According to a new report by the Athletic’s Sam Amick & Shams Charania, Kings coach Luke Walton is officially on the hot seat as the team finds themselves mired in a four-game losing streak and sitting at just 5-8.
The Kings, who started the season 5-4 before falling to Indiana, Phoenix, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, are determined to break their 15-year playoff drought, the NBA’s longest, and Walton won’t be given the same leeway to turn things around as he was last season. Especially when it comes to extended losing streaks.
Last season, the Kings were in a very similar situation, starting the season 5-4 before dropping a 9 game losing streak immediately after. It wouldn’t be their only 9 game losing streak either as they followed it up with another one two months later. Despite that, Walton was retained this summer with Monte McNair saying the following in his end of season press availability:
We found some success especially late in the season to get back into the play-in race, and ultimately, I felt that we could build on that and that he’s the coach who is going to get us back to the playoffs.
That statement isn’t looking too great right now, but it was also a clear edict for what the team’s expectations were going to be coming into this season. In the competitive Western Conference, every game counts and even one extended losing streak could be the difference between the playoffs and being on the outside looking in.
For Walton and the Kings, it’s do or die time, starting tonight in Detroit.
Let’s Go Pistons!
Kiss the Coach goodbye!
I don’t want him in the hot seat. I want him in an ejection seat.
I hope he uses a coaches challenge in the first quarter of his last game.
The tip goes out of bounds. Luke: “Challenge!!!”
Monte hasn’t covered himself in glory, failing miserably for two seasons to make an impact deal.
But Vivek is quickly making the Maloofs look brilliant
Why doesn’t Tenor have the ejection seat gif from Canonball Run?
Yes! Get rid of him yesterday. Lose lose lose!
This fuckwits shouldn’t have held onto him. Ridiculous that there is even a path to keeping Puke.
He’s shown he’s a bad coach over and over and over. If they fire Puke I think perhaps McNair is in control and still think they hung onto him because of Vivek pressure-money.
Turns out Fox is a double-agent. Woo Hoo! Help us bring Walton to the firing line
Walton did throw Fox under the bus last week. I’m hoping that it may have nudged Fox a bit off of his support for Walton.
I think if the Kings struggle to the playin that might be enough to extend Alton which must be avoided at all costs. Might as well fire him midseason to make sure it happens. I’m hoping for a Gentry turnaround similar to McMillan with the Hawks last season though realistically on a lesser scale. That’s probably not happening but whatever, get LLLLuke out of there ASAP.
Gentry has been fired 5 times as a head coach ! All time NBA record !
What is Gentry’s rep as a coach? Walton’s “player’s coach” mentality has certainly blown up in his face and this team is sorely in need of some discipline.
Our franchise likes to be a part of record setting futility, so we are destined to be #6.
Make Christie the interim. Good audition.
I would make Bobby Jackson the interim.
What did Bobby Jackson ever do to you?
Yeah, it’s not like he tapped a rebound to Horry.
Jackson played hard, and I think guys would play hard for him. Just a feeling, I could be wrong.
Like for Doug Christie?
It isn’t that simple.
Actually it is. It’s not only about X’s and O’s, it’s about making the right in game decisions/adjustments at the right time and the players buying in and willing to sacrifice in a team concept. Have you ever coached?
Yes, but not in the NBA. You?
And all that stuff you’re writing has nothing to do with having played hard, and get players to play hard for him.
What makes you think that Bobby or Doug is better than NBA greats such as Isiah Thomas?
Yes, but of course not in the NBA. I haven’t said anything about Christie. Didn’t mean to come off as a jerk, but I think Jackson’s credentials as an assistant are just as good as some other assistants from other teams, whose names are floated whenever an head coaching vacancy comes up. At the end of the day, we’re all just fans that want the team we root for to win. I’ll be in front of the TV at 4pm. Go Kings!!!
All good.
I like Jackson, but we have an annoying tendency to overrate our own guys, especialluy those from the glory years.
I can be completely wrong.
But when I hear guys like Wes Unseld Jr. disect a game or play(er), or give explantions postgame, I just see a different level.
“Annoying” barely scratches the surface. “Franchise-destroying” feels a bit closer, but I’m probably being too generous.
I like Bobby but I don’t think he is a head coach.
Doug may be in time but is not ready.
Gentry has been moderately successful in the past and is a head coach.
Some of the newer young coaches seem to be doing fine- never heard of them and then they do ok.
Unseld Jr. would have been a good choice.
I just think fluke is out of his depth.
I like Mitchell but fluke plays him at PG too often. Team is unbalanced – duh. Harkless fading. Metu not the answer.
If fluke does not beat BOTH Detroit and Minnesota, he should get fired.
“Congratulations, Bobby! You are now the interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings!”
The idea that the result of tonight’s game should have anything to do with whether or not the coach has a future here is insane to me.
Just fire that man.
Should’ve been done LONG ago.
Really should’ve never been hired in the first place…
Right?
If they win by a few points against the Pistons, fire him!
If they win by a lot of points against the Pistons, fire him!
To be clear, I wouldn’t have brought him back for this season, but I don’t think it’s all about this game. It’s about a series of games losing to some of the easier teams on our schedule.
That blown lead in OKC was not only a pivotal, potentially season-impacting game, but it showed all of the team’s and Walton’s weaknesses from prior season. It was an inflection point.
And if we don’t go at least 2-2 against the 4 easier teams, there’s no reason to keep him around if there is any outside hope of saving the season.
I still think Monte and team deserve and will get at least one more season after this, but at some point they have to start getting itchy to mix things up and show that it’s not the roster that is the primary issue.
He should have never been hired. Never given an extension. Never been kept and shoulda allowed GM to bring in his coach.
Vivek, you are an Fucking idiot-blondes by your ego. How the hell he can keep doing the wrong thing is astounding.
Thank You. Walton’s ass should have been warm for a while.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” said no one.
And McNair’s statement, in retrospect, seems to have had a useful subtext, in that it started the clock running on Walton’s tenure. As the playoffs (1 through 8, not just the play-in) recede farther and farther from possibility, it makes replacing Legacy Hire much easier.
He has one job, and he’s already digging the kind of hole that will make it impossible to achieve it.
I really wish that I had a long knife-sharpening business near DoCo right now.
Could anyone really be surprised by this? I mean, could anyone who follows the Kings or even the NBA not have seen this coming?
Who is ready for Gentry to stumble this team into the play-in tournament then have him get extended this summer? Kings will then win an average of 37 games per year for the next 3 seasons under Gentry until we get interim Coach Christie in 2025.
Rinse and repeat.
Vivek: “I make new mistakes, I won’t make the same mistake again.”
“I don’t make the same mistakes twice. I make them three times or more”
“Fail fast. Fail often. Fail hard.”
“Move fast and break things.”
–some techie nerd
He’s done a great job breaking our wills to watch this team.
Vivek makes all kinda of mistakes. In fact, it’s all he does when it comes to the team. Worst 1-3 owners in sports.
If Gentry is bumped up, barring some remarkable turnaround, I don’t think he’ll be given the gig beyond interim status. I’d guess that McNair had a list of potential coaches even before he was hired, and that he’s been regularly updating it. He seems like he might be interested in going after a promising young gun who deserves a first chance, but as we all know, replacing Walton with as much as a potted plant would be an improvement.
While true that he may have a list. Gentry was also a Monte hire, so he’s likely on that list too. Making an interim shift double as an on-the-job interview.
Gentry as much as anyone else is basically the coaching equivalent of training wheels, as are most of the rest. I don’t know if Sacramento has the most assistant coaches in the league, but it seems like there’s one for every roster spot. They’re paying a fortune just to prop up Walton.
Really, the 5 time fired head coach is the answer !
Yep. Walton is an idiot who should go (and was an idiot four months ago too). Replacing Walton is a can’t lose for the front office. If they win more games, they made the right choice, and if the season is already lost in late November, the local media will be happy to roll out the “new coach, no training camp” excuse for them all year.
At least minus Walton, I don’t see any way the team gets worse, so we have that going for us.
I’ll tell you, whoever lands that 10 seed is going to be a bad basketball team. Minny? San Antonio? Sacramento? I smell a 36-46 team getting that seed.
That scenario gives me minor nightmares. The bar is so low we might have a parade.
I keep thinking (and kind of hoping) the TWolves are underachieving. Removing Walton is a good step, but it isn’t enough. Maybe hitting the all time playoff record (and missing the play-in) is enough to put the team in gear to make changes.
It is NOT a 10 seed… It’s a opportunity to get the 8 seed. …And it is EXTREMELY unlikely that they would win two consecutive games to somehow get the 8th seed. Regardless of record, I don’t think that anyone will see a play-in loss as a successful season.
Anyone?
So Monte wasted the entire offseason, when he could have spent time looking for a permanent replacement, just so we can have an interim person for the remainder of the year? Maybe he truly believed that Waltdumb was the coach that was going to lead us back to the playoffs? (talk about a quote that won’t agree well…)
Woops, “age well”
I’ve posted this a few times. my suspicion is Ruindumbe made this request to Monte to save money, hence Monte’s “media response” to the press. I think Monte is a smart guy, had no choice to bide his time and show Vivek’s incompetence up for that last time. GMs typically pick their own coach, let’s see what happens. Go Kings 2022-future!
That’s pretty much what I think, too. McNair was saddled with a towel-waving dead weight when he was hired, and chose to not undermine his coach in the media, understanding that Walton was going to remain for at least the short-term.
When Walton does get bounced, is anyone actually going to complain that “but you said that Walton was the guy to get us to the playoffs?!?”
The answer is no, save for those who like Walton (I suppose it could happen), or those with an intractable issue with McNair, for whatever reason.
The weight attributed to McNair’s statement is entirely fictional.
I don’t disagree, but this goes back to the real GM vs. paper tiger GM discussion. I can’t give McNair credit for the draft picks and no responsibility for the head coach. If he is that poor of a salesman or negotiator that he can’t get who he wants as his head coach, then how do we give him credit for pulling the trigger on the players that he wants in the draft or via trade?
I felt this way with Petrie, PDA, Divac, and now McNair. Either the front office gets full credit or no credit, but no cherry picking.
To your point, it is very likely that Ranadive is the issue, as he has been the one constant during the shit show that has been his ownership. But if that is the case, I’ll give Vivek the credit for Hali and Mitchell, and the blame for everything else as well.
Hear hear.
In a vacuum, this makes perfect sense.
In a vacuum.
Agree that Vivek is the issue. He’s always been the issue.
However, I do find it possible that McNair took the job and Vivek put some constraints on him, like he can’t fire Puke because of $ etc. From thst perspective I see McNair working within the parameters. maybe hoping to get full control.
I know I use WFT example but it’s similar. Rivera was hired by Danny and given control, except he didn’t allow Ron to get rid of Dwayne Haskins (Trashcans) and draft a QB.
But Ron eventually gave Haskins the boot because he, like Puke was horrible.
I have to disagree. I think it’s more than possible (meaning very likely) that Vivek gave McNair a mandate to keep Walton for this next year, promote an interim coach after Walton gets fired midseason, and then gets to pick his own coach. That sequence saves a lot more money than firing Walton after last season and hiring a new head coach before this season tipped off.
So, I think McNair deserves credit for making the draft picks and moves he has (the Buddy Laker deal was Pelinka’s fault). Mitchell was a gutsy pick (at the time). And at the same time he has to own some stench Vlade left behind bc Vivek needs to save money.
If McNair had to take the job with the provision that he keep Walton for two years, he’s a paper tiger.
Yup. and even worse, nothing will change because Vivek is still calling the shots. S.A.I.E.W.
Also, babies born addicted to crack need to man up and accept responsibility for their problem. You never hear one undermining its mother, either.
This will probably be most inappropriate thing today, if there are concerns.
as an aside, the Lakers really screwed themselves by not going through with the deal for Hield
he would have been a great fit there, unlike an aging Westbrook
All true. There was no way they were going to pass up the opportunity to get a hall of fame player, regardless of fit. They can’t help themselves.
Maybe Vivek didn’t want to pay two head coaches this year.
Meh, we’re going to suck either way.
Yep. Give it to Doug and watch it all burn.
Wait, this team was on the right track at some point?
Poor Thomas.
Amazing we can feel more sadness for a toy train than anyone involved with running the Kings.
Welcome to Basketball Hell.
When my son was somewhere in the 3-4 age range when I came home from work I had to play Thomas the tank engine with him for an hour and then come up with a new Thomas story for bedtime.
He went to the Thomas the Tank Engine movie when it came out 4 years later he didn’t remember all the time we spent playing Thomas…….nothing.
I hope it’s like that after Luke Walton gets fired!
Ungrateful prick. But seriously, when my daughter was 3 I had to come up with a new song about Moana every night before bed. She remembers none of those songs. I could have released four whole albums and a greatest-hits collection. Punk.
Walton is causing confusion and delay.
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
The Kings need to get back to being a team to compete for the play-in, or as Draper calls it, the playoffs!
Great time to showcase Bagley with a start in Detroit.
There is an opportunity for the front office to help this along.
You keep losing and you will be fired…by the way Bagley starts tonight. Figure out a way to hide the worst defender in the history of basketball.
We can lose Walton and Bagley all in the same day. Maybe we get CoJo back?
Marvin belongs in Motown!
You want them to see up close and personal how bad he is?
Good plan.
If it helps get rid of Walton yes.
Bagley is a known shit bag in the NBA. He has proven that for three years.
I think part of the reason Walton has lasted this long is that they’ve had such a bad history of firing coaches. I think McNair has been trying to get the team some stability in that way. It’s just too bad Luke is what he’s had to try and get that stability. At least Gentry is a bona fide coach to fill in as interim, compared to some of the other coaches we’ve seen over the last decade and a half.
should have done it at the end of last season, good grief. Maybe they were hoping to get enough improvement out of the team to make it more attractive to a replacement.
Monty’s first big black eye. Wasted a season by keeping Luke Walton on.
If you fire him now, you are admitting he was never your guy. So, why did we let Luke waste another season?
Oh so the season is already wasted? Uh, okay.
I wanted Fluke gone as much as anyone but McGenius had to create the illusion of stability and continuity going into free agency. What do you think the odds would have been to retain Holmes if we fired this coach the day after the season?
Now you can say we should have just signed Holmes then canned the coach, but Holmes new deal was predicated on returning to play for the coach under whom he fluorished and whom he trusted.
If you sign Holmes then fire the coach, you mislead the player and betray him and run the risk to earn a bad reputation among the league and future free agents as someone not to be trusted. Your word is not your bond it is hollow .
The other important consideration to keep or can is last year the mandate was to find out if Marvin could be a cornerstone. He did not earn the starting job he was gifted it to see if he could be a real player.
From the start of last training camp, I was clammering for us to move HB to the 4, start Ty and Fox, Buddy at the 3, Holmes at the 5. That was our best lineup then and many would contend it is our best lineup now.
But there was a call on high, I strongly suspect, to see if Marvin was the real deal, legit or not, and that was going to be determined only if he was given the opportunity to sink or swim in a starters role.
One way you can infer this was an arrangement, not decision based on merit, is Marvin rarely was on the floor to finish games. If he had truly earned the starting PF job over Holmes or even Bjelica, would not there have been more instances where he was on the floor in crunch time?
I think the agent for Marvin communicated to the FO if you want to see what Marvin can do, despite past struggles or setbacls, give him starting nod, give him the same chance as Luka and Donovan and Trae and etc, all starters from Day One.
With this variable in effect, you cannot solely lay the failure of last season at the feet of the coach. And I am not defending this loser coach, I am just being objective as I can. Marvin was never good enough to be a starter, HB was so much better, it was so obvious, and this is one instant where I will give this coach the benefit of the doubt.
As bad as things are now, imagine how bad they would be less Holmes? Then you have no legitimate starting center. It was around a 50/50 proposition to bring him back not knowing for sure what kind of offer Holmes would get if any from TOR and CHA.
I contend if this coach was fired it would have soured Holmes and emboldened the suitors, winning with an equal bid, with flux and instability and unknown of a new vacancy working against us resigning Holmes.
The odds would have fallen to maybe 30% for us to retain Holmes, and this had to play into the thinking of McGenius.
But NOW all bets are off. Even with the roster imbalance, and the trade that fell through, the talent upgrade has occurred.
You cannot contend that McGenius has not been anything other than perfectly fair and patient, exceedingly so, and created conditions for the coach to succeed, if not as top contender than certainly a .500 team, and hoping against hope that this coach may finally figure it out.
I could see the argument where if the coach was fired end of last season he could privately have claimed raw deal, because the year was not only about winning, it was deciding if they had a player or not with the former #2 selection. Now he can point the finger at no one but himself.
I kind of want the Pistons to win tonight. Lets go Cade!
And if tonight is the end, the glorious end for this coach, I hope we promote BJax as the interim, not Gentry.
Alvin Gentry is a never-was, bland personality, retread, waning energy having to overcome the generation gap to resonate with the players.
Players will respond to BJax, no nonsense matter of fact, been there, seen that. BJax also showed an intuitve feel for lineups and substition during LSVL something the current coach has no affinity for.
.
Just too much….
Wait, so we are praising Monty for allegedly doing what we absolutely roasted PDA for doing that to Rudy Gay? Yikes! Welcome to Basketball Hell all over again!
I really couldn’t read much past your first couple of paragraphs on this issue.
Yeah, claiming that Walton wasn’t fired so McNair could trick Holmes into signing long term is quite the statement. That wouldn’t make McNair a genius it would make him a prick. He’d also be a prick that wouldn’t get much favor in the eyes of other agents going forward.
Yeah, am I reading that post wrong? I almost feel like I am falling for a bit!
No, I got the same. It falls in line with K4E’s continued premise that McNair is really some McGenius that is always 4 moves ahead of everyone else.
He would have to actually make moves to be ahead of anyone else.
Len and TT are clearly the first pawns in his game of 4D chess to win the 2025 NBA title.
Getting multiple comments and discussions out of a K4E post is where the real 4D chess begins : )
You made it a lot further than I did.
Wait, you think no one in the league knew Walton was a shit coach that wasn’t part of the long term plans? McNair somehow pulled the wool over the eyes of players and agents by saying all is well?
If we armchair gm’s on this site knew the truth about Walton, then the brain trusts of the league know a lot more.
There is no illusion of stability.
agree with your analysis of Bagley
he was a millstone for any coach
Joerger seemed to be getting pretty decent results from the rookie version.
I get the feeling that Walton getting sacked is the catalyst for shaking up the roster. My sense is Monte probably doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse and trade guys/picks before knowing who’s going to be in charge in the locker room and what systems they’ll want to run.
The front office is quickly burning through the goodwill of their last two draft picks by holding onto this guy.
Right or wrong, this front office has set a path. It made the decision to retain Barnes, and also Hield (with a little help from the Lakers and Wizards). It determined that Tristan Thompson would be more important to this team this year than Delon Wright. And it determined to retain Luke Walton. These decisions were apparently made with the notion of creating continuity and putting a team on the floor that would compete for the playoffs sooner than later, using the lowered bar of a play-in game as a catalyst.
Time will tell whether the decisions of the front office are good, bad or just another round of shuffling deck chairs. But the decision to retain Luke Walton was a big one, and it will shape the narrative when it comes to the effectiveness and intelligence of this front office.
Maybe Joe Dumars was installed to destroy us, just as we roll into Detroit?
And there’s still Matina as well…
I’m fairly certain that McNair has no authority over her.
The Kings are simply an entertainment front for a massive real estate operation.
It’s kinda like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but less enjoyable and dumber.
Yes, and COVID threw the real estate ambitions into the spanner.
I’m frequently remembering the last episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati” when I think of the Kings now.
Into the wrench?
What’s all this, then?!?
Oh god. When I stop and think about how impacted the Vivek ownership team is, I think it’s impossible to get anywhere until Vivek leaves or totally backs off.
And let’s not forget his son being apart of hoops decisions potentially. Fucked
This season does feel like deja vu all over again.
Your Sacramento Kangs: Blather, chintz, repeat.
Fire Walton. Trade Fox. Divac stench is gone.
This team need a real culture changer as CEO of the on-court basketball operations. Once upon a time ago, the Golden State Warriors were a middling, sub .500 program that almost traded the greatest shooter in NBA history in order to “balance” the roster. They ultimately shipped out Monta’ Ellis and hired Mark Jackson as head coach. Jackson preached defense, unselfishness, teamwork, and family to an isolation heavy, rudderless organization. They also drafted Klay Thompson to guard the best player for Curry and shoot without dribbling. They also drafted and developed players like Draymond Green that were short on athleticism but big on heart, defense, and playmaking. Sound like a recipe already brewing here in Sac? Jackson won only 23 games his first season as coach but improved to 47 and 51 wins as his message finally took hold. Play for each other, play for Oakland (another blue collar city), and play to win. He learned these lessons from Pat Riley and was a hardnosed, smart, grounded point guard who used grit and intelligence to be on quite a few winning teams. If Mark Jackson has too much of a damaged of reputation to be considered for the soon-to-be opening here, is there a candidate within the organization that might fit this mold? Here are a couple candidates to replace Walton:
Bobby Jackson, Head Coach of Stockton Kings: Stockton is off to a very good start after the Summer League championship. Has plenty of experience as an assistant and preaches family togetherness, defense, and was a glue guy on a very good Kings team you all may be familiar with.
Darvin Ham, Lead Assistant Coach of Milwaukee Bucks: Undrafted player for a decade in the NBA. Strong work ethic and hard nosed attitude helped overcome deficiencies in skill. Budenholzer coaching tree includes Quinn Snyder, Taylor Jenkins, and Kenny Atkinson.
The Kings still have a chance to turn this season around as the talent on this team is good enough to make the playoffs without dismantling the core pieces. It will take a charismatic, run-through-the-wall personality to perk up the ears of an organization who only hears what a s**t show the last 15 years have been. Belief in “family” and one another is sometimes all it takes to over come the odds and ditch the past.
Jackson preached allright.
That’s exactly why he has no business being a head coach anywhere. His “methods” were absolutely exclusionary to those who didn’t subscribe to a certain mythology.
A good coach gets their players on the same page, but only insofar as it extends no farther than the lines on the court. The rest is off-limits.
The stories out of GS about him are just wild!
yes, he did promote a certain set of myths.
There is a coach out there somewhere- Not sure if a lead assistant can be poached, mid-season.
And then they moved to San Francisco (or, as we like to say in Sacramento, Frisco).
That and a couple of all-NBA shooters
I like Darvin Ham, as well as Keith Vanterpool. But as far as Mark Jackson is concerned?
No disrespect to you, ’85, but I just don’t know where the talent discussion comes from. This is pretty much the same roster that has won at a 35 win pace two years in a row, that everyone predicted would win 34-37 games this season, that will be on a 35 win pace with a victory tonight.
This is not a good NBA roster, and it needs major upgrades to be competitive. And yes, the coach is terrible. Maybe an outlier season from this roster hits around 40 wins, but that’s nailing a three quarter court heave at the buzzer, and there’s no internal improvement left from there.
You are missing that the culture change was a result of a change in ownership, from the penny pinching Chris Cohan to Lacob and Guber, who were willing to spend money to free the value that was always locked into the Bay Area market. Jackson, as good as he was coaching defense (on offense, he was terrible), was one step along that path. Hiring Kerr and Myers was exponentially more important.
Well, when you are in the news for the wrong reasons then the rumors follow!
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nba-trade-rumors-kings-turmoil-173929522.html
Yikes, the author likes Hali and Buddy for Simmons. Those are the two guys that would likely benefit the most by playing WITH Simmons. Pass.
I have concerns about sending any two 40% three point shooters out for Simmons while holding on to Fox. Can a Simmons, Fox, Holmes lineup shoot enough to score the ball? You’ve also got Mitchell (struggled to shoot so far), Thompson, Len, Harkless and Davis, who has also struggled so far. Davis will probably return to form. Mitchell is really an unknown. The other three will never shoot the ball well.
Obviously, you acquire Simmons as a long term strategy and not to fit your current roster. But if 6-7 of your rotation players can’t shoot, you might have a problem.
Stop making so much sense, you two. Not to mention, with Embiid and Harris’ perimeter games, Fox and Philly would prob fall in love with each other. Really don’t get why this isn’t done yet.
Simmonds does well when he has shooters to pass to.
Mitchell is not a consistent threat, neither is Fox. Holmes is limited
Simmonds with them might be able to hold opponent to 75 points but the Kings could score only 70.
Doesn’t seem like a trade rumor to me, frankly. Just a reporter playing armchair GM.
5 years overdue…I can’t think of any other head coach with a worse record and not canned for this many consecutive years
Vlade Divac’d.
Let’s just slow down everybody.
What if we can get Luke to agree to look at twice as much tape. Would that be enough?
Was the team ever on the right track under Walton?
Walton should be sweatin’ like Kenny Thomas. Woof!
I’m no Walton fan, but if the expectation was that he would take this team to the playoffs, that was unrealistic. This team is not a playoff team. The problems with this team go far beyond Walton. If people expect a significant improvement if he is fired, I think that they will be disappointed. It’s not like players who have never played defense are all of a sudden going to start playing it really well.
Still, having an actual halfcourt offensive scheme seems like it might get you a few more victories.
Kings fans don’t have much luck with coaching carousels, considering we demand they leave every five minutes — and we’ve had what 12, in last 15 years? Never seems to help much.
I agree we never should’ve gotten rid of Malone, but … getting the whole player thing right maybe should be a priority?? Considering we haven’t had a strong core since, oh, about when we started missing playoffs …
Halliburton (and almost Davion) have already proven they run the offense MUCH, MUCH better than Fox. That’s what a PG are supposed to do; make smart plays, score when needed, make others better. Plus both Halli Selassie and D shoot better than Fox, protect the ball better, play better defense, pass better, etc. etc.
I liked Fox, but he’s had plenty time to show whether he can hang with likes of Morant and Donovan … and he’s just not that clutch player yet. I don’t know why. Soo, trade Fox and Bagley (and maybe a draft pick) to Philly for Simmons. We need to keep some shooting and it would be FOOLISH to trade Haliburton, since he makes everyone better.
I’d love to see this starting lineup: Halliburton, Hield, Barnes, Simmons and Holmes. That is an exciting squad right there. You’ve got 3 players who can put it on the floor drive inside, open things up. Two players who are great passers (one who is ELITE) who can kick out to Buddy and Barnes for threes. That lineup makes the playoffs, NO DOUBT.
Then you come in with the second team of Davion, Davis, Harkless, Thompson and Len.
Jesus Christ, this isn’t rocket science.
MAKE THE DAMN TRADE. Walton sucks, agreed, but I’d like a team that can play D and win games in the fourth, too.
My preferred starting 5 would be Mitchell, Haliburton, Simmons, Barnes, Holmes. Hield can keep coming off the bench; I just don’t think he can hang defensively vs starters on a regular basis. Of course, this 5 would provide, ahem, limited shooting firepower, but super-high potential on defense.
Kangz Culture:
Every 3-5 years, we hang on to 1 person/problem/concern for too long.
(compounded by not keeping the right people)
i.e.
a) Took too long to get rid of JT
b) Cousins’ cancer cells have metastasized to the detriment of the team and locker room but we still held him for too long.
c) Took too long to fire Vlade
d) stupidly hang on with Fluke Alton
to paraphrase a very old song: “Where have all the smart minds gone? Long time passing!
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
“The answer my friends, is blowing in the…
Nick Rocks!
In my defense, I, like a lot of you, knew even before Walton was handed the job that he’d be terrible at it.
We should keep Walton until the end of the year. If we make the playoffs, great. If we keep him, we could potentially be a bottom three team. It will be easier to package Fox and our 2022 first pick for a star.
Mike D’Antoni is available and knows about getting into the Playoffs in the Western Conference. He has an established system like George Karl without actually being George Karl. He also has a connection with McNair from Houston.
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