Lookin' UP!
by zzsjolt on Feb 1, 2012 10:22 AM PST
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PrintAll year long we have wahwahwahhhhhed our Fate...poor us, poor Loyal Kings' Fans. We have been up on the mountain and seen beautiful basketball, orchestrated by Mr Petrie, and we are starving for more!
That Laker win was great, and a curse...it was won by a vision of the future, not by current reality; what we can be was put on display. After that very harsh conditions(the truth) settled in: horrible year last year; Kings assemble a new roster, youngest in NBA! ;lockout; short camp; games jammed together at a fast pace with little practice; the THIRD coaching change in three years. Under all that we have financially constrained owners and a small franchise which might move. Those are not excuses...and those conditions take timetimetime to overcome!
What we do have is a great improvement from last year, a poor team with woeful potential. Francisco Garcia symbolizes that team: an excellent person, plays hard all the time, makes the most of his skills and is a very solid teammate. He also has earned great respect from the fans. But when we watch him is there any doubt that he is athletically limited? He's reached a point where he is having a hard time keeping up. Udrith, Dalembert, and other Kings of last year are not quite at Garcia's stage, but they are well past the tipping point.
We now have a number of players who have tremendous physical talent but who have little NBA experience, and have not played together as a unit. Not only has the calendar slowed that cohesion, but so have some serious injuries to key players on a team without many key players.
That team, however, has athletic skills and sweet NBA potential. Tyreke is healthy, and despite the naysayers, he can be a great and rare point guard with his size, speed, strength. Any Kings' fan not seeing how hard this young man works on his game for improvement must need a guide! His recognition of defenses is far better than last year...as his his overall court awareness. His assists are rising exponentially, That outside shot, from 3 and two point range, is slowly improving. He comes to play every night and never gives up during a game.
Cousins, despite early personality problems, is emerging as a premier NBA big man. With both attitude and hoop aptitude, he is making tremendous strides. Nuff said: what an awesome draft pick by Petrie!
With the addition of Fredette ,IT, Thornton,and Hayes it seems Petrie has his good touch. The two guards have tremendous potential! Chuck Hayes may have been injured(plenty of that in this NBA year), but his attitude, leadership and direction, not to mention his rocklike presence on the court make him a valuable addition. Thornton comes to play every night, and is dedicated to improving the non shooting parts of his game.By the way, all these athletes have personalities we can cheer for as well as their basketball personas.
As for the other newcomers(Hickson, Outlaw, Honeycutt, Whiteside)...who's to say? Hiuckson has started to find a rhythm, and that man can sky! He plays hard and unselfishly, and seems as if he is dedicated to improving his game. He could be a sleeper for sure! With Honeycutt, Outlaw and Whiteside, perhaps nothing emerges. But it seems they all three have athletic ability and a desire to improve, stay in the league and make their way. That beats three veterans playing limited minutes at the end of the career.
Jason Thompson is maturing into an excellent NBA big man...when 3 coaches come and go but he steadily works and improves, we have another personality to appreciate along with increased b-ball contributions. His play this year has been consistent and strong. Despite the vicious attacks Salmon is enduring from Kings' "fans', there are many veterans in the NBA that have suffered ghastly starts but are now starting to find their rhythm. Looks to me like Salmons is one of them. Earlier remarks were not intended to slight Garcia; love that guy! He can still spark 'em!
The problem is the Maloofs. This team has great potential, but with their known financial difficulties, the arena fracas, and the coaching carousel, they place the Kings in limbo. But what good does it do to denigrate the owners? perhaps they too are doing their best in rugged times. We may not like 'em, but they are what we have...thus they have us.
Anyway, I plan to continue rooting hard for every Kings' player, while hoping the team stays around Sacramento as potential comes home. Rooting hard against all odds and common sense...that's our fate, let's make the most of it!
GO KINGS!
(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 admire your optimism as well but I do not share it
I’m about as down on this team as I’ve ever been to be honest. As a fan, it’s hard to be objective about your team. i think this has caused a lot of Kings fans, myself included, to overrated the talent on this team and overestimate their ceiling. It’s become painfully clear this season that this team is just outmatched by about 80% of NBA teams. I look at the WC and every team with the exception of Phoenix, Golden State, and New Orleans, is simply better. Most of them are young too giving them bright futures. As currently assembled, I don’t see how the Kings will ever challenge teams like the Clippers, the Thunder, the Grizzlies, the Trailblazers, the Timberwolves, and the Nuggets who i see as the teams that are the future of the WC. I hope that I end up proven wrong on that but right now I honestly see the Kings ceiling as a 6-8 seed first round exit team and they have a long way to go before they even reach that level. Hopefully Cousins and Evans turn into a star duo and lead this team to something special. I’d love to eat crow on on this.
As currently assembled, I don’t see how the Kings will ever challenge teams like the Clippers, the Thunder, the Grizzlies, the Trailblazers, the Timberwolves, and the Nuggets
I don’t think anyone would disagree with this. As currently assembled, this team is flawed. However, the bright future comes from having two young stars, a couple of good rotation players and cap space + picks.
It will be up to Petrie or his replacement to assemble the right pieces around Cousins & Evans, but in the long term that’s a better base than most of the other teams you mentioned.
:)spts junkie
That’s what I was trying to say… I’d rather have Evans/Cousins than Pierce/Garnett. The core is there. Look at last night…the Warriors have Nate Robinson and we have IT.
Evans/Cousins over Pierce/Garnett now?
That’s a given. Those guys are near the end of their careers. That’s why I didn’t bother mentioning the Lakers, Spurs, or Mavericks, as all those team are on their last legs.
From a pure talent standpoint
Evans/Cousins has the potential to be better than any combo you listed except Paul/Griffin and Durant/Westbrook.
Even with Durant & Westbrook they are both wings, so Evans & Cousins has the potential to mesh better with an inside and outside player.
They key to beating the Clippers, assuming they stay healthy, is going to be Evans/Cousins getting close to Paul/Griffin and our GM surrounding them with better role players than the Clippers have.
Which is a longshot to me
Butler, Williams, and Billuos are better than any role players the Kings have even if Tyreke and Cousins do match CP3 and Griffen.
This. If those two develop, we will need to surround them with better role players.
Maybe some combo of Jimmer, JT, Hickson and IT remain, but there are plenty of trades and changes to be made.
Between the start of ’99 and ’02 the old Kings added Doug Christie, Hedo, Bobby Jackson, Jim Jackson, Scot Pollard and Keon Clark.
Big overall upgrades over John Barry, Vernon Maxwell, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Ollie, Corliss, and Terry Dehere.
No doubt. Evans & Cousins have more potential in my mind
Rubio and Love have maximized theirs better thus far for a variety of reasons.
Rubio and Love at their current status is darn pretty legit
and they are 23 and 21 so not exactly much further along in their careers.
Very legit
I think Evans and Cousins have better physical traits, which is why I said more potential.
But I love Love and Rubio. I think Kings-Wolves can be a fun battle going forward.
Good point
in all the doom and gloom I guess I tend to forget that they probably have another high lottery pick on the way and still have a ton of cap space. What worries me though is that the Maloofs can’t/won’t spend any of it, so the team still sucks in a few years, and Evans and Cousins bolt for greener pastures. Then we’re back to square one.
Maloofs can’t/won’t spend any of it, so the team still sucks in a few years, and Evans and Cousins bolt for greener pastures. Then we’re back to square one.
This is a legitimate concern & it would be extremely distressing for me as a fan if this happened. However, I prefer to reflect on moves we could make assuming the Maloofs are willing to spend a reasonable amount. Not a Mark Cuban/Jerry Buss amount, but more of a Peter Holt amount.
And in fairness to them, they appeared willing to spend this offseason. There really wasn’t anyone out there worth overspending on. Nene, Chandler and Gasol were never realistic targets. I plan on giving the Maloofs the benefit of the doubt until I hear that Petrie or our new GM wants to sign a player and the Maloofs decline.
Dalembert was worth spending on to a degree
yet somehow they managed to lose him to Houston on a 2 year deal that isn’t even guaranteed in the 2nd year. It’s unfathomable to me that they couldn’t make a good enough offer to retain him.
Well
1 – He turned us down
2 – I didn’t read any article stating the Maloofs refused to spend on him. If Petrie could have had him and decided to pursue a different direction, then that’s on Petrie. But I didn’t hear a single rumor that Petrie wanted to sign him to a 10 million dollar deal and the Maloofs said the team’s salary was too high.
yes but then they withdrew the offer
i think Dalembert was trying to leverage the Kings and Rockets into a bidding war and the Kings told him to take a hike.
They withdrew the offer
When it became clear that Sammy’s agent was using the Kings’ offer as leverage to get a better deal from Houston. They were not negotiating in good faith, and Petrie was obviously pretty upset about the whole thing if you read his one-liner of a press release.
Even though the voices aren't real, they have some pretty good ideas!
by LeaguePassAddict on Feb 1, 2012 5:18 PM PST up reply actions
Do You Bump your Head?
Dude,
I am a die hard kings fan but we suck!that’s the bottom line.matter of fact we have sucked for 5 or 6 years.geoff petrie what about the bad trades outlaw,salmons etc.getting nothing for martin,bibby etc.but i love my team bro.but we are in a funk…………..
by cowboyron96@yahoo.com on Feb 1, 2012 11:49 AM PST reply actions 3 recs
zzsjolt vs. cowboyron96
Round 1… Fight!
Author of NBA Mashups. Follow me on Twitter here.
by Aykis16 on Feb 1, 2012 12:00 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
*Ding. Ding*
"Crescit cum comercio civicas"
Throw it around the back so it look fly when I pass//
Just to avoid the block go high off the glass//
I'm killing them out there they gon' have to bring caskets//
This all I hear after the baskets *swoosh*//
by HarveySpecter on Feb 1, 2012 11:13 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
:)
That’s where the hope comes in. And I do feel like Charlie Brown with Lucy pulling away the football every year…here I am tryin’ for another kick.
And i can think of a worse ending than yours…the team does get a pick, and signs somebody…they’re on the edge of greatness…then the Maloofs move ’em!
Then what happens? A new franchise starts here, with a sad roster, BUT they have great plans…
Stay positive my friend
There’s a decent list of free agents this summer and by all acounts this years draft class is a good one.
I agree with your comments on JT and DMC. Both of those guys are making big promising steps.
Agreed, and it isn't like the 2010 offseason where 27 teams cleared up enough cap space to sign a LeBron type player.
There will be opportunities to sign some good guys. We may not get guys like Dwight or Deron, but we could land one of the B-list guys like Batum.
"First we get jobs, then we get the khakis, then we get the chicks."
The unrestriced FA list isn't that great, but there's an excellent crop of restricted guys
Should be interesting to see what teams decide to do if the kings throw out some offers with the heavy taxes looming in the near future.
Batum would be great. Landry Fields and C.J. Miles are some other options, although I would say they’re more gaurds than 3’s.
Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen. And for a limited time, every third person who follows me on Twitter (andy_sims) gets a free ice cream cone.
Which I will eat.
by andy sims on Feb 1, 2012 3:04 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I knew if anyone was going to understand this one, it'd be you.
Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen. And for a limited time, every third person who follows me on Twitter (andy_sims) gets a free ice cream cone.
Which I will eat.
Woo! Now gimme a high five!
"Contraction, I didn't say anything about contraction. I'm talking about shrinking the league." - Lebron James
"Believe it or not, I was not always as awesome as I am today." - Barney
These last 5 games have made me more optimistic
I’m feeling better about our cornerstones. Seems like just a little bit of coaching has made a world of difference.
The pieces still don’t fit quite right, but I feel that might work in our favor as there are 5 players in this upcoming draft that could really help us: Davis, Drummond, Barnes, Gilchrist and Robinson. Also, we have a lot of cap space and there are some really good restricted free agents. Imagine if we draft, say, Harrison Barnes and we sign Ryan Anderson, which. That’s not a best case scenario, and yet we would be a much improved team.
A little off topic but...
I watched the UConn game last night and I didn’t really see a #1 overall pick in Drummond. I know it’s one game and he’s just a freshman, but he looked akward, kinda like he has that weird Greg Oden body where one leg is longer than the other. He looked lost on offense, was slow to react if defense, and I didn’t see him fight for rebounding position once. Henry Sims looked like the better player last night, and he’s a projected 2nd rounder.
Anyways just one game and I’m probably wrong. He is huge and through down some nasty dunks.
by Crocoduck on Feb 2, 2012 8:17 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
To follow up
I watched a little of the Baylor game that was on after and Perry Jones looks like the real deal.
by Crocoduck on Feb 2, 2012 8:19 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I've seen him play 3 times
It sure looks like he needs at least another year in college. He is an athletic freak, but he looks more raw than Derrick Favors looked when he came out. He could be a few years away from being NBA ready.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
I think you're right, he's got a ways to go.
Did you watch the game last night? I want to catch a Kentucky game next. Looks like that team is loaded.
I have zero confidence in my scouting, but I just can’t shake my thoughts that at this point Tim Hardaway Jr. will be a better pro then Rivers or Lamb.
by Crocoduck on Feb 2, 2012 9:39 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I've only seen TH2 once this season,
against Michigan St. – he had a rough game. I’ll have to check in on him some more.
The guys that have caught my attention to this point are Anthony Davis (PF-Kentucky), as well as small forwards Perry Jones (Baylor…some project him as a PF), Thomas Robinson (Kansas), and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky). If you catch a Kentucky game, you’ll have a tendency to focus on Davis and Marquis Teague (PG) and maybe even Terrence Jones (SF), but spend a few minutes following MKG around the court – non-stop motor on that kid.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
Oh,
and if you’re looking for a pass-first point guard, look no further than Kendall Marshall of North Carolina.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
Passing is for the weak.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Feb 3, 2012 7:21 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Drummond is a bit of project...
…but he is a legit 7 footer with good athleticism. He’s the type of player that doesn’t come around very often and that’s why he is being ranked so high. I don’t like him nearly as much as Anthony Davis, but if he develops, he could be a Andrew Bynum-type player, which—next to DMC—would give us a scary frontcourt.
Agreed
But my bet is that if he came out now, he would not be a solid NBA contributor until late in his 2nd year at the earliest, and more likely his 3rd year. For a franchise (and fan base) that has shown little patience in player development, that’s a scary thought.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
It was a lot of words so I had to skim
most of it I didn’t disagree with, but the glaring thing to me is… where do you get this?
Thornton comes to play every night, and is dedicated to improving the non shooting parts of his game
If anything I’ve seen the contrary, but would like to see your side on it
Sanka....you dead? Ya Man
by prowseinthehouse on Feb 2, 2012 12:03 AM PST reply actions
Where did I get what...the opinions are all mine. As for Thornton..that's was my perception...but I could be wrong. We'll see:)
Hopin’ for the best!
Fair enough
was just curious what you saw in Thornton that made you think that he is dedicated to working on anything but scoring for himself
Sanka....you dead? Ya Man
by prowseinthehouse on Feb 2, 2012 9:13 AM PST up reply actions
Last season
When he first got here, he was scoring, dishing, rebounding, playing defense with considerable effort. I’d like to see that guy again…soon!
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
by section214 on Feb 2, 2012 9:34 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You and me both
Sanka....you dead? Ya Man
by prowseinthehouse on Feb 2, 2012 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
The biggest thing I noticed about MT23 last year was thjat he was realling good at cutting to the basket without the ball
It seemed like DMC was finding him on cuts a lot last year. He hasn’t been moving with out the rock as much this year
Thornton...
The first change I saw was on drives…he was picking up a lot of offensive fouls, turnovers… right before he was hurt he was dishing and pulling up rather than get the charge.
On “D”, he appears to work hard doing wrong things. For instance, he sticks right with his man with ferocity…but he doesn’t recognize helpside, and opening up…which leaves him vulnerable to picks and back door cuts. seems Smart is a teacher, and this team is buying in 100%. Hopefully Thornton sees that, likes it, wants to be part of it and will learn and grow with the rest.
If not, he guns….scores a bunch of points for the Kings(not that we need them:), and then is included in a trade package at the end of the year.
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