Westbrook Signs with the Kings

Good Move or Bad Move?

  • Total voters
    45
I've been saying it and I will continue to say it - with all of his warts and things that may very well drive us crazy this season, Westbrook's competitive fire is something I wanted from Fox and this entire organization for over 20 years now. One thing about Westbrook is that he will bring it 24/7, in game, in the locker room, in practice or in a scrimmage, it doesn't matter to him. All he knows is reckless abandon and the recklessness may lose you a game or two in clutch situations at times, but I will live with that over lackadaisical effort and getting blown off of our own home floor because "they didn't make me angry" enough or whatever the excuse was for our former star and the rest of the guys surrounding him outside of a select few.
 
SLAB said:
Imagine a lineup of Westbrook, Monk, Lavine, DDR and Sabonis.

NBA 3.0 babyyyyy
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Put Keegan in place of DDR and I can't picture a ton of people grabbing rebounds over him, Westbrook and Sabonis in that lineup. Losing Keegan's rebounding for 12-15 games or more was going to really hurt in a way many people may not have realized so I'm happy to have Westbrook for that reason and quite a few more to be honest with you.
 
Spike said:
I don't even know what to think at this point.
Well, I do, but this is a family-friendly board.

If we're stealth tanking, we're spray painting the tank in highly-visible #ccff00. If MGMT believes that they are truly building a winning team...oy.
The reality of the situation is that we're probably looking to put butts in the seats AND gloriously lose. The fallout from this process, however, may be too much, and we could lose some players that we need for the next iteration. Oddly enough, I believe that somewhere within all of this rubble is actually a competitive team - but we seem to make moves in spite of that fact. This is one such move.
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You could be right but he helped Denver and the Clippers out in a big way these last two seasons and their fans will attest to that for the most part. It can absolutely be a mess out here in sac and that would surprise no one, but, idk - maybe it can work for whatever our standards may be. Somewhere between a 7th and 9th seed? Eh, we shall see.
 
The_Jamal said:
I mean, that's fine and dandy, but you don't get better by holding the clip board all season and getting 4 minutes of playing time in a blowout every 4th game
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If the Kings go 8-12 in their first 20, it's going to be frustrating to watch them flail about with big minutes for DDR, Westbrook, and Schroder in pursuit of climbing up to .500 basketball and that oh-so-attractive 9th or 10th seed. If they go 6-14 in their first 20, it's going to be absolutely maddening to see all of these over-30 guys on the court while Christie offers excuses for why his younger players can't get more than 10 minutes a game.
 
Padrino said:
If the Kings go 8-12 in their first 20, it's going to be frustrating to watch them flail about with big minutes for DDR, Westbrook, and Schroder in pursuit of climbing up to .500 basketball and that oh-so-attractive 9th or 10th seed. If they go 6-14 in their first 20, it's going to be absolutely maddening to see all of these over-30 guys on the court while Christie offers excuses for why his younger players can't get more than 10 minutes a game.
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If this preseason is any indication, the wheels are likely going to fall off this thing fast. I just don't see any route where we survive this first month+ without Keegans defense. I didn't think we'd really last with Keegan anyway, but the path to any respectable record is just so narrow these first 20+ games. A 4-16 type start would not be surprising at all. Honestly would bet that as more likely than us even being like 11-9
 
The_Jamal said:
If this preseason is any indication, the wheels are likely going to fall off this thing fast. I just don't see any route where we survive this first month+ without Keegans defense. I didn't think we'd really last with Keegan anyway, but the path to any respectable record is just so narrow these first 20+ games. A 4-16 type start would not be surprising at all. Honestly would bet that as more likely than us even being like 11-9
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The defense will be bad. That much is clear. Less clear is what the offense will look like from game to game, and whether or not they can score consistently and efficiently. If they're not averaging at least 115-120 ppg, then just forget it; there's no hope at all for this team to even make the play-in if they can't field an above-average offense. There's some rust they'll shake off as they get into game shape. At least a few of the shots they're bricking right now will start to drop. But man, a lot of things look dire out there.

I've been rather pessimistic heading into this season, and nothing I'm seeing puts a 4-16 start out of play. I'm even of the mind that bringing in Russell Westbrook doesn't just make things worse for the Kings' younger players, but also makes things worse for the vets. He still has utility as a backup on a team with a clearcut superstar, a la Denver and Nikola Jokic. In that situation, nobody is abiding an over-the-hill Westbrook jeopardizing a Jokic-led team's chances at championship contention. But on the Kings? Who's going to be the guy with presence and leadership enough to keep Westbrook in check?

He still wants to play big minutes. And he still wants to win. Sabonis, DDR, and LaVine are not big-voiced locker room leaders. Westbrook's voice is going to loom largest by default. And I'm not sure it's going to be helpful in any way to add that guy to a losing locker room while he's chasing individual records at the end of his career.

As always, I'll caveat the above by saying "What do I know?" Maybe I'll be proven wrong by any number of the parties involved here... but I do sincerely doubt it. This season has all the makings of a lurching, screeching, slow-motion trainwreck.
 
The problem with Westbrook coming in is clearly blocking or decreasing playing time for Ellis and Carter. I appreciate some of the intangibles he brings with wanting to win and going full speed. Some of the other intangibles can be problematic but until he shows those, not going to worry about it.

This organization/owner has gotten what they wanted. No Mike Brown to blame, relying on vets in place to be better than last years lost season, a new GM, etc

To point, and it’s only preseason, but it’s all we can go by…..
Perry has been bad despite the draft
Christie is looking like an inexperienced coach who doesn’t know how to put this together…..can’t blame Brown this time
Vets do not look good and their decision to bring in Westbrook probably creates a divide with young and vets
Owner is still here unfortunately
The young players probably fit what Christie is preaching way more than vets because they have young legs but I don’t think Christie will do what it takes and instead deferring to vets.
These vets are not it…..prove me wrong.
 
sono said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1978579364733235451
This is the single dumbest NBA roster...
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Also, I just saw this. I do regularly appreciate Zach Lowe's analysis, though Bill Simmons is a bunch of whatever as an evaluator of NBA teams and talent. But regardless of how someone might feel about either of these individuals, their examination here feels spot-on, as do the sentiments they've expressed. I'm partial to my trainwreck metaphor from my previous post, but Lowe's Hindenburg analogy is an apt one, as well.

More than anything, though, Lowe has given voice to something that I haven't yet been able to put into words myself: I hate this team. And when I say that, what I mean is that I hate the assemblage of the roster, the marginalizing of its young talent, the leadership's governing philosophy (or lack thereof), and the inability of this franchise to get out of its own way. So much has gone wrong so quickly after the barest of brushes with success two years ago that the whiplash is strong enough to snap necks.

I take the tiniest bit of solace in knowing that the front office is treating this as a "gap year", but I also don't trust this front office to rebuild on the other side of this gap year! I hate this team. Many of you sunnier-side-up folks might feel inclined to reply to this post and tell me that I should just step away from the Kings this season if this is how I feel. And I may. I've taken time off from this team over the years. I've taken time away from KF.com over the years, as well. But this is as close to a home as any I've known online, and I consider it a minor miracle that it's still here and that many still come despite all of the massive and discouraging shifts in online discourse we've experienced in the last fifteen years.

So I will be here, because I love it here. But I certainly won't be watching the games with any regularity. As an east coaster now, it's hard enough for me to tune in when the product feels just good enough to watch, much less when the season is near-meaningless before it even begins. But always there's hope for the ailing Kings fan. Maybe a trade deadline success. Maybe an eventual commitment to youth. Maybe this silly franchise stumbles ass-backwards into a generational talent via the draft. Who knows? This year certainly ain't it. But I was a fan before, during, and after all the other failures and f***-ups, and I'll remain a fan regardless of whatever further ails this season should bring.
 
The_Jamal said:
Talking to the wrong fella, I don't care one iota about positions.

Or let's put it this way. I'd rather Carter put 1600 minutes on tape of him actually proving he can't be a lead ball-handler rather than just people saying it without any real evidence behind the claim. I know our defense would certainly be better with 1600 Devin Carter minutes.
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Not caring about positions is how you get a team with 8 guards and none of them a pg. Youre happy with that? Not having Monk last night obviously hurt but the second Schroeder went out they could barely get the ball past half court with more then 17 seconds on the shot clock. You know why? Cause Carter and Ellis aint it, thats why. I do agree we need to play the younger guys, but they need to be put into positions to succeed, not just thrown out there to get minutes. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous they started Saric last night instead of Issac. Really awful move by Christie which makes me question him even more.
 
jayfly said:
Not caring about positions is how you get a team with 8 guards and none of them a pg. Youre happy with that? Not having Monk last night obviously hurt but the second Schroeder went out they could barely get the ball past half court with more then 17 seconds on the shot clock. You know why? Cause Carter and Ellis aint it, thats why. I do agree we need to play the younger guys, but they need to be put into positions to succeed, not just thrown out there to get minutes. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous they started Saric last night instead of Issac. Really awful move by Christie which makes me question him even more.
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Or, maybe if our GM didn't prioritize 2 ball dominant PGs, that are shaky defenders and can't shoot as the 2 big acquisitions for a team that was already full on guards. We had the room to play Carter and Keon full rotation minutes before bringing Dennis and Russ on.
 
sactowndog said:
I’m wondering if Perry is letting Vivek make any move he wants just to a) tank the season b) highlight what an idiot he is.
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It's possible... but both Perry and Christie were hired into their current roles without the franchise engaging in any kind of GM or coaching search. My guess is they were chosen because they don't ruffle feathers and they answer to power. Perry is obviously a schmoozer. Christie is obviously a company man. It doesn't seem terribly likely to me that there's some kind of four-dimensional chess being played in the hallways and offices of this franchise's operations. More likely is that they don't have a concrete plan and they're playing for time.
 
I hate this team more than the awful ‘Run it Back’ team, and yall know what I thought about that squad.

This year is going to be a beautiful disaster. Gotta feel sorry for Doug, because you know he isn’t getting another shot after this year torpedoes his stock as a coach. Sucks because there is something there with him.
 
Padrino said:
If the Kings go 8-12 in their first 20, it's going to be frustrating to watch them flail about with big minutes for DDR, Westbrook, and Schroder in pursuit of climbing up to .500 basketball and that oh-so-attractive 9th or 10th seed. If they go 6-14 in their first 20, it's going to be absolutely maddening to see all of these over-30 guys on the court while Christie offers excuses for why his younger players can't get more than 10 minutes a game.
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Look at the schedule and find me 8 wins in the first 20 games

QWERTYLICIOUS said:
Because I won't be able to make it to Sacramento for a drink at a bar in Sacramento for game 21, you will just have to buy me drinks all night at a bar in Vegas at some point...:p:p:p
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If we’re 14-6 I’ll Venmo you drinks that night it ain’t happening haha we’ll just have to celebration drinks in June when we get the first pick
 
Capt. Factorial said:
I want to see the Venn diagram that shows the overlap between people who want the Kings to tank this season and people who are mad that we brought in Westbrook.
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iowamcnabb said:
Personally I think this is a big over reaction by fans. It’s a one year deal and you already knew it was going to be a tone setting year not a developmental one. Scott and Doug have said so repeatedly. It’s like having your girlfriend tell you they are dumping you after you have seen her on a date with someone else.

To me there are two opposing outcomes here.

Outcome 1: Kings somehow out perform expectations and win 43-46 games. They are in the mix for the playoffs.

Outcome 2: kings perform at or below expectations and are a few games under .500 at the deadline. At that point the team would likely look to move a player or two. If they could trade Derozan for an expiring for example that would clear 35 minutes up for young guards and forwards for the last 20 plus games AND you clear all that money off the books to take care of Keon/ make other moves next year.
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Outcome 3: Kings perform far below .500 at the deadline. That's my bet.
 
jayfly said:
Not caring about positions is how you get a team with 8 guards and none of them a pg. Youre happy with that? Not having Monk last night obviously hurt but the second Schroeder went out they could barely get the ball past half court with more then 17 seconds on the shot clock. You know why? Cause Carter and Ellis aint it, thats why. I do agree we need to play the younger guys, but they need to be put into positions to succeed, not just thrown out there to get minutes. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous they started Saric last night instead of Issac. Really awful move by Christie which makes me question him even more.
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How's the "true" PG they just signed looking? The league hasn't had true PG's in 15 years. You want a PG? Go look at Giannis. Or Luka. Or Jokic. That's what a PG looks like these days. Making plays off of the attack. Carter looked by far the best in his limited minutes. That was the one time we saw actually draw and kick and "spray" 3's.
 
SLAB said:
I hate this team more than the awful ‘Run it Back’ team, and yall know what I thought about that squad.

This year is going to be a beautiful disaster. Gotta feel sorry for Doug, because you know he isn’t getting another shot after this year torpedoes his stock as a coach. Sucks because there is something there with him.
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The tone and general fan disinterest is reminiscent of the year prior to getting Reke. Where guys like Brad Miller, John Salmons, Andres Nocioni are again holdoever pillars. Kevin Martin was good but clearly not a player you could build around. Very similar but no way could this team be that bad. Way more talent than that one on it.
 
Padrino said:
Also, I just saw this. I do regularly appreciate Zach Lowe's analysis, though Bill Simmons is a bunch of whatever as an evaluator of NBA teams and talent. But regardless of how someone might feel about either of these individuals, their examination here feels spot-on, as do the sentiments they've expressed. I'm partial to my trainwreck metaphor from my previous post, but Lowe's Hindenburg analogy is an apt one, as well.

More than anything, though, Lowe has given voice to something that I haven't yet been able to put into words myself: I hate this team. And when I say that, what I mean is that I hate the assemblage of the roster, the marginalizing of its young talent, the leadership's governing philosophy (or lack thereof), and the inability of this franchise to get out of its own way. So much has gone wrong so quickly after the barest of brushes with success two years ago that the whiplash is strong enough to snap necks.

I take the tiniest bit of solace in knowing that the front office is treating this as a "gap year", but I also don't trust this front office to rebuild on the other side of this gap year! I hate this team. Many of you sunnier-side-up folks might feel inclined to reply to this post and tell me that I should just step away from the Kings this season if this is how I feel. And I may. I've taken time off from this team over the years. I've taken time away from KF.com over the years, as well. But this is as close to a home as any I've known online, and I consider it a minor miracle that it's still here and that many still come despite all of the massive and discouraging shifts in online discourse we've experienced in the last fifteen years.

So I will be here, because I love it here. But I certainly won't be watching the games with any regularity. As an east coaster now, it's hard enough for me to tune in when the product feels just good enough to watch, much less when the season is near-meaningless before it even begins. But always there's hope for the ailing Kings fan. Maybe a trade deadline success. Maybe an eventual commitment to youth. Maybe this silly franchise stumbles ass-backwards into a generational talent via the draft. Who knows? This year certainly ain't it. But I was a fan before, during, and after all the other failures and f***-ups, and I'll remain a fan regardless of whatever further ails this season should bring.
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Meh …. You will still watch it because hate is the other side of love. It’s when you move to I don’t give a damn one way or another that the Kings will have fully lost you.
 
SacTownKid said:
The tone and general fan disinterest is reminiscent of the year prior to getting Reke. Where guys like Brad Miller, John Salmons, Andres Nocioni are again holdoever pillars. Kevin Martin was good but clearly not a player you could build around. Very similar but no way could this team be that bad. Way more talent than that one on it.
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The parallels are almost exact. Sup, Keegan.
 
Padrino said:
Also, I just saw this. I do regularly appreciate Zach Lowe's analysis, though Bill Simmons is a bunch of whatever as an evaluator of NBA teams and talent. But regardless of how someone might feel about either of these individuals, their examination here feels spot-on, as do the sentiments they've expressed. I'm partial to my trainwreck metaphor from my previous post, but Lowe's Hindenburg analogy is an apt one, as well.

More than anything, though, Lowe has given voice to something that I haven't yet been able to put into words myself: I hate this team. And when I say that, what I mean is that I hate the assemblage of the roster, the marginalizing of its young talent, the leadership's governing philosophy (or lack thereof), and the inability of this franchise to get out of its own way. So much has gone wrong so quickly after the barest of brushes with success two years ago that the whiplash is strong enough to snap necks.

I take the tiniest bit of solace in knowing that the front office is treating this as a "gap year", but I also don't trust this front office to rebuild on the other side of this gap year! I hate this team. Many of you sunnier-side-up folks might feel inclined to reply to this post and tell me that I should just step away from the Kings this season if this is how I feel. And I may. I've taken time off from this team over the years. I've taken time away from KF.com over the years, as well. But this is as close to a home as any I've known online, and I consider it a minor miracle that it's still here and that many still come despite all of the massive and discouraging shifts in online discourse we've experienced in the last fifteen years.

So I will be here, because I love it here. But I certainly won't be watching the games with any regularity. As an east coaster now, it's hard enough for me to tune in when the product feels just good enough to watch, much less when the season is near-meaningless before it even begins. But always there's hope for the ailing Kings fan. Maybe a trade deadline success. Maybe an eventual commitment to youth. Maybe this silly franchise stumbles ass-backwards into a generational talent via the draft. Who knows? This year certainly ain't it. But I was a fan before, during, and after all the other failures and f***-ups, and I'll remain a fan regardless of whatever further ails this season should bring.
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Co-sign on this. I too really hate this team. Not a particular reflection on any of the players. Up until mid-way through last year, Monk was one of my favorite Kings of all time. Domas was (and still is) a complete warrior. DeRozen is an ageless wonder, and Zach is perhaps the greatest shooter in Sac Kings history (I still love you Peja...)

However, I hate the stupidity of our ownership group. I hate that Vivek has allowed all of this crap with his daughter to fester. I hate that Perry seems like at best he needs to be a cunning communicator to try to manipulate Vivek to make sound decisions going forward. I hate that Christie does have the potential (in my mind) to be a really solid coach, but that he's likely only there for the PR and cheap contract. I hate that I will continue to shell out money for league pass to watch this team, and that I WILL actually watch this team. I hate feeling like we are one of only a handful of extremely stupid NBA teams.

I gotta say, if the NBA got it's act together and finally put an expansion team in Seattle, I would probably finally change my NBA allegiance. I've lived most of my life outside of the sacramento area and just feel like my life is too short for this.
 
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