ESPN ranks Kings dead last in future power rankings

[iowamcnabb]

It's really hard to predict how the west is going to look next year. The way things are going, there's a good chance that the Jazz end up re-tooling the roster/Ainge-ing things up. The Nuggets are presumably finally going to get Jamal Murray and MPJ back next season but are also now entirely capped out and lack the draft assets to make any additional moves. The Clippers are a deep team but also have to bank on Kawhi and PG coming back completely to make any noise and are seeing a large part of their roster hitting the back end of their primes. The Pelicans have draft capital to make moves with in every season after this one and have a solid Ingram/CJ/Jonas core to build around but they also have to deal with the elephant-sized Zion in the room. The Spurs are the Spurs as long as Pop is around but they're lacking top line talent (Murray's great season be damned) and who knows how much longer he'll be coaching them. Portland could theoretically hop back up to playoff-level next season but that's banking on them keeping Dame, him coming back healthy, them nailing their pick, and Chauncey Billups being a good coach. It's hard to see the Lakers' situation getting significantly better next season, especially with Malik Monk essentially playing his way out of their price range.

Surely, things will change in the off-season when some desperate team trades the Lakers a star and picks for Russ's huge contract or something but there's a chance there will be more open spots next year than this year.

the Wolves could be better and even the Thunder if they land say Smith and stop tanking. SGA, Giddey, Dort, Smith and the ability to swing a trade at the deadline could make them interesting as well. Basically Houston is the only team that won’t have enough talent/experience to at least take a crack at the playoffs.

 

[TaxMan]

I'm really not going to quibble if EPSN has us ranked 30th or 23rd in a list like this. I don't take in much EPSN content any more, but who can blame anyone for being pessimistic after 16 straight losing seasons. Does McNair deserve a ranking of "30" in the management category? Probably not based on what appears to be pretty solid moves in general since he got here, but until we turn the corner why should anyone outside of our little bubble care.

 

[Tetsujin]

the Wolves could be better and even the Thunder if they land say Smith and stop tanking. SGA, Giddey, Dort, Smith and the ability to swing a trade at the deadline could make them interesting as well. Basically Houston is the only team that won’t have enough talent/experience to at least take a crack at the playoffs.

The thing about the Thunder is, despite the general consensus that they've been tanking the last couple of years, I'm not sure if they're actually a good team or not. They're also in the weird position where they've been rebuilding through the draft so long that their guys are starting to get into expensive extension territory and there's not a whole lot of cap room for them to work with thanks to their long-held strategy of acquiring and cutting huge contracts in exchange for draft assets.

They're also surprisingly light on big men with Favors and Muscala presumably gone and assuming they wind up neither rising or falling in this year's draft, which is incredibly unlikely, they might get stuck taking Ivey as another home run swing, as Presti is apt to do.

(Holmgren/Smith/Banchero)/Robinson-Earle/Sarr
Poku/Bazley/Roby
Giddey/Williams
Dort/Wiggins/Krejci
SGA/Mann/Maledon/Jerome

Even if they were to climb and get one of the top three guys in this class, they'd still probably be at least one move away from becoming a true playoff team even right away unless Giddey takes a leap during the summer or Poku somehow manages to gain thirty pounds and become 5% more consistent. I'd say they could package some of their draft picks to acquire a star to accelerate the build-up but their dead money situation and lack of combinable mid-range salary makes that really hard to do.

 

[Folsomkingsfan]

Every other team in the league is either more competitive currently and look competitive for the foreseeable future or have more attractive long terms prospects. The only exception I would make to that is the Knicks. Outside of their market which they have never been able to take advantage of there is nothing there to get excited about.

It's also worth noting that ESPN did an end of season top 25 under 25 ranking last year and had Fox ranked at #6 and Sabonis at #18. Hali was rated #22. Obviously Hali took a major step this year and Fox took one back, but it's still funny that that list does not appear to have been referenced or thought about at all for this new ranking.

 

[hrdboild]

Detroit has a good young core and Houston has a backcourt duo they can build around but a lot of these lottery teams look pretty lost. Orlando, Indiana, Washington, New York, OKC and Portland are just as bad as we are. One or two of them could find a gem in the draft this year that elevates them but for that matter, so could we. It's not a forgone conclusion that the first pick in the draft is the best.

 

[Tetsujin]

Detroit has a good young core and Houston has a backcourt duo they can build around but a lot of these lottery teams look pretty lost. Orlando, Indiana, Washington, New York, OKC and Portland are just as bad as we are. One or two of them could find a gem in the draft this year that elevates them but for that matter, so could we. It's not a forgone conclusion that the first pick in the draft is the best.

Especially not this class. I can understand tanking for Cade or Mobley last year but the top three guys in this year’s draft probably wouldn’t make it into last year’s top five.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

It depends. If Monte can trade every one of our first round picks for a 25 year old two-time All Star, I don't see that as a bad thing.

Of course it wouldn’t be.

But I think you understood my tongue-in-cheek point in general terms.

 

[EIM86]

The thing about the Thunder is, despite the general consensus that they've been tanking the last couple of years, I'm not sure if they're actually a good team or not. They're also in the weird position where they've been rebuilding through the draft so long that their guys are starting to get into expensive extension territory and there's not a whole lot of cap room for them to work with thanks to their long-held strategy of acquiring and cutting huge contracts in exchange for draft assets.

They're also surprisingly light on big men with Favors and Muscala presumably gone and assuming they wind up neither rising or falling in this year's draft, which is incredibly unlikely, they might get stuck taking Ivey as another home run swing, as Presti is apt to do.

(Holmgren/Smith/Banchero)/Robinson-Earle/Sarr
Poku/Bazley/Roby
Giddey/Williams
Dort/Wiggins/Krejci
SGA/Mann/Maledon/Jerome

Even if they were to climb and get one of the top three guys in this class, they'd still probably be at least one move away from becoming a true playoff team even right away unless Giddey takes a leap during the summer or Poku somehow manages to gain thirty pounds and become 5% more consistent. I'd say they could package some of their draft picks to acquire a star to accelerate the build-up but their dead money situation and lack of combinable mid-range salary makes that really hard to do.

that and SGA and Co are used to losing. We know what that does to players.

 

[TTown Kings]

I'm not intending to put you on the spot, but I honestly checked to make sure I wasn't looking at a really old thread that kings fans posted in during much darker times. I think we have a likely shot at the playoffs next year! We made significant upgrades to personnel and only really lack in the coaching department. I expect playoffs next year and would actually feel let down if it doesn't happen.

Much darker times? LOL. We just set the all time record for seasons without making the playoffs. They've won less games each of the last 3 years and have 29 wins right now. The only time that things were darker was when we thought they were moving to Seattle.

 

[SLAB]

Much darker times? LOL. We just set the all time record for seasons without making the playoffs. They've won less games each of the last 3 years and have 29 wins right now. The only time that things were darker was when we thought they were moving to Seattle.

But we have an All-Star and a guy who totally should be an All-Star for realsies and also Davion. The future is so bright I GOT SUNBRUN!

 

[mrlaze]

Reading comprehension is hard.

 

[hrdboild]

Much darker times? LOL. We just set the all time record for seasons without making the playoffs. They've won less games each of the last 3 years and have 29 wins right now. The only time that things were darker was when we thought they were moving to Seattle.

I can think of at least 3 days in particular that felt significantly worse, but it's eye of the beholder stuff. I generally like the direction Monte is going with his moves so he's at least earned some more patience from me. I wouldn't pretend to speak for everyone though. He's got two big decisions to make this off-season with the draft and coaching vacancy and how he handles those two moves will likely determine whether he will continue on as GM for much longer.

 

[iowamcnabb]

But we have an All-Star and a guy who totally should be an All-Star for realsies and also Davion. The future is so bright I GOT SUNBRUN!

do you honestly not see a difference beteeen now and the Kenny Thomas days or JT Hawes or Francisco Garcia? Or how about the Zach Randolph era? I get the pessimism but if Monte hires a good coach and we make 2 good to great moves (draft fa or trade) I’d say we have more hope than any team since the glory years.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

do you honestly not see a difference beteeen now and the Kenny Thomas days or JT Hawes or Francisco Garcia? Or how about the Zach Randolph era? I get the pessimism but if Monte hires a good coach and we make 2 good to great moves (draft fa or trade) I’d say we have more hope than any team since the glory years.

You have to remember that on a scale of 1 to 10 of "How Done Are You With The Kings" SLAB is at about 37,872.

 

[The_Jamal]

do you honestly not see a difference beteeen now and the Kenny Thomas days or JT Hawes or Francisco Garcia? Or how about the Zach Randolph era? I get the pessimism but if Monte hires a good coach and we make 2 good to great moves (draft fa or trade) I’d say we have more hope than any team since the glory years.

Slab is the Kings version of Randy Quaid in Major League:

 

[fansinceday1]

So who's the next guy the kings draft who Fox can't play with?

 

[SacTownKid]

Much darker times? LOL. We just set the all time record for seasons without making the playoffs. They've won less games each of the last 3 years and have 29 wins right now. The only time that things were darker was when we thought they were moving to Seattle.

And yet, I don't think I've felt this positive about the Kings heading into an offseason in a looong time. haha. Now Monte can smash it all to pieces in an instant with 1 wrong move but there's a chance here.

 

[ESP47]

do you honestly not see a difference beteeen now and the Kenny Thomas days or JT Hawes or Francisco Garcia? Or how about the Zach Randolph era? I get the pessimism but if Monte hires a good coach and we make 2 good to great moves (draft fa or trade) I’d say we have more hope than any team since the glory years.

I'd put the ZBo year as one of the most optimistic years we've had so far. Not that we necessarily thought that they'd win that year but we thought the future was bright.

Fox, Bogdan, JJ, Mason and Giles were all rookies. Skal, PapaG, Malachi and Buddy were all beginning year 2 and ready to break out. Giles was Webber 2.0. Skal was a unicorn. Bogdan was going to shoot lights out and average 6ast/gm. Fox was going to feast at the rim. Malachi was going to average 17 a game. JJ had just outplayed Fox in the elite 8. Mason was the player of the year. Caboclo was ready to break out as Giannis 2.0. George Hill was a steadying presence of career winning basketball. PapaG was a Shaq that could shoot and pass. Buddy was exactly like Curry, but younger. ZBo was going to bring grit and grind.

The future was bright my friend.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

And yet, I don't think I've felt this positive about the Kings heading into an offseason in a looong time. haha. Now Monte can smash it all to pieces in an instant with 1 wrong move but there's a chance here.

I felt positive leaving the 2018-19 season up until about 5 games into the next season when Bagley was out and it was already clear that Dedmon was a very expensive mistake.

 

[The_Jamal]

And yet, I don't think I've felt this positive about the Kings heading into an offseason in a looong time. haha. Now Monte can smash it all to pieces in an instance with 1 wrong move but there's a chance here.

Yep. 2 feature players (Fox/Sabonis), 3-5 reasonably strong young core rotation players (Barnes, Mitchell, DDV, Lyles?, Jones?), a Top 7-8 pick, 4 Expirings (Metu, Len, Harkless, Holiday), Holmes trade capital, all future FRP.

For all the hand-wringing over Monte, this is the most talented we've been in 15 years and the best team context we've had in terms of cap flexibility/draft flexibility. 2 more really good off-seasons can set this team up for a long-term playoff run. And the reverse is equally true with 1 or 2 bad off-seasons and if Monte fumbles this next coaching hire.

 

[The_Jamal]

I'd put the ZBo year as one of the most optimistic years we've had so far. Not that we necessarily thought that they'd win that year but we thought the future was bright.

Fox, Bogdan, JJ, Mason and Giles were all rookies. Skal, PapaG, Malachi and Buddy were all beginning year 2 and ready to break out. Giles was Webber 2.0. Skal was a unicorn. Bogdan was going to shoot lights out and average 6ast/gm. Fox was going to feast at the rim. Malachi was going to average 17 a game. JJ had just outplayed Fox in the elite 8. Mason was the player of the year. Caboclo was ready to break out as Giannis 2.0. George Hill was a steadying presence of career winning basketball. PapaG was a Shaq that could shoot and pass. Buddy was exactly like Curry, but younger. ZBo was going to bring grit and grind.

The future was bright my friend.

Looking at all this wasted draft capital makes everything hurt.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Yep. 2 feature players (Fox/Sabonis), 3-5 reasonably strong young core rotation players (Barnes, Mitchell, DDV, Lyles?, Jones?), a Top 7-8 pick, 4 Expirings (Metu, Len, Harkless, Holiday), Holmes trade capital, all future FRP.

For all the hand-wringing over Monte, this is the most talented we've been in 15 years and the best team context we've had in terms of cap flexibility/draft flexibility. 2 more really good off-seasons can set this team up for a long-term playoff run. And the reverse is equally true with 1 or 2 bad off-seasons and if Monte fumbles this next coaching hire.

I honestly can't figure out why people who know better here blame Monte for the sins of his predecessors.

 

[iowamcnabb]

I'd put the ZBo year as one of the most optimistic years we've had so far. Not that we necessarily thought that they'd win that year but we thought the future was bright.

Fox, Bogdan, JJ, Mason and Giles were all rookies. Skal, PapaG, Malachi and Buddy were all beginning year 2 and ready to break out. Giles was Webber 2.0. Skal was a unicorn. Bogdan was going to shoot lights out and average 6ast/gm. Fox was going to feast at the rim. Malachi was going to average 17 a game. JJ had just outplayed Fox in the elite 8. Mason was the player of the year. Caboclo was ready to break out as Giannis 2.0. George Hill was a steadying presence of career winning basketball. PapaG was a Shaq that could shoot and pass. Buddy was exactly like Curry, but younger. ZBo was going to bring grit and grind.

The future was bright my friend.

my bad

 

[steelevt]

So who's the next guy the kings draft who Fox can't play with?

Kings jump to 4 and we draft jaden Ivey cuz that’s monte’s m.o.

 

[macadocious]

Kings jump to 4 and we draft jaden Ivey cuz that’s monte’s m.o.

So can we stop this already? I just looked back at the 2021 draft, who exactly drafted after Davion should we have taken there?

It's obviously still early, but maybe Sengun?

I think he picked the right player.

 

[steelevt]

So can we stop this already? I just looked back at the 2021 draft, who exactly drafted after Davion should we have taken there?

It's obviously still early, but maybe Sengun?

I think he picked the right player.

Monte’s first pick was a guard who was bpa, monte’s second pick was davion Mitchell who he thought was bpa, if we draft 4th, behind Chet, Jabari and banchero, who do you think is next bpa regardless of position?

 

[NewArena]

Also apparently Tyrese is Lebron now?

It's hysterical at this point

 

[The_Jamal]

Monte’s first pick was a guard who was bpa, monte’s second pick was davion Mitchell who he thought was bpa, if we draft 4th, behind Chet, Jabari and banchero, who do you think is next bpa regardless of position?

yeah I don't envy the 4th slot. I think who should be chosen in the top 3 is very clear and who should be in the 5-8 (or 5-9 if Sharpe declares) is very clear. But that 4th slot? Ivey is very likely BPA, but he's not a super need and there's some real valuable player archetypes mocked after him.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

It's hysterical at this point

I don't see an issue, both are out of the playoffs on crap teams?

 

[fansinceday1]

I don't see an issue, both are out of the playoffs on crap teams?

Which team will be good first?
There was a time when Phoenix was worse than the kings and I remember fans here saying, "well, at least we aren't the suns!" That changed in a hurry! Same thing will happen to Indiana. And Hali will be a large part of good team while sabonis will be on his way to a different situation. Thats what having a loser owner and subpar front office will do. Just my opinion.