D(G)-League thread

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#31
Play Skal in the role and with the minutes he had at the end of last season and be prepared to wipe the look of shock off your face because all that promise would come pouring right back into the picture. I don't think he's a superstar but he can put points up if given the chance. A few minutes at the start and in the 3rd is just stupid.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#32
Being really tough on him, but Skal falls into the low ball IQ boat. He's new to basketball and he's going to be a project. He doesn't have enough strength or IQ on defense. He gets pushed around by anyone and as you said, he's not aggressive enough going up for boards. Lots of work needs to be done on Skal's front. Our disappointment in Skal comes from the product of how much the Kings and local media have hyped him. Got to sell tickets somehow right?
I mean I don't know why so many were hyped from the gate, he was the 28th pick in one of the weakest drafts in the last decade so there has to be a reason he fell as far as he did considering the program he came out of, where Kentucky players are more NBA ready than most schools. That said, the Kings shouldn't bank on him becoming a focal point moving forward, if he turns into a productive player, the Kings personnel would of done wonders for him considering how far along he is and the fact that he hasn't been playing basketball for very long, as you mentioned.
 
#33
I mean I don't know why so many were hyped from the gate, he was the 28th pick in one of the weakest drafts in the last decade so there has to be a reason he fell as far as he did considering the program he came out of, where Kentucky players are more NBA ready than most schools. That said, the Kings shouldn't bank on him becoming a focal point moving forward, if he turns into a productive player, the Kings personnel would of done wonders for him considering how far along he is and the fact that he hasn't been playing basketball for very long, as you mentioned.
In an ideal world, an athletic 7fter who's an amazing mid-range shooter with good touch around the rim should be a good player. Just doesn't have the basketball IQ at all.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#34
In an ideal world, an athletic 7fter who's an amazing mid-range shooter with good touch around the rim should be a good player. Just doesn't have the basketball IQ at all.
It's more than simply basketball IQ. His coordination seems off. When he does get the ball, he holds on to it for way too long instead of making a move or passing it out. His reaction time isn't there right now either.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#35
Honestly, I see this as a way to try to light a fuse under him. He won't tear the G-League up or anything but this is good for him if Joerger feels he doesn't deserve minutes at this point in the season.
But here's the problem, Skal should tear the G league up. Jack Cooley tore the G league up almost any player close to NBA ready tears the G League up. We laugh about the fact that tearing the G League up doesn't mean you're ready for the NBA. So if Skal cannot dominate in the G League that should be a huge red flag.
 
#36
Grant, Hamm, about 1/2 of this board, they all looked right past what caused a ton of teams to pass on Skal based upon 20 dog day games. Based upon a handful of games, Skal was the real deal. He was part of the "young core"

Skal still has time and the talent to move from project to quality starter. But, he's a project that seems to have a major flaw.
How many games been played this season?:)
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#37
But here's the problem, Skal should tear the G league up. Jack Cooley tore the G league up almost any player close to NBA ready tears the G League up. We laugh about the fact that tearing the G League up doesn't mean you're ready for the NBA. So if Skal cannot dominate in the G League that should be a huge red flag.
For all we know, he might be a system player and excel at a specific style of play rather than running up and down in a G-League type of environment. I'm willing to cut him some slack for the time being for not "tearing" the G-League up, however, if he is in his third or fourth year and hasn't shown promise or improvement, we can then start raising those flags and calling for heads.
 
#38
But here's the problem, Skal should tear the G league up. Jack Cooley tore the G league up almost any player close to NBA ready tears the G League up. We laugh about the fact that tearing the G League up doesn't mean you're ready for the NBA. So if Skal cannot dominate in the G League that should be a huge red flag.
Not to mention, going against NBA competition and struggling can lower confidence. Going to the G-League against lesser competition can help remind a player why they have an NBA contract. Boost their confidence, let them play their game better so when they come back to the big league, they can hopefully return with confidence in what got them drafted to begin with.
 
#39
Skal struggles in summer league as well. The best he has looked is in real NBA games. So there is something to the idea that in the kind of chaos of summer league and G-League that a fairly passive player like Skal wouldn’t shine. We saw in summer league he didn’t even get that many touches. Everybody is trying to get theirs and it’s typically the guards that shine the most.
 
#40
I think if he can evolve into more of an elite stretch 4 and becomes lights out from Three then he'll create a nice niche for himself. His jump-shot is absolutely beautiful, I don't see why he should have a problem with this.

At the very least we have a solid scorer off the bench. But I just don't think he's our future PF.. Especially with the way the game is being played nowadays with Smallball 4's.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#41
Skal and Chriss are essentially in the same boat right now as far as their sophomore seasons are going. There's a lot of similarities between the two actually in terms of their weaknesses.

If we remove Skal and Papa from the equation and think about it from a drafting perspective, then you take Chriss every day of the week. Because even if Chriss busts and Bogdanovic turns into a good pro, the most you gave away to gamble on Chriss was a role player.

I'd trade Bogdanovic for Chriss straight up and not even think about it.
Yikes! You either have a very low opinion of Bogs, or a very high opinion of Chriss, or both.

I get where you're coming from though, and I'm down with swinging for the fences on picks. That's what Vlade did with Skal, Giles, even Fox (who is a very flawed player at the moment, with tremendous upside).

Bogs might have a lower ceiling than Chriss, especially as a 25 year old rookie, but his floor is way higher. Chriss is looking like he's going to bust. Dude has zero BBIQ.

If Chriss is putting up 20ppg in a couple seasons, you're welcome to "sig" me! ;)
 
#42
I'm just not a big fan of the way Joerger handled Skal this year.

When Skal started struggling putting the ball in the hoop, Joerger started giving him a short leash. Seemed like early on in the season, Skal looked improved defensively and was holding pat offensively. Then he started to struggle offensively and his defense fell apart as well. I can't help but think it was because he was looking over his shoulder the entire time.

To me, this is the perfect year to let the guys figure out their game on the court. I think letting Skal play his minutes out would have given him a vote of confidence to steer things in the right direction. Look at Hield, he turned it around after a horrid start. I mean, the kid isn't out there being lazy. He's inexperienced and the only way to gain experience is to get out there and play. It has to be hard for a player to excel when the #1 thing on their mind is to just not screw up.

Obviously I have no idea what's going on in their heads but just from their body language on the court, I feel like Fox, Skal and Jackson have been playing to just not screw up instead of playing their game. Go check out Justin Jackson's highlights from his two games in Reno. Completely different player than the guy that played in Sacramento this year. That's the guy I remember in college. He may not be able to do exactly all that in the NBA due to stiffer competition but he certainly isn't a guy who should only be used to catch and shoot as the last offensive option.
 
#43
I don’t think that Skal is a low IQ player. I also don’t think adding muscle impacts his toughness issues.

I think he’s both mentally weak (ie gives up) and soft (doesn’t like to receive the dirty work inside).
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#44
I'm just not a big fan of the way Joerger handled Skal this year.

When Skal started struggling putting the ball in the hoop, Joerger started giving him a short leash. Seemed like early on in the season, Skal looked improved defensively and was holding pat offensively. Then he started to struggle offensively and his defense fell apart as well. I can't help but think it was because he was looking over his shoulder the entire time.

To me, this is the perfect year to let the guys figure out their game on the court. I think letting Skal play his minutes out would have given him a vote of confidence to steer things in the right direction. Look at Hield, he turned it around after a horrid start. I mean, the kid isn't out there being lazy. He's inexperienced and the only way to gain experience is to get out there and play. It has to be hard for a player to excel when the #1 thing on their mind is to just not screw up.

Obviously I have no idea what's going on in their heads but just from their body language on the court, I feel like Fox, Skal and Jackson have been playing to just not screw up instead of playing their game. Go check out Justin Jackson's highlights from his two games in Reno. Completely different player than the guy that played in Sacramento this year. That's the guy I remember in college. He may not be able to do exactly all that in the NBA due to stiffer competition but he certainly isn't a guy who should only be used to catch and shoot as the last offensive option.
Kings kept saying the same thing about Ben McLemore....give him his minutes and it will work out.
 
#45
Kings kept saying the same thing about Ben McLemore....give him his minutes and it will work out.
Utah is giving Mitchell the greenlight after he went 3-21.. things are looking great for him now. Utah isn't even in a rebuild right now. Why can't the Kings do the same with our young guys? It's frustrating right now.
 
#48
Kings kept saying the same thing about Ben McLemore....give him his minutes and it will work out.
I'm not picking up on your logic here. So don't develop players by giving them minutes because McLemore never developed? The Kings didn't hamper McLemore's development in any way. Not being able to handle the ball is what has stalled Ben's career.

There are a lot of good players right now that didn't start out hot. CJ McCollum and Evan Fournier didn't look like much their first two years. Donovan Mitchell's offense was on par with Lonzo Ball's offense to start the year. Now look at him. Hield was crap for the Pelicans and his stats shot way up with us.

Usually when continuing to develop a player, you want to give them more minutes and more opportunities their second year. I don't know what the point of this season is for Joerger or the front office but trying to win more games by giving more minutes to ZBo and low ceiling, end of the bench guys like Jakarr Sampson aren't the way to build for the future. Bringing Papa up to fill in for WCS doesn't make sense when the Kings could have just used ZBo and Koufos as their centers while giving Skal more playing time while Willie is out. Papa is a big boy but he isn't strong. I've still yet to see him actually back someone down in the post for an easy short hook shot.

I understand not wanting to lose by 20-40 points every night but there were plenty of opportunities over the last couple weeks to give Skal more minutes and it just never happened.
 
#49
if skinny guys like Giannis & Hassan can turn into physical specimen, so can Skal. That is dependent on him though, whether he wants to add on all that bulk, which will make him even slower than he is.
Think about Track and Field for a moment. Sprinters are often muscular, it is the distance guys that are thin. Adding muscle is not going to make Skal slower. He might get faster.
 
#51
Yikes! You either have a very low opinion of Bogs, or a very high opinion of Chriss, or both.

I get where you're coming from though, and I'm down with swinging for the fences on picks. That's what Vlade did with Skal, Giles, even Fox (who is a very flawed player at the moment, with tremendous upside).

Bogs might have a lower ceiling than Chriss, especially as a 25 year old rookie, but his floor is way higher. Chriss is looking like he's going to bust. Dude has zero BBIQ.

If Chriss is putting up 20ppg in a couple seasons, you're welcome to "sig" me! ;)
I think the best way to describe Bogdanovic for me would be that I don't care. I don't have a high opinion on Chriss either, he was one of my least favorite prospects in his draft and his sophomore slump is putting Skal's to shame. But he went #8 in his draft for a reason and Bogdan went #27 in his for a reason too, and one and a quarter season of expected rawness isn't enough for me to think Chriss is unsalvagable.

While we're on the subject, I could break down in tiers how I invested I as a fan can get into our current players and how important I feel they are. First is the upside guys in Fox, Skal, and Giles. Second is the possible starters in WCS and Buddy. Third is the rest of our young guys, Jackson, Malachi, Papa, Bogdan, and Mason. Fourth is all the vets. Point about Bogdan is that I can take him or leave him.

I'm all about upside right now, though. If I were in Vlade's shoes on draft day, I would've taken OG and Giles with the 15 and 20, despite both having injury history. Vlade did almost everything I would've done that night so I don't quibble over Jackson, but if I were in Toronto's (the people who got OG) I'd probably be a lot more comfortable with taking the safe pick. And if we were in a different position I'd probably care about Bogdan more. But we're not, so I don't. I just can't bring myself to care about a high floor.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#52
Kings kept saying the same thing about Ben McLemore....give him his minutes and it will work out.
And when did they give him minutes and a ROLE that fit him? Oh yeah, right before he headed out the door. Typical Kings moves. If they gave him minutes early on instead of ***** footing maybe they would have realized from the get that he either sucked and it was time to move on, or they would have seen what he could bring. As it was they never really ever found out. If anything the handling of Ben Mclemore is the exact blue print of why you don't just bury if you don't have a better option anyway.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#53
I think the best way to describe Bogdanovic for me would be that I don't care. I don't have a high opinion on Chriss either, he was one of my least favorite prospects in his draft and his sophomore slump is putting Skal's to shame. But he went #8 in his draft for a reason and Bogdan went #27 in his for a reason too, and one and a quarter season of expected rawness isn't enough for me to think Chriss is unsalvagable.

While we're on the subject, I could break down in tiers how I invested I as a fan can get into our current players and how important I feel they are. First is the upside guys in Fox, Skal, and Giles. Second is the possible starters in WCS and Buddy. Third is the rest of our young guys, Jackson, Malachi, Papa, Bogdan, and Mason. Fourth is all the vets. Point about Bogdan is that I can take him or leave him.

I'm all about upside right now, though. If I were in Vlade's shoes on draft day, I would've taken OG and Giles with the 15 and 20, despite both having injury history. Vlade did almost everything I would've done that night so I don't quibble over Jackson, but if I were in Toronto's (the people who got OG) I'd probably be a lot more comfortable with taking the safe pick. And if we were in a different position I'd probably care about Bogdan more. But we're not, so I don't. I just can't bring myself to care about a high floor.
I can dig it.

Besides me liking the Suns trade more than you do, we're pretty much on the same page, right down to your "player tiers".

We need star(s). That means top 3 picks or gambling on high upside kids, and we never pick top 3.

Here's to hoping Vlade hits on his upside gambles (Giles, Skal, Fox)!
 
#54
I think the best way to describe Bogdanovic for me would be that I don't care. I don't have a high opinion on Chriss either, he was one of my least favorite prospects in his draft and his sophomore slump is putting Skal's to shame. But he went #8 in his draft for a reason and Bogdan went #27 in his for a reason too, and one and a quarter season of expected rawness isn't enough for me to think Chriss is unsalvagable.

While we're on the subject, I could break down in tiers how I invested I as a fan can get into our current players and how important I feel they are. First is the upside guys in Fox, Skal, and Giles. Second is the possible starters in WCS and Buddy. Third is the rest of our young guys, Jackson, Malachi, Papa, Bogdan, and Mason. Fourth is all the vets. Point about Bogdan is that I can take him or leave him.

I'm all about upside right now, though. If I were in Vlade's shoes on draft day, I would've taken OG and Giles with the 15 and 20, despite both having injury history. Vlade did almost everything I would've done that night so I don't quibble over Jackson, but if I were in Toronto's (the people who got OG) I'd probably be a lot more comfortable with taking the safe pick. And if we were in a different position I'd probably care about Bogdan more. But we're not, so I don't. I just can't bring myself to care about a high floor.
The fact that Mason, Bogdan and Fox are all playing so well less than 20 games into their Rookie seasons might be a hint into their "upside":) I know you are alluding that you want a "Superstar" and that is what we all want. But having a team full of good NBA talent is also a good thing. I think the Kings do have such a team and I suspect there will be All Star(s) in this group. It will be a few seasons before we know for sure. That is unless the team is torn apart too soon because of some crazy trade or firing of Coach/Vlade prematurely.

Some Fans seem to have a myopic obsession with the "system" or the "minutes distribution". I have watched all the games and I see Coach trying to be competitive and develop all the Fellas. I am in the camp that is against throwing all the young players out there to be crushed might in and night out. Point to the NBA program that has done that successfully.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#55
Think about Track and Field for a moment. Sprinters are often muscular, it is the distance guys that are thin. Adding muscle is not going to make Skal slower. He might get faster.
He all ready put on muscle in the off season, you can see it. If he were to put on more muscle, that would in return make him more bulky and slower, I don't see many 6'11 sprinters out there.
 
#56
I'd rather Skal at least get some burn in the G League rather than waste away on the bench but Papa is worse than Skal in nearly every way. Should have brought Sampson back up and let Papa get more playing time in Reno.
Three ways in which Papa is not worse than Skal:
1. He rebounds (gets good position and battles).
2. He’s quick with the outlet pass (thinks ahead).
3. He doesn’t back down from anyone (even when he should).
 
#58
So between now and 2/15 trade deadline: Vet Showcase Tour
Pg Hill.Fox,Mason
SG Buddy,Temple
SF Bogs, Carter
PF WCS
C Zbo,Kostas

G League for minutes and devel Skal,Malichi,Justin,Papa

Trade 3 of the five Vets for 2019 Draft Picks and salary dumps
in this order: Hill,Kostas,Carter,Temple,Zbo
If first 3 get traded

After 2/15 remaining 12 :
Keep starters, and Mason
Develop other 4 bench players with solid minutes until next year

Pg Fox,Mason
SG Buddy,Malichi
SF Bogs,Justin
PF Wcs, Skal
C Zbo, Giles

Temple Guard/forward Emergency backup, PapaG Big Emergency backup

Now I know Vlade's plan!!
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#59
I'm still very high on Skal. Not only do I think he's eventually going to be an above average scorer and rebounder, I think he's going to be a good help-side defender as well. He's only 21 years old. I've been saying for a while now that I don't expect him to really break out until two years from now when he's 23 years old. (For comparison sake, WCS is 24 years of age). That gives him not only this season and the next to continue to get better, but two summers of strength training as well. And he's definitely not mentally weak or soft. He's just the 99 lb weakling that doesn't have the "punch" right now to back it up. He will. I'm 99% sure he will. It's just not going to happen as fast as most would like. This move to send him to the G league is a good one, as it will give him a lot more time on the court so that he can get better.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#60
Look at WCS, he's finally showing some consistency in what he can be.....I think most of these young guys need 2-3 years in experience.