I have mild confidence in this front office with "co-GMs" of Vlade and Brandon after having next to nil. The Kings have made a handful of moves in a row I wholeheartedly endorse starting with dumping Hill for 9M in cap space. The Hill signing for 2/40 guaranteed, the Z-Bo signing for 2/24 and Jackson pick (over OG and Kuzma) were problematic. On the heels of the Boogie trade, I was ready to pull the plug. Since then Vlade is on a bit of an impressive run. Let's review:
- Traded Hill for 9M in cap space (good)
- Drafted Bagley over Luka, did not succumb to external pressure (good; declared the pick to be better fit and talent; no equivocation)
- Tried to sign Mario H (good; the idea was good; the execution, selling and persuasion, could have been better)
- Tried to sign Zach LaVine (good; though 4/80 offer was criticized I think as LaVine regains health, his appeal will be vindicated)
- Traded Temple for Ben and 1M in space (good; Temple had a bad year at 32; shot happy and declining D and needed new start)
- Signed Bjelica (good; capitalized expeditiously on deal that fell apart with 76ers)
- Signed Yogi (good; capitalized expeditiously on deal that fell apart with Mavs)
- Reserved 14M in cap space to exploit desperate underachieving team (good)
Hey, hey lookie here, the Kings front office is actually showing, gasp, competence! You wouldn't know if you read the latest garbage piece from Ziller or perused the Sactown Royalty board of GIF happy groupthink sheep. Now that the front office has done their job with a series of sly and respectable moves with the cap space pending it is time for this coach to do his job. It is time for him to maximize the talent with which he has been provided. Joerger is on the HOT SEAT. This is the year if we find out if he can do more than keep a harmonious locker room.
If he returns to the player I deemed his security blanket, Z-Bud, his days are numbered. If he can't instill pace to middle of the pack with Fox running the show, what is he doing? Then he says one thing and does another and has been revealed as a fraud. If he continues in his bias against guys like Buddy and Skal, not allowing them to play through mistakes as readily as his star pupils, I will begin to worry. It was inexplicable last year for example that Buddy was playing behind Jackson. Jackson was a trash player and Buddy could go into unconscious beast mode at the drop of a pin. But this distinction was not acknowledged with the way the respective players were treated by the coach.
I am bit of conflicted on this last point RE: Buddy because he made awesome improvement on D. Maybe there was a "method to the madness" with the way the coach treated him? He asked him to be more than a shooter and he turned a corner. So let me give him a degree of benefit of the doubt here. In this context there is going to be a degree of tinkering with which you have to allow the coach. I don't believe the coach needs to pick his starters and backups then ride or die. As he continuously learns more about team and players perform individually and in combination up to expectations or not, adjustments are justified.
We don't have a perfect roster. Far from it. But Joerger has a lot to work with centered around the explosiveness of Bagley and Fox and sniper shooting of Buddy, Boggy and Yogi and the wild card Giles. No more excuses. No more "writing off the year" with we are too young and too inexperienced and too weak. These excuses out of self-preservation don't work anymore. Joerger can succeed if he does not try to recreate the best teams he had in Memphis. He needs to put that past in the past. He needs to coach the roster he has not the one of his wet dreams. I honestly feel that the only thing keeping De'Aaron Fox from All-Star stardom is his coach! If this concern proves unsubstantiated 10-15 games in Joerger has seen the light. Exciting times are ahead. If this coach continues to bow to the altar of overly intricate play sets, the carousel of crapola keeps spinning.
Joerger should emphasize fun in the context of execution and discipline. It sounds simple enough but it is a real challenge for this guy. I don't think his preferred style of play has been fun. It has been tedious. This team will play with an espirit de corps if the coach does not get in the way. This is what I will be looking for. It is NOT too much to ask but to me it is a legitimate concern. With athleticism and shooting we have there is NO reason this team cannot play with a lot of enthusiasm and competitive fire. If the coach takes the air out of the ball, something is amiss. Then we should just turn the team over to my man Larry Lewis. I see a bright future for this man. If Joerger is not up to the task, perhaps the biggest question going into this season, then move aside for LL.
View attachment 8298