Is this season a success?

by Mityt on Apr 15, 2008 1:32 PM PDT

I've been intently watching the poll regarding the opinion of my fellow StR bretheren and am curious to hear some opinions on why they think this season was or was not a success. I'm especially curious on the opinions of those who voted this season a success "only if we beat the Lakers." I hate the Lakers as much as everyone else here but how can a team's barometer be measured on one game where the two best players for said team won't even be in uniform?

To add some fodder for debate I will add my opinion to the mix and we shall see what comes of it. I am obviously in the minority as I voted that this Kings season was not a success. You cannot deny that this year's incarnation of the Kings are a better product than last year's, but I think last year's squad was a complete disaster. How a few games improvement (but still under 0.500) can be measured as success I do not know.

I suppose the Kings' play of late has left some with a positive spin on the team and, I must admit, have been superbly impressed with their recent quality play against supposedly superior talent. Too little way too late. One can only hope that this carries over to next season, but who knows what will happen as we all know the current state of flux in the team's roster.

Don't get me wrong, I am optimistic for the future. Certainly much more so than I was at the end of last year's quagmire. We have quality swingmen and an emerging center and possibly a young talented point. There is much to be excited about. However, with all this potential it still has not been realized and may not ever be. To me, if you do not reach the playoffs and have a chance to compete for a championship you have had an unsuccessful season. There may be positive aspects of your season, but it was a failure nonetheless. Take the Warriors for example. They improved their record and had, by most measureable means, a phenomenal year. To me, it was just as much a failure, if not more so, than the Kings' season.

Granted I know, from the poll data, that about 50% or more of you do not agree with me and that is...OK. So tell me why I'm wrong and lets get this party started.

(This is a FanPost from a member of the Sactown Royalty community. The views expressed come from the member, and not Sactown Royalty staff.)

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I voted success

because the team exceeded my expectations. They won a few more games than I had projected, and they did that while the starters missed over 170 games to injury (not including 'Reef!). Think about that for a moment. On average we were missing better than two starters per night this season.

Additionally, the team has given me hope for the future. Most notably, Martin and Garcia continued to progress nicely and I think they will be even better next year. Hawes has shown that we may have gotten a lot more athlete than we thought when we drafted him. Salmons + minutes = good! Beno (if re-signed) is best case very good and worst case adequate for the short term.

And we played hard. HARD!!!

We still have a lot of unfinished business moving forward. But looking back I am very pleased with my investment for season tickets for the year 2007-08.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Apr 15, 2008 2:09 PM PDT 0 recs

Success

Depends on how you define it. I would say we have had the following successes this year.

Theus has proved to be (most of the time) a good coach with a pretty good ability to learn from his mistakes. He'll probably be around for a while.
Francisco Garcia, Spencer Hawes and Beno Udrih have made measurable progress in their development this year.
Despite lengthy injuries to nearly every key player on our roster, our record improved over last year, and we're finishing the season better than we started it.
Mike Bibby has moved on, freeing the team to do likewise.
Attitude and locker-room harmony seem to be improved.

If you're measuring success only on number of wins, or cap space to sign significant free agents next year, no, we didn't succeed. But I think there are a number of reasons to be more optimistic today than there were at the end of last season.

TickTickTickTickTickTick

by LeaguePassAddict on Apr 15, 2008 2:12 PM PDT 0 recs

I voted yes

because of some of the reasons that you mentioned. the team is coming on of late and the young guns are encouraging for the future. also with all of the injuries to this team, for us to still win four or five more games than last year is incredible.

as was stated in amick's article the other day with k-mart, martin said that this year, everyone is playing hard every night and wants to win every game despite the fact that we have been out of the playoff picture the whole season. last year the team basically quit and down the stretch the record was horrible (i don't know the exact numbers, but compared to this year's they were horrible). the effort that these guys have given is a success, in my opinion.

i agree that making the playoffs is a good barometer for judging success, but for this team and this situation, it's different. did we honestly think that we were going to make the playoffs this year anyway. the warriors expected to make the playoffs and make some noise again, that's why their not making it is a failure.

also look at the blazers. this season is considered a success for them because of the young pieces that they have and the cohesiveness they showed this year. although their record is a few games better than ours, their situation is similar to ours. they have a one-two year jump on us as far as young talent goes, but in a few years, the kings and blazers will be the up-and-coming rivalry in the west.

when will the Kenny Thomas Reign of Terror end?!!??

by diehardkingsfan5 on Apr 15, 2008 2:12 PM PDT 0 recs

My reasons

I voted yes regardless of a win tonight. Last year I was so disappointed in the team, I felt that very few players cared whether we won or lost. This year it seems that they want to play hard and win. I also pegged them to win 35 games, and we should have won more(the Denver game before Christmas and the Philly game after Christmas, both at home, to name a couple) I am proud to be a Kings fan, and look forward to next year.

by spragueito on Apr 15, 2008 3:16 PM PDT 0 recs

No, No, No...

But keep on trying.

I voted no as I agree with Mityt that success should be defined by the team's accomplishments. Under .500 and out of the playoffs is not a success. That is not to say that I did not enjoy the play this season. If there is one that that consistently sells in this town it is hard work and many of the Kings BROUGHT IT this year.

I believe that things are looking up for the roster. Not great, probably not even playoff bound next year but certainly headed in the right direction. Explosive wings, solid (if somewhat grounded) play in the paint and an evolving personality as a tough, in your face opponent is a pretty good place to be in the meantime!

by defender96 on Apr 15, 2008 4:54 PM PDT 0 recs

NO

The goal is to get to the playoffs. The purpose of the regular season is getting to the playoffs.

I know we surpassed our own expectations but anything else is just a moral victory.

We played hard, we did something for the future, but ultimately, I WANT THE KINGS IN THE PLAYOFFS.

The NBA Lottery: Where fans turning against their favorite team happens.

by kingme18 on Apr 15, 2008 4:58 PM PDT 0 recs

No, not a success

We took one step on the rebuilding path(trading Bibby), but failed to move Artest.

I don't think we're a whole lot closer to the goal of having a championship contender than we were last year. And if we've bottomed out and are now making our rise up the standings, I don't think we have enough pieces to reach that championship peak.

The energy was encouraging, I've enjoyed the progress of Martin, Cisco and Hawes, I'm sad to see the season end, and I'm not looking forward to 6 months of no games. But, I'd be happier if I was anticipating a starting lineup for the 08-09 season of: Hawes, Miller, Salmons, Martin, Beno with Cisco, Williams, Douby and First Rounders 1 and 2 coming off the bench.

by Kfan in Korea on Apr 15, 2008 5:51 PM PDT 0 recs

I voted it wasn't a success

and my reasoning is simple, and will surprise no one. I based this season upon several variables:

Trading Mike Bibby
Trading Ron Artest
Whether Petrie had control over the franchise
Whether the Maloof's had control over the franchise
Whether Garcia, Salmons and Hawes would grow over the course of the season
Would Reggie Theus show reasonable proof that he did a good job as the Head Coach of the Sacramento Kings
Did the franchise build for the future?

Now 1 happened. 2 didn't. I'm not sure whether 3 is a good thing today or not. I'm not sure 4 ever will fall under the category of a good thing. 5 is a matter of opinion. I think yes and no on each player is the proper answer. As far as 6 I think Reggie DID show reasonable proof. 7 is not something I think they did. If they have a future, and did they build towards are 2 different things. They have a future, but they had a future anyway. What kind of future it will be is most certainly in doubt, and by not trading Artest, every other question brings in some introspection as to the viability of this franchise moving forward.

We could build ping-pong ball shrines and make sacrifices at them, like broken ping-pong paddles, or burning Peaches in effigy--LPA

by pookeyguru on Apr 15, 2008 6:33 PM PDT 0 recs

Not being a contender sucks

But I still voted Yes. We started the season with essentially the same group as last year with the addition of Hawes and Moore. Bibby goes down and we pick up Beno. Bibby only played 15 games. Artest missed 25 games. Kevin missed 21. Spencer missed the start of the season as well as the whole summer. We've been pretty beat up.

As far as the overall talent is concerned I don't think this team is much better than last year's squad. Spencer's doing some good stuff. Beno's been great too. Garcia and Salmons have stepped it up. But overall, I don't think they're that much better than E-Muss' squad.

So, since we have the same talent level, but had a lot of guys miss a lot of games with injury, we should have done much worse. But somehow, we have 5 more wins than last year. I think this season is definitely a success.

I look at all of Pookey's points and I see where he's coming from. Unfortunately we might be stuck with Ron another year. Maybe we'll get lucky and Petrie will pull off my Artest/Douby to the Dubs for Wright/Harrington that I mentioned earlier. Garcia, Salmons, and Hawes have all shown that they can grow and how valuable they can be, which does build towards our future. Once Ron is gone Salmons should be our starting SF. If we resign Beno, then a backcourt of Beno, Martin, and Salmons, with Garcia off the bench is a great start towards our future. If we can somehow get a young stud PF who can rebound and block shots, thus helping Spencer, then we'll have a great young core. If we could just trade any combination of Brad, Ron, SAR, or K9 we'll be in much better shape (although I will admit that at least two of those 4 need to go).

This season is a success because the Kings far exceeded my expectations and, if we resign Beno, they have given me some hope for the future

by vfettke on Apr 15, 2008 8:26 PM PDT 0 recs

i voted yes

i believe that this season was a success
because even though they had riddled with injuries
they were still playing hard and beating top tier teams.
i like seeing hawes get more PT. garcia’s game is improving and he will become the 6th man. beno was a good find even though he had his own injuries
martin and garcia finding eachother for a dunk or a hoop
watching sheldon get more PT
they have a coach that the players still have respect for and listen to.
no more mussleman, and more wins than last season.

by sacgirl88 on Apr 15, 2008 11:30 PM PDT 0 recs

I think it was a success

For the tools Theus had at his disposal.

That’s not the same as saying the team is heading in the right direction though. There may be a ceiling for this team as it stands, and wholesale changes may still be necessary.

by otis29 on Apr 17, 2008 11:28 AM PDT 1 recs

That's what I've been aiming at I think

Well put Otis (as usual).

We could build ping-pong ball shrines and make sacrifices at them, like broken ping-pong paddles, or burning Peaches in effigy--LPA

by pookeyguru on Apr 17, 2008 1:24 PM PDT up 0 recs

I think we are on the same wavelength on this

The West is just brutal, and it’s going to continue to be for some time. We have a nice little team going, in the same way the Dubs have a nice little team going. If your goal is just making the playoffs, that’s great – this team might be perfect for that.

"Boo Lakers! Boo Kobe! Go Kings! Go Giants! Boo Dodgers!" - my 5 year-old daughter - 4/15/08

by otis29 on Apr 17, 2008 1:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah we are

You know a conference is brutal when a playoff team from a year ago (Dubs) wins 7 more games and still misses the playoffs. The NBA is lucky the Warriors didn’t win 50 games. It’s only one games but 50 has a resonating ring to it. 49 just kinda doesn’t.

We could build ping-pong ball shrines and make sacrifices at them, like broken ping-pong paddles, or burning Peaches in effigy--LPA

by pookeyguru on Apr 17, 2008 1:58 PM PDT up 0 recs

49 has a pretty nice ring to it

when you’re sitting at 38. ;p

8 – 50 win teams and 1 – 49 win team is pretty amazing. Throw in the Blazers and it’s going to be really tough for the Kings to have a shot at the playoffs for at least the next 2-3 years.

by Kfan in Korea on Apr 17, 2008 2:25 PM PDT up 0 recs