Welcome to the worst start of the 21st century for the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are currently on pace to win 17ish games, look completely outmatched by whoever they’re playing on both ends of the floor, and there’s still more than 3/4 of the season to go. Fun!
Embrace the Tank
It’s almost a blessing in disguise that the Kings have been worse than advertised this season. Coming into the season, I was worried this was simply going to be another year of wasting time watching a middling team chase a Play-In spot and end up with a lower tier lottery pick in a loaded draft. But this has turned out to be an awful team, off to one of the worst starts in franchise history. The Kings are a bottom-five offense and defense, and only the Pelicans, Nets, Pacers and Wizards have a worse record. Sacramento’s only wins have been on a Domantas Sabonis putback against Utah, somehow getting to the line 40 times and beating a Bucks team that shot 59.8% from the field, and barely beating the Warriors while they sat all their stars.
These Kings are absolutely putrid to watch, with no offensive flow or defensive intensity. I feel bad for Doug Christie, who is trying his hardest to find some kind of lineup configuration that works, but there doesn’t seem to be a solution with the pieces available. Will Keegan Murray’s return help? For sure, but at this point I’m not sure I really want it to. This Kings team (the front office and ownership, not the players or coaches of course) needs to embrace the suck. The absolute worst thing that can happen now is for this team to somehow figure something out and start winning a bunch of meaningless games. I don’t want to hear anything about “creating a losing culture” because 90% of these players probably won’t be here in a year or two. This is an opportunity for the Kings to actually hit the ground running on this rebuild. Sell the veterans you can, get whatever assets you can, and try to get as high a pick as possible in this year’s draft. Rebuilds don’t have to take forever, you just need to make the right picks and that tends to be easier at the top of the draft. I know some Kings fans might bemoan another rebuild and say that the draft isn’t a sure thing, but it’s definitely the best option for a small market like Sacramento that doesn’t attract stars in free agency or trades.
The Kings have never really managed to get one of those truly franchise-altering players in the draft before despite so many trips to the lottery in the last decade plus (despite several of those players there for the taking by a competent front office), but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try again. By all accounts, this draft is absolutely loaded, with the top three of Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa all players some scouts would name as consensus #1 picks in other drafts.
Hopefully this terrible start has disillusioned this organization of any playoff hopes for this year or the near future. This team needs an overhaul, and the only way that’s going to happen is with a complete teardown. Yes, it’s going to be a painful ride, but better to rip the Band-Aid off now.
Doug Christie might not last the season
I don’t mean that the Kings might fire Doug Christie during the season, but rather that Doug Christie might not be able to handle this much awfulness on both ends of the floor. You can see the pain and frustration in Doug’s face whenever he talks about this team to the media. Doug was always one of the toughest competitors for this team as a player, and I thought he did an admirable job coaching this team to a winning record during last season after such a tumultuous start. Losing isn’t in Doug’s DNA, but unfortunately I think he’s going to see a lot of it as a coach this year, and it might get worse before it gets better. I’m not sure there is a coach that could do anything with this product, but it’s especially painful to see one of my childhood heroes have to deal with it. Stay strong, Doug.
Dennis Schröder benching was the right call
It’s not a great sign when your marquee signing of the offseason is getting benched not even 15 games into the season, but in this case it was the right call. Doug Christie made the decision to replace Schröder in the starting lineup with Russell Westbrook, and while it hasn’t translated to wins yet, I do believe it balances the team a little bit better. Schröder is yet another score-first player, a big reason why I and many other fans weren’t huge fans of his signing given that the Kings already have so many score-first guards. Coming off the bench allows Schröder to play a bit more naturally aggressive. The Kings still have a clogged backcourt though, and I’m not sure it matters who is or isn’t starting until they start shipping off some of these guards, but a bench role seems to suit Schröder for now.
Will the Kings win again in November?
There’s no doubt that the Kings have had one of the toughest schedules in the league, if not the toughest. After November they’ll have played the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder three times each already. But they’re also losing the games that aren’t supposed to be so hard. They got absolutely blown out at home by an Atlanta Hawks team that didn’t have Trae Young. The Spurs felt good enough about their chances against the Kings that they didn’t bother playing Victor Wembanyama, and rightfully so as they cruised to a victory. The Kings remaining November schedule is another matchup against the Thunder, followed by the second night of a back to back in Memphis. Then it’s back to Denver before finishing the month with a home game against Phoenix, a road game in Utah and then back home for Memphis. On paper the Kings should win a few of those games, but given how they’ve been playing lately, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this losing streak grow and grow (and again, it might be for the best). Keegan Murray will hopefully rejoin the team at some point this month, and I hope that when he does he’s at least given plenty of opportunity instead of merely being regulated to a fourth or fifth option.
There is something uglier than Kings basketball this season
And that is the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA cup court. Whichever NBA marketing person allowed that abomination needs to be fired. The court was so bright that the players looked like they were glowing green. The NBA cup has been a neat edition, but the NBA really needs to tone it down with these special courts, or at least set some rules so we don’t get eyesores like that neon green monstrosity.
Upcoming Kings Schedule:
- Wednesday, Nov. 19th at Oklahoma City
- Wednesday, Nov. 20th at Memphis
- Saturday, Nov. 22nd at Denver
This is key. The Kings have to build through the draft. I’m tired of hearing that the draft is no sure thing, but is sure has been for the past 4 NBA champs. OKC, Boston, Denver, and Milwaukee all got to where they are today via the draft.
I don’t like hearing, “but we blew it with missing Luka!” That was fucking 2 GMs ago! If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. As Akis said, this draft is loaded. I feel there are 3 dudes you can build a team around and another 3 that have star potential. Getting a top 5 pick is the correct path this franchise needs to pursue.
Lastly, the whole “another rebuild” idea…when was the last true rebuild, because I’m of the mindset that the team has never had a proper one. A rebuild means accumulating picks instead of wins, playing youth, moving off of vets, and knowing which games to subtly tank.
I’d argue the era from 2006-2012 was a true rebuild, just an incompetent one.
But there was no attempt to gather picks. It was just really bad drafting and poor attempts to stay relevant in the later dark days of the Maloofs. Bringing in dudes like John Salmons, twice, Samuel Dalembert, Mikki Moore, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim to pull out 25-30 wins isn’t rebuilding, that’s treading water. It is also pretty damn close to what the team has been doing for the majority of the Vivek years.
Yeah, that period was more “cut salary until we can move the team” than it was rebuild.
Agreed.
I agree, it’s the way to go. Just don’t screw it up like Utah has. What’s it been, 4 years since they got like 8 picks for Rudy and Dono and I think they held onto Lauri too long. They should be gearing up to compete, but I don’t think they’re ready.
I do wonder if it’s possible to build with this owner. Because everything about the team is undermanned. The scouting, the development. Not to mention the negative atmosphere and the way the owner treats everybody in the organization.
I wish vivek would just leave but the only hope is that he backs off the teeniest bit and they get lucky in the lottery
it would be easy to rebuild if he was gone.
Of course the draft is very important but the Celtic /OKC had great trades to make it work . Celts acquired Holiday, White, Porzingas, Horford via trade and OKC was built around SGA, Dordt, Hartenstein, Caruso . Both teams had terrific drafts getting Brown, Tatum for C’s and Holmgren, Williams for OKC . Need both directions and why I have zero confidence the owner/ GM are up to the job !
I’d sign up for TV and start watching games again if they emptied the cupboard and went full rebuild. I’d much rather watch some youngsters compete and lose than watch whatever it is they’re trying to do right now.
They also drafted Hali. Keegan. That’s a good start right there.
I agree. The draft is the only way. Rebuilding is the only way but we’ve known this. Only the dumb ass owner is stopping it.
Good stuff!
But that court was awesome, if for no other reason than all “green screen” video edit opportunities!
Someone could take Kyle and Kayte’s pregame in front of the court and put them in a hot tub for example.
I kind of like the alternate courts and Minny’s matched their unis. But a dark court with neon lines would have been better than the reverse.
I have enough of Kaytie haters.Leave her alone. She is here to stay. I would rather some of you guys try and find other ways than hitting on Kaytie. I know you have your comments but I am a little tired of hearing them all the time. By the way I like Kaytie and she knows basketball more in ner little finger than you guys know in your whole body.
Kayte, is that you?
She is very knowledgeable but talks over live action constantly . I mute, she is yours to enjoy but makes the game even less enjoyable to me .
I like the lady but I can’t stand her calling the game.
Cmon man. She’s doing a bad job and they’re calling her out for it. Why shouldn’t they.
Wow. So many people you could have made this comment to and you chose me? I’m a Kayte supporter. Not sure how editing Kyle and Kayte into a hot tub is hating, but whatever.
I do not like Jones when he calls Kings games, I think he’s okay doing national broadcasts. I’m fine with Kyle and I’m fine with Kayte. I think she goes way too far out of her way to explain/defend any problem with the team. Some of that is likely coming from the ownership.
I think she’s a better color commentator than Doug or Walton and probably middle of the pack for NBA broadcast teams.
I’m a little tired of your trade ideas. But you arte entitled to them. Just as some people are entitled to critique Kayte.
I’m also not happy with your phrasing. You don’t know how much people here know about basketball, so who are you to judge?
As for Kayte, she is a full-on shill who is very apt at avoiding any serious critique of this franchise, it’s owner, GM, coach and players. If all that vast knowledge in her little finger is used to paper over the giant cracks of this franchise, that knowledge is worth diddly squat, IMO.
She is also a very hard listen, for me at least. She over explains things to the viewers like she thinks they are complete idiots. I’d rather just have the arena sounds instead of her and Draper/Jones.
I agree with that. Although I do get a kick out of Draper. He’s kinda funny.
He gets so damn excited when the team is down 20 and they have a chance at an alley-oop, only to botch it, lol. That is Draper in a nutshell.
So in another example that time is a flat circle in Sacramento. While looking over some stats that were cited in a pod I was listening to, the last time the kings were off to this bad a of start was Fox’s rookie season.
On that team, Zach Randolph, Vince Carter the assistant GM who made those moves before leaving for NY, Scott Perry.
I bring this up to say that I find it to probably be the straw that broke the camels back for my give AF’s about this team that Perry is the one making these decisions “allegedly” if we do rebuild. His one big love of the offseason is already unplayable as a starter on this team.
oh and Vlade is back in town a lot too lately. Can’t wait to get his input on the draft this year if they stumble into another top 3 pick yet pick the guy that isn’t in the consensus top 3 because of fit with Nique.
Yeah, I’m not too excited about having Perry handle a rebuild. The JV trade to sign Schröder to his deal might be the worst off season move since Vlade made the Philly trade. Anyone from the Joe Dumars tree of front office work is a red flag for me. Also, as part of that 2017 draft that landed Fox, the Kings (along with Perry) traded the #10 (Zach Collins) for #15 (Justin Jackson) and #20 (Harry Giles). Left on the board after #10: Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, John Collins, Jarrett Allen, OG Anunoby, Derek White, Josh Hart. The Kings could have thrown a dart at the board after #10 and done better…and they had 2 to throw.
I’d have much preferred to have Monte handle a rebuild. I feel like that the first few years of his tenure were the only ones that Vivek didn’t meddle in the day to day operations, and it ended up with a playoff birth.
Agreed. There is nothing to get excited about as long as Vivek is at the helm. He will be 1-13 in getting to the playoffs after this season. That’s an 8% success rate in a league where 53% succeed each year. He has fired far too many for far less.
I wouldn’t put it past him to land the #1 pick and then draft CAYDEN Boozer.
Even going back and looking at some of the pressers when they signed Carter and Randolph are hilarious with the context of our current leadership.
Vlade thanking Perry and his “connections” that allowed them to sign those two.
Perry going off about how the signing of those two are bringing the Memphis mentality to Sacramento and I shit you not, “ defensive pillars” that are necessary for a successful team.
The only problem with Monte Vivek was running the show. If it’s true and I don’t know if it is or not but Matt George said in comments a couple of shows ago that his understanding is Perry has full control over signings, trades and picks. Vivek will stay out of his way.
Zach Lowe just called out Vivek by name on his pod he released today.
Also called out kings herald by name as a metric of how sad what is going on with the team that even the fans and best blog site in the NBA doesn’t care anymore.
I listened to this today, if only the organization took a little piece of what was said onboard
Matt George has now thrown Sabonis under the bus, so i take anything he says with a huge grain of salt.
I would never throw Sabonis under the bus but realistically so far this year, and I know he has had injuries, he hasn’t shown much this year. As an old coach I can tell you he does not play defense hardly at all. And some of his fouls have to do with putting his hands on the backs of players and giving them a little shove. Gets called 75% of the time. He needs to not do this and as a professional player should know better. On offense he misses too many bunnies. This drives me crazy. Great player and I love what he does and how he plays when he’s hurt but does some stupid things some times.
That is exactly what he said when he hired Pete D, Vlade, Monte, and now Perry . You may trust him but I see no reason to plus have no faith in Perry either . Also, Matt George has no more insight than you or I do . Just a platform .
Yeah, Matt George (and several other “journalists” around the team) seem to go whichever way the wind blows, and only address real issues months or years later when it’s too obvious to ignore.
Most of us have been around long enough to remember when Vlade “really” had full control of the team… and then Monte… and now Perry.
It’s amazing the mental gymnastics these people will do about this circus of an organization in order to maintain their access. Pretty sad, but I know they need to have jobs, and the fact they are scared/unwilling to tell the truth about this team bc of what Vivek might do to them… tells you all need to know about Vivek.
Sam Amick said the same. But who knows. Can this owner keep his grubby little hands out of decisions. ? And for how long?
and Vlade being around….yikes
Yep to all of this. Scooter P is a shit GM. How he managed to steer NYK mostly to where they are now is baffling to me, I have to think the majority of it was dumb luck or someone else. If Scooter P is a shit GM, tho, Vivek is an even worse owner.
Hi guys. I have had a lot going on and haven’t been around in a minute. How are the vibes around here? 😉
Immaculate!
Incontinent!
Depends
As long as it can Ensure a high draft pick.
Hope he can come back and be a top player again .
Should we be worried about either or both of:
(a) That trading away meh vets might ruin the tank because the young players may actually be better team players?
(b) After the next few games the Kings strength of schedules goes from the hardest in the league to one of the easiest in the league for the rest of the season, so the FO (aka the chairman) buy the fools gold of a minor uptick in wins yet again?
Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa are all praying that Vivek demands the team make a push for the play-in.
I would if I were those guys.
As to (a), I think it depends on who the youth is. It’s some young pups on rookie scale deals looking to make a long lasting impact in the league, then I’m cool with it. If its the type of “youth” like Jordan Poole and Jalen Green get lumped into with their large contracts and high usage, then no.
As to (b). Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. I want this plane to crash and burn before it crash lands to safety, gets patched up, and limps along to the next destination.
It is a series of unfortunate events that takes place when the Sacramento Kings are this bad. I think the League is happier with Sacramento in the quagmire of mediocrity, the 30-40 game infinite loop of being nowhere and going nowhere at the same time.
Why is Sacramento having the top pick not a great thing? Well, we’ve seen this before. Top picks and the agents representing top picks wanted neither hide nor hair to be Sac bound. Players wouldn’t even come for a try out. Like top GMs, like top Head Coaches – it’s a No Thanks, I’ll pass response.
Vivek is a leper colony of his own making. It is the realization that as long as he and Matina are large and in charge, the carousel of chaos will continue to circle around and around.
I am convinced that Bill Duffy made GM Vlade take a hike and that is the main reason we heard about Marvin Bagley III, and Michael Porter, Jr. instead. Do you really think the NBA was going to let Victor Wembayana play in Sacramento? In Charlotte? In New Orleans? In Memphis? In Washington? No effin’ way. Was never going to happen. And you know what? I can’t say I blame them.
Lesser maybe superstars I can see. Of these 3 strong choices (thus far), none stands out as a Lebron/Wembayana type can’t miss. I could see Sac getting one of them, just as much as I could see Sac trading out of the top spot because they are so Kangz.
I am in a very sour patch right now, so I might be being extreme. But I doubt it.
Well said.
Love the photo. thanks.
#SellTheTeam
Sorry, not expecting this ownership to show competence on any level anymore. Good luck.
He’ll “F” that up too.
Hey, we Kings fans are veterans (20 yrs again counting) of losing and sucktitude too! Things are now back to normal now that we suck again. Home sucky home. We are used to this, so losing seasons should be ingrained already. Light the Suck!
Your Suckramento Kangz.
No need to disparage the city.
Your VivekMatina Kangz
Keegan!
Probably means less time for Nique and Keon, which sucks. I want to see those three playing together a lot.
I’m all for Keon, Nique, and Keegan on the floor together. I’ll be tuning in for that.
Me too.
Vivek means “genius” in Arabic.
FIFY
Ranadive means micro in Arabic
Yet Kings fans still get shafted!
Those courts were so bad, on my higher contrast Sony….the players looked like black silhouettes, and could barely see any definition!
On a more serious note, count me as a fan who’s not on the rebuild train. Flip Demar for a dude like Isaac, and move Schroder for a wing, or maybe just one of those Roy-Al tees collecting dust in a closet somewhere and roll with a 10 man like this:
Domas
Keeg
Zach
Keon
Russ
Eubanks/Raynaud
Precious
Isaac
Nique
Monk
Way better mix of size, defense, rebounding and 3 pt shooting. Play it out till ZLV & RW are gone, they could actually do some damage. Then find young replacements in the draft for Russ & Zach…..maybe take Kingston Flemings, Boogie Fland, Labaron Philon or even Dash Daniels with the 1st rounder next year. Then take A. Stojakovic in the ’27 draft.
The lineup in ’27 could then look like
Domas
Keeg
Stojakovic
Keon
Daniels/Philon
Raynaud
Isaac
Nique
Monk
Carter
Bigger, younger, more athletic and more defensive like Christie is looking for. Really improved things in less than two years w/o even doing a rebuild.
Good luck trading a back up PG who is being paid 15 mill a year
Bad for a backup PG for sure, but 15mil isn’t that much in 2025. Attach some 2nds or a 1st swap….sucks to do it, but Perry made the brutal move to begin with, so now he has to pay for it.
You’re saying it like this isn’t going to happen….
#KANGZ
It’s really all or nothing in life and the NBA, the middle ground is where dreams go to die. You’re either a contender or you tank. Everything said in this writeup is on point, praying the basketball Gods deliver us a terrible season one way or another.
I still think the kings win 35ish games.
They will win lots of games against teams that are truly tanking and end up around pick #10 unless they get lottery luck.
As some others have said, the Kings do nothing well, including losing / tanking.
This looks like a strong draft class. If there were a good year to tank, this would be it. I think the top 3 are can’t miss talents, even if they aren’t necessarily generational. If we get one of those top 3, I’m sure we can trade it for a former all star guard past their prime that can’t play defense anymore for a “win now” blockbuster trade.
Yup, Ja Morant incoming.
In terms of the talent in this year’s draft, I couldn’t agree more. I’d even stretch to a top 5. There are some good dudes at the top, unfortunately, I feel the Kings are already behind the curve. As bad as they’ve been there are still 4 teams worse! I can’t recall a time when this far into the season that there were 4 teams with 2 or less wins.
The good thing for the Kings is that they need so much talent at every position, that whomever is available at their spot in the draft will fill a need!
Also, there are no undersized guards projected to go anywhere in the lottery!
Vivek, “Good year to trade the pick for Ja or Trae.”
Mikel Brown Jr. is the closest at 6’5 ~180lbs. All offense, no defense guard. Sounds like a King to me!
Too young. Stirtz is our guy. He can come in and contribute immediately.
I’m guessing they take Bennett Stirtz with the #2 pick.
In the Kangziest of Kangz fashion, I’m going with Cayden Boozer. Yes, they meant Cameron, but they wrote it down wrong.
“The Kings have never really managed to get one of those truly franchise-altering players in the draft.”
Tyreke Evans? Rookie of the Year.
DeMarcus Cousins? Uber-talented but couldn’t control his behavior.
DeAaron Fox? Arguably the best talent the Kings drafted in 20 years…yet he was unloaded.
Tyrese Haliburton? Didn’t see him becoming a superstar, and validly traded for a superb center (Sabonis) who would be paired with Fox…
Plenty of opportunity. None of it has materialized into winning.
Marvin Bagley? Will forever be tied to the this franchise’s altering fumble at the 1 yard line, as long as Luka plays. Nice 2nd jump though
There were some of us who saw how special Hali was, and the fact he was traded for fit with Fox (who is good, not great)… is just more Kangz shenanigans.
Ironically, the Pacers could very well get a top 3 pick that we covet while Hali is out. They’ll be back in contention within a year… while we eek out another 25-30 win season.
Dragged myself in here,
hoping the Kings Herald would rescue me
from another day of work-induced misery.
Instead I’m greeted by the reminder
that my favorite team
is still drifting through a cosmic void,
rudderless and directionless
under the watchful shrug
of a dismissive little chap—
insisting everything’s great
as the hull quietly takes on water.
At this point,
I’m not sure who needs the therapy more—
me or the Kings…
but after reading all this,
it appears work is real not a shitty abyss
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