Passing Thoughts

#1
Here are a few...

1. While the ESPN coverage for the most part was solid, I cant help but think the Keegan/Kings coverage was lacking. There were interviews of picks 1,2,3 and 5. The more Ivey cried the more they continued to talk him up and put him on camera. They missed a great story line with Keegan if they cared to look. How far he has come from a non-recruit to a lottery pick was an angle that would have played well. Hard work, etc.

2. Love the Keegan pick. Going into the draft I was 50/50 Murray/Ivey. After reading the article about Keegan in The Ringer I became all in on Keegan. Keegan is actually a lefty. The only thing he does right handed is shoots. You can see the extensive use of his left hand with creative shots near the basket. There were examples in the article demonstrating the drive he has to succeed. In practices he tried to out-rebound Garza, no easy feat. Keegan needs to work on creating his own shot. If/when that happens...watch out.

3. The lottery. Go back 7-10 years and look at players that were taken in the lottery. Someone can do an official accounting, but I would guess that approximately half of them never see their second contract. There is so much that goes into success in the NBA beyond running and jumping. Give me IQ and hard work over running and jumping. While there is never certainty in sports I will say this with near certainty. Keegan will get his second contract. He will probably also make all star teams (but I say that with less certainty).

4. I was listening to NBA radio on Sirius radio yesterday. One NBA analyst, when discussing Ivey, had his reservations. His major complaint about Ivey is that he apparently only goes right. I haven't checked that with video research, but it was an interesting observation. I also heard an interview with Dwayne Casey who was obviously talking up his draft picks (Ivey/Duren). Of interest, he said that if the Kings took Ivey the Pistons would have taken Keegan.

Monte had no trade down that would have allowed him to still get Keegan. In fact, several teams were looking to trade up to 4 to take Keegan, not Ivey.

5. Looney/Porter/Payton. This is one where we have to trust Brown. He has to bring in one (or more) of these players to be the conduit between the coaches and the players. Someone who knows Coach Browns ways of doing things and can impart them onto the young players. I would imagine Iguodola had such a role with the Warriors last year.

That's all for now.
 
#2
Here are a few...

1. While the ESPN coverage for the most part was solid, I cant help but think the Keegan/Kings coverage was lacking. There were interviews of picks 1,2,3 and 5. The more Ivey cried the more they continued to talk him up and put him on camera. They missed a great story line with Keegan if they cared to look. How far he has come from a non-recruit to a lottery pick was an angle that would have played well. Hard work, etc.

2. Love the Keegan pick. Going into the draft I was 50/50 Murray/Ivey. After reading the article about Keegan in The Ringer I became all in on Keegan. Keegan is actually a lefty. The only thing he does right handed is shoots. You can see the extensive use of his left hand with creative shots near the basket. There were examples in the article demonstrating the drive he has to succeed. In practices he tried to out-rebound Garza, no easy feat. Keegan needs to work on creating his own shot. If/when that happens...watch out.

3. The lottery. Go back 7-10 years and look at players that were taken in the lottery. Someone can do an official accounting, but I would guess that approximately half of them never see their second contract. There is so much that goes into success in the NBA beyond running and jumping. Give me IQ and hard work over running and jumping. While there is never certainty in sports I will say this with near certainty. Keegan will get his second contract. He will probably also make all star teams (but I say that with less certainty).

4. I was listening to NBA radio on Sirius radio yesterday. One NBA analyst, when discussing Ivey, had his reservations. His major complaint about Ivey is that he apparently only goes right. I haven't checked that with video research, but it was an interesting observation. I also heard an interview with Dwayne Casey who was obviously talking up his draft picks (Ivey/Duren). Of interest, he said that if the Kings took Ivey the Pistons would have taken Keegan.

Monte had no trade down that would have allowed him to still get Keegan. In fact, several teams were looking to trade up to 4 to take Keegan, not Ivey.

5. Looney/Porter/Payton. This is one where we have to trust Brown. He has to bring in one (or more) of these players to be the conduit between the coaches and the players. Someone who knows Coach Browns ways of doing things and can impart them onto the young players. I would imagine Iguodola had such a role with the Warriors last year.

That's all for now.
I watched the Deuce & Mo plus the DLO and KC shows yesterday. Also watched some CD and Ross, but turned it off after 30 mins (CNBC was way more interesting and I kinda got tired of their attempt to be balanced, but still mostly rooting for the Kings schtick--though CD did make a good point about Sac pressuring the Kings soon if parking revs don't improve).

D&M had Bobby Marks on and he said ESPN had prepped extensively for the Kings to pick Ivy. So when they picked Murray instead, they were kind of blind sided. Hence the lacking coverage.

DLO and KC had a number of guests on their show--from D&M to Ham. Pretty much everyone was disappointed in how Monte conducted the draft--especially the second round pick. Ham made a good point about how they kinda fell in love with Murray and shut down the process, which pretty much showed their hand. Selling #37 was near criminal when you realize that unlike other teams, the Kings don't have any kids in their development system--SAS drafts Primo and sends him to the G-League for development, the dubs send their lotto picks to Santa Cruz. The Kings? They don't have anyone younger than 21 in their development pipeline. You just don't give up cost controlled opportunities to acquire high end talent. Period. Getting Ellis was nice, but reading that as a bandaid just distorts the very real problem that as a small market team, you absolutely have to excel at acquiring talent in cost efficient ways.

Also, the rumor that the Kings were trying to trade back into the first was real. The target? The local guys think it was Tari Eason. That would've been a nice get.

And, yea, instead of using the middle manager nickname for Monte, the common way of describing him is "passive". Everyone, as of today, thinks this team is destined for another lottery next year. Monte and Fox's career (as a King) are riding on this upcoming first half of the season.
 
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#3
I watched the Deuce & Mo plus the DLO and KC shows yesterday. Also watched some CD and Ross, but turned it off after 30 mins (CNBC was way more interesting and I kinda got tired of their attempt to be balanced, but still mostly rooting for the Kings schtick--though CD did make a good point about Sac pressuring the Kings soon if parking revs don't improve).

D&M had Bobby Marks on and he said ESPN had prepped extensively for the Kings to pick Ivy. So when they picked Murray instead, they were kind of blind sided. Hence the lacking coverage.

DLO and KC had a number of guests on their show--from D&M to Ham. Pretty much everyone was disappointed in how Monte conducted the draft--especially the second round pick. Ham made a good point about how they kinda fell in love with Murray and shut down the process, which pretty much showed their hand. Selling #37 was near criminal when you realize that unlike other teams, the Kings don't have any kids in their development system--SAS drafts Primo and sends him to the G-League for development, the dubs send their lotto picks to Santa Cruz. The Kings? They don't have anyone younger than 21 in their development pipeline. You just don't give up cost controlled opportunities to acquire high end talent. Period. Getting Ellis was nice, but reading that as a bandaid just distorts the very real problem that as a small market team, you absolutely have to excel at acquiring talent in cost efficient ways.

Also, the rumor that the Kings were trying to trade back into the first was real. The target? The local guys think it was Tari Eason. That would've been a nice get.

And, yea, instead of using the middle manager nickname for Monte, the common way of describing him is "passive". Everyone, as of today, thinks this team is destined for another lottery next year. Monte and Fox's career (as a King) are riding on this upcoming first half of the season.
Tari Eason went 17th. I thought they were trying to get back in in the 20s?
 
#7
I watched the Deuce & Mo plus the DLO and KC shows yesterday. Also watched some CD and Ross, but turned it off after 30 mins (CNBC was way more interesting and I kinda got tired of their attempt to be balanced, but still mostly rooting for the Kings schtick--though CD did make a good point about Sac pressuring the Kings soon if parking revs don't improve).

D&M had Bobby Marks on and he said ESPN had prepped extensively for the Kings to pick Ivy. So when they picked Murray instead, they were kind of blind sided. Hence the lacking coverage.

DLO and KC had a number of guests on their show--from D&M to Ham. Pretty much everyone was disappointed in how Monte conducted the draft--especially the second round pick. Ham made a good point about how they kinda fell in love with Murray and shut down the process, which pretty much showed their hand. Selling #37 was near criminal when you realize that unlike other teams, the Kings don't have any kids in their development system--SAS drafts Primo and sends him to the G-League for development, the dubs send their lotto picks to Santa Cruz. The Kings? They don't have anyone younger than 21 in their development pipeline. You just don't give up cost controlled opportunities to acquire high end talent. Period. Getting Ellis was nice, but reading that as a bandaid just distorts the very real problem that as a small market team, you absolutely have to excel at acquiring talent in cost efficient ways.

Also, the rumor that the Kings were trying to trade back into the first was real. The target? The local guys think it was Tari Eason. That would've been a nice get.

And, yea, instead of using the middle manager nickname for Monte, the common way of describing him is "passive". Everyone, as of today, thinks this team is destined for another lottery next year. Monte and Fox's career (as a King) are riding on this upcoming first half of the season.
Well if there was any year to be high in the lottery it would be next year. Right now we have the 4th worst odds of winning a title. Really good draft next year with the next Durant headlining it.

if the Kings aren’t clearly 6th or better after a month or so they need to sell their guys for picks and look to the draft.