Hi Everyone, long time forum reader. This is my first post about the team. Basically, Pete Youngman is saying Harry Giles will succeed here or someplace else. He seems to validate something is going on and Carmichael Dave and Matt George seem to also validate this with somewhat cryptic tweets.
"Some place else" is a phrase terrifying to me. Harry Giles needs to succeed in Sacramento as a King. He needs to play his entire career in Sacramento as a King.
Normally, I dont put much weight into rumors or innuendo but the fact Pete Youngman attests to his talent, potential and likeliness to succeed sort of substantiates the idea "something" odd is going on behind the scenes.
Also, of note, Harry liked the tweet. That in it of itself is meaningful. Then there were other additional somewhat cryptic tweets by Carmichael Dave and Matt George which seem to support "behind the scenes" issues.
Harry Giles is the type of talent that doesnt fall into the Kings lap very often. Yes he had injuries and those injuries made experts question his long term viability as an NBA player.
Harry has shown flashes of his vast potential. His passing is simply amazing. He plays hard. He "gets" Sacramento, its fans and he wants to succeed as a King.
At the same time, Richaun Holmes has been the Kings best and most consistent player. He stands out even when other Kings are struggling. He has embraced Sacramento, loves the community and its fans. In a lot of ways these traits mirror Giles traits. Holmes took some time to grow and become the player who he is today and likewise Giles needs time as well...perhaps together with Holmes.
Pete Youngman is essentially vouching for Harry that something is going on and his talent will be shown one day, be it here in Sacramento or someplace else. Someplace else is simply unacceptable. Harry is the type of player that does not fall into the Kings laps. His passing, court vision, energy and passion for the game are obvious and unquestioned. The lingering questions about Giles are about his ability to recover from injuries.
Pete Youngman has now answered that question. He is basically saying that Harry will succeed somewhere.
As a Kings fan for almost my entire life this is disheartening and entirely unacceptable. Harry is an immensely talented player, formerly THE top
player in his high school class. Harry is an underdog now because of his injuries. In a lot of ways he is the perfect player to root for as a Sacramento Kings fan. Harry loves Sacramento. He speaks highly of the city and of its fans. He has embraced the team and wants to be part of the change.
Harry was a part of the teams plans for the future. The team invested in him and believed in him. Until suddenly they didn’t and they declined his option. He cannot even get into a game in garbage time. Even Caleb Swanigan plays in garbage time.
Fast forward to this summer and the Kings signed four players, three of which for large dollar amounts in Dedmon, Ariza, and Joseph. Joseph unquestionably has been helpful in spite of his offensive flaws. He has literally shut down star players and his impact has been a pleasant surprise.
Ariza has made some amazing plays, and then disappeared other times. He has been impactful and helpful and positive for the most part. Dedmon has been awful at the price being paid. Richaun Holmes has been the teams MVP. He is probably the teams best player and we are lucky to have him. Holmes signing at that price is a coup for the team.
Signing Dedmon was popular at the time but his contract now looks ridiculous. Apparently his signing played some role in not paying Giles 3.98 million for next year. This was unpopular at the time and remains unpopular.
In seeing these new cryptic tweets and seeing Pete Youngman vouch for Giles this also makes the move of not extending the 3.98 million offer insane. Management once again is demonstrating incompetence and losing a player in Giles who is so immensely talented and loves Sacramento will hamstring our team for years to come.
I don’t know why all of this is happening but if the team wanted to experiment with winning then trying Holmes with Giles would not be a bad idea. Both players are underdogs for different t reasons. Holmes because he has had to work for everything in life and plays that way and Giles because of injuries.
Normally I wouldn’t make much of this whole scenario and I would have faith in team decisions but the fact that Pete Youngman (who was treated poorly by the team himself) is vouching for Giles makes me wonder yet again what the team is doing.
In a vacuum spending an absurd amount of money on a player that does not fit and then not spending a comparatively smaller amount of money on a player oozing with potential and with the full support of the previous training staff seems to show the Kings management remains incompetent.
It makes me wonder if they are not playing him to cover for their mistake. If this is the case, it also hamstrings the Kings from playing Holmes and Giles together. Imagine if Giles were allowed to play with Holmes. It cant be any worse than some of these other combinations. The team would have two energy players out there and Giles can have an offense run through him. Normally it is worth a shot to try a new combination but the team cannot try this because they erred with not picking up his option.
This will never happen and it is apparent because Giles cannot even leave the bench in a blowout. And these cryptic tweets coupled with Youngmans frank tweet seem to indicate something other than injury is going on. And oh btw Harry liked Youngmans tweet.
Why this franchise still makes mistakes like this is crazy. It’s also why the team, despite an upward swing seems to take two steps back. Who could the team get in free agency at Harry’s option price of 3.98 million? Even Richaun Holmes is around 5 million, a bargain, but more than Giles option.
I have always loved the Kings but the Giles issue really makes one think if the team still has some Kangz to it. This will obviously be proven true or false this year or next. This should never even be a question , at least this year and especially at that price. This should never be an issue when a player like Giles, as talented as he is, and validated by the Kings long time trainer vouches for Giles and believes he can succeed. This should never be an issue when this same talented player “gets" Sacramento and is an amazing person who promotes the city and the team. He is a consummate professional and is the type of player the team needs. Even if Harry only becomes a rotational player all of those qualities are meaningful.
It’s a shame we will never see Holmes and Giles together. Imagine if Harry got Bagleys minutes. We saw last year he can spark the team. I am hopeful the team retains Harry Giles but judging from these tweets perhaps it isn’t meant to be in Sacramento. I hope I am wrong. This is how it feels to be a Kings fan…always feels like we cant have nice things even when we already have them. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
