Training Camp, October 2023

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Rain man

Starter
#61
#61
kingsboi said:
need to win some playoff series before championship talks, don't skip any hurdles
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Yeah- our team that finished 3rd in the west, comes back mostly intact and with additional talent should be out there saying “our goal would’ve been a championship, but given that we didn’t win a series last year, we are cool making the second round.”

not everything needs to be hyper analyzed. Why can’t they shoot for a championship? You know they don’t actually get to skip hurdles just because they set big goals right?
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#65
#65
Rain man said:
Yeah- our team that finished 3rd in the west, comes back mostly intact and with additional talent should be out there saying “our goal would’ve been a championship, but given that we didn’t win a series last year, we are cool making the second round.”

not everything needs to be hyper analyzed. Why can’t they shoot for a championship? You know they don’t actually get to skip hurdles just because they set big goals right?
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not how the NBA works unless you have a consistent winning pedigree
 
Vinny Basketballerino

Vinny Basketballerino

Starter
#68
#68
kingsboi said:
realistic vs vinny land
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Nobody wants to play for a coach who says "guys, I think we can make the playoffs this year and win a series, let's set that as our goal.". Many of the players are speaking about a Championship as the goal for this year. There's no way you'd say any of what you're saying here to them if you had a conversation in the street.

Imagine Kingsboi running into Domas Sabonis at Arden Hills.

Kingsboi: Hey Domas, really hoping you guys can win a playoff series this year.
Domas: we're hoping for more than that.
Kingsboi: Whoa there, don't skip any hurdles. Just try to win a playoff series before you think about a championship.
Domas: ...

The unrealistic one is you.
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#71
#71
Vinny Basketballerino said:
Nobody wants to play for a coach who says "guys, I think we can make the playoffs this year and win a series, let's set that as our goal.". Many of the players are speaking about a Championship as the goal for this year. There's no way you'd say any of what you're saying here to them if you had a conversation in the street.

Imagine Kingsboi running into Domas Sabonis at Arden Hills.

Kingsboi: Hey Domas, really hoping you guys can win a playoff series this year.
Domas: we're hoping for more than that.
Kingsboi: Whoa there, don't skip any hurdles. Just try to win a playoff series before you think about a championship.
Domas: ...

The unrealistic one is you.
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sports players are rarely ever going to shoot under a championship, its what they all want to aim for. It's understandable, it sounds good to the press and we as fans want to hear these things so we can have some optimism. How often does a team suddenly turn into a contender over night without winning any series? maybe the Monty Williams Suns?
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#72
#72
Rain man said:
teams that had a good season last year shouldn’t aspire for a championship the next year? I didn’t say they will win it; just that it is good that it is their goal. You seem to be saying their goal shouldn’t even be a championship.
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That's exactly it. Any team with a good chance to make the postseason should have a championship as their goal every season. 15 playoff teams will be disappointed every year, but that doesn't change the target.

Is it likely that the Kings win a championship this year? Nope. And I think the majority of us would be really happy if they just had another winning season and won a first round series to show sustained improvement. But the players themselves should be focused on winning it all.
 
R

Rain man

Starter
#74
#74
I am really interested to see how the wing battle plays out. If you assume that there are a core nine players (Sabonis, Barnes, Keegan, Huerter, Fox, Monk, Davion, Lyles, Vezenkov) and three other guys who will be on the roster (Javale, Len, and Jones), then you have three roster spots to fill out with wings, including the Terrance Davis 10th rotation spot. The candidates include Duarte, Kessler, Nowell, Lamb, and Burton. Predictions on how this shakes out?

My best guess is that we keep Duarte, Kessler and Nowell, and end up cutting Lamb and Burton. I would love to see Nowell grab the 10th rotation spot, but I am guessing that Kessler (as the holdover who plays defense) or Duarte (as the guy we traded for) have the leg up. But I think this will be an interesting battle and think it might change as the season goes on.

It also appears that we are feeling good at point guard. It will be interesting to see what happens if Fox or Mitchell miss any time. I am guessing we call up Ford and Ellis, and also see some Monk and even Jones handle the ball, since it doesn't appear that we are all that interested in a veteran 3rd point guard.
 
Capt. Factorial

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#76
#76
Rain man said:
I am really interested to see how the wing battle plays out. If you assume that there are a core nine players (Sabonis, Barnes, Keegan, Huerter, Fox, Monk, Davion, Lyles, Vezenkov) and three other guys who will be on the roster (Javale, Len, and Jones), then you have three roster spots to fill out with wings, including the Terrance Davis 10th rotation spot. The candidates include Duarte, Kessler, Nowell, Lamb, and Burton. Predictions on how this shakes out?

My best guess is that we keep Duarte, Kessler and Nowell, and end up cutting Lamb and Burton. I would love to see Nowell grab the 10th rotation spot, but I am guessing that Kessler (as the holdover who plays defense) or Duarte (as the guy we traded for) have the leg up. But I think this will be an interesting battle and think it might change as the season goes on.

It also appears that we are feeling good at point guard. It will be interesting to see what happens if Fox or Mitchell miss any time. I am guessing we call up Ford and Ellis, and also see some Monk and even Jones handle the ball, since it doesn't appear that we are all that interested in a veteran 3rd point guard.
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I doubt that Duarte or Kessler are going anywhere, as both are guaranteed, we deliberately traded for Duarte and it wasn't terribly long ago that we guaranteed Kessler's contract. But that last spot is anybody's guess, and probably won't see a ton of minutes anyway.

I do find it interesting that we seem to have no interest in really filling that third string PG outside of the two-way guys, but I guess it's fair to say that barring injury we don't need one. Last year Delly averaged about 14 mpg in 8 games that Fox missed (and DNPed the other game Fox missed) but otherwise basically only played in garbage time, Anybody can fill out the garbage time minutes. So the real question is whether we think that Ford or one of the not-really-a-PG options (Monk/Colby/Ellis - or maybe Nowell) can step up in the event that Fox or Davion get hurt. But apparently we're comfortable with that crew for the down game here or there. And with the way that Domas moves the ball, maybe I'm OK with that.
 
Telemachus

Telemachus

Starter
#78
#78
Tetsujin said:
To that point, here’s some random security footage of Sasha nailing 98 out of 103 three pointers during a practice in 2020 (I.e. before he really hit his stride)
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Just boring basketball. It's like when you golf with that guy who hits the fairway on every drive, hits his next shot on the green, and then two putts. Just boring.
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#79
#79
Capt. Factorial said:
I doubt that Duarte or Kessler are going anywhere, as both are guaranteed, we deliberately traded for Duarte and it wasn't terribly long ago that we guaranteed Kessler's contract. But that last spot is anybody's guess, and probably won't see a ton of minutes anyway.

I do find it interesting that we seem to have no interest in really filling that third string PG outside of the two-way guys, but I guess it's fair to say that barring injury we don't need one. Last year Delly averaged about 14 mpg in 8 games that Fox missed (and DNPed the other game Fox missed) but otherwise basically only played in garbage time, Anybody can fill out the garbage time minutes. So the real question is whether we think that Ford or one of the not-really-a-PG options (Monk/Colby/Ellis - or maybe Nowell) can step up in the event that Fox or Davion get hurt. But apparently we're comfortable with that crew for the down game here or there. And with the way that Domas moves the ball, maybe I'm OK with that.
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My guess is that Monk initially fills in as the emergency PG and Ford is called up if either Fox or Mitchell miss a significant stretch of games.
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#84
#84
kingsboi said:
need to win some playoff series before championship talks, don't skip any hurdles
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The great thing is for the first time they kind of have realistic expectations and thus better understanding of the road ahead. If this team isn't a contender then Monte knows what he has to do and he might have the tools to get there. Now, if Keegan steps up role wise, Sasha is for real, and the Kings keeps the flow then sky is the limit.
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#85
#85
SacTownKid said:
The great thing is for the first time they kind of have realistic expectations and thus better understanding of the road ahead. If this team isn't a contender then Monte knows what he has to do and he might have the tools to get there. Now, if Keegan steps up role wise, Sasha is for real, and the Kings keeps the flow then sky is the limit.
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Kings are also in possession of all of their assets aside from the pick that’s going to convey this season and not even in either of the tax restriction aprons unlike pretty much every other team towards the top of the conference. If they don’t meet expectations, it’s not borderline impossible for the team to make a big move like it is for the Suns, Warriors, Nuggets, or Lakers.
 
KingsFanSince85

KingsFanSince85

All-Star
#87
#87
Tetsujin said:
To that point, here’s some random security footage of Sasha nailing 98 out of 103 three pointers during a practice in 2020 (I.e. before he really hit his stride)
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That‘s left-handed Larry Bird right there!

One side note, we are another step closer to my dream of fielding an all-lefty 5.

Sabonis, Swipa, and Sasha. And, technically, Keegster is a lefty too, even though he shoots right-handed. ;)
 
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