As I’m sure you already know, a trade happened today. The news dropped around 10:30 this morning, so we have all had the better part of the day to digest and suppress our regurgitated vomit in knowing that Tyrese Haliburton will no longer be a Sacramento King. This one really hurt me. Tyrese was my favorite player to watch on this team and his outward embrace of Sacramento made him truly invaluable in my eyes. In just a year and a half, he brought a new hope, energy, and personality to this city and fanbase that will be deeply missed. Thank you for everything, Tyrese.
Against my deepest wishes, life goes on. Moving forward, Sacramento will get to welcome Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday. While they weren’t yet available to play in tonight’s game, Kings fans could still do their research and find that we will be getting a two-time All-Star in Sabonis, who is averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds this season. You are allowed to feel both heartbroken at the loss of Tyrese Haliburton and excited at the addition of a proven All-Star, all at the same time. Or you can be happy about it all. Or you can be enraged. Or you can feel nothing. After 16 years of torture, you are allowed to feel whatever the hell you want.
And so tonight we began our new life without Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, or Tristan Thompson, starting with a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 134-114
Sacramento Kings: 114 pts, 49.4% fg, 36.0% 3 pt, 88.5% ft, 29 ast, 38 reb, 19 to
Minnesota Timberwolves: 134 pts, 48.1% fg, 50.0% 3 pt, 70.6% ft, 34 ast, 49 reb, 14 to
The Kings were actually within striking range for 75% of the game despite the Timberwolves shooting a consistent 50% from the 3-point line all night long. Big contributions from De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, and Damian Jones kept the Kings in this one until this short-staffed squad ran out of gas and the Wolves eventually pulled away mid-way through the fourth quarter.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- Sharing the Ball: Despite having to get used to new lineups tonight, the Kings shared the ball well with one another and finished with 29 assists. While the Timberwolves were raining in 3s, the Kings found ways to score by minimizing one-on-one play and moving the ball around. De’Aaron Fox led with six assists, followed by five from Damian Jones.
- HB Efficiency: Tonight, Harrison Barnes had one of his classic, fundamentally efficient offensive performances. Barnes made a living at the free throw line, shooting 12-12 from it, and finished with 21 points on 4-7 from the field. His offense included the fundamental footwork we know and love, and he even threw in a sweet spin move that we aren’t used to seeing.
- Minutes for the Bench: Due to the recent trade, along with a late scratch for Richaun Holmes, the Kings’ roster was stripped down to its studs. We got to see an early entrance from Jahmi’us Ramsey in the first quarter and later got 19 minutes from Louis King. Ramsey finished with 10 points, while Louis King had one of my favorite defensive plays of the game, simply by fully committing his body to a help side drive that led to a Minnesota turnover.
the Bad
- Defensive Rebounding: The Kings exhibited a high level of defensive energy tonight, forcing the Wolves into 14 turnovers. They were able to hold Anthony Edwards to just five points on 2-12 shooting. However, they failed to put a cap on many of these defensive possessions by allowing Minnesota to collect 16 offensive rebounds. The second chance opportunities gifted the Wolves easy put backs or more open looks from 3, which they were not likely to miss tonight.
The Ugly
- 3-point Barrage: Apparently I missed the update where Malik Beasley is now the second coming of Stephen Curry. Halfway through the first quarter, it felt like the Wolves had already hit 10 3-pointers. In reality, they shot 7-14 in the first 12 minutes, and kept that pace for the rest of the game to finish 22-44. Beasley led by shooting 7-8 from deep, while Patrick Beverley and Taurean Prince added on three more a piece. Add this on to Karl Anthony-Towns’ 25 points, and the Kings just couldn’t make up the difference.
The King of Kings
Although my heart still breaks at the loss of Tyrese Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox softened this ache by reminding me just how good he is at the game of basketball. After missing the last eight games, it was a sight for sore eyes to see Fox back on the court and doing Fox things. He scored 29 points, which included four 3-pointers, and a handful of explosive plays. Fox showcased his speed and quickness to remind us that we still have a special talent in Sacramento.
Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. Watch
The flames are still raging in Basketball Hell, but Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. is thriving, as demonstrated by its recent feature in The Sacramento Bee. Tonight’s chosen charity is the Central Valley Holocaust Educators’ Network, which supports California teachers in implementing Holocaust curriculum in classrooms. As always, make sure to hit up Will on Twitter (@WillofThaPeople) or e-mail [email protected] with your donation amount so he can continue to track all the good that #SacramentoProud is spreading.
Up Next
Wednesday, February 9th vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
Great! Thanks monte you scared away everyone. Now I get to talk to myself….anybody….????
It ain’t much but……hey Joe
The good:
Ramsey’s defense….
He is sticking with his man, although his shot is not falling, still like his ability to drive, he will get his call soon hopefully.
No more silly turnover from Hield
With the departure of Hield, we no longer need to see Hield doing stupid thing.
The bad
Haliburton is being missed..
His leadership, passing instinct and high BBIQ would be highly missed.
p.s. If Sabonis is in the lineup, Gentry need to put a big body around him, (not Holmes), I hope Queta can be given some minutes to play along with Sabonis.
Exactly opposite of what needs to be done ! Have you watched Sabonis play ? Terrific post player ! Get him space down low !
I like Ramsey. He looks like a player to me. Hopefully he gets some consistent minutes.
Bye Tyrese. 🙁
https://twitter.com/TyHaliburton22/status/1491276271565012995
This team better be really damn good, Monte. I’ve only been following lately because Hali and Mitchell are so likable. I’m willing to see it out for a bit, but watching Fox score 30 a night and be a -25 isn’t going to do it for me. I can easily drop out now with no players I care about.
The inevitable Holmes trade better be next level good.
Losing Haliburton and Holmes takes away 90% of this teams heart. Which is bad.
Do the hawks say yes to Barnes, Bagley and ’23 unprotected 1st for Collins?
Holmes for PJ Washington?
Next year find a new coach and roll out a squad with a different mentality.
Been toying with another idea. Barnes, Holmes and Bagley plus a top 5 protected 1st in ‘2 or ’23 for Bogdanovic and Collins. Works salary wise as Atlanta is sending out 43,700,000 in salary and Sac is sending out in 43,538,480 in salary. The only issue would be making roster requirements work.
Btw Holmes for PJ Washington doesn’t work straight up. Charlotte would have to add more salary to make that work.
I’d do that ATL trade in a heartbeat. I’d love to have Bogi back. Collins is very good. He’s a stretch 4 who plays solid defense and can protect the rim. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why ATL wants to move him.
Washington and filler for Holmes would be my second 1b choice only because it wouldn’t require picks to be involved.
Yeah I just listed the main components, I believe Ish would be added from their end.
I don’t think atl would want Holmes with capella. With this current team bogi would be nice again, contract is very meh
A player like Bogi is exactly what the Kings are in need of. A playmaking wing who will keep defenses honest from deep. He’d thrive with Sabonis.
I think a real 3 and d would be better but yeah bogie fits a need now
True. I see three gaping holes. An additional playmaking guard, a 3 and D wing, and a stretch 4. Barnes can fill the 3-D wing/stretch 4 a bit, but another like him is needed.
Monte still has to deal with Barnes, Bagley and Holmes
He’s been getting hammered nationally to dumping Tyrese so he probably has a few more chances to do something clever.
TBF the national commentators don’t know diddly about the Kings. I saw multiple trade recaps yesterday from national writers that described Buddy Hield as basically Steph Curry Lite. And not one of them mentioned that he has butterfingers and the lowest BBIQ recorded since the Cro-Magnon era.
We often get mad at the national media only to find out that they were right all along.
There is an assumption that players are bad in Sac because the culture is so horrific. To a degree, I think that’s probably true.
But some players also contribute to the horrific culture, and Buddy is certainly one of those.
Another loss is good news for the Kings. Hopefully we see a repeat tomorrow night. As we are still 2 days to the trade deadline I can only hope there are more pieces to fall. The good news if this is all there is…..is that the new players are unlikely to get us into the play in. The bad news is that they may be good enough to screw up our draft position.
So the good news is, nobody on the team can shoot or play defense so the draft pick should still be pretty good. So ya know… there’s that.
I’m not sure how to feel about the trade. Feels like we traded a highly efficient guard for a highly efficient big man. I found it pretty interesting when you compare Sabonis last 3 years (years 4-6 in NBA) to Nikola Jokic years 4-6 in the NBA. Very similar
https://stathead.com/tiny/ZQiH8
I just hope when I wake up the next morning, we made some “good” trade……….
Priority:
1) Get rid of Bagley
2) Get some assets from Barnes and Holmes
Before the trade, the Kings were 20-35 without an all-star power forward, but had decent 3-point shooting and and a top-level passing guard. The Pacers were 19-37 with an all-star power forward, but without decent 3-point shooting and a top-level passing guard.
After the trade, the Kings now have an all-star power forward without decent 3-point shooting and a top-level passing guard. The Pacers now have a top-level passing guard and decent 3-pt shooting without an all-star power forward.
Uh, seems like the teams just switched problems. At least the Pacers now have two very young all-star potential guards to build around.
Interesting stats: When Fox was the leading scorer in a Kings game this year, how was the Kings win/loss record depending on who had the highest assists that night:
Points/Assists
Fox/Fox = 0-4
Fox/Mitchell = 0-2
Fox/Haliburton = 8-4
Seems that when both Fox and Haliburton did their thing, Fox scoring and Hali assisting, the team did well. Fox or Mitchell running the point did not bode well.
Where was Hali? Was his ankle sore?
Probably on a plane to Indy.
Too soon.
So I guess Vivek’s master plan is making the play-in this year (which I honestly don’t think is going to happen), then he has another 15 years before he has to worry about breaking the record for playoff futility again.
I’m so tired of this organization.
Let’s be clear, making the play-in is not making the playoffs.
Making the playoffs is you are one of the 8 seeded teams after the play-in games have occurred. They don’t get to say they broke the streak if they end the season at 10 and immediately get blown out.
I agree totally, making the play-in isn’t making the playoffs.
Good luck telling Vivek Ranadive and Kings employed media personalities that fact. “We did it!” Is all you’ll be hearing. Count on it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the NBA considers the play-in the playoffs for record keeping purposes, but I don’t know.
This has been discussed. Many times. But for the record, the play-in tournament IS NOT the postseason. If the Kings were the 10th seed AND won the 2 play-in games (likely the Lakers and Clippers of all things LOL), then they would be in the playoffs.
That would be some fun shit, ain’t gonna lie.
The more I think about the trade, the more I begin to like it. McNair took a big chance, which he needed to do. Being patient and trading away minor pieces for more minor pieces would’ve been unacceptable. Sabonis is a legit All Star talent. If the Pacers weren’t struggling this year, he would’ve probably been an All Star this season. To get a talent like him, McNair had to give up some talent. If we traded Hali fir someone like Grant, then I’d understand the all the anger. Sabonis is 25 years old on a friendly contract, who is just entering his prime. It’s not like we traded for a guy who’s better days have passed him. This is not Chris Webber after his knee injury. McNair did not choose Fox over Hali. Fox’s contract makes him undesirable in trades. Does Hali have a bright future? Probably, but you never know. He can turn into a perennial All Star, but you can’t guarantee that. We all thought Tyreke Evans would be one, especially after his rookie season, but look how that turned out. Everyone thought Derrick Rose was going to be a HOFer but an injury derailed that. I liked Hali,a lot, but it’s not like we traded away a generational talent like LeBron, Kobe, etc. We have to see how this all turns out. If the team doesn’t improve in the next two seasons, then we can say it was a failure.
ESPN should take the original Down in the Valley out, trim 25%, and add 20 minutes regarding KJ’s fall from grace and Vivek mangling the team. Then release that.
The Million Dollar Baby of the 30 for 30 library
Unless the Kings can get something better than Barnes to plug in for this/next season, I don’t know that they trade him at this point. I mean, the convo around here re: Barnes has always been a young player and a pick to a team that needs a boost right now. With the acquisition of Sabonis, the needs shift a little – the Kings need a sniper on the wing, another PG, and a rim protecting floor spreader. If an offense that features Fox and Sabs gives Barnes consistent looks from the perimeter, we have our light version of Batman, Robin and Alfred. It is far from pristine, but unless the Kings can improve in one of those aforementioned categories, Barnes probably stays. It certainly narrows the list of teams that match up in a Barnes trade.
I could see next year’s pick being in play, as well as Holmes. Those two pieces could potentially be used in acquiring the likes of Jerami Grant and PJ Washington without dealing Barnes. It’s far from perfect, but I also think that it is far from far-fetched.
I was thinking about this as well. Barnes now fits with Fox and Sabonis. They need players like Barnes around them. From that, I’d probably hang onto Barnes for now (unless presented with an unreal offer) and look to move Holmes.
Holmes for a Washington package makes so much sense for both teams. Washington at the 4 and Barnes at the 3 really helps Fox and Sabonis. I also wonder if the Kings could get Ish Smith as part of a PJ Washington package. That would fill two holes currently on the team which are a stretch 4 and a bench PG.
I had a dream the Kings traded Fox straight up for Simmons.
But when they got Simmons, they didn’t want him to play. They wanted him to be the team’s chef.
At this point, I’d be willing to give that a try.
Aussies make great barbecues, I hear.
That has the makings of a .500 or better team, I think. And .500 is something that has only been seen around these parts during the Adelman years. Not trying to set a low bar. But a 41 win team in the 3rd season of this permutation of front office would deserve at least a little bit of a hat tip.
50 wins is my bar for NBA relevance, so I’m not popping champagne yet. And I will miss Hali severely. But I am intrigued…as long as this roster is still a work in progress.
Stop N Pop at Canis Hoopus (you know him Rob) once made a point about team building that I think was interesting then (about 10 or 12 years ago now) and still do: The goal is to get to 45 wins. Build your top of your roster, and fill out roster spots 4-12 as cheaply as possible.
50 wins would be a successful season for Sacramento, and amongst the most ever in franchise history (outside of the top 2, or 3 if you count the silly pre shot clock championship banner, which I don’t have to tell you which they are) given there’s actually been less than 10 50 win seasons over 75 seasons.
That’s rather impressive how moribund this franchise is. If that’s the legacy of royalty, that’s it. And I’m totally with you on 50 wins being my bar as well.
I’m left with no words, this is just pitiful to me.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1491441771141865472?s=20&t=MUkTVBTw7gTTIiuy9HTj-Q
At least there’s Operation MCNAIR. Thank you, Will.
Also, anyone still having website issues? The homepage automatically redirects me to my account settings, only way to access articles is through the archives.
Working fine for me this AM – I did clear my cache first thing this AM.
Badge Legend