The Kings Future Might Be Brighter than One Thinks

#91
Third year in a row where Kings ownership/ management botched the season, moved to outright tank mode, players hated it, changed a lot of the roster and sold changing the culture to loyal / dumb fans. They just started early to spin the trade. Incompetence and sucking is the culture. It's been that way for 10 years and every minute of Viveks ownership. The only smart thing he did was hire Vlade, because Vlade has been bad but people won't admit it or call for his job because they like him. The last 4 games are the essence of the culture. I see no reason why it changes anytime soon
 
#94
At this point my position is that there is a chance at a brighter future somewhere on the horizon. Our pick situation is tenuous at best and we're tanking. It's true that this could turn out well for us and good things could happen, but it's just as likely to turn out horrible and nothing changes.

I have no problem with fans jumping ship at this point. This team has been bad for more than a decade and we just restarted a shaky rebuild with a shaky pick situation for this year and 2 years from now. They have, in every sense of the word, painted themselves into this corner.
 
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#95
Third year in a row where Kings ownership/ management botched the season, moved to outright tank mode, players hated it, changed a lot of the roster and sold changing the culture to loyal / dumb fans. They just started early to spin the trade. Incompetence and sucking is the culture. It's been that way for 10 years and every minute of Viveks ownership. The only smart thing he did was hire Vlade, because Vlade has been bad but people won't admit it or call for his job because they like him. The last 4 games are the essence of the culture. I see no reason why it changes anytime soon
Oh come on. This is not a ten year thing, this is a right now thing. After 7 years of Cuz the tough, very tough decision was made to remove Cuz, the extremely talented Cuz, and move on and rebuild, and that is what happened. Did you or the FO or the coach or the players or the rest of the fans expect it to be any different than it has been after the change? Hell no. It is what it is and, f a person wants to remain a fan and see what happens this next game and each game for rest of the season that's good. Tough decision by the team and tough for us fans to watch as we start out on this adventure.
 
#98
I think that Hield and Skal can be special players.

Hield has an aggressiveness and confidence that I really like. He is going to be a scorer in this league. He reminds me more of James Harden, than Steph Curry in his game.

Skal looks a lot bigger and stronger already, than in the summer. If he continues to get stronger and develop, I can see him develop into a 15 points, 8-10 rebounds, 2 blk per game player in the next 2-3 years.
 
The organization has not learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Can't stick with a plan. Why would we stick with a plan going forward. Pulled the plug on Malone....pulled the plug on IT.......pulled the plug on a Joerger/Cousins era. They pulled it after 40 games into Joerger's stint here.
In that 40 games is it possible that they saw a dynamic with Cousins that wouldn't change?

Why is our 270 pounder playing behind the three point line? Ok, it was coach Karl and his philosophy, let us try with another coach. He's still out there

Not saying that was the case (I don't know)
 
Is the future brighter than many think? Maybe. It could also be darker than a black hole. Nobody really knows and that is the fun part of it. I will say that I find this to be an exciting time to be a Kings fan because the future has so many questions. We have so many young players and it is very hard to know which, if any, will turn into good players for us. It is a new day for Kings with so many young players, a new coach and of course the new G1C.

Yes, we stink (really bad), but I am kind of having fun right now because I am curious to see how this unfolds during the next couple of seasons.
 
I expect them to start playing a little better sometime soon. Not good enough to win more than a couple of games but I do expect to see at least a few cohesive offensive sets per game and probably marginally better defense. I really should give them a break(at least the players) in that they are a young team now that was kinda thrown together mid-season in a system that typically takes time to get going. The FO are morons (I hope 1140 doesn't discipline me) who don't deserve respect.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Is the future brighter than many think? Maybe. It could also be darker than a black hole. Nobody really knows and that is the fun part of it. I will say that I find this to be an exciting time to be a Kings fan because the future has so many questions. We have so many young players and it is very hard to know which, if any, will turn into good players for us. It is a new day for Kings with so many young players, a new coach and of course the new G1C.

Yes, we stink (really bad), but I am kind of having fun right now because I am curious to see how this unfolds during the next couple of seasons.
It might be an exciting time to be a Kings fan (not that I agree with that assessment), but it's sure not a good time to be sitting on expensive tickets to any of the remaining games.

It's fun to not know ONCE AGAIN what direction this team is headed? I don't think I could possibly find that fun. It might be fun watching potential grow, but we don't even have that right now. We have way too many unknowns, we have way too little faith in the front office (speaking for myself), and we have no real reason to believe the future is going to be any better than the future that has been promised in the past.

People used to accuse me of being too much of an optimist, of always looking on the bright side. Well, that ship has sailed. It crashed on the rocks and sank, with the loss of all souls aboard.

I'll be totally honest. I'm a Kings fan right now only because I don't know how to be anything else. It's not really a feeling I relish. Following a team should be fun and exciting and entertaining. Right now, following the Kings is an exercise in patience, stamina and just a fragment of hope.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
It might be an exciting time to be a Kings fan (not that I agree with that assessment), but it's sure not a good time to be sitting on expensive tickets to any of the remaining games.

It's fun to not know ONCE AGAIN what direction this team is headed? I don't think I could possibly find that fun. It might be fun watching potential grow, but we don't even have that right now. We have way too many unknowns, we have way too little faith in the front office (speaking for myself), and we have no real reason to believe the future is going to be any better than the future that has been promised in the past.

People used to accuse me of being too much of an optimist, of always looking on the bright side. Well, that ship has sailed. It crashed on the rocks and sank, with the loss of all souls aboard.

I'll be totally honest. I'm a Kings fan right now only because I don't know how to be anything else. It's not really a feeling I relish. Following a team should be fun and exciting and entertaining. Right now, following the Kings is an exercise in patience, stamina and just a fragment of hope.
At least you have March Madness coming up so we get a good look of future Kings prospects playing in the tournament and see which ones shine in the light and which ones wither.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
At least you have March Madness coming up so we get a good look of future Kings prospects playing in the tournament and see which ones shine in the light and which ones wither.
Debbie Downer reply: And watch which ones with the most potential are destined to be passed over by our front office. :p
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
At least you have March Madness coming up so we get a good look of future Kings prospects playing in the tournament and see which ones shine in the light and which ones wither.
Only if you like college ball. I personally couldn't care less.
 
I can't tell if the negativism to Buddy is a backlash to Cousins or if I'm supposed to take it seriously? If it's the former, Hield has nothing to do with Cousins, or the trade, personally, and I don't see the point of tearing him down

I think he has the tools to be solid in time

Is this going to continue a section of fans mocking him on a play by play basis?
Buddy has a 65% TS in 4 games. Small sample size but would lead all guards. He needs to get more shots. I noticed backlash too and its uncalled for. There are fans who have animosity towards Vivek and I think they want to see a guy that Vivek hyped struggle. Perhaps even fail. I think its a vocal minority. The overwhelming majority of fans want him turn into a capable starter and a star.
 
Buddy has a 65% TS in 4 games. Small sample size but would lead all guards. He needs to get more shots. I noticed backlash too and its uncalled for. There are fans who have animosity towards Vivek and I think they want to see a guy that Vivek hyped struggle. Perhaps even fail. I think its a vocal minority. The overwhelming majority of fans want him turn into a capable starter and a star.
A steady 15-20 ppg SG who can cover one of the other team's guys would be great. A little luck with this year's NOP pick and I think we will be better off than we were pre-trade. I'm ride or die with Vlade. I don't mind this year's tank and next year's certain struggles. I would like to play fast paced with fast players - it was dumb to try with DMC but it isn't dumb anymore.

The guys who are screwed are club and courtside seat holders on 3-5 year contracts. They are jumping out of buildings because those tickets are priced sky high with escalators. The rest of us - I think we can count on capped prices the next few years and that's ok. I'm not bummed as a STH (but if I was on a club contract I would be)
 
Buddy has a 65% TS in 4 games. Small sample size but would lead all guards. He needs to get more shots. I noticed backlash too and its uncalled for. There are fans who have animosity towards Vivek and I think they want to see a guy that Vivek hyped struggle. Perhaps even fail. I think its a vocal minority. The overwhelming majority of fans want him turn into a capable starter and a star.
A vocal minority WANTS buddy to fail because he is viveks guy? That's quite a charge. I wouldn't call said fans kings fans then. I haven't read any comments by people who want buddy to be a bust. I'd bet 99% of the fans at this site are just sick and tired of being the NBA's doormat and really want us to turn the corner on being such a horrible franchise. I don't think anyone wants to see buddy be a complete bust because that would doom this franchise for the forseeable future.
 
I think there is a natural purging of Kings fans going on right now, including here at Kingsfans.com. A lot of fans have lost all hope, while others' only hope is to see the Kings team and organization completely self-destruct. For the latter group, the sooner you realize you need to move on and leave the Kings behind, the better for all.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
Buddy has a 65% TS in 4 games. Small sample size but would lead all guards. He needs to get more shots. I noticed backlash too and its uncalled for. There are fans who have animosity towards Vivek and I think they want to see a guy that Vivek hyped struggle. Perhaps even fail. I think its a vocal minority. The overwhelming majority of fans want him turn into a capable starter and a star.
I think that is a bit over the top. There are multiple reasons to be skeptical of Buddy, and certainly when Buddy has struggled some schadenfreude from some of those critics. As one who was critical of the trade and therefore skeptical of Buddy I would love nothing better than to see him prove his critics wrong, just like I was/am thrilled to see IT prove me wrong about being a starter in the league. But I will also say that given the log jam at the 2 and what I thought was solid mature play by Richardson, inspiring effort from Temple and rave reviews on Bogdonivic from Europe IF Buddy is not going to play better than any of theses guys next season I would hope he flames out this season before the front office moves one or more of them to make room for Buddy next season. The constant talent bleeding has left not only the team but the fans anemic and in desperate need of an infusion. It is so bad that even the most die hard skeptics of the "Tank for the draft" strategy are accepting this as our only hope.
 
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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
I think there is a natural purging of Kings fans going on right now, including here at Kingsfans.com. A lot of fans have lost all hope, while others' only hope is to see the Kings team and organization completely self-destruct. For the latter group, the sooner you realize you need to move on and leave the Kings behind, the better for all.
Please don't tell Kings fans they need to move on and leave the Kings behind. There's gonna be a period of time when people go through the 5 stages of grief about the Cousins trade. It's to be expected. It happened when Webber was traded, it happened when Malone was fired, it happened when IT wasn't retained, and it's happened to a lesser extent in other instances when the front office made what a lot of us thought were/are bonehead moves. It's all part and parcel of being a fan.

You should peruse some of the other fan boards. We're actually pretty tame compared to some of them.

I want to see the organization taught a lesson. does that mean I need to move on and leave the Kings behind?
 
I think that is a bit over the top. There are multiple reasons to be skeptical of Buddy, and certainly when Buddy has struggled some schadenfreude from some of those critics. As one who was critical of the trade and therefore skeptical of Buddy I would love nothing better than to see him prove his critics wrong, just like I was/am thrilled to see IT prove me wrong about being a starter in the league. But I will also say that given the log jam at the 2 and what I thought was solid mature play by Richardson, inspiring effort from Temple and rave reviews on Bogdonivic from Europe IF Buddy is not going to play better than any of theses guys next season I would hope he flames out this season before the front office moves one or more of them to make room for buddy nest season. The constant talent bleeding has left not only team but the fans anemic and in desperate need to an infusion. It is so bad that even the most die hard skeptics of the "Tank for the draft" strategy are accepting this as our only hope.
Being skeptical of the trade doesn't need to mean skeptical of Buddy. It's not as if Buddy didn't exist the FO wouldn't have likely found another avenue to deal Cousins first chance at value they got

Buddy's played well so far.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Being skeptical of the trade doesn't need to mean skeptical of Buddy. It's not as if Buddy didn't exist the FO wouldn't have likely found another avenue to deal Cousins first chance at value they got

Buddy's played well so far.
You can be skeptical of ANY new player to the Kings. It's not about the trade as much as it is about him living up to the hype surrounding him.
 
A vocal minority WANTS buddy to fail because he is viveks guy? That's quite a charge. I wouldn't call said fans kings fans then. I haven't read any comments by people who want buddy to be a bust. I'd bet 99% of the fans at this site are just sick and tired of being the NBA's doormat and really want us to turn the corner on being such a horrible franchise. I don't think anyone wants to see buddy be a complete bust because that would doom this franchise for the forseeable future.
The problem with some posters on this board is that in their mind, unless you are not drinking the cool aid and believing that every player can be special, you are labelled as wanting the player to fail and therefore not a real fan.

Buddy will forever be linked to the Cousins trade and Vivek's apparent gushing over him and his comments about him put unwarranted pressure on the kid. People can call me haters but IMHO, for as long as his butt points to the ground, Buddy Hield will never be as good as Cousins or Curry (i.e. He will never be a franchise level player). That is not hate and wanting the player to fail. That is just calling it as I see it. Now if Buddy can develop into a good starting SG, borderline all-star on a good team and Kings draft a perennial all-star type player with the NO pick, then they might come out looking not too bad out of it. Still not great but reasonable.

I am reading comments about Buddy this, Buddy that. If he does this he could be special type of posts. Buddy is a very good shooter and by virtue of his shooting ability he will stick in the NBA. However, all this talk reminds me of the time when people around here thought that Kevin Martin was a franchise level player. Just NO! People are deperate for Kings to have that franchise guy that they are ready to annoit anyone that shows something as one.

On the current roster, Kings don't have that player. None of the players in the roster have that talent level and that mentality to be one. A lot of nice young pieces who can be good NBA player but no superstars in the making. Kings need to get. Lucky in the draft to get one or more of those. However, unlike last time they got one, this time around if they get one, there seems to be a decent talent level that could be around him that is around the same age and looking to develop at the similar pace.

Here is hoping that the Kings can get their franchise player or two in the next couple of drafts and move forward with some hope as the rest of the roster fits in around the franchise guy/s!

Whether or not people have faith in this franchise to get those franchise level guys in is another topic all together.
 
On the current roster, Kings don't have that player. None of the players in the roster have that talent level and that mentality to be one. A lot of nice young pieces who can be good NBA player but no superstars in the making. Kings need to get. Lucky in the draft to get one or more of those. However, unlike last time they got one, this time around if they get one, there seems to be a decent talent level that could be around him that is around the same age and looking to develop at the similar pace.
While I am sure you have a good eye for talent, no one can predict how a player develops in the future. Especially for the rookies.

Look, no one would have predicted that Steph Curry, James Harden, Kawhai Leonard, Marc Gasol, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Isaiah Thomas, Giannis, Hassan Whiteside, to name a few, would have developed into franchise type players.

Not many players are Lebron James and Kevin Durant, that come in the league ready to dominate.

To put a ceiling on our young players, especially the rookies, like Skal and Buddy, that have only scratched the surface of their talent is silly at this point of their careers.

Their ceiling will depend on their work ethic, heart, and proper coaching for them to reach their potential.

Now I am not saying that they will be franchise players in the future, but no one can predict the future. ;)
 
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HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
Being skeptical of the trade doesn't need to mean skeptical of Buddy. It's not as if Buddy didn't exist the FO wouldn't have likely found another avenue to deal Cousins first chance at value they got

Buddy's played well so far.
Skepticism of the front office naturally leads to skepticism of their judgment in any player, Buddy included. Has he played well for us so far... I would say his showings have been inconsistent although his aggragat numbers in the small sample look good, BUT gun to the head if you had to move either him or Richardson who would you keep. Now repeat with Temple and the potential Bodogovic signing. So skepticism and critical evaluation are called for especially once you realize that's what you got for DMC tallent.
 
Skepticism of the front office naturally leads to skepticism of their judgment in any player, Buddy included. Has he played well for us so far... I would say his showings have been inconsistent although his aggragat numbers in the small sample look good, BUT gun to the head if you had to move either him or Richardson who would you keep. Now repeat with Temple and the potential Bodogovic signing. So skepticism and critical evaluation are called for especially once you realize that's what you got for DMC tallent.
I think he's only one piece of what you got

-Buddy
-Keeping pick (team was 12th worst record with an easier schedule remaining)
-Pelicans pick
-Able to be a top 5 pick next year, instead of treadmill

Then if you stretch it too

-Not having the risk of a super max taking ~40% of cap
-extra cap of shaving off Cousins contract this summer

We will see how it plays out I suppose, but I can see where your coming from if you see Buddy vis a vis with Cuz