Welcome Nique Clifford

[SacTownKid]

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!

Yeah, and everyone deferred to DeMar. They obviously all have a lot of respect for him. A lot of that would be up to DeMar. I was interested to see LaVine without DeMar because LaVine was always trying not to step on DDR's toes offensively and the team suffered. This is kind of the issue moving on, the Kings have a young core and a veteran core. The veteran core is likely getting 90% of the minutes and getting all those shots and up to this point doesn't have any other real impact on a game if they aren't producing numbers. Some people are worried about Nique, IJ, Carter, Maxime, etc. getting squashed. Perhaps be more concerned what a 15 ppg DeMar or an 8 PPG Monk looks like. If the team isn't winning it's going to be a contractual waiting game. Which it sounds like it is already anyway.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

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!

Keegan will defer to DDR/Lavine let’s not overthink this

 

[gunks]

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!

Aggressive Keegan is so good. I swear he had multiples games last season where he'd explode for double digits in the first quarter and then get frozen out the rest of the game.

We GOTTA ship DDR out... I don't even care about the return, he's going to hold back Keegan (and now Nique), doesn't mesh well with Domas (or an entertaining offense), but he's also a good dude and would be valuable on a contender. Send that man somewhere with a chance at a chip! It'll also be a good look for the new FO.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

Aggressive Keegan is so good. I swear he had multiples games last season where he'd explode for double digits in the first quarter and then get frozen out the rest of the game.

We GOTTA ship DDR out... I don't even care about the return, he's going to hold back Keegan (and now Nique), doesn't mesh well with Domas (or an entertaining offense), but he's also a good dude and would be valuable on a contender. Send that man somewhere with a chance at a chip! It'll also be a good look for the new FO.

I’d entertain buying him out before the season just to get Nique minutes and gets us closer to a good pick

 

[Joshyjosh31]

 

[serbiangoat]

From what I have seen Im impressed...BUT you have to be weary with the 23 year old rookies (older) they tend to look really good rookie season (the ones that do play) than get scouted and fizzle out really fast with few exceptions. Clifford does give me Brgodan vibes who is a guy who easily overcome this curse he's got athletic ability , smarts and does not complicate things.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

From what I have seen Im impressed...BUT you have to be weary with the 23 year old rookies (older) they tend to look really good rookie season (the ones that do play) than get scouted and fizzle out really fast with few exceptions. Clifford does give me Brgodan vibes who is a guy who easily overcome this curse he's got athletic ability , smarts and does not complicate things.

His feel for the game is elite and he’s a great athlete to go along with a being a good shooter and passer. I would be shocked if he’s not a starting player soon than later

 

[Dime Dropper]

Obviously expectations need to be tempered as there are guys every single year that perform very well in Summer League and don't amount to anything. But it's nice to see that in addition to his well rounded game, Nique appears to have the physical tools, IQ and character to be a good player at the next level. Very optimistic that he can be a solid piece for us and possibly more.

 

[TheBigO]

Obviously expectations need to be tempered as there are guys every single year that perform very well in Summer League and don't amount to anything. But it's nice to see that in addition to his well rounded game, Nique appears to have the physical tools, IQ and character to be a good player at the next level. Very optimistic that he can be a solid piece for us and possibly more.

The biggest things that have impressed me with Clifford so far are his footwork and court vision. He's got advanced moves and lots of counters. And he's not just making the right pass, he's making advanced reads. Both of those should absolutely translate on the next level.

 

[TheBigO]

Side note - For years I've posted under "funkykingston". After not being able to get back into my account for quite a while I was finally able to. But it reverted me to my original username for some reason.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Side note - For years I've posted under "funkykingston". After not being able to get back into my account for quite a while I was finally able to. But it reverted me to my original username for some reason.

Nice try, imposter.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

The biggest things that have impressed me with Clifford so far are his footwork and court vision. He's got advanced moves and lots of counters. And he's not just making the right pass, he's making advanced reads. Both of those should absolutely translate on the next level.

Advanced reads in pick and roll as well as off the dribble

 

[KainLear]

 

[SacKings123]

Summer league highlights anyone?

 

[Joshyjosh31]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938083515675070938

 

[NewArena]

Obviously expectations need to be tempered as there are guys every single year that perform very well in Summer League and don't amount to anything. But it's nice to see that in addition to his well rounded game, Nique appears to have the physical tools, IQ and character to be a good player at the next level. Very optimistic that he can be a solid piece for us and possibly more.

Yea if he were just running, dunking and hitting the occasional 3, I'd be even more cautious. It's the extremely smart and subtle choices he makes that I think will keep him in the league for a long time if he continues improving the way I think he can. Like you said, he appears to have all of the tools and know how.

 

[The_Jamal]

Obviously expectations need to be tempered as there are guys every single year that perform very well in Summer League and don't amount to anything. But it's nice to see that in addition to his well rounded game, Nique appears to have the physical tools, IQ and character to be a good player at the next level. Very optimistic that he can be a solid piece for us and possibly more.

Yeah, and just like guys who struggle in SL, what really matters is what you do when the minutes actually count. While Nique's SL is super encouraging, he's got to show it with the NBA team in NBA minutes

That said, Nique being able to contribute in literally every facet; playmaking, ball-handling, on-ball scoring, C&S, PoA defense, crash the glass, high energy is very bullish for his future. There's not a significant weakness he showed in any aspect of his game. That's a VERY good indicator for him as a ceiling and helps his chances of being a starter down the line. The NBA is so hyper-focused on condensing shot attempts and USG to a couple guys; if you're someone who can make a serious impact with 7-8 FGA, you're going to play.

 

[joemama]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1947751482519933400

 

[ockingsfan]

Summer league highlights anyone?

Nique reminds me of a young Klay Thompson, who happened to also be an "older" rookie when he came into the league.

Let's hope Nique can become a Klay-esq player for the the Kings.

 

[NewArena]

Nique reminds me of a young Klay Thompson, who happened to also be an "older" rookie when he came into the league.

Let's hope Nique can become a Klay-esq player for the the Kings.

ehhh whatever he becomes, maybe and hopefully he'll be the first and only Nique Clifford and someone will wanna be just like him one day.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Lotta love for Nique in the first several minutes

 

[Joshyjosh31]

Lotta love for Nique in the first several minutes

Star

 

[NewArena]

Lotta love for Nique in the first several minutes

Thank you for sharing this!