[Grades] Kings v. Timberwolves 2/27/17

[ovrush]

I'm not sure why people are down about this game. This was a good result for the Kings. We knew when we traded Boogie we went into full rebuild mode (I'm still livid about the trade but still a fan and a realist). The young guys we have were drafted to fit in with a star not to carry the load. If youre rooting for the Kings to make the playoffs youre probably doing so because youre hanging o to a Boogie bias and want to be right. The fact is this is arguably the least talented team in the league now. We should expect massive offensive struggles. The only guy on the team who can break down a defense alone is the ghost of Tyreke (and maybe Skal strangely). What I want to see is effort, defensive pressure, professionalism, and lots of losses. There are potential stars in this class and if we can get 2 top eight picks to go with the young guys we have who look to be decent role player types then I can at least start to see the light at the end of the tunnell.

If you're tuning in to watch the kings look good on offense it's going to be really painful because the offense is only going to look competent if another team tries to run with us (we're young and have finishers and that's a game we can cause anyone trouble in), is completely incompetant defensively, or is the Nets.

Last night the Mavs and Wolves won and both seem to be engaging in a playoff race which is great news for us since we've signaled rebuild. We were some derozen highlights away from making up ground on 3 teams last night. A solid professional loss to the Nets next would be huge.

 

[kingjatt]

Went to the game.

Borderline unwatchable.

Nuggets game was a fluke/adrenaline.

It will get worse.

Mood in the arena midway through the fourth, after TWoves went on last big run to essentially put it away, was absolutely morose. It was sinking in, what has happened.

You could kind of sense the mood on thru TV as well, there was a lot of yelling and booing once fans realized our usual gritty comebacks was never going to happen, I think that had something to do with Grants attempt to calm people down in his postgame speech.

There are alot of kings fans who honestly believed we would get better by trading Cuz and like Grant said even traded him for nothing, they bought whatever Grant/PR was selling. I think the Denver game put those fans on cloud nine but the hornets game started to cast some doubt. Once we got pushed around by a wolves team that didn't even have to try very hard to blow us out I think reality started to sink in.

 

[mac]

One thing about rebuilding - we better do it with some damn 3 point shooters. There's no point in trading away a star big man if you're not going to adopt a style of play that in today's NBA is more likely to get you wins. We're not going to win many games hitting like 4 3 pointers all game. Looks like Darren forgot how to shoot over the all star break.

 

[Mass]

One thing about rebuilding - we better do it with some damn 3 point shooters. There's no point in trading away a star big man if you're not going to adopt a style of play that in today's NBA is more likely to get you wins. We're not going to win many games hitting like 4 3 pointers all game. Looks like Darren forgot how to shoot over the all star break.

Or maybe Darren is a completely different player when defense cares about him and doesn't need to collpase on that big talented guy we used to have, leaving him all the space he needs to shoot an uncontested 3.

 

[SLAB]

Or maybe Darren is a completely different player when defense cares about him and doesn't need to collpase on that big talented guy we used to have, leaving him all the space he needs to shoot an uncontested 3.

So you're saying... DeMarcus Cousins made his teammates.... better?

 

[Mass]

So you're saying... DeMarcus Cousins made his teammates.... better?

Yes it's crazy I know, I can see how much better this team is without that selfish troublemaker.

 

[mac]

Or maybe Darren is a completely different player when defense cares about him and doesn't need to collpase on that big talented guy we used to have, leaving him all the space he needs to shoot an uncontested 3.

The shooting comment was with regards to the midrange shots that he normally hits.

So you're saying... DeMarcus Cousins made his teammates.... better?

Well DeMarcus Cousins draws attention, and when he's moving the ball as well as he did in Jan then sure it gets guys open shots. Whether that amounts to what people refer to as making teammates better I don't know though. It's not like Collison/Afflalo/Tolliver/Gay etc were averaging far better than their career averages. Jason Kidd made Mikki Moore better. Nash made Stoudemire better. Guys on our team either fade further into irrelevancy or go on to fare much better on other teams.

Cousins is an all-star, that's a fact. All-stars draw attention and open up space for other players. That is true even of Kyle Korver. You don't exactly hear people going around talking about Kyle Korver making his teammates better though.

 

[mac]

Yes it's crazy I know, I can see how much better this team is without that selfish troublemaker.

Oh stop it, we are rebuilding for goodness sake. No team that trades away an all-star is going to magically become better in 5 days. The trade, whether it turns out to be good or bad, was made with long-term success in mind. Or need I remind you how many games we've actually won with Cousins to this point?

 

[upinsmoke]

I'll be picking them. They will be sweet girls with great personalities.

You monster.

 

[pshn80]

Great job on the Grades Post! But a generous grade for Reke imo. He was stinking up the joint when the game was still up for grabs. I love Joerger but I don't see why we don't just waive Tyreke Evans honestly. We're gonna rebuild lets rebuild.

Unfortunately Evans is one of our better players right now. Joerger makes good choices but he's not dealing with a full deck. I trust him with the young.

Side note: Evans has lost a "step", he dribbles when he should pass but folks' passes aren't working too well either.

Love the team.

 

[Chupacabra]

It looks like skal has a sweet shot. Its a high arcing shot with a high release, shot by a guy who is tall and jumps high. He is going to be tough to guard.

 

[upinsmoke]

Pretty much what I expected from this group without DMC. I thought to myself if we lose to either Minnesota or BK it's time to forget about the post season and focus on lottery night.

 

[Blob]

No sympathy for impatient weak-willed casual Kings fans finally looking around at the bare cupboards and saying. "Hey! We've got nothing here! Why are we so bad? I thought spunky good-natured youths would be better to watch than Nasty Boogie."

These morons who bought into Napear's slander and empowered the FO to nuke the franchise right when they were about to finally make the playoffs paved the way for Boogie to be driven out of town.

You have to have a real myopic IQ to say it doesn't matter what Kings got back for Boogie, which is essentially what
Grant has been saying. I can appreciate the fact that as the broadcaster Grant has access and insight to which we are not privy. If he wants to say Boogie was the most toxic person in the history of humanity, he's entitled to that but consider upon what he bases his opinion. Former players like Scrub Thompson and Nik Cry Baby Stauskas, who couldn't play and begrudged Boogie his stardom and dominance, while they wallowed to carve out minutes and contribution. These are among the guys who bad mouthed Boogie to Grant like school girls gossiping on playground.

Then there's the greatest person ever to walk the face of the Earth in Vlade Divac, never mind he was a chain smoker, never met a weight room he liked as a player, and took 1-2 months every year to round into playing shape, he is going to tell us about work ethic and culture after signing a washed up Matt Barnes among other dubious character-based decisions and disciplinary measures not taken. But since Vlade is one of the few former NBA players to give Grant the time of day and apparently they have fostered some kind of personal relationship, Vlade can do no wrong in eyes of a guy who worships at his feet, the same guy who instead of rebounding the ball that would have put us into the NBA Finals, tapped it back to Robert Horry.....and we know the rest!

Now that I think about that infamous play, maybe this is why Vlade likes Willie so much, because he can't rebound either! This takes us to today an intellectual dishonesty and preferential bias to pretend trading the most dominant big and most talented player the Kings have ever had in a panicked manner for a prospect and a pick is defensible, that a team that ranks easily in the bottom half of the league in overall talent could afford to give up Boogie for a couple of flyers. It was stupid move and only luck and divine intervention and the Basketball Gods can save us now. Like I have said, Buddy needs to show star potential over the next 24 games to make this trade easier to swallow. Last night he didn't look like a star. He looked like a D Leaguer on a 10 Day.

But this is the bed that Vlade made. He didn't get a young star back like Aaron Gordon. He didn't get an elite prospect like Brandon Ingram or Jaylen Brown. He didn't even get two #1s. Yet in eyes of Grant this is okay and even something to be applauded. The $209M contract to Boogie was not the obvious path forward but it was the better decision if the alternative was the flimsy trade deal we accepted. Being a GM is a game of poker and Vlade fell for the Pelicans bluff. And the fact that Grant doesn't see this or refuses to acknowledge it reflects upon his stupidity and bias.

 

[Glenn]

Something that really makes me uneasy? Buddy is less than a year younger than McBen. Aren't older rookies who stayed in school for their whole 4 years supposed to be polished, or something?

I only have three games of half-hearted scouting on Buddy in my book, but at this point I'd STILL rather keep throwing McBen at the wall and hoping he'd stick. What's Buddy's true upside? (And no, not Vivek's bizarre fantasy. What's his real upside?)

It's a tough one. As Ben has demonstrated, some guys take awhile to adjust to the NBA. If Buddy is one of these, he could be a Klay Thompson. But your point that he has more years in college than most, a bit like WCS, I get nervous. Anyway, I am learning a little patience with the youngsters can pay off. For every Skal, there is a Ben.

 

[Glenn]

You could kind of sense the mood on thru TV as well, there was a lot of yelling and booing once fans realized our usual gritty comebacks was never going to happen, I think that had something to do with Grants attempt to calm people down in his postgame speech.

There are alot of kings fans who honestly believed we would get better by trading Cuz and like Grant said even traded him for nothing, they bought whatever Grant/PR was selling. I think the Denver game put those fans on cloud nine but the hornets game started to cast some doubt. Once we got pushed around by a wolves team that didn't even have to try very hard to blow us out I think reality started to sink in.

I gotcha. If anyone thought that removing a player of Boogie's skills and fantasied or real locker room destroying personality would result in a net positive this year, they are misguided. Now go down a few years with a potential windfall in the draft, we could come out ahead.

I have defended Boogie since college but I can see what a distraction he is. I don't mean that people dislike him. I mean that in the corner of everybody's brain is the worrisome thought about what Boogie will do. It is difficult enough being an NBA player.

 

[VF21]

Classy broads full of character and fun and pace!

I already made it clear - I'll be picking the young ladies should the need arise. They will come from good families and have great personalities.

 

[VF21]

Oh stop it, we are rebuilding for goodness sake. No team that trades away an all-star is going to magically become better in 5 days. The trade, whether it turns out to be good or bad, was made with long-term success in mind. Or need I remind you how many games we've actually won with Cousins to this point?

No, we're not rebuilding. That will start hopefully with the draft. What we're doing right now is trying to get to the end of the season without too much loss of support from the fans. The trade may have been made with long-term success in mind, or it may have been done because of panic.

Bring up how many games we've actually won with Cousins all you like. It doesn't change what we were starting to see on the court - a TEAM that is now NOT a team.

People need to accept that neither side in this argument is going to budge an inch. Grant's nattering on KHTK about how people should just root for other teams if they don't like what's happening isn't helping in the least. I am a damned fan, and I think I have earned the right over some 30+ years to be upset and so does anyone else who has spend money being a Kings fan.

Rebuilding? We've done more rebuilding than Sarah Winchester...with about the same results. All we've got right now is a big house.

 

[dude12]

The roster is a hot mess without the big guy......this is going to be a very long rebuilding process. This sucks.

 

[ParniValjak]

So you're saying... DeMarcus Cousins made his teammates.... better?

No he was the dark cloud hanging over the franchise and cause of all the problems. Culture matters! Talent be damned!

 

[mac]

No, we're not rebuilding. That will start hopefully with the draft. What we're doing right now is trying to get to the end of the season without too much loss of support from the fans. The trade may have been made with long-term success in mind, or it may have been done because of panic.

Bring up how many games we've actually won with Cousins all you like. It doesn't change what we were starting to see on the court - a TEAM that is now NOT a team.

People need to accept that neither side in this argument is going to budge an inch. Grant's nattering on KHTK about how people should just root for other teams if they don't like what's happening isn't helping in the least. I am a damned fan, and I think I have earned the right over some 30+ years to be upset and so does anyone else who has spend money being a Kings fan.

Rebuilding? We've done more rebuilding than Sarah Winchester...with about the same results. All we've got right now is a big house.

I have no issue if a fan is unhappy with the trade. That's their prerogative. What I'm criticizing is judging this team on something it's simply not set up to do. It's like trading Cousins for Steph Curry and then complaining that Curry doesn't get you 12 rebounds. Now obviously we didn't get Curry, but you should get the point. We made the deal for the long term, right or wrong. To now come out and make snide remarks about how THIS team now isn't winning just doesn't make sense. Nobody expects this team to win! It's not as if Cousins went to the Pels and made them an instant winner, so why should we expect our team to be any different?