Gerald Wallace?
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
Padrino
All-Star
wrong.
and the kings already drafted their blake griffin types of players, in 2009 and 2010...
i just don't understand why kings fans can't seem to see the talent that's right on the roster. go here if you need a refresher: http://www.nba.com/kings/roster/
its like you're lookin' at the team, and comin' away from that cursory glance with a head scratch that reads, "john salmons?!" when you should be comin' away with a fist pump that screams, "demarcus cousins!! tyreke evans!! marcus thornton!!" those are not mediocre talents. those are cornerstones that you build around...
and why must the playoffs always be "2-3 years" away in these conversations, no matter how much time passes between now and the last time somebody said that the kings are "2-3 years" away? the western conference is weakening. playoff regulars like the houston rockets, utah jazz, phoenix suns, and portland trailblazers are ALL slipping. they're ALL bleeding talent. and, having just traded chris paul to engage in a full-scale rebuild, new orleans definitely isn't sniffing the playoffs anytime soon. having just hired a rookie head and coach in mark jackson, and having just signed kwame brown, golden state isn't exactly poised to make a move, and neither is minnesota, though they are a young and talented team...
that leaves, in no particular order:
1) dallas mavericks (on the downturn with an aging cast of characters and without tyson chandler)
2) la lakers (on the downturn with an aging kobe bryant and without lamar odom)
3) san antonio spurs (on the downturn with an aging tim duncan and an aging manu ginobili)
4) denver nuggets (on the downturn without carmelo anthony)
5) la clippers (on the upswing with the addition of chris paul and the growth of blake griffin)
6) memphis grizzlies (on the upswing with a rejuvenated zach randolph and a young, talented supporting cast)
are you seriously saying that the kings aren't on a similar upswing? are you seriously saying that the kings can't make a run at the lowly 8th seed in 2012-2013?! can you make a convincing case that the immediate futures of the blazers, rockets, jazz, suns, hornets, warriors, and timberwolves are ALL brighter than the immediate future of the kings?! the only team among them as talent-laden as sacramento is minnesota, and i'm certainly not convinced that ricky rubio is gonna be any kind of savior, though i like the t-wolves chances under rick adelman...
my point is that, just as these young kings need to learn how to win, kings fans need to learn how to recognize the winning qualities of their own team. the problem for the kings IS NOT, i repeat, IS NOT a lack of talent. honestly, the problem is becoming an overabundance of talent. there is certainly a gradation of talent on the roster, but its clear that they need more role-oriented glue guys, and less skilled players who demand time with the ball in their hands. that's why the potential signing of jamal crawford is so unappealing to so many of us. crawford represents just one more talented, if extremely one-dimensional player who needs shots...
gerald wallace, on the other hand, represents the kind of veteran, high-level, defensive-minded presence that helps to cement a rotation and more clearly define the roles of everyone around him. those kinds of acquisitions are what will push the kings into playoff contention. those players are veteran in nature. you can't find them in the lottery. and, truth be told, after three years of praying that the kings run the table with losses at the end of each season to improve their lottery position, i hope they end up with a mid-first round pick next year. i hope to see a perceptible improvement in terms of win-loss record. they need to approach .500 basketball...
as for value, a draft pick is the promise of potential, as is the player represented by that draft pick. however, a player is inflexible. a singular player can only ever be himself. he can't magically transform into blake griffin if he is not blake griffin. this exercise in anti-profundity is only meant to illustrate that sometimes a draft pick is a more valuable trade asset than a drafted player, especially when considering the draft lottery, in which a team has no idea where the balls will fall. there are many other factors at play, as well, that make a draft pick a valuable trade asset for a young, talented team. for example, if the team receiving your draft pick trades for it on the premise that you will lose more games than you will win, and then you proceed to defy their expectation, then the draft pick they receive becomes less valuable at the time of the draft, but not at the time of the trade. of course, this is all moot, as the kings traded their upcoming first round draft pick to the cavaliers as part of the jj hickson trade...
but it should be noted that, when you're a young team poised to break through, as the kings are, and you're in a smaller media market, as the kings are, its much easier to sneak up on people. just look at how surprised everybody was at memphis' success the last couple of seasons. nobody in memphis was all that surprised, though. i guess i'm just a little tired of kings fans sleeping on their own damn team...
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Uncia03
Starter
I whole-heartedly support this post.
I think everyone needs to be reminded of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's the 08/09 season.
They just drafted Russell Westbrook.
Durant had just finished a pretty poor rookie season. He averaged a bit over 20 PPG, but was a complete chucker. He only shot 43% from the field and 28.8% from 3pt land.
He only grabbed 4.3 rebounds a game and had more TOs than assists.
They finish the season with only 23 wins.
It's now the 09/10 season.
Durant had a much better 2nd year, scoring 5 more PPG, 2 more Rebounds, and shooting 47.6% from the field and 42.2% from 3pt land.
Westbrook had a good rookie season with a 15/5/5 statline, though he shot the ball poorly at under 40%.
So what does this young team do in the 09/10 season?
They blow it up, winning 50 games and making the playoffs.
They didn't bring in any major vets or large salary players. They just developed more chemistry.
If you look at Durant's 3rd season stats vs. his 2nd season stats, you could argue that he didn't really get much better. But he did a better job on the defensive end as well as developing chemistry with his team.
The same can be said about Westbrook's rookie season compared to his 2nd year.
He shot a little bit better from the field, but the main thing he did was improve his assists, which increased by about 3/game. So his assists went up, but everything was about the same. The main thing is that he had more time to develop chemistry with Durant and the rest of his teammates.
Now the Thunder have a fantastic chance to represent the Western Conference in the Finals this year.
They have added pieces, but no major stars. (Though I absolutely love the Perkins signing.)
The biggest thing they've done is let the talent develop.
As far as this Kings team goes, I absolutely believe that we have the young talent necessary to follow the path that OKC has. If we can avoid Portland's horrendous injury bug, and increase our chemistry, and naturally progress, this team has a very bright future.
KingsCitizen
Starter
With Roy retiring, Oden still unstable, and the recent LMA heart condition, maybe Portland will tank this season and take a chance on the very deep lottery next year.
BTT, GW on the King uniform would be awesome. Will be an instant playoffs team.
BTT, GW on the King uniform would be awesome. Will be an instant playoffs team.
bluntsnbball
G-League
When i said our talent is mediocre, i meant our TRADEABLE talent is mediocre (Hickson, JT, Greene, etc.). Yes, we could pull an OKC and go from the bottom to the top, but we are lacking two major things that OKC has, and thats leadership and defense. Those are the reasons that i want GW, Dalembert, or Ak, or anyone else that can step in as a veteran leader and improve the defense and mindset of this team.
Am i sleeping on our team? Yes. Because i'm sick of getting my hopes up. Call me a pessimist, but with small market Sacramento, i prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I'm sorry if some of you dont agree w/me, but id rather be pleasantly surprised than severely disappointed. It just makes it easier to root for a small market team that way.
Am i sleeping on our team? Yes. Because i'm sick of getting my hopes up. Call me a pessimist, but with small market Sacramento, i prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I'm sorry if some of you dont agree w/me, but id rather be pleasantly surprised than severely disappointed. It just makes it easier to root for a small market team that way.
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bajaden
Hall of Famer
I could say something offensive here, but I won't. You seem sincere in your pessimism, which is sad. I'm an optimist, and I've been an optimist through some very tough times in my life. One thing I'm certain of. No one ever accomplished anything by thinking that they couldn't. But let me comment on just one statement you just made. You stated that our tradeable talent was mediocre. And then you imply that Hickson, JT, and Greene etc are who your referring to. Who is mediocre is subjective. You opinon is completely different than mine. But that aside, I can assure you that all three of those players have trade value. The fact that we had to trade Beno to get Hickson validates that. I'm not going to run through all the players and put a value on them.
What I can say, is that the Heat have similare players on their team. So do the Lakers. The key to having a contending team, isn't the surrounding players, although they're important. Its the star players that they're surrounding. And those are the so called tradable players. In our case its Cousins and Evans. Both have all star written all over them. They just happen to be young. Someone brought up the Thunder, and thats an excellent example. They didn't happen overnight. No one waved a magic wand and suddenly puff, there they were winning 50 plus games. They were built one piece at a time. Just about every important player on that team, save for Perkins, was aquired through the draft.
As a result, they have a contending team thats young, and under the salary cap. I know we live in a instant gratification society. But it seldom happens in basketball. The leadership will happen. But you can't force it. Your either a leader, or your not. If I had to guess, I would guess that eventually Cousins will be the leader of the team. Defense is for the most part, hard work. I'm a firm believer that defense comes from the coaching staff. I've seen defensive coaches, whether as an assistant or as a head coach that got their teams to play defense regardless of the talent level. Lets face it, scoring baskets is a lot more fun, and they don't keep stats on how good you rotated.
If you don't have the patience to weather your way through the storm, then I suggest you find another team to watch. I might suggest picking one thats already a winner. Less misery that way.
captain bill
All-Star
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...w-wojnarowski_dwight_howard_magic_nets_121411
According to this article, PDX's asking price was four picks. An unprotected first and a couple seconds might do it, which I would be very happy with. Adding Crash would probably put us in the 10-20 range for picks, and he's definitely a better value than what we would get there- although I get the feeling they might ask for JT or some youth to sweeten the deal.
According to this article, PDX's asking price was four picks. An unprotected first and a couple seconds might do it, which I would be very happy with. Adding Crash would probably put us in the 10-20 range for picks, and he's definitely a better value than what we would get there- although I get the feeling they might ask for JT or some youth to sweeten the deal.
