Get Cousins, Rudy & Ben to the NYC All Star Game

Chubbs · Jan 26, 2015

I never argued Cousins should be a lock.

What I did argue was that if you don't even consider Demarcus an all-star candidate, when he is top 3 in points and rebounds, you've lost objectivity and have an ax to grind. That's what I'm suggesting with Jackson and Van Gundy.

I've seen other media (Marc J. Spears comes to mind) argue Demarcus should be starting, yet the TNT announcing crew of Jackson and Van Gundy don't even have him on the list of potential all-stars? When every TNT studio guy has him on the team?

Sure, they're just objective observers of the NBA. No need to mention the guy who is top 3 in points and rebounds. Obviously, you can dismiss that guy as a candidate pretty easily said no one ever. Heck, don't even mention him. Pretend he doesn't exist.

Kevin Love made it three times, once playing for a 17-65 team. And never as a member of a .500 team. What does Love have Boogie doesn't? What could it be? Playing in that media powerhouse in Minnesota? Hmm...

whozit · Jan 26, 2015

IfAt1st said:

Wait an f-ing minute here.

If Vivek and Co. actually see Demarcus as a roadblock/impediment to their "style" and "vision", they may just have fired Malone to pee off the guy and instill their "vision". And if Demarcus isn't on board with their coach ideas (Jackson, Mullin)?
It follows that the FO might suggest to the league to have the refs treat him horrendously on the court.
It follows that the FO wouldn't be protecting him or fighting for a fair treatment from the league.
It follows that they wouldn't make a big fuss if he doesn't make the All-Star game (despite a historic season, never been done before so far).
Then if Demarcus' attitude goes to poopoo and/or the team goes bad, DMC can be blamed for being "Selfish" and "an empty stat guy".

Demarcus is completely ****ed if the FO isn't behind him. He will lose this power struggle, since if the team wins, it validates that Malone wasn't necessary, and if the team loses, it validates (the idiotic thought) that he's not strong enough to make a winning team.

Seriously, if Boogie doesn't make the All-Star team this year, after having a season so far that has never been accomplished before in the history of the NBA..... and no national media pounces on it as a horrendous injustice/travesty, then Demarcus may well not be a King much longer because it may reveal how the FO doesn't want him.

Vivek tweeted that Obama thought Demarcus should be an All-Star. That does not jive with the scenario you posted. Please don't make me defend them again. I'm sort of pissed at them.

Kingster · Jan 26, 2015

Chubbs said:

Yep. Jackson and van Gundy have consistently ignored him as being even a candidate. I have a feeling there's a story there with those two potential King's coaches in particular. Wouldn't surprise me if both have been informed by Boogie's agent that they are not on the Boogie list of potential candidates. Especially Jackson, since as yet he's the only guy rumored to have had anything close to an interview and that went nowhere Despite reports saying Vivek wanted to hire Jackson.

I mean, both Jackson and Van Gundy are arrogant a-holes. I wouldn't want either as a work place proximity associate either.

I have a sneaking suspicion enough coaches will feel that way also that he'll have to hope Silver adds him to the team somehow.

The second Malone got fired I became very concerned.

I don't think he'll make it, as crazy as that sounds. I just can't see it. This team fell apart way too badly. We will see this big uproar, and then because he is cursed to be a Sacramento King, it'll fade away quickly.

I'm not going to be surprised if he doesn't make it. The team is cratering right now, and that doesn't bode well. If he doesn't get it, I find it hard to believe he's not going to be extremely PO'd at the FO.

Capt. Factorial · Jan 26, 2015

IfAt1st said:

You are suggesting that Vivek might intentionally damage Cousins career.

Why in the world would he do that? If - and this is a ridiculously huge if - but if Vivek wants Cousins out he could trade him. Today. For a king's ransom. You could get 2-3 first round draft picks unprotected and players to boot. But no, you're suggesting that rather than trade a player maybe Vivek for some unknowable reason doesn't want while said player is at the height of his value, he would instead intentionally burn that player's career and try to send it into some sort of Josh Smith death spiral, on purpose, with the compliance and even assistance of the league.

And you think that this scenario makes even an ounce of sense.

Bricklayer · Jan 26, 2015

KingMilz said:

W/Ls are a team stat.

And frankly no player in the entire NBA means as much to his team's W/Ls as Boogie. You want to make W/L individual? Fine. Boogie is just about the "winningest" player in the league aside from Curry.

Mr. S£im Citrus · Jan 26, 2015

Kingster said:

Chubbs said:

I figured that the first one was just a typo. Now I'm wondering how many people actually think that Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy work for Turner Sports?

Chubbs · Jan 26, 2015

Mr. S£im Citrus said:

ESPN. My bad.

They're still both a holes with an ax to grind.

And Jeff Van Gundy isn't looking so great in the analysis department. He predicted the Knicks would make the playoffs this season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/59298/jeff-van-gundy-knicks-can-make-playoffs

IfAt1st · Jan 26, 2015

Capt. Factorial said:

Do you think that Cousins and Vivek (the front office) are in agreement with the style of play?

Cousins has publicly (reading between the lines) opposed the front office's insistence on offense over defense.
MAlone was fired almost immediately after he said that analytics was bullcrap, compared to defense.
Demarcus backed him up early and often.
And the team has been playing uninspired crap ever since they fired Malone.

I believe it is very clear that there is an open revolt within the Kings organization - the front office on one side, and the players (led by Demarcus) on the other. And it is coming to a head. One side has to win, and the front office thinks they need to "Win" this battle for "style of play" for their business plan to succeed.

Do you believe that the players aren't fighting against the front office?
You think the same exact team (minus its coach) could go 9-5 (actually 10-4) against the best teams in the NBA, and now they can barely beat the Knicks if the players weren't trying to make a statement to the front office?

kingsboi · Jan 26, 2015

with Aldridge playing again I wonder if he will just sit out the all-star break to heal up the thumb....I know he is going to play through the pain for the rest of the season but maybe if he pulls out it could be good news for Boogie. Regardless...I have a sick feeling in my stomach about this decision coming up on Thursday.

HereWeBoogie · Jan 26, 2015

With both OKC guys, Aldridge, Lillard, Klay Thompson, James Harden all pretty much locks.

i'd say Boogies only chance is if the coaches leave CP3 off the team....

Capt. Factorial · Jan 26, 2015

IfAt1st said:

To answer the question, I don't see any particular reason to believe that the players are fighting the front office and throwing games in some sort of protest. More likely, I believe the players really liked Malone and he got canned they stopped giving a crap, which is a different thing. But either way, peripheral to my point.

Your franchise player's trade value is at essentially an all-time high. IF you don't want him around, YOU TRADE HIM, you don't ask the league to make foul calls go against him to send his career into a death spiral.

whozit · Jan 26, 2015

Capt. Factorial said:

I couldn't like this. I would hate them misreading the fans reaction again and thinking this is an endorsement to trade him. Otherwise, in the method I believe you meant, I like it.

IfAt1st · Jan 26, 2015

Capt. Factorial said:

Ahh, but they wouldn't get away with trying to trade him now. The fans would revolt and the entire NBA would know they are loco.

To trade him, they'd have to change the perception about Demarcus, and have him become so unhappy and frustrated here that he causes problems and eventually demands a trade.

Hate to break it to the "non-alarmist" crowd, but there are signs that this is already happening.
Just like we were right (unfortunately) about Demarcus' illness (go check the thread).

This is not bat-guano crazy - it's simply attributing malice and hubris to the front office's actions and the resulting destruction of the Kings' on-court performance this year.

You tell me what's crazier - to still Assume Best Intentions from this front office, or to instead observe what they've done and assume they are backstabbing, devious, deluded, incompetent fools who in their own words have destroyed this season "because winning didn't suit their style and vision" of what they want to see in their team?

whozit · Jan 26, 2015

IfAt1st said:

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive. You can have individuals who THOUGHT they knew best, so with best intentions went about in their backstabbing, devious, deluded foolish ways and in their incompetence managed to destroy the season and admit it with their own words.

So far they haven't seemed to give a rat's tail about what the fans think, so with the backlash that's already happened why would you think they would care now? You know, 'trust me, I know what I'm doing?' The Capt. is correct in his assessment. Trade him now and you get more pieces to mold the team in your own image or ruin him and get less?

Mr. S£im Citrus · Jan 26, 2015

IfAt1st said:

Ahh, but they wouldn't get away with trying to trade him now. The fans would revolt and the entire NBA would know they are loco.

To trade him, they'd have to change the perception about Demarcus, and have him become so unhappy and frustrated here that he causes problems and eventually demands a trade.

Hate to break it to the "non-alarmist" crowd, but there are signs that this is already happening.
Just like we were right (unfortunately) about Demarcus' illness (go check the thread).

This is not bat-guano crazy - it's simply attributing malice and hubris to the front office's actions and the resulting destruction of the Kings' on-court performance this year.

You tell me what's crazier - to still Assume Best Intentions from this front office, or to instead observe what they've done and assume they are backstabbing, devious, deluded, incompetent fools who in their own words have destroyed this season "because winning didn't suit their style and vision" of what they want to see in their team?

Nope, sorry. You're still crazier. By an order of magnitude. Never attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by stupidity incompetence.

Kingster · Jan 26, 2015

Mr. S£im Citrus said:

They were on the ESPN and they were advertising the Sunday TNT game while they were going over their picks. Who really gives an F whether it was ESPN, Turner, NBA Channel, Channel 10, or the Spanish language channel?

Mr. S£im Citrus · Jan 26, 2015

I'm sure that the guys signing their checks care, if nobody else. Also, TNT didn't air any games on Sunday.

Sac.Kings · Jan 26, 2015

Only the Kings can make it difficult for a guy averaging 24-12.5-3.2 to make the All-star team, Western Conference or not. Quite a shame and speaks volumes for the folks that "run" the show.

whozit · Jan 27, 2015

So Lowe thinks someone can be MVP with tea, barely having a winning record but the pundits don't think Cousins should be an all-star because of the team record. Lower standards for the MVP than an all-star? Go figure. And I guess it matters who you are .....................

Amit149 · Jan 27, 2015

Zach Lowe wrote today on grantland about who should be in the all-star game. he included Cousins in the list as a reserve saying:

"There is nothing in the NBA like peak Cousins. He is an unguardable monster on the block. The Kings are formidable when he plays and a D-League team when he sits. He was on track to be a no-brainer All-Star before coming down with viral meningitis and watching as the Kings decided they’d be better off with Tyrone Corbin coaching this season.

He’s been something of a crank since then. Cousins hasn’t been as diligent getting back on defense, he’s resorting more to lazy reaches, and he’s constantly sagging his shoulders and shooting dirty looks at teammates.

Cousins is also coughing up the rock at disturbing rates, especially on silly thread-the-needle passes from the elbow. He is averaging 4.5 turnovers per 36 minutes, putting him on pace for one of the highest-turnover seasons ever for a rotation player.

Folks who want him out of the game have some straws to grasp. He’s been too good when available. Even during the depressing Corbin era, the Kings have posted a strong positive margin with Cousins on the floor — and descended into hell when he rests, per NBA.com. Opponents are shooting a ghastly 33 percent on pick-and-rolls involving Cousins, according to Synergy. It might be miserable to be around him at times, but Cousins has arrived as an all-around superstar."

I would be really surprised if Cousins won't get picked, although people seem to care very little about our players performence (just look at the Hornets wanting Sessions and writers saying the Cavs could really use him) Cousins is a big name in the NBA with Simmons and Jalen in their ESPN and Grantland jobs constantly caping for "Boogie!!!", I also think that the fact the reserves are picked by the coaches and not fans should better Cousins standings since this people know about basketball and pay attention to the league instead of just picking Kobe as a starter.

Bricklayer · Jan 27, 2015

Amit149 said:

You would hope. I really do hope. But the irony is that THIS year, the media would have him in there, no doubt. Its the coaches who are a ?. There is a perception they don't like him, because of course he is seen as killing one of their own. And last year they seemed to be dropping an iron curtain in the West of fairly silly nature -- winning team or no All Star. And most of them are back this season. I have hopes, but until he's announced I am not going to be easy.

LoungeLizard · Jan 27, 2015

For what it's worth Sekou Smith and David Aldridge each had Cuz as a reserve on their list last night on NBATV.

SacKings384 · Jan 27, 2015

Grantland on their mock list has him in, but found this to be a pretty spot-on:

There is nothing in the NBA like peak Cousins. He is an unguardable monster on the block. The Kings are formidable when he plays and a D-League team when he sits. He was on track to be a no-brainer All-Star before coming down with viral meningitis and watching as the Kings decided they’d be better off with Tyrone Corbin coaching this season.

He’s been something of a crank since then. Cousins hasn’t been as diligent getting back on defense, he’s resorting more to lazy reaches, and he’s constantly sagging his shoulders and shooting dirty looks at teammates.

Cousins is also coughing up the rock at disturbing rates, especially on silly thread-the-needle passes from the elbow. He is averaging 4.5 turnovers per 36 minutes, putting him on pace for one of the highest-turnover seasons ever for a rotation player.

Folks who want him out of the game have some straws to grasp. He’s been too good when available. Even during the depressing Corbin era, the Kings have posted a strong positive margin with Cousins on the floor — and descended into hell when he rests, per NBA.com. Opponents are shooting a ghastly 33 percent on pick-and-rolls involving Cousins, according to Synergy. It might be miserable to be around him at times, but Cousins has arrived as an all-around superstar.

Glad to see Boogie getting some love though.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-all-star-team-eastern-western-conference/

Mr. S£im Citrus · Jan 27, 2015

whozit said:

What do you mean by 'pundits'? Out of all the people who are generally acknowledged as 'pundits' - writers, analysts, former players - they are near-unanimous in their support of Cousins as an All-Star. What you should be concerned about is the fact that the only people who aren't abundant with praise for Cousins are current and ex-coaches. Or, in other words, the people who would actually decide.

whozit · Jan 27, 2015

Mr. S£im Citrus said:

I was using pundits as a general term. It seems in the past, like last year, Cousin being absent was excused because the team sucked and "if" he was an all-star he should be able to lift them from the dredges himself. Lowe's tweet just struck a nerve that he could excuse the team record in terms of a MVP candidate but others take team record in account in terms of being an all-star (in general, not only in terms of Cousin). I would think if either of them would hold team record in higher regard it would be the MVP candidate.

Mr. S£im Citrus · Jan 27, 2015

I don't really know why, though.

Chubbs · Jan 27, 2015

AD is far and away the best MVP candidate statistically.

I'd begrudgingly give it to Harden, cause he's playing with a massively diminished Howard and that team is still doing great. And then I'd have Curry. But he has just so much talent around him. But best player. Best team. Definitely top 3.

So for me, Harden, Curry, Davis in that order. Not that anyone asked.

But AD individually has been leading the way since the get go. There's no question there.

IfAt1st · Jan 27, 2015

Bricklayer said:

I don't see how that perception of "Coach-killing Cousins" can be around anymore.
Westphal is ancient history - heck, what % of coaches working this year were actually coaching back then?
The turnover is huge in NBA head coaching....
Plus, I doubt if Westphal has many defenders in the NBA coaching ranks - he was out of the league for years, and only now got to be an assistant w/ the Nets.

The biggest reason why I think that perception would not be active this year is because of the WAY overshadowing event of the Kings firing Malone, and Demarcus being perceived as "besties" with Malone.

I can't imagine head coaches THIS YEAR remembering ancient history with Westphal, and forgetting the mental image of Demarcus holding back his buddy MAlone from getting thrown out of the game.

No, if Demarcus doesn't make it this year, it's not because the coaches think he's a coach-killer.
Unless he crap-canned the idea of Mark Jackson when they had that meeting, and Mark Jackson has been talking smack about him in the backrooms of the NBA ever since.... I could see that affecting his chances this year.

Sac.Kings · Jan 27, 2015

The closer the all star game gets the more I doubt Boogie being on the reserves. Marc Stein just published his list and it didn't even mention Cousins. But yet he advocates for Korver over Wade.. almost.

Ridiculous.

HereWeBoogie · Jan 27, 2015

Yea i have a bad feeling. Only hope is that when they are picking a replacement because Kobe can't play, it will be Cuz because a lot of media people will be saying that he was the biggest snub when the reserves are announced thursday

Get Cousins, Rudy & Ben to the NYC All Star Game

Starter

Starter

Hall of Famer

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est

Don't Make Me Use The Bat

Doryphore of KingsFans.com

Starter

Starter

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est

Starter

Starter

Starter

Doryphore of KingsFans.com

Hall of Famer

Doryphore of KingsFans.com

All-Star

Starter

Bench

Don't Make Me Use The Bat

Starter

Starter

Doryphore of KingsFans.com

Starter

Doryphore of KingsFans.com

Starter

Starter

All-Star

Hall of Famer