[Game] Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies, 12/31/23, 5 PM PST/8 PM EST

[iowamcnabb]

if this is the case, it makes me wonder why go through all they did to bring him over and sign him to three years? perhaps he will have more of a role after one full NBA season, who's to say. Injuries do happen too so he will stay ready I'm sure but from a psychological point of view, this is a tough transition to go through for him.

I’m guessing Monte saw it as a low risk proposition. Can’t have too many high iq sharp shooters and his deal is only guaranteed for 2 years at about half the cost of a mid level player. He’s a good player and I really hope he gets a chance with us

 

[iowamcnabb]

 

[kingsboi]

I’m guessing Monte saw it as a low risk proposition. Can’t have too many high iq sharp shooters and his deal is only guaranteed for 2 years at about half the cost of a mid level player. He’s a good player and I really hope he gets a chance with us

I suppose patience will be required. Look at Davion's situation. Regular rotation minutes before Brown and then all of a sudden, DNPs and Ellis takes his minutes for a couple of weeks before Davion showing that he should of never been out of the rotation to begin with, especially when you use a lottery pick on him.

 

[The_Jamal]

Yes, the rotation is tough, I would hate if he's traded as a filler. Brown hasn't allowed him to show his full potential yet.

Just the way the rotation cookie crumbles right now. As we were constructed, it was always going to be very very tough to earn your way past our top 8 (Starters+Davion/Monk/Lyles) after the year they just had. Davion faltered to a point where he was just unplayable, which gave Keon an opportunity to step into his role for a bit. Now that might be shifting back with Davion having 2 solid B-B games.

And while Sasha has been good, he hasn't been overwhelming to the point where he would push Trey/HB/Keegan to less minutes. And there's just less pie to go around with Monk and Keegan getting pushed for more minutes this year as well. The easy solution was to just put Trey at the 5 and Sasha at the 4 to get everyone on the floor, but Brown just doesn't seem like he'll ever fully commit to that strategy. Len, to be fair, has been great since coming back from injury too, so it's hard to say he doesn't deserve those 12ish back-up C minutes either.

So where do you put him? Whose minutes get cut to get him on the floor?

 

[The_Jamal]

I suppose patience will be required. Look at Davion's situation. Regular rotation minutes before Brown and then all of a sudden, DNPs and Ellis takes his minutes for a couple of weeks before Davion showing that he should of never been out of the rotation to begin with, especially when you use a lottery pick on him.

Did you watch Davion play at the beginning of the season? The numbers AND the eye test pretty clearly showed he was one of the worst players in the NBA getting regular rotation minutes. He was unplayable.

He's finding a little groove here the last few games. Not dribbling the air out of the ball on offense and just making decisive reads on offense. Which, with his quickness, has had a ton of success getting open looks for a shooter (that kick-out to Keegan tonight stood out) or the transition lob to the Monk dunk.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Just the way the rotation cookie crumbles right now. As we were constructed, it was always going to be very very tough to earn your way past our top 8 (Starters+Davion/Monk/Lyles) after the year they just had. Davion faltered to a point where he was just unplayable, which gave Keon an opportunity to step into his role for a bit. Now that might be shifting back with Davion having 2 solid B-B games.

And while Sasha has been good, he hasn't been overwhelming to the point where he would push Trey/HB/Keegan to less minutes. And there's just less pie to go around with Monk and Keegan getting pushed for more minutes this year as well. The easy solution was to just put Trey at the 5 and Sasha at the 4 to get everyone on the floor, but Brown just doesn't seem like he'll ever fully commit to that strategy. Len, to be fair, has been great since coming back from injury too, so it's hard to say he doesn't deserve those 12ish back-up C minutes either.

So where do you put him? Whose minutes get cut to get him on the floor?

I think Sasha’s best role would be as a 5th starter as a low usage 3 point assassin who grabs 6-7 boards a game and occasionally cuts to the hoop for an easy one. The problem is we need (ideally) plus defenders at both the 4 and 2. I also think he could be great in Lyles role and minutes but unless Trey gets packaged in a deal that’s not something we will see much. The downside is having more depth is guys that are good enough to play don’t see the minutes they should.

 

[ick300]

Will you be celebrating with some banitsa?

Ouchhh surely man , it is not a celebration without a banitsa involved )

 

[The_Jamal]

I think Sasha’s best role would be as a 5th starter as a low usage 3 point assassin who grabs 6-7 boards a game and occasionally cuts to the hoop for an easy one. The problem is we need (ideally) plus defenders at both the 4 and 2. I also think he could be great doing in Lyles role and minutes but unless Trey gets packaged in a deal that’s not something we will see much. The downside is having more depth is guys that are good enough to play don’t see the minutes they should.

Yeah HB/Lyles/Sasha are all sort of the same thing offensively with slightly different niche focuses. Small-ball 4 spacers that can get real hot, real quick and spike for a huge offensive game. Sasha is the best shooter/off-ball player. Lyles has the most length/best defender and rebounder. HB is the most well-rounded and the best ability to be an offensive hub to create outside of the offensive system. With Keegan pretty much locking in 32+ MPG and some small-ball type stuff going on with Huerter/Monk/Duarte, there's just not a ton of room for all 3 of these guys to get minutes on a consistent basis. Duarte has the shine right now, while Sasha had it for a good chunk of the season. And again, he was good, but he wasn't overwhelming to the point where you just had to lock him in to 20+ MPG. Too many stinkers with the excellent games.

But Brown has shown you can play your way back into the rotation. Davion seems to be doing just that after being sent to the shadow realm for Keon. Same with Duarte. Sasha will just have to seize his opportunity when it comes back up.

 

[ick300]

We as Kings fans are loosing Vezenkov at the moment …. I follow this guys career for already 5/6 years straight and such soulless 3.30 minutes as I saw yesterday I had never ever seen so far by him …
Did you noticed he didn’t wait for the time to run out? With 7/8 seconds left he just turned around and walked to the bench ….
It’s obvious , at least for me, at that point that there is some issue between him and coach brawn … and I think the breaking point is what Coach promised him while trying to recruit and what happens in reality…
About the minutes there were at least 4,5 cases yesterday where Coach has the chance put him instead of someone else but he did not ….
Even more , he replaced Fs (Murray , Barnes ) with G (Monk) at several times yesterday …

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

A KINGS win means just ONE thing, Kings Fam Bam...

#BeamTheMuthaEffingLight

JUST.
MUTHA.
EFFING.
BEAM.
THAT.
ISH.

 

[ick300]

P.S. guys I really don’t see what Duarte is bringing to the team … He is in situation to fight with Huerter (who I really dislike) for minutes , but I just can’t see what he is bringing more the team …
His shooting is really bad … In a night where the opinion is he played well , he is 33.33% shooting … can’t imagine what will be in bad night ….
His defence is also not something amazing , he is a bit more active then Huerter but make much more fouls …
What is the matter with him ? He also had a good season last year and we hope he will find it this as well ??

 

[kingsboi]

Did you watch Davion play at the beginning of the season? The numbers AND the eye test pretty clearly showed he was one of the worst players in the NBA getting regular rotation minutes. He was unplayable.

He's finding a little groove here the last few games. Not dribbling the air out of the ball on offense and just making decisive reads on offense. Which, with his quickness, has had a ton of success getting open looks for a shooter (that kick-out to Keegan tonight stood out) or the transition lob to the Monk dunk.

I think you let a player go through the growing pains but then again I'm not a NBA head coach so I won't question the approach Mike took here. Maybe it was his way of settling Davion down and pointing out what he wants from him on a consistent basis. Play to your players strengths, don't ask him to be a distributor, that's not what he is. Defense and attacking the paint is his forte, use it to your advantage.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I think the Kings have plans for Keon Ellis, will sign him to a regular contract... and I would bet they are trying to move Mitchell

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

I think the Kings have plans for Keon Ellis, will sign him to a regular contract... and I would bet they are trying to move Mitchell

Davion can be a great player on the right team. I could honestly see him starting for a rebuilding team, and possibly sticking in that starting lineup. I could see him actually thriving under Pop on the Spurs.

 

[sono]

Just the way the rotation cookie crumbles right now. As we were constructed, it was always going to be very very tough to earn your way past our top 8 (Starters+Davion/Monk/Lyles) after the year they just had. Davion faltered to a point where he was just unplayable, which gave Keon an opportunity to step into his role for a bit. Now that might be shifting back with Davion having 2 solid B-B games.

And while Sasha has been good, he hasn't been overwhelming to the point where he would push Trey/HB/Keegan to less minutes. And there's just less pie to go around with Monk and Keegan getting pushed for more minutes this year as well. The easy solution was to just put Trey at the 5 and Sasha at the 4 to get everyone on the floor, but Brown just doesn't seem like he'll ever fully commit to that strategy. Len, to be fair, has been great since coming back from injury too, so it's hard to say he doesn't deserve those 12ish back-up C minutes either.

So where do you put him? Whose minutes get cut to get him on the floor?

Fair point. My worry is Sasha is not a typical rookie, he must have had high expectations coming over. I think his priority is to prove the doubters wrong, he is a winner, and money is secondary to him. He doesn't have the luxury of waiting a year or two to get meaningful minutes. There are many suitors to lure and give him more floor time if he becomes disgruntled/unmotivated here.

 

[GWD]

I'm sure you all remember the incident when Brown quickly pulled Shasha from the floor a few games back. Shasha openly reacted negatively. After that, Shasha was benched with DNP-CD for a while as punishment, I suspect. And now he is relegated to garbage-time for humiliation.

 

[ick300]

I'm sure you all remember the incident when Brown quickly pulled Shasha from the floor a few games back. Shasha openly reacted negatively. After that, Shasha was benched with DNP-CD for a while as punishment, I suspect. And now he is relegated to garbage-time for humiliation.

There is a problem between them two in my opinion that is obvious , but I also think the problem is also separated between them both , cause the one promises too much and sweetie things , the other is angry maybe also with himself from choosing bench time , in front of 30 min per game ….
For someone who money aren’t the most important thing (and difference 3mln euro and 6 mln dollars isn’t THAT big) not playing is the biggest possible punishment …
And Sasha already had a period in Barcelona where he wasn’t given a chance to prove and I suppose the fear of same happening in NBA is growing into anger against Coach …
Which by the way never ever ends with something positive for the player ….

 

[upinsmoke]

Davion can be a great player on the right team. I could honestly see him starting for a rebuilding team, and possibly sticking in that starting lineup. I could see him actually thriving under Pop on the Spurs.

We should not give up on Mitchell he's got room to grow still.

 

[Makaveli]

We should not give up on Mitchell he's got room to grow still.

When he does what he is best at it’s not a problem. Last night he attacked the rim. That was his strong suit in college. He wants so bad to be a 3pt shoooter and it’s affected his offense.

 

[jiimbob]

I sure have enjoyed watching Trey the last couple games. If he can keep these type of performances up I can relax about potential trades.
Happy New Years. I’m normally watching box scores this time of year in Australia, but spending this year in the States with the NBA league pass so actually watching games.

 

[Caccia]

Fair point. My worry is Sasha is not a typical rookie, he must have had high expectations coming over. I think his priority is to prove the doubters wrong, he is a winner, and money is secondary to him. He doesn't have the luxury of waiting a year or two to get meaningful minutes. There are many suitors to lure and give him more floor time if he becomes disgruntled/unmotivated here.

Vezenkov is being wasted here, and he knows it. He may already, via his agent, have asked for a trade. As you say, there are a lot of teams that could use him. The problem for the front office is not so much the return, but the concern for what will happen if one of the starters like Barnes, Murray, or Huerter gets injured. Or if Huerter or Barnes were traded. Then, all of a sudden, you need the guy and his sharp-shooting and cutting skills, plus good boxing out and rebounding. He pulls in significantly more rebounds per 36 minutes (7.2) than either Murray (5.9) or Huerter (5.2). Barnes' rebounding has fallen dramatically, to 3.7 per 36 minutes, from 4.9 last year, which in itself was rather poor for a forward.

 

[reptilexcq2]

P.S. guys I really don’t see what Duarte is bringing to the team … He is in situation to fight with Huerter (who I really dislike) for minutes , but I just can’t see what he is bringing more the team …
His shooting is really bad … In a night where the opinion is he played well , he is 33.33% shooting … can’t imagine what will be in bad night ….
His defence is also not something amazing , he is a bit more active then Huerter but make much more fouls …
What is the matter with him ? He also had a good season last year and we hope he will find it this as well ??

Are you kidding...he brings grit...some length and at least some toughness in which Huerter wish he was born with. Sure, Duarte is not an automatic shooter but I rather have him than a struggling streak shooter like Huerter out there. When Huerter couldn't make shots...it's a double trouble for the Kings because they can not afford to have him out there since his defense is weak which put a lot of pressure on the team. I have never seen the Kings play such great defense since last night against Grizzlies.

 

[Sac.Kings]

I don’t think there is a problem between Sasha and Brown. Brown has given other players looks for 5-10 games to evaluate them and naturally when you increase minutes for one player, those minutes have to come from somewhere. We know what Sasha can do and so it’s time to see what someone else can do.

Another factor to consider is that now is the time to showcase some players and that they can still play (see Davion) as the trade season starts to reach a climax. I fully expect more Davion moving forward and less Ellis for this reason. Barnes and Huerter are also solid trade chips we have and therefore they will continue to get minutes as well. There’s only so much that the coach can do. I do expect that after whatever trades we end up doing, Ellis and Sasha end up back in the rotation. Just have to remain patient until then.

 

[sactowndog]

Right now the team doesn’t fit.

We have too many stretch 4’s who can’t defend quicker players and not enough time for them all. We don’t have an ideal 2 guard with the size to defend but are overloaded with 6’3” and under guards. That 6’5” - 6’8” quick and long wing is a huge hole we try to keep papering over with varying degrees of success depending on whom we are playing.

 

[reptilexcq2]

We as Kings fans are loosing Vezenkov at the moment …. I follow this guys career for already 5/6 years straight and such soulless 3.30 minutes as I saw yesterday I had never ever seen so far by him …
Did you noticed he didn’t wait for the time to run out? With 7/8 seconds left he just turned around and walked to the bench ….
It’s obvious , at least for me, at that point that there is some issue between him and coach brawn … and I think the breaking point is what Coach promised him while trying to recruit and what happens in reality…
About the minutes there were at least 4,5 cases yesterday where Coach has the chance put him instead of someone else but he did not ….
Even more , he replaced Fs (Murray , Barnes ) with G (Monk) at several times yesterday …

If there is one area that I wish Sasha improve or add to his game is attacking the basket absorbing contact and drawing foul. But he doesn't do that..he doesn't seem to be that kind of player. Defensively, he's still lacking. If Brown doesn't play you...so be it...Brown know what he's seeing on the floor and why the Kings couldn't stop the other team from scoring. Last night against the Grizzlies, I have never seen the Kings play such excellent defense all around ever! The rotation is on point and the guys he put on the floor seems to be more effective. So...Brown is doing the right thing. There's no time to babysit someone for chemistry sake...either you perform or you don't when you get the opportunity because it is all about winning.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Timing is everything

 

[ick300]

Timing is everything

That is like universe rule for every sport that exist

 

[ick300]

If there is one area that I wish Sasha improve or add to his game is attacking the basket absorbing contact and drawing foul. But he doesn't do that..he doesn't seem to be that kind of player. Defensively, he's still lacking. If Brown doesn't play you...so be it...Brown know what he's seeing on the floor and why the Kings couldn't stop the other team from scoring. Last night against the Grizzlies, I have never seen the Kings play such excellent defense all around ever! The rotation is on point and the guys he put on the floor seems to be more effective. So...Brown is doing the right thing. There's no time to babysit someone for chemistry sake...either you perform or you don't when you get the opportunity because it is all about winning.

Drawing fouls have never been his thing honestly … in Europe he was finding the free spots so well that defenders we most of the cases late to catch with him ….
Maybe that is something he didn’t work on enough …
It looks like he is a bit week one on one in both D and A , while he isn’t “small”
But all in all that is something he has to work on if he will be successful at nba surely ….

 

[ick300]

Are you kidding...he brings grit...some length and at least some toughness in which Huerter wish he was born with. Sure, Duarte is not an automatic shooter but I rather have him than a struggling streak shooter like Huerter out there. When Huerter couldn't make shots...it's a double trouble for the Kings because they can not afford to have him out there since his defense is weak which put a lot of pressure on the team. I have never seen the Kings play such great defense since last night against Grizzlies.

Well if I have to choose anyone and Huerter I will choose anyone ….
But still I don’t see such big impact from Duarte ,,,
Maybe I need more to watch more minutes with him

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

We should not give up on Mitchell he's got room to grow still.

It may not be an issue of giving up on him, so much as that there is not enough room for him, if they have decided that they want to sign Keon Ellis to a regular contract once the trade deadline passes