Is Fox on track? (moved from the Optimism thread)

#31
I still have hope that Fox will turn into a star but my hope has dwindled a little from last year. It's probably partially due to the fact that the team is just so miserable right now. But as others have said, I don't see a big step up in play from last year. He seems to be pretty much at the same point. His lack of alpha dog mentality is concerning.

It's funny that "imprint guy" who was constantly bashed in game threads last year might not be totally off. I can't even remember which user that was, but if Fox doesn't pan out as well as we all hope, imprint guy is gonna be sitting in his living room with a giant cigar going "hehehehe".
Kingsfan23 I believe. Banned for some reason.
 
#32
I still have hope that Fox will turn into a star but my hope has dwindled a little from last year. It's probably partially due to the fact that the team is just so miserable right now. But as others have said, I don't see a big step up in play from last year. He seems to be pretty much at the same point. His lack of alpha dog mentality is concerning.

It's funny that "imprint guy" who was constantly bashed in game threads last year might not be totally off. I can't even remember which user that was, but if Fox doesn't pan out as well as we all hope, imprint guy is gonna be sitting in his living room with a giant cigar going "hehehehe".
Could see that every day of the week. Dude was out here hoping Walton's sexual assault case would play out negatively because he wanted someone else.
 
#33
That's just being ridiculous and not at all answering my question.

He's averaging 17/6.5
Those are not all-star numbers and really not that close.

If he was as good now as you think he is, the numbers would be higher and the Kings would be winning more games.

I never understand this delusional overrating of our own players. Logically it doesn't make sense because you better hope Fox improves quite a bit (because the wins will come with it). Trying to pretend like he's already a star and big leader of the team is fools gold. He's not. Yes he can be, yes he probably will be......but he's got a ways to go.
not saying it’s easy to score but for all stars scoring now a days in the 20s is like stealing candy from a baby. Fox is at 17 it’s laughable to say he’s close to being an all star or a man among boys dudes nowhere near that. Right now it’s debatable if he’s better than Ja Morant some of y’all are delusional
 
#34
Fox's closest comp is probably John Wall. It took Wall four seasons before he broke out to have an All-Star campaign, and Fox is further ahead in his development than Wall was at that point in his career. Now, Fox is not going to sniff the All-Star game this season, because the western conference is flush with elite guards, but he certainly seems to be moving in the right direction.
I don’t think that’s his comp Wall ran an offense at an elite level that I’m not sure if wall could reach
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#35
I don’t think that’s his comp Wall ran an offense at an elite level that I’m not sure if wall could reach
You must be misremembering the Washington Wizards offense, because I'm not aware of any definition of 'elite' that applies to it. Since John Wall has been drafted, the Wizards have only been Top 10 in scoring once, and they have only been Top 10 in offensive rating once, and those didn't happen in the same year.
 
#36
not saying it’s easy to score but for all stars scoring now a days in the 20s is like stealing candy from a baby. Fox is at 17 it’s laughable to say he’s close to being an all star or a man among boys dudes nowhere near that. Right now it’s debatable if he’s better than Ja Morant some of y’all are delusional
He's not better than Morant, he's a way lesser talent the only thing he might have over Morant is a longer career since Morant goes in like he's not afraid to die and could be very detrimental to his long term prospects.
 
#38
I dont think our team is constructed in a way that lends itself to anyone averaging 25+ppg. So if that's what one is looking for in what they consider to be a star, they aren't going to find it here. In the few games that fox has been back he had a 30 point game, as well as an 18/13 game. Pretty damn good. Im not at all interested in the title of all-star as a metric for measuring how good players are.

Fox showed a lot of improvement last year with his outside shot, and seemed to identify when to take outside shots. We need our role guys catching lob passes for dunks, and we need Hield/Bogdon/Bjelica/Barnes hitting 3's. If we are getting those things then I wouldnt expect for Fox to put up a very high scoring average.
 
#39
Kingsfan23 I believe. Banned for some reason.

Actually, that was me. I always made that statement. More than once. I still firmly believe it. Fox has not shown the DNA to be a killer of a guy that puts a team on his back. He does show flashes and will get people hopeful. But, On a full time basis against Top Tier competition it's something I have rarely seen from the guy. You see it in players like Morant, Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic, Zion, etc.

I would like to be wrong. That's not to say he won't be a nice player who gets to the All Star game a few times. A Game changer. I don't see though.
Yes, A Wall/ Early Hawks Teague are ceilings.

Bagley concerns me a whole lot more. Putting aside the constant rash of injuries. There may be a correlation. It looks as if Bagley didn't bother to put in any time at the gym or much on the court during last offseason. That lack of commitment is quite disturbing.
 
#40
Ja Morant is definitely not better than Fox right now. I think Morant has a chance to be great, but better than Fox right now? No way.
Shai-Gilgeous is younger and now better than Fox. Their numbers are comparable, Shai's a little better. But, what Shai does is win big games consistently. A big reason the Thunder are a surprise team. He took over last night against Dallas.
 
#41
Shai-Gilgeous is younger and now better than Fox. Their numbers are comparable, Shai's a little better. But, what Shai does is win big games consistently. A big reason the Thunder are a surprise team. He took over last night against Dallas.
Yea, Shai has turned into a great player. I remember a lot of NBA fans didn't want to draft him for whatever reason, but he's shocked a lot of people.
 
#53
Step 2; sustaining it
Exactly. I suspect we'll see some "I told you so posts" but this is exactly what we've been talking about. It's what Grant, Doug, Koz, and Jerry are talking about right now. When Fox plays like this the Kings generally win.

Tonight he was 27/9. He needs to put up these kind of performances more often.....say 75% of the time.

He can't follow up this game with 14/5 in the next one. He has to leave his "imprint" on the game if you will.....
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#55
Exactly. I suspect we'll see some "I told you so posts" but this is exactly what we've been talking about. It's what Grant, Doug, Koz, and Jerry are talking about right now. When Fox plays like this the Kings generally win.

Tonight he was 27/9. He needs to put up these kind of performances more often.....say 75% of the time.

He can't follow up this game with 14/5 in the next one. He has to leave his "imprint" on the game if you will.....
No arguments there. What I will say and people will probably say that this is just making excuses or whatever is that he was putting up sustained star performances to help pull us out of the 0-5 start slump before injuring his ankle and has largely looked less than 100% since then. Even tonight, there were moments where you could see him struggling with his back.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#56
Eh, one game with a 3 year pro against a rookie doesn’t make or break a take. It’s going to be really interesting to see where Morant is in year 3, because he’s definitely better than where Fox was in his rookie season.
Debateable. The Grizzlies are running the perfect system for a fast point guard who can't defend all that well while Dave Joerger coached De'Aaron's rookie year like they were the grit-n-grind Grizzlies so it sorta skews the numbers. (Also Ja didn't have to sit behind George Hill for half a season)
 
#59
Debateable. The Grizzlies are running the perfect system for a fast point guard who can't defend all that well while Dave Joerger coached De'Aaron's rookie year like they were the grit-n-grind Grizzlies so it sorta skews the numbers. (Also Ja didn't have to sit behind George Hill for half a season)
Ja is probably better than Stephen was in his first year....but let’s not line up for the mvp parade quite yet
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#60
Here's what I'd say about Fox.

He has clear All Star potential. But so do a number of PG's in this game. It's probably the most competitive position in the game. Even looking back, Bibby was the best PG this franchise has seen in the Sac era and he never made an All Star team.

Beyond that the most important question has to be answered. That being, is Fox willing to accept the responsibility and the accountability which comes with it, of being the cornerstone of the franchise. It's not the Luka thread but I'll bring him up as far as this comparison goes. Right now he's in the transition of learning to be the cornerstone of a franchise and all that comes with that. It's incredible pressure, massive commitments both on and off the court, the focus of the media and you better show up every night and answer for it. You can see in Luka's interviews him coming to terms with the responsibility.

This goes for any player who wants to be the centerpiece of an organization.

I have not seen this from Fox yet. As of now he picks and chooses when to accept this responsibility. When he arrives at the point where he accepts accountability for the team's outcome on any given night, comes out ready to lead the team on every given night, is the leading force and the engine of the team on every single night and succeeds, then the Kings have franchise player.

It's great to get the accolades when you win. Can you shoulder the blame when we lose? Can you shoulder the blame when we lose to the point that every night when you step on the floor you go so hard that you know a win depends on your performance.

That's what the Kings need from Fox. Dame Lillard went thru the same and rose to the occasion.