Scott Perry is the new GM of Sacramento Kings

Rule of thumb is never choose a player that high in an NBA draft, whose best attribute is jumping. Take the player with an NBA skill set

Rule of thumb, when your a team that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in nearly two decades and your last true small forward was Ron Artest 10 years prior YOU DRAFT BPA!
 
I didn't say that they don't matter. What I said is that having exceptional length and/or athleticism will not automatically make a player into a good defender, as has often been the assumption in pre-draft talk. For every one of the 5 guys you mentioned there are 100+ current or former players with the exact same size and comparable athletic ability who are/were poor NBA defenders. In the context of this discussion, Marvin Bagley III had the athletic tools and the length but he did not make the most of them and you could see even in college that he had a poor approach to defense.

We've already had this discussion before -- probably multiple times -- so I don't want to get too far into it. To summarize, I used to care a lot about wingspan and standing reach when looking at prospects like you do. Over the years I've slowly become convinced that the measurements are only a small part of the picture. Now I look more closely at how they play defense (are they aggressive or reactionary, do they sit back or crowd ball-handlers, are they effective flying in from the weak side, do they close out under control, etc.) Then I look at what the numbers say about their impact on team defense. And the biggest thing is that I pay a lot of attention to interviews -- how they describe their process and what they choose to focus on. In every one of those areas I gave Marvin Bagley III a failing grade pre-draft.

no one is saying the other stuff doesn’t matter but when you play sports at a high level little things like length matter a lot. The difference that separate good and great are small. Length is one of those differences. It’s not a surprise our two best most versatile defenders are two of our longest players in Keon and Keegan.
 
I canceled my courtside seats after they passed on Luka.

It was another huge gut punch for sure. How the owner didn't realize this, is beyond me. How he according to some, allowed Brandon Williams to come in and be a deciding influence in that massive decision, is also beyond me. It's no surprise that head coach Joerger was beside himself in disgust. These are the kinds of things that a bumbling fool does....and thus the reputation that has been earned
 
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It was another huge gut punch for sure. How the owner didn't realize this, is beyond me. How he according to some, allowed Brandon Williams to come in and be a deciding influence in that massive decision, is also beyond me. It's no surprise that head coach Joerger was beside himself in disgust. These are the kinds of these that a bumbling fool does....and thus the reputation that has been earned

Some people keep criticizing Vivek for meddling and call him a terrible owner because he meddles. Then, when he doesn't meddle and his FO make a massive mistake, he is a terrible owner for not meddling.

Do you want a owner to never meddle and let the FO do their job or do want to have the owner meddle? According to some, good owners should NEVER meddle in the FO decisions.
 
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Some people keep criticizing Vivek for meddling and call him a terrible owner because he meddles. Then, when he doesn't meddle and his FO make a massive mistake, he is a terrible owner for not meddling.

Do you want a owner to never meddle and let the FO do their job or do want to have the owner meddle? According to some, good owners should NEVER meddle in the FO decisions.

Do you really believe that he had nothing to do with that pick? I would have wanted him to have some self awareness and realize that he has no idea when it comes to how to evaluate players and how to develop and build a good team. The idea is hire people who have proven they know how to do that and let them do their job
 
Do you really believe that he had nothing to do with that pick? I would have wanted him to have some self awareness and realize that he has no idea when it comes to how to evaluate players and how to develop and build a good team. The idea is hire people who have proven they know how to do that and let them do their job

IMHO, I think Vivek wanted Luka. I remember he traveled accross seas to meet with Luka and posted a picture with Luka with his "Shaka". Vivek likes flash, and Luka was flashy.

I think if Vivek was meddling in that pick (which I wish he did), Luka would have been a King.
 
And that shows you how damaging a lack of understanding player comps can hurt someone. Make Bagley a pick and roll finishing PF and he's probably had a few seasons racking up 20 and 10.
The predictions I recall for Bagley were that he'd be kind of like a slightly better Shareef Abdur-Rahim, gaudy stats while never being a winning player.

I wanted Luka but also recall plenty of articles about how he would bust after we picked him. Still I remember smashing my fists on the steering wheel while driving to pick up my son during the draft because Bagley to me was probably pick 4 at best out of the "can't miss" top 5 (some of which didn't include Trae!!! let alone any of the guys picked 10 or later who have gone on to be more successful than 6 of the top 9).
 
IMHO, I think Vivek wanted Luka. I remember he traveled accross seas to meet with Luka and posted a picture with Luka with his "Shaka". Vivek likes flash, and Luka was flashy.

I think if Vivek was meddling in that pick (which I wish he did), Luka would have been a King.

So he let Divac talk him out of it and pick Bagley,....then fires him or he "stepped down", and now has him back around as some sort of advisor? If he decided he was going to have no say in that draft, then why travel all the way over there to meet him?

It's ludicrous when you stop and think about it
 
So he let Divac talk him out of it and pick Bagley,....then fires him or he "stepped down", and now has him back around as some sort of advisor? If he decided he was going to have no say in that draft, then why travel all the way over there to meet him?

It's ludicrous when you stop and think about it
He is a team ambassador and reportedly has the same role for the Lakers. I don't think he's advising basketball.
 
So he let Divac talk him out of it and pick Bagley,....then fires him or he "stepped down", and now has him back around as some sort of advisor? If he decided he was going to have no say in that draft, then why travel all the way over there to meet him?

It's ludicrous when you stop and think about it

Ya why would he be this close to vlade if vlade talked him out of a player that’s turning out to be generational
 
I think on 1140 they were just saying that Perry has been talking with Vivek for the last 3 months?

Did I hear that right? I was working with the radio on in the background and may have misinterpreted. Can anyone confirm?
I heard james ham mention that Monte was pretty aware for a while as well. Didn't sound like anything sneaky went on so no drama there for a change
 
I read somewhere they are against a rebuild. Damn guys, I can’t handle this compete for the pay-in every year. Vivek really needs to sell.

Keep saying our only hope is Zion since we won’t tank. If we can get Zion and olynk for Lavine and two firsts then ship Derozan and a pick for Andrew Wiggins we could field a competitive team with hopes of winning a round or two.

Monk/Carter
Ellis
Keegan/Wiggins
Zion
Sabonis/Jonas
 
If we're talking about Zion then we might as well talk about Giannis, who is better and at least plays a full season every year. Will he cost more? Yes. Can we get him? Dunno. More interesting conversation than Zion? Probably.

Zion is a possibility though Giannis isn’t he won’t agree to come here Zion would. If Zion doesn’t play then we get our lottery pick anyways if he plays we have a chance to win a playoff round or two
 
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Because we’re not getting a true franchise player unless he comes with risks we’re not tanking and we don’t have great trade assets.

Please explain to me how someone who has played in no more than 70 regular season games throughout his 5-season NBA career, with 3 of those seasons not even seeing him play in no more than 30 games, and who hasn't even played in a single postseason game, is worth the risk when we can find better, more stable and, most importantly, more healthier options, via free agency and/or the draft???

Also, I think your definition of a "true franchise player" is vastly different than my definition of a "true franchise player" (and possibly others on this board) if you're trying to imply that Zion is a "true franchise player".
 
I would take a chance on Zion despite his history. There are only a handful of people who are unstoppable forces of nature in the NBA, and Zion is one of them. He is also probably one of the only ones that’s attainable due to his injury history.
My thing is, if we’re so insistent on winning now and not doing a rebuild, then let’s just go all in and go for a star guy with some baggage if need be. Zion, Ja, Trae, LaMelo, etc. staying put does nothing, we need to take a swing at some point if this is the route Vivek wants to go.
 
Please explain to me how someone who has played in no more than 70 regular season games throughout his 5-season NBA career, with 3 of those seasons not even seeing him play in no more than 30 games, and who hasn't even played in a single postseason game, is worth the risk when we can find better, more stable and, most importantly, more healthier options, via free agency and/or the draft???

Also, I think your definition of a "true franchise player" is vastly different than my definition of a "true franchise player" (and possibly others on this board) if you're trying to imply that Zion is a "true franchise player".
I get the injury concerns for sure. I will say, New Orleans has a terrible history with injuries, so maybe he would be hurt less often here? Also, there’s the fact that the Pelicans didn’t allow him to play back to backs at all this season. Could be cause for concern or could have been them bolstering their tank efforts in a lost season.
 
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My thing is, if we’re so insistent on winning now and not doing a rebuild, then let’s just go all in and go for a star guy with some baggage if need be. Zion, Ja, Trae, LaMelo, etc. staying put does nothing, we need to take a swing at some point if this is the route Vivek wants to go.
I'm wondering if a mediocre team might be more profitable on a year-to-year basis, getting butts in seats could go from being a nice bonus to being essential for solvency.

As we seem to be entering a post-economy era; it might be smart from a business sense to be more conservative with how the team runs for a few years at least.
 
Please explain to me how someone who has played in no more than 70 regular season games throughout his 5-season NBA career, with 3 of those seasons not even seeing him play in no more than 30 games, and who hasn't even played in a single postseason game, is worth the risk when we can find better, more stable and, most importantly, more healthier options, via free agency and/or the draft???

Also, I think your definition of a "true franchise player" is vastly different than my definition of a "true franchise player" (and possibly others on this board) if you're trying to imply that Zion is a "true franchise player".

He could’ve played 50+ games last year but NO wouldn’t let him and then shut him down to tank. Games played for Zion after his rookie year 61, 29, 70 then 30 this year which should've been closer to 50. What healthier options do you see out there that can get us from the 10th seed to a playoff team? We have zero assets compared to a lot of teams as well.

Zion is a force I don’t need to see him in the playoffs to know a lot of teams will struggle with him. Even if we got a guy like Ja Morant (which would cost Sabonis btw) he’s still a small guard that teams can neutralize. Zion was gonna lead NO to the playoffs in the playoffs in before getting hurt he was the best player on the floor in a game featuring AD/Lebron. We won’t ever get a chance at a player of his talent that’s risk free especially picking at 9-11 like we will for the foreseeable future.

 
He could’ve played 50+ games last year but NO wouldn’t let him and then shut him down to tank. Games played for Zion after his rookie year 61, 29, 70 then 30 this year which should've been closer to 50. What healthier options do you see out there that can get us from the 10th seed to a playoff team? We have zero assets compared to a lot of teams as well.

Zion is a force I don’t need to see him in the playoffs to know a lot of teams will struggle with him. Even if we got a guy like Ja Morant (which would cost Sabonis btw) he’s still a small guard that teams can neutralize. Zion was gonna lead NO to the playoffs in the playoffs in before getting hurt he was the best player on the floor in a game featuring AD/Lebron. We won’t ever get a chance at a player of his talent that’s risk free especially picking at 9-11 like we will for the foreseeable future.

Plus there’s rumored to be outs in his contract so if he becomes a malcontent, we wouldn’t be stuck with him. I think he is the best player/highest ceiling of all the rumored stars to be on the move. Not as hard to build around either, just give him shooters and a couple defenders (Keon/Keegan).
 
Plus there’s rumored to be outs in his contract so if he becomes a malcontent, we wouldn’t be stuck with him. I think he is the best player/highest ceiling of all the rumored stars to be on the move. Not as hard to build around either, just give him shooters and a couple defenders (Keon/Keegan).

Exactly! If we can do a Derozan and picks for Wiggins you’d have two elite big wing defenders in Wiggins/Keegan than two elite guard defenders in Carter/Ellis. Closing lineups
Monk, Carter, Wiggins, Keegan, and Zion