Big Cuz on Grantland

[HereWeBoogie]

Boogie said Rondo was the best point guard in the NBA. He said he liked him.

He thinks McLemore is going to be very good because he works really hard. Acknowledged that there weren't enough shots for him this year, and it will be different now.

Said John Wall and Bledsoe were the two best PG's he ever played with. A few other subtle digs at Thomas like that one.

He texted IT congrats after the signing. He didn't seem that bummed about it.

He thinks Stauskas is good right now. Will be able to contribute right away.

Likes the direction of the franchise. Night and Day from Maloof era.

Said he is OK with Griffin. Dislikes CP3.

He said playing against ZBO and Gasol is something you feel the next day. The physicality of it.

Said Ish Smith was the fasted guy in the NBA. The Simmons look of 'who is Ish Smith' was pretty funny.

He mentioned how Wall sort of tried to get him in Washington.

Mentioned Clips and Warriors as the two teams he likes playing against the most.

Said Al Jefferson is the toughest big to cover.

Called LBJ, KD, and Kobe the best players right now.

He remembers all the players drafted before him along with guys who made the all-nba teams over him.

And most importantly said he thinks the Kings WILL make the playoffs this year. 7 or 8 seed.

I think that about covers it. Not a lot there. My biggest takeaways were the stuff about IT and point guards, and how he seemed to understand moving on was for the best. And how he liked Rondo a lot.

He also said Kings fans are the best fans in the NBA.

He mentioned how they fought to keep the team in Sacramento, and also mentioned all the hard work Kevin Johnson put in



i thought the interview was great. Boogie really appears to like playing in Sacramento, and now he finally has a decent ownership/Front office around him

 

[nebs]

I love when Bill asked him how he felt about playing in a small market and he said he likes it that way.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

The most 'valuable' and insightful comment he made, was that "those fans earned that team". Meaning we earned the right to keep our team.

Second, was that he really likes playing in a "smaller market" in Sacramento, because it makes it feel more important to the city and surrounding areas.

DC gets it. He's a southern boy that appreciates true hard working people, people who earn what they get. He will passionately 'fight' for what he wants

 

[rhythmless]

Incredible interview and well worth watching. I an not a fan of Bill Simmons but I think he did a very good job.

Loved the comments DMC made about us Kings fans. Also liked that he was diplomatic about IT - although the comment that McLemore would be getting more touches now was pretty clear.

I also liked DMC making it pretty clear to the world he doesn't like Chris Paul. We, of course, all knew it but I think it actually surprised Simmons a bit.

Al Jefferson getting respect from Cousins was interesting, as was him saying the Z-Bo/Marc Gasol combo was the one he had the most respect for.

Again, GREAT interview.

IIRC, Simmons has alluded to the DMC/CP3 issue more than once in his articles.

 

[rhythmless]

that's just bill simmons being bill simmons; the guy's an nba superfan, and what do fans love? they love rivalries. they love chips-on-shoulders. etc...

(this isn't really directed at you, specifically, Tetsujin) a lot of kings fans are down on bill simmons, which i can understand, because Grantland is not exactly a bastion of reverence for the sacramento kings. that said, simmons clearly has nothing but admiration for demarcus cousins, and i honestly believe he wants to see boogie (and the kings) succeed in the vivek era. the questions people ask about the new regime's acumen are valid, in my opinion, and while some of the punchlines about the kings are just too easy and too tired at this point, sometimes i think kings fans are prone to developing a very insular perspective regarding their team. more to the point, sometimes i think kings fans can't even recognize when someone in the national media is actually in their corner. simmons had been pushing for demarcus to go on his podcast for six months. it's definitely good exposure for demarcus and for the kings, in general...

simmons is also a really great writer, and one with a very distinct personality and a very unique voice, which is why i appreciate him so much. even though i disagree with his perspective at least half the time, what i love about bill simmons is his undeniable passion for the game. there are far too many "journalists" covering the nba these days who have no passion for the game at all; it's just a job where you get to rub shoulders with famous people. consider the kings' own beat writers, who seem to have no vested interest in the team whatsoever. after all, "sports journalism" today is mostly about one's ability to be the first to scoop a big story or pass along a tasty rumor...

bill simmons, on the other hand, is one of the few journalists who writes about nba basketball the way we think about nba basketball, as something much more than just a silly sport where players move from team to team and franchise's juggle salary cap issues. simmons was smart to get a robot like zach lowe writing for Grantland, because lowe is truly excellent at breaking down the game at a molecular level. but it's not always fun to think about the math of nba basketball; more often than not, the romance of the sport is just as important. kings fans who look back fondly at the "golden era" should know this better than anyone else...

personally, i wish there were more writers like bill simmons covering the nba. then we just might receive coverage that doesn't revolve exclusively around what lebron james ate for breakfast and what it might mean for his career going forward. i really enjoyed simmons' recent piece on carmelo anthony, for example, because it contextualized 'melo's career alongside nba history. i could care less about carmelo anthony and the new york knicks, to be honest, but simmons' article reminded me of why i love to discuss the nba, even in TDOS. it was the work of a writer who actually cares enough about nba basketball to think about nba basketball...

I can't remember agreeing with a KF post more. This is all great. All of it.

I think many times, we get this "little man" complex in Sac. We get defensive, and we're quick to take up arms against those who have slighted us and those who haven't. Shaq and Phil have both successfully played on this. There's no national movement against us. We suck, plain and simple. We made odd(nice word) moves. It's not b/c we're in a small market, or because we're Sacramento. When we were rolling through the league, we were darlings. We made crafty maneuvers. We had lots of exposure. Now we have just come off a 28 win season, bid against ourselves for a duplicative player, took a sg with two successive high draft picks, and gave away our third best player after giving away our second best player. And we have no cap space to show for it. Say it with me guys, we suck. And we haven't shown otherwise. Once we get better and start competing, the rhetoric will be different. And it'll be a diff rhetoric with DMC as well.

 

[VF21]

IIRC, Simmons has alluded to the DMC/CP3 issue more than once in his articles.

True. but I got the feeling Simmons thought it was just one of those faux on-the-court things. I think DMC made it abundantly clear he just does not like CP3 at all.

 

[Warhawk]

Good interview by Boogie. Hope folks league-wide see it and learn something about him.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Good interview by Boogie. Hope folks league-wide see it and learn something about him.

A real "straight shooter" is a rare thing these days. It takes those at a 'distance' longer to warm up to someone, who is different than the 'persona' that has become common place.

Bill Simmons was taken aback my several of his answers. Even an answer like Ish Smith, being the fastest player he's played against. People don't expect stars to give a 'low profile' answer. Bill even tried to "name drop" for him and mention Westbrook. Cousins didn't take the bait,... he thought about for a few seconds and gave an honest answer..."Ish Smith". Not a "popular" answer, just the truth.

We have a player who is unabashed and not afraid to be different. I really like that about him

 

[HereWeBoogie]

He did say his favorite arenas to play in were Madison Square Garden and Staples Center because of the "bright lights" and playing in front of all the stars. hopefully he never wants to go play for those teams

 

[randymoss1881]

True. but I got the feeling Simmons thought it was just one of those faux on-the-court things. I think DMC made it abundantly clear he just does not like CP3 at all.

What did he say

 

[Warhawk]

What did he say

Not much more than he doesn't have any real issues with Blake but doesn't care for CP3. Didn't go into any details on that, and Simmons stated that some other players also don't seem to care for CP3. Simmons also stated it is ironic that he (CP3) is the player representative given the above.