Bingo!!!!! Is there anyone on this forum that wouldn't trade Buddy for Beal straight up?. The Wiz wouldn't, but I certainly would. Beal is a complete player and Buddy isn't. Buddy is a one note samba, and if you ask him to do more than that, your asking for trouble. This isn't a matter of whether we have talent or not, it's a matter of how you use that talent. And that's on the coach. What was the difference in this last game? Fox had a good game. Not as great as his first game, but still, no complaints. Bogi had a good game, but once again, Buddy wasn't very good. However, this time around Walton decided to pull Buddy and start calling Barnes number.
Wa La! Barnes did what he does and the Kings were off and running. It's as though one of Walton's assistants whispered in his ear, hey, why don't we run some plays for Barnes. I know there are some on this forum that think I hate Buddy. Not true, but I do think his overall ability is overrated. He's a very good catch and shoot player. But not quite as good off the dribble as in catch and shoot. He's not a good passer and he gets very careless with his handle at times, and unfortunately, those times tend to be at a crucial point of the game. I would take Joe Harris over Buddy 10 times out of 10. And Harris is making 7 mil a year.
Someone in one of these posts stated that both Buddy and Bogi needed someone to create shots for them. Really? I sometimes wonder if some of you even watch the games. Buddy is better as a catch and shoot player, and therefore, he needs someone to get him the ball in that situation. Bogdanovic on the other hand, is an excellent ball handler and passer whose like a 2nd PG on the floor with Fox. He can run the offense at times allowing Fox to play off the ball. He needs no one to set him up.
Someone asked if there's ever been a PG that was successful that couldn't shoot the three well. First, if applied to Fox, we have to assume that he'll never be a good, or at least a respected 3 pt shooter. I personally, am not willing to make that assessment at this point. It took Jason Kidd 13 years at age 31 to become a good 3pt shooter. However I think everyone will agree that he was a pretty good PG, prior to, and after he became efficient at shooting the three.
Of all the positions on the floor, PG is the most difficult and comes with the most responsibility. Steve Nash didn't become the Steve Nash we all remember until his 5th year in the league. Like Curry, he could always shoot the ball, but the rest of his game was lacking. It took one of the best PG's of all time, John Stockton, 4 years to hone his game and become a star. It took Rod Strictland 4 years. Isaiah Thomas never shot the three well averaging 29% for his career, but he's in the HOF. Our own Kevin Johnson was a career 30.5% three point shooter. How about Kyle Lowery who took 4 years to look anything like the player we see today, and who shot under 30% from the three his first 3 years in the league.
So be careful who you want to trade. Successful franchises are usually methodically patient. Unsuccessful franchises are usually plagued with constant turnover of players, coaches and GM's. Fitting the right pieces together is never a slam dunk. It's one thing to know who you think is the perfect fit for your team. It's quite another thing to acquire that player. Petrie once said, "You know when you have team chemistry, and when it's gone, you have no idea how to get it back". In other words, it's not an exact science and no matter how much work you put into it, there's always an element of luck.
There are times when I think this franchise is cursed. That there's some truth to that Indian burial ground rumor. We finally get the 1st pick in the draft and draft Pervis Ellison, who immediately has foot problems, and is traded the following year. We draft Lionel Simmons, who finishes 2nd in ROY voting to Derrick Coleman, but then blows out his knee's. We draft Ricky Berry, who looks like a future all star, and he commits suicide in the off season. Just a few examples out of many. "Successful people are those who keep they're heads while everyone about them is losing theirs". A bastardized quote from the French revolution, but it can be applied to many situations.
It's one thing to believe that the team needs some changes. We have some pieces that don't fit together well, or that should be coming off the bench instead of starting. I have no argument with that approach. But it's quite another to think that we should blow up the entire team and start from scratch. Especially when it appears that some of you underestimate the capabilities of some of our players, and overestimate others. Changes need to be well thought out. Change for the sake of change usually results in disaster.
Change should be based on what you see, not what you want to see, or hoped to see. Don't paint Bagley as a failure because he's not Doncic and that's the player you wanted. We would likely be a different team with him on the floor, and probably a better team. Pure speculation on my part. But as far as Bagley is concerned, speculation is all we have except for his first year when he played in 62 games. So lets make a comparison.
Cousins: 1st yr - 28 mpg - 14.1 ppg - 43.0% fgp - 16.7% 3pp - 8.6 rpg - 0.8 bpg - 1 stl's per game
Bagley: 1st yr - 25 mpg - 14.9 ppg - 50.4% fgp - 31.3% 3pp - 7.6 rpg - 1.0 bpg - 0.5 stl's per game
I think we can agree that they're different kind of players, but the results are similar. Cousins was a beloved player on this forum and I think we can agree he turned out better than OK. We were patient with Cousins, and Bagley deserves the same. Vlade envisioned a team with Fox and Bagley running the floor together, and so far, that hasn't happened. So we don't know how it will turn out in the long term, but it worked well for Stockton and Malone. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
My point is, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Bagley's injuries aren't Vlade's fault. No one has a crystal ball for injuries. They're not Bagley's fault either. I get the frustration. I'm frustrated, and once again, that Indian burial ground vision appears before my eye's. But I think we should at least wait and see the results of Vlade's vision before passing judgement. None of Bagley's injuries are of the chronic variety, which is encouraging. Meaning that he should be back to full health for next season, and hopefully stay that way. So personally, I'm willing to wait and see how the team looks with a healthy Bagley and Fox on the floor together.
My starting lineup would be Fox at the Point, Bogie at SG, ? at SF, Barnes at PF, and Bagley at Center. That would bring Buddy, Holmes, Bjelica and Joseph off the bench. The bench needs another shooter like Beli to help take some of the pressure off Buddy. My hope would be that we fill the SF position in the off season. I'd like to include Bazemore in the 2nd unit, but I don't know if we have the cap space to resign him. Plus, if the Kings are looking at Jeffries the same way I'am, he looks a lot like Bazemore 2.0, which could make Bazemore expendable. Just the random thoughts of a Dr. Manhattan wanna be....
