Afflalo Refusing to Enter Game?

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#62
Well I can't speak for you, but I guess we all are repeating our opinion to a certain extent. And usually only the opinions, that differ from our own bother us in that regard. ;)
What Capt. Factorial (and I in another thread) are saying is that KingsFan80 seems to have only one tune: Vlade sucks and should be fired. While that might be fine on some message boards, I'd hope you realize that KF is about much more than that. Our members have a wide array of opinions and participate in some incredible discussions. KF80 in all honesty needs to step up his game.
 
Last edited:
#63
AA, Ben, WCS should all be on the trade block for whatever you can get. AA and Ben should be waived at the trade deadline if no takers. WCS may have some value next year.
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#64
Like why get guys like Afflalo, Barnes, and Koufos like you're trying to win now, and then come draft these guys that clearly aren't even close to ready?
Didn't you just answer your own question?

I honestly can't think of anyone in this last draft who would help us right now. Drafting players to stash away is not a terrible idea, all things considered, given that assumption. Had Afflalo and Barnes worked out (I'm not convinced Koufos hasn't, ditto Barnes, incident aside, because I didn't see him as a heavy rotation person) I don't think we'd be having this conversation.

Vlade took some gambles in FA for sure. Papa seems, to me, the only bad draft pick of the three, and if Bogdanovic comes over next year, he might finally solve the void at SG.

I guess I'm saying I'm not ready to crucify Vlade yet, because he doesn't seem to be grab-bagging or extending ridiculous contracts .
 
#65
What about Giannis and Schroder?
Sorry I missed those. Too tired after work. Even adding them that means that after the top 7 you have only 4/23 picks that really pan out. That's 17% so the odds aren't exactly in our favor. Obviously it varies from draft to draft but I can't imagine the number gets much higher than that, although that's just speculation on my part without researching.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#66
Sorry I missed those. Too tired after work. Even adding them that means that after the top 7 you have only 4/23 picks that really pan out. That's 17% so the odds aren't exactly in our favor. Obviously it varies from draft to draft but I can't imagine the number gets much higher than that, although that's just speculation on my part without researching.
What hurts the most about it is Petrie was still employed by the Kings and he suggested to Pete to bring him in for a workout and they didn't even do that. Ouch.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#68
I'm a little bit late to the party, but I really don't get the hate for vlade. Most posters are acting like Sacramento is #1 on every free agents board. I doubt we even show up on a radar till we overpay by a couple million a season.

Kosta, although ugly to watch at times, is signed for half the price of Mozgov and is a serviceable big man. He took a stab at filling a few positions of need with veterans that were gritty, and Barnes who was already familiar with Joerger's system. So although Barnes hasn't exactly played stellar basketball, who's to say that his presence hasn't helped implement offensive and defensive schemes? Tolliver hasn't done much to speak of, but watching the games you can see that he's into it even when he's not involved. He took a one year flyer on afflalo to serve as a stopgap until Bogdanovic hopefully comes over to fill that spot. So even though Afflalo is an issue right now, he committed very little money next year to take a chance on someone having a bounce back year. Then temple who is the only one who has a true multiyear deal and it's looking like a great signing.

Now I hate to say I'm defending Benny, because he can be very frustrating to watch at times, but please take a look at the 2013 draft and it's extreme lack of talent. The only shooting guards better were McCollum and Caldwell-Pope that we had a chance to draft. The only other good players after 7 were Steven Adams at 12 and Gobert at 27. Any draft pick after 5 is a complete crap shoot most of the time in my opinion. You can say we haven't had the best draft over the last couple years, but it isn't easy finding top talent unless you are one of 3 worst teams. Then again take a look at Willie's draft, granted a lot of good role players but again no top talent outside the top 4. Lastly you have the 2016 draft and the infamous papa pick. The top 7 of this draft was solid, but if you look what was available at the 8 pick the talent drop off was steep. He took a chance on a young and unproven big, it may have been a bit early, but he still ended up with a SG that most posters seem to like his upside at #22.

I think the Vlade hate is a little much all things considered. He's given us some financial flexibility, young players when we were seriously lacking in the future first round picks. Plus he has now come twice to Sacramento at a time when few else would. As a free agent when the kings sucked, and as a gm when the kings sucked. So have a little patience, good things take time.
Jesus, it's not about hate. It's about the fact that he has no proven track record in doing anything remotely close to GM duties, unless you count one year as a Lakers' Euro scout. Given the fact that there is no prior track record (completely unlike Joerger), nobody can possibly have high confidence that he's going to turn this around, unless it's purely theological, based on faith with no empirical evidence. In the draft Vlade has given us Whatever-CS and a Papa that is highly questionable (to put it mildly), as well as a mortgaging of the future in terms of future draft picks. I give him no demerits for FA because that's almost an inherent problem with the Kings. I give Vlade credit for the Joerger hire. But in terms of personnel decisions there has been nothing that would cause another team in the league to want to hire him as GM. If you hire a guy like Joerger, who does have a proven track record, patience is a very good thing - a reasonable thing. At least then your patience is based on something. But I'm not for being patient with a total rookie GM that has shown absolutely nothing in his track record that would lead one to believe he can be a good GM in the NBA. Divac should remove himself from the position of GM and with the help of others find somebody to take over with a proven track record in identifying talent.
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
#69
Who in that draft where we picked is/was ready to play?
A guy from Sacramento named Marquese Chriss, who is 19 years old, still some what green, but getting better and good enough to at least log some minutes in an NBA game. It was too obvious of a good pick so we decided to go after more international players via draft and trade since that is all we know
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#70
A guy from Sacramento named Marquese Chriss, who is 19 years old, still some what green, but getting better and good enough to at least log some minutes in an NBA game. It was too obvious of a good pick so we decided to go after more international players via draft and trade since that is all we know
He's not ready to help any team win now......that was the point to the previous post.
 
#71
A guy from Sacramento named Marquese Chriss, who is 19 years old, still some what green, but getting better and good enough to at least log some minutes in an NBA game. It was too obvious of a good pick so we decided to go after more international players via draft and trade since that is all we know
At some point you need to get over the fact that you aren't the GM of the Sacramento Kings and that they didn't draft the player you wanted. If the day ever comes that Chriss develops into a better player than any or all of the players the Kings traded him for -- then you can realistically question the move. However, at this point in time, you have absolutely no clue whether Chriss was the better choice.

Bogdanovic may end up being the best player in the deal 3 years from now. And if so, then what? And if Papa develops into an equal or better player, it's icing on the cake.

In 2009 Tyreke Evans sure looked like an obvious pick over Stephen Curry, didn't he? We know how that played out.

Point is, there's nothing obvious or conclusive at this point in time. Talk to me in 2 years.
 
#72
Jesus, it's not about hate. It's about the fact that he has no proven track record in doing anything remotely close to GM duties, unless you count one year as a Lakers' Euro scout. Given the fact that there is no prior track record (completely unlike Joerger), nobody can possibly have high confidence that he's going to turn this around, unless it's purely theological, based on faith with no empirical evidence. In the draft Vlade has given us Whatever-CS and a Papa that is highly questionable (to put it mildly), as well as a mortgaging of the future in terms of future draft picks. I give him no demerits for FA because that's almost an inherent problem with the Kings. I give Vlade credit for the Joerger hire. But in terms of personnel decisions there has been nothing that would cause another team in the league to want to hire him as GM. If you hire a guy like Joerger, who does have a proven track record, patience is a very good thing - a reasonable thing. At least then your patience is based on something. But I'm not for being patient with a total rookie GM that has shown absolutely nothing in his track record that would lead one to believe he can be a good GM in the NBA. Divac should remove himself from the position of GM and with the help of others find somebody to take over with a proven track record in identifying talent.
I respectfully disagree. I have "blind" faith but it is certainly not based on nothing. I feel I know Vlade. I know of his interest in players. I know of his role in Serbian Olympics. I know of his character which is very dtrong in inter-personal relations - a strong people person. I know someone should be imminently prepared for success as the GM. Now where have I gone wrong?
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#73
AA, Ben, WCS should all be on the trade block for whatever you can get. AA and Ben should be waived at the trade deadline if no takers. WCS may have some value next year.
Agree on Afflalo and Ben, but way too early to give up on Willie. Only his second year, and with a new coach and new system. He's not costing much financially, so why not take a wait and see attitude. Doesn't mean I won't listen to someone that might covet him.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#74
Jesus, it's not about hate. It's about the fact that he has no proven track record in doing anything remotely close to GM duties, unless you count one year as a Lakers' Euro scout. Given the fact that there is no prior track record (completely unlike Joerger), nobody can possibly have high confidence that he's going to turn this around, unless it's purely theological, based on faith with no empirical evidence. In the draft Vlade has given us Whatever-CS and a Papa that is highly questionable (to put it mildly), as well as a mortgaging of the future in terms of future draft picks. I give him no demerits for FA because that's almost an inherent problem with the Kings. I give Vlade credit for the Joerger hire. But in terms of personnel decisions there has been nothing that would cause another team in the league to want to hire him as GM. If you hire a guy like Joerger, who does have a proven track record, patience is a very good thing - a reasonable thing. At least then your patience is based on something. But I'm not for being patient with a total rookie GM that has shown absolutely nothing in his track record that would lead one to believe he can be a good GM in the NBA. Divac should remove himself from the position of GM and with the help of others find somebody to take over with a proven track record in identifying talent.
You know, if Vlade had been the GM of the team for four or five years with no results, then I might agree with you, but at present, he's on his second full year with the team and has participated in two drafts. I might add that he very little time to prepare for his first draft getting the job just prior to the draft. As for experience, there have been several people with no previous experience appointed as GM and they have been successful. And there have been some that have been unsuccessful. And, choosing a person with a lot of experience doesn't mean he'll be successful.

When the Kings moved to Sacramento from Kansas City, they had no GM. So the league suggested a man with over 40 years of experience as a GM. Joe Axelson. He came and took a team that made the playoffs its first year here, and in short order, he destroyed it. He not only destroyed the team, the forfeited the future as well. He did damage that lasted until and through the first few years of Petire's reign. Meanwhile, a man with no experience at GM, Jerry West built a championship team in LA. So the truth is, we don't know how successful Vlade will be, but I do know this, you have to give him enough time to accomplish whatever plan he has.

This idea of getting rid of coaches, GM's and players we just drafted is just plain NUTS. You want to know why this team has floundered for the last 5 or 6 years? It's because of doing what your advocating. You can't build a foundation, or chemistry, or anything if you just keep changing the pieces. Lets assume that Vlade has a long term plan. Do you think he can implement that plan and it all come to fruition in just one year? It took Petrie five years from his date of arrival to put the team we all loved on the floor. And yes, he had a long term plan. And yes, some of the fans got impatient. He almost got booed off the stage when he announced that we had drafted Peja, a player who wouldn't come to the Kings for two more years.

I have no dammed idea whether Vlade will be successful or not, but I'm willing to give him a legitimate shot at it. And one season and 20 some odd games into the next is not a legitimate shot.
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
#75
Jesus, it's not about hate. It's about the fact that he has no proven track record in doing anything remotely close to GM duties, unless you count one year as a Lakers' Euro scout. Given the fact that there is no prior track record (completely unlike Joerger), nobody can possibly have high confidence that he's going to turn this around, unless it's purely theological, based on faith with no empirical evidence. In the draft Vlade has given us Whatever-CS and a Papa that is highly questionable (to put it mildly), as well as a mortgaging of the future in terms of future draft picks. I give him no demerits for FA because that's almost an inherent problem with the Kings. I give Vlade credit for the Joerger hire. But in terms of personnel decisions there has been nothing that would cause another team in the league to want to hire him as GM. If you hire a guy like Joerger, who does have a proven track record, patience is a very good thing - a reasonable thing. At least then your patience is based on something. But I'm not for being patient with a total rookie GM that has shown absolutely nothing in his track record that would lead one to believe he can be a good GM in the NBA. Divac should remove himself from the position of GM and with the help of others find somebody to take over with a proven track record in identifying talent.
Spot on, great post
 
#76
What hurts the most about it is Petrie was still employed by the Kings and he suggested to Pete to bring him in for a workout and they didn't even do that. Ouch.
I think that was just Petrie's rebuttal of Viveks slanderous article.

Sure Giannis and Schroder look good but Ben dropped to 6 and many would have gone that route. I read about and watched clips of both Europeans and was also intrigued so I wont give Petrie credit for a suggestion. I think most had CJ ahead of those two, which would have also been nice. Still why not a workout? PDA is a proven idiot weasel.

It was Petrie that gave us Jimmer instead of Klay or Kawhi. TRob instead of Drummond. And traded Omri, and this pick that continues to haunt us, for Hickson. I personally credit Petrie and company for the majority of the last 10 years of dysfunction.
 
Last edited:
K

KingsFan80

Guest
#77
At some point you need to get over the fact that you aren't the GM of the Sacramento Kings and that they didn't draft the player you wanted. If the day ever comes that Chriss develops into a better player than any or all of the players the Kings traded him for -- then you can realistically question the move. However, at this point in time, you have absolutely no clue whether Chriss was the better choice.

Bogdanovic may end up being the best player in the deal 3 years from now. And if so, then what? And if Papa develops into an equal or better player, it's icing on the cake.

In 2009 Tyreke Evans sure looked like an obvious pick over Stephen Curry, didn't he? We know how that played out.

Point is, there's nothing obvious or conclusive at this point in time. Talk to me in 2 years.
Do you have season tickets? I do, mine are in the lower bowl and costs thousands of dollars. I bought them five years ago, stayed with this franchise and then paid the price hike to move to the new arena.

Everyone who sits around me is almost done with Vlade and Vivek as well as many people in the club lounge. Just go to a game and talk with some of the money folks in the club areas who make the train go around. They are the ones who help fund the team by paying far more than i ever dreamed of doing for tickets.

I am actually in the milder complaining crowd if that puts it in perspective. People aren't going to pay that kind of money for tickets and wait six years for a GM to learn on the job and put his "plan" in place. The sports world moves fast and if the Kings don't move faster the beautiful arena is going to be empty.

You have to play the game smart when you have a franchise that has been so bad for so long. You need to give people something to look forward to rather than stuff that looks like more BS. PDA was a weasel but right out of the gate he traded for Rudy Gay. It bought him time and people got excited. Drafting a 19 year from Sacramento would have been a good start. Would have been an all-star? Who knows, but at least the fans and the people who pump money into Vivek's pocket could at least have something to look forward to in the future.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#78
Agree on Afflalo and Ben, but way too early to give up on Willie. Only his second year, and with a new coach and new system. He's not costing much financially, so why not take a wait and see attitude. Doesn't mean I won't listen to someone that might covet him.
At this point I'd rather WCS minutes go to Koufus, Tolliver, Skal. In fact, he should be sent to the D League to work on his game. He's totally lost and didn't improve on anything from last year.
 
#79
Do you have season tickets? I do, mine are in the lower bowl and costs thousands of dollars. I bought them five years ago, stayed with this franchise and then paid the price hike to move to the new arena.
I'm the wrong person to preach to. My family and I have been paying good $$ for tickets/merchandise since the team arrived in town 31 years ago. We had season tix for quite a long time but eventually went the individual game route for various reasons. I've been through as many lean years as anybody on this board. And I've spent a lot more than "thousands of dollars" and even more time over the years watching an average or inferior product.

However, none of the above is topical to the point I made. You're not the GM and you don't have a clue whether the Chriss deal was the right or wrong move at this time.
 
#80
Do you have season tickets? I do, mine are in the lower bowl and costs thousands of dollars. I bought them five years ago, stayed with this franchise and then paid the price hike to move to the new arena.

Everyone who sits around me is almost done with Vlade and Vivek as well as many people in the club lounge. Just go to a game and talk with some of the money folks in the club areas who make the train go around. They are the ones who help fund the team by paying far more than i ever dreamed of doing for tickets.

I am actually in the milder complaining crowd if that puts it in perspective. People aren't going to pay that kind of money for tickets and wait six years for a GM to learn on the job and put his "plan" in place. The sports world moves fast and if the Kings don't move faster the beautiful arena is going to be empty.

You have to play the game smart when you have a franchise that has been so bad for so long. You need to give people something to look forward to rather than stuff that looks like more BS. PDA was a weasel but right out of the gate he traded for Rudy Gay. It bought him time and people got excited. Drafting a 19 year from Sacramento would have been a good start. Would have been an all-star? Who knows, but at least the fans and the people who pump money into Vivek's pocket could at least have something to look forward to in the future.
How come I can't find a club seat member to sell me their contract - have been trying ever since the first G1C open house. I don't think Club members want out - if you know one who does please PM me - I will help.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#81
In an interview with a reporter after the game, Afflalo denied that he refused to enter a game. When Joerger was asked about the comment, he didnt want to comment on it.

Revisionist history by Afflalo. Joerger sits his ass and then Afflalo comes in and plays a very solid inspired game. Coach setting the tone and player responding accordingly.....now don't do that crap again Afflalo.
 
#82
Afflalo came in and played well. His attitude was good and he put effort into defense. I see this as his future role, beating up guards in the paint. Using his physical prowess and old man game to help the Kings win games. Aaron still has a thing or two to show these young guys!
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#87
The Sacramento Tax™ is the notion that the Kings have to overpay for free agents, because nobody ever wants to go to Sacramento. The counterargument to the comment about Kyle O'Quinn would be that the Kings had no hope of signing O'Quinn for the same price that he signed with New York because, all other things being equal, even if both teams were both equally bad, 95+ percent of NBA players under 30 or so would still rather play and live in New York.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
#88
The Sacramento Tax™ is the notion that the Kings have to overpay for free agents, because nobody ever wants to go to Sacramento. The counterargument to the comment about Kyle O'Quinn would be that the Kings had no hope of signing O'Quinn for the same price that he signed with New York because, all other things being equal, even if both teams were both equally bad, 95+ percent of NBA players under 30 or so would still rather play and live in New York.
O right I do think he worth more than he got paid and I do think he was a potential way better fit (I even said it at the time), but yah I agree we would have had to pay him more than his 2.9mil or whatever he's making.
 
#89
In an interview with a reporter after the game, Afflalo denied that he refused to enter a game. When Joerger was asked about the comment, he didnt want to comment on it.

Revisionist history by Afflalo. Joerger sits his ass and then Afflalo comes in and plays a very solid inspired game. Coach setting the tone and player responding accordingly.....now don't do that crap again Afflalo.
Are we sure he did absolutely refuse to enter the game? The only source I have seen was that one Carmichael Dave tweet. This is one of those things that could easily be overblown. It's not too hard to see it turning from Joerger asking Afflalo if he wanted to play and him saying "Nahhh, I'm good. Let the young guys play in the blowout." He did play 8 minutes in that game. It's pretty safe to say he isn't thrilled about the demotion though which also makes him a convenient target to stir additional drama.

This just brings me back to the past and issues with regarding Carmichael Dave. I think fans give his tweets a significant more amount of credence than they deserve and then they blow up. I still remember his guarantee that Farmar would be on the roster opening night.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#90
Are we sure he did absolutely refuse to enter the game? The only source I have seen was that one Carmichael Dave tweet. This is one of those things that could easily be overblown. It's not too hard to see it turning from Joerger asking Afflalo if he wanted to play and him saying "Nahhh, I'm good. Let the young guys play in the blowout." He did play 8 minutes in that game. It's pretty safe to say he isn't thrilled about the demotion though which also makes him a convenient target to stir additional drama.

This just brings me back to the past and issues with regarding Carmichael Dave. I think fans give his tweets a significant more amount of credence than they deserve and then they blow up. I still remember his guarantee that Farmar would be on the roster opening night.
Dave doesn't claim to have vast insider knowledge. He passes on what he hears in a lot of cases, leaving it to the reader/listener to determine how much relevance they care to give it.

There are times, however, when Dave does get tips, etc. that he may or may not be able to pass on. That's the nature of his business.

Dave's one of the good guys.