Duarte surpasses Red Velvet on the depth chart??

#32
Good finds here. Very much sounds like Brown has told Huerter he's coming off the bench and he's just doing the polite media thing and deflecting it. To some extent, Huerter can't complain too much, he was one of the main culprits why we lost in the playoffs last year, just being unplayable on both ends. I just hope we're not being too short-sighted here and risk souring the relationship of a very good player because of one bad playoff series. And I do think he could be real dominant with that 2nd unit offensive grouping and maybe even play more of an on-ball/lead type of role.
I can’t imagine Brown has for sure made up his mind on a switch at this point.

If he does bring Kev off the bench, how do you anticipate the rotation shaking out? I suppose Kevin would take over the back up 3 role. Maybe it’s a situation where Duarte starts but only plays like 22 minutes. monks gets 20 ish. Huerter gets 6 minutes at the 2 and the rest at the 3.
 
#33
Huerter should remain the starter. We're talking preseason basketball - It's unheard of for a guy to lose his starting spot in preseason to a newcomer when it wasn't even thought of as a "battle" going in if that makes sense. If Huerter or the Kings start off slow the 1st 10 games, consider a change then
 
#34
Huerter should remain the starter. We're talking preseason basketball - It's unheard of for a guy to lose his starting spot in preseason to a newcomer when it wasn't even thought of as a "battle" going in if that makes sense. If Huerter or the Kings start off slow the 1st 10 games, consider a change then
It didn't help that Huerter was really awful in the playoffs. 9.1pts 4.4rebs 1.1asts on 34.7/20.5/75 is not cutting it for starting SG. If Kevin isn't making his 3pters, what value does he bring to the floor aside from spreading the floor?

I don't really think Duarte is much of an upgrade (if he even is), but I think Kevin is the biggest weak link in our starting lineup.
 
#36
Kevin doesn't seem super stoked about coming off the bench. Saw this posted to the Kings subreddit:



On the other hand, Mike Brown sounded complimentary of Duarte here starting at the 3:08 mark when asked about how he liked Chris with the starting group:
  • said Chris was really good with the starting lineup
Really good? Uh huh, better? Yes. Really good? Meh. So far it looks like Keon and Colby are closer to answers than anyone but we know that's not happening haha.
 
#38
Huerter has ridiculous offensive gravity. Just him being on the floor and him being an incredible off-ball mover opens room to collapse the paint for Fox and Domas. We share the ball incredibly well, but the real basic reasoning for our offensive dominance last year was we had 2 paint dominators in Fox/Domas that were incredibly unselfish paired with 3 elite floor spacers to give them that space and basically always force favorable match-ups.

He's also an excellent passer and underrated on-ball player in general. Almost any time he'd get to create a bit, something good would happen. But he's so good as an off-ball star, that he

I'm not against replacing Huerter and I've even said this off-season that I think Monk could be a hidden offensive star with the right minutes, but that doesn't make what Huerter brings any less valuable. He's an above-average starter/top 75 player in the league that fits perfectly with our 2 best players. That's not easy to just dump and trade away.
I never proposed to just dump him. I’m against those types of dealings anyway, unless it was for actions that were detrimental to the team. I’m saying I would trade him but only if we were getting a better fitting piece or a better player. Keeping him certainly isn’t out of the question and god knows we have kept far worse players for far longer, but if we can improve as a team, then you do it. You always have to give something to get something and our best trade assets are Huerter, Barnes (after December), and Mitchell. We just have to make sure we nail the trade.
 
#39
Huerte is better coming off the bench. Imagine him and Monk and Sabonis on the floor (it'll help the Kings get more easy points)...Sabonis ain't going to sit until the end of 1st quarter hopefully like last year where Fox sit and him still on the floor.
 
#40
Really good? Uh huh, better? Yes. Really good? Meh. So far it looks like Keon and Colby are closer to answers than anyone but we know that's not happening haha.
Keon and Colby are interesting solutions.

Keon is a good shooter who has a knack for defense. However, he's a smaller/lighter SG. Being able to withstand the physicality of the NBA is his current challenge. I don't see him starting, but if he gets TD-opporutnities, I think he could push Coach Brown to giving him more minutes.

With Colby, he's too poor of a shooter to be starting for this team. His shooting has been worse than I anticipated, but I think he can find a role as a backup PG/wing who provides some defensive depth.

If we could have Keon's skills with Colby's size... that would be perfect for the starting SG position.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#41
Huerte is better coming off the bench. Imagine him and Monk and Sabonis on the floor (it'll help the Kings get more easy points)...Sabonis ain't going to sit until the end of 1st quarter hopefully like last year where Fox sit and him still on the floor.
More than anything he has to balance the rotations when Fox and Sabonis are off the floor and I do agree with this. I don't think we know anything yet and people are jumping to conclusions. Brown is playing around with lineups and getting a feel for what works, exactly what pre-seasons are for.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#43
Long term we'll see what happens at SG, but Huerter started 75 regular season games last season and Duarte has started 1 preseason game after two lackluster showings off the bench in the previous two preseason games. I would find it hard to believe that Brown would have made up his mind after that to bench Kevin, especially given the emphasis on how much continuity was going to help this year's team.

This Tweet (X? what do we actually call them now?) from Jason Anderson seems more on the mark for me. Give Duarte a look in the starting 5 while also sending Huerter the message that his job isn't safe if he's not giving big effort on defense.
 
#46
Huerter will undoubtedly be the Kings starting SG when the season starts. Mike Brown is probably a more stable coach than to turn on a valuable starter after two preseason games, only one of which Duarte played well.

This, along with starting Sasha last game, is to use the limited preseason time to see the newer rotation players in meaningful minutes with Domas and Fox.

likely Huerter isn’t even playing tomorrow
This. They all need to get used to playing with our main two options in case Mike Brown needs to make adjustments in game, in clutch situations, and so he’ll know exactly who he can go to + whom they fit best with.
 
#47
I think the SG spot is unfinished business in Browns mind. Wouldn't be surprised if he was pushing for Beal.
Ehhh idk about all that but i do think it’s a position we’ll have to look at if we’re more enamored with Monk being our super 6th man. I think it’s more likely we get another scorer off the bench that makes it easier to give Monk the starting role he may deserve and can handle. Someone like Bradley Beal taking the ball out of Fox’ hands.. idk how to feel about that. But maybe my idea of Beal’s game is incorrect and he’s pretty unselfish.
 
#50
Ehhh idk about all that but i do think it’s a position we’ll have to look at if we’re more enamored with Monk being our super 6th man. I think it’s more likely we get another scorer off the bench that makes it easier to give Monk the starting role he may deserve and can handle. Someone like Bradley Beal taking the ball out of Fox’ hands.. idk how to feel about that. But maybe my idea of Beal’s game is incorrect and he’s pretty unselfish.
The one position with any level of fluidity has been SG basically because it's the Kings least cemented as for needs in the starting unit. In the playoffs it was pretty easy to see that it was up for grabs after Huerter started to struggle. Monk might end up being the starter, who knows, personally I don't know if the fit is right on the Kings. At some point some type of 3 and D along with some size is going to have to find it's way on the team somehow.

I think Monte saw the same things some of us did, and Brown found that out in the playoffs first hand, who is going to be that 3rd guy that can go get points? In the playoffs it was Monk and TD who Brown turned to. Monk was Monk, all or nothing. The highest of highs, the lowest of lows haha. To me, that's what makes him such a valuable bench piece because that extreme high can win you games but starters with those lows can cost you just as many. The question moving on is how much is that worth? That will all be determined by team success IMO. You don't become a contender from the bench, the bench solidifies the contending pieces you already have if you are a contender.

Monte made an offer for Beal, Chams said the Wiz were sitting on a Kings offer and Beal eventually had final say and he chose Phoenix. After that dust settled and no other deal (OG?) was made, Monte has pretty much said that spot as next up is Keegans for the taking. We'll see. Keegans's got to start being aggressive if he wants it though. Preseason is the place to start, always has been for players looking to break out of their shell. As for someone taking the ball out of Fox's hands, that actually kind of exactly what the Kings need. Fox had to carry far too often and in the playoffs when Fox struggled and injuries caught up it was a pretty quick 4 out of 5 to the Dubs. I mean, we haven't seen some of that kind of individual carrying since the days of Jordan pre-Pippen and Phil. So far Domas has been more looking to score which could definitely take pressure off needing another go to, but will it last? Will it work in terms of wins? I guess we'll find out.
 
#51
Are early opinions that Duarte is a better option for this team than Terence Davis?
That's the thing, TD could run offense and create which is what the Kings need but so far Duarte has shown some of that. The players that look like a replacement for TD are Jones or Ellis. They both have some really good tools when it comes to getting into the defense and working the ball back out.
 
#55
Between Huerter's shooting slump, below average defense and his very average free throw shooting, I suspect Coach Brown will not be using Red Velvet much closing out games.

He will probably hold on to the starting spot at the beginning of the year, but if his shooting doesn't start coming around real soon, I can see Durate or Colby Jones starting by January.
 
#57
I'm not real high on hueter at this point. I think he fades in the spotlight/under pressure.
Fatigue over the course of a long season, also seems to affect his shooting style more than others. It requires a lot of energy on that jump/hang shot style that he has. Doesn't bode well for down the stretch of the season and a potential deep playoff run
 
#58
I'd rather have Huerter. Monk's ball handling is invaluable off the bench. It wouldn't be utilized nearly as much if he spent the bulk of his minutes with Fox and Sabonis.
This is a great point that i didn’t think about. I’m sure coach brown and the staff obviously have thought about it all.
 
#59
Fatigue over the course of a long season, also seems to affect his shooting style more than others. It requires a lot of energy on that jump/hang shot style that he has. Doesn't bode well for down the stretch of the season and a potential deep playoff run
He should’ve been in with Davion and Curry and whoever that shooting coach is. Hopefully he’s still working on it