[KINGS] Comments that don't warrant their own thread (Redux)
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Really, then explain letting Bogi walk.
I think Monte is far smarter than a lot of people want to give him credit for, and a lot of the reason people are skeptical of him is because they believe only a moron would take the Kings job based on the last few hires. He came here just a few weeks before the draft and seemingly knocked it out of the park. I am sure he has a coach in mind but saw no sense in firing Walton during what in even the best case scenario was likely to be a sub .500 campaign. It allows his guy to look like a home run immediately next year, presuming a large contrast between old and new. He basically gets a free pass for this year because he is just cleaning up the kitchen before cooking the meal.
I think Monte is far smarter than a lot of people want to give him credit for, and a lot of the reason people are skeptical of him is because they believe only a moron would take the Kings job based on the last few hires. He came here just a few weeks before the draft and seemingly knocked it out of the park. I am sure he has a coach in mind but saw no sense in firing Walton during what in even the best case scenario was likely to be a sub .500 campaign. It allows his guy to look like a home run immediately next year, presuming a large contrast between old and new. He basically gets a free pass for this year because he is just cleaning up the kitchen before cooking the meal.
Thanks for the reminder - letting Bogdanovic walk for nothing, potentially while leaking it out to get the Bucks in trouble and risk Giannis not staying in a smaller market team (potentially helping the Warriors in fact in the process), was also dumb and potentially collusive, yes. Anyhoo, Fox is not a max player if Westbrook is not a max player. And more importantly, overpaying Fox early like this is out of fear and "best we can do" mentality. The Walton problem was obvious last year and still, and the Hield move was due last year, not now. But instead, salary protection weak moves that LOOK like spending when, in fact, the centrally conservative logic to the assessments and long term tie-downs are the bigger tell. Not that constant re-dos and hirings and firings are much better. But McNair is the latest "big move" by Vivek that doesn't actually change the on-court at all, not some "new era" of promise and potential. Hearing McNair speak, it's clear he has no power and no clue. He's just a numbers guy.
I'm a big fan of both Fox and Westbrook actually, as super 6th man scorers in the sort of game that works today. Westbrook certainly was a max guy at every point he was extended, Fox is obviously a player more would bet on now given youth and upside/potential for improvement. But for all the clever natural great stuff you get, he's a sort of dumb, ball dominant guy in many ways as well. When the speed wears off, it will really be a mess. That's a long ways off, so for now the point is that the Kings got handcuffed by the player.
Now look.... if Buddy Hield is getting traded soon, this can all be moot and far more manageable. Likewise, if Bagley is going soon. Supposedly Vivek was into the pace and space idea, but the team systems are not at all smart enough for that, nor is this roster (Hield seems like a good guy, but he's a chucker, not a technician like Haliburton- Fox is also reliant on athleticism and improvisation, not a deeper game plan and strategy approach). Vivek's team doesn't actually excel at what he supposedly desires to build. Bagley's an idiot predicated on athleticism, too. I like Holmes' skill set and heart though, but he's not a frontline centerpiece. Barnes is super smart and obviously can thrive in today's smarter game designs (he's a champ because of that, in fact). He's an easy mark as an overpay, too, except for how he's on a shorter deal and still plays smart ball every night.
But all the signals from the team and its apologists say they're not able to get over it and put together an actual plan. McNair is a math nerd nothing burger with no authority whatsoever lol. May as well let Dumars be the public front man at this point. Maybe it's Rico Hines making the moves. Walton and Gentry- does Vivek have anyone's number outside the Warriors rolodex and Silicon Valley squash club gab sessions? The failed retreads up and down this lost organization still, my goodness.
I'm a big fan of both Fox and Westbrook actually, as super 6th man scorers in the sort of game that works today. Westbrook certainly was a max guy at every point he was extended, Fox is obviously a player more would bet on now given youth and upside/potential for improvement. But for all the clever natural great stuff you get, he's a sort of dumb, ball dominant guy in many ways as well. When the speed wears off, it will really be a mess. That's a long ways off, so for now the point is that the Kings got handcuffed by the player.
Now look.... if Buddy Hield is getting traded soon, this can all be moot and far more manageable. Likewise, if Bagley is going soon. Supposedly Vivek was into the pace and space idea, but the team systems are not at all smart enough for that, nor is this roster (Hield seems like a good guy, but he's a chucker, not a technician like Haliburton- Fox is also reliant on athleticism and improvisation, not a deeper game plan and strategy approach). Vivek's team doesn't actually excel at what he supposedly desires to build. Bagley's an idiot predicated on athleticism, too. I like Holmes' skill set and heart though, but he's not a frontline centerpiece. Barnes is super smart and obviously can thrive in today's smarter game designs (he's a champ because of that, in fact). He's an easy mark as an overpay, too, except for how he's on a shorter deal and still plays smart ball every night.
But all the signals from the team and its apologists say they're not able to get over it and put together an actual plan. McNair is a math nerd nothing burger with no authority whatsoever lol. May as well let Dumars be the public front man at this point. Maybe it's Rico Hines making the moves. Walton and Gentry- does Vivek have anyone's number outside the Warriors rolodex and Silicon Valley squash club gab sessions? The failed retreads up and down this lost organization still, my goodness.
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So in your world the Kings leaked the deal ending up with them getting nothing..... and losing an asset for nothing. That makes a whole lot of nonsense.
There are bits and pieces in your post that I can agree with. I have concerns about Vivek but he has the control of the team and until he chooses to sell....... Dumars and what influence he has is another concern..... but that also goes back to Vivek.
McNair? I'm not sure what your beef with him is. At the worst, I would give him an incomplete. Mostly I would give him a passing grade. What that passing grade is partly depends on what is happening behind the scenes and what the "understanding" was when he was hired. I am not privy to that information. What happens at the trade deadline could also be revealing.
I am also not sure if by apologists, you are meaning the local media or fans on this site. If the former, whatever. Don't listen to them if they bother you. If the latter, there are knowledgeable individuals on this board that can hold their own. Some who may support some of your positions and some who will not.
There are bits and pieces in your post that I can agree with. I have concerns about Vivek but he has the control of the team and until he chooses to sell....... Dumars and what influence he has is another concern..... but that also goes back to Vivek.
McNair? I'm not sure what your beef with him is. At the worst, I would give him an incomplete. Mostly I would give him a passing grade. What that passing grade is partly depends on what is happening behind the scenes and what the "understanding" was when he was hired. I am not privy to that information. What happens at the trade deadline could also be revealing.
I am also not sure if by apologists, you are meaning the local media or fans on this site. If the former, whatever. Don't listen to them if they bother you. If the latter, there are knowledgeable individuals on this board that can hold their own. Some who may support some of your positions and some who will not.
That- corporate vetting hire approach- would be a tell for me. It's how the league pitched several team sales, as well. Weirdly, such handling not mentioned in many others. It's a corporate leadership optic thing. Let's hope it's a minor sign that the Vivek tenure could be in trouble, but actually it's even more likely he did this to find yet another finger to point away from him. He was hand-selected by the league BOG to take the Kings and his group was presented a really shady offer-up opportunity. Lots of "handling" in this Kings era. It would be good to sense that there's something else happening and this is not all just placeholder team prop-up stuff (Pelicans are spending a lot to never take the next step, too, but that high prices star power sure gets a lot of media love and marketing support).
Whereas, the Timberwolves' endless atrocity smells much more like organically autonomous terrible team management, as a point of comparison lol. Without checking into it, I'd be shocked if the Timberwolves' constant sale noise has ever involved an outside firm for vetting to date, but look at that: Rosas from the HOU tree as well- was he vetted? Taylor is an old school terrible old boys' club owner lol. At any rate, McNair is a classic analytics-era on-paper guy, so he SHOULD show up in a silly HR-firm approach.
I guess the main reason to be proactively frustrated here is one I insincerely painted over a bit before:
Letting a FA walk is a GREAT power move, if that's your actual plan, and even if DiVicenzo is a super interesting piece. But it's not being presented in a way that could help anyone discern an actual strategy or philosophy from McNair. He's just- ON PAPER- the polar opposite of Divac/Dumars. Nothing else stands out at all. Bogdanovic is the better piece over Hield in a better balanced team and spreadsheet. Bjelica is of interest- minor interest- to contenders because of what he can do in a smarter team play scenario. He's been atrocious for sure this year because 1. The thing is done for him in SAC, his closest team culture connection gone to ATL, and 2. The team's approach is not a good fit for him anyway now. I'm sure his agent wants to get him paid and that helped Vivek close up shop long before McNair even got into town in Fall 2020 (come on folks- he hadn't even moved to SAC at all until, what, New Year's? There's no relationship here).
But my guess: Bjelica's agent talked contract for him, too, didn't get the answer he wanted, and so you then saw his other client on the team, Bogdanovic, taken away from Kings control right away to secure the bag for his guy. ATL isn't a better winning opportunity at all, and that GM is just trying to show up other teams with his FA gets and ride the media darling crap ball Trae Young's FT technique to incremental steps... while letting the talented young big, Collins, go in a wash of bad blood because the actual team culture can't sustain big personalities the way champs have to. But Bogdanovic could definitely get paid. Like McNair landing here, it ws the most lucrative option in a very weird, tough year for professional development and financial decisions.
That all spells only one thing: Vivek's dirty hands and failure to build any actual league relationships off the spreadsheet/outside his fantasy land of coaching his kid's basketball team "that one time." Not to salvage the agent at all here- he's got a bad rep and whatever.
But if it was never going to be possible to roll with Haliburton and DiVicenzo and shift some major scoring focus to a wing and a running big due to the Fox investment, this shines light on all the other roster pieces that go next. Sean Deveney ran a tough piece a couple weeks ago in Forbes on McNair's company man, optimistic hire-date talk and how the cupboard is, in fact, quite bare. Cory Joseph may just be a piece the team is stuck with for the duration. Barnes, too. Bagley could be dumped, but Vivek is too stubborn and McNair can't do anything about it. No idea what you do with Hield now, but any expiring would do at this point. And then there's Walton: lame duck extraordinaire.
Tank. Cut bait. Except no one seems to be making moves in this very weird year, even though the money is all fractional per actual revenue. Luxury tax profits, therefore, will be next-to-nil and teams that count on that share are trying to move guys like crazy from the sound of it.
Whereas, the Timberwolves' endless atrocity smells much more like organically autonomous terrible team management, as a point of comparison lol. Without checking into it, I'd be shocked if the Timberwolves' constant sale noise has ever involved an outside firm for vetting to date, but look at that: Rosas from the HOU tree as well- was he vetted? Taylor is an old school terrible old boys' club owner lol. At any rate, McNair is a classic analytics-era on-paper guy, so he SHOULD show up in a silly HR-firm approach.
I guess the main reason to be proactively frustrated here is one I insincerely painted over a bit before:
Letting a FA walk is a GREAT power move, if that's your actual plan, and even if DiVicenzo is a super interesting piece. But it's not being presented in a way that could help anyone discern an actual strategy or philosophy from McNair. He's just- ON PAPER- the polar opposite of Divac/Dumars. Nothing else stands out at all. Bogdanovic is the better piece over Hield in a better balanced team and spreadsheet. Bjelica is of interest- minor interest- to contenders because of what he can do in a smarter team play scenario. He's been atrocious for sure this year because 1. The thing is done for him in SAC, his closest team culture connection gone to ATL, and 2. The team's approach is not a good fit for him anyway now. I'm sure his agent wants to get him paid and that helped Vivek close up shop long before McNair even got into town in Fall 2020 (come on folks- he hadn't even moved to SAC at all until, what, New Year's? There's no relationship here).
But my guess: Bjelica's agent talked contract for him, too, didn't get the answer he wanted, and so you then saw his other client on the team, Bogdanovic, taken away from Kings control right away to secure the bag for his guy. ATL isn't a better winning opportunity at all, and that GM is just trying to show up other teams with his FA gets and ride the media darling crap ball Trae Young's FT technique to incremental steps... while letting the talented young big, Collins, go in a wash of bad blood because the actual team culture can't sustain big personalities the way champs have to. But Bogdanovic could definitely get paid. Like McNair landing here, it ws the most lucrative option in a very weird, tough year for professional development and financial decisions.
That all spells only one thing: Vivek's dirty hands and failure to build any actual league relationships off the spreadsheet/outside his fantasy land of coaching his kid's basketball team "that one time." Not to salvage the agent at all here- he's got a bad rep and whatever.
But if it was never going to be possible to roll with Haliburton and DiVicenzo and shift some major scoring focus to a wing and a running big due to the Fox investment, this shines light on all the other roster pieces that go next. Sean Deveney ran a tough piece a couple weeks ago in Forbes on McNair's company man, optimistic hire-date talk and how the cupboard is, in fact, quite bare. Cory Joseph may just be a piece the team is stuck with for the duration. Barnes, too. Bagley could be dumped, but Vivek is too stubborn and McNair can't do anything about it. No idea what you do with Hield now, but any expiring would do at this point. And then there's Walton: lame duck extraordinaire.
Tank. Cut bait. Except no one seems to be making moves in this very weird year, even though the money is all fractional per actual revenue. Luxury tax profits, therefore, will be next-to-nil and teams that count on that share are trying to move guys like crazy from the sound of it.
In terms of him keeping the team in Sacramento, he was in the right place at the right time. The underlying story there was the battle between business elites versus political elites but that is old news and no longer relevant in any manner.
Bogdanovic versus Heild? What was the market for Heild? I don't know either. Do know that they had a tentative deal in place but loose lips sunk that ship.
You have conclusions based on speculation. In my conspiracy laced opinion, there is a power "struggle" between advisor Dumars and GM McNair with Dumars in Walton's corner. Hopefully with Walton being allowed to hang himself and Dumars with him solidifying the management team. Reality is probably just giving Walton a chance with finances being the primary motivation.
Bogdanovic versus Heild? What was the market for Heild? I don't know either. Do know that they had a tentative deal in place but loose lips sunk that ship.
You have conclusions based on speculation. In my conspiracy laced opinion, there is a power "struggle" between advisor Dumars and GM McNair with Dumars in Walton's corner. Hopefully with Walton being allowed to hang himself and Dumars with him solidifying the management team. Reality is probably just giving Walton a chance with finances being the primary motivation.
This seems to be devolving into commentary on posters, which is a commonplace in some of these communities, I know.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
This seems to be devolving into commentary on posters, which is a commonplace in some of these communities, I know.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
Can you at least give him one season to implement his vision? We don't know if he is a good GM or not, he has barely had time to do anything.
He impressed me with the draft. I liked his signings (which is to say most were clearly done to get us through a season of little importance where he can make big moves next year). I never expected him to hire a coach out of the gate but no GM would ever take a job with a losing team without the ability to pick a coach so I trust he has a plan. I can't give him a grade because I think his work is only getting started but I am just flabbergasted at some posts. Especially the one about Fox being 6th man material. Maybe in a 20 team NBA where 1 million dollars was a top salary. That was 40 years ago though.
His King's resume so far is
-3 draft picks (he made the obvious choice on Ty but he made it so kudos to him.) Woodard has looked good in G league. I'd say at the very least he gets a B+ for this, higher depending on Woodard and Ramsey
-signed mostly roster filler but Whiteside has been pretty dang good. I'd say a B grade.
-didn't match Bogi. He gets an A for not matching, you could make a case he should have pulled the trigger on the protected first the Hawks offered. I'd give him a C on that. Hawks get an A for their tactic even though Bogi might not work out for them.
He also gets an A for keeping things quiet. We barely know he exists
That's it. until we see how he does with trades and next years draft we don't know what we have in Mcnair.
-3 draft picks (he made the obvious choice on Ty but he made it so kudos to him.) Woodard has looked good in G league. I'd say at the very least he gets a B+ for this, higher depending on Woodard and Ramsey
-signed mostly roster filler but Whiteside has been pretty dang good. I'd say a B grade.
-didn't match Bogi. He gets an A for not matching, you could make a case he should have pulled the trigger on the protected first the Hawks offered. I'd give him a C on that. Hawks get an A for their tactic even though Bogi might not work out for them.
He also gets an A for keeping things quiet. We barely know he exists
That's it. until we see how he does with trades and next years draft we don't know what we have in Mcnair.
I completely understand. And yes, Haliburton is the one true blue piece of excellence on this team, and that seems to be all McNair. Frankly, Metu is another piece I consider very impressive as a sign that McNair is on the right track where he can have influence. The Deveney piece also included Fox as a "yes, sure, that's a good thing." And I like Fox plenty, don't get me wrong. Fox is in the top 15 for "starting PGs" right now, let's say. Maybe give him a cushy top 10 spot based on stats, for sure. It's weird timing to talk some negativity on him after some big time games recently, for sure. All cool. But he's now a guy paid in the top tier elite crowd who is not actually that kind of needle mover overall. Maybe he cracks top 40 in the league? But I don't think so. Got to see the roster actually make more sense, financially and systemwide, before anything very good can be said about anyone making these calls.
This seems to be devolving into commentary on posters, which is a commonplace in some of these communities, I know.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
Look, McNair is a nothing burger- Rosas is worse- but apparently was the right sort of optics hire with which to treadmill indefinitely.
Walton somehow lucked into three cushy high paying California jobs in a row and has very little to show for it overall.
Same guy at the top for all of this, as you know.
The consistent take here is that the league is "handling" team sales, arena development expectations, and more in several clear cases and has ineffective leadership at all of those same spots with the clock running and all the excuses in the world- from various angles, flexible to suit the underlying apologism as needed- baked in already.
Show us the wins. Show us the change. Show us they're not just Washington Generals "entertainment" props. Silver floated some expansion noise and numbers, and it's really clear that the Wolves can't be moved because they won't come in at the right price tag for the collusive shell game being run by the BOG, whose brand is gambling revenue, merchandise sales, and "It's a Business" asset pump and dump games, not the most competitive basketball possible across the entire league.
Walton? After/during the win streak, I said I would lower my "hate." I have nothing to add to that. It is what it is. And I am keeping my disclaimer about him resorting to old habits. Will reevaluate after the trade deadline.
The part of your post about the BOG and league office deserves it's own post in the NBA forum.
Now the part about wins and change, change could prevent wins. Depends if the change is geared for wins in the short term or wins in the long term forsaking the short term. Personally, I am a little grumbly about the playing time of players with no future here when their potential replaments gets none.
In terms of commentary on posters, I liked Blobs posting. He was informative and generally he backed his posts up regardless if you agreed or disagreed with him. His online persona was also very egotistical. My comments were in regards to the online persona of Blob not Blob the individual. There is a difference.
You strike me as another of those posters that pops up claiming to be a Kings fan, and then criticizes everyone in the organization from the owner down to the last player sitting on the bench. I immediately wonder how you can call yourself a Kings fan when you don't seem to like anyone related to the team. There's a name for that, it's called a troll. Don't bother responding to my post, because I'm putting you on my block list. Your post by the way is total nonsense and a lot of it defies logic. Have a nice day!
No need to do it like this, everyone on this tip. The "real fans" debate and troll stuff just says you disagree- cool beans there-- but with a side of "let's get this person in trouble as not belonging." We all belong, if we chose to talk Kangz, that's my take. But I won't carry management's water and won't at all give a pass or a "wait and see" to the latest hyped-up great managerial hope. Either he has the keys or he doesn't, either he is making moves or he's not. Lots already went down around the league, Kings are floating weak Bjelica noise and a Fox All Star campaign.
I pay my money for my Kings following like anyone else- even paid for one of those fan cut outs in the stands lol!
But I get it completely, with regard to this post and the one right above. whozit nailed a key issue: playing time and rotations when the old guard big contracts are getting run and some others are not. That's why the Metu injury timing is so rough. Think he must have been close to getting the run. But the Bagley love looks to be intact. If McNair can't tell Walton what to do, fine- don't mess with the on court too much. But if he would move him along and try some other things now but has been blocked, bad bad bad. The spot I'll float some optimism is that recent games with weird starting lineup changes or playing time suddenly for guys who hadn't been getting as much signals it's coming up on actual trade and decision making time.
So here's a deal: trade deadline is in like 5 weeks right?
That's McNair's timeline. Guys, as with Drummond for example, need to be out of rotation before or by then to show any sense of future planning that builds on actual work with those here for longer term. Reclamation on Hield? No, non-starter. Etc.
I pay my money for my Kings following like anyone else- even paid for one of those fan cut outs in the stands lol!
But I get it completely, with regard to this post and the one right above. whozit nailed a key issue: playing time and rotations when the old guard big contracts are getting run and some others are not. That's why the Metu injury timing is so rough. Think he must have been close to getting the run. But the Bagley love looks to be intact. If McNair can't tell Walton what to do, fine- don't mess with the on court too much. But if he would move him along and try some other things now but has been blocked, bad bad bad. The spot I'll float some optimism is that recent games with weird starting lineup changes or playing time suddenly for guys who hadn't been getting as much signals it's coming up on actual trade and decision making time.
So here's a deal: trade deadline is in like 5 weeks right?
That's McNair's timeline. Guys, as with Drummond for example, need to be out of rotation before or by then to show any sense of future planning that builds on actual work with those here for longer term. Reclamation on Hield? No, non-starter. Etc.
This is what I started thinking on the recent games. That with players being a little nicked up, McNair took the opportunity to see Holmes without Bagley and Bagley without Holmes. Play Jeffries at the 4 with the regular rotation to see if he can slide into that small ball lineup should Barnes get dealt. Showcase CoJo a little. Haliburton not getting the start because he's not being evaluated. I would guess that McNair plans to be busy at the trade deadline. Or at least, ready to pull the trigger if the right deal comes.
I never expected to be a Barnes fan this year, but he's played really well and is clearly a good vet player. Deal always too large, but now shorter. Still, if he can be moved, good to do that and start fresh for all parties. He's a quality guy by all accounts, too, so I'll "speculate" the communication is in good shape to get good fit.