Which Players Will Make The Final Cut?
- Thread starter quick dog
- Start date
Courtney Alexander has shown the ability to play good ball off the bench with quality players. He shot 47% in 56 games playing alongside Michael Jordan and Richard Hamilton. He can score quickly, he's not in love with the long-ball, and he can get to the line. He's not the best defender in the world, but in a reserve role he'll be fine as long as our team defense is up to par; remember, we led the League in defensive field goal percentage two years ago with Mike Bibby playing on a sore foot. Point is, he's a proven, and there's no reason to believe that Kevin Martin is a more capable player at this point.
I'd expect Alexander to get a spot on the team. I'd be sure of it if he weren't dealing with injuries.
Ricky Minard won't be around much longer. Neither will David Bluthenthal.
It sounds like the coaching staff is high on Erik Daniels. Matt Barnes can put the ball in the whole and can stretch the defense when hot, but his defense isn't anything to write home about. I'm not sure about these two, but they probably have a good shot.
Parada is a big body, if nothing else. Six fouls if necessary, and we can always use the size. We're talking IR material with the final three spots anyways, so who cares?
My final roster:
Mike Bibby
Doug Christie
Bobby Jackson
Kevin Martin
Brad Miller
Greg Ostertag
Darius Songaila
Peja Stojakovic
Chris Webber
Courtney Alexander
Matt Barnes/Maurice Evans
Erik Daniels
Adam Parada
I'd expect Alexander to get a spot on the team. I'd be sure of it if he weren't dealing with injuries.
Ricky Minard won't be around much longer. Neither will David Bluthenthal.
It sounds like the coaching staff is high on Erik Daniels. Matt Barnes can put the ball in the whole and can stretch the defense when hot, but his defense isn't anything to write home about. I'm not sure about these two, but they probably have a good shot.
Parada is a big body, if nothing else. Six fouls if necessary, and we can always use the size. We're talking IR material with the final three spots anyways, so who cares?
My final roster:
Mike Bibby
Doug Christie
Bobby Jackson
Kevin Martin
Brad Miller
Greg Ostertag
Darius Songaila
Peja Stojakovic
Chris Webber
Courtney Alexander
Matt Barnes/Maurice Evans
Erik Daniels
Adam Parada
All too often, we get a "tweener" to fill a gap, such as Courtney Alexander.
And, all too often, our rookies end up suffering because Adelman has shown, time and time again, a reluctance to go to the rookies if there's someone with a little bit more league experience sitting next to him on the bench.
This is my MAIN objection to Courtney Alexander. Sure, he did good things and he'd make an adequate reserve. I am very wary of having him around, however, if it means putting him in at the expense of letting Kevin Martin get some good minutes to further his development...
And, all too often, our rookies end up suffering because Adelman has shown, time and time again, a reluctance to go to the rookies if there's someone with a little bit more league experience sitting next to him on the bench.
This is my MAIN objection to Courtney Alexander. Sure, he did good things and he'd make an adequate reserve. I am very wary of having him around, however, if it means putting him in at the expense of letting Kevin Martin get some good minutes to further his development...
you may be right about Courtny being atweener, but he is young and still developing himslef, not exactly a JJ or Peeler. His injuries are troublesome, but if he is helthy and plays well this is a player who might be a keeper. The risk of stunting Martin'sgrowth is real, but first lets see what Courtny has before we worry about Martin's development.
Good points, Celt... I keep thinking of Alexander as older than he is.
At this point, I really hope he can get healthy and show that he's someone who has something the Kings need. What we don't need is someone like Brent Price, who ended up on the bench ... at home. (And I'm not comparing Price to Alexander, just the possible end scenarios...)
At this point, I really hope he can get healthy and show that he's someone who has something the Kings need. What we don't need is someone like Brent Price, who ended up on the bench ... at home. (And I'm not comparing Price to Alexander, just the possible end scenarios...)
I find it interesting, albeit predictable, that as we keep on cutting people, the guys in camp with previous NBA experience are still alive and kicking. Maybe we won't end up with such an inexperienced bench after all. Scrubs yes. But NBA scubs:
NBA Guys:
Courtney Alexander (OG) -- EXP: 3 Years (Dallas/Washington/New Orleans)
187gms 21.7min 9.0ppg (.422, .339, .813) 2.2reb 1.2ast 0.6stl 0.1blk 1.1TO
Alton Ford (PF) -- EXP: 3 Years (Phoenix/Houston)
73gms 7.2min 2.5pts (.507, ----, .697) 1.7reb 0.2ast 0.1stl 0.1blk 0.5TO
Matt Barnes (SF) -- EXP: 1 Year (Clippers)
38gms 19.1min 4.5pts (.457, .154, .705) 4.0reb 1.3ast 0.7stl 0.1blk 1.2TO
Maurice Evans (OG) -- EXP: 1 Year (Minnesota)
10gms 4.5min 2.1pts (.474, .000, .750) 0.4reb 0.4ast 0.0stl 0.0blk 0.2TO
And with the two summer league stars falling on their faces so far, Erik Daniels might be the only guy standing between that being your bench.
NBA Guys:
Courtney Alexander (OG) -- EXP: 3 Years (Dallas/Washington/New Orleans)
187gms 21.7min 9.0ppg (.422, .339, .813) 2.2reb 1.2ast 0.6stl 0.1blk 1.1TO
Alton Ford (PF) -- EXP: 3 Years (Phoenix/Houston)
73gms 7.2min 2.5pts (.507, ----, .697) 1.7reb 0.2ast 0.1stl 0.1blk 0.5TO
Matt Barnes (SF) -- EXP: 1 Year (Clippers)
38gms 19.1min 4.5pts (.457, .154, .705) 4.0reb 1.3ast 0.7stl 0.1blk 1.2TO
Maurice Evans (OG) -- EXP: 1 Year (Minnesota)
10gms 4.5min 2.1pts (.474, .000, .750) 0.4reb 0.4ast 0.0stl 0.0blk 0.2TO
And with the two summer league stars falling on their faces so far, Erik Daniels might be the only guy standing between that being your bench.
If only Flash could put 20 more pounds or so on, then we could back Peja up with him, and use Alexander to back up Christie, I wouldn't be too surprised if we end up seeing Flash play a bit of SF this year, I'm hoping our roster can look like this ;
Miller/Ostertag/F/A
Webber/Songaila/Daniels
Peja/Martin/Barnes
Christie/Alexander/Evans
Bibby/Jackson/F/A
Thats actually a pretty decent bench, its a good combination of hustle and scoring to bring onto the court. I think we should pick up another F/A centre though just incase. Maybe Blount or Bateer or something like that.
Miller/Ostertag/F/A
Webber/Songaila/Daniels
Peja/Martin/Barnes
Christie/Alexander/Evans
Bibby/Jackson/F/A
Thats actually a pretty decent bench, its a good combination of hustle and scoring to bring onto the court. I think we should pick up another F/A centre though just incase. Maybe Blount or Bateer or something like that.
I think Bricklayer has it on the nose but I wonder if the Kings will keep 2-3 on the DL list. Non-guaranteed contracts are good to early December then decision time as they go "on the books" for the year after that.
Other than Ford (6'9") everyone else is 6'8" or smaller bringing us back to finding a bigger body behind OTag and Miller or at least a taller body who can rebound and defend and score 4-6 points. But who knows, this might be the "run and gun" bunch of a few years ago IF they can find some transition defenders among them.
With Parada gone (?) maybe there will be more cuts after Fridays game.
Other than Ford (6'9") everyone else is 6'8" or smaller bringing us back to finding a bigger body behind OTag and Miller or at least a taller body who can rebound and defend and score 4-6 points. But who knows, this might be the "run and gun" bunch of a few years ago IF they can find some transition defenders among them.
With Parada gone (?) maybe there will be more cuts after Fridays game.
Only thing about it is that Courtney Alexander has a partially guaranteed contract, and even if we pick him up for the whole year, that's the extent of his time in Sacramento unless he turns into a stud.
Seeing as how Kevin Martin is going to be around more than just this year, I don't see Alexander squeezing him out of the lineup. This isn't oft-injured third year Hedo or Gerald getting stuck behind a well-seasoned veteran who knows how to do what Adelman likes. It's actually almost the other way around; Courtney Alexander has been the one hurt, and Kevin Martin is the one that Geoff Petrie and Rick Adelman appear to be high on, so I don't see Alexander as having the leg up on Flash like we've seen before with young players vs. free agent veterans.
Flash is going get his time this year. He's not gonna get 20 minutes a game 82 nights, but he is going to get minutes. And if he plays well and shows improvement and puts on some weight, then maybe he'll get more time. And next season, when Courtney Alexander is gone (and, knock on wood, Bobby Jackson could be gone next season, too), Flash will still be here. His improvement and development are very important, but we don't have to throw him out there already, especially if there's somebody who is more qualified to play than he is.
Seeing as how Kevin Martin is going to be around more than just this year, I don't see Alexander squeezing him out of the lineup. This isn't oft-injured third year Hedo or Gerald getting stuck behind a well-seasoned veteran who knows how to do what Adelman likes. It's actually almost the other way around; Courtney Alexander has been the one hurt, and Kevin Martin is the one that Geoff Petrie and Rick Adelman appear to be high on, so I don't see Alexander as having the leg up on Flash like we've seen before with young players vs. free agent veterans.
Flash is going get his time this year. He's not gonna get 20 minutes a game 82 nights, but he is going to get minutes. And if he plays well and shows improvement and puts on some weight, then maybe he'll get more time. And next season, when Courtney Alexander is gone (and, knock on wood, Bobby Jackson could be gone next season, too), Flash will still be here. His improvement and development are very important, but we don't have to throw him out there already, especially if there's somebody who is more qualified to play than he is.
There is another possibility -- another player who is nearing the end is Doug himself. If Courtney showed well, he's still a young player and BOTH could end up coming back as Doug rides off into the sunset. One as starter, one as backup. But we'll have to see. Neither is ready to replace a D.C. on a championship level squad at this point. But if we tear down and rebuild with youth, there might be room for both. On the other hand, if we try to keep ourselves right at the top, either 1) somebody develops or 2) we have to try to find an outside player to come in to take over the spot, with one of the guys (most likely Martin) staying as the backup. In any case, we haven't won a championship yet, so we can hardly afford a downgrade no matter who takes over the reigns (barring a significant move to somehow upgrade another position).
I would consider it imperative for Courtney to drag his *** on the court tommorow night to at least show he still has a pulse. Would imagine that we've probably seen what we needed to see from Barnes/Evans/Ford(!) tonight and that tommorow night will belong to the other rookies/free agents (Blu, Minard, Daniels & Alexander).
Thanks to the generosity of Kingsgurl's boyfriend (Thanks again, Steve!!!), I will be attending tomorrow's game. (And also thanks - as always - to KG for driving all the way up here to come get me)...
I'm going to be watching virtually everything. Team chemistry, rookie performance, veteran intensity, etc.
I expect to be able to file a full report either late Friday night from KG's or sometime Saturday when I make it home!
I'm going to be watching virtually everything. Team chemistry, rookie performance, veteran intensity, etc.
I expect to be able to file a full report either late Friday night from KG's or sometime Saturday when I make it home!