Overly optimistic POV
Well guys here we are. We still have Barnes, Buddy, Bagley, Whiteside and Holmes on the roster. But the good news is, we still have our FRP. I know I’m a little disappointed in our direction but, I think it’s pretty obvious what our direction is right now. Though I don’t agree with it but it did have me thinking about the roster.
Our best lineup is Fox/Haliburton/Buddy/Barnes/Holmes. I think it’s pretty obvious the outlier here is Buddy. Though, his presence tilts the floor for everyone else, the fear is, there is always a 35% chance when he touches the ball, it’s not going to be good. With the trades yesterday it made me think how everyone fits. Is it time to bench Buddy? Does Harkless replace Buddy in the starting lineup? Putting a guy who only plays defense and rebounds in the Buddy spot will hurt the spacing but, Fox/Rese/Barnes have been so money from 3, how much would it really effect the spacing?
Wright is a backup PG, his numbers suggest he’s like a Haliburton-lite. But the wrap on him (coming from my Pistons friend) is that he’s too indecisive and gets caught a lot in that “should I pass or should I shoot” situation. Well off the bench, with Buddy, I think we all know the answer. Set up Buddy and Woodard and as of recently Metu.
Also, in terms of the cap and Holmes. With the trade for Wright, we may have limited the extra cap room we’ll have available to keep Holmes. But, i think Wright is easily moveable at the draft. Wright is a solid backup PG who could be had for 2 seconds and I can easily see a team who was unable to snag the backup PG late in the draft that they expected to be there. I don’t think is 8.5m tough to to move.
Though I do think gunning for the 10seed is a mistake with Lakers, Clippers, Suns, warriors (just in the same division!!) it’s going to be tough for the next few seasons. All 4 other teams have a least 2 players on Foxs level or better. Earlier in the season I personally had Monte at a B+ for the roster moves up until the deadline, now I’ve put incomplete, I need to wait until the season plays out. Would it be a failure if this team scratched and clawed its way into the 8th seed? (Fuck the play in) no, maybe that challenge would be good for the development of the young guys.
Oh and “the Flash Bros” was a pretty clever nickname for our backcourt of the future.
Posted Mar 26, 2021, 6:39 PM UTC
I tend to agree with most of what you wrote, and feel that the immediate emotional backlash yesterday in this sub was understandable but misguided.
Wright is right. Concerns of roster flexibility made me literally eye roll yesterday- the Kings are not just gaining ~6m salary next year (Wright - CoJo), you have to factor in that the team needs a backup PG. A Yogi type min player or Guy/Ramsay is not competitive, they were always going to pay someone. Wright has the blend of skills they'd want in that spot (defense/ballhandling) and this way they can see if he fits instead of signing and praying. If not, that's an easily moveable, + asset contract. Pretty savvy. Buddy is and always has been the player they need to move, if not Bagley. It's really not about Wright at all.
Davis is 23, Silva is 24. Young talent that they've been able to evaluate at an NBA level. Perfect use of borderline useless assets.
Further, it has become pretty damn clear that as long as Fox and Hali are starting and with the easy remaining schedule, they were never ever going to be bad enough to completely tank. That combined with the leveled odds anyways and I can see why they would be more eager to just develop the team to plan and let the chips lie where they fall.
Look, I get the disappointment angle because it was so damn hyped, but these are small winning moves that the Kings have historically not made. This deadline gave me confidence that there is a measured plan in place. McNair has spoken about threading the needle, he was never tanking, and a realized agenda is so refreshing if not totally satisfying. The knee-jerk Vivek puppetmaster nonsense is getting tired. They're righting the ship, dont jump now.