Thomas is the starting PF

jcassio

jcassio

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#1
#1
From SacBee
Friday, October 26, 2007
(part of story on Artest's arbitration)

Thomas starting ... for now – First, the season-long disclaimer from Theus as it pertains to his starting five.

"There's nobody's spot that is going to be their spot just because it's their spot," Theus said. "That's not how I am. That's not how I'm going to do it. The obvious is that most guys will sustain their spots once they're in there."

That being said, Theus deemed Thomas the winner of the power forward starting position over Mikki Moore.

"As of right now, Kenny would be – if the season started today – the starting (power forward)," Theus said.
 
jcassio

jcassio

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#2
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Well that's not unexpected, but it is disappointing, nonetheless. KT is an above-average rebounder and Reggie realizes that we need that in one of our starting five. But it also reflects the inability (or unwillingness?) of the Kings front office to get Reggie something better at the PF spot.

It's unfortunate for us and KT that he has somewhat regressed as a player. But if he is going to be our starting PF, then let's hope he regains his shooting touch and his ability to put the ball in the hoop when he's within mere inches. If he can, then maybe he can be that double-double guy again. Which wouldn't be a bad thing for the Kings.
 
Jerichoholic

Jerichoholic

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#4
#4
I'm not a fan of Kenny Thomas by any means, but unfortunately he is the best man for the job. Who else do we go with?

Mikki Moore: Thomas is a better scorer, rebounder, and defender than Moore.

Abdur-Rahim: Still recovering from the surgery and can't rebound or defend better than Thomas even when healthy.

Justin Williams: Probably won't make the team now.

Darryl Watkins: Not even an option even if he does make the team because of his inexperience.

Let's face it, we are stockpiled with mediocre and overpaid power forwards who probably aren't in the top 30 in their position in the league. But that's no secret. The best move would be to probably make would be to start Artest at PF and Salmons at SF, we are going to lose the rebounding battle every game anyway so we might as try to outscore and outdefend our opponents.
 
Gary

Gary

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#5
#5
Jerichoholic said:
Let's face it, we are stockpiled with mediocre and overpaid power forwards who probably aren't in the top 30 in their position in the league. But that's no secret. The best move would be to probably make would be to start Artest at PF and Salmons at SF, we are going to lose the rebounding battle every game anyway so we might as try to outscore and outdefend our opponents.
Click to expand...

How many millions are the Maloofs' putting into that position each year? 20? Let's see. 7+ for Thomas, 6+ for Moore... 5+ for SAR. Someone correct me if I am wrong (don't have the salary screen up). But as far as I know they aren't getting their moneys worth out of that PF rotation.

Let's take KT's defense and rebounding, Moore's height and energy, SAR's Bulk and post moves, and put them all together for an AVERAGE PF :)
 
LPKingsFan

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#6
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Gary said:
How many millions are the Maloofs' putting into that position each year? 20? Let's see. 7+ for Thomas, 6+ for Moore... 5+ for SAR. Someone correct me if I am wrong (don't have the salary screen up). But as far as I know they aren't getting their moneys worth out of that PF rotation.
Click to expand...
Thomas: $7.3 million
SAR: $5.8 million
Moore: $5.3 million

Having the most mediocre PF rotation in the NBA? Priceless.

And other than having to take KT's contract in the C-Webb trade, the SAR and Moore deals are purely Geoff's own damn fault.
 
jcassio

jcassio

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#8
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LPKingsFan said:
Thomas: $7.3 million
SAR: $5.8 million
Moore: $5.3 million

Having the most mediocre PF rotation in the NBA? Priceless.

And other than having to take KT's contract in the C-Webb trade, the SAR and Moore deals are purely Geoff's own damn fault.
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Yeah, but...
1) Moore wasn't brought in to be our new PF, so I wouldn't lump his salary in there without at least a footnote.
2) What we're paying for KT & SAR (combined) is not outrageous in a relative context; however, it is definitely disappointing to us because, for $13 million/yr, you would expect to get more for your money. But with that said, we're certainly not the only team that has to bear some disappointment in how well our investments are paying off.
 
BawLa

BawLa

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#9
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This is disappointing news...I personally think that our team has more integrity when Mikki starts.

Fortunately, Reggie seems like the kind of coach that will not hesitate to make changes when neccessary. So if (or when) Kenny goes Kenny, he will lose the starting role.

I actually like the way that Kenny has been playing, but dominating (relative to his normal production) in preseason is meaningless.
 
M

Merdiesel

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#10
#10
BawLa said:
This is disappointing news...I personally think that our team has more integrity when Mikki starts.
Fortunately, Reggie seems like the kind of coach that will not hesitate to make changes when neccessary. So if (or when) Kenny goes Kenny, he will lose the starting role.

I actually like the way that Kenny has been playing, but dominating (relative to his normal production) in preseason is meaningless.
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Ever since signing him, I never thought of Mikki as a starter. I always looked at him as our guy that comes off the bench with intensity. Our 6th man.
 
kupman

kupman

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#12
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Merdiesel said:
Ever since signing him, I never thought of Mikki as a starter. I always looked at him as our guy that comes off the bench with intensity. Our 6th man.
Click to expand...

Ever since signing him, I have thought of Mikki as a small improvement following the loss (do we even consider it a "loss") of Potepenko.
 
tyrant

tyrant

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#13
#13
Thomas is the starting PF


Je*** Ch****

well, i cant say that moore is head and shoulders better than thomas. during the clippers game i was hoping for anything that would give moore the edge. but he kept missing easy baskets. i think he was 1-7 in the game. didnt have a monster rebounding night either. oddly when thomas came in the game it was like subbing for thomas. PATHETIC. spencer is our only hope. or a trade. im starting to think that salmons (sf) and artest (pf) may not be such a bad idea.
 
F

fnordius

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#15
#15
jcassio said:
Yeah, but...
1) Moore wasn't brought in to be our new PF, so I wouldn't lump his salary in there without at least a footnote.
Click to expand...
Speaking of that, does anyone know why Moore was brought in? At the time most of us were sure it meant that at least one of our veteran bigs - and probably more than one - would be cleaning out their locker. We already had Justin, and we had just drafted a center whose whole selling point was that he already had skills, skills and more skills, so was as NBA-ready as a rookie could ever be. And then we picked up Watkins, who had always played C before, and was expected to keep playing C in the NBA. Without Moore, we have KT and SAR at PF, Brad and Spencer at C, and Justin and Darryl waiting for left over minutes. So I'm still wondering why we shelled out a lot of money for big man #7. If anyone's seen any quotes from Geoff or Reggie which explain that decision, I'd love to know the answer.
 
LPKingsFan

LPKingsFan

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#18
#18
jcassio said:
Yeah, but...
1) Moore wasn't brought in to be our new PF, so I wouldn't lump his salary in there without at least a footnote.
2) What we're paying for KT & SAR (combined) is not outrageous in a relative context; however, it is definitely disappointing to us because, for $13 million/yr, you would expect to get more for your money. But with that said, we're certainly not the only team that has to bear some disappointment in how well our investments are paying off.
Click to expand...
Really? That's not the sense I got when it happened.
 
VF21

VF21

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#21
#21
Um, guys? Put away the nooses and wobbling chairs. Look again.

"As of right now, Kenny would be – if the season started today – the starting (power forward)," Theus said.
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Kenny WOULD BE the starting power forward if the season started right after the Oct. 24 game. It didn't so we still don't know with certainty who the starting PF will be. In addition, it's NOT cast in stone.

And, having said that, from what I've seen of Kenny Thomas so far in this pre-season, I think - for the first time - that I'd be all right with the decision. KT has been hustling, he's been an obvious part OF the team, he's been involved and he's actually looking motivated. It was Kenny and Mike who immediately went to Brad's defense in the Howard matter; it was Kenny Thomas who walked over to Brad and got him to quit getting in the face of the rookie official the other night.

Those are good things.
 
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jcassio

jcassio

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#23
#23
LPKingsFan said:
Really? That's not the sense I got when it happened.
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The Amick article that you refer to does say that, with Moore's signing, the King's "forward spot is suddenly clogged..."
However, it was an Amick article, so I can't give you any points for that!
My point wasn't that Moore can't (or shouldn't) play PF, but that he's a utilty player who can play the 4 or 5, and is destined to come off the bench and fill in for injured players. KT and SAR, meanwhile, are supposed to be starters (never mind whether that's based on current info). If Mikki's good enough to be a starter at either position, then it shows a serious weakness.
 
jcassio

jcassio

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#24
#24
VF21 said:
Um, guys? Put away the nooses and wobbling chairs. Look again.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I did (look again). Don't think I missed anything. I thought this discussion was about who is penciled in right now as our starting PF.

And I agree that Thomas has given us some reason to hope this season will be better than last...
 
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VF21

VF21

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#25
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jcassio said:
Thanks. I did (look again). Don't think I missed anything. I thought this discussion was about who is penciled in right now as our starting PF.
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I guess you can interpret it that way. I'm looking at it as an affirmation of what Theus has said all along. That starting positions will go to the guys who hustle the most and earn them. So if KT works and is penciled in for the game, it means for that game. It doesn't mean they're anointing him as the starting power forward for the entire year. If he keeps the job, it will be because he's earned it.

And once again, I continue to think way too much emphasis is placed on the "starting" moniker. I actually like how Pop runs his team; and I suspect we may see a shift to that kind of fluidity on our own.

:)
 
jcassio

jcassio

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#26
#26
VF21 said:
I guess you can interpret it that way. I'm looking at it as an affirmation of what Theus has said all along. That starting positions will go to the guys who hustle the most and earn them. So if KT works and is penciled in for the game, it means for that game. It doesn't mean they're anointing him as the starting power forward for the entire year. If he keeps the job, it will be because he's earned it.

And once again, I continue to think way too much emphasis is placed on the "starting" moniker. I actually like how Pop runs his team; and I suspect we may see a shift to that kind of fluidity on our own.
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I very much like Reggie's approach that no one owns a spot in the lineup; they have to earn it! But the last part of his statement is hard to interpret. Theus said: "The obvious is that most guys will sustain their spots once they're in there."
What do you think that means?
 
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PurpleHaze

PurpleHaze

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#27
#27
jcassio said:
I "The obvious is that most guys will sustain their spots once they're in there."
What do you think that means?
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I think Coach Reggie just means that MOST (not all) of the guys will sustain their spots once the season gets underway. Just another way of saying he does not anticipate having to ditch most of or the entire starting line-up.
 
L

LA King Fan II

Bench
#28
#28
So just to get this straight the Kings will start...

Bibby
Martin
Miller
Artest
Thomas

Rahim
Garcia

This is like going to see Howard the Duck for a second time in hopes that maybe you missed the joke first time around.
 
PurpleHaze

PurpleHaze

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#29
#29
LA King Fan II said:
So just to get this straight the Kings will start...

Bibby
Martin
Miller
Artest
Thomas

Rahim
Garcia
Click to expand...

Except for the first 7 games where probably Salmons starts for suspended Artest. Then when Hawes returns in about 2 weeks maybe the bench rotations are altered again.
 
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VF21

VF21

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#30
#30
jcassio said:
I very much like Reggie's approach that no one owns a spot in the lineup; they have to earn it! But the last part of his statement is hard to interpret. Theus said: "The obvious is that most guys will sustain their spots once they're in there."
What do you think that means?
Click to expand...
I think it means Reggie fully expects the starters to continue to work hard to keep their starting positions.
 
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