My take on the Kings--new member

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

Hey guys, I'm a new member here and have been a Kings fan since the day I knew what basketball was. Coincidentally, I am Serbian and grew up watching here in Cali two of the best Serbian basketball players to have played the game [Stojakovic still deserves his jersey to be retired ]
The best part of my childhood was going to those Kings games and playoff games with my dad and watching "The Greatest Show on Court"
Man oh man that was the team and in my opinion the greatest collective team play the nba has ever seen. Fast-forward to present day: We have had recent top draft pics and maybe who turned out to be flops for us such as the selfish T. Evans, Robinson, and so on. Conversely, we gained a franchise player in Demarcus Cousins. D-Mac as I like to call him has immense potential. I'm really glad Shaq came to Sac because he can really help to shape him into a champion. There is no doubt about that. D-Mac possess' all the skills to be a hall of famer and the best big man Kings have seen since Vlade and Webber. We also acquired Ben this season in the draft and he's very very raw but I think we can use him in the future.
Here's my opinion about the future of this team and moves I would have done or would be doing:
Lots of talk going on with trading IT for Rondo. I wouldn't ever do this. As a medical student, I know what a long-term sports injury can do to a player. They injure one body part and then in order to not put so much pressure on that healing area, they put pressure on other parts of their body. When this happens, a chain reaction of injuries commences. Best example is Kobe Bryant. If he wasn't such a warrior, he would have ended his career a while ago. I think IT is blossoming into the next Bibby. He is extremely fluid, fast and a great passer. He's become a great team leader and that's what we need from a point guard. We all know Webber was the leader of the golden kings team on the court but Peja, Vlade and Mike were just as much of leaders. That's what we need. Egos need to be set aside. This brings up my next side: I don't like the Rudy Gay trade. Why? Because now we have to deal with the possibility of not being a top 5 draft team in one of the most stacked drafts the NBA has seen. If the Kings can still get Embiid somehow, then we have a team finally. Otherwise, we're stuck. Rudy Gay will for sure get us 10+ more wins this season

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

Kings need a real center. We a shot blocker in the paint. D-Mac does not play defense well in the post and he is often lazy. We need a hustler. Somehow who will makeup for the loss of D-Mac's defensive presence at times. Embiid is the guy we are looking for. IT is our playmaker. d-Mac needs to shed some weight and work on his midrange jumper and he'll make the perfect PF. Rudy Gay should be sold for some impact bench players as well a future draft pick and cap space. D-Will needs to take his place. He's going to be a legend for us. He meshes well with the team. Ben Mac needs to keep at it. I think he will be an important player in our franchise because we need that shooter. A pure shooter like Stojakovic was to spread the floor and open up other players. That's why Kings were so good those years, huge presence from Peja because teams could never leave him open so double teaming Webber was not going to work, thus our players had space.

 

[VF21]

Welcome to Kingsfans.com - always good to see another Kings fan join our merry group (and we're not all guys, BTW).

You made a lot of good points. I will disagree with one of them - I don't think the Rudy Gay trade was a bad idea. We've been discussing the potentials for the 2014 draft in a LOT of threads here, though, so I'm not going to revisit it here. I think there was a need for the front office to make a splash and they did so. The one thing I know for sure is that this team is fun to watch again, and that's been missing for far too long!

When Peja and Vlade were on the team, we had a lot of Serbian members. I actually learned a few Serbian phrases. My favorite has always been:

NAPRED KRALJEVI!!

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

Always nice to see an American speaking Serbian

I think the 2014 draft will indicate whether we will have a good season next year or not.
Another player I wouldn't mind drafting is Exum. If we can trade Thornton, Thompson and Ferdette for a good PF, I wouldn't mind drafting a guy like Exum who can play the 1-2 position considering his height.

As for Rudy Gay, I think he's a great player and he brings incredible athletisim which contributes to great individual defense that he possess' but I also think that he will often times
I also believe that Webber was the reason why we never won an NBA Championship. Flashback 2014: Kings are have the best season ever and are completely dominating the league. Webber comes back from injury for the post-season and takes Brad Miller to the bench. The team chemistry that they built for the season was ruined and we easily got dismantled in the playoffs. After that, Kings realized they messed up and sold webber and decided to make Stojakovic their star player who was ranked #4 in MVP voting for the 2004 season. After that though, the team chemistry fell apart. The Maloofs ruined the franchise.
Now, we have better owners and we are making the right moves. I'm just not sure about Rudy Gay yet. He took 20 shots yesterday. Sure, he made 10 but will he always make 10? I'm sure Cousins will not be too happy if Gay goes on a poor shooting stretch and is still taking 20 shots a game

 

[The Hammer]

Hey guys, I'm a new member here and have been a Kings fan since the day I knew what basketball was. Coincidentally, I am Serbian and grew up watching here in Cali two of the best Serbian basketball players to have played the game [Stojakovic still deserves his jersey to be retired ]
The best part of my childhood was going to those Kings games and playoff games with my dad and watching "The Greatest Show on Court"
Man oh man that was the team and in my opinion the greatest collective team play the nba has ever seen. Fast-forward to present day: We have had recent top draft pics and maybe who turned out to be flops for us such as the selfish T. Evans, Robinson, and so on. Conversely, we gained a franchise player in Demarcus Cousins. D-Mac as I like to call him has immense potential. I'm really glad Shaq came to Sac because he can really help to shape him into a champion. There is no doubt about that. D-Mac possess' all the skills to be a hall of famer and the best big man Kings have seen since Vlade and Webber. We also acquired Ben this season in the draft and he's very very raw but I think we can use him in the future.
Here's my opinion about the future of this team and moves I would have done or would be doing:
Lots of talk going on with trading IT for Rondo. I wouldn't ever do this. As a medical student, I know what a long-term sports injury can do to a player. They injure one body part and then in order to not put so much pressure on that healing area, they put pressure on other parts of their body. When this happens, a chain reaction of injuries commences. Best example is Kobe Bryant. If he wasn't such a warrior, he would have ended his career a while ago. I think IT is blossoming into the next Bibby. He is extremely fluid, fast and a great passer. He's become a great team leader and that's what we need from a point guard. We all know Webber was the leader of the golden kings team on the court but Peja, Vlade and Mike were just as much of leaders. That's what we need. Egos need to be set aside. This brings up my next side: I don't like the Rudy Gay trade. Why? Because now we have to deal with the possibility of not being a top 5 draft team in one of the most stacked drafts the NBA has seen. If the Kings can still get Embiid somehow, then we have a team finally. Otherwise, we're stuck. Rudy Gay will for sure get us 10+ more wins this season

Nice take and welcome to the board. But you don't pass on Rudy gay for what we gave up just to shoot for a possibly higher draft position, no matter the draft. You take the talent and figure it out later. We can always try to package Thornton and/or JT with our pick to move up some.

 

[Glenn]

Nice take and welcome to the board. But you don't pass on Rudy gay for what we gave up just to shoot for a possibly higher draft position, no matter the draft. You take the talent and figure it out later. We can always try to package Thornton and/or JT with our pick to move up some.

Yes, and I'm a draft believer. The best deal is to keep Rudy, not lose our 1st round pick, and end up with Cauley-Stein or Vonleh. Cauley-Stein should be available unless we REALLY get better which I doubt. We are one tweaked ankle (IT's) away from disaster.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... I also believe that Webber was the reason why we never won an NBA Championship. Flashback 2014: Kings are have the best season ever and are completely dominating the league. Webber comes back from injury for the post-season and takes Brad Miller to the bench. The team chemistry that they built for the season was ruined and we easily got dismantled in the playoffs. After that, Kings realized they messed up and sold webber and decided to make Stojakovic their star player who was ranked #4 in MVP voting for the 2004 season...

I'm somewhat surprised to see that some people still believe this canard, but not as surprised by whom still believes it, I guess. Best-case scenario for that team, without Webber, is that they somehow hold onto the Number One seed, and get smoked by either the Spurs or the lakers in the second round.

 

[Chubbs]

Yes, and I'm a draft believer. The best deal is to keep Rudy, not lose our 1st round pick, and end up with Cauley-Stein or Vonleh. Cauley-Stein should be available unless we REALLY get better which I doubt. We are one tweaked ankle (IT's) away from disaster.

It almost happened last game..

 

[Dime Dropper]

I disagree very strongly with a couple of your points, but welcome to the board! Always nice to have another new, enthusiastic member.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

@SacKings2002NBAChampions Halo, kako si. NAPRIJED Kraljevi. There are some other Serbs and Bosnians here.

 

[origkds]

@SacKings2002NBAChampions Halo, kako si. NAPRIJED Kraljevi. There are some other Serbs and Bosnians here.

I'm in the Serb club too but I'm afraid I'm not very good at it. I was a fan long before Vlade and Peja so my ethnicity had nothing to do with my original attraction to this team. My last name is the same as a popular NBA coach (no relation, at least that I know of). I can't remember where I learned it or why but the only thing I know how to say in Serbian is "eat my shorts".

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Always nice to see an American speaking Serbian

I think the 2014 draft will indicate whether we will have a good season next year or not.
Another player I wouldn't mind drafting is Exum. If we can trade Thornton, Thompson and Ferdette for a good PF, I wouldn't mind drafting a guy like Exum who can play the 1-2 position considering his height.

As for Rudy Gay, I think he's a great player and he brings incredible athletisim which contributes to great individual defense that he possess' but I also think that he will often times
I also believe that Webber was the reason why we never won an NBA Championship. Flashback 2014: Kings are have the best season ever and are completely dominating the league. Webber comes back from injury for the post-season and takes Brad Miller to the bench. The team chemistry that they built for the season was ruined and we easily got dismantled in the playoffs. After that, Kings realized they messed up and sold webber and decided to make Stojakovic their star player who was ranked #4 in MVP voting for the 2004 season. After that though, the team chemistry fell apart. The Maloofs ruined the franchise.
Now, we have better owners and we are making the right moves. I'm just not sure about Rudy Gay yet. He took 20 shots yesterday. Sure, he made 10 but will he always make 10? I'm sure Cousins will not be too happy if Gay goes on a poor shooting stretch and is still taking 20 shots a game

Chris wasn't a closer. Rudy Gay is proven in that department. It's nearly impossible to go all the way without a true closer, but we almost did it back then

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

So, you guys still like Gay?
He's only going to get more injury prone considering his role and how aggressive he has been in the past with the ball. It's taken a toll on his body.

ShastaKingsFan: Of course we had a closer! His name was Mike Bibby....He did it time and time again. Stojakovic hit many game winners himself...Just not in the playoffs but we had Bibby there.

I still say, trade Gay, open up cap space, give Williams the stat and he will improve with confidence plus he's a timid player and no ego. Ben Mac needs more confidence. He's a shooter and when his shot is not going, he's not going to be high on confidence at all. He needs this season to develop but we can definitely use him in the future to open up space for IT and D-MAC. We need to draft Embiid or another good center and trade Thornton as it's obvious he does't to be on this team any more. Ferdette is useless and needs to be gone. Everyone else is good use for rotation or can be used for trade.

Otherwise, the positives are that we have two star players now in D-MAC and the unlikely IT who almost was overlooked by the NBA tsk....tsk....

Zdravo momci

 

[TyFreak Evans]

Yeah.....well, first of all, welcome to the board! I am sure your time will be spent well on here, as you will quickly come to realize we are a bunch of passionate Kings fans on here (well, at least those of us who post on a regular basis).

I won't get into the specifics, because they have already been outlined in previous responses, but I also disagree with some of the points you have made.

 

[VF21]

So, you guys still like Gay?
He's only going to get more injury prone considering his role and how aggressive he has been in the past with the ball. It's taken a toll on his body.

ShastaKingsFan: Of course we had a closer! His name was Mike Bibby....He did it time and time again. Stojakovic hit many game winners himself...Just not in the playoffs but we had Bibby there.

I still say, trade Gay, open up cap space, give Williams the stat and he will improve with confidence plus he's a timid player and no ego. Ben Mac needs more confidence. He's a shooter and when his shot is not going, he's not going to be high on confidence at all. He needs this season to develop but we can definitely use him in the future to open up space for IT and D-MAC. We need to draft Embiid or another good center and trade Thornton as it's obvious he does't to be on this team any more. Ferdette is useless and needs to be gone. Everyone else is good use for rotation or can be used for trade.

Otherwise, the positives are that we have two star players now in D-MAC and the unlikely IT who almost was overlooked by the NBA tsk....tsk....

Zdravo momci

At this point, I'm going to recommend that you start contributing to various threads/discussions instead of just continuing your own random thread. We've got way too many members to provide for that.

Check out the various forums. You'll find lots of topics under discussion.