Westbrook Signs with the Kings

Good Move or Bad Move?

  • Total voters
    55
SacTownKid said:
Yeah, but the point still remains. I posted the top assist getters from 2010 vs. today before. In 2010 almost all team assist leaders were PG's, not so much today. I think there was like 1 or 2 in the top 10. Teams need a hub, not a PG. The Kings are stuck in times gone by and trying to band aid over a gaping hole. The idea that a PG is setting up every teams offense is bunk. Most teams are just spreading the floor and winging it from there. The most key part of being a PG these days, or better yet a play initiator is getting into the paint and dishing back out. You know, this annoying "spray" 3 we're sick of hearing about? haha.
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Alone those lines, I think Monk did himself a disservice by basically letting everyone know that he doesn't want to play lead guard. He was pretty good at it, when he had Keon Ellis with him at the other guard spot. Not sure why he would want to limit himself like that
 
NewArena said:
I’m glad this site and social media are a very small example and not the totality of what will be his experience here in Sacramento, no matter how ugly it may get or average. I don’t know how things will go but i do believe he’s gonna feel a ton of love here and likely is already out in the real world.
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I don't agree with the timing and the context of this signing since we already have a logjam of younger guards who should be playing more, but I have always been a big fan of Westbrook. I watched him play in college, really wanted the Kings to draft him, followed him his whole career, and would certainly want him to feel welcome in Sacramento.

What we do on this site is discuss strategy and team-building scenarios -- that doesn't mean we don't like these players as people or don't want them to succeed. I have nothing against Dennis Schröder either and would even say that he's a bit underrated by most NBA fans. I don't think he's going to meaningfully make this iteration of the Kings better but that's an overall problem with the roster not any one player. In any case, I would never boo a Kings player while they played for the Kings. I may wish we had a different roster out there, but once the game starts I'm rooting for the guys in the Kings jerseys to play well.
 
hrdboild said:
I don't agree with the timing and the context of this signing since we already have a logjam of younger guards who should be playing more, but I have always been a big fan of Westbrook. I watched him play in college, really wanted the Kings to draft him, followed him his whole career, and would certainly want him to feel welcome in Sacramento.
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Eyeing the guy at #12...watch him go at #4 in front of Kevin Love...welp.
 
Capt. Factorial said:
Eyeing the guy at #12...watch him go at #4 in front of Kevin Love...welp.
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Well, there's Sam Presti for you. Russ was projected more in the 6-10 range in most of the mocks and mid-season he was ranked even lower. Also, this is why picking #12 sucks pretty much every year. You generally end up with the players who slid out of the top 10 for a reason.
 
Joshyjosh31 said:

If Russ is giving that boost why didn’t teams sign him a long time again lol we might get season swept by 8 teams in the west better chance we win 20 games then the playoffs
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I don’t know why other teams don’t want him, and I’m not interested in digging for arbitrary reasons that no one can really verify anyway. I'm not going on an investigation why the prom queen asked me out instead of my friends, I’m not questioning it.

The scenario I mentioned might be unlikely, but it has its own unique kind of potential. The Kings have veteran players who can score at will when properly set up, and young talents who still haven’t quite hit their stride. Sitting right in the overlap of those two groups is a need for someone like Russ, a player who can spark motivation in both the vets and the kids, and bring out the best in everyone around him.

I’m not betting money on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Russ keeps that fire burning under them, and in return, they play well enough to carry him into the playoffs.

Maybe later I'll find out that I should've asked why the prom queen asked me out instead but I'm only committed to one year with Russ and I'm not even sure he's sticking around the whole contract yet.
 
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He's been one of the greatest players of our generation. I dont see how adding someone of his status is a bad thing for anybody. We've assembled a young "core" underneath to have the chance to learn and pick up techniques/insights from some really good players, while still keeping our core vets happy that we will still be competitive.
 
Noble said:
He's been one of the greatest players of our generation. I dont see how adding someone of his status is a bad thing for anybody. We've assembled a young "core" underneath to have the chance to learn and pick up techniques/insights from some really good players, while still keeping our core vets happy that we will still be competitive.
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Simple. Murray/Ellis/Carter/Nique are young, but they're not that young. They were all brought in as older rookies. Their prime years are coming up quickly. They need to see the court more than they need to learn from over-the-hill veterans, no matter how legendary.

Of course, much will be remedied if Scott Perry can move off some of these older guys before the trade deadline (or if all the vets keep getting injured, I suppose). But it's problematic if Ellis, Carter, and Nique are only seeing 10-15 mpg, and it's definitely problematic if the Kings are competitive and winning games with older vets when they need to be prioritizing the draft. They've got so few avenues to improve their roster right now, and their 2026 pick is absolutely crucial to that effort.
 
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Padrino said:
Simple. Murray/Ellis/Carter/Nique are young, but they're not that young. They were all brought in as older rookies. Their prime years are coming up quickly. They need to see the court more than they need to learn from over-the-hill veterans, no matter how legendary.

Of course, much will be remedied if Scott Perry can move off some of these older guys before the trade deadline (or if all the vets keep getting injured, I suppose). But it's problematic if Ellis, Carter, and Nique are only seeing 10-15 mpg, and it's definitely problematic if the Kings are competitive and winning games with older vets when they need to be prioritizing the draft. They've got so few avenues to improve their roster right now, and their 2026 pick is absolutely crucial to that effort.
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If Ellis, Nique and Carter play 30-32 minutes per game and they fill in with the vets the other positions and minutes needed, I’d go so far as to say this team would be closer to the 6th seed than the 11th seed. I feel that strongly about their actual impact on each game defensively AND what each guy brings on offense
 
Russel going through all possible options before signing here. Honey, did the bobcats and wizards call back? I don’t wanna be too salty but again, the coach and gen manager are not on the same page. DC wants to run and Russel has old legs. It’s astounding how we make the same mistakes over and over again.
 
NewArena said:
Instant chemistry is insane lmao Sean Cunningham said last night that he has a strange or funny feeling this could be a fun season based on how he's seen all of the players get along behind the scenes. Idk how that will be in terms of results but I do think and hope it can be pretty fun
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Watched the presser, and one thing that really stood out was the following

Q:"Russ, what intrigues you most about this roster?"

A: "How much everybody is doubting us"

We've said it multiple times, but if this is going to have any chance at working, this has to be the mentality of every single guy on the team. Massive chip on their shoulder, playing together and fully embracing the "us against the world" mentality. That's how Beam team 1.0 really took off; they never quit on a single game and massively out-performed their expectation because they were such a cohesive and "together" team.
 
NewArena said:
Instant chemistry is insane lmao Sean Cunningham said last night that he has a strange or funny feeling this could be a fun season based on how he's seen all of the players get along behind the scenes. Idk how that will be in terms of results but I do think and hope it can be pretty fun
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The most enjoyable seasons are generally the most unexpected. My feelings are in the dumps. I'd rather we just tear it down and rebuild properly. However, entertainment is worth something to me at this point in my life. If this group can give me any semblance of fun NBA games and an above .500 record, I will definitely give them props.
 
Tetsujin said:
the universe is doing everything it can to make me like this signing lmao
https://twitter.com/x/status/1980293952960893114
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I don't hate the idea of Russ at all, for a team that's regressed for 2 years being soft/uncompetitive, etc. We can debate the effectiveness of Russ at this point in his career, but no one questions his energy/hustle/competitiveness. Which, not bad on a 1 year vet min deal.

I absolutely despise how we went about this team build of adding 2 guards with 4 already on the team that should have had regular rotation roles. Maybe even 5 with Nique sliding up to guard spots now and then and looking like the best passer on the team.

If this FO was sold on Russ/Dennis, then they absolutely had to find a way to deal Monk and since they do not value Carter, trade him as well to extract some form of value. Instead we're just devaluing the under 25 talent on this squad by pushing them further and further down the depth chart. We have 2 massive injuries to big minute players and Carter still isn't going to see the floor. That's organizational failure of not giving a young player a chance to develop
 
The_Jamal said:
I don't hate the idea of Russ at all, for a team that's regressed for 2 years being soft/uncompetitive, etc. We can debate the effectiveness of Russ at this point in his career, but no one questions his energy/hustle/competitiveness. Which, not bad on a 1 year vet min deal.

I absolutely despise how we went about this team build of adding 2 guards with 4 already on the team that should have had regular rotation roles. Maybe even 5 with Nique sliding up to guard spots now and then and looking like the best passer on the team.

If this FO was sold on Russ/Dennis, then they absolutely had to find a way to deal Monk and since they do not value Carter, trade him as well to extract some form of value. Instead we're just devaluing the under 25 talent on this squad by pushing them further and further down the depth chart. We have 2 massive injuries to big minute players and Carter still isn't going to see the floor. That's organizational failure of not giving a young player a chance to develop
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Some team is gonna get him for two seconds and a cheap ass second contract then we’ll be searching for a defensive guard for the next five years
 
Joshyjosh31 said:
Some team is gonna get him for two seconds and a cheap ass second contract then we’ll be searching for a defensive guard for the next five years
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For sure. But at LEAST that's getting some value out of him. If this FO has no intention to develop him, move him for assets and go forward. It's far worse, to continue to bury him on the bench and further decrease his value.

This is all to say it'd obviously be a horrendous move. But at least it would actually point to some sort of plan with this roster build. Or a conviction of them saying "we don't think Carter is good" and moving on.
 
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