Do you (or anyone) remember that like 2-3 week stretch after we traded Iman Shumpert? How dejected the team was mentally/emotionally? This has very similar vibes to that.
Yeah, I still harp on that from time to time. All the talk of “positive veteran leadership” for a young team. Shumpert gave the team swagger, identity, and leadership.
The other guys thought he was the man. It didn’t matter if he shot the ball poorly most of the time. Dude brought it every night and was setting a winning example.
The team was obviously down for pretty much the rest of the season. I think Willie and Buddy openly complained about it. I don’t think it was because Justin Jackson was gone. They traded the spiritual leader of the team for a player they didn’t even use and didn’t make sense when you already have Bogdan anyway.
I think the front office didn’t like Shumpert and didn’t like his influence on the team. They also probably thought Joerger would keep playing him a lot even after the trades and didn’t want to let him.
That’s my theory.
Back then, You could gather the pulse of the Vlade GM era Kings from remembering Grant Napear’s show.
Grant I remember was quite disdainful of Shumpert whenever a caller suggested his cast off as a turning point of the season. No acknowledgment of the obvious vibe that Shump brought. Which makes me believe Shump was traded for the sake of getting rid of him so Dave wouldn’t keep playing him.
Dave would end up playing an over the hill Corey Brewer a lot later that season anyway, so backfire.
