Starters,Bench, gotta earn it

So now we have a full 15 player roster and of course its coach job to decide which players will be in rotation, who will have to develop in practice or Reno, here is my prediction

Starter,Bench,gotta earn:

Hill,Fox,Mason(Reno) - Eventually will be Fox,Hill when Fox outplays Hill
Heild,Bogs, Richardson(practice) - SG min to our 2 man Tandem
Carter or Temple,Jackson - Need to develop Jackson off bench as soon as possible
Zbo, Skal, Giles(Reno) - Skal should get sig bench min maybe flip with Zbo when ready
WCS,KK,PapaG(practice) - need WCS to step up to be our Starter, If KK Traded Papa moves up

10 man rotation gas 4 vets, 6 youngins and we 3 deep all positions
13 Active 2 Reno

So pumped to see Bench of fox,Bogs,Jackson,Skal,KK
Carter and Zbo should be first to come out to limit their min and have Jackson,Skal play
more minutes

I'm hoping Skal earns that starter spot from the jump but I'm not counting on it. I also expect KK to be traded sometime this year. I would not be surprised at all if Jackson, Giles, and Mason III all spend some time in Reno to start the season.

I really like Skals game but there is no way he's starting over Zbo this year unless he gets hurt.

but with Carter on one year, Jackson needs the minutes off bench all year to develop, He is a First rd pick, Next year it might be him and a new SF 1st rd pick

Mason is 2nd rd pick, and Giles needs rehab time - so yes to Reno

I am sure Zbo and Skal will flip when Coach and his mentor feel he is ready
Maybe depending on matchups we might have Zbo against Big strong driving opposing 4s and Skal against tall softer stretch 4s?

As for Richardson I think he could also play some SF , When opponent is playing small ball at the three

I hope Jackson is ready to contribute right away but I'm not sure he is. He's going to have to beat out some young guys and vets to get minutes which I'm not 100% sure he's ready to do. Will be fun to watch and see.

I think Mason makes the roster day 1.

Papa is G league most likely do to depth.

At ZBo's age, Joeger and ZBo himself may be more effective coming off the bench for short stints, like he did in Memphis last year.

He would come in when the Kings need an offensive spark. ZBo should realistically be playing about 20-25 minutes a game, if we want him to make it through the 2 year contract healthy.

I think Skal will be the starting power forward, if not from day one, soon after that.

I think Malachi is the dark horse to be the starter at SF.

Keep in mind that he's now pretty much the same size and Vince Carter.

that's the motto throughout the whole team, you have to earn your keep. There will be no hand outs or freebies. Compete versus one another. Make each other better. Prosper together.

I believe that Jackson and the others who are going to compete for the 3 position are going to hear loud and clear that if they want to earn minutes, they have to earn it on the defensive end. Jackson has the athletic talent to play good D, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes to actually manifest that talent on the floor.

He is also as big (or bigger) than Simmons, CJ Miles, and Crowder. All 3 players that many felt the Kings should go after.

Yep. I'm not saying Malachi should be the starting SF, simply that he's a possible option. He's clearly been putting in a ton of work and I hope it shows when SL starts tonight.

Yeah I think Jackson has the highest defensive upside of our current young guys that can slip over to SF. We've seen Jackson play some shut down D but I've yet to see Malachi or Bogdan do much of that.

Malachi was also someone who was sneaky strong last year. Imagine how strong he is now that he looks it.

Currently I think the starters will be:

Hill
Buddy
Carter
Zbo
KK

Hill is kinda self explanatory. I expect Joerger to continue to bring Temple off the bench, as he seems to like his versatility.
Carter and Zbo played some minutes in the playoffs and I doubt we sold them a limited bench role. Carter said he values playing time and role above all else. This guy doesn't think of himself as an end of bench kind of vet brought here only to lead the lockerroom.
KK is currently our best and most consistent big. He either gets traded or starts, unless WCS finally figures some things out.

Who out of the young guys will be buried in the G-league remains to be seen. I assume most of our rookies will spend extended time there, but it's also possible Papa will once again be the odd man out.

I look at Skal being the guy who can bring the spark, especially against the other teams bench. I think Joerger will be looking for more of a solid start to games with Zbo in the starting lineup. I do agree however that they will be looking to limit Zbo's minutes to 20-25 a game, giving Skal plenty of floor time to keep getting better.

And this is the only problem I have with signing the vets. I like the move of signing them, and feel it would be better for the kids in the long term, but finding playing time for everyone will be virtually impossible.

Unlike some other teams (say Warriors, where Jordan Bell will rarely see any PT except at the end of blowouts), we need the kids to play real, meaningful minutes. Except the SF and PG positions, where we can easily find time for them, it's tough to see how folks like Giles, Malachi, or even Bogdan, Papa, and Skal will see extended, meaningful minutes.

To a limited extent, it's a good problem to have, but a problem certainly.

I think to start the season, the rotation will be:

PF: Skal / ZBo / Giles (G-League)
SF: Temple / Richardson / Jackson
C: WCS / KK / Papa G (G- League)
SG: Hield / Bodgan / Carter
PG: Hill / Fox / Mason (G- League)

By February or the All-Star Break, I think the rotation will be:

PF: Skal / ZBo / Giles (G-League/ Call ups)
SF: Jackson / Richardson / Temple
C: WCS / Papa G / KK (traded?)
SG: Hield / Bodgan / Carter
PG: Fox (interchangeable with Hill) / Hill / Mason (G-League/call ups)

I'm pretty sure Carter was signed to be a SF. Also, I see him starting at the beginning of the season.

Carter hasn't started regularly since the 2011-12 season in Dallas. At 40 years old, I doubt he was brought in to start at Small Forward.

I think he will get spot minutes off the bench at SG/SF, when we need to score.

I think Temple will get the starter minutes at SF when the season starts.

I can see Carter starting, but he won't get more than 20 mins / game.

I think the vets will need to earn their PT. If Carter or Zbo aren't performing up to par, there's no reason why they should be getting minutes over younger guys. I hope Joerger will not give them a Veteran Pass card.

Prediction opening night...

Fox
Cauley Stein
Bogdanovich
Jackson
Randoplh

I think all the possibilities are exciting. I know what I hope to happen over the course of the season and what I absolutely hope doesn't happen. I am going to wager the season will play out somewhere in between. I plan to reserve judgement until at least the all-star break if not until the season ends, to see how everything played out. At least we have vast opportunity for growth as a team. Hoping for a few of our young bloods to make significant progress by years end. Very exciting.

About the only thing I will add is that I don't see Willie as a pure 5, more of a 4/5. If a PF like Blake Griffin is on a tear Put Willie on him to D him up. Kosta and Papa can body up on Jordan. Willie at the PF spot anytime a team starts two Bigs which is less and less in this new NBA.

I see Malachi and Carter and then Temple or Bogs playing SF with Justin Jackson being inactive or in Reno quite a bit. At least for half a year.

People keep saying this and yet the FO seems to say we're about to be blown away by the kid. I know the FO has said some ridiculous things before, but I'm hoping they aren't blowing smoke here.

Prediction: Justin Jackson will win the starting Small Forward spot out of the gate or very soon after!

Koufus needs to stick around awhile. Last night against Phx the Kings' front court looked weak. Willie and Kosta are really all we have to depend on. Skal is not there yet and Papa may not even make the team. Guiles is a question mark.