Welcome back to Chainmail! We had some great questions this week, so let’s dive right in, shall we?
From 1951:
Which scenario is worse to you?
A) Zero substantial trades. We roll out Fox, Hali, Barnes, Bagley, Holmes, etc. after the deadline.
B) A massive panic trade, say Fox and picks for Grant or something. Come up with your own, but it must involve substantially overpaying for a good, not great player, a player to win now.
Tim: Scenario B is definitely worse. If the Kings make no adjustments at the deadline, they’re headed for a top-5 pick (they’re currently 5th, 1.5 games out of 4th, and 2.5 games out of 3rd in the lottery), McNair is headed out the door, and the new GM will get to hire a new coach, at least in theory. Honestly, as much as I would like to get assets for Barnes and Holmes, guaranteeing a scenario similar to the one above would be worth sacrificing those assets, at least temporarily, to me.
The new GM can easily work a deal for Holmes, who will have similar value as he does now, and I’ll take the hit on Barnes being an expiring contract, whether he’s moved on draft night, in the offseason, or next deadline. Buddy and Bagley never had any value, so oh well.
Will: I’m going to agree with Tim here and say that it’s B. This team has quit and whether or not the front office realizes it, they’re in a tank. Not a strong or deliberate one, but the team has decided for them. While I don’t agree that McNair is on his way out the door just yet, I do think that keeping this team the same through the deadline would at least remove any sort of numerical reasoning behind sticking with the core for yet another season. With Fox, Hali, and a Top 7 selection, I think the Kings take the path of least resistance and rearrange the deck chairs a bit closer to Hali and the #7 selection.
Making a desperation trade is far, far worse. Removing their best assets (their draft picks), further hindering themselves financially and one of their two best players would keep the Kings in No Mans Land for another half-decade or until smart management is hired… whichever takes longer.
From 154-98:
Are the Kings so bad that they would actually fail at tanking? Is that why Monte’s putting up the faux bravado “no tanking” spiel, because he knows they’ll mess that up?
Tim: They’re so bad that they’re both failing at tanking and failing at not tanking. They’re a paradoxically bad team, which is kind of impressive if you think about it.
Monte has preached playoffs and aggressive, star-level trades since he took over 18 months ago. He’s just sucked at both of those concepts.
Will: I don’t think they can necessarily fail as much as they just refuse to try. If I don’t sign up for a Logic and Reasoning course, I didn’t fail the course, I just didn’t take it. Monte’s faux bravado has as much to do with regaining/retaining player value and maintaining face with other GM’s more than anything he actually believes. Remember, his mentor is Daryl Morey. At the start of this Ben Simmons saga with his value tanking, Daryl asked for absolutely outrageous returns, not necessarily because he believed that was what he was worth, but so that Simmons value stabilized and other GMs knew they couldn’t waste his time with bullshit offers. Monte’s doing the same thing, save for the fact that the team he assembled hasn’t cooperated in making what he said remotely realistic.
Monte’s failing, but down a singular avenue.
From GregoryI:
Which players would you want as untouchable? Which players would you like to see moved at almost any cost?
Tim: Tyrese Haliburton is untouchable to me. Yes, I know we should go with the trope that no one should be untouchable on a 28-win team, but bad, awful, no-good teams also don’t trade potential stars on the second year of their rookie contract. It’s just not done.
There is no realistic player out there who I would trade for Tyrese Haliburton straight up, and that includes Domantas Sabonis, Ben Simmons, John Collins, or Jerami Grant. This dude is going to be special, far more special than De’Aaron Fox, and there’s no way I’m letting him out of my sight for the next seven years.
In regard to players I would like to leave Sacramento, Buddy Hield tops the list and is really on a tier of his own, followed by Marvin Bagley, Harrison Barnes, and Tristan Thompson. Hard pass on all of those guys, although Marvin deserves props for his improved role playing this season. I just want to see him elsewhere for everyone’s sake.
Will: I don’t think Tyrese is untradeable, but he should certainly be the most difficult to trade for. Also, to Tim’s point, there are times when a potential star on a rookie contract gets traded but ya’ll won’t like the outcome. The Sixers traded Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams halfway through his second year, after averaging 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists for a pick that was 1-5 protected in 2015, 1-3 protected in 2016 and 2017, and would have become unprotected in 2018. This was the same pick that was used in the deal with the Celtics that netted Philly a 1st overall pick that they turned into…. Markelle Fultz. Now, had the Sixers just kept the pick – Jayson Tatum would be a Sixer. Not saying the Kings should do it… but there is precedent.
I also want to pump the breaks on the “far more special” talk too. I like Haliburton, but the kid has a long way to go and certainly isn’t a special enough player in his own right to raise the Kings out of the mud. I’d say they’ll be on the same level of play soon but… yeah, he’s got a lot of growing to do too.
As for players I’d move at any cost? Marvin Bagley comes to mind, just from a “would like to finally be done with it”. Buddy Hield I’d prefer to move and would certainly take a deal like the Lakers offer but I wouldn’t give him away for anything either.
From NinjaFetus:
What do you think it would take to chance to re-energize the fan base to move from the current feelings expressed here on TKH (apathy/disgust/etc.) to putting butts back in seats? Or what would you do if you were in charge?
Tim: This is perhaps the most amazing thing about this team. Standards are low in Sacramento – lower than anywhere else in the NBA. All we ask for is a bad team that plays hard. That’s it! You don’t even have to win games! Just, like, try! A little bit! And (most) of these guys don’t give a shit beyond getting their own numbers and getting traded.
If Monte McNair traded Buddy Hield for Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, and the 2027 pick (with salary going elsewhere), Harrison Barnes for a young player and a late first rounder, and Richaun Holmes for a young player, the Kings could run out a young, eager team that played some defense.
Fans would go back to games (although part of that blame lies with COVID/COVID protocols as well), we would all tune in more closely, and there would be a foundation to follow. Until then, the Kings are just a dead team festering in the water.
Will: Sure you could trade for stars or send out a bunch of fan favorites but the quickest way back to relevancy, the quickest way to hype people up again? A Top-3 pick in the draft. I don’t care which of Banchero, Smith, Holmgren you pick – any of those three combined with Fox and Hali will get asses back in the seats. That’s just how hype works when it comes to a city as hungry as Sacramento is. It changes the narrative around the team, it immediately instills hope and optimism that isn’t fueled solely by social media and desperation… This is a fantastic class at the top of the draft and adding a Rookie of the Year candidate forward with three young guards will do wonders for the Kings ticket sales and the front office. This is a no-brainer for the money makers and the basketball heads.
From Marty:
While standing in your backyard in your underwear and taking a pee, God appears before you and says “You must bet everything you own, all your worldly possessions, on answering the following question correctly. Starting NEXT season, do the Kings make the playoffs (not play-in) in the next three years?
Tim: I’ll say yes and it’ll be the very last year possible. At some point, the Kings have to get something right, right?
Will: If I’m staring at God and he’s making this wager with me I’m going to suddenly wish I hadn’t dropped an article on what Sam Hinkie could do for this team a few years ago. I’ll agree with Tim here but I’ll die from an ulcer in year two.
From SMF-PDXConnection:
Name your most off-the-wall favorite pizza topping and burger topping, but don’t say which is which.
Tim: Hmmm, I don’t know if I have anything too crazy. I’ll roll with goat cheese and arugula for one and pineapple and teriyaki sauce for the other.
Will: We talked about this before on Snackramento (RIP) but I’ve had mango on a pizza and it was fantastic. I’ve had various fruits on pizzas and outside of pineapple that one is my favorite. Pickles would be another. I’ll also say that while less controversial there’s plenty of different seafood that I’d take on my pizza as well!
Way to answer the question with a non-answer, Will!
Cheese and Cheese!
I can’t think of many off the wall pizza toppings, but I used to get the “Jiffy” burger from Fanny Ann’s in Old Sac years ago. Peanut butter on a burger may not sound great….but it was!
Way way back in the day (mid 70’s) when I went to Sac State, we used to go to the original Shakey’s on “J”. We ordered the “Bullfighter Special”, sausage and jalapeño and lots of beer. It burned on the way down as well as on the way out. The things we used to do…
If we get a top 3 pick, it’d better not be wasted on Chet.
I hate to say it but the more I watch him, the more I get nervous of him as a prospect. He is so skilled, but his frame worries me. Jabari seems like the only sure thing in this draft to me. But what do I know? I thought Obi Toppin, Frankie Smokes, and Killian Hayes all had superstar qualities.
His frame is certainly, um, less than ideal. But he plays with an edge and aggression, and has been durable at least over the past few years that I’ve been following him. I’d personally say Banchero and Smith have slightly higher floors than Holmgren due to their build. But I’d also say Banchero and Holmgren have higher ceilings thanks to Banchero’s creation and passing advantages over Smith, and Holmgren’s passing and rim-protection advantages.
Don’t get me wrong, Smith is a great prospect, but I feel like both his floor and ceiling look a lot like Rashard Lewis. Who was an extremely good player. So that’s one heck of a floor.
Giannis was also skinny as hell when he came into the league. 19 year old Chet may only be able to get rotation minutes. 27 year old Chet may be an MVP candidate.
He may be! That said, Giannis is an outlier outcome and pre-NBA Giannis wasn’t really like pre-NBA Chet in any way. When drafted Giannis was 6’8, 199. He was skinny, but he had a good frame. Chet doesn’t have nearly the frame. He has extremely narrow shoulders and is 5-10 lbs lighter despite being 5 inches taller.
None of that means anything aside from the idea the Giannis’s success doesn’t really say anything about Chet’s potential success.
Does not seem ready to help an NBA team at this time ! Team will need a lot of patience if he is drafted !
I’m curious why you think so.
Vivek will hire Brian Flores as the next head coach. He was instructed to tank, but repeatedly refused his instructions to tank.
Vivek is wrong enough that I would take a coach that does whatever Vivek doesn’t want.
Blue Cheese and Pear on a pizza.
I hate blue cheese, but the pear makes it work.
It’s like some scene from Ratatouille or something.
Trade
Rotation
and much much more
Trade – Vicek clearly ventured on the wrong trade.
He should have stayed in San Jose.
Rotation – Vivek continues to rotate fan favorites from the glory days,
who clearly lack experience.
and much much more – more years missing the playoffs
more fans getting disgrunteld and apathetic
VUCK FIFEK!
My Dad can’t stand cheese, but the one exception he makes is he can handle eating pizza. Although he told me the first time he walked into a pizza parlor, he almost threw up from the smell of cheese filling the place. But he eventually just got used to it.
How does he feel about strange duck?
I can haz Dad’s cheese?
I’ll just say this: Banana peppers
You guys are spot on as usual, you don’t trade Hali for reasons you mentioned but let’s not kid ourselves like he is a superstar. Also yes I just want defense at this point and a high pick like Ja Morant that changes everything.
Do you suppose the Pelicans wish they had drafted Ja instead of Zion ?
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