Welcome Nique Clifford
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Joshyjosh31
Starter
That’s Tatum/Jdub move right there Nique is gonna be good he might be our best ball handler in pick and roll right now he’s making skip passes to the corner which is advanced. He had atleast 4-5 potential assists from skip passes and he has court vision driving. Sky’s the limit for him he’s a three level scorer with good court vision and passing hopefully we keep him at SG and Keegan at SF (the top 5 prospects in this draft fit like a glove next to Keegan, Nique, and Carter)
OptimusRhyme
Jive Turkey
what has to happen at this point for them to make it?
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Captain has the answer in post # 129 of the game thread
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Through 4 SL games, it’s hard not to like Nique’s game.
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iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
He’s a connecting piece that makes others better. I love the alter ego concept too. If he is truly the real deal that could completely change the course of this franchise. Not ready to go there yet, but it’s at least a remote possibility. Even if he is just a super solid role player who can do it all that would be great too.
TaxMan
Starter
Dang… you have high expectations! lol
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Sorry, it was a typo, or better yet, missing a key word that I didn’t catch. But judging by your tone you properly deduced that already
“It’s hard NOT to like Nique’s game”, as it should have read.
The kid has been stellar.
sono
Starter
Whether it's PG, SG, or even SF, Nique seems wouldn't have no problem subbing in any role with his all around game.
What impressed me most is he's a consistent and not ball dominant player, yet he dictates the pace and impacts the game in a winning way.
Yeah, its the fact he's found ways to impact the game, even if he struggled shooting the ball. He's super high energy. He gets after it on the glass. He can create for others. He defends passing lanes incredibly well.
The fact he's showing on ball shot making just gives him a potential higher upside than a super role player though. The question will be how that transfers to real NBA defenders. But all signs pointing up with him
GWD
Bench
Hate to be a "Debbie Downer" (at least it is not my avatar), but this was the same thing that we said about Keegan...even after his first year in the NBA. Keegan is great, no doubt, but he hasn't been a franchise changer (yet). Under the right circumstances, it could happen.
Nique has the same kind of potential. The Kings just need to let him play to his strengths and not try to make him into something he is not...Mike Brown style. Nique doesn't need to be crushed by expectations in a role with which he has difficulty. I trust Doug Christie to not make that mistake.
Nique has the same kind of potential. The Kings just need to let him play to his strengths and not try to make him into something he is not...Mike Brown style. Nique doesn't need to be crushed by expectations in a role with which he has difficulty. I trust Doug Christie to not make that mistake.
I dont understand why we penalize Keegan for the offensive role he gets put in. He takes the toughest defensive assignment for 35+ MPG, and we expect him to be an 18 PPG scorer on 4th or 5th option USG.
When we were good, thats one thing. But now that we aren't, I hope the plan is to make more of a focal point offensively and not just expect him to fit in
sono
Starter
To Mike's defense, he had no choice but to play Keegan at 4 with Monte's guard-heavy roster.
Scott's recent draft picks and free agency pursuit suggest he prefers a more balanced roster. Hopefully, he wouldn't make the same mistake with Keegan, and now with Nique forcing Doug to make tough choices.
Mike rejected every possible 4 put in front of him (not that I liked those guys) but was apparently ok with the Deebo experiment, unless that was the straw that finally broke the camel's back where his veto was overruled. It's pretty clear he was given a vote on the acquisition side though, so while I'm inclined to give Monte some blame as a poor negotiator, the roster construction seemed to have Brown's fingerprints all over it.
Mike Brown always will give a nod to his guys even if they’re honestly on their way out of the league. If anything that’s one of his weakness. That’s why we sign guys like McGee, Okpala, Oneke, Juan Anderson. Guys that are all out of the league at this point
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Yeah, but that's how it goes haha. The Kings have a good core of young talent, are they superstars? Probably not but they have a ton of young guys that you see on championship teams. That's a pretty good sign considering forever the Kings seemed to always go with guys that can only put the ball in the hoop.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
People relate draft range with production when that's rarely how it works. Keegan was a 4th pick and if he can maintain as a starter level player for his career then that's what the expectation should be according to the history of 4th picks. He's obviously well on his way which means so far it's a major success.
CVKingsfan
Bench
Former CSU basketball standout Nique Clifford is one of NBA Summer League's breakout stars
sports.yahoo.com
Former CSU basketball standout Nique Clifford is one of NBA Summer League's breakout stars
Former CSU basketball great Nique Clifford is lighting up the NBA Summer League as a breakout star with the unbeaten Sacramento Kings.
sono
Starter
I'm sure Mike had some influence over Monte's trade and draft picks, but the final decision-making is ultimately up to Monte. Although out of position, we had no one to cover 4 better than Keegan, plus Deebo situation. Monte would have done something if he were a confident GM, seeing the logjam of guards, it was just ridiculous.
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iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Let’s remember Louis King was a summer league stand-out. So we should all (including me) temper expectations but he is unlikely to be a bust.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Pelton wasn’t high on him because of the risk that his breakout year was due to age so it’s nice to see him giving love here.
Yeah, a guy developing into a star or mvp, outside of really just a handful of prospects, is pretty random or luck based. And virtually every eventual star starts as a productive role player/starter until they prove they can handle that big role.
Louis King was more about him just getting buckets. He didnt show any of the passing, rebounding or defense nique has, which is promising
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
This is true, the thing we are seeing though is there is skill there. The Kings usually blow it in the latter part of the first rounds because they go for college pedigree, not actual translatable role player qualities. The Kings crop of young players all can play defense or have certain physical attributes that the Kings historically don't go for and that at the very least seriously limits their bust potential. Old school Kings fashion is an OG Anunoby is sitting there and they go for the Justin Jackson every time.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I'm starting to think that Vivek lets his scouts make most of those decisions and they choose from there. I remember that Nik rocks video and IIRC it wasn't like Vivek was sitting there selling the guy, the "experts" they brought in were. It can't be a coincidence that the stats posted of Flagg, Carter, and Clifford being the last college players to do yada yada yada wound up with two of those guys on the Kings. They are looking for a specific type if the pick isn't a guaranteed lock.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
A thousand times yes. If they keep DDR then Keegan must play a bigger offensive role, despite DDR and his 17 shots a game. In such a situation, Christie has got to prevent Keegan from deferring to DDR. It's Keegan's time to shine. NOT DDR!
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