Huerter likely starting when cleared

[ShastaKingsFan]

Yeah I've been echoing this same sentiment since the end of last season.

Teams would have no issue doubling Fox, DeMar, and Sabonis in order to leave an unproven Keon wide open from 3pt all day. He's a 3&D guy, who's too passive of a shooter.

If we still had HB, I'd be all aboard the starting Keon train, but we have DeRozan who's almost a non-factor from 3pt. We have to roll our dice on Kevin and hope he can return back to form like his first season with us.

I think they would have beat the Warriors in that 7 game series, if they had the recent version of Keon playing in place of Huerter, who is of little value when his shot is not falling. Keon's defense is a constant and of even bigger value in a playoff series

 

[206Fan]

I think they would have beat the Warriors in that 7 game series, if they had the recent version of Keon playing in place of Huerter, who is of little value when his shot is not falling. Keon's defense is a constant and of even bigger value in a playoff series

Eh, I dislike Huerter as much as the next guy, but we don't even get to the playoffs without Huerter.

This recent version of Keon played 28mins in a single-elmination game against the Pelicans and gave us 0pts 0rebs 1ast 2blks and 4 personal fouls.... with a team high -20.

 

[PorchSurfin]

I can't wait to watch Huerter get destroyed by Booker when we all know Ellis would have shut that crap down. Good job Mike.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Eh, I dislike Huerter as much as the next guy, but we don't even get to the playoffs without Huerter.

This recent version of Keon played 28mins in a single-elmination game against the Pelicans and gave us 0pts 0rebs 1ast 2blks and 4 personal fouls.... with a team high -20.

What did he do against the Warriors to get help get them to that game? Some of the best defense we've seen against Curry

 

[reptilexcq2]

Giving out we struggle to get a win in the pre-season (YES, we did try!), a change up with Huerter starting might be a good thing. This give Sabonis more options. Him and Huerter dho is unguardable.

 

[King Baller]

Lets wait and see the minutes distribution and also who closes out the 4th quarter.

 

[Caccia]

Well that’s probably the most disappointing move of the offseason.

I'm with you there. The only silver lining is what SacTownKid wrote: "The starting 5 man unit beats all." That is, if they can do the same while integrating DeMar DeRozan.

 

[ockingsfan]

Brown has chosen the teams identity and that is to go “Super Nova Offense” like we had the prior year. Considering we got the #3 seed and Indiana got to the ECF with a juggernaut offense and suspect defense, this may be the Kings best chance to make a run to the playoffs.

It doesn't necessarily give us the best chance to win a championship, but it may give us our best chance to get a high seed and into at least the 2nd round.

 

[NewArena]

I don’t hate it. This decision was probably further cemented by our shooting woes during the preseason. Given that 3/5 starters operate in mid range or down low, I can understand having 2 threats from deep out on the floor with them.

This.

 

[Jc121]

With Huerter in the starting 5 that’s a lot of offensive firepower And I have always liked that ideal. Yeah teams began to figure out how to cog up the DHO offense to some degree and I felt that adding DDR would expose that opponent defensive strategy and help to punish it.
If Huerter and Murray get more open looks like we are hoping then we will be hard to stop.

now with McDermott, Monk, Ellis and hopefully Carter we can quickly plug any deficiencies that arises from either a starter being off or a match up problem Plus we have a deep bench if healthy.

I am one of those people that believe you force your opponent to try to adapt and react to what you are throwing at them.
We need to not only try to keep our starters from slow starts and at the end have a winning team on the floor.

 

[BenchMob]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849169742805758147

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849179057658659218

 

[The_Jamal]

That's good, but in my opinion this group has a higher ceiling with Keon over Huerter against contending teams and in a playoff series. But there again, I believe there's a good chance they are trying to build up Huerter's value for a trade. He's been announced as available since before the last dead-line

I don't disagree, I love Keons upside. But this forum hard turned on Huerter last year and the reality is he was still an effective player, especially with the starting unit. He wasn't nearly as good as he was 2 years ago, but the Kings 5 man data on Huerter simply just proves that even if he statistically wasn't the same, he was still having a positive impact by just being on the floor.

I do think Brown is making the call here to be all-in on us being a top 5 offense. Fox/Domas/DDR collapsing the paint and finding Keegan and Huerter to launch open C&S threes. That'll be the "simplistic" game plan of our offense.

 

[NewArena]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849169742805758147

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849179057658659218

Omg I’m so ready

 

[SLAB]

Omg I’m so ready

I like it so when we lose 4 of the first 5 it’s because we’re still integrating our new injury guys!

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I don't disagree, I love Keons upside. But this forum hard turned on Huerter last year and the reality is he was still an effective player, especially with the starting unit. He wasn't nearly as good as he was 2 years ago, but the Kings 5 man data on Huerter simply just proves that even if he statistically wasn't the same, he was still having a positive impact by just being on the floor.

I do think Brown is making the call here to be all-in on us being a top 5 offense. Fox/Domas/DDR collapsing the paint and finding Keegan and Huerter to launch open C&S threes. That'll be the "simplistic" game plan of our offense.

Keon is a good enough shooter, that I don't view what Huerter does on offense as being more valuable overall vs Keon's defense.

We'll have to see who plays more, but I see this as a "showcasing" move more than anything

 

[Jones2006]

They just have to get more creative and be way more intentional with subs now ... Other teams star guards sometimes sub at 6 min mark, sometimes play the whole quarter for example - for those that sub at 6 min mark, would not maximize Ellis' skill to sub him in then ... But you can't alter YOUR OWN substitution pattern based off the opposing team, so by default it's gonna lead to less optimal combos in my opinion. So Huerter or Fox will guard Curry, Ja, Brunson, etc to start games? That's more pressure on Fox to start game and also to avoid foul trouble ... It just causes more problems in my opinion not having a legit 1-2-3 defender in the starting lineup (ideally not your best player Fox too since you don't want him running around too much).

Side note - Mavs kind of running similar thing you can say w/ Luka-Kyrie-Thompson but I'm consistent - I'm not a fan of that trio for similar reasons. I like a good mix of offense/defense in ALL lineup combos. Kings bench becomes too defensive-oriented now.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849232864748900419

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

They just have to get more creative and be way more intentional with subs now ... Other teams star guards sometimes sub at 6 min mark, sometimes play the whole quarter for example - for those that sub at 6 min mark, would not maximize Ellis' skill to sub him in then ... But you can't alter YOUR OWN substitution pattern based off the opposing team, so by default it's gonna lead to less optimal combos in my opinion. So Huerter or Fox will guard Curry, Ja, Brunson, etc to start games? That's more pressure on Fox to start game and also to avoid foul trouble ... It just causes more problems in my opinion not having a legit 1-2-3 defender in the starting lineup (ideally not your best player Fox too since you don't want him running around too much).

Side note - Mavs kind of running similar thing you can say w/ Luka-Kyrie-Thompson but I'm consistent - I'm not a fan of that trio for similar reasons. I like a good mix of offense/defense in ALL lineup combos. Kings bench becomes too defensive-oriented now.

I guess we just have to hope that while they're showcasing Huerter for a trade, that they don't fall too far behind and get stuck in that play-in territory again

 

[NewArena]

I like it so when we lose 4 of the first 5 it’s because we’re still integrating our new injury guys!

Shows how much you know. Everyone's still tired from the preseason game in India!

 

[twslam07]

Well that’s a very controversial decision…Brown’s going to be hearing it from fans if this doesn’t workout.

I really wonder if this is one of those “showcase your asset so he doesn’t lose trade value” scenarios. It seemed to be no big secret that Huerter’s name was thrown around in trade talks, and you’d have to imagine that Mike Brown was aware of this and perhaps on board or consulted by Monte about that decision. But now that Huerter wasn’t traded, Brown is of the mindset that he will be the starter? Seems odd.

Starting Huerter would/could do two things…

1. Increase Huerter’s trade value at the deadline or during the offseason if he has a bounce back year
2. Keep the cost of keeping Ellis long term down. We can decline Ellis’ $2.3 mil option next season which would then make him a RFA during the 2025 off-season. If he comes off the bench this year, perhaps we’d be able to sign him to a 3-4 year at a minimal amount (vs. if he was a 3&D starter on a good playoff team)

 

[Sluggah]

Who should start going forward aside, isn‘t it a bit unorthodox to start someone their first game back after a major injury? Feels odd.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

[

Well that’s a very controversial decision…Brown’s going to be hearing it from fans if this doesn’t workout.

I really wonder if this is one of those “showcase your asset so he doesn’t lose trade value” scenarios. It seemed to be no big secret that Huerter’s name was thrown around in trade talks, and you’d have to imagine that Mike Brown was aware of this and perhaps on board or consulted by Monte about that decision. But now that Huerter wasn’t traded, Brown is of the mindset that he will be the starter? Seems odd.

Starting Huerter would/could do two things…

1. Increase Huerter’s trade value at the deadline or during the offseason if he has a bounce back year
2. Keep the cost of keeping Ellis long term down. We can decline Ellis’ $2.3 mil option next season which would then make him a RFA during the 2025 off-season. If he comes off the bench this year, perhaps we’d be able to sign him to a 3-4 year at a minimal amount (vs. if he was a 3&D starter on a good playoff team)

He also tends to stick with these kinds of decisions for a lengthy period of time. If the balance isn't effective enough with Huerter, lets hope he doesn't wait ~30 games, before going back to Keon with the starters.

I won't be surprised if he does though, because they don't want to "demote" Huerter while trying to build up his trade value

 

[Caccia]

Who should start going forward aside, isn‘t it a bit unorthodox to start someone their first game back after a major injury? Feels odd.

I have to agree. Huerter had one five-on-five scrimmage and now he is primed to face Anthony Edwards?

 

[PorchSurfin]

I like it so when we lose 4 of the first 5 it’s because we’re still integrating our new injury guys!

At least we can always blame you for the negative energy.

 

[NewArena]

I have to agree. Huerter had one five-on-five scrimmage and now he is primed to face Anthony Edwards?

James ham said Keegan Murray will guard Ant

 

[The_Jamal]

Keon is a good enough shooter, that I don't view what Huerter does on offense as being more valuable overall vs Keon's defense.

We'll have to see who plays more, but I see this as a "showcasing" move more than anything

Def not showcasing. I wouldn't say Brown and Monte are on the hot seat this season, at all, but if we turn in another disappointing year? If we get bounced in the play-in again? Eh... I'd think they'd get one more year to show they can turn it around and would probably get fired if they couldn't show improvement in 2 more seasons. Basically, I don't think they have time to potentially cost us wins (if they actually thought Keon was better as a starter) over Huerter just to showcase some of his value.

I wouldn't be surprised if Keon plays more and closes and Huerter fills that 24ish MPG role he was in last season. What this indicates to me is we're prioritizing maximum spacing next to Fox/Domas/DDR and keeping the 2man DHO of Huerter/Domas connected as much as possible. And I think if Huerter is actually healthy now, he's got a chance to return to his form from 2 years ago, which is just a vastly superior player to who Keon is right now.

Again, I say all this as someone who absolutely would start Keon and believes in his potential as a all-nba defensive caliber player. Just trying to think through the rational here and it still works from a basketball sense.

 

[funkykingston]

James ham said Keegan Murray will guard Ant

So DeRozan on Randle?

The Wolves are one of several teams that expose the Kings lack of size.

 

[The_Jamal]

So DeRozan on Randle?

The Wolves are one of several teams that expose the Kings lack of size.

On the flip side, Randle has to guard too. That seems like a matchup we force him off the floor with.

And speaking of upside, Wolves can't hide Conley on Huerter or Keegan if they want to switch McDaniels on Fox. I expect McDaniels on Fox, Ant takes Keegan, which leaves Conley on Huerter. Expect a heavy dose of DHO, get Gobert away from the rim and hopefully a lot of open Huerter looks shooting over a smaller Conley

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Def not showcasing. I wouldn't say Brown and Monte are on the hot seat this season, at all, but if we turn in another disappointing year? If we get bounced in the play-in again? Eh... I'd think they'd get one more year to show they can turn it around and would probably get fired if they couldn't show improvement in 2 more seasons. Basically, I don't think they have time to potentially cost us wins (if they actually thought Keon was better as a starter) over Huerter just to showcase some of his value.

I wouldn't be surprised if Keon plays more and closes and Huerter fills that 24ish MPG role he was in last season. What this indicates to me is we're prioritizing maximum spacing next to Fox/Domas/DDR and keeping the 2man DHO of Huerter/Domas connected as much as possible. And I think if Huerter is actually healthy now, he's got a chance to return to his form from 2 years ago, which is just a vastly superior player to who Keon is right now.

Again, I say all this as someone who absolutely would start Keon and believes in his potential as a all-nba defensive caliber player. Just trying to think through the rational here and it still works from a basketball sense.

Sounds like you've really talked yourself into this. Do you think that they no longer want to trade Huerter, after they made it known that he was available before the last dead-line? Or, they do want to to move him for the right deal, but are not trying to showcase him?

 

[The_Jamal]

Sounds like you've really talked yourself into this. Do you think that they no longer want to trade Huerter, after they made it known that he was available before the last dead-line? Or, they do want to to move him for the right deal, but are not trying to showcase him?

I didn't say that did I? I think Huerter is still a good player that's very valuable and ultimately Brown thinks him starting gives us the best chance to win. I sincerely doubt that Monte and Brown would potentially sacrifice wins if they thought Keon was the better option to start. They have a leash job wise, but it would certainly be trending in the wrong direction if we have a disappointing season.

I also think that when you bring in a DDR type and ship out a C&S threat like HB, then your remaining shooters become that much more valuable. Keegan, Huerter, Monk, Lyles, Keon all need to have good-great shooting years if we want to be a top 5 offense. DDR creating open shots doesn't really mean a whole lot if the guys he kicks to bricks them.