Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair has a green light to do "whatever is necessary", according to a new report from The Athletic's Sam Amick. From Amick:
Five months later, with the Kings (16-23) barely hanging onto the 10th spot in this watered-down West, they’re still highly motivated to make the kind of significant move(s) that would both bolster their postseason chances in the present while giving them a runway for sustained success in the future. More specifically, sources say Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has continued to make it clear to McNair that he has the green light to do whatever is necessary to meet those goals.
That green light, Amick says, means that De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are not off the table in trade talks, although the team would prefer to build around them.
Amick also notes that the Kings remain interested in Ben Simmons. Amick had previously reported that the Kings seemed like an unlikely destination for Simmons, but notes that this year's disappointing start may open the Kings up to possibilities they weren't willing to discuss before.
None of this suggests that any specific deals are imminent, but this gives us necessary insight into the landscape behind the scenes. The Kings, for better or for worse, are still operating with their eyes on the postseason. Vivek is giving Monte the authority to improve the team however he can. Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, between now and the deadline falls on Monte McNair's shoulders.
We know the goal, we know the parameters. Time to see what Monte can pull off.
This is the least shocking news of the year.
You mean the Kings are actually trying to find a great player in a trade?
You mean Vivek is actually getting desperate?
Really?
I’m stunned.
Thought for sure the Kings were perfectly content.
Vivek always has the green light too…
Time to move ..
Ha. Exactly.
What. Bunch of bullshit. Nothing has changed. Vivek is still dictating terms. Green light to do what Vivek thinks. Vivek’s goals.
This post season goal is complete shit. Green light would be allowing McNair to completely rebuild
Even contemplating trading Hali is idiotic.
Vivek-you are a meddling stupid piece of shit. Just give up control. Do a Dolan.
Mediocre players to trade return mediocre players or draft picks.
Still mediocre and Kangz rarely draft intelligently.
Sounds easy
I love D-lo and KC, but man they talk in circles on this stuff too:
“This team is soft. Needs MAJOR changes.”
Okay, so like trade Fox and something for a star?
“No. I wouldn’t trade Fox. Or Hali. You need three stars.”
So, how do you get that third star then?
“Offer them anything else they want.”
Oh, okay. So some team is going to give us Siakam or Sabonis for a big pile of crap? Sounds great, why didn’t Monty think of that!
Monte just didn’t have the green light before.
But now we can read from the article that Vivek will allow him to do some work.
Vivek—“here you go Monte. Spend this $100 on anything in the store you want…..as long as it’s only from isle one, in the frozen section, and yogurt.
Go crazy. You can do whatever you want”
The challenge, for me, is that it seems people are looking for THE MOVE that’s going to turn this team into a sustainable winner. When, in reality, it’s going to be a move that leads to/enables another move which acquires assets that are then flipped for another move, etc. It’s almost certainly going to be AT LEAST a multi-move, multi-month process before we can start reasonably expecting sustainable success. And is starts with a first step. So let’s go ahead and make that step. Honestly, I don’t even care what direction that step is in. As long as it’s a step in some direction that could reasonably be considered part of a viable bigger plan.
Excellent comment, sir.
Yes. The issue is that you can’t rebuild while also trying to win now. It’s ridiculous.
Actually, I think you can. Primarily by taking on bloated contracts + picks/prospects for good but overpaid players . But even that takes a level of bold commitment that we haven’t seen from the Kings.
Same shit they’ve been saying since start of year essentially.
Yes Vivek, you definitely should keep trying to thread an impossible, illogical needle.
OK, good. So, now we know who to blame when the trade deadline passes and the roster is pretty much the same.
Yup. It’s how Monte works. Always waiting for a player’s trade value to be higher, which never happens.
I always thought Monte’s MO was making move, move gets leaked, move gets killed, Kangz end up Kangzing (see blown up Bogi and Buddy deals)
Yup!!
Amsterdam may have the Red Light under control, but now Monte and Sacramento control the Green Light!
Also, you fool me once …
For a phony gummy bear dancing championship banner, I think you finally got this one right Tony.
There. Fixed it.
And now in completely unrelated and purely coincidental breaking news:
Kings trade for a player who just happens to be Vivek’s favorite player and someone he had hoped the Kings would have drafted previously.
Another “Steph Curry” like Buddy ????
Stauskas?
Haha, this GIF never gets old.
Exactly! Vivek’s ego is soooo big he thinks he’s tricking fans (unfortunately he is w some) into believing he’s giving up control to McNair.
I hate that guy as an owner.
Um, you have to set something before you can reset it!
5 more weeks.
Something is going to happen, small or big, it’s only a matter of time.
Pick a fucking lane Vivek!
Vivek like
Another couple years of missing the playoffs, and Kings fans will start wishing that guard rail didn’t being with a ramp up from the ground.
Another couple years?
I don’t know how you do the cross out words thing? If I did I’d fix
-“Pick a fucking lane Vivek”
to
-“Fuck Vivek”
The disturbing part is that there is a report that the frickin GM of the team NOW has the green light to make moves. He’s the GM. He should have the green light ALL THE TIME!!
Narrator: But, as these things go, he never did have that green light.
Seems so basic, right?
WHO THE HELL IS RUNNING THIS FRANCHISE
Nice Matina, though.
But is that stock or a sleeper?
It’s funky, and it’s cold.
Wonder if Tone Loc approves.
I know C-Bear does
Vitina is your leader now and sadly forever ! Green light means Monte can now move some deck chairs until his inexperienced replacement is hired !
Lines like these in the article concern me: “they’re still highly motivated to make the kind of significant move(s) that would both bolster their postseason chances in the present while giving them a runway for sustained success in the future.”
OK, who is “they”? Is Vivek saying, “do whatever you need to do Monte. As long as it bolsters our postseason (ie. does “postseason” mean play-in to the Kings?) chances”. Or is Vivek saying, “do what you think is best for the long-term success of the team” which could mean a huge overhaul?
Monte calls Sam and says “I’m in control.”
((((eyes roll)))
Next.
This
As of today, the narrative is that Monte has been sitting on his hands for the last 18 months. This headline only supports that. If Monte is feeding info to Sam, isn’t it better for Monte to call Sam and say, “you know…typical Vivek. I cant get anything done…”?
Calling out your employer’s incompetence probably isn’t his plan. The leak suggests he’s in control and knows what he’s doing. This is all pretty standard stuff and shouldn’t be a surprise to Kings fans anymore. To me it’s actually disrespectful, thinking once again fans are small-market and don’t know how things work, and can get distracted by OH LOOK SHINY.
We see you Vivek. Go tell Sam I’m not meddling.
He literally leaked that the owner is letting me do my job. Does a healthy organization have to do that? Or do they just do their job?
Yeah sure
So is monte going to continue sitting on his ass?
Does Monte have a green light to sit on his ass?
Is Vivek an ass with a green light?
Actually Vivek is an ass with a green GM as per usual !
Vivek checking TKH for yet another self-brilliant leak job
Only if his hands are between it and the chair.
I just honestly had to laugh when I read this. I really did. I mean, holy mixed muddled messaging Batman!
If I’m being honest, I thought the Westbrook (along with DeRozan and Lillard) interviewing to be the Lakers 3rd star was more revealing than anything else in the column.
But holy shit, the Kings can’t pick a direction. Hoo buddy! What a shock that is! They’re willing to trade existing talent, but not draft picks? Gee I wonder why. They’re willing to trade De’Aaron Fox because he’s expensive and a quality trade chip, but they aren’t willing to move on from Buddy by trying to get an expiring contract.
And they wonder why they aren’t ever successful.
This has been my issue for a while. The constant half-assing of any strategy. You want to blow it up for future assets and cap space? DO IT. You want to try to win now? DO IT. You want to take a big swing on a high risk asset (like Simmons, Wood, etc.)? FINE. BUT fucking do SOMETHING that has SOME chance, no matter how slight, of rocking the Kings out of the 12th seed/mid-to-late-lottery morass. I’ve said many times, I’d rather see the Kings be bold and proactive and ultimately fail spectacularly, than see them maintain the status quo. Honestly, it isn’t the losing that drives me crazy. It’s the fact that they’ve trotted out the same 30-win core for the past three+ seasons with zero changes outside of folding in their late-lottery picks.
I understood the middle game when you were coming in and your hands were tied to a small degree BHE.
But you can’t continue to dictate roster moves and expect that threading the needle is going to work every time. Threading a needle often takes 3,4, 5 times to get the thread onto the needle. Just ask anyone who actually has ever sowed anything!
I think that’s really the crux of the matter. You can bring in any management group, coaching staff, or set of players, but with this ownership group dictating so much of the direction even to what personnel moves you can make and can’t make, it’s really hard to pick a path forward. Outright impossible in actuality.
I know it sounds crazy, but I do think McNair has succeeded in raising the value of assets on the roster overall. Barnes and Hield have more value than Sept 2020, but that’s mostly time I suspect. Barnes’ play has helped raised his stock a smidgen, but not that much. Mostly so that other teams consider him useful in a short term context at this point. Buddy can still shoot, and score. The problem is he’s not effective in Sacramento doing it.
My preferred direction would be to build around Fox and Haliburton, preferably Mitchell, and talk on everyone else (you can in 10 days) and everything else (draft picks). My biggest bone to pick with Vlade Divac was that he never was able to find a 2 man game partner with De’Aaron Fox, and I think that’s the single biggest issue holding this offense back. Tyrese is so adaptable it really doesn’t matter who you pair him with. He’ll be able to work with anyone really. For me that trade is Sabonis for Barnes, Holmes and 2 unprotected firsts in ’22 and ’24. I know that scares people, but it doesn’t get much bolder than that does it? While I think that’s a bit of an overpay, the Kings have to do something. I do believe that if McNair has succeeded in anything in his 18 months here, it’s finding value on the margins. That’s something Vlade Divac NEVER did. And that’s where even if you deal 2 starters (or more like 1 1/2 with all of the unfortunate injuries Richaun has had this year), you still have the best player deal in the aggregate by a lot. Sabonis is adaptable, you can pair Metu, Jones, or hell Queta next to him potentially. (That’s just the guys on the roster right now.) And sure Domantas Sabonis is good, but he sure as hell ain’t leading the Pacers anywhere right now.
There are options. And I think the ability to pair Sabonis and Fox together is what ultimately really unlocks this offense a lot. If it doesn’t, you can always trade both0 guys for a lot and start over. There are options.
But that requires you to grow a pair and deal picks. I don’t think this ownership has the stones. And I’d love to say it’s only Vivek Ranadive that’s the problem in the ownership group, but it’s not.
At some point, though, as you said, pick a fucking direction already. This isn’t goddamned twister. Nobody wants to watch their favorite NBA team twist themselves into a pretzel for fuck’s sake. Especially when you’re seeing the same story over and over for the better part of a decade at that.
And while this:
May not be my #1 choice and giving up 2 1sts is terrifying, I would absolutely get onboard because it’s at least a bold attempt. I would probably see if I could get Brissett thrown in to add a little depth to that SF position. Then, as a follow-up move, I’d try to overpay a bit to pry Claxton away from the Nets as an RFA because his defensive prowess and versatility could work really well next to Sabonis. Then I think, you’re working with a base of Fox, Haliburton, Brisset, Sabonis, Claxton and spending the rest of your offseason looking to for a 3-and-D wing to try to upgrade Brisset if you can and a stretch Big to put in the rotation with Claxton and Sabonis.
This got me thinking, when was the last time the Sacramento Kings went all in on a big trade in order to land the biggest star in the deal? Think swinging for the fences for an all-star level player while trading away desirable pieces to do it. Off of the top of my head, I can only think of a few times.
1) Most recently Harrison Barnes, but the players the Kings gave up were NOT assets and it was more of a salary dump by Dallas. Verdict: Doesn’t count
2) Rudy Gay? Back in one of the “can he play SF” years the Kings traded away a bunch of scrub/roll players for Rudy and filler. Again this was more of Toronto wanting Rudy out of town. Verdict: Doesn’t count
3) Ron Artest? The Kings gave up a declining Peja for a hot head in Indy. Kings likely got a cheap deal on this because Ron was so despised in Indy. Verdict: close
4) Bibby? Bibby for JWill is a wash, IMO.
5) Webber? Kings gave up two starters in Richmond and Thorpe for Webber. Kings get the young future all-star for a declining legend and Thorpe. Verdict? Yes, this is the closest.
6) Richmond? Kings traded away a #3 pick and disgruntled holdout in Owens for a future star in Richmond. At the time, this couldn’t be called for a “swing for the fences” kind of move. The Kings hands were forced and Owens’ value was on par with Richmond’s. Verdict: Very close, but hindsight is 20/20
Now the question remains, when have the Kings traded away FUTURE assets to improve the team? In as far as I can recall, the Kings have never attached a pick(s) to legit NBA players in order to acquire an all-star level player. That says something.
When you look at the NBA contenders of today, or for the past decade for that matter, one thing is consistent, they have traded away future assets to acquire immediate talent. Most recently the Suns did it, Lakers did it, Bucks did it, Nets did it, Bulls did it, Clippers did it and Denver has done it.
My point in all this, is if the Kings are firm on keeping Fox and Hali, I’m cool with it, but if they want to improve the team, the other players on the roster are not going to cut it in trade. Attaching picks to players like Buddy, Barnes, Holmes, etc, may be what is needed to make a major upgrade in talent. Keep in mind, I believe it is something the Kings have never attempted, but Monte comes from culture in Houston that did it all the time.
I’m with you. I’m totally open to trading picks. I also think, if you really, want to, you can backfill with picks in the later 1st early 2nd that, if used well, can ensure you still have a flow of young, cheap guys coming in.
I guess you could say the Kings used future picks to open up cap space in hopes of landing a star in the Philly deal. But it doesn’t really fit your parameters.
Yeah, that Vlade trade was not for an All-Star level player and he was rightfully panned and ridiculed to thinking that opening up cap space could land a free agent All-Star. Even then, that wasn’t a free and clear pick and it tied up the possibility of trading any other pick for near half a decade.
Vlade never belonged in that chair in the first place. And it showed from day one.
BHE, you just don’t understand. THIS is the team taking us to the playoffs /s
But the potential….
Buddy is statistically a great shooter. Forget that statistically this team sucks ass.
Fox has the potential to be an all star. Give him a max deal. Cannot lose a potential all star.
Stuck on potential instead of reality.
Buddy from 3pt in a nutshell:
2-10 in a loss
3-11 in a loss
7-9 in a win
which all equals out to a “great” 40% shooter with a 33% winning percentage to go along with it. Yuck.
Sometimes the shots go in, sometimes they don’t. I’ve never seen such a basic truth spun so that one player’s performance solely dictates his team’s win percentage.
If you were talking about a game of HORSE, then my comments aren’t applicable.
I think the difference is that with Buddy, he’ll continue taking shot after shot regardless if any of them go in. Any other player would stop shooting 3s once they go 0-5 (or at least be more selective), Buddy doesn’t. It’s fine sometimes, but it usually ends up with him shooting the Kings out of the game.
Exactly.
THIS is the reason I liked coach yogurt. He held players accountable not this “players coach” garbage. You show up to win not to be sweet talked by your coach. Bunch of soft losers on this team.
It’s not so much tying his performance to winning percentage. It’s more that his “great” shooting isn’t all that great.
I like De’Aaron Fox. I think that he could be one of a big three on a good team. And I am not yet sold that anyone else on the current roster is a foundational piece, even though Tyrese Haliburton is my favorite player. But I don’t think that any of this matters, primarily because…
The meter is running in high gear on Fox now. Much in the same way that time ran out on the Cousins era, so is it running out on the Fox era. The two options seem to be make this team good right now or deal Fox. I don’t see Fox happily staying in Sac. on a losing team. And make no mistake, the NBA is a player’s league.
To be clear, the current state of the team is no more Fox’s fault than it was Cousins’, or Kevin Martin’s, or Mitch Richmond’s. The issue is gross mismanagement of assets over the years. Imagine the team had the Kings selected Donovan Mitchell or Abedayo with their #10 pick in 2017 (or Anunoboy and John Collins with the #15 and #20 that they got for the #10. Imagine almost anyone else with the 2018 pick. Imagine actually getting assets in return for Bogdan Bogdanovic. All of this is the result of a poorly run organization, one that chose to retain its piece of shit head coach this season instead of setting course, which they could have done early this last summer. Fox is neither cause nor cure, but he is a fine NBA basketball player, the best on the current Sacramento Kings roster.
Trading Fox comes with ample risk, but I don’t see another way for this team at this point in time. A Hali/Davi backcourt would be both exciting and exasperating, but if trading Fox brought in an Ingram or Simmons or Jaylen Brown or Sabonis or Siakam (all of whom may very well be unavailable, and all of whom will have their own meters running when it comes to the success of this team), I think that you have to make the deal.
I’ve noted this before, but the crime is that Ranadive did not take advantage of the four years of automatic fan goodwill that he was granted back in 2013 by blowing the team up at that time. The old ARCO and new G1C would have been largely filled for that four year period, regardless of w-l record, and a substantial rebuild could have been undertaken at that time. What we have witnessed instead is a repeating program of trying to shove the shit back into the horse.
I’m wrong at least 50% of the time, so if there is a way to get a player onto this roster that is better than Fox without trading Fox, deal me in. But if that was possible, one wonders why it has not already happened.
The NBA wanted to curb tanking with the creation of the play-in. I think that they landed at least one rube from Sacramento. And that rube will have the largest percentage of ownership of the all-time record for playoff futility.
That’s gold.
We have the answer now:
Every move with the potential to meaningfully move the needle comes with ample risk. I know this is desperate, but IMO, the absolute worst case scenario is maintaining the current status quo. Yes, I would consider that worse than trading Fox for return that totally flops in Sacramento and leads to a couple 12 win seasons.
I am of the opposite mind. If our GM were as bad as Vlade making picks, I’d agree with you, but I think Monte has done a decent job with his selections and I would rather see who they hire as a new coach and who gets drafted before I’d be willing to trade Fox, that’s just me though. I never had high expectations while Walton was here so this year seems to have gone just about as good as it could’ve.
I think that you’re probably right, but the possibility exists where deals might be made to gather high draft choices, rather than high-level talent. It could facilitate a teardown to one degree or another, and allow the Kings to replace contracts, which are rigid, with draft capital that brings great flexibility.
Also, Amick’s wording to the effect that Vivek has continued to make cl,ear to McNair that he has a green light, suggests facts not in evidence. I’ve not had any information since McNair was hired that he was free to do as he sees best. If the restraints are now actually off, there’s a chance that things could get interesting.
Assuming that there’s a candidate out there that McNair feels strongly about, is it possible that McNair might be permitted to hire a new head coach before any potentially large deals? If a big shakeup is going to happen, it stands to reason that an incoming coach might want to have some input, or at least have a better idea of who and what he’d be working with.
Don’t read too much into it. When they rolled out Shaq as partial owner, did they need his money, or did they need the flashbulbs and temporary excitement?
Same owner.
I’m not trying to read too much into it. I’m trying to read anything into it.
Why has he had to continually make it clear to McNair that he has a green light? What a bunch of weirdos.
McNair is being thrown under the bus. If things don’t work out and he’s fired, ownership can say we gave him everything he needed.
I loved The Fall Guy.
I even had a Heather Thomas poster!
Ha. I did too. Poster that is.
The Fall Guy – such a great name for a show about a stuntman.
Don’t disagree, but it seems like there’s been this bizarre insecurity from the outset, starting with the Dumars drama.