Kings interested in signing Javale McGee
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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Love it. I don't think Len's job is safe either, even if he does have the guaranteed deal. Long gone are the days where washed vets could just come here and expect to get playing time. Have to earn it now.
I think this is really shaping up for a thunderdome type deal with those 4 C's to get the third spot behind Domas and Lyles. The FO is all but telling us we don't have real confidence in any of these guys to nail the 3rd C slot, much less the back-up.
I think this is really shaping up for a thunderdome type deal with those 4 C's to get the third spot behind Domas and Lyles. The FO is all but telling us we don't have real confidence in any of these guys to nail the 3rd C slot, much less the back-up.
Roster imbalances can be remedied by trade. Sure, there's lot's of people to try out for the backup big man slot, but have multiple backups isn't just injury insurance; it also allows us some flexibility in trades.
Our roster also has one too many wings and a bit of a weird guard lineup. If we aren't matching last years pace by the all star break, Monte could take a swing at an impact player, and having a lot of serviceable players at all positions will provide flexibility in the packages he can put together.
Our roster also has one too many wings and a bit of a weird guard lineup. If we aren't matching last years pace by the all star break, Monte could take a swing at an impact player, and having a lot of serviceable players at all positions will provide flexibility in the packages he can put together.
The Kings' most impactful players last season (in order) were probably:
1 & 2 Fox/Sabonis
3. Barnes
4. Monk
5. Huerter
6. Murray
7. Lyles
For the Kings to take a leap Murray will need to jump up that list, but otherwise I agree - Lyles was IMO the teams 7th best player. If Vezenkov's game translates, going smallball when they can will be the only way to maximize the talent on this roster.
And in terms of rebounding, one of the biggest issues is that our starting forwards only averaged 4.6 and 4.5 rpg with Keegan being just slightly better on the glass than Barnes. Murray should improve there, but that's right at HB's career average which leaves Sabonis to do too much heavy lifting.
There will no doubt be games where you want Len (13.4 reb/36 min) battling on the glass, but Lyles averaged 8.7 reb/36 and Vezenkov's rebounding should translate to the NBA so it's not like it would be a huge drop off to go from Barnes & Sabonis to Trey and Sasha.
1 & 2 Fox/Sabonis
3. Barnes
4. Monk
5. Huerter
6. Murray
7. Lyles
For the Kings to take a leap Murray will need to jump up that list, but otherwise I agree - Lyles was IMO the teams 7th best player. If Vezenkov's game translates, going smallball when they can will be the only way to maximize the talent on this roster.
And in terms of rebounding, one of the biggest issues is that our starting forwards only averaged 4.6 and 4.5 rpg with Keegan being just slightly better on the glass than Barnes. Murray should improve there, but that's right at HB's career average which leaves Sabonis to do too much heavy lifting.
There will no doubt be games where you want Len (13.4 reb/36 min) battling on the glass, but Lyles averaged 8.7 reb/36 and Vezenkov's rebounding should translate to the NBA so it's not like it would be a huge drop off to go from Barnes & Sabonis to Trey and Sasha.
1. We were freaking awesome in basically every sample of Lyles C. Him being able to space and pull the big out of the paint is such a good fit with Fox and Monk attacking the rim. We won game 6 on the back of Lyles at the 5 and Keegan at the 4. I think his impact jumps tremendously at the 5
2. He's not really THAT small of a C. He's a big stocky dude that's not afraid to be physical on the glass and he has a huge wingspan
3. The other backup C options suck. It was a massive hole last year and none of the other potential options are guys I want getting minutes on a playoff contender.
4. He's one of our best players and he was one of the best bench players in the league last year. Finding more ways to play good players is always a good thing.
5. Us bringing 4 NBA fringe players at the C slot is a pretty big signal we have no confidence in any of them to be regular rotation players. We gave Lyles 16 mil from the jump of FA
6. Unless Vezenkov shocks us and shows he can defend the perimeter wing, he's a pretty clear bet to be a 4 in the NBA. Lyles pretty much has to move down to the 5 to get both on the floor for consistent minutes
2. He's not really THAT small of a C. He's a big stocky dude that's not afraid to be physical on the glass and he has a huge wingspan
3. The other backup C options suck. It was a massive hole last year and none of the other potential options are guys I want getting minutes on a playoff contender.
4. He's one of our best players and he was one of the best bench players in the league last year. Finding more ways to play good players is always a good thing.
5. Us bringing 4 NBA fringe players at the C slot is a pretty big signal we have no confidence in any of them to be regular rotation players. We gave Lyles 16 mil from the jump of FA
6. Unless Vezenkov shocks us and shows he can defend the perimeter wing, he's a pretty clear bet to be a 4 in the NBA. Lyles pretty much has to move down to the 5 to get both on the floor for consistent minutes
Last year, Len was dreadful until the last 8 games of the season.
For his career, his per36 numbers (REB, BLK, PTS) are:
11.2 1.8 14.5
In his first 18 games, he went:
10.1 0.0 7.9
But in those last 8 games, when he finally got some time (these represented 8 of his top 9 total minutes games of the year) he went:
15.0 3.9 10.5
Less scoring than usual (something we didn't need) but the defensive contribution is really nice there.
The fact that Len had such a huge turnaround in terms of consistent playing time, and playing 8 games in a row instead of sporadic appearances, combined with those eye-popping numbers (as well as the "eye test" in those games), keeps suggesting to me that he may have been dealing with an injury that just wasn't publicized for most of the season. That turnaround is just remarkable in many ways. And it leaves me hope that he might actually have that in him again for next year. I'll take 13 minutes with 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks all year long without even giving a second look to Queta/Noel/McGee/Skal.
I recognize that giving Len something like 13 minutes on a regular basis would mean we'd have to play Lyles mostly at the 4 and essentially puts a minutes squeeze on everybody (like, any way you slice it that would take, on average, 1+ minute away from each dude in our presumed 9-man rotation). Try to get time out of other guys like Duarte or Jones and maybe you have to knock off another minute or two. But hey, maybe we can reduce a bit of wear and tear along the way, since we need to be fresh for a big playoff run.
For his career, his per36 numbers (REB, BLK, PTS) are:
11.2 1.8 14.5
In his first 18 games, he went:
10.1 0.0 7.9
But in those last 8 games, when he finally got some time (these represented 8 of his top 9 total minutes games of the year) he went:
15.0 3.9 10.5
Less scoring than usual (something we didn't need) but the defensive contribution is really nice there.
The fact that Len had such a huge turnaround in terms of consistent playing time, and playing 8 games in a row instead of sporadic appearances, combined with those eye-popping numbers (as well as the "eye test" in those games), keeps suggesting to me that he may have been dealing with an injury that just wasn't publicized for most of the season. That turnaround is just remarkable in many ways. And it leaves me hope that he might actually have that in him again for next year. I'll take 13 minutes with 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks all year long without even giving a second look to Queta/Noel/McGee/Skal.
I recognize that giving Len something like 13 minutes on a regular basis would mean we'd have to play Lyles mostly at the 4 and essentially puts a minutes squeeze on everybody (like, any way you slice it that would take, on average, 1+ minute away from each dude in our presumed 9-man rotation). Try to get time out of other guys like Duarte or Jones and maybe you have to knock off another minute or two. But hey, maybe we can reduce a bit of wear and tear along the way, since we need to be fresh for a big playoff run.
I think there are a lot of players in the NBA that have played backup C and won more than 2 or 3 games. And we seem to be currently interviewing most of them! Heck, Skal's per 36 his last year in the association was 12 and 10.
Lyles had his best career season in his contract year, (good for us) and earned a slightly below average NBA salary. (2/3rds of an MLE). Good for him, but it should be pretty portable if he doesn't earn consistent minutes.
And of all the things the Kings could have done this offseason, they prioritized finding a better player for the position he played "basically" all of the season. I don't think he has quite the confidence you have invested in him.
Backup big man seems pretty open to me.
Lyles had his best career season in his contract year, (good for us) and earned a slightly below average NBA salary. (2/3rds of an MLE). Good for him, but it should be pretty portable if he doesn't earn consistent minutes.
And of all the things the Kings could have done this offseason, they prioritized finding a better player for the position he played "basically" all of the season. I don't think he has quite the confidence you have invested in him.
Backup big man seems pretty open to me.
Seeing that coach Brown seems to favor vets that he is familiar with, if we signed McGee, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the team ahead of Noel, Skal and Queta. I would call him the favorite to win the 3rd center spot.
I would be okay with that, since I think we will be title contenders and we need some players with championship experience on this team.
I would be okay with that, since I think we will be title contenders and we need some players with championship experience on this team.
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