The Sacramento Kings season has come to a merciful end. A season in which the Kings had not one, but two 9-game losing streaks. A season in which the Kings finished with the league’s worst defensive rating, and narrowly avoided finishing with the worst defensive rating in NBA history (the worst ever was 116.8, the Kings finished the season at 116.5).
We spent most of the season waiting for a shoe to drop. We thought the Kings might shake up the roster at the deadline, either moving big names away in an effort to tank or bringing in big names in an effort to make the playoffs. Neither happened. We thought perhaps Luke Walton would be fired at some point, and although that hasn’t happened yet it has felt like a real possibility at several times this year. Yet we enter the offseason still waiting for a shoe to drop.
The Kings enter the offseason with more questions than answers, a sentence I feel I’ve written after so many Kings seasons. The Kings have De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, the back court of the future, but how will the team build around those two? Will the Kings replace Walton? Will the Kings trade any of the Marvin Bagley/Buddy Hield/Harrison Barnes trifecta? Will the Kings be able to keep Richaun Holmes, or will he leave for nothing?
If I had my way, I’d like to see the Kings replace Walton as coach. The Kings fired Joerger after a 39-win season. Walton has won 31 games each of the last two years, which would extrapolate out to 35 win seasons over 82 games. In three years with the Lakers, Walton won 26, 35, and 37 games. It seems pretty clear that this is who Walton is as a coach. It’s time to move on. I think that, more than any other roster moves, would give me hope for the upcoming season.
If the Kings don’t fire Walton, then the Kings need to find another way to inspire Kings fans to be excited about the upcoming season. A big roster move, or some luck in the lottery, or both. Running it back isn’t a good option, in my mind.
As we move forward into the offseason, we will bring you season reviews for the players, insight into draft prospects, free agent speculations, trade rumors, and anything else we can think of to keep you entertained. In the meantime, thank you for spending another season with us.
Hopefully there are better days ahead for this team.
I have a question.
If the Kings keep Luke Walton:
Hey McNair: “This is not the coach you’re looking for.”
Walton just had his 5th straight losing year as a head coach. Have there been many head coaches in the league that have gotten a 6th year after such a miserable record? Aren’t most fired by now and possibly serving as an assistant somewhere?
In Vivek’s basketball world, the second you show drastic improvement as a coach you get fired (Ã la Malone and Joerger).
It sure seems that way and the conspiracy theorist in me agrees.
Look, in the NBA you have to spend to win. All of this year’s title favorites are in the tax. Thus, if you begin to show improvement as a team it is expected you would continue to spend in order to go deep into the playoffs, right? Rebuilding teams cut salary and clear space, while contenders spend big.
Now, if you don’t want to spend, wouldn’t you adjust course the moment you begin to improve? As crazy as it sounds, could this be Vivek’s mindset. Just spend enough to appear to want to compete to keep butts in the seats?
So, which is it? Is Vivek hyper-competitive and meddling, or did he spend a ton of money to buy an NBA franchise for the purpose of keeping it mediocre (dare to dream)?
Also, you literally never have to type “Look.” If I’m reading that word in this context, it stands to reason that I’m already looking.
You probably don’t need a “literally” in that last paragraph either, unless there’s a rash of figurative typing going on I’ve been missing.
Is it not literal and 100% factual?
Metaphorically, it is.
It’s implied! Kind of like “look”. 🙂
I told my friends that when we finally meet up again after this long time in isolation, I will
LITERALLY HUG THE SHIT OUT OF THEM.
I wouldn’t squeeze THAT hard, but I understand.
Maybe his friends are just unusually incontinent.
The hugging I can understand. It’s the hicky that I’d object to.
I believe Vivek bought the team just as much for all the add’l assets he received from the city as the franchise itself. Also, now he gets to hang out with athletes!!
Exactly
Look, Vivek is literally the biggest ego asshole owner out there. That’s Vivek as in wreck
If Walton isn’t fired then McNair isn’t getting a chance, I believe, and we are screwed.
The Knicks have had success this year, but don’t kid yourself into thinking that anyone is in James Dolan’s class as far as egotistical asshole owners are concerned.
Vivek is highly competitive, so give him time.
Is that sarcasm or Vivek’s account.
Talk about ludicrous. Give him time….ha
You definitely could make that argument, along with Dan fucking Snyder.
However, Dolan did back off and that is why the Knicks are good. Vivek has yet to do that. So, fuck em all. Douchebags, every last one.
What makes you think Vivek is hyper-competitive? I haven’t seen any of his decision makings as being hyper-competitive. If he were hyper-competitive he’d be spending like Ballmer and hiring proven talent in folks like West or Thibs instead of Vlade and Walton.
I’d say Vivek is super successful by being a intelligent and possibly cut throat businessman. Buying an NBA franchise that has now more than doubled in evaluation seems to prove that point.
I stated that as part of a question, so I really didn’t weigh in on Ranadive’s competitiveness. I apologize for any confusion on your part.
And the conspiracy theorist in me agrees with the conspiracy theorist in you!
Conspiracy theorists should unite with procrastinators….. tomorrow.
I have this feeling that all those conspiracy theorists are up to something. And those intolerant people? Let’s just shoot ’em.
Joerger’s team was 18th in the NBA in NetRating. In the two seasons since, the team’s been 21st and 24th. Clearly, this team is trending in the wrong direction.
They don’t need to be top-10 in defense, but there’s no sign that this team is going to improve enough under Walton at that end to get anywhere outside of possibly a play-in game.
I just saw on Twitter that only one coach over the past decade came back for another season after posting the league’s worst defense, the rest were fired. That coach was Walton with the Lakers. He may do it again with the Kings.
This team/FO-Vivek is an absolute joke. Worst team in sports careening toward the bottom.
Hiring Walton made no sense, let alone keeping him. Not to mention this disgusting way in which Kings employees have to pretend all is great. It’s insane. It’s backwards. It’s Vivek.
Get lost Vivek.
Look > Literally
So with the Kings season ending, can someone shed some light on where the Kings may end up picking in this year’s NBA lottery? Best case and worse case. Thanks.
Best case – #1 (about a 4.5% chance)
Worst case – #14
The only picks in the lottery they can’t end up with are #5, 6, & 7
Thanks for clarifying. Unless the basketball gods are really kind, we are most likely going to end up with the 8th pick or worse. Not much to get excited about this offseason…..
The Kings will, in all likelihood, pick 9th, give or take a spot…
(unless they get VERY lucky and end up with one of the top 4 picks (about a 1 in 5 chance).
Here’s a link to Tankathon:
http://www.tankathon.com/
It is supplemental to being a Kings fan, and has the percentage answers for each team.
….
Have fun with it!
The Walton situation, of course, is the most pressing issue. As you pointed out, it’s pretty clear what he’s able to do as a head coach, and I’ll admit: I was wrong about him. I thought that he was an utter failure, but after looking at your numbers, he’s actually worse than that. He’s not a winner, and he’s unwilling to oversee a tank that would actually help his roster.
A lot will depend on what happens between now and free agency, and if past is prologue, not a hell of a lot after it. I think Holmes is likely gone, as the Kings will be priced out as he gets his first big (and well-deserved) contract. McNair has put a strong bench unit together, and that on its own will be a big upgrade from the beginning of this season. If the bench isn’t giving away leads or expanding deficits while the starters rest, is the current roster a potential playoff team? I honestly don’t know.
What I do know is that whether the roster improves significantly or not, this bus needs a new driver.
I’ll be really interested to see what kind of deal Holmes gets. On the one hand, he’s competent or better in most categories. The definition of solid. On the other hand, he’s an undersized C that isn’t an elite defender, doesn’t stretch the floor, and doesn’t facilitate. Whether he can be starter on a good team is likely highly dependent on his front court partners. And if a team doesn’t see him as a starter, they aren’t going to pony up to get him.
Adding to the numbers, this isn’t even the first time a Luke Walton squad was bottom of the barrel at DRTg.
He did it as HC of the Lakers too!
From 2019….“Defense is it, Walton said. That’s our priority. That’s what we’re going to start training camp with. That’s what we’re going to start practices with defense, defense, defense and that’s where we’re going to make a big jump.
Imagine how the defense would be if it wasn’t Walton’s biggest area of focus!
“and that’s where we’re going to make a big jump”
The team definitely made a big jump. From middle of the pack defense to having the worst defense in the NBA this season. I see no lies.
“… make a big double jump.”
That’s why Vivek etc hires him. Such a great idea. Idiots
I think the big challenge at the moment is the Kings don’t have a ton of currency to make a clear meaningful move this offseason. They don’t have elite draft picks, a bunch of cap space, or quality depth to trade from. They’re going to be HIGHLY dependent on exceptional talent evaluation. Especially if they continue to show no appetite for taking on salary for assets.
Don’t worry!
Apparent Monte’s plan is incremental improvement and then – if the opportunity arises – pounce on the bargain of a disgruntled or fallen star.
This smells of desperation or hubris, or probably an intoxicating mix of both, with a garnish of crazyness.
“pounce on the bargain of a disgruntled or fallen star.”: This is exactly what I expected from Monte, based on his press conferences preaching assets and flexibility, which made the trade deadline decision to not gather draft assets or salary flexibility even more baffling.
Yeah, what are we going to offer to bring that star in?
Monte really thinks he can beat teams like Houston or OKC in terms of assets? Or bigger cities in terms of attractiviness and income potential from advertising and the such.
I doubt that any GM thinks that he can match Houston or OKC in regard to draft assets, given the overwhelming number that each of them currently own. Where did you find the information that McNair thinks he can outbid either or both of them?
I think the 2021 and 2023 firsts are absolutely on the table. I also think Fox and Haliburton are on the table in a Harden to Houston, Kyrie or Kawhi type of deal. The problem I have with this strategy is that it requires a lot of waiting around for the planets to align perfectly.
I think the deal they try to make this offseason is Bagley plus Buddy plus the 2021 first. Barnes gets swapped for Buddy if the deal is good enough. The 2023 gets thrown in for a better player. I don’t think this hypothetical deal gets made this offseason. They just won’t get there.
In terms of deals that might actually have a chance to succeed, I wonder if Otto Porter is completely broken. He’s had a couple of bad injury years, but when he’s right, he’s better than Barnes, a year younger and might be had for not much money this season.
It’s the “when he’s right” aspect of Otto Porter that I’d have a problem with in comparing him to Barnes. Aside from that, the scenarios you’ve thrown around seem realistic, should the right player be gettable.
Agreed on Porter. You have to be prepared to eat his entire salary for no production. High risk of no production, high reward if he’s healthy.
I think the opportunity with Porter (if there is one) is to see if you can sign him on a cheap enough deal where you don’t have to depend on him being his best. Something that you could accept swallowing if he’s fully broken, and would make him a good trade asset if he bounces back strong.
Am I the only one at an all-time low in my Kings Fandom? I have fatigue from staying in this same cycle endlessly. There is no hope for this team or franchise. I’m at the point where I am pondering rooting for this franchise to either sell to a new owner or relocate. The sale seems unlikely in the near future, but at least a relocation would allow me to cut the cord and find a new team to truly root for. I just can’t abandon this team unless it abandons me as a fan.
I reached a point of apathy when Joerger got fired and replaced with Walton. I just had a bad feeling about it, and it carried on the last two seasons since Walton has coached. It also didn’t help that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything not just in sports, but in everyday life, and I think the absence of any sports programming (other than The Last Dance) added to me just losing interest in watching sports the last year and a half. Heck, I normally watch MLB postseason if it involves the Giants or A’s, but I didn’t watch anything. If Walton isn’t canned and the roster more or less doesn’t seem to go forward, my apathy will continue.
TKH is the only thing that keeps me following the Kings in some form.
“This make me sad. If team go byebye, many be sad, but me feel better can root for Warriors.”
This is a level of selfishness that even I find difficult to comprehend. To quote Livia Soprano, “Poor you.”
Don’t worry guys next year will be our year. We are headed to the playoffs for sure next year!
As a fan since the late 80s (I was young), winning seasons are a pleasant surprise. If the team isn’t going to win any games, per usual, at least entertain me. All Kings or all Kangz, none of the boring stuff, please. Win nothing, do nothing. Blah.
Said this on Twitter but my dream offseason is to get Pascal Siakam in trade, and sign John Collins in FA. Seems crazy, I know, and an absolute impossible dream. I know.
But I don’t believe Buddy is as bad an asset as some want to believe. There are teams that would be thrilled to get Buddy for their bad contract. But Siakam isnt worth his deal, IMO, either. He’s not quite as overpaid as Buddy, but he’s not worth 105 million either. Buddy is making 60-61 million. That’s a big difference. Assuming the Kings stay in the 9th slot, my trade idea is Buddy, Marvin Bagley and the pick for Siakam. That’s fair’ish value. The issue I see is multiple fold. One, Siakam isn’t a franchise guy regardless of where the Raptors are playing, they aren’t a championship contender without Kyle Lowry and Siakam might be, what, the 6th or 7th best player in the Atlantic division alone? I’d certainly take Durant, Harden, Embiid, Tatum, Brown and Simmons over him. Kyrie Irving has a larger impact dumbshitness and all. I’d take Julius Randle over Siakam, too. That’s 8 guys, and that doesn’t include the rest of the East. If I’m Toronto, I’m thinking it might be better to do this tear down a year early rather than a year from now. Proactive > reactive IMO. And Masai Ujiri is no dummy.
Are there better deals than that for Toronto? Sure, in theory. In practicality, cap space is only useful to spend on players. OKC sure could be a strong player for Siakam, I’m just not sure that Siakam is a great fit for either OKC or Siakam. And Toronto has cap space, too, in all likelihood depending on what happens with Lowry.
Having said that, I’m not expecting a deal or anything. I just keep seeing that type of deal as possible despite what’s being said about Buddy’s trade value. It is what it is.
Would I deal Harrison Barnes? Absolutely. If I’m getting Siakam and I know I could offer John Collins an offer sheet I think Atlanta doesn’t match. Unfortunately I think to offer Collins the max, which is what i think it will take to have a strong shot at Collins, the Kings need to deal Delon Wright if resigning Richaun Holmes is a consideration. Which, for me, it is. Which sucks because I’d rather keep Delon Wright all things being equal. Which it never is, but I digress.
Ultimately, I’m not entirely convinced my scenario plays out for a variety of reasons. Maybe Buddy has no real trade market. Maybe the cap space league wide gets used in a way I’m not anticipating. Maybe OKC uses their assets and corners the market. Perhaps New York does the same with their cap space. But 300 million is alot of cheddar to sit on. Teams will make moves.
But I don’t think it’s as hopeless as some think. And I think it’s an incredibly important offseason to try and make forward progress. Which in turn will be the first time since I was a teenager that this franchise made real forward progress if able to do so. Good luck Monte, perhaps you’ll need it. And perhaps not, we shall see. As always, proof is in the pudding.
I’m really interested to see what the Raptors do. If Siakam is available I’d certainly kick those tires. He solves a lot of issues for the Kings. Though I’m not sure if Siakam + Collins makes a ton of sense to me.
Agreed. It’s either Siakam or Collins. Certainly can’t have both. Also getting one of Siakam/Collins would definitely be the end of Holmes in Sac.
I can’t see the Kings spending on two BIGS even if they play different positions. I think it is best if they spend it on a bigger wing especially if they get Siakam by trading Bagley and Barnes + pick.
I’m okay with all of that. Personally, I’d rather have Siakam than Collins (on the contract I expect him to get). As much as I like Holmes as a person and he’s fun to root for, I’m not especially concerned about holding onto him for anything more than the exception (that is to say, I’m not really interested in holding on to him for any deal that significantly impacts our ability to make other acquisitions.)
Siakam for Buddy/Bagley is basically a wash next season. If you move Barnes for cap space, you basically have enough to keep Holmes or Wright. Not both.
And yes, under that scenario you sign John Collins to the max. I crunched the numbers. It’s doable.
I agree with you about Hield. In an “off year,” he’s still well-above the league average shooting threes, and has shown real growth as a facilitator. He’s always been a pretty good rebounder, and has shown moments where his defense was actually quite good. I don’t think that he’ll ever manage to be an average defender, as he doesn’t seem to have that kind of focus, but there are a ton of guys who are absolute sieves on defense, but make buckets and contribute in other ways. Neither he nor his contract are the toxic soup often described here.
If he can be flipped for assets, of course you do that. The Kings are pretty deep at guard, and even though Hield is the best shooter of the bunch, it’s possible to make the team better by sacrificing him. Getting a 4/5 player like Siakim in return would be great, since it’s tough to say if Sacramento currently has a starting-caliber center or power forward.
agreed on Buddy. I feel like his trade value went up a bit this year.
I think the only thing that increased Buddy’s value is that there is 1 less year of a bad contract to pay.
Definitely. I’m not optimistic that you can deal him for anything of value for another season.
Without two superstars the words end up just blurring together.
Good thing we have Justin James and Louis King then!
I wonder if Jazz fans feel that way. Or Milwaukee fans. Or Suns fans. Or Knicks fans. Or Hawks fans.
I suspect that there are lots of things you can enjoy about your team having a successful season even if it doesn’t involve two superstars or a title.
I find myself increasingly alone on this, but if you look at the kind of havoc that Rudy Gobert wreaks on defense, that guy is absolutely a superstar. I don’t think that there’s a team in the league that wouldn’t give up great assets to get him on their rosters.
Since altered shots aren’t a statistic, it’s tough to quantify, but Gobert’s WAR is elite, and has been for nearly a decade.
You are certainly not alone on that…but I agree with Greg that they only have one superstar (currently) in Gobert.
You both misspelled superspreader!
😉
Indeed, Gobert is underrated. He is key to that team in so many ways. If he weren’t on the Jazz, he’d be more well-known.
Yeah, I kinda feel like Gobert being a superstar (which I think is a pretty loose definition and is highly up for discussion) is the more mainstream view at this point. Whatever your definition is, he’s been a top 15-ish player for a number of seasons now.
Jazz have the best record and done with Mitchell and Gobert as stars ! ANo. 13 and 27 pick ! Great talent evaluators and development ! Oh well
With the likelihood that the Kings end up in the 8th spot or worse in the upcoming draft, who do you think will be available and the best fit for the Kings?
The most likely guys to be there that work well for the Kings, IMO, would be Scottie Barnes and Jalen Johnson. Though, like I’ve said, I’d be really hesitant to draft Johnson without the benefit of being able to do a lot of interviews and references.
Not sure what Johnson’s issues are, but if he has character problems, this is a team that couldn’t care less, so it’s a good fit from that perspective.
He hasn’t shown to be a particularly reliable teammate. He has pulled out of seasons multiple times now. Now, that might not actually be a big deal. I just don’t have the kind of access I would want to in order to decide if it’s a big deal or not.
Barnes has size and plays D. But he cannot create and has no 3 point shot. He needs to paly with a bunch of shooters where he can fascilitate. Johnson scares me- Duke, entitled, quit times 2. and cannot shoot
The third in the trifecta is Josh Giddey- can pass, fasciliates but again not a great shooter and too thin for defense.
Sengun is interesting. but a risk. Wagner? a better pro than college guy.
I suspect that the SG’s- Moody and Johnson and Booknight will all be gone. Davion Mitchell?
Asperen Sengun! Or trade down and get guys like a Ziaire Williams, Josh Christopher, Josh Giddey or even a BJ Boston.
I’m not into guys like Ziaire, Christopher or Boston at their projected slots. Sengun could be interesting. You’re making a big bet that he’s the next Sabonis, but it’s hard to ignore his production at his age. Giddey is really interesting. I haven’t taken a close look at him in a couple months, which is when I hear he really started to take off. But front court initiators are a huge advantage, so he’s certainly worth a look.
Sengun reminds me more of a Nurkic / Valanciunas with a better jump shot. He’s also a good playmaker from the post. Is agile enough to play PnR defense and is only 18. He also got a pretty sweet stroke and is shooting 80% from the FT line. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he can develop a 3 point shot.
Josh Giddey is intriguing but I wouldn’t pick him in the top 10.
I think the issue is that Nurkic and JV are both true 7-foot bruisers. Sengun is closer to 6’9-6’10. I don’t think he’s going to be a plus defender in the NBA. More the type that can be a smart contributor to a good defense than an anchor. If he’s going to be an impactful NBA player, I think it’s much more likely to be in a Sabonis role (facilitating from the elbow, rebounding and scoring mostly in the paint) than as a shooter and/or defensive anchor.
His MOST likely outcome is probably something Kanter-ish.
I agree that he is likely to make an impact playing a Sabonis type of role in his first couple of seasons in the NBA. But I also think he could expand that role easily and can play from the outside. His current height is listed at around 6’10 but again he is still 18, about to turn 19 in July. I think he would still be able to grow a few inches and be around 7’0 in his 3rd season in the NBA. I can’t say that he would be an elite defender in the NBA but I wouldn’t say he would be a terrible defender ala Enes Kanter.
If the Kings don’t get lucky in the lottery and would end up picking 9th or 10th, Sengun is my pick.
I would consider that a totally acceptable, reasonable pick. In that same situation, I would probably be looking pretty hard to good trade down deals, but if those didn’t materialize, I’d take a hard look at Sengun as well.
One could do worse than Kanter. His defense is pretty bad, but he’s great in scoring around the hoop and gets a lot of rebounds.
This is not an endorsement of any draftee, in perpetuity, throughout the universe.
Absolutely. Kanter is a useful NBA player. I didn’t mean that comp as an insult at all. We just have a tendency to comp prospects to excellent players that are really their best-case scenario, rather than a median expectation. The truth is getting Kanter, especially on a rookie deal, late in the lottery would absolutely be a positive outcome.
I hate player comps in the NBA. In MLB they can be useful given how many prospects there are. But in the NBA, they just are rarely useful.
That said, agree about the median expectation. It would be nice if we looked at more prospects that way.
Kanter is a good comparison but I think Sabonis is a better one. and I think Sengun could become a better shooter. He is not yet ready for the NBA but neither was Sabonis.
Agree, could be good in time but no impact at all for likely 2 seasons !
Hell no, he shouldn’t be! Dude’s getting paid for two more seasons, regardless of whether he actually has to work for that money.
It’s the Kings way.
Well Vivek is known to give out paid vacations to his coaches.
I’m 100% expecting the Kings keep Walton around. I also 100% expect to be out of the playoffs for the 16th straight year if they do.
Yes, I get that vibe, too.
The scenario of getting Siakim or any other players is interesting until I imagine Walton coaching them. Until Walton goes, until Vivek goes, the future looks bleak no matter the roster.
Moron:
I have not listened to a single second of these and I intend to keep it that way!
🙂
Lol, I forgot about him and I have no reason to listen to a word he says.
No clicks for dicks.
NSFW!
A Sacramento treasure!
I feel like we’re forgetting how many fans were calling for Joerger’s head at the end of his tenure. He seemed to be losing at least some of the players and basically gave the finger to management and the fans by tanking a potential 40th win at the end of the season. I’ve been hoping for Walton’s firing for a while now, but I’m starting to think maybe they should let him start next season with a VERY short leash. A better coach would have gotten us at least 3 more wins – good enough for the play-in.
Seems many of those fans wanted Joerger’s head completely because of the last game of the season. Turned out to be a tad bit shortsighted.
Oh man, that was one head-shaking bit of outrage.
I’m looking at Kings priorities in this order. 1. Improve the roster 2. Develop existing talent 3. Get the right coach. Do I think Luke is the answer? No. Do I think he’s the problem? No. The players like him and seem to play hard. His Defense in 2019 was better than Joerger’s, and this years offense is pretty good. Hell, the Defensed actually looked pretty good once half the starters were hurt and we were all but out of playoff contention. Besides, whose coming here as a coach? Washed up retread or first time HC. We’ve had such great with this in the past. Insert sarcasm font. If he stays, hopefully there is improvement with continuity. If he goes, hopefully we’ll get lucky with a new guy. I’m not losing sleep about it either way.
Man, I need to do a better job of spell check before I hit send. Hopefully those interested can understand my grammatically challenged comment.
I see this at times, but I’d argue that this team plays less hard than most NBA teams I’ve watched this season. I do think they like him.
This is not a good reason to keep an underperforming coach. This team hired both Michael Malone and Dave Joerger, so let’s not pretend it’s impossible. Just quit firing the good hires and extending the crap hires.
Was going to say the exact same thing, except I’d have used 50,000 words for some reason.
“The players like him” can be a real double-edged sword. The question to me is if the players like him because he’s an easy guy to get along with, or the players like him because they believe he can help them and the team succeed.
I’m really more concerned with whether the players respect the coach and believe he can help them win. Not if they think he’s a fun guy to have a beer with.
Yeah, my concern as well.
The end of the season showed we have some bench depth now. That will help overcome/mask some of Walton’s weaknesses. That’s one of the reasons I’m ok (kind of) hanging on to Walton a little longer. I hate the thought of switching coaches yet again unless absolutely necessary. (which, admittedly, may be the case.)
A team that posts one of the worst defensive stats in league history is, almost by definition, not playing hard. If they by some miracle ARE playing hard, and still playing defense that poorly, then they are, absolutely by definition, playing stupid. So under Walton, the Kings are either playing lazy or playing stupid. Either one is on on the coach and is a fireable offense.
I remember a lot of fans calling Rick Adelman a retread when he was hired !
That is true. His refusal to put the starters back in to win an arbitrary and meaningless fortieth game was probably the nail in his coffin, which was obviously a stupid decision at the time, and has just gotten worse since.
I recall a lot of anger about Joerger’s decision at the time; I just didn’t share in it, given that the game didn’t even matter.
Exactly. The whole conversation around that last game was ridiculous.
I feel like they could nearly run it back with most of the roster if they did a big coaching change ala D’Antoni.
Add a shooter like Kispert around the 8-10 spot, Holmes performance the tail end of the year should give more hope to the full MLE working for him.
Fox, Wright
Hali, Davis
Buddy, Kispert
Barnes, Bagley
Holmes, Jones
With D’Antoni at the helm I think that’s a playoff team in the west.
Eh, I think that’s a team who’s high end error margin may extend to the 8th seed. But I certainly don’t think it’s a team we could expect to get there. It still has a lot of guys playing a few slots higher in the rotation than they probably should be and some major holes. Like there’s only one guy on that roster that can reasonably defend NBA wings. The only thing you could really expect that team to do at an above average level is score in transition and shoot 3s. But half court playmaking, rebounding, defending, rim-protecting, etc. are all look like they would be below average. Taking those players, I think to construct a team you could expect to make the playoffs, you’d probably have to look at it like:
Fox, Wright
Haliburton, Hield, Davis
??, Barnes, ??
??, Bagley, ??
??, Holmes, Jones
With the caveat that Barnes and Holmes are both acceptable starters depending on who fills in the other front court question marks.
Yeah I think you have to go to your more traditional lineup with a standard system but I think the lineup I put out there works specifically under D’Antoni.
I don’t think it’s a caveat for Barnes and Holmes, they are legit starters. In your lineups it would be a near must to trade Buddy so you don’t have a 5th guard you want to get a lot of minutes.
More traditionally the team would look like:
Fox, Wright, ? (James?)
Hali, Hield, Davis
Barnes, Kispert, ?
?, Bags, Metu
Holmes, ?, Jones
Could they somehow find that starting 4? If they can trade Buddy then I think they have a shot, otherwise no go unless they jump in the draft.
From my perspective, the team has more need for a 4/5 than it does for another shooter. Even if Holmes stays (which I doubt), you’re still committing to a ton of small-ball. We saw an awful lot of that this year, with wildly-varying levels of success.
Barnes does a pretty good job defending fours, but if he can move to the three while a bigger player plays PF (Bagley? Metu?), I think that helps rebounding on both ends, which has been an ongoing problem.
I’m not up to speed at all on the draft class, but I’d favor getting a 4/5 that stretches the floor a bit, or a guy who just eats things up with rim protection and rebounding. That would also be my preference for any free agents or trades that may happen. DJones looks like he could be a starting center in the league if his growth continues, but for now, he’s a solid backup with shooting ability.
Not that he’s my pick or I necessarily agree with that approach, but if that’s what you’re looking for around the Kings likely 1sts round position, you’re probably talking about Kai Jones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXMsL5EBi_0
I would try to trade Bagley to Houston for their Portland?? 1st round pick which could land in the Kai Jones territory.
I think Houston either trades one of their later picks for a prospect type player like Bags or tries to package some of them (I think they have 4 this year) for a star.
I’ve been thinking about Houston. I can absolutely see them trying to build around Wall (in the short term, vet mentor, no other choice but to keep him role), Porter Jr., & Wood. If that’s the case, I’m not sure Bagley would be all that enticing except on an extreme buy-low. I was looking at them as a potential trade down partner. Like the SAC 8th for Kenyon Martin Jr. + 2 of 2021 POR 1st/2021 MIL 1st/2022 HOU 1st.
I don’t see any of that being a reason Bags doesn’t fit as he could play next to Wood quite nicely.
Wall
KPJ
Cade/Kuminga/Green
Bags
Wood
I think that’s a starting lineup to work with and focus on building depth behind.
Yeah, I just don’t think Bags adds much to that lineup. I would assume they’d look for a guy to slot in there that provides more of what that lineup is lacking. In this case that would be a versatile front court defender.
I could be totally wrong. That just doesn’t look like a lineup with a Bagley shaped hole to me. But if they’re looking for upside on a bargain without worrying too much about fit, then Bagley may be a place to look for it.
How ironic- Kings picked Kenyon Martin and traded for cash and the LAL 2021 second round pick which was used in the Wright trade.
Draft- guys I would avoid- Kispert + J. Johnson. Kai Jones is a good pick at 15 or so but I don’t like trading down all that much. I would not give up 8th for that package. Draft drops off steeply after around 11-12.
I will have a look, thank you!
I agree with you but my discussion was specifically if Monte brings in his boy D’Antoni who is the king of small ball with plenty of success.
But that small ball success has been with at least one MVP-level talent. Without the Harden, Nash, Marion, or even Stoudamire types, it can be really hard to pull off since you’re giving away so much on the defensive end.
Sure, I would think D’Antoni would have to believe that Fox in his system could be that guy
Well, I’m confident in saying we’d all like for that to be the case.
A coaching change alone isn’t turning this squad into a playoff team. We just had the second worst defense of all time, it would be as bad or worse under MDA. No easy fixes here. Kings are not making the playoffs next year, perhaps the play-in if they get lucky with other West teams dealing with injuries.
The New York Knickerbockers and Atlanta Hawks would like a word.
Seriously, Thibs has worked some miracles in NY.
Part of me wonders how many wins Thibs would have brought to the Kings this year.
Definitely would have added a few wins, and may well have pissed off all the players. Apparently that matters.
Thibs has a shelf life of three or four years. He’s a wizard at turnaround situations, but wears out his welcome pretty quickly once things are trending the right way. Guys like him have huge value in all kinds of jobs, but flounder in a more subtle caretaker role.
I’m sure there are other coaches around who fit that mold, who could move the needle for a team like the Kings. You have to prepared to eat some years, though, which doesn’t seem to be a problem here in the capital.
Would it, though? Here’s how D’Antoni’s teams ranked in Defensive Rating in the NBA:
Rockets (21st the year prior to MDA):
Season 1 – 18th
Season 2 – 6th
Season 3 – 17th
Season 4 – 14th
Suns (24th the year prior to MDA):
Season 1 – 17th
Season 2 – 16th
Season 3 – 12th
Season 4 – 16th
The guy might not be a defensive genius, but he’s coached teams that were league average or better at that end, and I’d take that in a heartbeat.
Adding – I’m not saying that I’d be thrilled by a D’Antoni hire, I just think the defensive analysis that comes along with him is overblown.
Plus he would install an identity which has been sorely lacking from this franchise forever except for a very small time with DJ
In your opinion sure, I tend to believe we have more talent than other fans and that the coaching is horrendous as far as XOs and more importantly accountability.
Badge Legend