Youth development or Playoffs?

[Kingzrool]

I am all for playing the youth and a little annoyed that the Kings are making a (IMO pathetic) run for the playoffs. I am thinking it would have been so much better to have developed the youth through PT, lost a few more games because of inexperience and have a better draft pick. I am wondering what the concensus is around here.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think it's pretty much one sided at this point.

 

[fnordius]

I think it's pretty much one sided at this point.

Yep.

Not only do I wish we would have played our kids more, but I wish we would have gotten more of them. Getting Justin was great, and I wish we'd gotten Kelenna Azubuike at the same time. And played them both.

There are some really promising bigs coming up in draft positions 1-8, and we're looking to just miss them. This year seems to be mostly about passing up opportunities.

 

[Mateo]

Giving up on the starters this season isn't the best idea. That group as a whole still is learning to play together. We have to remember that they've only had one and a half seasons together. How long did it take bibb, webb, vlade, dc, and peja to finally become that powerhouse? Longer than 100 games. Keep mixing in the rooks. At this point, that's all you can do. The big question is what are we going to do with Miller. The 5 spot in the lineup should be the primary focus of the coming draft. Anybody know of some future centers besides Oden that the kings actually have a shot of getting?

 

[BMiller52]

Giving up on the starters this season isn't the best idea. That group as a whole still is learning to play together. We have to remember that they've only had one and a half seasons together. How long did it take bibb, webb, vlade, dc, and peja to finally become that powerhouse? Longer than 100 games. Keep mixing in the rooks. At this point, that's all you can do. The big question is what are we going to do with Miller. The 5 spot in the lineup should be the primary focus of the coming draft. Anybody know of some future centers besides Oden that the kings actually have a shot of getting?

LOL. This team is never going to be that team from 99-04.

Play the youth!!!!

 

[Mateo]

Of course they're not. But why not give them the chance to develop together. How did you feel about that starting five in 98-99? I was pretty unsure of em myself.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Yep.

Not only do I wish we would have played our kids more, but I wish we would have gotten more of them. Getting Justin was great, and I wish we'd gotten Kelenna Azubuike at the same time. And played them both.

There are some really promising bigs coming up in draft positions 1-8, and we're looking to just miss them. This year seems to be mostly about passing up opportunities.

Kelenna Azubuike???? Don't we have enough swingmen?

Now, let's not try to get on to extremities here; too many veterans may be bad, but too many young'uns may just be the same. We already have a solid core of youth in Douby, Garcia, Price, Martin, and Williams. That is sufficient enough. The only problem now is the minutes.

 

[HaraWish]

Of course they're not. But why not give them the chance to develop together. How did you feel about that starting five in 98-99? I was pretty unsure of em myself.

At that time, we had Rick Adelman. He had a good basketall philosophy, and was IMO a master of building a team.

And now... well...

 

[fnordius]

Anybody know of some future centers besides Oden that the kings actually have a shot of getting?

High quality bigs (Fs of 6'10" and up, PFs and Cs) in this year's draft include Oden, Durant, Wright, Horford, Noah, Hawes, Jianlian and Hibbert. Unless we go on a major losing streak immediately, we're looking to be a pick or two late to get any of those guys.

Kelenna Azubuike???? Don't we have enough swingmen?

In the 6 games that he has played at least half an hour, he has scored 16, 17, 28, 16, 23 and 15 points. He's shooting 43%, and 43% on 3s, as opposed to, say, Bibby's 40% and 35%. Not bad for an undrafted rookie. I'd rather have him than Salmons (at 11x the pay) right now.

I'm just sick of $5M-$12M a year vets who aren't playing well, aren't consistently making an effort, and are only getting older. So, **** yeah, hire an Azubuike for $400K a year to fill that empty roster slot. It's not like the nobody that's in that slot now is a better investment in our future.

 

[creAtivetfh]

they need to at least keep playing bibby because i sorely need him on my fantasy team

 

[Vlade4GM]

Of course they're not. But why not give them the chance to develop together. How did you feel about that starting five in 98-99? I was pretty unsure of em myself.

because that would be just wasting time and two very good drafts.

 

[Bricklayer]

Of course they're not. But why not give them the chance to develop together. How did you feel about that starting five in 98-99? I was pretty unsure of em myself.

I was pretty ****ing stoked myself -- you can't disguise that kind of talent. I thought it was obvious Corliss had to go. Still had hopes for Wahad.

MUCH different situation than this current crew. 4/5 pof this current crew is as good as its ever going to be. Several of them may be in decline. What you see is what you get. And while the '99 crew showed instant chemistry and pizzazz, this crew shows compelte dysfunction and boredom. Just wearing the same unifrorm doesn't entitle every group of random players to be compared to that early nucleus. Noweher near the same class, and never will be. The longer/slower/more stubborn we ar about recognizing that and acting accoridngly the longer/slower/more interminable the rebuilding process will be.

 

[SacTownKid]

I'd think since Petrie keeps talking "long term" they should play the young guys, but they'll keep trying for the playoffs no doubt. Probably even after they have statistically eliminated.

 

[gunks]

Yep.

I wonder how much of that is the Maloofs though.

 

[tyrant]

play williams, martin and price. but i gotta admit that whenever i see the hornets,warriors,clippers and wolves lose i get excited because it gets us closer to the playoffs. every team we needed to lose last night lost. hornets,wolves and clippers.
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with that said i voted for play the youngsters. i dont want to keep playing bibby and miller and get my hopes up for the playoffs.

 

[Miles and Miles]

I took the unpopular stance of trying to still make the playoffs. Hey we still have a 5.8% chance.

I still would like to see Justin get some minutes. Not sure why he doesn't. Kenny and SAR aren't doing anything why not play Justin? Garcia, Price, and obviously Martin are already getting minutes. Garcia and Price aren't going to be starters until the Kings do something drastic (which I don't see happening) so why play them starter minutes? They should get comfortable and used to coming off the bench. We need to draft a Center and/or a PF.

 

[tyrant]

brian skinner with 12 boards and 2 blocks against dallas last night.

 

[Miles and Miles]

brian skinner with 12 boards and 2 blocks against dallas last night.

Every dog has it's day...

Brian Skinner is avg 4.3 pts, 5.7 reb, and 1.0 blk in 22.5 minutes per game.

Kenny Thomas is avg 5.4 pts, 6.1 reb, and 0.3 blk in 23 minute per game.

Looks like a push.

 

[Kingster]

Management - Petrie, the Maloofs, or both - apparently don't have the stones or the smarts to play the young guys and get a better draft position. Even their own King's announcer, Napear, has said it's time to play the young guys. If we don't play the young guys and get a 10-13 pick, this will be the worst of all possible nightmarish worlds to be in, where we have a crappy season AND a crappy draft pick. Death with no meaning. And what compounds the negativity is this: If they don't have the stones or the smarts to do what's necessary now, why should we believe they have it to do the right stuff in the offseason?

 

[NewMonkey]

Giving up on the starters this season isn't the best idea. That group as a whole still is learning to play together. We have to remember that they've only had one and a half seasons together. How long did it take bibb, webb, vlade, dc, and peja to finally become that powerhouse? Longer than 100 games. Keep mixing in the rooks. At this point, that's all you can do. The big question is what are we going to do with Miller. The 5 spot in the lineup should be the primary focus of the coming draft. Anybody know of some future centers besides Oden that the kings actually have a shot of getting?

The 98-99 Kings made the playoffs the first year they were together in 1998-1999, which was a 50 game season. The Kings didn't become a powerhouse until a few years later, but that 98-99 team was clearly better than this one, and they were moving in the right direction.

 

[NewMonkey]

Every dog has it's day...

Brian Skinner is avg 4.3 pts, 5.7 reb, and 1.0 blk in 22.5 minutes per game.

Kenny Thomas is avg 5.4 pts, 6.1 reb, and 0.3 blk in 23 minute per game.

Looks like a push.

Triple the blocks gives the advantage to Skinner, given how bad the Kings are defensively, especially at the rim. Then there's the matter of Skinner making half the money Kenny Thomas is being paid...

 

[Ryle]

At that time, we had Rick Adelman. He had a good basketall philosophy, and was IMO a master of building a team.

And now... well...

Um, Geoff Petrie built the team, Adelman coached the players he was given.

 

[tyrant]

Triple the blocks gives the advantage to Skinner, given how bad the Kings are defensively, especially at the rim. Then there's the matter of Skinner making half the money Kenny Thomas is being paid...

and a shotblocker may only average 2 blocks a game, but they alter anywhere between 4-10 shots a contest. at least.

 

[NoBonus]

Though I would like the Kings to play more of the young guns, I think it will be a difficult task for the staff to get the vets and their egos to go for it... of course, the staff may not care.

 

[Bricklayer]

The 98-99 Kings made the playoffs the first year they were together in 1998-1999, which was a 50 game season. The Kings didn't become a powerhouse until a few years later, but that 98-99 team was clearly better than this one, and they were moving in the right direction.

Not to mention having 4 of the 5 starters 25 or younger, as well as two of the top bench guys (Peja, Pollard). That was where the upside and future was coming -- youth, youth and more youth in the rotation. All kinds of growth potential.

 

[Cal-Kings]

Can we just not play at all?

We've moved up in the standings by not playing all week.

 

[Spike]

Not to mention having 4 of the 5 starters 25 or younger, as well as two of the top bench guys (Peja, Pollard). That was where the upside and future was coming -- youth, youth and more youth in the rotation. All kinds of growth potential.

As well as a coach to lead that youth in the right direction...

 

[Troy]

Very hard to say. You could argue to play Miller, Bibby, Artest to showcase their skills or at least hope for a rebound in performance....ie more of Bibby's last game to rebound from a otherwise bad year. Miller to show his foot has healed...hopefully. Ron to show that he can play in a team environment...hopefully and not try to carry the team on his back and fail, elimniate 1 on 1 ball.

We don't have the youngings I think to play most of the time. I'm all for playing and starting Justin Williams though. Thomas is just horrible and SAR can come off the bench for Williams and Miller. Thomas can just sit and watch like he would be doing on any other team, but the Kings.

While I hate making the playoffs only to get smashed by the #1 team in the West. The fact is we still have made the playoffs with a major talent drain of where we were in our hay day. Only 8 out of 15 team in the East, and the same # in the west make it so that's good company however you look at it. 16 out of 30 NBA teams to make the playoffs. Even in our weakened state, we actually match up well with San Antonio for some reason and we had a d good chance against them last season. Against the Suns or Mavs we will lose quickly, probably be swept if not for super human effort from Bibby/KMart/Artest.

I vote to try to make the playoffs, you always try for that no matter what, but play JWill2, Price, and Cisco more. I'm all for showcasing the vets, but we can do that without them being over played and the youngins not getting much time, let alone meaningful time on the court in a good block. This little 1 minute here, 1 minute there doesn't do much, you need to be in the game for 1/2 quarter or so and get a feel for the game.


I vote for option 3, start the vets, but don't play them crazy and let them split time with the youngings. Shoot for the playoffs and make it 9 years in a row if possible, this year will of course be much harder them usual...but you honestly have to fight for the playoffs and to win...without that why would anyone care to watch your crappy team. Even losing big is o.k., if you try. Basketball should be about routing for you team, but heck if they suck, then at least you can watch the Nash, Dirk's, Kobies, Lebrons, etc of the world and put on a good show.

 

[Londonking]

I like what Troy has to say.

I really want to see our Kings win games - but we know the existing roster just wont get it done. So lets try to achieve a balance....play the established vets, but give better / longer minutes to some of the younger players than might otherwise be the case in a season where we believed we could go all the way (as obviously this season we dont).

If by a bit of luck (good or bad, depending upon your view) we make the play-offs then okay, lets see how far we can go. (applying the same 'give the kids a chance' mentality) If we find ourselves in the lottery for a high draft pick then lets keep our fingers crossed for a high pick.

 

[Bricklayer]

Here's a question that has been popping into my head recently: since when exactly did "making the playoffs" in a league where more than half the teams do become a goal in and of itself? That may have been a goal when we hadn't been there for 10 years or whatever, but what the hell? Who the bleep cares whether you "make the playoffs" as a sub-.500 ****bag of a team? You don't belong and are just there to fill up a bracket. Its like being drafted 60th as "Mr. Irrelevant".

The playoffs are there for a purpose -- teams "play off" to determine who will be this year's champion. If you have no shot at that goal, then you are just posing.​