Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
As the losses mount and basketball infamy nears, more and more Sacramento Kings fans are reaching their breaking point.
It’s being voiced on social media. It’s evident if you watch or attend a game: Golden 1 Center, a relatively new arena in its sixth season, has looked like a ghost town (yes, I know the coronavirus plays a role here as well). Also, a two-word phrase has been circulating in regard to this team: rock bottom.
Are we really there yet? If we’re not, we’re definitely standing at the front door.
The Kings (18-33) are 13th in the Western Conference and on a six-game skid entering Sunday. An optimist might look at the standings and say Sacramento is only four games out of the last play-in spot with 31 games to go. The pessimist will tell you all the reasons that this doesn’t matter, especially if the Kings aren’t one of the final eight in the conference because just making the play-in isn’t enough.
The continued losing by this franchise has caused fans to either lash out or just check out. Interim coach Alvin Gentry has apologized and spoken out about the team’s inconsistent play. Even some players are voicing their displeasure.
“It’s a range of emotions: frustration, anger, embarrassment, disappointment,” forward Harrison Barnes told reporters after Wednesday’s 121-104 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. “No one prepares and wants to lose. … There’s a lot of frustration, but it’s on us to get out of this.”
This is partially true. However, players are only as good as the roster built around them and the people leading them. That’s on the front office to find the right mix. General Manager Monte McNair, hired in September 2020, has done fine with his two drafts. I’ll give him a slight pass on coaching until he hires his own person on a full-time basis — even with being halfway through his second season. However, we’re less than two weeks from the league’s trade deadline and that’s an area he’s yet to make any sort of splash.
What it’s all amounted to, just as it has in regimes before McNair, is a subpar team that can’t reach the league’s annual late-season tournament. Hell, this franchise hasn’t even finished above .500 since coach Rick Adelman’s last season of 2005-06, which is also the last time Sacramento made the playoffs. The closest they’ve come was in 2018-19, when they were 30-27 at the All-Star break only to fade and go 9-16 the rest of the way, leading to the dismissal of coach Dave Joerger.
I’ve heard some folks who aren’t Kings fans say this isn’t the worst we’ve seen in the Sacramento era. Technically, they’re not wrong — the team won just 17 games in 2008-09, and this year’s squad has already surpassed that victory total. They also question the timing of the fan frustration. The major factor is none of the past dismal teams were on the brink of setting the new NBA mark for playoff futility like this one is.
This makes tough losses even harder to deal with, and there have been some doozies this season. Here are four:
Nov. 12 at Thunder: Sacramento led by as many as 18 more than halfway through the third quarter and looked like it would come away with an easy W. However, once the home team took its first lead with 6:30 left in the fourth, Oklahoma City never looked back and, despite the Kings tying it twice late, the Thunder held on to win 105-103.
Jan. 19 vs. Pistons: Detroit came to Sacramento with one of the worst records in the NBA. However, the Pistons refused to quit and erased a nine-point deficit with 2:34 left via an 11-0 run to end the game with a 133-131 victory.
Jan. 25 at Celtics: The Kings were outmatched and outplayed from the tip. They trailed 38-13 after one quarter, had just 30 points at halftime and trailed by as many as 60 in a 128-75 loss.
Last night at 76ers: Read Mirann’s recap because I have no words.
These all have a different feel, but amount to the same result. It’s no wonder they call this place Basketball Hell.
At some point, enough is enough. Seems like that point is now.
This site which brings you news, analysis and commentary from Kings fans and observers has placed a paper bag over the Kings logo in game previews as a show of our embarrassment. Somewhere the Unknown Comic is smiling (look him up if you’re too young to know).<
Also, as you've probably already seen, one TKH writer is making a positive out of a negative, opting to not spend money on team merch or game tickets and instead donating money to good causes with each Kings loss. At least someone always wins here.
I came into this season with cautious optimism. That’s long gone. Judging by what I’m hearing and seeing, it’s clear I’m not alone here.
It’s completely natural and quite OK to be frustrated with something or someone you have love for. But, kinda like that annoying sibling who always snitches to Mom, eventually they do something one day to remind you why you love them.
Even without championship banners in the Sacramento era’s 37 years, this was once arguably the best fanbase in the NBA. Want to rev it up again? The answer is simple: win. Or, at the very least, do something to show you’re actually trying.
The fans have endured enough and deserve better. Your move, Kings.
Well said. The ball is in the Kings hands. Let’s see what they do. My expectations are low but still know that I may be disappointed.
Two things keep me engaged: Tyrese Haliburton and Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. In one brilliant stroke, Will took away my feeling of discomfort at rooting for losses.
Not even close.
Interestingly, the article failed to mention somebody paid big bucks for a court side seat and then puked all over Vivek’s product during a blowout loss to the Jazz. That’s what I’ll remember about this season.
That was a highlight. The article is about the lows.
They hit rock bottom the moment Vivek took over. We just didn’t know it. Actually, we knew it about a month in when he fired Malone.
Vivek, go Vuck yourself.
I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been a Kings fan since 1986, when my family moved to Sac. We’ve definitely had worse seasons but this season is by far, the least enjoyable. The FO continually tried to tout this team as a playoff team, when everyone outside Sac said otherwise. The FO had a chance to hire a coach and make a trade or two to improve the roster in the off-season but they didn’t. We haven’t seen any difference making changes since Petrie left. It just feels like this team is a rudderless ship and we’re just dead in the water. I just wish the FO would just do SOMETHING. This franchise’s fortune changed when they hired a proven GM and coach. We have to stop hiring former players from the glory days, and GMs with little experience. Until then, my family of four will not be wasting hundreds of dollars to attend a game.
Heh, every time we think this team has FOR SURE hit rock bottom…….the Kangz will always find a way to sink even lower.
Is this rock bottom? No.
Do I think rock bottom exists? Yes.
Do I think they’re nearing it? Not really.
And we have why Vivek thinks he has the clearance to not rebuild (key issue ticket sales)
I don’t think that’s it. It’s not like they are selling tickets with this strategy either.
Everyone shits on Vivek, but honestly I have no idea what the power dynamics and roles are, so I think a lot of assumptions are made about him. The critique I have is that he hired Vlade as GM, and let him hire Walton as coach. That was a mistake I hope he has learned from.
Vlade was a colossal mistake. You can’t possible put Vlade in a competitive process for a job then interview him and reasonably conclude he’s the most qualified person for the position. I never heard one intelligent thing come out of Vlade’s mouth so how he got through an interview process is beyond me. Walton doesn’t matter. No coach as we are seeing can succeed with this roster. We had 11 coaches and none of them could produce even a 500 team.
Vivek only hires people to run his franchise that have never actually done it ! Why ? Simple – he needs a front to make most major decisions !
Vivek thought a throwback to the glory years would appease an ignorant fan base… he is completely out-of-touch.
Let’s not kid ourselves; a lot of fans were very happy, including many here at the old site. And kept defiending him and telling he would learn on the job. Builder of bridges and all that jazz.
And a moer or less similar reaction came when the coaching hire of DC was announced.
Who thought Doug Christie was going to fix the defense?
Well, it could be worse.
I mean, look at the lowly Grizzlies and how long they’ll have to wait to get good again.
Oh, wait
Remember when King’s fans would argue that Fox is better than Morant? Lol.
…….and won’t trade him because he is an all star even though he has never been an all star.
Or must give him a max contract early or he might be unhappy ! DUH
Look at all of his potential. I mean…..who knew that both Fox and Bagley would spend time together on the bench strategizing.
Blame all around the organization. One thing I always look at is the player’s performance. They miss the shots, make bad passes, miss rotations, etc. The rim is 10ft tall in every arena, and the lines on the court are in the same spots. Shitty GM, ownership, etc, but they still need to perform regardless of all that.
“They miss the shots, make bad passes, miss rotations, etc. The rim is 10ft tall in every arena, and the lines on the court are in the same spots.”
If the players aren’t as talented as their peers on other teams, is it their fault? This franchise simply hasn’t added top end elite talent to the roster for a decade and a half. I can’t blame the players for not being as good as their peers.
This is a franchise that has attemtped to annoint Cuz and Fox as franchise, number one players and to build around them. The belief that Fox is a number one player led to passing on Luka (elite talent). That says it all.
It really isn’t very difficult to determine what needs to be done but realize this team is multiple years away from being respectable. Step 1 – trade Barnes and Buddy for whatever draft capital you can get and cap space you can create. Step 2 – let the rest of the season play out evaluating our young players. There’s no reason to give any minutes to Harkless, Len, Thompson and I’d play Holmes sparingly. Step 3 – In the offseason determine if Holmes and Fox fit into the long term plans, at this point only move them for an exceptional deal. Step 4 – Use the cap space that’s been created and prior to the draft look to take on a bad contract for draft picks or a young player. Step 5 – Execute the draft and play the first part of the 2022 season evaluating whether Fox and Holmes are still a fit, if not move them before the deadline in 2023 for whatever draft capital and cap space you can get. Step 6 – go to step 2 and repeat process.
A major rebuild is necessary no matter how difficult it is to admit. Any other plan is pretty much trading inferior talent for inferior talent.
BREAKING: Kings announce Harkless, Len, Thompson to start, play “major minutes” in hopes of providing “veteran leadership” as team “push[es] for the play-in.”
The impending playoff drought record is definitely not the reason for the boiling-over frustration from the fanbase lately. Personally, I would welcome setting that dubious record if it happened because the Kings were finally acknowledging the hopelessness of this roster and going full rebuild. Instead, the team has publicly committed to the “playoffs” (8th seed) or, even worse, the “play-in” (10th seed) as its goal. This is angering for two reasons: One, the team has never possessed the talent to seriously compete for a playoff spot, which anybody with eyes and the capacity for logical reasoning could figure out; and two, repeatedly mentioning “playoffs” or “play-in” as a goal is simply pathetic. What kind of a goal is that? “Our highest aspiration is to do something over 50% of teams do!” Geez, how lame can you be? It’s like a teacher saying he wants his students to “shoot for a C-minus.” Laaaaame. The ultimate goal is a championship. If you’re not willing to make the tough choices and go through the long-term process to (hopefully) achieve that goal, why should fans give a rip about your beloved, pathetic play-in aspirations?
Correct and well said.
Yes, even if they miraculously play .500 ball the rest of the way (something they haven’t done in 16 years btw) they end up with 33 wins. If that somehow gets them the 10-seed (it won’t), there’s no way in hell they’re going on the road to win two consecutive games against far better teams to become the 8 seed.
Right. And even worse, even if they do somehow win 2 straight and make it into the actual playoffs, it says nothing about the team’s long-term prospects. All it says is they played 33-win basketball and then managed to win 2 in a row. As a wise man once said: Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn sometimes.
It’s the Kings. Things can always be worse. If they put forth a little more effort into failing more miserably, I think that they would be able to achieve their goal.
If instead we consider missing the playoffs as the top badge of NBA success, then our Kings are the best team on the planet, with an unmatched record of success avoiding the failure of the playoffs.
Did McNair totally misjudge the talent of this roster before the season began? Didn’t he think this was a playoff roster? Isn’t that a little worrisome that the GM overestimated his players so much? It does not give me faith that he will be able to find the right players to fix this.
It’s just more wasted words but it’s the only thing that has remained consistent since Vivek bought this team is the utter insanity of the roster construction. Is it Vivek who the fuck knows, matina, joe Dumars, the Easter bunny, whoever. But this team has made the same mistakes over and over and over with tons of new faces “in control” and “ making the decisions” yet it’s stayed consistently stupid since Vivek bought.
Agreed with everything in the article except this part re Monte:
He effectively did hire his own person when he boldly and stupidly declared that Walton was the coach that was going to lead us back to the playoffs. He wasted the offseason when he could have been looking for a permanent head coach instead of having to plug in a washed-up retread. It’s Monte’s idiocy on that issue, and his idiotic insistence that the playoffs are still this year’s goal, that leaves me feeling hopeless.
Maybe Vivek’s budget didn’t allow for multiple head coaches on the payroll.
such shortsighted thinking that it is probably the right answer.
Nothing like taking $130 million payroll AND a year of all your contracts/careers of your players and flushing it down the toilet to save a few million in bucks because you don’t want o pay the moron coach you previously hired while also paying a competent coach that might actually take the investment in players and turn it into something.
Yeah, I didn’t get the “Vivek didn’t want to pay several HCs at the same time while dealing with empty arenas” line even though I believe they are strapped for NBA ownership levels of cash. Just compared to other operating expenses, its a drop in the bucket.
When HC’s get paid less than half your roster, Walton was making roughly $5.5MM/yr, sandwiched between TT ($9.7MM) & Davion ($4.6MM) it makes no sense whatsoever to make the type of decision that throws away an entire year. I think Vivek ACTUALLY believed this roster and HC was good enough to compete which is probably worse than just being cheap.
Perfect words
Our fanbase is so die hard and underrated, we have stuck with this team through 80% mediocre years in 35 here. This city would go crazy for even a decent 7/8 seed squad, what a waste.
Man, I wish 80% of the years had been mediocre. That would’ve been great.
Under Vivik? Never!
This is the worst team in the history of the Kangz because the bottom is absolutely infinite. There is nothing that is clearly the bottom.
All of the bad years…at least in those years there was a logical progression or reason. We saw the bottom. The team had clear issues that were identifiable.
This organization is beyond bad this year. Nothing is the bottom.
The Mariana Trench is the bottom here where we’re at.
The Matina Trench?
I felt the disappointment for the entire season before the first game was played.
Despite its imbalance, this was the best roster we’ve had for years, but due to the front office’s lack of long-term planning (such as investing in scouting and youth development) and the decision to retain Walton, I figured we would witness another uninspiring year of play.
If no moves are made to improve the team (for next year and/or beyond) and despite his draft successes to-date then McNair probably isn’t the long term solution due to his inability to use assets well or extract value from time-limited assets (like expiring contracts).
Sacramento especially, needs a GM that won’t miss on draft picks (doesn’t have to hit homers, just not miss) and someone who can maximize the value of the few assets the team does have. We’re not going to convince a top-tier talent to sign here and then be able to trade them for a windfall like DET is doing with J. Grant or what NY is likely to do with J. Randle.
If McNair is not the long-term solution, he should be let go before the next coach is hired because the next coach should definitely be hired by the GM we expect to be here for the next 3-4 years. I think this is a big FA deadline for Ol’ McGenius.
Vivek is the actual GM ! Monte is a puppet like PDA and Vlade ! Next hire will be another FO 3rd guy !
In 1989, the Kings were bad, a prospect killed himself, they traded for Ralph Sampson who could barely walk. But, the team was still new. Nobody thought the owner mattered and the GMs moves were covered a couple of times a year in the paper. The arena was always 100% full. Most went hoping the Kings could beat the Trailblazers. Some came to just see the Trailblazers, or because tickets were cheap in a sleepy region, or because they’d heard it was a lot of fun and wanted to give it a try. If the Kings made a run to take lead, everyone cheered crazy hard. If they won, we lost our shit and it was electric. Even on a weeknight in March.
In the internet era, even the most casual fan eventually realized what the cash strapped Maloofs meant to the Kings ability to field a good team. Vivek following the Maloofs is a brutal combo. This space has probably people that believe a couple of roster moves or extend run of spirited play will elate casual fans. But, many people know that the Kings owner just makes them dead franchise walking over the long haul. Until he sells, you don’t really fully come back from that. A lot casual fans that will never tweet or look at this space but bought 17-41 sets of lower bowl tickets are not coming back for a scrappy 7th seed after an 18 year playoff drought.
The level of hopelessness has never been higher in at any other point.
When you hear a 90’s player say the Kings have / had great fans, that’s what they are talking about. The ability to pack the arena for a team 14 games under .500 AND they cheer like it’s a playoff game after making a 12-1 run, to take a 2 point lead, in a narrow loss. And do it again the next night. That doesn’t happen much in the NBA. As a one team town, it can be very good here again. But after this run, that level of engagement is going to be extremely hard to get back.
In this day and age, at the prices they charge….now that the “new arena shine” has worn off, I don’t think the team is going to be selling out (or even coming close to it) for a non playoff-caliber team going forward. And rightfully so. These crowd levels will hopefully remain until some form of sustained success happens.
I think you’re right that this is the most hopeless it’s ever been. I used to get excited about moving up in the lottery and then they passed on Doncic and it was clear they couldn’t succeed even when they got lucky. If you can’t pick Doncic when everyone thinks you should and it’s a no brainer you’re never going win.
This. I think that was the beginning of the end. the DMC stuff was toxic but I was engaged at least. After passing on Doncic, I realized this team is never going to be good again and apathy set in. Doncic was literally a gift. They not only looked the gift horse in the mouth, they took a shit in it.
Fuck man, I’ll never get over that. I literally would say outlod all the time to friends and family “one day the kings will get lucky and have a couple of high draft picks in a row that are stars like Durant and Westbrook and this team and city will EXPLODE!”
then… it happened!!! The kings were gifted Fox, the city and fan base erupted at the draft night party when we lucked in to getting him. Then, the very next year the stars aligned and gave us a generational talent from another country in Luca Doncic! We had a GM that knew the kid personally and had friendships with his coaches throughout his youth career and professional career. It was a done deal! Kings were back on the map baby!!! Playoffs in 2 years MAX.
NOPE
We instead do the dumbest shit ever and DESTROY a pre ordained gift from the basketball gods.
I and nearly every other kings fan that was following the draft was absolutely demoralized and disgusted that day we heard Marvin Bagley’ a name called. Sorry Marvin.
opportunities like Luca doncic and Fox on rookie deals don’t come around very often. It wouldn’t hurt so much if it wasn’t the most obvious pick in the world. Sadly it was.
get over it you say? Sorry, I tried, and seasons like this just reinforce the fact that I can not simply get over it. It hurts.
The last time I honestly had fun at a game like old school stupid exuberance was the final game at arco. Beating the Durant led thunder with Westbrook was amazing. Place was as loud as the playoff games. That was the first and last time in this ownership that I’ve had fun at a game.
Little did I know that the soul of the kings could get further pulled out on top of losing arco.
King’s hit rock bottom years ago. Vivek just keeps on digging. Like my old man used to say about the Niners in the 70s..Wait till next year.
When ever the question must be asked the answer is no.
If they hit rock bottom today, that means tomorrow they improve. That’s hard to believe.
a few years back I was into LIW (losing is winning) then broke myself of the habit. I faltered after the Spurs loss but righted myself then after the home losses to Detroit and Houston, I was all in. The last road trip has just reinforced that. I like the guys and hate to see them suffer but I am trying to long term look.
Oh, yes, Wagner hit the game winner for Orlando- missed him in the draft by 1.
There might be about 8 strong candidates in this year’s draft with a cleat top 3. But some strength up to 9. So get a high pick, trade for a Memphis pick (they have 3) and keep the keepers- Fox and Hali.
Oh the one thing this team does is surprise us with a new low
To me, it isn’t in either/or when it comes to trading for a guy like Simmons or tanking. It is both/and. That is the level of change needed.
If I were playing GM, I would trade for a guy like Simmons and tell him to take the rest of the year to get right, tank for a top five pick, and then roll into next season with some legitimate hope both of this year and going forward.
It’s not unreasonable to imagine a lineup with Tyrese/Simmons/Banchero(or Smith or someone else)/Harris/Holmes. You are probably giving up on this year and giving away a first in the next couple of years, but at least this way you have some hope.
yeah, regardless of who we get (if anything) in trades, tanking ought to be the priority this season. Vivek won’t allow it though because it doesn’t philosophically jive with his beliefs aka he does not trust his front office to make good picks anyway
I see this exact thing too. You are a good person.
I was pleased that the Kings have decided to not pursue Ben Simmons and/or Tobias Harris as acquiring them would perhaps made the problem worse especially if it meant trading away Haliburton. This is the classic pyrrhic victory. The Kings need to trade Hield, Barnes & Holmes for draft capital and get cap space for the offseason. There are several restricted free agents with notoriously cheap owners that could improve the team in the immediate near future plus adding a top pick would turn around the team quickly and perhaps in a sustainable manner.
Doug Christie- disappeared for close to 2 weeks. No mention in press, no mention on TV. Fox stubs his toe and they are all over it. DC was the “new head coach” guy, goes away and no words at all. HMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Then last night- very subdued, not in huddle, not talking to players at time outs.
What gives?
AG got upset.
DC got sick.
Family/personal issues?
But glad to see his shing dome back.
Christie was out with covid…..it was mentioned both in the press and on TV.
And it was mentioned so frequently, I was getting tired of them talking about it if I’m being honest.
The Kings have had teams I’ve despised. This isn’t that team. I like rooting for this team. Fox, Hali, Holmes, and Barnes are easy guys to root for. I’m more disappointed because they gave me hope at the beginning of the year. Now it’s clear, rebuild is necessary and it should be around Hali. Complimentary players on his timeline need to be added. Trade established vets for upside youth. Fill in the gaps with journeymen. The Griz and Phoenix showed it can happen in a season or two. I feel like the Artest teams were rock bottom. I hated rooting for that bunch of woman beaters.
100% agree. I don’t find this team to be the most unlikable roster like Matt George does, not even close. This is actually a really fun and enjoyable team personality wise/talent wise. It’s just clear they are awful together
Agree, and it may make it worse ! Overall, a proven losing team with minimal ways to improve since assets are few and decision makers limited ! May not be the bottom but you can sure see it from here !
I hope we can all agree the DMC/Rondo/Lawson/DC/Barnes combo was the worst ever. Domestic violence? Check. Hate speech? Check. DUI? Check. All-around a$$holery? Check. Playoffs? NOPE.
I think the question I’m curious about is when does this team make the playoffs again? They are really bad right now so it’s probably 2-3 years minimum. Does the streak hit 20 years? 25? If it’s 20+ does anybody go to games again? What even happens? At this point I kind of want to see it happen to see how bad it gets. It’s pure schadenfreude but I want Vivek to be seen as the most incompetent owner in sports and his name to be synonymous with failure.
It’s so sad that it’s come to this. We all need a big hug.
Need to get one of those “days without an
incidentplayoff game” signs going in the banner!Every player, head coach, and GM has been replaced since VR took ownership. It’s been crap ever since. He needs to gracefully let someone else take over. That person needs to let McNair hire his own coach and give him the goal of playoffs in 3 years. Chasing a play-in is pathetic now. To look like your trying and sucking so badly is embarrassing. Have some dignity and trade the vets with value for expirings and picks. Invest in scouting. Invest in player development. The Kings are only going to get better thru the draft. Listen to trade offers, but don’t prostrate yourself for “deals” for the sake of deals. Let the young guys play with lots of days off for Fox and Hali. Need a top 5 pick this year. Do the same thing next year and get another top 5. I’ve been a STH for 9 years now. First seats were $17 each. Now they are $216. Used to have two tix. My seat neighbor and I were so disgusted after last year that we were both going to quit. We agreed to get one each and switch off games. We both are quitting after this season. Sucks because I love going when I think they have a chance to win. Lately it’s been a chore. Over $8800/year for half the games, plus parking, plus food just doesn’t make any sense. This year I said .500 record and playoffs (8 seed or better) and I’d re-up. Not going to happen. I’ll just get those $49 for a month of home games next year and sit in the nose bleeds.
Don’t even give Vivek the $49, he hasn’t earned with this garbage product. If you had to purchase a home appliance that took a dump on you every year, would you keep purchasing it?
Bless you for hanging in as long as you have… I had the $49 plan, and by Dec I realized it wasn’t worth my time to spend even $49 watching this garbage.
Why in the world would you want to pay $49 to sit in the nose bleeds at a Kings game? That makes absolutely no sense to me.
if you absolutely must go, you can buy a $15 top of the arena seat, and then sit anywhere you want in the lower bowl. Heck you could probably walk down to courtside just in case you feel sick to your stomach.
I think he’s talking the Kings Plan, where you get tix to all the games in a month for $49.
it is better to barf at courtside than from the steep upper deck/back row.
This brings a whole new angle to projectile vomiting.
Fans have. attendance is pitiful. Viewership is pitiful. The number of comments in threads are astronomically low. Radio stations have abysmal ratings
fans do not care anymore. Rightfully so.
Meanwhile, in news utterly unrelated to the Kings, Luka Doncic now has 43 career triple doubles.
F U
with love
I don’t care what anyone says… the Kings are 2 time Summer League Champions! Can any other team claim that????
Good piece Noel. This team is certainly frustrating, I don’t want to see it as constructed anymore than anybody else does. OTOH, I don’t want to see a bad trade because change is needed either. My hope is the Kings can both move Buddy for something palatable (expiring deal basically) and get what you can for Harrison Barnes at the very least and I’d kick the tires on Richaun Holmes since he has two years and a player option left on his deal after this season.
But it is what it is. I’d build around Fox, Haliburton, the draft pick from ’22, a player like John Collins if there’s a reasonable trade to be had (Barnes + a top 10 protected pick in ’22 and top 5 protected in ’23, unprotected in ’24) and I might keep Holmes if there isn’t the right trade out there given how much value he brings to the table if he’s healthy. (Which is always the rub with Richaun.)
This group as is does not work. They’ve underachieved from day one, and there are a ton of fingers to point if you so desire. I know a lot of people are hoping Vivek Ranadive will sell (he won’t for reasons that James Ham and Sean Cunningham pointed out on one of their podcasts), but that is a pipedream.
My thought is move on with a head coach that this FO wants to work with, shape the roster around Fox, Haliburton, that pick and hopefully a talented player you can acquire at this deadline, and go from there. This roster isn’t super expensive or difficult to move outside of Buddy (who hopefully is gone by this deadline).
There are options with this roster, and McNair is largely the reason for those options owing to decisions made that many disagreed with (like Bogdanovich not being retained). It is what it is at this point, and I’m hoping some deals can be made at the deadline so we don’t have to continue watching this team. It’s no fun.
There is no rock bottom for a team that seems insistent on throwing shovels and jackhammers into the hole.
Unfortunately, I think they have a little further to fall before Rock Bottom appears.
this will get worse before it gets better. Here’s hoping the trade deadline serves as onus for pointing the franchise in an upward direction instead of this silent free-fall.
if the Kings lose in Sacramento and no fans are around to see it, does it make a sound?
Rock bottom?! This is the KANGZ we’re talking about. We all think it’s rock at the bottom, but in our case it will be molten hot lava and our legs will get melted trying to push up. But…there’s always next year!
There is no rock bottom for the Kings. Eventually they’ll just pop out at coordinates: -38.581061, 58.506105 (38° 34′ 51.8″ S, 58° 30′ 22″ E)
Jury is still out on McNair until trade deadline but I am just trying to understand what in the basketball hell is going on with this ownership, front office and team:
1) what’s wrong with admitting and taking the bottom out route?
2) if playoff (just save it, it’s the fools gold of “play in”) remains the goal this season, why the inaction last offseason and leading up to the deadline?
3) if talents are here, why aren’t the coaching staff playing other guys that haven’t been playing?
4) McNair has not accumulated any additional picks or assets since day 1 of his tenure while this team got more expensive, what is he really trying to do?
I am so fed up. Even pistons are better than us in the foreseeable future
“Interim coach Alvin Gentry has apologized and spoken out about the team’s inconsistent play.” I would counter that this team is incredibly consistent!
Badge Legend