Analyzing the Murray pick (Split from the Welcome thread)

[notoriousBEN3]

I didn’t watch Murray play much in college, so I’m only speaking based on highlight reals, but what I noticed is that he’s so smooth and in control, it almost makes him look less athletic and sharp than he actually is.

Some of the shots and moves I saw him make were absolutely elite. He seems to have a knack for knowing where to be and how to control his body in a way that almost makes him look lazy. His body control to me is elite. His spatial awareness and ability to get his shot off in a congested area are really impressive and shows a very good bball IQ.

I do think he looks a little slow and methodical at times, but as long as he gets it done, who cares?

I mean, look at what old man Al Horford did in the playoffs this year… He’s FAR from an elite athlete at this point in his career, but he can shoot the 3 and is smart enough to know how to get the best out of his abilities.

Athleticism will only get a player so far. Every year Uber athletic guys wash out of the league because they don’t have the the rest of the skills needed to ball at the highest level. I don’t see that being a problem with Murray, and with the kings whiffing on guys year after year, I’m good with the “play it safe” pick this year, and I’m super excited to have another high IQ guy on the team, as you cannot have enough of those players.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I completely agree with this, especially after hearing Mike Brown's press conference. Maybe I've put my purple colored glasses one time too many, but I really do think they have actually turned that corner, but the national media won't recognize this for another two years.

Another small thing is I haven't seen Vivek around much. Brown was talking all about accountability in the org, Monte is all over on draft night, maybe Vivek is there and I didn't notice him, but it sure seems like the basketball people are front and center.

 

[ESP47]

Lineup with Fox, Murray, Sabonis, Collins would be so bad defensively that we would never be actuall contenders. And thats pretty much guaranteed. Hard no on giving up anything significant on Collins.

I agree that Fox, Collins and Sabonis are all bad defensive pairings but why include Murray in there?

I think his defense is overrated but I don't think he'll be a net negative defensively. Even if he spends a lot of minutes at the 3.

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Another small thing is I haven't seen Vivek around much. Brown was talking all about accountability in the org, Monte is all over on draft night, maybe Vivek is there and I didn't notice him, but it sure seems like the basketball people are front and center.

I'll be extremely honest with you here...Watching and hearing Vivek being bashed from all four directions hasn't been the greatest thing for me to witness. And that is primarily due to the fact that I, myself, am an Indian. When Vivek assumed ownership of the team, I felt a sense of pride. A sense of excitement, actually. My favorite sports franchise is going to be owned by a fellow Indian. The Kings are going to be owned by one of my people. I actually couldn't stop smiling for the longest time. And then I remember watching the rally, and just seeing the excitement come right through my TV screen. I immediately told myself that this is going to be a PHENOMENAL change for the Sacramento Kings. This guy is about to do great things for the city. For the team. For the fans.

I remained a Vivek supporter for the first couple of years, even after it became apparent that he is unable to keep himself out of areas in which he should not be involved. Because I thought things would turn around very quickly.

However, in the few years that followed, he had actually started to annoy the H-E-Double Hockey Stix out of me. He was starting to venture out into the deepest part of the ocean. And it was clearly hurting the team's ability to make any significant forward progress. And it became clear that he needed to get his hands out of those areas. He has most certainly improved in the past few years, especially since Monte came aboard. And I am glad that the results are starting to show. I just hope he doesn't make his way back into the mix, thus setting us back a couple of years.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I'll be extremely honest with you here...Watching and hearing Vivek being bashed from all four directions hasn't been the greatest thing for me to witness. And that is primarily due to the fact that I, myself, am an Indian. When Vivek assumed ownership of the team, I felt a sense of pride. A sense of excitement, actually. My favorite sports franchise is going to be owned by a fellow Indian. The Kings are going to be owned by one of my people. I actually couldn't stop smiling for the longest time. And then I remember watching the rally, and just seeing the excitement come right through my TV screen. I immediately told myself that this is going to be a PHENOMENAL change for the Sacramento Kings. This guy is about to do great things for the city. For the team. For the fans.

I remained a Vivek supporter for the first couple of years, even after it became apparent that he is unable to keep himself out of areas in which he should not be involved. Because I thought things would turn around very quickly.

However, in the few years that followed, he had actually started to annoy the H-E-Double Hockey Stix out of me. He was starting to venture out into the deepest part of the ocean. And it was clearly hurting the team's ability to make any significant forward progress. And it became clear that he needed to get his hands out of those areas. He has most certainly improved in the past few years, especially since Monte came aboard. And I am glad that the results are starting to show. I just hope he doesn't make his way back into the mix, thus setting us back a couple of years.

From my perspective he's been slowly improving the whole time but he gets blamed for everything that goes wrong. I think his early mistake was not listening to the basketball people when he should have, followed by hiring bad basketball people and listening to them.

For better or worse he seems to be listening to Monte, so let's just hope he got this coach and pick right.

 

[206Fan]

I’m not really understanding the Barnes comparisons. Barnes is a good shot creator and iso scorer. It’s probably his best skill set after his shooting ability. You can give him the ball and expect him to make something out of nothing.

On the other hand, Murray hasn’t shown the ability to do that Iowa. I know he scored 23ppg, but Bagley put up a lot of points too.

I really hope I’m wrong, but my gut feeling says he’ll be a prime Marvin Williams.

here’s my question, what’s the special skill set that he brings to the table? I don’t think he really has 1 true thing he absolutely excels at.

With him turning 22, his expectations to contribute immediately are going to be a lot higher than a 19 year old Jabari or 20 year old Paolo.

I really hope I’m wrong about this pick. I don’t see him as a star in the league. He just looks like a solid role player all-around.

I don’t know how I feel about that type of value at #4.

 

[Telemachus]

From my perspective he's been slowly improving the whole time but he gets blamed for everything that goes wrong. I think his early mistake was not listening to the basketball people when he should have, followed by hiring bad basketball people and listening to them.

For better or worse he seems to be listening to Monte, so let's just hope he got this coach and pick right.

I think the smartest move Monte made was hiring Wes as his assistant GM. One of the problems has been that the entire FO has been pitted against each other, which undermines the whole process. Those two have formed a solid, united front that has slowly cleared away all those who could undermine them.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I think the smartest move Monte made was hiring Wes as his assistant GM. One of the problems has been that the entire FO has been pitted against each other, which undermines the whole process. Those two have formed a solid, united front that has slowly cleared away all those who could undermine them.

honest question though - did Monte make that hire?

I do agree, they seem to be lock step together. With Brown they have a ton of potential.

I liked in Monte's presser how much he talked about his team. He may not be the smoothest talker but he seems like a good dude.

 

[NiNetNiNe]

His scoring is pretty elite. He shot 40% from 3, and had one of the highest efficiency ratings ever while also being the sole focus of the opposing team on defense. That doesn't happen on accident. Additionally, he onky averaged 1 turnover a game, which is insane. And then, to top it all off, he would hustle back and play defense to the tune of 1.3 steals and 2 blocks a game.

I just don't understand how people can look at him and not be impressed. Is it because he isn't flashy? He doesn't yell after every dunk to show how much he cares?

Look at a team like the Warriors. They aren't full of athletic freaks of nature, but what they do have an abundance of is extremely smart and skilled players. We have DDV, Fox, Davion, Sabonis, Barnes, and Murray, all of whom I would say are smart and skilled players.

We also just hired Mike Brown, who was the defensive mastermind for the Warriors and is credited by a few pros for making rhem into the defensive players they are today. I think we have a lot to look forward to.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1540155892535988224

KD obviously got his hands on Monte’s draft plan

 

[Gguod]

I agree that Fox, Collins and Sabonis are all bad defensive pairings but why include Murray in there?

I think his defense is overrated but I don't think he'll be a net negative defensively. Even if he spends a lot of minutes at the 3.

If he was forced to guard 3's next to Collins it wouldnt be ideal. Murray is not a bad defender but with Sabonis, Fox and Collins you would pretty much need all nba level defenders next to them in order to be competitive

 

[ockingsfan]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1540155892535988224

KD obviously got his hands on Monte’s draft plan

Which is why I find it funny that the top 3 picks were all Power Forwards/Centers, the least important positions to winning in todays NBA. The Power Forward/ Center position hasn’t been important in the NBA since the days of Shaq and Hakeem.

The best big man in the NBA, Joel Embiid, can’t get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Without an excellent, top level wing player, you ain’t winning big in todays NBA. Big men play a complimentary role, not a starring role.

 

[tyguy]

Which is why I find it funny that the top 3 picks were all Power Forwards/Centers, the least important positions to winning in todays NBA. The Power Forward/ Center position hasn’t been important in the NBA since the days of Shaq and Hakeem.

The best big man in the NBA, Joel Embiid, can’t get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Without an excellent, top level wing player, you ain’t winning big in todays NBA. Big men play a complimentary role, not a starring role.

I think Murray’s best position is power forward. I think you will also see him play small ball center at times too. He played center in college in fact.

If this was 10 + years ago he would be a tweener forward. For the modern nba he has an excellent skill set and physical talent to be a very good 4.

 

[Albatros]

Another small thing is I haven't seen Vivek around much. Brown was talking all about accountability in the org, Monte is all over on draft night, maybe Vivek is there and I didn't notice him, but it sure seems like the basketball people are front and center.

He's still nursing a hangover from the warriors parade.

 

[Tetsujin]

Ham bitching on his podcast about the Kings saying they believed it was a four person draft and then picking Keegan instead of Ivey but how do we know that Monte didn't see Keegan as one of the four people and have Ivey on the outside?

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Ham bitching on his podcast about the Kings saying they believed it was a four person draft and then picking Keegan instead of Ivey but how do we know that Monte didn't see Keegan as one of the four people and have Ivey on the outside?

Poor Ham. He thought he had it figured out.

 

[ParniValjak]

Ham bitching on his podcast about the Kings saying they believed it was a four person draft and then picking Keegan instead of Ivey but how do we know that Monte didn't see Keegan as one of the four people and have Ivey on the outside?

Ham is such an annoying, sour grapes FIGJAM!

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I am watching it because of Tets. At least as much as I can stomach. 2 minutes in he is the biggest whiney bbbbbb

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Ham is hilarious going on and on about Monte not picking guys who won't work out when he picked Mitchell last year. Also Haliburton. "I know for a fact they don't know how to inteview people ... 12 year pattern" "you didn't do this didn't do that"

...

oh snap, now he is blaming Monte for him not having a job with NBC Sports lol

 

[joemama]

I hate player comparisons, but would others feel better about the pick if he was compared to Evan Mobley. Mobley is the better defender, Murray is better offensively.

Mobley is a better defender and had 2.9 blks a game compared to Murray's 2.0 their last year in college.

Points Mobley 16.3. Murray 23.5
Rebounds Mobley 8.7 Murray 8.3
Assists Mobley 2.4 Murray 1.5
Steals 0.8 Murray 1.3

Murray is better offensively and shot 40% from 3, when Mobley shot 30%.

Mobley shot 25% his first year in the NBA, but
would anyone say he's not a talented player or that he wasn't a great pick?

This team NEEDS two-way players. I would much rather have a player that can defend and has offensive talent than a player with more offensive talent that can't defend.

 

[Livinthedream]

Ham going HAM. Key is Sean Cunningham agreeing with him.

Media is self righteous and have tremendous ego's. I mentioned before that cutting out the media would not be in the Kings best interest. Everything going to Woj and nothing to locals will kill PR in your own town.

 

[Tetsujin]

Ham going HAM. Key is Sean Cunningham agreeing with him.

Media is self righteous and have tremendous ego's. I mentioned before that cutting out the media would not be in the Kings best interest. Everything going to Woj and nothing to locals will kill PR in your own town.

To be fair, at this point the only people paying attention to the Kings Pulse are people that are already fans of the Kings.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

To be fair, at this point the only people paying attention to the Kings Pulse are people that are already fans of the Kings.

I really can't believe I subjected myself to that, if there is a worse Kings podcast I haven't heard it.

 

[Livinthedream]

To be fair, at this point the only people paying attention to the Kings Pulse are people that are already fans of the Kings.

True. But then the average fan is getting nothing. Still not good.

 

[kingdivac]

His scoring is pretty elite. He shot 40% from 3, and had one of the highest efficiency ratings ever while also being the sole focus of the opposing team on defense. That doesn't happen on accident. Additionally, he onky averaged 1 turnover a game, which is insane. And then, to top it all off, he would hustle back and play defense to the tune of 1.3 steals and 2 blocks a game.

I just don't understand how people can look at him and not be impressed. Is it because he isn't flashy? He doesn't yell after every dunk to show how much he cares?

Look at a team like the Warriors. They aren't full of athletic freaks of nature, but what they do have an abundance of is extremely smart and skilled players. We have DDV, Fox, Davion, Sabonis, Barnes, and Murray, all of whom I would say are smart and skilled players.

We also just hired Mike Brown, who was the defensive mastermind for the Warriors and is credited by a few pros for making rhem into the defensive players they are today. I think we have a lot to look forward to.

I've heard this before.....a lot to look forward to......like I've said before, 1 team the organization has fielded in 16 seasons (2018 season) with a +.500 record in Feb/Mar (and counting). This is my new watching 'requirement' especially with a Thanksgiving World Cup this year which will rule my Nov/Dec.

 

[ppine]

The Kings lack of team defense is what will keep that out of the playoffs for the foreseeable future.
Watching the Celtics and Warriors play defense was absolutely amazing. Defense wins championships.

 

[hgut]

I’m not really understanding the Barnes comparisons. Barnes is a good shot creator and iso scorer. It’s probably his best skill set after his shooting ability. You can give him the ball and expect him to make something out of nothing.

On the other hand, Murray hasn’t shown the ability to do that Iowa. I know he scored 23ppg, but Bagley put up a lot of points too.

I really hope I’m wrong, but my gut feeling says he’ll be a prime Marvin Williams.

here’s my question, what’s the special skill set that he brings to the table? I don’t think he really has 1 true thing he absolutely excels at.

With him turning 22, his expectations to contribute immediately are going to be a lot higher than a 19 year old Jabari or 20 year old Paolo.

I really hope I’m wrong about this pick. I don’t see him as a star in the league. He just looks like a solid role player all-around.

I don’t know how I feel about that type of value at #4.

His special skill is his overwhelming BBIQ. He truly excels at that. And to be honest I think that is the most important one.

 

[Tetsujin]

The Kings lack of team defense is what will keep that out of the playoffs for the foreseeable future.
Watching the Celtics and Warriors play defense was absolutely amazing. Defense wins championships.

Statistically, the Kings drafted one of the best defenders in college basketball two days ago so that should help.

 

[Tetsujin]

True. But then the average fan is getting nothing. Still not good.

Average fan is still getting plenty. It’s just not coming from traditional outlets. Guys like Kings Film Room are providing insightful breakdowns of players and schemes on Twitter and YouTube. Others like the Daily Sabonis are hosting Twitter spaces and boosting Kings content via memes and discussion. My dude Jrue is out here posting in-depth player/coach breakdowns one moment and then breaking the internet with absolutely ridiculous crapposts the next. Deuce and Mo just did a twelve hour livestream of the entire draft. There is more good content out there for the average fan to enjoy than ever (There are even two whole sports radio networks with local programming on in Sacramento alone), it’s just not coming from the guys getting paid to cover the team/trying to justify still having active press credentials despite having been let go by NBC a year ago.

 

[Ozymandias]

Ham going HAM. Key is Sean Cunningham agreeing with him.

Media is self righteous and have tremendous ego's. I mentioned before that cutting out the media would not be in the Kings best interest. Everything going to Woj and nothing to locals will kill PR in your own town.

The Medias job is not to inform you, its to sell you.. They love to "set expectations" and then "revisit them" n try to drag in suckers into a never ending whirlpool of half-baked narrative bias..

https://twitter.com/statuses/1004579344843526145