[Game] [VSL Game 1] Kings vs Magic, 7/10/2025 4:30 Pacific 7:30 Eastern (NBATV)
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
They're both super marketable and personable dudes, makes sense. Easy to root for in the little we've seen of them in pressers
reptilexcq2
Bench
Carter seems to be more of a rhythm guy. He needs to find some ways to make his offense more effective.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Best shooter of the game - Raynaud
Best passer of the game - Raynaud
Clifford was ok, nothing special but I could see him filling in off the bench. Perry talks about him as a backup pg, but I'd rather have Raynaud as a point-forward than Clifford any day.
Carter was disappointing
To me Raynaud just needs experience with the big club, and definitely not being a 4th or 5th option standing in the corner, but getting plenty of touches in positions where he can make plays for others. (Just another reason to get rid of DDR). Other than Sabonis, I can't see a better passing wing or big man on the Kings than Raynaud. Not only did the lookaway bounce pass impress, but his ability to get the ball off the glass and pass off the dribble to an open wing up the court was very impressive. VERY HIGH BBIQ. I would very much like to see the coaching staff put him in positions where he can take his man off the dribble and shoot or pass; he might not be ready for it now, but eventually if he could master that aspect of the game wow would it would open up another dimension to his game.
Best passer of the game - Raynaud
Clifford was ok, nothing special but I could see him filling in off the bench. Perry talks about him as a backup pg, but I'd rather have Raynaud as a point-forward than Clifford any day.
Carter was disappointing
To me Raynaud just needs experience with the big club, and definitely not being a 4th or 5th option standing in the corner, but getting plenty of touches in positions where he can make plays for others. (Just another reason to get rid of DDR). Other than Sabonis, I can't see a better passing wing or big man on the Kings than Raynaud. Not only did the lookaway bounce pass impress, but his ability to get the ball off the glass and pass off the dribble to an open wing up the court was very impressive. VERY HIGH BBIQ. I would very much like to see the coaching staff put him in positions where he can take his man off the dribble and shoot or pass; he might not be ready for it now, but eventually if he could master that aspect of the game wow would it would open up another dimension to his game.
sono
Starter
Defensively, Max was very vocal, and not passive, not afraid of contact. Offensively, as advertised, very promising so far. They had their runs when he was on the floor.
Dylan was a brick wall with his active hands; I don't know how many times he disrupted their offensive flow.
Nothing special about Nique, hope he shows up next time.
Dylan was a brick wall with his active hands; I don't know how many times he disrupted their offensive flow.
Nothing special about Nique, hope he shows up next time.
NewArena
All-Star
Some shots just don’t fall. What we should be looking at is confidence, defense, and decision making. If he went 11/11 it still wouldn’t matter in summer league lol like, at all.
NewArena
All-Star
If they trade him because of a summer league game then they were already planning to. That would be ridiculous lol now, if he’s scoring on his own hoop and doing something absolutely egregious then have at it.
Folsomkingsfan
Starter
Also needs to find a way to consistently throw proper chest passes. When he drives and kicks the ball out his passes often have no force behind them and float to the guy he's passing to. That can be the difference between an open shot and a contested shot. Fox did that a lot and it drove me nuts.
Joshyjosh31
Starter
Na they should’ve brought in an old washed up vet to take minutes from him and lively.. culture
sactowndog
All-Star
You’re basing your conclusion on 1 summer league game……. Haha okay
And you based your conclusion that he can't guard 3s on what??? His mixtape??? I love that you can conclusively state what a player will be and won't be off of no actual game experience, but then I am not allowed to use an actual game experience to point out the opposite.
I agree that 1 summer league game is about the smallest sample size you can rely on. But its more than you've got at this point...
Everyone was okay for the environment.
Some people can only defend well in good team defenses, this will never be the case in summer league.
Carter was playing an unfamiliar role, so i am ready to cut him some slack.
Nobody is saying flagg is a bust because he couldn't post up against bronny, because it doesnt make sense to judge what a player will look like in an NBA game based on summer league.
Some people can only defend well in good team defenses, this will never be the case in summer league.
Carter was playing an unfamiliar role, so i am ready to cut him some slack.
Nobody is saying flagg is a bust because he couldn't post up against bronny, because it doesnt make sense to judge what a player will look like in an NBA game based on summer league.
not only the smallest but the one of the worst samples you can get.
Even training camp against real NBA players is a better way to judge them, as they earn most their minutes there, not in summer league.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Neither are you,
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
That’s all these overreactions do. Every single SL. They judge the wrong things.
A poor shooting night doesn’t mean a dude isn’t “showing out” or is somehow a disappointment.
Same logic goes for someone blowing up in a single SL game a la Donté Greene going for 40. It means nothing in the grand scheme.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
So, if Carter goes for 30+ and looks all world in the next SL game — then you’ll be back on the “I’ll be upset if he’s traded” train?
I mean, since one SL is all it takes to get on or off the bandwagon, I’d assume the answer to be “yes”.
I was honestly expecting much, much more from the typical overact to SL crowd here at KF — hoping they’d finally learned their lesson. But now I’m disappointed too. So at least we have that in common.
Caccia
Starter
The question is not what the fans think, it's what the front office thinks. Carter is already on the trading block, with only a short opportunity to show what he can do. Supposedly, Jonathan Kuminga is meeting with teams, including the Kings and the Warriors, in Las Vegas this week. If Devin is still a King by the end of next week, none of this matters.
The Warriors are still trying to avoid trading Kuminga to the Kings, it appears, since the Kings are in the same division. But their options are limited right now. The whole situation is weird.
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It would be nice if kuminga bets on himself and signs for 1 year of the full MLE.
A man can dream right
Jdbraver137
Bench
Relax folks. It’s great the rookies looked good. Maxime showed he has high bball IQ. Is he already the next Joker. No, but it is a good sign that he is capable. Let people have some joy rooting for him.
twslam07
All-Star
Any player can have a good game or a bad game. What’s most important is consistency and if you can string together good performances or if you can only flash a good performance here and there.
I’d rather our rookies have a good 1st game than not. Don’t get me wrong, but we need to see a body of work from them to know if they can impact the game consistently or if those types of games are few and far between.
And as a young guy, flashes can be okay as well. It can be a part of the process as it gives the FO a sense of what they could be and it gives the player something to strive for consistently rather than produce scarcely.
Looking forward to seeing them get more games under their belt.
I’d rather our rookies have a good 1st game than not. Don’t get me wrong, but we need to see a body of work from them to know if they can impact the game consistently or if those types of games are few and far between.
And as a young guy, flashes can be okay as well. It can be a part of the process as it gives the FO a sense of what they could be and it gives the player something to strive for consistently rather than produce scarcely.
Looking forward to seeing them get more games under their belt.
Yep. I think SL is a good snapshot of where guys are at, but whether they play well or not... you still have to go perform when the games actually count. If Cooper Flagg puts up 20 on 12 shots game 1 of the regular season, is anyone going to care he went 5-21 in his first SL game? Absolutely not.
For me, I care more about tendencies and what guys are able to actually accomplish in these games. Carter being able to probe the defense and kick-out to a shooter... good stuff, that's something that's very valuable in the NBA. Raynaud having the ball at the top of key, attack the closeout and kick to the corner 3? Or ball fake and hit the cutter at the rim? Nique getting his hands on a bunch of deflections, looking very comfortable with the ball in his hands.
serbiangoat
Starter
He's a energy wing in a guards body right now, the Frenchmen looks super polished as does Clifford I think someone compared Clifford to Max Christie here good comp Max a bit more fast twitch but Clifford bigger stronger.
Honestly if Carter can give you 6-12ppg a night with energy and D he will help the Kings but I'm not seeing the guard skills right now.
twslam07
All-Star
As for Carter, I was hesitant about his abilities to be a PG on offense coming out of college. I think he had the potential to be a focal point on offense and have the ball in his hands due to his combination of length, strength, athleticism, ability to draw fouls, and PnR game, but I also considered it a long shot. I think it was much more likely he’d become a guy like Alex Caruso, Donte DiVencenzo, Marcus Smart, Josh Hart, etc.
This 1st SL game didn’t help me gain more confidence in his PG play/potential, but it’s just 1 game. We need to see a body of work to assess how much he has grown/developed from last season.
What’s most concerning for me about his PG potential/upside is the fact that he said in an interview that he has never played PG in his life. That was actually really surprising to hear. I would have thought at some point growing up he would have been in a PG role, but he confirms that’s not the case.
That statement makes me feel even less sure in his PG potential/upside than the poor SL performance I just watched. I feel like there’s a much wider chasm for him to cross in order to be that PG on offense than I originally thought. And that’s not to say that Carter can’t be a very impactful player anymore, he can! I’m just becoming more pessimistic that he’s going to develop into an offensive PG.
EDIT: And I don’t necessarily disagree with keeping Carter at PG for the entirety of the SL even if he continues to struggle (and even if the FO doesn’t see him as a PG). Let him get more reps with the ball in his hands, let him get more reps with people pressuring him in the backcourt, let him get more reps in the PnR, let him get more reps driving to the rim, let him get more reps making reads when he collapses a defense, etc.
He may not be good enough at all of those things to warrant him being a PG in the big leagues, but all of those things he will have to do in the big leagues (just at a lower volume). Have him work on them here to try and improve and get more comfortable so he can be that much more impactful in the role he’s likely more suited to play. But one thing is for sure, he’s going to need to be at least respectable from 3 if he wants to have a chance at carving out a significant role on a team.
This 1st SL game didn’t help me gain more confidence in his PG play/potential, but it’s just 1 game. We need to see a body of work to assess how much he has grown/developed from last season.
What’s most concerning for me about his PG potential/upside is the fact that he said in an interview that he has never played PG in his life. That was actually really surprising to hear. I would have thought at some point growing up he would have been in a PG role, but he confirms that’s not the case.
That statement makes me feel even less sure in his PG potential/upside than the poor SL performance I just watched. I feel like there’s a much wider chasm for him to cross in order to be that PG on offense than I originally thought. And that’s not to say that Carter can’t be a very impactful player anymore, he can! I’m just becoming more pessimistic that he’s going to develop into an offensive PG.
EDIT: And I don’t necessarily disagree with keeping Carter at PG for the entirety of the SL even if he continues to struggle (and even if the FO doesn’t see him as a PG). Let him get more reps with the ball in his hands, let him get more reps with people pressuring him in the backcourt, let him get more reps in the PnR, let him get more reps driving to the rim, let him get more reps making reads when he collapses a defense, etc.
He may not be good enough at all of those things to warrant him being a PG in the big leagues, but all of those things he will have to do in the big leagues (just at a lower volume). Have him work on them here to try and improve and get more comfortable so he can be that much more impactful in the role he’s likely more suited to play. But one thing is for sure, he’s going to need to be at least respectable from 3 if he wants to have a chance at carving out a significant role on a team.
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