It's the same story over and over with terrible teams. Fans are trying to pick the guy to build around when it isn't about one player it's about the team. We know what it takes for this team to win: multiple players need to play well at the same time. If we clear Fox out so Haliburton can spread his wings so to speak, what happens when Haliburton is having a bad game? What happens when he inevitably goes through his own two month slump after he's getting max contract money? Will the fans turn on him too? We had this same argument about Artest vs. KMart then about IT vs. Tyreke. Then one of them gets traded or leaves in free agency and the team doesn't get any better. Then the other one gets traded or leaves in free agecy and we start the whole cycle over again with someone new. I'm tired of it. If a coaching staff can't get two players as talented as Fox and Haliburton to buy in to the same concept they probably shouldn't be coaching in the NBA.
I do think there is a playoff team here with some important adjustments. Fox and Haliburton work as a tag team duo the same way Lillard and McCollum do though Fox needs to figure out a way to shoot with some consistency from outside. Mitchell works as a spark plug bench guard and occasional starter who turns up the defensive intensity and ensures we win the bench minutes. Davis is inconsistent but he's shown flashes of being a good bench shooter to replace Buddy. I think Bagley and Metu work as energy bigs with stretch 4 potential. I like Jones and Queta as the C rotation -- stop messing around and get some actual size in the paint. So that leaves Buddy, Barnes, and Holmes as the pieces I'd trade and all I'm looking for is a couple of large wings who can defend and knock down spot-up shots.
I don't think they're a few tweaks away from contending. Bagley, Metu, Jones and Queta would be the worst frontcourt in the league by a landslide.
I agree that the point is to acquire talent but they consistently make the same mistake where they don't acquire enough talent and then try to make a run at it for 3-4 years with subpar talent and band aid veteran acquisitions.
They can't just let the team be bad so they can acquire more talent through the draft. Just allowing them to be bad last year could have easily gotten them into the Raptors position to select Scottie Barnes. Instead, they played the best players big minutes and continued to push for victories against basement dwelling teams when the playoffs were out of the question.
Smart teams let themselves lose when they aren't good and then make moves when they are sure they have the talent. The Kings do neither. They win when winning is detrimental to the franchise and then make moves well before they are sure they have enough talent to win. We're in the exact same situation as the Cousins era. We've got some good players, but not enough, and ride them to late lottery picks. Then load up on a new end of the bench rotational player cast and have another run at the late lottery because they never gave themselves a chance to draft a Mobley or Barnes. People will say they had a chance when they drafted Bagley. Ok well that didn't work out so do what you need to do to put yourself in that situation again so you have a chance at it this time.