Training camp invitees...?

Pretty cool seeing the gym full for training camp. Also love our guys getting exposure of hanging around guys like Mullin and Mitch.
 
randymoss1881 said:
Do you guys know of any beat writers on twitter who are reporting on the kings training camp? I'd like to know who's having a good and who isnt
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Santiago and Ham over at Cowbell Kingdom post daily info on camp and players.
 
Chupacabra said:
I watched Heath play up close at SDSU. He was about 6'2 back then. I remember he was really quick and could make tough shots. A few NBA analysts had him on their honorable mentions list of players that just missed the draft.
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Actually, when Heath left SDSU, he held just about every offensive record at the School. I was surprised that he wasn't drafted at the time. I suspect that either he's insurance against a trade, or he's training camp fodder.
 
randymoss1881 said:
Ya I saw yesterday. It's good to know that McCallum is impressing with his defense and playmaking which will make IT a trading priece
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'
I agree completely. If McCallum keeps coming on at a fast pace, the FO will be quickly forming a trade of one kind or another. To a lesser degree the same thing will likely happen at the SG position if McLemore starts coming on like gangbusters. There might be such consequences if they quickly see the PF starting to go clearly one way or the other. Our players need to be on their toes early this year. And I hope it doesn't drag on.
 
So far, Saturday 10/5, Salmons is also impressing the staff with his all around game. Might be hard not to keep the vet who is responsible and consistent at the 2, 3 and even the 1 if necessary.
 
CruzDude said:
So far, Saturday 10/5, Salmons is also impressing the staff with his all around game. Might be hard not to keep the vet who is responsible and consistent at the 2, 3 and even the 1 if necessary.
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I can only pessimistically add that every single darn coach we've had has always said Salmons had a good training camp, reports recently always paint Salmons as one of the team's leaders etc. But when season starts and he steps on the court he's always failed to impress.
 
I think Salmons still has some game left in him in the right situation.. I don't put him in the outright scrub territory like Outlaw... he was a serviceable player up until a couple of years ago which seemed to coincide with putrid coaching/organization with the Kings
 
With Tyreke gone Salmons makes a little more sense as the secondary ball handler either with the starters or bench unit, he played well in his first stint with us, with Chicago and Milwaukee. His first season back here he had a terrible season, and last year was better but still nowhere near his previous stints. Sure blame goes on him, but a vet trying to play with a bunch of young players trying to be stars (Cousins, Tyreke, Isaiah, Thornton) with no direction, discipline, structure or stability does terrible things to guys you expect to be your role players. It's no suprise Salmons always impresses in training camps, he is a pro's pro.

Hopefully this year our role players get roles, we are no longer a bunch of young players, aside from our rookies, the rest of our roster is full of veterans (JT, Salmons, Hayes, Outlaw, Landry, Vasquez, Thornton, IT, Cousins, Patterson). I mean by year 3 most NBA players(especially college juniors/seniors) should be considered vets. So personally to me the only players that I don't see as a vet on this team is Jimmer because of the little playing time, and still not finding a role in the team/league. We are still a "young" team, but we shouldn't be a green as grass team like we have looked like the last couple of years.
 
jcwkings said:
With Tyreke gone Salmons makes a little more sense as the secondary ball handler either with the starters or bench unit, he played well in his first stint with us, with Chicago and Milwaukee. His first season back here he had a terrible season, and last year was better but still nowhere near his previous stints. Sure blame goes on him, but a vet trying to play with a bunch of young players trying to be stars (Cousins, Tyreke, Isaiah, Thornton) with no direction, discipline, structure or stability does terrible things to guys you expect to be your role players. It's no suprise Salmons always impresses in training camps, he is a pro's pro.

Hopefully this year our role players get roles, we are no longer a bunch of young players, aside from our rookies, the rest of our roster is full of veterans (JT, Salmons, Hayes, Outlaw, Landry, Vasquez, Thornton, IT, Cousins, Patterson). I mean by year 3 most NBA players(especially college juniors/seniors) should be considered vets. So personally to me the only players that I don't see as a vet on this team is Jimmer because of the little playing time, and still not finding a role in the team/league. We are still a "young" team, but we shouldn't be a green as grass team like we have looked like the last couple of years.
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Wait what? So basically IT got an extra year, we took on two rookies (compared to one or none last year once TRob was traded) and now our roster is suddenly full of veterans?? Using your year 3 criteria I mean.
 
mac said:
Wait what? So basically IT got an extra year, we took on two rookies (compared to one or none last year once TRob was traded) and now our roster is suddenly full of veterans?? Using your year 3 criteria I mean.
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What i mean is that the bulk of our players shouldn't use or shouldn't get the "well they're young, they are gonna make tons of mistakes". In IT's case he's coming into his 3rd season, but as a college senior, and he has gotten tons of playing time under his belt. At this point he knows what the league is all about. I mean if you were to ask him, he would think of himself as a vet already imo, especially since he became the vocal leader of this team very early on. I'm just tired of blaming losing/playing bad on "this team is young", because then the years go on and we keep hoping our "young" players develop overnight. We need to see improvement in performance, dedication and effort.

For example in the case of Cousins, we see his potential, he has flashes of domination, and then he phones it in for 2 or 3 nights in a row. I want to see him put it all together this year, especially after getting his big contract. Imagine we see the same thing this year as last, and we go into next season with the reality that we are paying this guy all that money, even though he has shown for four seasons that he is not a consistent peformer. You would be paying 14 million to a guy that shows up 3 or 4 nights a month, guys that get that money around the league are players that show up every night. Hopefully Cousins truly buys in and puts it all together this year.
 
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I like that view (jcwkings) of an updated def of vets vs. old vets Salmons, JT, Hayes, Landry and Outlaw. Also agree Jimmer still a "rookie" of sorts. So in all we have 5 rookies in camp: Jimmer, McLemore, McCallum, Lockett, and Ndiaye. Jones not rookie since he played for Heat last year. With 4 of 5 slots wide open the competition will really get interesting as they start playing pre-season games. But Malone has emphasized a bunch of times that starting is not the big deal the players may think and between the lines one can read "role players" are a bigger deal for Coach. Heck, a role player can start or come off the bench depending.
 
Saying Jimmer is a rookie of sorts while Jones played for the Heat (it was actually the Magic) and is technically not a rookie makes it seem like an excuse for Jimmer for his level of play. I don't mean to bash Jimmer but he does one thing well and is very deficient in several areas. Below NBA acceptable levels in defense and handles and therefore PG play because of his dribbling ability. I think he sees the court decently but his lack of speed and agility and small stature and lack of strength make him a spot up shooter who can then penetrate once the ball is kicked back out to him and the defense is not set..

He's going to have a opportunity to prove otherwise but he's limited.....he just is. Spot up shooter dependent on others around him is what he is.
 
I don't see Jimmer as a true Rookie. But he has time on his rookie deal. I'm willing to let that contract ride and see how he develops. I think he has a spot in the NBA. Malone has Jimmer labeled as a combo guard. A guy that can shoot like him has a spot on the roster. I would like to see how his summer work on developing a quicker first step works out. Also I don't think he is as small and weak as dude12 makes him out to be. Also I would like to see him play on a team where team defense is stressed as the number one concern as Malone seems to be making it for this years Kings squad. I think his current role could be on the second unit when the team goes small (You know it will happen) and he is the secondary ball handler but probably defends the other teams PG.

Lets let our young players develop before we write them off. (See Thomas Robinson) http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/9/3...kie-options-for-damian-lillard-meyers-leonard
 
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jcwkings said:
What i mean is that the bulk of our players shouldn't use or shouldn't get the "well they're young, they are gonna make tons of mistakes". In IT's case he's coming into his 3rd season, but as a college senior, and he has gotten tons of playing time under his belt. At this point he knows what the league is all about. I mean if you were to ask him, he would think of himself as a vet already imo, especially since he became the vocal leader of this team very early on. I'm just tired of blaming losing/playing bad on "this team is young", because then the years go on and we keep hoping our "young" players develop overnight. We need to see improvement in performance, dedication and effort.

For example in the case of Cousins, we see his potential, he has flashes of domination, and then he phones it in for 2 or 3 nights in a row. I want to see him put it all together this year, especially after getting his big contract. Imagine we see the same thing this year as last, and we go into next season with the reality that we are paying this guy all that money, even though he has shown for four seasons that he is not a consistent peformer. You would be paying 14 million to a guy that shows up 3 or 4 nights a month, guys that get that money around the league are players that show up every night. Hopefully Cousins truly buys in and puts it all together this year.
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Oh I'm tired of hearing it as well, but my point is that our team really hasn't gotten any "older" in terms of who counts as a vet and who doesn't when you compare it with last year.
 
jcwkings said:
What i mean is that the bulk of our players shouldn't use or shouldn't get the "well they're young, they are gonna make tons of mistakes". In IT's case he's coming into his 3rd season, but as a college senior, and he has gotten tons of playing time under his belt. At this point he knows what the league is all about. I mean if you were to ask him, he would think of himself as a vet already imo, especially since he became the vocal leader of this team very early on. I'm just tired of blaming losing/playing bad on "this team is young", because then the years go on and we keep hoping our "young" players develop overnight. We need to see improvement in performance, dedication and effort.

For example in the case of Cousins, we see his potential, he has flashes of domination, and then he phones it in for 2 or 3 nights in a row. I want to see him put it all together this year, especially after getting his big contract. Imagine we see the same thing this year as last, and we go into next season with the reality that we are paying this guy all that money, even though he has shown for four seasons that he is not a consistent peformer. You would be paying 14 million to a guy that shows up 3 or 4 nights a month, guys that get that money around the league are players that show up every night. Hopefully Cousins truly buys in and puts it all together this year.
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I hate to nic pic, but I. Thomas entered the draft as a junior in college. I also disagree about your definition of a veteran. Most players take four years to come into their own. There are exceptions of course. But it is a game of individuals, and everyone is different. Now, not offense again, but I'm getting a little tired of people taking cheap shots at Cousins. Its easy to say that he's mailing it in, or that he takes games off. In truth, he does take games off. Not because he's lazy, or doesn't care, but because he's fed up with losing. He's fed up with lousy coaching. He's tired of being thrown under the bus. Despite all that, he's better than JT, he's better than Landry. He's better than Patterson. He's better than Hayes. The fact is, he's probably better than 85% of the big men in the NBA. Not bad for a guy that doesn't put out the effort.

One way of looking at it, is that he has a lot more in the tank to be tapped. He came into a dysfunctional organization as an immature young man. I won't waste your or my time by going over the history of what happened. Lets just say it wasn't the best environment for Cousins development. What ever anyone thinks right now, Cousins is the best player on our team. How about we give him a clean slate, and stop taking cheap shots. Having been in his situation, I can tell you that constantly reminding someone of what he did wrong is counter productive to change. Believe me, he knows what he did wrong. If you fail to recognize change in a person, then that person is wasting his time, because perception has become more important than reality.
 
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