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What is krack alakin hardware Nos listeners, I am Damp Valley coming at you

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once more without my fantabulous co host
Adam frommel our team look Ahead Train rolls

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Onward. We're up to the Sacramento
Kings. Greg Whissinger from The King's Herald

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was kind enough to join me.
He is the managing editor there follow the

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Kings Harold, which does great work
at the King's Herald. He's also a

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freelancer for the Sacramento b and you
can follow Greg on Twitter at g whiss

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at gwi ss fantastic follow on Twitter. I highly recommend it. Before we

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get started, the usual housekeeping notes, Please, please, pretty please continue

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Subscriptions and downloading every episode helps out
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first time listening to Hardwoo Knox because
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Let's get to some great and in
depth Sacramento Kings talk. A truly

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fascinating team by the way, the
Kings are heading into this season. But

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let's talk some Kings now with Greg
Whistlinger from The King's Herald. Greg,

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thank you so much for coming back
on the hardwo Knox podcast for our Sacramento

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Kings look Ahead. This is the
third consecutive year that you've done it,

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so, as you mentioned before the
podcast, you're officially at glutton for punishment.

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I appreciate it. Before we dive
into Sacramento Kings basketball, though,

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first and foremost, how are you
doing. I'm doing pretty good. Yeah,

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it was a long day, but
I have a podcast to do,

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so you know that's always highlight because
I get to talk basketball and get to

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talk about the Kings and look at
the season ahead and thinks haven't gone off

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the rails for the Kings yet,
so it's an exciting time. Their offseason

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was like super low key. The
thing that stood out to me is I

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guess one that it was so low
key, and then two, I didn't

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think I was banging the Rashawn Holme
drums all year that he was gonna probably

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price himself out of Sacramento. And
I was just shocked that they were able

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to keep him on the early bird
deal. Just what were you before we

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sort of dig into the nitty gritty
stuff on them. Do you have any

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just general thoughts or impressions or takeaways
from the off season that you're kind of

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harping on as we head into the
regular season, you know, I mean

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keeping homes was a huge win for
the Kings that they couldn't really afford to

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lose him because they didn't have any
money if he left. I mean,

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they resigned him with bird rights.
If he was on, they wouldn't have

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been able to replace him. I
mean, they would have been kind of

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scrapping the bargain been a free agency
and so being able to keep him at

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what I feel is a below value
contract for what he does for the team

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was huge. King's got really lucky
because we spent most of the year thinking,

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Okay, they're gonna be kind of
priced out of this. We thought,

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you know, maybe they should have
made some trades at the deadline to

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kind of open up some of that
offseason cap spaces that they could have gone

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over those early bird rights. But
it worked out really well, and I'm

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glad that the gamble paid off because
he's so important to what they are trying

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to accomplish this year. Luke Walton
had to be kidding when he said that,

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like the Tristan Thompson at center starting
lineup was a legitimate possibility, right,

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Like, dude, I would call
for him to be fired on the

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spot. If they actually rolled that
out in the regular season, I'd be

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very shocked. To me. That's
more of a you know, if Holmes

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is banged up or needs a night
off or something like that. I mean,

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you never really know with Luke Walton, and he's done some crazy things

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with lineups, and you know,
there's plenty of people in Sacramento that to

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be calling for him to be fired
even without that lineup change. But yeah,

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I don't see a scenario where there's
a healthy for Shawn Holmes and Tristan

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Thompson is starting. That being said, I mean, I'm sorry. Yeah.

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So that being said, Holmes got
the starting job as a guy who

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came in as like the third string
center or the second string center, and

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just the starter played like crap.
It was it was Twain deadman and so

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well. It has been always willing
to just play whoever's playing best. I

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mean, I think that is one
thing we can give him credit for because

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he's the reason Holmes was given that
bigger shot to prove himself and is now

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established as a starting level center in
the league. Is he gonna shoot one

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trillion percent on push shots again?
Oh? Yeah, I mean that's automatic.

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I mean, it's the most reliable
shot in the NBA. Just so

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just so good at it. I'm
not beginning to ask this before we actually

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talk about the Kings, and which
is why the Kings were left so long

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until the end of the Kings and
the Timberwolves. I just wasn't sure it

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was going to happen. With the
Ben Simmons stub stuff with regard to them,

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how do you feel about Simmons's potential
fit in Sacramento. And just as

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you know, if you're Monty McNair, what would you actually what would be

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a realistic package you'd actually be willing
to give up for him. That's not

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you know, like Buddy Healed and
Lewis King, Like you're not getting Ben

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Simmins ver Buddy Heild and Lewis King, right, I mean the go to

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package among Kings fans is like Buddy
Hilled, Marvin Bagley and two first And

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I'm just like, if that was
getting the job done, it would have

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happened, like like, the Kings
are not like you grasping holding on to

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that. And I mean even with
the kind of crazy expectations that Maury's flipped

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out there, I don't see it
never get into that being the best offer

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that Philly can get. To me, the package that always made a lot

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of sense was something involving Harrison Barnes. I think Harrison Barnes would be a

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really nice fit in Philly. The
Cat mechanics, and I haven't checked it

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recently. I don't know if it
changes it all with the season actually starting,

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but at least in the offseason,
the Cat mechanics worked where Philly could

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send out Simmons and take back both
Buddy Hilda and Harrison Barton's contracts. I

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think that would be more than the
Kings would ideally want to give up.

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And then you've got some spacing concerns, you know, because you know Barnes

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and Buddy Hild are two of their
more reliable three point threats. Is for

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a space in the floor. But
something like that, I mean after the

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preseason, and I'm sure we'll get
into this, but you could even fit

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Mitchell into that deal under the cap. That's a nice combination that you know,

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maybe a pick or two. That's
a nice combination of win now players

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some future assets with Davian and the
picks. I mean, that to me

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seemed like the best sacrament I could
offer. I don't know if it makes

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sense to them. And the since
I get right now is that the Kings

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are happy to try what they have
now, and their offer may change a

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little bit if they kind of stumble
out the gate and you know, maybe

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the good vibes go away and you
know, the regular season reality sets in

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that this isn't going to work.
That's where I can see the offers really

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shifting. And I think that's what
Philly is counting on too. The Kingdom

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the Spurs seemed like the two teams
where Philly settles and is willing to go

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to non star star out. They
have like the nice blend of players who

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fit. They can probably include a
young player and then it picks. So

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it just feels like they would those
two teams have the best balancing out packages.

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Do you like the idea of de
aon Fox and Ben simm Is playing

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on the same team though, yeah, I mean so, the kind of

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the line in the sand, at
least based on current reporting, is that

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the Kings won't even entertain the package
that involves Daron Fox or Tyres Alibert,

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and I don't think they should.
I mean, Benzions, I think would

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be a great addition if you can
put him next to those two guys,

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because almost any path going out of
Sacramento for Simmons is probably going to include

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Buddy Heal just because the Sixers are
gonna want that shooting around and Bead you've

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got salary matching. But then now
you've got Fox who has not been a

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good three point shooter, and you've
got Simmons who is a non existent three

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point shooter, and you've lost your
volume three point shooter. That space is

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your floor, So there are definitely
some fit concerns. Haliburton showed some nice

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touch from three Harrison Barnes. Like
I mentioned before, If you still have

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him, I think there's things you
can do with spacing. To me,

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though, for all the concerns that
there would be about roster fit and all

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those different dynamics, I'm still in
favor of it. If you're keeping Fox

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and Haliburton, I mean Fox,
Haliburton, Simmons. That's a really nice

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young trio of players who for whatever
they can't do, they can do a

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lot of other things really well.
And I'd be excited to see how would

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work. I think it's a gamble
worth taking for a team that's been bad

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for as long as the Kings have
been, I'd probably be with you.

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I'd also be shocked Philly did a
deal that didn't include I don't think they

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should includ Fox at all. Maybe
if the d damage of the season changed

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a little bit, they move off
of Alibert. But I love Haliburton and

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I'd actually be more intrigued with Like
Simmons and Haliburton playing together defensively would be

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one of the things I'd love to
see Darren Fox coming off a monster year,

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what's the next front tier for him? That's the question I ask you

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every single time you're on this podcast. I feel like, well, and

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what's been fun is every single year
Darren Fox has made a steady leap forward.

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And this year, I don't know, you know, if you were

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your listeners have seen the pictures.
But Darren Fox came into camp just like

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Jacked. I mean, for compared
to the skinny kid he came into the

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league, as he has put on
a ton of muscle. I mean,

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he's still skinny when he stands next
to like any other normal human. But

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for Darren Fox standards like and when
I say normal human, I'm not talking

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to you or I am talking about
NBA players, right, I'm assaulted.

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But kay, but he has a
ton of muscle, which Darren Fox was

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already near the top of the league
as far as drawing fouls and getting in

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the lane and creating contact, get
into the line. So really, I

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mean the next steps for him are
making more free throws. He's not been

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a good free throw shooter. Despite
getting to the league at a top ten

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rate, he has not been a
good three point shooter. That could be

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a big step forward. If he
develops a three point shot to go along

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with his speed, I think that
could really open up some things, you

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know, just for the Kings as
a whole, not just for his game,

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but really the big thing for him
is defense. He's quick enough,

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he's capable of being a good defender. We just haven't seen the consistent engagement

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on that side of the ball.
And for a team that was the worst

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defensive team in the NBA last year
and the second worst defensive team in NBA

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history last year, having your star
point guard give a damn on defense,

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it would be a step forward that
I'd like to see. There's you know,

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there's there's literally nowhere for them to
go but up defensively. What's the

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path to them just being measurably better? Aside, you have Davion Mitchell now,

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which is huge, And then if
you're saying if Deanon FoST gets better

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on that end, you do have
Tyrese Halibert, who is just ubiquitous in

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00:11:13,919 --> 00:11:18,360
the passing lays. That dude is
fun to watch, But like, what

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is there like a can they get
materially better with the personnel that they have.

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I guess you brought back Harkless and
Thompson could be okay, and Rashaun

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Holmes is not the worst defensive center
by by a long shot you do look

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at on paper. I wouldn't expect
it to be a good defensive team,

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but I feel like they should not
be historically bad. Completely agree. I

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mean, talent wise, they have
players capable of playing defense. I mean

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Marvin Bagley is not good at defense, Buddy Hilled is really bad at defense.

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And I think a big part of
the issue last year was the King

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spent so many minutes playing both of
them at the same time. And when

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you have two really bad defenders on
the floor at once, combined with the

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scheme the Kings ran last year where
they switched everything and never varied from that

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at all, it was the easiest
thing in the world for opponents to just

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run screens and get switches and then
just exploit two terrible defenders. I think

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staggering those two minutes. I think
just having a scheme that isn't one switch

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everything all the time, because the
personnel is good enough to be a not

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a great defense, but not,
like you said, historically bad. If

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you just have a scheme that doesn't
put your players in terrible positions all the

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time. I think that will helpen
And they did get rid of their quote

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unquote defensive coordinator. The defensive expert
that they brought in last year was Rex

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claiming he's now in Detroit and they
brought in like I haven't had to pronounce

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00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:50,840
his name out loud, I've written
it Briango, I think is his last

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name. But defensive guy who's been
in the league for a long time,

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has been on some really good defensive
teams and has also been some not great

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teams. So we'll see if his
scheme maybe works out a little bit better.

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But there have been promising signs in
preseason and even going back to the

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California Classic that they do in Sacramento, just that led by Mitchell, there's

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a little bit more of an emphasis
of there's players around who actually do care

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about playing defense, and that's a
nice step forward. My last out on

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the Aaron Fox since that was the
defensive thing that you should call my attention.

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I think people probably focus too much
on players like the jumpers are definitely

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swing skills, but we get to
a point where, like, you know,

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he's in year was this year six
for him? That was a year

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five year six, year five year
five. So like, maybe maybe he's

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just never and above avers three point
shooter. That said, do you know

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what he shot on step back threes
last year? On step back threes,

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he was twenty three of fifty six, which is a very small sample,

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but it's still over forty percent.
Is that like? And I was watching

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them and it kind of feels like
those could be a thing. Forty one

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point one percent is really high.
The fact that he's even making that shot

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though, just feels like an additional
way that he's putting pressure on defense.

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If that thing is even falling at
like thirty three or thirty four percent clip,

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I don't know if he's improving his
foul shooting and you're saying he's he's

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stronger and he already shot like seventy
percent at the rim last year, IS's

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gonna shoot like seventy five percent at
the rim? I'm just so this might

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be the season in which I'm most
intrigued to watch him since he was a

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rookie. So there's a very real
path to him being an average or above

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average three point shooter. I mean, he is really good on just catching

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shoots. He's really good at threes
from the corner. The biggest thing that

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drags down his percentages. He takes
a lot of off the dribble, like

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pull up threes at the top of
the key, which makes a lot of

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sense for point guards, right,
I mean, that's where they're naturally at

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a lot of time they have the
ball in the hand, theyre dribbling.

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But he's terrible at those, or
at least was last year. So if

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he can improve that or at least
make those a smaller part of his overall

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number of attempts, it could shift
that overall average quite a bit to where

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when he is taking three's, opponents
are paying a little bit more attention to

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it. Tyrese Haliburton, I feel
like people have already written him off,

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and is this guy who can't become
like an all star in the league.

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Is there a pathway to him becoming
an All star in the league? Am

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I am? I sipping too much
Tyrese Haliburton kool aid? Like? What

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would be the pathway to him kind
of having a even a fringe star breakouts?

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Just people just assumed he's like this
glue guy. He was just so

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good as a rookie and did so
much. I'm like, do we really

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need to put like that low of
a ceiling on him right now? He

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hasn't even started year two. Yeah, it's kind of funny that people are

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putting this like this lid on the
guy who was like a top three rookie

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yea and contributed in every facet of
the game. I mean, like you

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mentioned earlier, crazy, desruptive and
passing lanes. He's not the best on

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ball defender, but I'm a great
team defenser. An opportunistic defender contributes in

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a lot of different ways on offense, I mean, brilliant passing, his

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court visions, fantastic, good three
point shooter. I mean, the really

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big thing is probably going to be
just kind of Yeah, he was very

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opportunistic with his scoring and didn't shoot
a lot. I mean, he's not

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a volume score at this point,
or at least as a rookie, so

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it's probably more breaking guys down off
the dribble, which he has the handles

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to be able to do. It's
just not a big part of his game

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so far. And then get into
the rim and get into the line.

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I mean, he obviously he's another
guy similar to Fox where he's on the

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skin there side. So he's coming
with a little bit more muscle this year,

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and you know, as the years
go on, we would expect most

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NBA players do add muscle over time
and you know, get to the rim

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more, draw more fouls. I
mean, that's kind of that where that

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progression comes from. I don't think
it's fair to put any sort of limit

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on what he can do given what
we saw his rookie year. He is

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just such a smart, intuitive basketball
player where he his understanding the game is

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not like most rookies, and that's
the part you can't teach. He's got

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the athletic ability as well, So
it's really just a matter of what does

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he add at the game, how
does it come together. It's not to

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say he's ever going to be a
superstar necessarily, but I think he can

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be a lot more than just a
basic blue guy. That is, you

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know, you're you're forever seventh man
on a championship team, which is kind

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of the narrative that sometimes was out
there last season. How did you feel

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00:17:29,799 --> 00:17:33,200
initially about the Navy on Mitchell pick? Were you more open minded to it

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than NBA Twitter at large, and
then just based off what you've seen in

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some league, and you know,
since the making a pick, how do

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you like his fit with this team
now? So I was completely thrown off

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when the pick was made. It's
been kind of funny that we you know,

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we do a lot of pre draft
coverage at King's Herald, and he

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was a guy that we just didn't
really pay much attention to, just because

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it seemed like such an unlikely pick
that you know, an older rookie,

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you know, to where there's not
viewed as having as much upside, you

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know, fairly or unfairly, And
just the positional duality with the backcourt for

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the Kings was set. You've got
Fox, You've got Halliburton, Like why

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would the Kings be looking at the
point guard? But then you know,

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you see what he does in the
California Classic and now in preseason and the

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reports out of training camp, and
it's easy to see what the Kings saw

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him. I mean, the defensive
mindset, the tough noe, you know,

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the just how driven he is on
defense. It's fun to watch.

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I mean, not many guys get
highlight packages in Summer League from their defense,

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and he absolutely did I mean,
he is so much fun to watch

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play defense, which even if you're
a basketball nerd, there's not a lot

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00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,200
of guys that are really fun to
watch play defense, and he's one of

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00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,640
those guys. And then he does
have an offense as well, like he's

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00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,880
not a complete disaster on the offensive
side of the ball like most offensive specialists.

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Of having him and you know,
the idea of running the three guard

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lineup, we'll see how it works. I have my concerns, but I'm

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excited to see how it goes.
And I do believe in him as an

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NBA player, And it's easy to
see how he could end up being viewed

285
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as kind of a steal for how
far down he was taken. What's great

286
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,359
about watching and played defense that you
don't need to understand how NBA defense is

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00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,559
actually supposed to work, to appreciate
just what he's doing. Like he is

288
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,920
that James Book night game in Summer
League. He just like wore that dude

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skin his decoration. It was just
absolutely incredible to watch. You did say

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that you think the three guard line
up, you're worried about how it's going

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00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:45,799
to fair. I am of the
mind of fuck it roll. That out.

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I want it to be a staple. Do you think that it's going

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to be a staple. Is it
going to get a real chance to see

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if it works, or are they
gonna stagger those three a little bit more

295
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,319
than perhaps I would like them too. This is my vanity question. I

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think you're going to see a lot
of three guard line up in Sacramental because

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00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,839
if you look at the way that
roster's constructed, they don't have a lot

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of choice. They have two and
a half guys that are considered actual NBA

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small forwards, like Harrison Barnes,
who has spent most of his time playing

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power forward the past two years and
just had one of the best years of

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00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:25,160
his career, you know, top
to bottom at the power of primarily at

302
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the power forward position, so he
is primarily a four at this point in

303
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,640
his career, and in the modern
NBA Mo Harkless kind of goes between three

304
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:40,440
and four, but he's probably I
don't know if he excels as like a

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00:20:40,519 --> 00:20:45,319
traditional three necessarily he can slide back
and forth. And then you've got Lewis

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King, who is on a two
way contract and has some upside and potential,

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but he's still a guy on a
two way contract. That's it.

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That's our options for small forwards.
There's no one else, and they have

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a bunch of guys that can all
play in different combos and three guard line

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00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:07,599
up. See I mean Mitchell Fox, Haliburton, Buddy Healed and then Terrence

311
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:12,559
Davis and Luke Walton has said kind
of the gauntlet that he threw down for

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his guards is like, hey,
this is the way you guys all get

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playing time, but only so as
long as you guys are getting stops and

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getting rebounds, which I think is
the right way to approach that. Like,

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00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,799
if you can get some stops and
get rebounds and it's not as the

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00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,200
complete disaster on that end, why
not run three guards. It's not going

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00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,079
to hurt you because the offense will
be great. So it's really just going

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to come down to the defensive side
of the ball, and if it hurts

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00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,960
the kings too much there, that's
the only thing that's going to derail it.

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But there's a decent chance that does
derail it. Is that perhaps a

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00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,680
reason this is not necessarily to three
guard line up. But you're mentioning like

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the dearth of pure wings, is
that why it seems like Kings fans have

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00:21:52,559 --> 00:21:56,799
become so high on Lewis King just
because like the idea of him is like

324
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,880
an actual wing and I know he's
just on a two way contract, but

325
00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,160
you just look at their depth chart, buddy, heel's gonna have to play

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00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,480
like a lot of small forward at
this point. It looks like and as

327
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,400
you already mentioned with Harrison Barnes,
I'm not crazy with like even he or

328
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,880
harcle is having a log three like
that's not ideal? Or is there actually

329
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,440
something to Lewis King, Like I
haven't watched full Lewis King games. I'm

330
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,480
just call it right up, like
watching film of him, like it seems

331
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,359
like he's really feisty on defense.
But is he someone that you view that

332
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,319
could actually again two way contract aside, could actually help this team. Or

333
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:30,799
is this just you know, we
like Lewis King better than Robert Woodard and

334
00:22:30,799 --> 00:22:34,240
that doesn't really say anything in the
grand scheme of things. Yeah, so

335
00:22:34,799 --> 00:22:38,440
I think some of it comes from
he had like a twenty four point game

336
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,880
in like the last two games of
last season, you know, that kind

337
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:47,440
of garbage point of the season.
The Kings were eliminated from playing nothing mattered.

338
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:52,160
They weren't playing guys, and it's
it's kind of a tradition in Sacramento

339
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,240
that towards the end of our season
nothing matters, and they play some guy

340
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,000
who's at the end of the bench. He puts some twenty points, and

341
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then we spend the whole offseason thinking
he's good to be great. Lewis King

342
00:23:02,599 --> 00:23:07,559
then came into Summer League and had
a really solid Summer League showing overall he

343
00:23:07,599 --> 00:23:11,960
was a big part of And again
it seems silly to get worked up over

344
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,480
it, but the King's winning Summer
League, Like King Sans had fun with

345
00:23:15,519 --> 00:23:18,200
that because what else do we have
to be excited about it. It's the

346
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,079
only way we win championships is Summer
League. But he was a big part

347
00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,759
of that team as well, and
you know he can. He has a

348
00:23:26,799 --> 00:23:30,680
little bit of everything. Like I
don't know what his one definable NBA skill

349
00:23:30,839 --> 00:23:33,640
is that makes him stick and stand
out, but he does a little bit

350
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:38,920
of everything, which is not bad
from a bench wing player. I think

351
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,960
he's a fantastic value on a two
way contract. I wouldn't be entirely surprised

352
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,240
if he ended up earning a full
roster spot at some point. And I

353
00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,319
never want to rule out a guy
just because he starts on a two way

354
00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:57,359
contract. Obviously guys can turn that
into a legit NBA career. But I

355
00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,880
do think some of it is just
its off season and working fansom. We

356
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,759
get hyped about guys with potential and
you guys who do a few things well,

357
00:24:04,799 --> 00:24:07,480
and then we get excited and we
buy into him and they become our

358
00:24:07,559 --> 00:24:14,119
large adult sons. Preseason. There's
nothing like trading camp and preseason optimism.

359
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,799
There's just there's nothing like it.
So where do you land on the completely

360
00:24:18,839 --> 00:24:22,680
shifting gears here? Where do you
land on the Marvin Bagley hope meter?

361
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,960
And does is there a hope meter
for him in Sacramento a long term?

362
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:32,640
I would still be very surprised if
he is with the King's long ter.

363
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,240
I mean they've been not so quietly
shopping him since you know, the trade

364
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:40,960
deadline last year. I think he
actually ended up getting hurt like a week

365
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,000
before the trade deadline, and I
think if he wasn't hurt, there's probably

366
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,119
a decent chance he would have been
traded. But when he's hurt again,

367
00:24:48,519 --> 00:24:53,000
the value was even lower than before, and the Kings ultimately do want to

368
00:24:53,039 --> 00:24:56,160
try to get something back for him. They aren't just trying to unload him

369
00:24:56,839 --> 00:25:03,319
because there is potential there. I'm
not really high on his long term prospects.

370
00:25:03,319 --> 00:25:07,240
I think he could find NBA success, but if he does, it's

371
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,799
probably not in Sacramento, just because
there's so many expectations, so much history.

372
00:25:11,839 --> 00:25:15,519
There are things he does well,
I just don't know if they're ever

373
00:25:15,599 --> 00:25:22,160
going to be enough to kind of
live up to that standard of success that's

374
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,599
going to be there in Sacramento,
just given where he was picked, who

375
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,039
he was picked ahead of, there's
a lot of baggage there. And there's

376
00:25:30,079 --> 00:25:33,400
also the question of Kenny stay healthy, if he ever stays healthy for a

377
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,839
full season. He's always been a
solid contributor. And I mentioned it before.

378
00:25:37,839 --> 00:25:42,079
He's not a good defender by any
means. He's very very bad defender.

379
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,400
He can score, he can do
some rebounds. I mean he has

380
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,200
not done either of those at an
exceptional level. But he's shown flashes where

381
00:25:52,759 --> 00:25:56,440
I could see where someone could still
buy into him. I understand why some

382
00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,519
people still have hope. I just
think if he's successful, it's probably not

383
00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:06,160
going to be here. Are they
gonna you know, and I know starting

384
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:07,799
lineups don't necessarily mean as much,
but is he gonna it seems like it

385
00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:11,640
should be Barns, Haliburton, Fox, and Homes in the starting lineup,

386
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:15,759
and that fifth spot is sort of
up for grabs. Do you think that's

387
00:26:15,799 --> 00:26:18,880
just gonna go to him as sort
of a ceremonial start, or is someone

388
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,039
else gonna get that final slot?
I'm I even wrong on the four locks

389
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,160
of the starting five. No,
I think those four locks. I don't

390
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:32,880
think that there's any question there.
I think that he's in competition for it.

391
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,160
I don't know that we've really seen
anything that stands out to suggest he

392
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,519
should be the one to end up
with that, at least not at the

393
00:26:40,519 --> 00:26:42,559
start of the season. I would
put my money on Buddy Hill, but

394
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,759
I think that I think that that's
probably the likely starter. Mean, he

395
00:26:45,799 --> 00:26:49,640
played a fair amount of small forward
in small ball lineups last year, and

396
00:26:51,039 --> 00:26:53,160
especially at offense. Those lineups were
very good. I mean, again,

397
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:57,160
they had defensive issues, but I
think that that's probably the most likely starting

398
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:02,519
lineup. I'm just curious. I
guess if you go that route, it

399
00:27:02,559 --> 00:27:04,680
feels like you're really I know,
they can stagger minutes. But it feels

400
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,920
like Buddy Hill should be like really
important off the bench when you're looking at

401
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,119
the rest of the players that are
be coming off the bench, like they

402
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:15,680
could be hard up for floor spacing
in those second unit heavy lineups, And

403
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,400
I think some of that will come
down to staggering. Some of it is

404
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:25,559
just that the King's obviously are also
shopping Buddy Hill, and I mean,

405
00:27:25,599 --> 00:27:30,279
he was two seconds away from being
a Laker until suddenly Westbrook's available in the

406
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:34,680
Lakers shift years. I think they're
still trying to move him when they can.

407
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,079
I'd be surprised if he's with him
at the end of the year.

408
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,720
And the big thing with Buddies,
he is a guy who cares deeply about

409
00:27:41,839 --> 00:27:48,559
whether he's the starter or not,
and it would if he could accept that

410
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,640
bench role as being the guy who
goes out and scores buckets against second units,

411
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:57,720
he would probably have a much better
view of his value around the league

412
00:27:57,759 --> 00:28:03,079
and contract and all those different things. He just is a guy who's not

413
00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:07,200
happy in that situation and tends to
be pretty vocal about it, and so

414
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,319
I think at least at the start
there, they're gonna probably roll him out

415
00:28:11,799 --> 00:28:15,319
just from that combination of we know
he can do it, we know that

416
00:28:15,319 --> 00:28:21,000
that can work in its own way, and then you kind of stagger lineups

417
00:28:21,039 --> 00:28:27,400
from there. But I also wouldn't
be surprised if we see Walton tinker with

418
00:28:27,519 --> 00:28:33,920
that fifth starter a fair bit,
especially early on in theater. It does

419
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,839
feel like they have a pretty clear
hierarchy of seven guys who will play a

420
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,640
bunch when you look at you know, the four locks at starters and Fox,

421
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,519
Halibert and Barnes and Holmes, Tristan
Thompson by virtue of being a backup

422
00:28:45,559 --> 00:28:49,720
center, Davion Mitchell, and then
Buddy Healed. How do you see sort

423
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,920
of the back end of that rotation, Like if you had to pick the

424
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,720
final three players, if they let's
just assume they're going with the top ten

425
00:28:55,839 --> 00:28:59,240
rotation, who are the three players
that you would expect to round the rest

426
00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:03,440
of that out. I think the
biggest one is gonna be Heartless. I

427
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,880
think he's going to play a lot
just can positional versatility can play that small

428
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,039
ball four, he can play three, so they can do different things there.

429
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,720
I do think baglelill still be a
heavy part of the rotation as long

430
00:29:14,759 --> 00:29:18,079
as he's there, and then the
other two guys kind of for that tenth

431
00:29:18,119 --> 00:29:22,400
spot are going to be a combination, probably Terrence Davis and Alex Lynn.

432
00:29:25,039 --> 00:29:26,079
I'm not a fan of Terren Davis
as a person, but I think he

433
00:29:26,079 --> 00:29:30,400
would be a better fit for the
rotation than Dennon Alex Lynn, who is

434
00:29:30,519 --> 00:29:36,039
catching strays from Karl Anthony Towns.
Yeah, I mean off court issues.

435
00:29:36,519 --> 00:29:41,960
It's so tough with Terrence Davis because
there's a lot of concerning things off court.

436
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:47,079
If we just look at him on
court, he is talented but streaky.

437
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,839
I mean, he has moments where
he looks really awful and there's times

438
00:29:49,839 --> 00:29:55,440
when he looks amazing, and he
has kind of that weird factor when you

439
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,920
watch him, it's just like that
guy just looks like he's doing good things

440
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:03,240
on a basketball court. Sometimes he's
not actually doing good things, but he

441
00:30:03,319 --> 00:30:06,119
just got is that guy that looks
like he belonged to on the floor more.

442
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:12,480
Yeah, absolutely, Alex Lynn.
I think I think that really where

443
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:19,000
that's going to come in is just
matchup space because Tristan Thompson for Sean Holmes,

444
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,079
you know, barns Back, none
of those guys can handle the truly

445
00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:26,119
larger bigs in the league, and
that's why they probably alex Linn back because

446
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,119
they missed having that size, that
presence inside and he had a great year

447
00:30:32,119 --> 00:30:36,039
or a great stretch the last time
he was in sacrament and losing him,

448
00:30:36,079 --> 00:30:41,559
they really did miss that big presence
when the matchups dictated. We might have

449
00:30:41,599 --> 00:30:45,319
already jumped on this, but whether
it's a specific position or just skill set

450
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:48,119
or just functional void that this team
is missing, what do you view as

451
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:53,799
their biggest weakness heading into this season? It really is that more traditional wing

452
00:30:55,160 --> 00:31:00,599
and specifically, yeah, not from
an offensive standpoint, and it's more from

453
00:31:00,599 --> 00:31:03,640
the defensive side of things, right, And there's a lot of really talented,

454
00:31:04,119 --> 00:31:10,079
you know, large wing players in
the league, and that's kind of

455
00:31:10,119 --> 00:31:12,880
goes back that Ben simmons idea.
Is part of the reason why that's appealing

456
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,359
is because that solves that issue.
You know, even if you want to

457
00:31:17,359 --> 00:31:19,799
still call him a point guard and
call it a three guard lineup, he

458
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,880
solves that defensive issue. As far
as the larger wings in the league,

459
00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:29,160
that the ball dominant scoring, I
mean, that's where the Kings have struggled

460
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,079
in recent years. And when Harrison
Barnes is a solid enough team defend.

461
00:31:33,119 --> 00:31:37,720
Everybody's not a lockdown guy. Mohrkless
is more valuable for his defense than his

462
00:31:37,759 --> 00:31:41,000
offense, but he's not a lockdown
guy. I mean, they don't have

463
00:31:41,039 --> 00:31:45,599
anyone who can really lock down an
opponent wing star at this point, and

464
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:52,119
that's a big problem with ss NBA. So when you look at his roster

465
00:31:52,599 --> 00:31:56,400
as of now anyway, and things
can change clearly as the season rolls on,

466
00:31:56,559 --> 00:32:00,440
who would be the player that you
deem most likely to get trade before

467
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,799
the deadline. I still think it
has to be Buddy Healed. I mean,

468
00:32:02,839 --> 00:32:06,079
I think they're going to still try
to move Bagley, but I think

469
00:32:06,119 --> 00:32:12,200
that the difference between Bagley and Buddy
is that Buddy has a very definable,

470
00:32:12,279 --> 00:32:17,240
valuable skill in the NBA, and
we just saw where with how close it

471
00:32:17,319 --> 00:32:21,440
was to that Lakers trade, there's
going to be a team who sees that

472
00:32:21,519 --> 00:32:27,880
shooting and sees the declining contract year
every year that Buddy's valuable, especially if

473
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:32,440
you have other pieces you know that
are more defensive oriented that can cover up

474
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:36,680
for some of this weaknesses. I've
always thought he made a ton of sense

475
00:32:36,759 --> 00:32:38,200
for the Sixers, whether it ends
up being part of a Simmons trader or

476
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:42,559
not. I mean, he's exactly
what the Sixers need because they've got defensive

477
00:32:42,559 --> 00:32:46,279
players who could cover his weaknesses,
who could cover up for his mistakes and

478
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:52,680
his shooting, his scoring just I
mean, he's truly an elite volume shooter

479
00:32:52,759 --> 00:32:55,519
in the NBA. It's just kind
of hidden away in sac amount and no

480
00:32:55,559 --> 00:32:59,519
one really thinks about it. But
when you just look at the raw numbers,

481
00:32:59,599 --> 00:33:02,640
I mean, he never misses games, he makes a ton of threes,

482
00:33:04,279 --> 00:33:07,640
he does it at pretty solid efficiency. There's going to be someone that

483
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:12,279
sees value in that at some point, and the Kings are I think we'll

484
00:33:12,279 --> 00:33:15,960
find the deal. When you look
at the Kings, and we talked about

485
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,720
it with regard to Ben Simmons,
they do seem like they're kind of built

486
00:33:20,079 --> 00:33:23,039
for a consolidation trade just in the
makeup of their roster and sort of the

487
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,759
I don't want to say the urgency
of their timeline. But you've paid Daron

488
00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:30,880
Fox, you have some good NBA
players. There is that that nudge to

489
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:37,119
go and get maybe a star or
a quasi star. But is this also

490
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,799
a team that could emerge as like
one of the bigger sellers at the deadline,

491
00:33:39,839 --> 00:33:43,799
just because the crux of their core, if you look at it as

492
00:33:43,799 --> 00:33:47,799
Haliburton Fox and Davion Mitchell, really
is still so young. If this season

493
00:33:47,839 --> 00:33:52,480
goes off the rails to start,
which I would just arguing in the Western

494
00:33:52,519 --> 00:33:58,160
Conference is eminently possible. Do they
look at moving like sort of committing to

495
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:07,039
the bigger picture direction where anyone is
gettable except for one of those three normal

496
00:34:07,119 --> 00:34:13,079
distaste on your face is palpable right
now? Normally, yes, that would

497
00:34:13,159 --> 00:34:17,039
make perfect sense. The reason I
don't see that happening at all is because

498
00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:23,000
that strategy made perfect sense at last
year's trade deadline, and instead the Kings

499
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:29,199
made moves that were more like whin
Now taken on salary limiting cap flexibility.

500
00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:34,480
Like you know, they brought into
Lune right who ended up getting and flip

501
00:34:34,519 --> 00:34:37,800
this offseason, but that was the
move that took away their cash space to

502
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:44,519
have more flexibility to bring back homes
like they they were set up like.

503
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,800
It was pretty clear to anyone paying
attention that the Kings were probably not going

504
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:53,440
to be a playoff team last year, and they brought in Vets and brought

505
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:59,840
in whin Now guys instead of like
selling pieces and kind of bottoming out for

506
00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:07,559
the lottery. And this year's squad
is even more built for when now than

507
00:35:07,639 --> 00:35:10,760
what they started with last season,
when the Kings are seemed very much built

508
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:15,960
on trying to end the playoff drout
you for better for worse, And we've

509
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,679
seen this before with the Kings,
where you know, damn the future,

510
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:22,360
we're gonna make the playoffs, We're
going to be the eight seed. And

511
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:29,000
that's part of the cycle of why
we're at year fifteen on the playoff drout.

512
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,639
I don't see that changing. And
some of that also is just because

513
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,519
you look at Monty McNair and where
he came from. It came from the

514
00:35:37,599 --> 00:35:44,840
Rockets, and that Rockets tree was
always screw draft picks, will trade everything

515
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:49,920
we can to get stars, and
it seems very much like since he got

516
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:57,599
here, McNair's strategy has been to
build and an asset base that could then

517
00:35:57,639 --> 00:36:04,559
be turned into a star via trade. I think I don't like oversimplifying timelines

518
00:36:04,599 --> 00:36:07,599
to this where it's championship or bus
because it's definitely more nuanced than that,

519
00:36:07,639 --> 00:36:08,960
and I don't I don't have a
problem that that's their stance. I think

520
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:12,639
I'm almost at the point though,
where it's go out and do it.

521
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:16,239
And I know that it's dependent on
who's actually available, but like it's time

522
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:20,480
to make that move, if that's
what you're going to set up for,

523
00:36:20,599 --> 00:36:23,400
because I do think, and we'll
get into this and very shortly, that

524
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:29,119
they are in danger of kind of
just falling into like that eleventh twelfth spot

525
00:36:29,159 --> 00:36:32,199
of no man's land in the West
and like, you know, that's not

526
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,199
great, Like you're like you said, you're fifteen of a playoff droute,

527
00:36:36,199 --> 00:36:38,119
and so I would rather it doesn't. I don't want to think they don't

528
00:36:38,119 --> 00:36:43,039
have a discernible direction. I would
like them to very clearly be leaning one

529
00:36:43,079 --> 00:36:45,440
way or the other. And it
feels like they're just too entrenched in that

530
00:36:45,559 --> 00:36:52,039
like obscure area of the Western Conference
for sure. And I mean the Western

531
00:36:52,079 --> 00:36:57,119
Conference is brutal in that regard,
right, I mean this team, if

532
00:36:57,119 --> 00:36:58,800
they were in the East, we'd
be like, yeah, they can be

533
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,280
INNO made seven like no, like
right, I mean the playoff rout would

534
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:06,639
have been over several times over the
past fifteen years. It's just the nature

535
00:37:06,639 --> 00:37:10,840
of the Western Conference. But yeah, I mean if the King's missed the

536
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:15,639
playoffs this year, they will own
the longest playoff drought in NBA history,

537
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:21,920
longer than at that point than the
longest drout the Clippers ever had, which

538
00:37:22,199 --> 00:37:27,719
dated back to their time in Buffalo
to their time in LA And I don't

539
00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,159
think the Kings want that. I
don't think that the ownership wants that.

540
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:35,159
I don't think the GM wants to
be the one who couldn't and that I

541
00:37:35,199 --> 00:37:38,880
mean, there's nothing there that suggests
that they're going to be okay if they

542
00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:43,639
miss it again, and right now, they're not really built that way,

543
00:37:43,639 --> 00:37:47,280
and you are somewhat at the mercy
of who becomes available and what you're willing

544
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,480
to give up. But you can
only say patients so long to a fan

545
00:37:52,559 --> 00:37:59,480
base that has gone this along without
any success. This question is matchup dependent

546
00:37:59,519 --> 00:38:02,119
to some ex then, but what
do you think should be their most used

547
00:38:02,199 --> 00:38:10,800
or will be their most effective crunch
time unit? Oh, it is tough

548
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:15,599
because there's not the clear cutt answer. I think it will be very matchup

549
00:38:15,679 --> 00:38:22,599
depend on me. I would not
be surprised at all if I mean,

550
00:38:22,639 --> 00:38:28,679
it depends how much they're down.
But but I wouldn't be surprised at all,

551
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:32,880
if we saw crunch Time minutes with
Davijan Mitchell, Darren Fox, Haliburton,

552
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:38,199
Holmes and Barnes, do you think
those like four the we've I've outlined

553
00:38:38,199 --> 00:38:40,880
as lots of starters or those four
like probably also a lot, Like is

554
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,599
there a situation where you're taking Barns
off the court and crunch time or Holmes,

555
00:38:45,639 --> 00:38:49,039
Like I just don't see a reason
to feel like four slots are pretty

556
00:38:49,079 --> 00:38:52,440
much sewn up. Then yeah,
I mean Holmes and Barns are both excellent

557
00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,280
two way players. I mean,
neither of them are superstars or anything like

558
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:59,480
that, but what they do they
do extremely well, and they don't have

559
00:38:59,519 --> 00:39:04,559
a glare weakness in their game.
And there were times down the stretch where

560
00:39:04,599 --> 00:39:09,239
they might pull homes for like spacing
or you know, specific defensive matchups.

561
00:39:09,559 --> 00:39:14,960
You know, all matchup dependent,
but generally speaking, I think that those

562
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:19,639
four are probably locks for the crunch
Time line up as well. Is there

563
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:23,119
a wonky, weird, out of
left field, unconventional whatever lineup that you're

564
00:39:23,159 --> 00:39:30,719
hoping they try, even if it's
going to end up being disastrous, I

565
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:38,920
wouldn't hate to see them at least
give like that crazy try to some insane

566
00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:44,559
for guard line up just given their
guards, right, like like do Mitchell

567
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:49,760
and Fox and Haliburton and Buddy and
then like Alex lend just for like size

568
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,360
to like protect the rim, right, like just do something crazy, right,

569
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,599
Like I don't think it gonna work, but it'd be fun to watch.

570
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,519
That was almost mine to a tea, except I throughout the pretensive size

571
00:40:00,679 --> 00:40:06,519
and said, put Harrison Barnes or
Irma Harkless there and just go see what

572
00:40:06,559 --> 00:40:13,679
happens. I will say that some
of the better preseason minutes we've seen,

573
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:17,440
for like Buddy hild and Marvin Bagley
both came with Alex lenn on the floor

574
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:22,639
because all those issues. He is
a large person who stands in the middle

575
00:40:22,679 --> 00:40:28,360
and can deter guys who are getting
in lane. So I do think that

576
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:31,840
he'll have a role there. And
if you're looking at an all GIRLD lineup

577
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:35,920
that's just going to basically be a
funnel to the middle. You do need

578
00:40:36,159 --> 00:40:38,719
a big guy who you're not worried
about picking up a couple of quick volts.

579
00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:44,039
They Luke wont can play whoever the
hell he wants is the fifth guy.

580
00:40:44,079 --> 00:40:49,199
If those on the court at the
same time stackermetto and Portland and there's

581
00:40:49,199 --> 00:40:51,960
another team I can't remember which.
There's like three teams. I need to

582
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,679
see the four guard lineups from in
Portland with like Simons and CJ and Dame

583
00:40:55,760 --> 00:41:00,159
and Powell, but so I can't
remember what the other team is off my

584
00:41:00,159 --> 00:41:02,639
head as we record this. Man, the people who do these lines are

585
00:41:02,679 --> 00:41:07,199
really good. The King's win total
has set at thirty five point five.

586
00:41:07,639 --> 00:41:09,280
Are you taking the over the under
on that? And where do you see

587
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:17,239
them stacking up? And just the
larger Western Conference picture. So as a

588
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:22,880
general rule, I would never recommend
anyone, So anyone listening, I would

589
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:30,719
never recommend betting the over on a
King's line. It's a very easy way

590
00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:36,239
to lose money. They have done
it once or twice during this drought.

591
00:41:37,079 --> 00:41:40,480
Personally, if I had to make
a bet on it, I would take

592
00:41:40,519 --> 00:41:47,800
the over. And I actually did
go ahead and place a bet on the

593
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,280
King's making the playoffs this year.
I bet a whole dollar. I don't

594
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,280
bet big, so I'm just gonna
put that in context. I bet a

595
00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:04,280
dollar to win fourteen dollars. That
bet is more around the idea of there's

596
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,760
going to be a trade that changes
the look of this roster, Like it

597
00:42:08,039 --> 00:42:12,840
just feels like that has to happen
this season. But I've also said that

598
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:15,920
like the last year and a half, So take that for what it's worth.

599
00:42:16,599 --> 00:42:20,840
I'm almost inclined to go with the
under unless you can tell me that

600
00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:24,639
that trade is going to happen.
I was of it felt very much theoretical

601
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:29,840
and nothing that was actually necessarily being
discussed to a real extent. But I

602
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,880
was a big fan of the Pascal
Siakam to Sacramento ideas, and Simmons obviously

603
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,079
elevate you're sealing in a different way, but I actually love Siakam's fit with

604
00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:43,360
the overarching roster if you're keeping Haliburt
and Fox as part of that scenario as

605
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,320
well. No, I totally agree. Obviously there's some health concerns he had.

606
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:52,559
He had obviously a very down year, but I think it's a decent

607
00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:58,960
risk for a team trying to break
out of kind of a rut. When

608
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,679
I'm last season when he was healthy
and you know everything else that was going

609
00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:05,679
on last year. I mean,
he just an incredible player, and the

610
00:43:05,679 --> 00:43:10,719
fact that he was even maybe on
the market was a nice opportunity. So

611
00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:15,599
there was a lot of talk,
you know, over the summer amongst our

612
00:43:15,639 --> 00:43:20,199
readers around do they go for Simons
Ago for Sea. I would be in

613
00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:22,679
favor of going for either one,
as long as, like you said,

614
00:43:22,679 --> 00:43:28,119
you're keeping Fox or our Fox and
Haliburton. It's kind of the difficult part

615
00:43:28,159 --> 00:43:30,679
is the two players that everyone wants
in those trades or the two you're trying

616
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:35,239
to hold on due to pair with
the guy you're working in. It's yeah.

617
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,599
With Fox, it's like, I
feel like you need to keep him

618
00:43:37,599 --> 00:43:40,000
in any star trade because the whole
idea would be pairing two stars together.

619
00:43:40,519 --> 00:43:46,039
And Haliburton is like that needs to
be consensus. Bradley Beale's coming and is

620
00:43:46,039 --> 00:43:52,000
saying he's going to resign terat like
that type of a player exactly. I

621
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:57,079
mean, the only way you're giving
up the only way they're giving up Baliberton.

622
00:43:57,159 --> 00:44:00,480
It is truly one of those absolute
superstar is available. You know,

623
00:44:00,559 --> 00:44:06,239
he's going to be their long term. Which the debate then is does Simmons

624
00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:10,559
qualifies that level of superstar, which
I understand why people don't write. I

625
00:44:10,639 --> 00:44:15,920
mean, there's obviously the lack of
the offensive firepower, the shooting all of

626
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:20,480
those different pieces and for better worse, defense just isn't value the same way

627
00:44:20,519 --> 00:44:24,599
in the modern NBA. Just what
the rules are and everything else. So

628
00:44:24,679 --> 00:44:30,280
are you ready to get into Kyrie
to Sacramento trade packages? Just kidding?

629
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:37,440
Is there anything I'm driving through a
tunnel? Is there anything I didn't ask

630
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,199
you about this team or anyone I
didn't ask you about that you think needs

631
00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:45,840
to be touched upon? I mean, you haven't asked the obvious question of

632
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:50,480
does Luke Walton make it through the
season. I'm just that guy has like

633
00:44:50,639 --> 00:44:54,719
teflon on him. He's still there. It's you're mentioning the defensive coordinator has

634
00:44:54,719 --> 00:45:01,320
gone, and yet Luke Walton's tenure
indoors fantastic awesome. Yeah, And like

635
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,800
are we going to be complaining or
am I going to be complaining mid season

636
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,679
about why are the King's not playing
fast enough? Like that just seems like

637
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,559
a rite of passage at some point
in the season they slow things down for

638
00:45:10,599 --> 00:45:16,159
some reason. Yeah. And I
mean the natural successor if you look at

639
00:45:16,199 --> 00:45:21,599
their bench, is that Alvin Gentry
would probably take over as the interim And

640
00:45:22,119 --> 00:45:23,719
I don't know if that's necessarily better, it would just kind of be something

641
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:29,480
different. So yeah, I was
very surprised when Monta mcnaric came out and

642
00:45:29,519 --> 00:45:35,400
basically gave a stamp of approval after
after the King's completely shit the bed down

643
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:40,199
the stretch and blew their chance at
even making the play and if they make

644
00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:45,440
the playoffs, he's probably getting a
contract extension or something. It's probably something

645
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:50,400
that I'm just saying. If you
had to choose to this to me,

646
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:53,639
now, what you have to hope
is that if the King's making the playoffs,

647
00:45:54,159 --> 00:45:58,320
they then view this as the Okay, now's the time to make our

648
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,920
Mark Jackson to Steve kerswind Right like
like we got to the playoffs and now

649
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:07,599
we get a better coach. Like
I guess I could unfold that way,

650
00:46:07,679 --> 00:46:10,719
my guests would be after ending that
long playoff drout, it wouldn't unfold well,

651
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:14,840
probably not. I mean that's not
I can't have nice things. I'm

652
00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:17,880
a Kings fans. If you had
to guess, would do you think that

653
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:22,199
if they missed the playoffs, do
you think he's gone? I think so.

654
00:46:24,199 --> 00:46:28,679
And part of the reason I think
that is that, as far as

655
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:32,840
I'm aware, McNair doesn't have a
super long contract. I think that next

656
00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:37,000
not this season, but next season
would be the final year of his contract.

657
00:46:37,039 --> 00:46:38,920
So it's kind of like the fire
in the coach is kind of that

658
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:43,360
Bolton mcgun to keep the pressure off
him, you know. And obviously we've

659
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:47,079
got an owner who you know,
grows impatient with with people who don't succeed

660
00:46:47,159 --> 00:46:57,760
right away. So I don't think
Bolton could survive another bad season. Yeah,

661
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:01,239
I'm like rooting against making the playoffs, Like, what are you doing

662
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:04,679
to me here? You're the one
that brought up I almost like, I

663
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:08,360
think the podcast without even asking you
about his future, but we can't.

664
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:14,360
It's so inexplicably tied to what the
Kings are going to do and how good

665
00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:20,159
they can be that there's very little
in his entire coaching history to suggest that

666
00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:23,760
Luke Walton can maximize the players on
these rosters. He's just and I don't

667
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:28,519
consider myself just like this tactical savant, but he is just so frustrating with

668
00:47:28,559 --> 00:47:31,000
how he's coached this team. And
that obviously says nothing of the off court

669
00:47:31,039 --> 00:47:35,880
stuff with him too. Just the
Kings in general just like never feel like

670
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:38,079
they they're playing the way that they
should be. And I don't even do

671
00:47:38,079 --> 00:47:42,719
you even have like a like the
single most frustrating thing about him, or

672
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:50,599
is it just like this mortgage board
of bullshit? The most frustrating thing is

673
00:47:50,639 --> 00:47:53,280
that, And I think it's a
big part of why I think players like

674
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:59,199
playing for him is that it just
doesn't feel like and to his credit,

675
00:47:59,559 --> 00:48:02,239
maybe this is all just happening behind
the scenes and oun see it, but

676
00:48:04,079 --> 00:48:09,639
it doesn't ever feel like there's accountability
when players are just checked out. It

677
00:48:09,679 --> 00:48:14,800
doesn't feel like there's accountability when players
are doing really dumb things on the floor,

678
00:48:15,199 --> 00:48:17,599
Like there's never an adjustment, like
this guy just got you know,

679
00:48:17,639 --> 00:48:22,360
Buddy Hill just got yanked because he
pulled up on the thirty foot or instead

680
00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:28,719
of running the seplay, like it
just doesn't seem to ever happen. And

681
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:32,760
players do love playing for him,
like that has been made very clear through

682
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:37,559
like everything we've heard, that the
players really do enjoy playing for him.

683
00:48:37,599 --> 00:48:40,719
But like then we see like a
halftime speech when the Kings are like trying

684
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:45,280
to make the play, it's just
like the most dull thing I've ever seen,

685
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:47,880
Like no one seems engaged or to
care or anything like that. It's

686
00:48:49,079 --> 00:48:52,199
like, what is happening here?
Are players just happy because they're collecting checks

687
00:48:52,239 --> 00:48:58,800
and no one's yelling at them or
what's happening. It says a lot about

688
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:02,079
the expectation of the organization too,
that you've had Buddy Healed, like he

689
00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:06,719
liked a tweet that I sent about
him being stuck in Sacramento last year from

690
00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:09,039
a brand account, and that was
just business as usual. He almost gets

691
00:49:09,079 --> 00:49:13,320
traded through the Lakers, and I
just feel like it's not talked about enough

692
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:16,280
that now they're trying to bring back
someone who's been obviously disgruntled before he was

693
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:21,760
even semi officially traded. Is that
like a like? Is that like a

694
00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:27,920
behind the scenes concerned at this point? So I don't. I mean again,

695
00:49:28,039 --> 00:49:30,960
Sacramento is not the place that gets
kind of the big media spotlight,

696
00:49:31,119 --> 00:49:38,199
but Buddy Heals Media Day was the
most hilariously passive aggressive thing I've ever seen.

697
00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:43,880
Like he's talking about like, Yeah, they love me in Sacramento.

698
00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:50,199
That's why I'm still here, Like, and he's not saying it in anyway

699
00:49:50,199 --> 00:49:52,840
where anyone can like spin it as
him being mad, but it's clearly like

700
00:49:53,159 --> 00:49:55,719
I did not think I'd still be
here, man, Like, what am

701
00:49:55,760 --> 00:50:00,960
I doing here? Like he's like
talking about like, yeah, I'm everyone's

702
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:05,559
for That's why I'm buddy, you
know, I get along with everyone.

703
00:50:05,599 --> 00:50:09,960
Whatever then he would do is fine, like me, Like you could tell

704
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:14,760
like he was looking at like all
right, I'm gonna be playing in LA

705
00:50:15,119 --> 00:50:20,760
next to Lebron and a D And
now it's like it's not that he necessarily

706
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:24,039
dislikes anyone on the team, but
to go from having that yanked out from

707
00:50:24,079 --> 00:50:28,800
under you to just being back in
Sacramento, like it's obviously draft another guard,

708
00:50:29,119 --> 00:50:32,400
Like it's like, hey, we
draft a guy who plays defense,

709
00:50:36,719 --> 00:50:38,880
I like you would be I think
I guess it's the King. So I

710
00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:43,800
shouldn't say it'd be super surprised,
but I'd be modestly surprised if he finishes

711
00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:46,320
the season in Sacramento this year.
He's clearly the player most likely be traded,

712
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,840
just as you mentioned, because he
has value. I think at this

713
00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:52,639
point you don't settle for anything just
to move him. But just like everything

714
00:50:52,679 --> 00:50:58,119
that's happened, it's almost just a
wonder that he's still on this team.

715
00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:01,639
Yeah, I mean, it's why. And some of it has been that

716
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:10,239
McNair as not wanted to just sell
low. He hasn't just been looking to

717
00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:15,320
get rid of guys for the sake
of getting rid of guys and taking a

718
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:17,480
crap return, Like he's held out
for a decent return, and if he

719
00:51:17,480 --> 00:51:20,920
doesn't like the offer, he's not
going to make the deal. He's been

720
00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:24,599
patient enough that he's willing to have
the team play through some ackward situations or

721
00:51:25,079 --> 00:51:30,360
some bad fits or whatever it might
be. And you look at what was

722
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:34,519
the room and return, I mean, Kyle Kuzma, Montras, Harel and

723
00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:39,320
maybe a first round pick compared to
what we were talking about the King's dumping

724
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:43,840
buddy for the trade deadline, that
seemed like a really great return. I

725
00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:46,800
mean, I'm not the biggest Kuzma
fan, and Harold obviously has his issues,

726
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:52,280
but if you added those guys to
the roster instead of what they currently

727
00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:54,840
have, like the roster bounce makes
a lot more sense, Like suddenly Kuzma

728
00:51:54,960 --> 00:52:02,599
is like slotted in that you've got
homes and Barnes, Kuzma, Haliburton,

729
00:52:02,679 --> 00:52:07,079
Fox, like that starting five makes
a lot more sense than what they could

730
00:52:07,119 --> 00:52:09,920
only have. Like so that's where
I kind of see that trade going.

731
00:52:10,039 --> 00:52:14,599
Is not necessarily that they're getting something
amazing in return, but something that just

732
00:52:14,719 --> 00:52:16,679
kind of balances the roster in a
way that makes some sort of sense.

733
00:52:17,079 --> 00:52:21,639
And maybe even just breaking him up
into two players, like two digestible contracts

734
00:52:21,679 --> 00:52:23,599
at this point. That was the
other thing. I mean Kuzma, for

735
00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:28,239
whatever faults he has, I mean, he probably would have gotten more of

736
00:52:28,239 --> 00:52:30,159
a scoring role than what he had
in LA. I mean there was a

737
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:34,480
chance that the Kings were buying a
little low. He could have boosted his

738
00:52:34,599 --> 00:52:39,559
value become a trade chip. Harold
expiring contract, I mean player who again

739
00:52:39,639 --> 00:52:44,800
has limitations, but also has some
value and does some things well. I

740
00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:47,679
mean he's a year removed from six
man of the years I mean two.

741
00:52:49,519 --> 00:52:54,920
Turning Buddy Hills contract into two smaller
contracts for productive rotation level players wouldn't have

742
00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:59,840
been a bad move overall. And
if the Kings could get something similar to

743
00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:04,519
that, I could see that's where
the deal happens. Again. I've I

744
00:53:04,599 --> 00:53:07,559
like have trouble finding good buddy He'll
fits where. It's like he fits everywhere.

745
00:53:07,559 --> 00:53:08,440
I'm just not sure who would be
giving up value to get him.

746
00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:10,440
And then the teams where I could
see them doing that. It's like with

747
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:15,599
Philly, their contract situation is so
weird when you're looking at sending out matching

748
00:53:15,639 --> 00:53:19,480
players, they're not are they trading
Danny Green in that scenario, because like

749
00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,320
the Kings don't want to buy his
Harris unless it's part of a bigger trade.

750
00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:24,400
You're not getting Ben Simmons. So
it's just it's so complicated. But

751
00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:29,360
I do think he's a very valuable
player. I hope his post game I'm

752
00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:31,360
mad that I missed that those Media
day comments, So I don't mean to

753
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:35,320
root against you, but I could. I could stand to see some awkward

754
00:53:35,320 --> 00:53:39,280
postgame press conferences this season, so
maybe I'll be entertained by that. I

755
00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:42,119
mean, I would go to look
at it. He didn't talk to the

756
00:53:42,119 --> 00:53:45,119
media very long, and it's very
funny, like especially just kind of knowing

757
00:53:45,159 --> 00:53:51,280
the context to he was almost gone
and now he's back. It's just very

758
00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:57,119
very funny because he's clearly just kind
of throwing out stuff that he's kind of

759
00:53:57,119 --> 00:54:00,159
messing with people. But I mean
it's not like an angry, like I'm

760
00:54:00,159 --> 00:54:04,920
going to ruin the locker room vibe. It's just kind of like the hey

761
00:54:04,960 --> 00:54:08,199
guys, I'm still here, like
yeah, like and none of us expected

762
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:12,920
this and maybe like his you know, rebellion will be a little bit subtle

763
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:15,719
where it's like averaging a career high
of pull up thirty footers per game,

764
00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:19,599
just like taking one of those every
night. They're just so ill advisors something

765
00:54:19,639 --> 00:54:22,199
I don't know, but now I'm
gonna be watching more closely than ever after

766
00:54:22,239 --> 00:54:24,679
hearing that he was a little passive
aggressive in his media day. That's great.

767
00:54:25,199 --> 00:54:29,800
Yeah, Greg, are you able
to tell our listeners where they can

768
00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:35,440
find you on social media and the
work that you do. Yeah, so

769
00:54:35,519 --> 00:54:39,719
I'm on Twitter at g as g
w I SSU can also find me at

770
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:45,119
Kings Harold dot com. That's our
website. We're independent website that covers the

771
00:54:45,159 --> 00:54:50,440
secondment of Kings and you can follow
the website at the Kings herold. Kings

772
00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:54,519
Harold's fantastic, My go to for
for Kings coverage. Follow him on again

773
00:54:54,719 --> 00:54:59,239
echo follow Greg on Twitter at you
with that's at g w I s S.

774
00:54:59,800 --> 00:55:01,639
He will police your tweets if you
say that you are working and then

775
00:55:01,719 --> 00:55:05,599
end up tweeting, he will.
He will be in your DMS. But

776
00:55:05,679 --> 00:55:07,800
great, This is fantastic. As
always, thank you for giving me so

777
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:08,360
much of your time of course in