge upset loss in the first round to the unranked Spiders, who were sixth place in the A10 and terrible all season until the A10 tourney. The Spiders MVP was a 5’9 guard (24 pts) that nobody on Iowa could stop, including Keegles.
Fact stands. Keegan and his squad got jacked literally by dudes who I’ve played with in my local gym. And I’m a 50 year old ex smoker with torn rotator cuffs who can barely move on the court. Facts. And even Im not afraid of the 5th year Finnish player who was guarding Keegan … Keegan should’ve had 40 and 20 and carried them to a win. But sit back, you’ll see … between the nightly Doncic and Ivey highlights, there should be plenty more obtuse narratives for you to dissect. Enjoy.
I will bankroll GFunk’s bet.
Can I help?
Thank you, but I got this BlueJohn.
Nice to see you posting JP, hope all is well.
I thought you probably wood but I’d have no problem putting up some more money if only to make these idiots put their money where their mouths are. Later bro
I’ll spot another
Remember when they asked Bagley before his rookie year what his goal was for the season? And he said MVP. Not rookie of the year. MVP. Good times
I do. I thought the comment was vastly overblown by the fanbase. Do you find it equally absurd this years #2 pick Chet Holmgren essentially said the same thing…when he said he’d be the best player in the NBA? Not best of the rookies. Best of the NBA.
Sure, Chet can say he wants to be the best in the NBA at some point. Pretty sure he didn’t mean it would happen this year. Players should understand these timelines. For Marvin to say that was beyond showing confidence, it was delusional. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t overblown enough, as it showed some lack of connection to reality that we all eventually saw in terms of his and dad’s perception of his skillset, and what the rest of us saw.
No. When he was asked who the best person in the NBA is, he responded myself in 2 months.
I find it hard to believe that the guy that wasn’t the best player on his college team as a sophomore this year is going to be the best player in the NBA two years from now.
Hey, Jordan didn’t make his high school varsity team, and a few short years later was the best player in the world. And still reigning GOAT to many.
Then again, he had those extra gear/next level explosive talent that players like Ivey, Morant and Westbrook exhibit.
I think there’s a contractual clause that prohibits Kings from signing those top-tier athletes based on “bad fit” due to D. Fox.
I hate the “Jordan didn’t make Varsity” narrative. It’s absurd. Jordan didn’t make varsity as a 5’10” sophomore, which most don’t even tryout.
He made varsity and was clearly the best player once he was the proper age.
Wow, basketball savant in the house . Just to repeat- you do not know . All opinion and guess .
Always rite: Ivey MVP in the next 1-2 years. Probably the most curious take I’ve seen here.
Contextually, this is no Papagiannis.
Comments section:
(I fixed it – Aykis16)
can we get this taken down?
Please delete. Gifs arent working. Ugh.
This is the one, right?
17 in a row.
Yep.
Or will it be: 1 in a row?
It won’t last forever
Picking Ivey would’ve made that even more likely.
I don’t know how to put into words how this pick makes me feel. A mix of “meh”, “well maaaybe”, “hey at the least he should be a solid rotation guy”, “Why the heck not swing for the fences or make a sick trade to give me more hope damnit”, and “Of course Holmgren and Smith Jr. go right in front of us (even if we knew it would happen)”. I guess that is just all the stages of Kangz draft grief.
I don’t pretend to follow basketball close enough to be confident in my opinions, just don’t got a great feeling about Murray. Hoping to be proven wrong.
It wasn’t BPA in my opinion. It was more fit and play it safe which I don’t get for a team that needs elite talent. I would’ve taken Ivey, but we’ll see how it plays out.
ivey is not the better player, Murray has more basketball skills, especially those that translate to the NBA. That doesn’t mean that Ivey might may not become a superstar but I think he has him twice as much chance to be average. Murray Was BPA, Ivy was a chance of being a better player someday
So the question becomes: Do you swing for the fences w/a 4th pick, or play it safe? I personally feel the Kings need a dominant player w/all star upside. Not another solid role player. The pattern is all too clear if you look at all the talent the Kings just missed in recent years because of “fit.”
Then again, I think the sooner the failed D. Fox experiment ends, the sooner we can rise out of purgatory. Who, looking back, would take Fox over Donovan Mitchell? NOBODY. And here we go again, another Mitchell type player and we took a maybe he’ll be as good as Barnes one day (no offense to Harrison).
Jimmer was a swing for the fence. B-Mac was the only guy in his class with “all-star talent”. T-Rob was a “steal”. It’s a lot easier to watch an Ivey highlight reel and get excited than a Keegan one, but at the end of the day, Draft Day hype fades and we have to live with the player we selected. Keegan, in my opinion, is the selection that a smart, mature franchise would make.
I can get on B-Mac as a potential all-star talent, and maybe even T-Rob, even though many said he was undersized/underskilled. But pretty much all (but Jimmermaniacs) agreed Jimmer was not a swing for the fence and would best evolve into a role-playing shooter.
I know it’s not an advanced stat or something tangible. But I liked the guy after seeing an interview where they asked him about going from a blah freshman to what he became last year. His poise and his ownership of hey if I need to get better it’s up to me and my drive so let’s do it. Reminded me of Banes interviews.
regardless of wether or not he’s the ROY or better guys we’re on the board he seems like he
has heart and drive and lord knows the Kangz are in short supply.
Just glad it wasn’t another blue chipper from Duke waiting for the red carpet to be rolled out and expecting to have their “elite athletic ability” save them and cover a lack of focus.
Jerry Reynolds mentioned Davion Mitchell last season leading up to the draft, and this season he mentioned Keegan Murray.
JERRY, please say Victor Wembanyama next season.
JERRY, please say Victor Wembanyama next season.
We’ll be in the lottery again with a chance to move up to 1, that much we know. So it could happen.
Don’t worry Gonzo, Will has him beat on the the Wembanyama front.
Solid pick. I think this is a good selection who will help the team.
shout out to the Pels, who just drafted Dyson Daniels. He was #5 on my board.
I think thats a great situation for him, has time to develop, and really fits well with the talent already there. Daniels, Sochan, and Murray were the three guys outside of the top trio whose game I thought would really transfer well to the NBA.
I hate every part of this.
Doubt he ever threatens to be an all star.
2 of the 3 picked after him will be.
It’s like we haven’t been watching Barnes not help us win for three years.
If the goal is truly to lock down the 7 seed and get bounced…then nice job.
The power of lowered expectations got us here.
The basketball world laughs and points at us and we turn around collectively to see where they are pointing.
You issue faith where none is deserved.
Kangz.
I recognize your dope style, but I think you’re wrong when it comes to basketball.
The contest of ideas. No problem here.
You’re offering the 7 seed? I think 90%+ in here would take that all day long.
Exactly.
It’d be good as a starting point, but not an end point.
This ESPN draft telecast is horrendous.
You could have left out the word “draft” and never be wrong again.
Perkins is terrible .
Agreed. And WOJ announcing the selections before they’re made by mincing words is childish and annoying. I thought the NBA banned this a few years ago.
Would’ve been great to trade down and get an asset with Murray, but Murray is going to be great, and can go from game one.
All the people buying into limited upside are crazy. Look at his growth as a player the past two years and now put him in an ideal situation to maximize his strengths. I’m all in on this pick. He may very well turn out to be the best player in this draft. It’s going to be fun watching him cut with Sabonis, be poised for a kick out with Fox, and weak side defend. I really like Fox, Sabonis, Barnes, and Murray on the starting rotation. I’m guessing Davion as the other guard. For once we have a somewhat balanced starting 5. I wouldn’t have hated the Ivey pick, but the folks that are so pissed are either overrating Ivey, or underrating Murray. And if they were equal talents, fit absolutely should come into play.
fit doesn’t matter when you lack a star. I hope you don’t think we have an actual star on this team right? Ivey has that potential of being a star Keegan not so much.
Why? In order for Ivey to be star, he needs to get better at creating, passing, shooting, and defense. For Murray, he simply needs to learn to pull-up off the dribble consistently. Who is more likely to improve in their respective area(s)? I bet it’s Murray.
Yeah, I’ve been asking this question a lot and have yet to find an answer.
I think it’s probably the Ja Morant comparisons that lead some people to feel Ivey has star potential.
(which I don’t think are accurate, other than athleticism)
Mostly, I think it’s that athleticism still gets mistakenly conflated with upside.
I think you brought up Dennis Smith Jr. as a bust-comparison before which hits the nail on the head, although I think Ivey will be much better.
It definitely wasn’t an original by me. But if we’re brining up guys like Ja, Donovan, Edwards, etc then I think DSJ is probably just as apt. But even DSJ showed the ability to create space on three levels in a way Ivey hasn’t. The fact that Ivey has shown absolutely zero in-between/pull-up game is just odd to me.
Murray doesn’t leap off the page, but he’s still a really good athlete.
Honestly, I think there’s just a lot of highlight bias. And in a lot of cases, that’s on purpose because high flying dunks deliver more eyes to advertisers than up-and-under layups.
Ivey is nowhere near Morant. Ja scored 24 with 10 assists as a sophmore with a PER of 31. Ivey went 17 and 3 with a PER of 22.5. They both jump high and have similar hair, that’s where the comparison ends. Keegan was a 23.5 pts, 9 Reb, 2 block big shooting 40% from 3 with a PER of 37.8! Yes 37.8 PER. Dude just had an all time statistically great season playing for a major conference. Give me a break with the “doesn’t have star upside” BS.
I’m a Keegan fan and wanted the Kings to draft him over Ivey.
Sorry, The last sentence wasn’t directed at you. I was just pointing out that Ivey, while solid, was not Morant, Basically agreeing with you and you caught friendly fire.
Oh, no worries–I hear you, and meant to indicate that I agree with you. 🙂
I was a bit frustrated at hearing some people suggest that if the Kings select Keegan, then it means they are making a mistake by “overthinking things”…and that it’s clearly a 4-player draft with Ivey at 4….and that Ivey is a can’t miss talent.
Like a few others here have said…I haven’t seen any compelling arguments to back those contentions up.
I haven’t seen any either.
I have the question as well and have never been given any reasons..
Murray was “the most efficient player in college basketball”
Kings took the simple route-
DS + Murray + Barnes + Fox and ?
I like Davion off the bench.
Are we really doing this?
Luka Garza at same school had back to back 34+ PER seasons. What’s his upside?
Keegan is not him, but stop citing overall college stats as being some type of real projection for the NBA.
Also Ja played in the Missouri Valley conference…Ivey in the same “major conference” you give Keegan credit for.
Its not apples to apples…this is much more complex than we make it most often.
Murray was Big 10 MVP not Ivy .
I said nothing to the contrary…think you missed the boat.
For every Ja, there’s a dozen Killigan Hayes’, DSJs, and Kris Dunns. Also Ja averaged 25/10 and
Proof yet again that talent evaluation is not an exact science.
If 2 years from now, Murray looks like a star and Ivey is okay, it’ll be interesting to see how the public conversation goes.
Predicting the future is famously difficult.
Probably why it’s so lucrative.
I predict your statement will ring true in the future as well.
I knew someone would say this.
Aggressive, explosive one-on-one game like Ivey’s is tailor-made and translates better to the pros. Yes, right now the 22 year old Keegan is the better well-rounded player, more evenly skilled. I don’t hate the pick at 6 – 10. And Im sure Ivey will have a growth period.
But #4s are hard to come by — and we def. need a star, or legit FRANCHISE PLAYER … We need someone who can get it done in the fourth and impose their will. Kings still got NOBODY who fits that bill … Ivey has a serious chance, due to sheer athleticism and how he’s molded his game.
Also, this isn’t just fans watching highlight reels saying this: This is nearly every NBA expert, as well as many players. Everyone had him as the best talent at 4. They can see it. Nobody afraid of Keegan. But people worried about Ivey.
Man. Haliburton and Ivey would’ve been so sweet. Its a damn shame.
Keegan absolutely has star potential. He was the star on his team this past year. He can shoot, defend, cut, and make plays. He just put up a historically good college season, has size, athleticism, BBIQ, motor, drive, and no glaring weaknesses. I can see people preferring Ivey, but I’m surprised by the vociferous disappointment.
You might not be wrong on him being a star, but lots of second round picks tonight will have been stars on their D-1 teams last year. Not sure that means anything in projecting ceilings in the NBA
Name one player even close to him statistically this year. Including the three guys drafted ahead of him. Go
Well shit if we are just going off historically great college seasons, Luka Garza, Jimmer, Buddy Hiekd and Doug McDermott come on down!!!
Shit is all projection. That’s why it’s so hard. Otherwise just rocking the All American teams each year would make this a cakewalk.
Keegan may be great. I don’t know. I do know him being the star of his team this year or even one of the best players in college basketball as a 21 year old doesn’t mean that much without additional context. The extra context is what makes this crap hard.
Yep, though the additional context is pretty much all positive for Murray. All those other guys you mentioned were seniors and one-way, pretty limited players with underwhelming physical tools. Murray was a two-way sophomore stat sheet filler with prototypical length and NBA athleticism.
You’re right that being one of the best players in college basketball doesn’t mean much. But HOW he went about it does.
I agree with most of this. Why I don’t hate the pick. I get we default to easy stats and awards bc none of us make this our full time job. But we should at least be savvy enough to know it’s more complicated, which you alluded too.
I do hesitate that while it says sophomore he is 3 years removed from HS and an “old junior” at that. Most people don’t turn 22 before their 4th year of school removed from HS. He just did. It gives me real pause , but I didn’t love any other option tremendously more by the time we got to draft time.
Your point about Garza (huge numbers in same system) is my concern with Murray. Is he more system then anything else?
If that’s the case, are there 3 players taken just after him who may be stars?
Kinda think McNair knows better than I-if he is deciding. I hope so.
I think the Kings also just got better at the PnR, the bread and butter of the NBA. I am really psyched to see his cutting to the basket, as you noted, in the LVSL.
Murray was MVP of Big Ten not Ivy . You simply do not know .
I think Murray will be better than Ivey, but I doubt that he’ll be better than Jabari or Paolo.
Seems like a nice guy. I kinda wanted to draft a mean SOB. Skills seem legit for sure
He’s not an emotional guy, very even-keeled disposition.
So we drafted Tim Duncan?! 😄
I definitely remember a ton of kings fans were very disappointed when Mitchell’s name was called, me included. And I couldn’t be happier to be wrong. Let’s hope more moves take place before season starts
Like the Keegan Murray pick. The Kings can draft an athletic 2 guard prospect next year. Donovan Mitchell went #13 in 2017.
Big loser for me: cable tv (seriously). Sat down to watch the draft on my TV. ESPN wasn’t playing for some reason–technical difficulties, not, we’re really showing the draft on ABC. I was watching the NBA network starting around 4:30. They were going over the top draft prospects. Looking at the clock around 5:30, started thinking, what time does the draft start? Then I noticed in the NBA network’s crawl that the first three picks were already in. Asked Alexa to play KHTK (I’m not completely technically incompetent) just in time to hear that the Kings just picked Keegan Murray and then the “analysis” that should have picked Jaden Ivey.
Watching the draft now on ABC. Everything I know about TV broadcasting is wrong.
OKC having a great draft so far, IMO.
I hate them not picking Ivey at #2.
I mean, that would have been great for the Kings. So I think we all hate them a little for that.
I agree, I like how they are using their assets instead of constantly acquiring them. I’m a bit jealous about them getting J. Williams. Still hoping for a Dalen Terry or a similar pick in the 2nd for the Kings.
terry got picked
all the teams that have been tanking for a couple years now did great in the draft: OKC, DET, HOU
tanking- the successful kind- works- look at the duds- totally tanked one season when they could have won more and got Wisemand and then a sort of tank and got Kuminga and Moody
I don’t know. I’m not a big fan of Ivey, Duran, or Eason. Just getting Smith Jr. makes HOU’s day a good one.
Eason and Washington add nice depth. We might want to reach out to HOU and see if we can get K. Martin Jr. for cheap.
Weak ass pick, let the snoozefest continue. You pick Ivey or trade Ivey for someone good…not this, no this is how you stay mediocre. Fox and Sabonis is nothing…they’re both not that good, you have no team and you added nothing special.
I think it was the right pick. I’d say Murray was the BPA was #4.
Can we celebrate, as Kings fans, that we were even in the 4th position to have this criticism? We got lucky to be this fortunate and could be arguing about a deeper lottery pick.
Great pick! Welcome to SacTown.
Interesting.
Kings wanted Collins but Hawks backed off and with Murray, Collins would have been redundant. Detroit did not bite on a 4/5 switch. Detroit, after getting rid of Grant (too old for them and too much money) for a future pick, they had $43 M in cap space. Took on Hayward and got the 13th pick (Duren ) who they really liked and will try to get Ayton.
Cap space makes a difference.
OKC got #2, #12 and traded a bunch of picks for #11. and they have #30. That’s what cap space gives you.
But—cap space is temporary- all these guys grow up and want more money- look at the duds.
Kings are sort of stuck- not enough cap space, not enough skill to get to play offs.
Murray is a good pick- would Ivey been better? I do think that Ivey needs the ball. So does Fox. and Collins would eat up space for another 3 years.
Kings had space once and not sure how they lost it.
I think they took on Kemba’s deal, not Hayward’s.
Per the Athletic
The New York Knicks have traded Kemba Walker and Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, to the Detroit Pistons, sources told The Athletic on Thursday. New York acquired Duren from the Charlotte Hornets to make the deal.
Kangz will still be searching for a number 1 come this time next year, I think we can all agree upon that, regardless of whether one liked the Murray pick or not (I didn’t).
The teams that embraced tanking the last few years (Hou, Det, Okc) are in much better positions than us.
We’ll see what Monte does in FA/trades, but as of now, with how stacked the West is, this is not a playoff or play in team IMO
Yes, without significant FA signings/trades, the projected starting 5 and entire current roster if far from contender status.
Of course, that would have been the case no matter who they drafted.
I am fired up and looking forward To Keegan proving all those doubters wrong
I kind agree.
he seems to be a high BBIQ player.
we need more of that.
I am okay with this pick.
(though a little bit disappointed)
Great pick! Add more shooting in the 2nd rd, Hyunjung Lee and Tevin Brown!
A great pick. No chance Keegan Murray would have been there at our original projected position of 7. Seemed to be a pretty unanimous top 5 projected pick. There started to be chatter of teams moving up to grab him. If we had major holes at the guard position, our hand at drafting Ivey would have been stronger, and we may have been able to pickup some assets. But it wasn’t happening this draft. And in the end, we took the best available player for our team.
I don’t really dislike Murray. I probably would have taken Ivey but I don’t think the gap is very large. I just wonder how this team is actually improving. There needs to be a lot more moves and I don’t think they’re coming. Murray is fine and fits but fitting with the 13th best team in the west doesn’t mean a whole lot.
In addition to being a good fit, I think Murray was the BPA at #4.
I’ll be a Kings stan here. They’ll be improved with:
I think it’s likely that Holmes will be w/another team next season.
The issue isn’t whether or not they improved. I think they did. The issue is whether or not they improved enough to be better than about 5-7 other teams in the West. In that regard, I think the answer is absolutely not. They are still looking at a pick in the 7-10 range in next years draft.
Quiet Assassin. Can’t wait to see him play in Vegas
I’m seeing both sides of the coin and everyone has their convictions about this pick. As someone who should watch more college basketball before making assumptions on highlights, can anyone explain to me why this was deemed some sort of safe pick versus the upside of Jaden I’ve? I see the production in a major conference in Iowa and then Purdue and don’t get the criticism of the pick. Given the Kings draft history, I think it’s crazy anyone’s arguing over either and should be happy with both that could’ve been selected.
I like the pick. The team needs more high IQ/motor guys.
All these armchair GMs who regurgitate B/R getting up in arms is pure comedy. Ivey has a much better chance of being the next Fox than he does Morant.
And we already have a Fox. So… Yeah. I’m more than fine w this pick.
there goes Koloko. I think the Kings could have gotten him. Instead Vivek gets some pocket change and a Russian who will probably never come here.
So we sold two second round picks for cash again huh? Even when there were some very interesting players on the board at 37? Good to know.
Star-power or no, I’m really glad the Kings picked Jayson Tatum…Eeerrr…Keegan Murray!
I didn’t know the King’s Herald could support multiple 300 commenters
So much talk of a big trade and drafting Ivey and all they did was draft Murray. I hope there’s something else in the works. This is not a playoff roster.
I’m OK with Keegan, even if I don’t like the reasoning behind the choice. In an imaginary world, I would have traded down and taken Daniels. Daniels strikes me as an Iguodala kind of player, with potentially elite defensive and ball handling skills, if he just shoots decently, he’s a player that helps teams win titles.
But we’ve got Keegan, and I trust Monte’s skills when it comes to evaluating talent.
Totally dropped the ball..
Fine with this as long as it is who Monty thinks has the best chance of success in the league long-term, and it is not predicated solely on hopes for a huge team playoff jump this season.
I think people get seduced by highlights of these super athletic guards and think they’ll just learn all the nba skills when it’s not a given at all. Nobody knows anything.
Badge Legend