[Game] Kings v. Bucks - 3/22/17 - 7:30PT/10:30ET

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Portland after they didnt re sign Aldridge and Mathews comes to mind. Miami's quick turnaround after losing Wade & Bosh is possibly another even though they do have some vets still mixed in.
You could also count Portland, after they drafted Aldridge and Roy? That was a pretty young core; the veterans didn't really factor into the success of the team, aside from Pryzbilla, maybe? Also the 2004-05 Baby Bulls.
 
I'm not jumping all over the kid or anything. I'm just going off of what I see. It seems as if nearly every game he scores the first two or three baskets in the first couple minutes and then you don't really notice him until the game is out of hand. I'd like to see him being more aggressive during the middle stages of the game to try and help us not get down by 20 in the first place. I'm pulling for him as hard as anyone, I just don't want him to become an empty stat line guy who looks good on paper but doesn't affect the game in any significant way. He's a significant part of the Cousins trade so we're going to have to rely on this guy pretty heavily in the next few years if we want to turn this thing around.
I am not opposed to valid criticism. Lord knows I engage in my share where this team is concerned. :) But in this case I don't see the validity. When you say he "disappears" he's still out there trying to make plays get free for open looks working hard to get through screens. He doesn't want to force bad shots. He wants to make the extra pass if teammate has a better shot. He is going into paint for boards too. That's not disappearing. That's trying to make high percentage plays in the flow. It sounds to me like you are saying he needs to score on every possession. (I know you are NOT saying that but it comes off that way). 14 PPG on 63% TS in his first dozen games does not portend he's going to be an empty stat guy. It portends with more experience and development he is going to be a star.
 
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Or we could be the Minnesota Timberwolves and find new ways to not make the playoffs forever.
Very true however I do feel like their time is coming. I'm not sure I know what pieces they are missing but I don't think its that much. I really like the core of young talent they have. Another example of a rebuild I don't like is the Lakers. Beyond why I don't like Russell, Randle, or Ingram as prospects (Ingram is the best of them) I just think it's all put together wrong. Hiring Walton as coach wasn't a bad decision necesarily except when you consider he is a rookie running the show (no pun intended) trying to coach a bunch of youth. Imo he gave too much responsibility too quickly to younger players. They are paying for it as of lately, getting beaten by 20 or more points in a lot of games and not looking competitive. Of course they have also made bad decisions siging free agents like Mozgof and Deng to aweful contracts the past few years. I don't see them touching the playoffs soon unless they make some actual big name FA deals. Their rebuild overall is bad though and I feel like we can do much better. Having Dave Joeger and his staff developing and holding players accountable will be HUGE going forward. I believe even with subpar prospects a good coach can make them better. You see it with the Spurs every year basically. Jazz aredoing it pretty well too.
 
Can we find some examples, were teams went from lottery bound to playoffs in 2 years with a full scale youth movement taking place?
The 2018-19 will be at least third season for all the folks currently on the roster, and we were told that this is THE draft so the second season should be good enough for folks from this draft to contribute.
Combining this year where almost all teams were in the playoff run at the all star break (Lakers and Suns being exception), I do not see bar being set too high.

T-Pups fit my criteria. We will be in the same stage at all star 2018-19 as T-pups were at the beginning of this season time wise after trading their "star" player.
Except that their star player is not in the same universe as our former star player, but that is another story who got what for whom.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
Can we find some examples, were teams went from lottery bound to playoffs in 2 years with a full scale youth movement taking place?
Good question... The absolute best case scenario is we get TWolves talent, and look at them now. We're still a ways away from any light at the end of this tunnel. There may be a flicker, but it's still so far out of reach. And that's if everything goes RIGHT, which isn't very likely.
 
The one advantage we may have is a few from our core are a tad older and might take bigger steps next year. I'd like to think Buddy can become an 18 4 and 4 guy by next year and WCS will be entering his third year. If we are able to add a quality vet and Skal takes a nice leap forward we might at least be competitive by the end of next year.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
The 2018-19 will be at least third season for all the folks currently on the roster, and we were told that this is THE draft so the second season should be good enough for folks from this draft to contribute.
Combining this year where almost all teams were in the playoff run at the all star break (Lakers and Suns being exception), I do not see bar being set too high.

T-Pups fit my criteria. We will be in the same stage at all star 2018-19 as T-pups were at the beginning of this season time wise after trading their "star" player.
Except that their star player is not in the same universe as our former star player, but that is another story who got what for whom.
It's either the Wolves approach or the Jazz approach. Wolves have their franchise player, the Jazz do not.