Meanwhile in Reno...

#33
Bogdanovic is coming over next year as well.
I think I missed where he said he was coming over do you have a link? The last quote I saw from him was Sept 29th.

"I know how much I love basketball and going to NBA is the goal for every basketball player," Bogdanovic said. "But I rejected Phoenix Suns’ offer because, let’s be honest, I don’t want to go to NBA without a Euroleague trophy."

Sorry if I missed something but to me that doesn't sound like a guy that is coming over no matter what next year.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#34
I think I missed where he said he was coming over do you have a link? The last quote I saw from him was Sept 29th.

"I know how much I love basketball and going to NBA is the goal for every basketball player," Bogdanovic said. "But I rejected Phoenix Suns’ offer because, let’s be honest, I don’t want to go to NBA without a Euroleague trophy."

Sorry if I missed something but to me that doesn't sound like a guy that is coming over no matter what next year.
He knows Vlade. He'll be over.

He was just under contract at the time, and looking at a crowded Suns backcourt. For us he gets to sign for big money, for a GM who knows him from the old country, who has structured the current starting SGs contract in such a way as to open a spot in the lineup.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#35
Isaiah Austin got cleared to play basketball again.

Were our team not already stacked three deep at both big men positions with players and prospects, I wouldn't have minded seeing the Bighorns take a pass at him.
 
#36
Skal and Papa back in Reno and both have solid games in an overtime win against the Spurs affiliate featuring Dejonte Murray.

Both have been pretty consistent to start the season. Can't say I'm happy with Papa's production as the #13 pick but he's not looking like a total lost soul out there as he did in SL and preseason. Hopefully these guys continue to improve so they can contribute in the future. I think Skal will wind up being a solid stretch 4 who can do work down inside as well once he gets his 3 point shot going. He has the form, just doesn't have the range quite yet.
 
#37
Skal and Papa back in Reno and both have solid games in an overtime win against the Spurs affiliate featuring Dejonte Murray.

Both have been pretty consistent to start the season. Can't say I'm happy with Papa's production as the #13 pick but he's not looking like a total lost soul out there as he did in SL and preseason. Hopefully these guys continue to improve so they can contribute in the future. I think Skal will wind up being a solid stretch 4 who can do work down inside as well once he gets his 3 point shot going. He has the form, just doesn't have the range quite yet.
I'm drooling Skal had 17-11-5 assists solid is an understatement. He will be extremely good next to Boogie in a couple of years.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#40


Seems like they are progressing nicely.
One suggestion I would make to big Papa, is that when he's close to the basket like he was on a couple of occasions, quit putting the ball on the floor. No need, just make your move to the basket. These pesky little guards are known for stealing the ball from big mean centers when they put the ball on the floor in traffic.
 
#42
Seems like they are progressing nicely.
Rooks coming along nicely
That's the entire point and why the instant gratification crowd should relax already.

The Kings have got 3 young, talented kids down in triple A so-to-speak with one of the best euro players coming over next season. That's 4 players in the pipeline each of which appear to have a promising future. Not saying they will all pan out and be all-stars, but at least the team has some young talent in their back pocket to develop and count on for the future. Vlade has compensated best he can against the Cavs/Bulls pick Petrie traded away a long time ago and the one's he may have to swap with Philly.
 
Last edited:
#43
One suggestion I would make to big Papa, is that when he's close to the basket like he was on a couple of occasions, quit putting the ball on the floor. No need, just make your move to the basket. These pesky little guards are known for stealing the ball from big mean centers when they put the ball on the floor in traffic.
I agree 100 percent. I remember Andrew Bynum having that issue early in his career and it must have been beaten into his head constantly by his coaches because he fixed it and you would watch him catch a ball or get a rebound and the ball never got below his chest. Made a huge difference in his game. It's just a natural way to hold the ball with more strength, and your elbows are out a little and at chest level a spin creates space and you are so much quicker getting it back up with power from that position.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#44
Skal has good elevation on that jump shot...you can tell he has bulked up a bit too. He is coming along pleasantly. Too bad we won't see much action from him in the regular season.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#45
I agree 100 percent. I remember Andrew Bynum having that issue early in his career and it must have been beaten into his head constantly by his coaches because he fixed it and you would watch him catch a ball or get a rebound and the ball never got below his chest. Made a huge difference in his game. It's just a natural way to hold the ball with more strength, and your elbows are out a little and at chest level a spin creates space and you are so much quicker getting it back up with power from that position.
To be fair, Boogie also had the same issue early in his career as well. It was only after a few years in the league that he really started going to that crocodile death roll spin move rather than put the ball on the floor and try to back his man down
 
#47
To be fair, Boogie also had the same issue early in his career as well. It was only after a few years in the league that he really started going to that crocodile death roll spin move rather than put the ball on the floor and try to back his man down
Yeah Boogie did it too and maybe still does it more than most but he has the skills to get away with it, and even use the dribble to his advantage. I only brought up Bynum because he really was never a guy you just threw the ball to and said go make something happen, what he did well was get good position and make himself into a huge target for his teammates to throw the ball inside to, and then finish with both power and a great touch with his half hooks. I don't know if we'll ever see Papa being able to pull off a spin like Boogie but he does have the touch with his floaters and whatnot, and as he matures I think we might see a little more power and strength to just put it down if he gets the ball deep rather than a guy like Kosta who seems to fall away from his defenders on anything that isn't a completely wide open dunk
 
#48
Papagiannis coming along strong especially for a 19 year old.

19-9, 8-12 shooting and hit a 3
At worse I think he'll be a good back up for Cousins. I remember watching the Memphis game and he was taking to Gasol before the game and he was towering over Gosal. He just needs to get stronger but you can tell he will be a good pick and roll player, his shot will be good, and he's showing he could protect the paint.



Also I love Richardson I think he'll be a reliable starter who will be a 3-D guy. If Skal can be who I think he could Vlade gets an A+ for all the young prospects he got us this draft.
 
#50
He's got quite the rainbow to that hook shot but they're falling. Hopefully in time we will see him develop moves that get him closer to the basket for easier buckets. Right now he's still having trouble backing down his man but he's bailing himself out by having that sweet long hook shot in his arsenal. Add some legit post moves to get him some gimmie buckets closer to the hoop and he might be dangerous at some point.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#51
those hook shots are from far away...he still needs to lose all that body fat he has...he is moving much better than he did in the summertime so that's a plus at least.
 
#52
He's got quite the rainbow to that hook shot but they're falling. Hopefully in time we will see him develop moves that get him closer to the basket for easier buckets. Right now he's still having trouble backing down his man but he's bailing himself out by having that sweet long hook shot in his arsenal. Add some legit post moves to get him some gimmie buckets closer to the hoop and he might be dangerous at some point.
This is true I love that he's showing he can shoot to 20ft. That's huge in today's game as well as his soft touch and soft hands
 
#53
This is true I love that he's showing he can shoot to 20ft. That's huge in today's game as well as his soft touch and soft hands
He still has ways to go physically, but you have to be happy with the results thus far. And he's only 19 so you can't really hold that against him all that much.

I still see him as being a bigger Koufos with a better post game and jump shot. That's a valuable player to any team.

I'm beginning to like our draft more and more as I continue to get more exposure to the 3 rookies, and that's not even considering Bogdanovic yet!

Part of me just wants us to not spend any big or long term money on PFs/Cs in FA (Millsap) and just have Labissiere, Cauley-Stein, Papagiannis, & Cousins be the frontcourt of the future. Just really work on developing those guys around Cousins and you have an extremely cost effective big man rotation around Cousins.

Same goes for SG. We have Temple, Bogdanovic, & Richardson already. Don't spend any big money on SGs and focus on developing Bogdanovic & Richardson to be cost effective solutions.

Trade Gay for Payne, keep our 1st this year, and draft a guy like Isaac/Tatum.

PG - Collison / Payne
SG - Bogdanovic / Richardson
SF - Temple / Isaac / Barnes
PF - Labissiere / Cauley-Stein
C - Cousins / Papagiannis

That team has good young assets that can grow around Cousins (not to mention we'd probably have a lot of cap space to sign a very good player (if we can convince him to come).
 
Last edited:

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#54
Papagiannis coming along strong especially for a 19 year old.

19-9, 8-12 shooting and hit a 3
At worse I think he'll be a good back up for Cousins. I remember watching the Memphis game and he was taking to Gasol before the game and he was towering over Gosal. He just needs to get stronger but you can tell he will be a good pick and roll player, his shot will be good, and he's showing he could protect the paint.



Also I love Richardson I think he'll be a reliable starter who will be a 3-D guy. If Skal can be who I think he could Vlade gets an A+ for all the young prospects he got us this draft.

Looking good. With his mobility and potential shooting as a big he might be the anti-Koufos in the sense that he can play with Cuz and offensively it won't hurt much with the spacing.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#55
He's got quite the rainbow to that hook shot but they're falling. Hopefully in time we will see him develop moves that get him closer to the basket for easier buckets. Right now he's still having trouble backing down his man but he's bailing himself out by having that sweet long hook shot in his arsenal. Add some legit post moves to get him some gimmie buckets closer to the hoop and he might be dangerous at some point.
That hook shot reminds me a lot of Jabbar's hook shot. Virtually unblockable! Hey, if you can hit that shot consistently, why not? There was a player on the old St. Louis Hawks named Cliff Hagen (in the HOF) nick name was Lil Abner because he looked like the comic book character, that shot nothing but long hook shots. He shot around 50% with them, so why stop?
 
#56
It's pretty clear that Papagiannis has some genuine skill to go with his size. I think in time he would be a very handy big man to have in rotation. Love his hands and that hook shot is unblockable, especially with that size. I see no reason why he cannot be Koufos' replacement in a couple of years time if he keeps developing and working on his game and body shape.
 
#57
That hook shot reminds me a lot of Jabbar's hook shot. Virtually unblockable! Hey, if you can hit that shot consistently, why not? There was a player on the old St. Louis Hawks named Cliff Hagen (in the HOF) nick name was Lil Abner because he looked like the comic book character, that shot nothing but long hook shots. He shot around 50% with them, so why stop?
Wasn't he a University of Kentucky basketball star?
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#59
The two big rooks had another good game.

Skal: 17 pts, 12 rbs, 1 ast, 3 stls, 1 blk, 5 TOs in 31 minutes.
Skal still needs to get a little stronger but he's (a) fighting to get rebounds, which is never a bad thing, (b) has a Dirk-esque lean in his shooting stroke that makes him almost impossible to block, (c) is still a little raw, (d) fun to watch.

Papa: 16 pts, 9 rbs, 2 blks in 29 minutes.
I think we're finally starting to see Papagiannis get acclimated to the pace of American basketball. He's got nice touch around the rim and overdribbling aside, looks to have nice overall awareness. He's also got a fairly nice shooting stroke on the perimeter so he's already beating Kosta in that regard. Is he going to be a superstar? Not likely. But he's nowhere near the bust people were proclaiming him to be after summer league.

In other Reno news, Lamar Patterson continues to look like D-League LeBron and the 4th draft pick from the summer (IC) is averaging 12 pts, 5 rbs, 4 asts for the season. It's impossible to bring either guy up without cutting someone from the roster at this point but Lamar could probably contribute for the team right away off the bench and Isaiah Cousins could be useful depth down the road.
 
Last edited:
#60
Love those two guys Skal will be very good with Cousins and Popa a good back up. Popa is hitting 3s already and nobody saw that coming at all. And he has a nice half hook.