Next Scapegoat?
- Thread starter SLAB
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whozit
Starter
How can Vivek be a scapegoat? He is the one constant since the Maloofs. He is making them look good despite their efforts to sabatoge the team in order to move.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Vivek, for sure. It's already starting. We know there has been blips of behind the scenes talk of minority owners trying to get him to relinquish power almost from day 1. This whole organization has been built on pure toxicity from the moment the Maloofs handed over the goods with their own **** smeared all over it.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
And that is it pretty much in a nutshell. Even if he he's not to blame, the hammer usually drops full force to the owner at some point. The sad thing is he's always just missing the mark. He tried in the right way at the start with Bird, then since then has been on a ride that will make you seasick. Never quite upending the boat but darn close.
https://www.si.com/si-wire/2013/06/05/larry-bird-kings-president
Hey, Vivek, you've made a bundle on your teams equity, time to look at shelling out a bit of it. It might just pay off quicker than you think.
Kingz19
Hall of Famer
Interims are rarely turned into scapegoats but it’s still relatively early in the season..but chances of Gentry going beyond this season are slim even if the Kings start playing better. So, who’s really going to be calling for his head to install another lame duck in what may soon be a lost season?
I think Fox will eventually go back to where he was atleast last season. Which is good enough not to have people complain about him or blame him…but enough for the new contingent of fans who want him dealt for Simmons to declare that now is the time to make the trade when his value is high.
Which leads to my pick for scapegoat….I’m going to say Monte because I don’t think any huge trades will happen this season..or if they do, they won’t bring the return we hope. Because as bad as the Kings look right now, they aren’t going to sink. It’s going to be like every other season where they’ll play winning basketball when it’s too late to start. That’s not going to be good for Monte.
I think Fox will eventually go back to where he was atleast last season. Which is good enough not to have people complain about him or blame him…but enough for the new contingent of fans who want him dealt for Simmons to declare that now is the time to make the trade when his value is high.
Which leads to my pick for scapegoat….I’m going to say Monte because I don’t think any huge trades will happen this season..or if they do, they won’t bring the return we hope. Because as bad as the Kings look right now, they aren’t going to sink. It’s going to be like every other season where they’ll play winning basketball when it’s too late to start. That’s not going to be good for Monte.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Yeah, but I doubt Vivek is making any actual calls on the sidelines, on rotations, and/or GM moves. He's the problem in the sense that he gets caught up with people that can snow him and suck at their jobs. Which is the overriding problem but in terms of moves, not his. haha. In a way the buck stops there with Vivek as it does with any owner, but in relation to dissectible moves he's nowhere in the conversation outside of maybe "Nik ROCKS!". But we don't know for sure he wasn't convinced of that either. And if subsequent moves are any factor the only move close to that was Buddy and in the end that was one of the few non-fails of Kings decisions.
kb02
All-Star
Voted Luke still. If Fox plays well, Gentry and Fox will get the credit. If he continues to suck, folks will just blame Luke for messing him up. Ditto for the rest of the team. Though, I hope Monte realizes that this windows where Vivek gives you a get out of jail free card is small. Fortune favors the bold. Trade Fox, Buddy, and Bagley now.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
As Gunks said with Vivek, Luke isn't a scapegoat by definition. He literally did mess up Fox by misusing him. The question now is whether Gentry just keeps things the same or changes the system on both ends. If not, then maybe having a different voice can help, but if not, then they are doing the typical waste of time they've done for 15 years as an organization.
I voted for other because I think it will be "all of the above" - just depends on which poster.
kb02
All-Star
Nah, Fox messed Fox up. Fox and his agent/trainer decided to put on weight, but failed to work on the counters and contortions that are necessary to thrive with added muscle and less speed.
Plus, Luke didn’t tell Fox how to forget to shoot, do a simple jump stop, pass the ball when he’s going 1 vs 4…
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I've watched Lukes system the last two years. Fox is in a major funk but those plays he got last year were gone to start this year as Walton ran more and more side pick and roll with Fox off the ball. Just like two years ago. Suprise, suprise, in the month of November Fox's numbers looked darn close to those in the bubble season.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I don't know, things got pretty rough for Tyrone Corbin. If I were a GM fooling my way through the league, the last place I'd go is Sac. Fans have seen it all. You can't trick us Kings fans which bandaids and bright lights. We can send it back with a pretty precise description of why an idiot move is an idiot move, haha.
kb02
All-Star
Fox has regressed this year. That is 100% on Fox. Stars adjust. Ordinary rotation players do not.
And even if Fox returned to his old numbers, I would still trade him, as I wanted to do over the summer. His numbers won’t fix his inefficiencies and the fact that he just doesn’t play winning ball.
My vote is Gentry but I guess we'll see if he radically changes things. I don't like bringing one of the lead assistants because I assume they were somewhat complicit in Luke being Luke. Otherwise this would have happened quicker? ? ? Right???
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
So, him playing off the ball as a SG, where he's always looked less than is on him? In what way?
Geoff
Starter
You can't take a player on a team like the Kings with all the drama going on and say "he just doesn't play winning ball."
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Any player that shoots 20 something percent from 3 is going to have a hard time playing off the ball. Let’s give Fox a bit more time to get in a rhythm before we cast him to the wolves. He has to shoot better or he is not going to be a player that takes us anywhere. You could say that about most guards/wings though.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Exactly, any player that comes to the Kings isn't going to play "winning ball" as long as they are jumping head first into a dumpster fire.
kb02
All-Star
Winning ball = making free throws at a league average pace for a pg, playing defense, not being a black hole on offense the majority of the time, controlling pace, scoring efficiently at three levels…you know, the things that a max player does for his team.
Haliburton plays winning ball. Put the ball in Hali’s hands and the Kings win more.
sactowndog
All-Star
Vivek is the cause he isn’t the scapegoat.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
That's true but the NBA can. Vivek better realize that's pretty much how he got his team to begin with. And I'm sure we are all grateful for that of course. That said, as long as owning a team is a huge money maker (it used to be considered a money losing status symbol) there will always be another billionaire higher up on the totem pole interested in taking it off your hands.
sactowndog
All-Star
Do you think the board could all chip in on a prostitute to trap him. /joking
kb02
All-Star
Excluding the impacts of a black swan event (Covid), the Kings have nailed their off the court goals.
Kingz19
Hall of Famer
that’s true, but I think the circumstances were different than now when expectations are pretty much dead and people agree with Walton being fired.
It was rough for Corbin because Malone was actually a very popular coach who was let go after a strong start that was only derailed by Boogie getting sick. Remember Pete had to pretty much hold a town hall over letting Malone go. It’s a tough spot being the fill in for a guy nobody wanted gone in the first place.
Kings were only a game or two under .500 when Malone was let go and it completely fell apart under Corbin. The fans were still in a position of expecting results when Boogie got healthy.
Also, George Karl had immediately made his interest in the position known so we had little patience for a lame duck coach when a proven hall of famer is openly waiting for an offer.
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