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Post by NOLa. on Sept 9, 2014 13:30:38 GMT -6
Mid-Season Report #1
* Marcus Camby has played very well this first third of the season, averaging 12.5ppg-7.5rpg-3.2bpg. Still very raw and playing above both the expectations of the team and league so far, especially on defense. Coach NOLa. told reporters in practice today that "Camby has played against some of the very best front court players onthe league, such as Alonzo, Shaquille, and Kemp, and has held his own and is relentless on defense against these marquee matchups. His intensity on defense is the reason we drafted him, it's infectious. He's a future All NBA Defense player." While Camby won't make headlines as a ROY favorite, Sacramento is excited about the potential impact Camby can make in the following years."
* King's big free agent acquisition Popeye Jones has begun fitting in nicely in his role as the defensive veteran presence for the team, cleaning up the boards, and getting second chance points. Many teams questioned the Kings contract given to Jones, but the still-improving PF has blossomed into one of the leagues most efficient offensive rebounder and has improved in about every facet of his game. Also reported that Jones is an early favorite for MIP if he keeps up his progress. In a weak free agency class last offseason, did the Kings spot a gem where others saw dirt? Yes, yes they did.
* Surprise of the team during the offseason Erick Strickland received a minor setback after injuring his shoulder and has had a relatively quiet start so far. He still has a ways to go in improving his game, but the team likes what they see in him so far. His 3&D potential is valuable to the team and they've seen glimpses of a great player.
* Moving on from individual news , the team is now 9-5 in the last two sims after a recent home stand against teams like the Celtics, Lakers, Nuggets, and Rockets. They are still wildly inconsistent and horrendous on the road, but a back-to-back winning sim has not happened since Season 5.
* After a very quiet beginning of the season the Kings have started making noise on the trade phone lines. Owner was said to be "on vacation" and is now fresh and ready to deal. Team exploring options to add talent or sell for future assets.
* Bet against the Kings a smart, safe bet? Not currently, as the Kings are 2-0 in upsets over other heavily favored team. Vegas is having a tuff time figuring out the Kings.
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 9, 2014 13:48:26 GMT -6
Questions, comments or other shit talk is welcomed.
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Post by LoCo89 on Sept 9, 2014 14:40:25 GMT -6
Questions, comments or other shit talk is welcomed. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo -short version |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 9, 2014 14:43:03 GMT -6
Questions, comments or other shit talk is welcomed. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo -short version Post it up |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 15, 2014 12:54:16 GMT -6
Mid-Season Report #2
* The Sacramento Kings, since the last update, gained another winning sim to make it 3-in-a-row. The small stretch of winning sims brought the win total to 18, a one game improvement already before the All Star Break compared to last season's 17 total wins. Having Erick Strickland back for full participation brought a new energy to the team and added a scoring option to finally get the offense moving. Good feelings followed until a tragedy occurred.
* Marcus Camby suffered a small injury and is out for the next two sims. The team immediately felt the impact of losing it's cornerstone and could only pull out a win against the Suns at home. So ended the winning streak for the Kings, and the beginning of a new journey. We dropped all talks of buying up win-now talent between multiple teams and shifted our focus to a complete sell-now rebuild around our core rookies.
* Kings made two different moves before trade deadline so far. The first involved sending off veteran Terry Porter and rookie Emanual Davis to the Indianapolis Pacers for a future pick, keeping up the trend of selling players for future considerations before the trade deadline. Kings general manager explained "We appreciated having Porter lead our young team this season and saw good things out of Davis' game, but with four rookies on the team we decided to stash away another asset in exchange. We wish them the best on the Pacers and know they are looking forward to participating in the playoffs."
* The second trade deviated from the Kings trend in which they brought in PF Lorenzo Williams in exchange for the Nets 97 1st. The Kings scouting department felt Williams, despite some deficiencies, would be a good fit for the backup PF position and possibly a versatile role at other spots. Head coach NOLa. liked Williams' defensive presence he exhibits on the court and his athleticism, along with a cheap three year contract that fits with the team's plan. While he won't light up the scoreboard, the Kings only had 2 frontcourt players under contract going into next season and really needed another rebounder who can give Camby and Jones time off.
* The team is still actively pursuing other trade options, but with the two trades already done the team is most likely done with moves.
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 8:27:50 GMT -6
Wow it's almost the end of the season with a couple of sims to go. I know you guys are dying for a Kings update!
* We left off at the trade deadline. The Kings have really struggled on the court after a mix of minor injuries, inconsistent play of youth, and missing the presence of veteran Porter. Strickland has been moved over to the starting PG position, his natural role. Although its his natural role, he's definitely best at the 2, but he's our best option for the 1 right now. Our biggest deficiency is passing, not scoring.
* The injuries keep coming. While we are glad that no injury lasted longer than 2 sims, the latest injury to Shandon Anderson means each of the Kings three rookies have been hit. The coaching staff conservatively held out each player until fully healed, worried that an even worse injury would happen and harming the players future.
* Consistently inconsistent. Youth has really shown in this team as Camby, Strickland, and Popeye continue to struggle. Popeye has shone brightest so far and has been a force on the boards, has steadily improved his defense this season, and has been healthy all season so far. Camby has had good and bad games on defense, and Strickland is not a reliable lead scorer at this point. A lot of these issues can be improved on in training camp, but its obvious more help is needed in the backcourt.
* Not a lot is going right presently for the Kings since they made a couple of moves at the deadline, but there are still positives that we are building on. As noted, the young core has had some struggles on the offensive end, but defensively there's a lot to like looking down the road. We all know Camby has great potential to become an impact defensive star, and Popeye has made leaps in improving his defense in every camp since joining th league. The team needs Strickland to fulfill his potential and become the tenacious perimeter defender we know he can be. We liken him to former King and now Warriors Randy Brown. They are very similar, but Strickland should prove to be the better overall scorer.
* Looking forward to the lotto, the Kings figure they have 2 locked down Top 7 picks in their own plus Grizz. The team feels the Hawks pick will hit protection most likely and have planned accordingly. PG is the obvious need as the Kings could move Strickland to the 2 and Shandon at the 3, but the Kings would rather a natural SF to start and have Anderson come off the bench. Kings know they are forever lotto cursed, so they are looking at the possibility of Keith Van Horn and a PG of their choosing with their 2 guaranteed picks, assuming the picks reach that high.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 9:12:07 GMT -6
KVH would be an excellent addition to this team. In fact, anyone that's instant offense will be. I'm looking for the Kings to add one of these guys via the Draft and one Via FA.
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Post by IamQuailman on Sept 23, 2014 10:01:27 GMT -6
This is the year where NOLa snaps the lotto curse!
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 10:21:37 GMT -6
This is the year where NOLa snaps the lotto curse! I need all my brethren that have never won a lotto to stand with me that very night. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 10:24:33 GMT -6
This is the year where NOLa snaps the lotto curse! I need all my brethren that have never won a lotto to stand with me that very night. Fuck that. |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 10:29:24 GMT -6
KVH would be an excellent addition to this team. In fact, anyone that's instant offense will be. I'm looking for the Kings to add one of these guys via the Draft and one Via FA. I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 10:29:48 GMT -6
I need all my brethren that have never won a lotto to stand with me that very night. Fuck that. Divided we fall |
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Post by IamQuailman on Sept 23, 2014 10:34:59 GMT -6
KVH would be an excellent addition to this team. In fact, anyone that's instant offense will be. I'm looking for the Kings to add one of these guys via the Draft and one Via FA. I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. I can attest to the "all-defense team" with only 1 scorer not being a good model. lol
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 10:39:51 GMT -6
I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. I can attest to the "all-defense team" with only 1 scorer not being a good model. lol
At what point did you have an all defense team? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 10:43:05 GMT -6
KVH would be an excellent addition to this team. In fact, anyone that's instant offense will be. I'm looking for the Kings to add one of these guys via the Draft and one Via FA. I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. KVH i don't think at least would ever be a viable starter in your system; but i do think he'd be an excellent 6th man who gets 36-40 mpg. playing 3 and stretch 4. you get another defensive guy in the game at the 3 spot to play lame minutes. Think it could work. |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 10:45:56 GMT -6
I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. I can attest to the "all-defense team" with only 1 scorer not being a good model. lol
Tell that to the 1990-93 Kings. |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 10:51:08 GMT -6
I have a love-hate thing going on with KVH. I could really utilize a scorer like him in my Inside focus, but he will always be a liability on defense for his career. My main focus in building around Marcus Camby is defense, but I realize the game is won by scoring points. As you said, If KVH doesn't land in Sacramento we would peruse other options via free agency, preferably with better defense and athleticism. KVH i don't think at least would ever be a viable starter in your system; but i do think he'd be an excellent 6th man who gets 36-40 mpg. playing 3 and stretch 4. you get another defensive guy in the game at the 3 spot to play lame minutes. Think it could work. I agree, I'm not sure how he'll look after Combine evaluations (draft file upload), but if his defense isn't significantly changed for the better he'd be on a team who really needs him but is a bad fit. I'm in the category of coaches who pick the BPA instead of need during the draft, so if the situation is right we'll happily accept him with open arms. |
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Post by IamQuailman on Sept 23, 2014 11:29:03 GMT -6
I can attest to the "all-defense team" with only 1 scorer not being a good model. lol
At what point did you have an all defense team? Earlier in the season when I had the 2nd best defense and PA in the league lol. |
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Post by NOLa. on Sept 23, 2014 11:34:02 GMT -6
At what point did you have an all defense team? Earlier in the season when I had the 2nd best defense and PA in the league lol. Here we go... |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 11:43:03 GMT -6
At what point did you have an all defense team? Earlier in the season when I had the 2nd best defense and PA in the league lol. I guess a 1/4 season test was long enough; SCRAP THE IDEA  , but yeah i think you needed 1 more guy for sure. Russell dipped terribly for you. |
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Post by IamQuailman on Sept 23, 2014 11:53:04 GMT -6
Earlier in the season when I had the 2nd best defense and PA in the league lol. I guess a 1/4 season test was long enough; SCRAP THE IDEA , but yeah i think you needed 1 more guy for sure. Russell dipped terribly for you. And now he's in Philly playing damn good ball. *shrug* oh well, still wasn't worth a max money deal to me. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 11:58:16 GMT -6
I guess a 1/4 season test was long enough; SCRAP THE IDEA , but yeah i think you needed 1 more guy for sure. Russell dipped terribly for you. And now he's in Philly playing damn good ball. *shrug* oh well, still wasn't worth a max money deal to me. Apparently he wasn't worth a max to Jangles either |
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 14, 2014 13:42:07 GMT -6
I need all my brethren that have never won a lotto to stand with me that very night. Fuck that. "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." - Vincent Van GoghIndeed, Mr. Van Gogh, indeed. My brothers we have won! |
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 14, 2014 21:31:27 GMT -6
Draft Update
* Last update we left off on the fact our team was looking forward to the lotto. With rookies Marcus Camby, Erick Strickland, Shandon Anderson and veterans Popeye Jones and Lorenzo the only players with a contract going forward to end the season, we knew our 3 first round picks would be incredibly valuable for our team in building a contender in the Western Conference. We were at the mercy of the draft lotto gods and were fully expecting the worst, but our luck couldn't have gone any better. We won the #2 pick in the draft and were also rewarded the#6 and #8 pick, narrowly avoiding hitting protection on that #8 pick (top 7 protection). Obviously the gods were smiling down on us.
* With the 2nd pick of the 1997 draft, we selected high school star Tracy McGrady who drew comparisons to Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones and Doug Christie, an impressive list to draw comparisons to. What we see in McGrady is a franchise-changer. He has just now turned 18 years old, has the potential to be an elite scorer, and has unique abilities that a natural SG does not possess on the boards and defense. My team really needed an alpha male player on the offensive end, especially considering the fact we have defensive standout in Marcus Camby and no true Key Player. The combination of McGrady/Camby on the court at the same time is exciting for our coaching staff and we are confident in our plan in building around these two cornerstone pieces.
* After picking McGrady with our first pick, our focus was picking the best available player on the board. However, we were very fortunate in getting the best available player at a position of great need on our team. With the 6th pick in the draft we selected Antonio Daniels, a 6'4 PG with amazing measurables and athleticism. Antonio Daniels is not a pure PG but what he brings to the table is a young talent with room to grow and great size to utilize on defense. Our team is focused on building a defense-oriented squad that will be a tough matchup for anyone, and Daniels fits the bill.
* With our final pick we drafted PG Anthony Johnson, conveniently the player we were considering at #6 that fell to #9 for us. Johnson is raw, very raw, but he's a better fit at PG on our team in the long run. He has the size at 6'3 and potential to improve his court awareness to run our offense and be a tenacious defender. He also is improving on his outside shot. His skill set is very similar to Antonio Daniels and feel they could be a great compliment to each other as they grow into the team.
* Reflecting on our overall draft, the Kings organization feels they have accomplished their goal in building up their backcourt with youthful talent. Already having Strickland and Shandon, the addition of Tracy McGrady, Antonio Daniels, and Anthony Johnson has already dramatically improved the outlook of this team. We can now focus our attention in RFA and UFA on specific needs rather than filling out a roster randomly. With money to spend the Kings are anxious to submit their bids.
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 20, 2014 9:26:23 GMT -6
Free Agency Update
* We last left off after the draft had concluded in which we picked up McGrady, Daniels, and Johnson. We were very happy with the additions, but with free agency looking near we had to assess our teams strength and weaknesses and felt our new players, McGrady included, were to raw to be ready for the season as starters. Our team philosophy is patience, and we were not ready to deviate from that given the ample opportunity to land guards and wings in this free agency class.
* First round of free agency was a swing-and-a-miss, to put it kindly. The front office and I submitted 10 bids on players we would have been proud to call our own. Unfortunately, most signed somewhere else for bigger money and the rest remained unsigned. This saddened us given our cap space available to spend. We realized teams had the money to spend but we were shocked by some of the contracts thrown out to a few players.
* Round 2 went much better compared to the previous round. We were able to land two of the top PGs in free agency in Brian Shaw and Kenny Smith. We were not expecting both to accept but we were very happy and excited to find both our starting and backup PG that fit the build of a combo guard. Getting both at $7.5 million total is a win for this program in need of veterans while our guards develop.
* But we weren't done there. We also acquired underrated and overlooked combo guard Haywoode Workman. He is looked at as a very viable option as a injury plug if one of our guards go down. We think he will be used as a trade piece this season after day 60 if we have not run into injury issues by then.
* One more round to go and we still have needs to fill. Luckily for us we have our starting group and most of our backup positions filled with plenty of cap to spend. In he end, we love the flexibility we have obtained over the last few seasons. We have two franchise players in Camby and McGrady, a young core backcourt to grow with them, veterans to ease their progression, cap space, and picks to help sustain arguably the fastest growing team in the league.
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, but yeah i think you needed 1 more guy for sure. Russell dipped terribly for you.