Best Case, Worst Case: Sacramento Kings (The Ringer Article)

[Double-K]

The no. 29 team in The Ringer’s Preseason Rankings has to hope one of its young players emerges as a star, because it won’t have its own draft pick to fall back on.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/9/18/17873132/sacramento-kings-best-case-worst-case-29

 

[VF21]

Favorite quote:

"Notable Subtractions: Vince Carter (free agency), JaKarr Sampson (free agency), Bruno Caboclo (free agency), Garrett Temple (trade), Jack Cooley (nooooooo) "

 

[rosa u podne]

The author forgot the addition of Yogi. Also, forgot that B3llica is another good 3 point shooter, who lead the legaue in 3pt % before injury last year. Yogi was not bad 3 pointer either. I don't think that Kings have to grow superstar next season. It would be enough to grow a star or two and to win more games then last year, IMO.

 

[sactowndog]

The no. 29 team in The Ringer’s Preseason Rankings has to hope one of its young players emerges as a star, because it won’t have its own draft pick to fall back on.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/9/18/17873132/sacramento-kings-best-case-worst-case-29

Been listening to Pacific Division previews and this one is over the top positive in comparison. Let’s hope contrarianism is the ticket this year.

 

[ppine]

The Kings might win 30 games this year and they might not. But they are going to be a lot of fun to watch and that is the point.

 

[kingsfan1984]

I dont see a big difference in talent level between us this year and the spurs last year. We will be the surprise team this year figjting for that 8th seed

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Been listening to Pacific Division previews and this one is over the top positive in comparison. Let’s hope contrarianism is the ticket this year.

The team is without a doubt the worst in the Pacific, the question is if we are really the 2nd worst in all the league which is what most of the doom and gloomers say. Even this article which leans to the bad more likely than good, it is hard to grasp the idea that all our guys are busts and we are 2nd worst. And even then we have no reason to lose close games/tank/sandbag whatever you shall call it because we get no advantage from it yet certainly we will cross teams that do.

 

[Kingsfan23]

An addendum to last years surprise playoff thread

There is a world where Fox takes the next step, Buddy/Bogdan continue to improve as the teams starting wings, Bjelica plays at a Joe Ingles type level which I think he’s capable, and Giles is ready to go. Yogi/Shumpert/Iman/Bagley/Skal/Koufos/WCS/Randolph serve as a good bench. And a surprise playoff run ensues

Worst case, I don’t want to think about. The core not panning out like it should while giving up a top 3 pick..

 

[Sac.1989]

An addendum to last years surprise playoff thread

There is a world where Fox takes the next step, Buddy/Bogdan continue to improve as the teams starting wings, Bjelica plays at a Joe Ingles type level which I think he’s capable, and Giles is ready to go. Yogi/Shumpert/Iman/Bagley/Skal/Koufos/WCS/Randolph serve as a good bench. And a surprise playoff run ensues

Worst case, I don’t want to think about. The core not panning out like it should while giving up a top 3 pick..

Yep, we should be sweet

 

[Telemachus]

The team is without a doubt the worst in the Pacific, the question is if we are really the 2nd worst in all the league which is what most of the doom and gloomers say. Even this article which leans to the bad more likely than good, it is hard to grasp the idea that all our guys are busts and we are 2nd worst. And even then we have no reason to lose close games/tank/sandbag whatever you shall call it because we get no advantage from it yet certainly we will cross teams that do.

Prey tell, what have the Suns done to suddenly make them better than the Kings?

 

[jcwkings]

I dont see a big difference in talent level between us this year and the spurs last year. We will be the surprise team this year figjting for that 8th seed

The difference is that the Spurs have an elite coach and a system in place where they run like a machine and execute like robots. The Kings are the complete opposite, no system in place, just a bunch if young guys going out there and playing. Kings have to find an identity, a playstyle that they can shoot for every night.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Prey tell, what have the Suns done to suddenly make them better than the Kings?

You know what? I honestly don't know and forgot what division they are in. I do think the national narrative on them is higher than it is with us, but they are a poorly run organization with a toxic team culture (they did have a decent offseason but they are every bit as much a team based on maybes and should bes as we are right now).

People do seem to think more of Ayton than they do of Bagley which is what probably gives them an edge. I don't know what to make of their new coach. There's a lot of teams that are highly questionable and Phoenix is one that plays in our own division.

 

[ESP47]

Prey tell, what have the Suns done to suddenly make them better than the Kings?

I think they're in better shape. Booker is already a proven 20+ppg scorer. Warren just put up 19ppg. Josh Jackson put up something like 19ppg after the all star break. Deandre Ayton should be a really solid center for years and Mikal Bridges has a promising career as a 3&D player.

We don't have a single younger player to put up the kinds of numbers that their guys are already putting up. I think we're a step behind them based on the fact that they have guys already putting up numbers that our guys have yet to achieve and I'd take Ayton and Bridges over Bagley and JJ any day.

 

[dude12]

The difference is that the Spurs have an elite coach and a system in place where they run like a machine and execute like robots. The Kings are the complete opposite, no system in place, just a bunch if young guys going out there and playing. Kings have to find an identity, a playstyle that they can shoot for every night.

This no system in place scenario isn’t quite true.

 

[kingsfan101]

The team is without a doubt the worst in the Pacific, the question is if we are really the 2nd worst in all the league which is what most of the doom and gloomers say. Even this article which leans to the bad more likely than good, it is hard to grasp the idea that all our guys are busts and we are 2nd worst. And even then we have no reason to lose close games/tank/sandbag whatever you shall call it because we get no advantage from it yet certainly we will cross teams that do.

I'm not sure we are worse than the Clips, but I guess I'm one of the optimists here.

 

[Telemachus]

I think they're in better shape. Booker is already a proven 20+ppg scorer. Warren just put up 19ppg. Josh Jackson put up something like 19ppg after the all star break. Deandre Ayton should be a really solid center for years and Mikal Bridges has a promising career as a 3&D player.

We don't have a single younger player to put up the kinds of numbers that their guys are already putting up. I think we're a step behind them based on the fact that they have guys already putting up numbers that our guys have yet to achieve and I'd take Ayton and Bridges over Bagley and JJ any day.

I like what they have in Booker, but see him as being good as the 2nd best player on a team. While Jackson played well down the stretch, I question how much had to do with them tanking. How much were his numbers influenced by playing 4th quarters where the game had already been decided? (I didn't watch them enough to know). As for Ayton, I had Bagley, Doncic and Jackson ahead of him on my board.

They have 2 proven players in my opinion: Booker and Warren. Booker is a scorer who plays no defense b but has improved his play making. Warren is a solid role player who most people in Phoenix see as someone who doesn't fit into their future. We will see.

 

[ESP47]

I like what they have in Booker, but see him as being good as the 2nd best player on a team. While Jackson played well down the stretch, I question how much had to do with them tanking. How much were his numbers influenced by playing 4th quarters where the game had already been decided? (I didn't watch them enough to know). As for Ayton, I had Bagley, Doncic and Jackson ahead of him on my board.

They have 2 proven players in my opinion: Booker and Warren. Booker is a scorer who plays no defense b but has improved his play making. Warren is a solid role player who most people in Phoenix see as someone who doesn't fit into their future. We will see.

I'm not a huge Booker fan either but I'd still put him ahead of our guys based on the fact that for a couple years now, he's already done what we're hoping some of our guys can do in the future. He's also still super young. He's the same age as our young prospects and he's like two seasons ahead of them learning curve wise. He's going to be very good. Most likely better than anyone currently on the Kings roster. I don't think he will turn into a James Harden type team leader but he will more than likely be a perennial all star. He just scored 25ppg at the age of 21 with almost 5 assists per as well. His numbers could look pretty good in about 3 years. I'm not even a fan of his but I would trade any player on the Kings roster for him in a second.

Jackson's numbers could have been inflated but every young player on the Kings had the same exact opportunity to do just what he did down the stretch and none of them did that. I remember he looked like garbage early in the season when we played them and later in the season he was a force to be reckoned with. He was still playing like a bull in a china shop but he was playing exactly the way I was hoping Fox would play where he still looked like a rookie but showed flashes every few games. Fox had five 20 point games on the season. Jackson had seventeen. A lot of people talk about rookies showing flashes in their rookie seasons and I didn't think Fox showed many at all. A play here and there. A complete game every blue moon. Jackson had two separate runs where he put together four 20 point games in a row. To me, those are the flashes of a good player in the making.

I agree with you about Warren and I'm not much of a fan either but he should have some trade value coming off a 19 point season so they can always flip him for a better fitting asset or a first round pick.

 

[The Effort Police]

I'm not sure we are worse than the Clips, but I guess I'm one of the optimists here.

No chance we are better than the Clips.

Beverly-Bradley-Harris-Gallinari-Gortat, Williams off the bench?

The Clippers are one of those teams that have no star, and no one there with a chance of becoming a star, but the team is packed with starter level talent. I wouldn't trade rosters or situations with them (then again, rumors are swirling that they have the ability to lure star FAs now, so maybe I would), but they're easily better than us the next couple years.

 

[mac]

The difference is that the Spurs have an elite coach and a system in place where they run like a machine and execute like robots. The Kings are the complete opposite, no system in place, just a bunch if young guys going out there and playing. Kings have to find an identity, a playstyle that they can shoot for every night.

We have Joerger and Zbo and err.. grindhouse? So we win I guess?

 

[Livinthedream]

I'm not a huge Booker fan either but I'd still put him ahead of our guys based on the fact that for a couple years now, he's already done what we're hoping some of our guys can do in the future. He's also still super young. He's the same age as our young prospects and he's like two seasons ahead of them learning curve wise. He's going to be very good. Most likely better than anyone currently on the Kings roster. I don't think he will turn into a James Harden type team leader but he will more than likely be a perennial all star. He just scored 25ppg at the age of 21 with almost 5 assists per as well. His numbers could look pretty good in about 3 years. I'm not even a fan of his but I would trade any player on the Kings roster for him in a second.

Jackson's numbers could have been inflated but every young player on the Kings had the same exact opportunity to do just what he did down the stretch and none of them did that. I remember he looked like garbage early in the season when we played them and later in the season he was a force to be reckoned with. He was still playing like a bull in a china shop but he was playing exactly the way I was hoping Fox would play where he still looked like a rookie but showed flashes every few games. Fox had five 20 point games on the season. Jackson had seventeen. A lot of people talk about rookies showing flashes in their rookie seasons and I didn't think Fox showed many at all. A play here and there. A complete game every blue moon. Jackson had two separate runs where he put together four 20 point games in a row. To me, those are the flashes of a good player in the making.

I agree with you about Warren and I'm not much of a fan either but he should have some trade value coming off a 19 point season so they can always flip him for a better fitting asset or a first round pick.

As far as Fox vs Jackson, being a PG is a much taller task as a rookie than being a SF. Jackson had no responsibility except to score.

Booker is a very good player and a great scorer. But never forget that someone is going to be the leading scorer on a bad team. So his numbers may be a bit inflated. Booker had a monster individual year with no team results. So I'm not sure how trading any of our players for him is a no brainer.

Give Buddy Hield the same minutes and the same greenlight to shoot and he's putting up similar numbers on a bad team. Booker is legit, but not a guaranteed #1 on a playoff team. Jury is still out.

 

[206Fan]

I dont see a big difference in talent level between us this year and the spurs last year. We will be the surprise team this year figjting for that 8th seed

LaMarcus Aldridge quietly had his best season since Portland: 23.1pts 8.5rebs 1.2blks 2.0asts on 51% from the field.

I don't think we have a single player who can duplicate that on our team. On top of that, it takes more than talent level. We didn't win anything with Cousins, Gay, and THomas. The Spurs also have a HOF coach, and they're also one of most successful organizations of ALL sports for the last 20years.

 

[ESP47]

As far as Fox vs Jackson, being a PG is a much taller task as a rookie than being a SF. Jackson had no responsibility except to score.

Booker is a very good player and a great scorer. But never forget that someone is going to be the leading scorer on a bad team. So his numbers may be a bit inflated. Booker had a monster individual year with no team results. So I'm not sure how trading any of our players for him is a no brainer.

Give Buddy Hield the same minutes and the same greenlight to shoot and he's putting up similar numbers on a bad team. Booker is legit, but not a guaranteed #1 on a playoff team. Jury is still out.

The Kings are a bad team so the excuse that these are just guys putting up numbers on a bad team doesn't fly in this case. Booker gets to the line like 4x more than Hield does. I like Hield but he's not as good a scorer as Booker. Hield's efficiency would drop quite a bit if he was given the same green light.

Jackson looked like a better player than Fox, plain and simple. He was able to drive and get to the basket better than Fox did and that's supposed to be Fox's bread and butter. Either the Suns players are much more talented than ours or our coach doesn't allow our players to shine. For young player development, give me a coach that allows these guys to go out and put up big numbers and gain confidence over a coach who teaches them to play "the right way" by putting them in an offensive system that makes it difficult for them to score while they rarely get to play more than 25min a game.

 

[The Effort Police]

I'm not a huge Booker fan either but I'd still put him ahead of our guys based on the fact that for a couple years now, he's already done what we're hoping some of our guys can do in the future. He's also still super young. He's the same age as our young prospects and he's like two seasons ahead of them learning curve wise. He's going to be very good. Most likely better than anyone currently on the Kings roster. I don't think he will turn into a James Harden type team leader but he will more than likely be a perennial all star. He just scored 25ppg at the age of 21 with almost 5 assists per as well. His numbers could look pretty good in about 3 years. I'm not even a fan of his but I would trade any player on the Kings roster for him in a second.

Jackson's numbers could have been inflated but every young player on the Kings had the same exact opportunity to do just what he did down the stretch and none of them did that. I remember he looked like garbage early in the season when we played them and later in the season he was a force to be reckoned with. He was still playing like a bull in a china shop but he was playing exactly the way I was hoping Fox would play where he still looked like a rookie but showed flashes every few games. Fox had five 20 point games on the season. Jackson had seventeen. A lot of people talk about rookies showing flashes in their rookie seasons and I didn't think Fox showed many at all. A play here and there. A complete game every blue moon. Jackson had two separate runs where he put together four 20 point games in a row. To me, those are the flashes of a good player in the making.

I agree with you about Warren and I'm not much of a fan either but he should have some trade value coming off a 19 point season so they can always flip him for a better fitting asset or a first round pick.

I would disagree.

Now, I'm not going to argue that by pretending to develop culturez and not tank means that the King's final stretch makes it somehow more meaningful than the Suns'final stretch, but more that the Kings' terrible system doesn't afford the same opportunities that the Suns players had.

 

[Tetsujin]

The team is without a doubt the worst in the Pacific, the question is if we are really the 2nd worst in all the league which is what most of the doom and gloomers say. Even this article which leans to the bad more likely than good, it is hard to grasp the idea that all our guys are busts and we are 2nd worst. And even then we have no reason to lose close games/tank/sandbag whatever you shall call it because we get no advantage from it yet certainly we will cross teams that do.

I think people are vastly overestimating the improvement the Suns are going to make this season. I love their coach but Ayton seems to have KAT syndrome where he can put up great nights but look incredibly underwhelming doing it and Booker has put up some huge point totals on very very bad teams while also not showing much else beyond it at this point (i.e. is he more James Harden or more Kevin Martin?). They also have like five small forwards now for some reason and no point guard so that's swell (their best PG is Isaiah Canaan and we aren't even sure if he's going to play because his leg exploded [don't google it]).

 

[ppine]

Devin Booker is really talented. I like his play a lot.
Comparing the Kings to the Spurs is an odd comparison. Great coach, veteran players, interchangeable parts in a highly evolved system. The Kings fall short in each category.
The Kings will be better than they have been, but still not very good. Yet.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I think people are vastly overestimating the improvement the Suns are going to make this season. I love their coach but Ayton seems to have KAT syndrome where he can put up great nights but look incredibly underwhelming doing it and Booker has put up some huge point totals on very very bad teams while also not showing much else beyond it at this point (i.e. is he more James Harden or more Kevin Martin?). They also have like five small forwards now for some reason and no point guard so that's swell (their best PG is Isaiah Canaan and we aren't even sure if he's going to play because his leg exploded [don't google it]).

I think they made more popular moves than the Kings did this year but yeah results remain to be seen. And for whatever reason I truly thought they were in SW or another division than us because I don't think they are clearly better than us. There are teams like the Clippers that are falling but the question is how far and then teams that are in the west that are falling hard but not in the Pacific (waves over at the Moda Center). Then there are Eastern teams that don't seem to know what they are doing (Orlando, Atlanta) that I can't see being better than us even with the advantage of an Eastern conference schedule.

Oh, and Minnesota is exploding as I type and heading to free fall.

I suspect we'll finish with no worse than the 7th record in the league when all is said and done, and that's a "things aren't really panning out" scenario.