On the contrary, there could be times when Brown puts Keon, Duarte and Davion on the floor and pressure/press the opposing team to jumpstart a rally.
Potential Free agent/trade/sign tracker
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
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Ozymandias
All-Star
PG - Fox, Mitchell, Monk
SG - Huerter, Monk, Duarte/Murray/Jones,
SF - Murray/Barnes, Huerter/Jones, Duarte/Edwards
PF - Barnes/Murray, Vezenkov, Lyles, Edwards
C - Sabonis, Lyles/Noel, Len
Gonna assume Queta is gone. So thats just 14 contracts plus Slawson and Ellis make up 2 of our 3 two-ways..
So unless I'm missing something we do still have wiggle room to snatch up talent for cheap with..
SG - Huerter, Monk, Duarte/Murray/Jones,
SF - Murray/Barnes, Huerter/Jones, Duarte/Edwards
PF - Barnes/Murray, Vezenkov, Lyles, Edwards
C - Sabonis, Lyles/Noel, Len
Gonna assume Queta is gone. So thats just 14 contracts plus Slawson and Ellis make up 2 of our 3 two-ways..
So unless I'm missing something we do still have wiggle room to snatch up talent for cheap with..
Ozymandias
All-Star
IDK i think its fair to ask if thats overkill.. Thats also a very short PG-SG-SF for NBA standards every team we face would tower over that trio.
This kid who stole the show in Wembanyama's big SL debut I think might be a better fit for 'jumpstarting a rally' cuz he's instant offense, really good shooter, I think he's clutch since his days at Montverde and its not really a one or the other situation Ellis is here on a two-way, we can always convert him, thats settled, the other roster spots arent. I dont see the onus to instantly put him on the senior roster for cheerleading duty.
Devoe should honestly be looking for a better opportunity than we can provide him on the Kings, but thats why I say he'd be mega value for that 3rd string PG spot, cuz he really should be looking for anywhere he can get the most minutes, which cant possibly be here.
If Monk gets injured I'd sure wish we had this player as some form of cheap insurance.. I dont want to do the dellavedova 3rd string type of PG again, I want fresh blood, we can hide them with how our SG's really have exceptional combo guard skills.
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Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
WELCOME BACK TO BASKETBALL HELL https://t.co/L97ckUIS0m pic.twitter.com/vTtpyo37fH
— Professor OAK 🇵🇸 (@o_a_khan) July 20, 2023
Why would this guy want a 37-year-old completely done Rudy Gay back? Is he like one fork short of a dinner setting and he's hoping that the one sticking out of Rudy's back matches?
There was like a half dozen "come home Rudy" posts on twitter, 1) why would we want him and 2) he seemed eager to get out.
There's a spot for him on my 2k myteam roster but not on the Kings.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I think Ellis could be the most interesting story heading into camp. It might not be out of the picture that he earns a major role in camp.
Ozymandias
All-Star
and which position would this major role be at, point guard? shooting guard? both/combo?
do you think like, Ellis has an outright chance to beat Duarte for his job/minutes?
cuz I've gotten 2 responses to that post now and neither one really addresses my point, which is -- not only does Davion Mitchell overlap into what we'd want from Ellis, but now so does Duarte. And I mean, we have freaking De'Aaron Fox as our starting PG, Malik Monk comes off the bench here, so redundancy is worth bringing up, is there really even "major role" minutes up for grabs at camp? that doesnt seem in line with our roster moves...
its not like we're in a dire need of guys who can guard and press and attack the passing lanes, we have a handful already. and again Ellis is signed to a two-way so there's not really any impetus to rush him to the big team, when he needs to work on his ball handling n combo skills running the show for the g-league..
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SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Possibly what Edwards' role was late in the year and KZ's early on. That person Brown puts in when defense is necessary. Then from there who knows. Maybe he eats into any of Monk, Davion, and Huerters minutes. I do think that could be possible with an exceptional training camp because his skills appear to be there on both ends.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
I know I'm being a bit harsh, but if Velvet isn't shooting the ball well I'm not sure what else he brings to the table.
If he for whatever reason starts out next season as he ended last season, I'd quickly start handing over some of his minutes to Ellis and/or Davion. At the very least the KINGS would get excellent defensive effort.
He brings play making and hustle. Velvet was still effective on the court when he wasn't shooting well. And an off velvet was more effective than and off Monk who didnt playmake well if his rhythm was off. Huerter would still rebound, cut and make plays.
HndsmCelt
Hall of Famer
Yep. the thing with Kevin is that his shooting was just so insane it was all people saw when he was hitting everything in sight and all they were looking for when his numbers fell to earth. While hardly a lockdown defender he worked, and made guys take harder shots. When Sabonis was not in vacuuming up every loose ball Velvet held his own on the boards and made the smart play way more often than not. The problem is not that he is a one-trick pony, it's that few people notice anything except the one trick.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
I disagree. Huerter isn’t a good defender either. While Monk’s is no stalwart, he seemingly makes more plays on that end of the floor including the occasional highlight reel block.
Also, while you’re right that Monk can get into trouble playmaking, he is far better at it (especially PnR with Domas) than Huerter and simply can bring more to the table on both ends when his shot isn’t falling.
Circling back to offense, Monk has shown the ability to score in a multitude of ways that Kevin cannot. That's precisely why MM is capable of scoring outburst such as the historic Clippers game last season, as well as many others like it. Kevin rarely ever hits 30 points in a game no matter how hot he is because he can't create his own shot or get to the cup like MM.
Aside from Swipa, one could argue that MM not only makes the most concerted effort to get to the rim but also is the teams most multi-faceted scorer (including 3's that Domas doesn't usually take). So even when his perimeter shot isn't falling, he can still take it to the hoop.
Kevin might be the better player off the ball wrt to movement and cutting, but it doesn't result in more scoring than Malik produces on other ways. Yes, I know Huerter averaged more points last season, but he also plays starters minutes and takes more shots.
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I mean, I dont hate him, but his playoff shooting percentages were basically half of his average(I didn't look it up). Same thing happened at the 3pt contest, he looked like he didn't even belong there. Thats the definition of shrinking under pressure if you ask me.
I don't disparage his skills, but if you're a "shooter" all season and then that completely disappears in the playoffs, yeah people will notice that and talk about it.
I don't disparage his skills, but if you're a "shooter" all season and then that completely disappears in the playoffs, yeah people will notice that and talk about it.
I won't make excuses for his play in the postseason. The Warriors disrupted the DHO action and Huerter was often not able to counter. And he shot poorly. Across the board, his numbers for the playoffs are awful compared to his regular season numbers - both just counting stats and advanced metrics.
But for the 3 point contest, I think it was pretty clear that he's just not comfortable shooting from a rack. It's a different motion and its understandable that a guy that doesn't practice shooting that way would struggle.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
The overall issue is that Brown is forced to kind of cherry pick between differently flawed players to some degree. Huerter is the SG as of now for sure, and this is that stage where either things stabilize as a unit at SG or Monte starts looking to fill a hole with an exact need and condense. Monte did pretty well on contract size and length keeping his core 8 guys together, now comes the reality where it's either enough or it isn't. Huerter, Monk, and Davion is probably going to be too pricey for depth, which is mostly what it is, starting after next season. We'll have to see I guess. What we heard is that Monte had a deal on the table for Beal so that could be an indication he's acutely aware of the potential value issues and needs at SG long term.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
It's the same thing with Barnes though. And while it's certainly overly inflated, just like how fans typically overrate youth early on then tend to reverse course into the negative at some point when that potential flattens out a bit, this team looks to be flawed in some ways and at some point if it doesn't correct itself discussions about value and performance will come into the picture anyway. The reality is if the Beal offer was true it's almost a certainty that Huerter was somehow involved if from nothing more than a way to equal out salaries. Same with Barnes. Barnes either signs for cheap to make that trade eventually work or he's gone too. Monte clearly isn't just going to make a move to make one, but as he kind of pointed to in his comments, he did look and will continue to do so. The interesting thing and the true test of Monte as a GM is going to be if the Kings are somewhat overtaken in the standings by teams behind 3 last year next year.
Yeah the Huerter disrespect is crazy. Not only is his DHO action with Domas like one of the most elite 2-man pairings in basketball, his gravity on the floor opens up so much for Fox and Domas to do their work. Is one of the most efficient players in the league, Doesn't turn the ball over, is an underrated playmaker from the off-guard slot.
The Huerter failure in the playoffs is just as much on Brown as it is him and Domas imo. We just didn't have a counter to using him effectively when the Warriors blew that set up.
The Huerter failure in the playoffs is just as much on Brown as it is him and Domas imo. We just didn't have a counter to using him effectively when the Warriors blew that set up.
OPrime
G-League
Huerter also had his worst career shooting months towards the end of the season in February which seems to be a lasting impression for a lot of fans. I didn’t follow him closely enough to see if he had month long hot and cold spells in Atlanta. I feel confident he’ll be just fine for next season
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Hmmm. The same thing could be said of Harrison Barnes, no? Except HB is far less deserving of the disrespect.
WRT Huerter, you’re forgetting the 2nd half of the season, or at least the last couple months of the season. It wasn’t just the postseason against GSW. He‘d dropped off well before that. Be real.
Kevin was out of this world early in the season and IIRC up to December and maybe even early January. But sometime after that, the dude was inconsistent and went through some really poor stretches.
His struggles continuing into and through the postseason just made it worse.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Despite his 2nd half struggles, I was fully expecting Huerter to step up and turn things around come postseason. I mean, he showed the ability to step up in that situation a few years back with ATL, so I felt confident. But it just never happened.
As I stated before, if his struggles hadn’t started well earlier, I’d be less critical.
And as I’ve also stated before, I’m in no way writing him off. I believe he can bounce back next season. But until I see it, I’m gonna remain somewhat skeptical. Trust me, I’m not rooting for him to fail. There’s not one player on the team I dislike or have bias against. I like them all. Hopefully Velvet starts playing as he did early last season. The KINGS need him to.
I’m just being honest in saying that I don’t see him bringing a lot to the table when he’s not hitting jumpers.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Again, it wasn’t just the postseason. He tailed off most the 2nd half of the season. Very inconsistent.
If you guys are going to defend Huerter, at least acknowledge more than the postseason performance. It’s coming across as if some of you have short memories or missed a lot of the games the 2nd half.
Furthermore, it’s not “disrespect” to acknowledge his subpar play. Perhaps you’re referring to others I have on ignore? Cause I haven’t seen disrespect directed at Kevin Huerter (like we often see toward Harrson Barnes).
Speaking for myself, I’ve been critical of his 2nd half of the season performance, along with his poor postseason. And I’ve stated that if he’s not hitting shots or a threat to hit shots, he‘s not bringing much else to the table. He’s not a good defender and doesn’t get to the rim such as Malik Monk or even create in the PnR like Monk.
That’s just an honest assessment. Not a plea to trade the kid away or bench him. I do believe he can bounce back.
But if he struggles into next season, I’ll officially become worried.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
He was literally better post all star break
21 games
26.4 MPG
16 PPG
3.4 RPG
2.7 RPG
42.8% from 3
64.1% TS
21.9% USG
Pre all star:
50 games
30.4 MPG
14.9 PPG
3.4 RPG
2.9 APG
39.2% from 3
60.4% TS
19.4% USG
macadocious
Starter
You gotta love eye test vs. actual stats. lol
Wow, he essentially put up the same stats on better efficiency with 4 less minutes per game .
macadocious
Starter
I thought the whole he didn't show up in the playoffs was a bunch of nonsense, personally. He had one really good game and one decent game. Yes he underperformed, but it's such a small sample and it was the first time that unit was going through that together against a historically really good team defensive team. If it happens again this year (assuming he's not traded) then maybe we look at it.
I think you are misinterpretting my post. Its not to say that Monk isnt a better playmaker, its to say when they arent shooting well, Huerter continues to be effective as both a playmaker and scorer. Monk offensively passes, shoots or gets to the cup (with the ball in his hand). If he is shooting well, all the other facets mentioned become elite. When he doesnt shoot well, he also stops driving to the basket and his assists fall off. Huerter continues to rebound, make cuts, and and score on at the basket and midrange on those actions. Malik (for as much as I love him) doesnt. Huerter also continues to rebound and is capable of pulling 4-6 rebounds. So while I think Malik can be a more elite offensive player, Huerter has more consistency to his game. Huerter wont get you 30 points if he is hot, but he will still get you 12 points when he is not. Malik could get you 40pts when hot but he may only get you 5 when he is not. Both are really important for this team, though due to the pressure he puts on second units, Malik may be more valuable for us, that said, this was in reference to people asking what Velvet brings when he isnt shooting well, this is what he brings (passing, rebounding, mid-range and cuts). He stays active even when not shooting well.
White_Chocolate
Starter
Stats baby!
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