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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 11:38:06 GMT -6
*General manager NOLa. walks through the hallways of the Sleep Train Arena by himself, anxiously awaiting the press conference that is about to start in a few minutes. He can already hear the clamoring in room 27 where the press and select few fans have been gathered. NOLa. continues to stroll through the hallway gazing at previous plaques his team has won since the inception of the league: multiple division championships, Western conference champion, All Star and All NBA recognition by former big man Karl Malone. All dated at or before 1994."NOLa.: Soon. *The Kings general manager then walks through the double doors and the clamoring quickly gets replaced with whispers and camera clicks all around. He makes haste for the podium, excited to begin a new chapter in this prestigious club's story.*NOLa.: Welcome, everyone, to the 1997 Sacramento Kings press conference! I can't wait to hear your questions or comments, but first let me highlight some key areas regarding the growth of the team and our future plans, and then the floor will be open to all. *He grabs for his water and takes a quick sip before continuing.*
NOLa.: The 1996-97 season went about as expected by national media pundits and fans alike. Our team struggled heavily on the offensive end of the court, and any team that struggles on offense will be hard-pressed to find consistency anywhere else on the court, including defense. We knew going into the new season what our weaknesses were but did not have the resources to fix the problem immediately. We ended the season with the 5th worst record in the league and only a 6 game improvement, not at all close to what our fans expected from us in the front office. However, there were some bright spots and it begins with our growing youth. Then-rookies Macus Camby, Erick Strickland, and Shandon Anderson all had great rookie seasons despite the immediate workload and responsibility thrust onto them. We felt they were not average-quality starting material, but at the end of the season they all finished as starters. We were pleased with what they each bring to the table for the team and we feel comfortable using their strengths this season coming up. Alright, enough about that terrible season! *He grabs for the water again, ready to hype up the crowd* NOLa.: We entered the 1997 lotto show with low expectations but ended up on Cloud 9. We won the 2nd overall pick of the draft and instantly knew who that was going to be, the one and only Tracy McGrady, high school phenom out of Mount Zion Christian Academy! NOLa.: Nicknamed "The Big Sleep" due to his slow-motion game, we feel it was fate that brought The Big Sleep to the Sleep Train Arena. So, if the hype wasn't enough, now he has a catchy nickname for the fanbase and has become fan favorite #1. We're not sure just how high his ceiling is, but we know this for certain: any player with no potential less than a C is going to be someone you want on your team. With the next two picks, we decided to stick to our original plan and felt the need to improve the future PG position for our team. There were plenty to choose from as the draft was heavy in PG talent, but the two we chose complimented our team build in more ways than the others did. Enter in Antonio Daniels and Anthony Johnson, two raw PGs who will need some time to be groomed but have a very important role in the coming seasons. NOLa.:Johnson is the more traditional PG with better passing, whereas Daniels is the superior athlete and can team up with Strickland in the second unit as the other defensive combo guard. Their offense needs to develop along with their perimeter defense, but the core group of McGrady, Strickland, Daniels, Johnson and Shandon has us feeling like we have one of the better up-and-coming backcourts in the league. Not that our frontcourt is shabby, either. Marcus Camby and Popeye Jones had a training camp to remember thanks to their offseason dedication of getting together and working on their low post game while other stars were on vacation. I can guarantee a lot of their motivation stems from other teams simply overlooking them. Camby fell lower than he was projected to go in the 96 draft, and Popeye Jones made the franchise a brief running joke when we handed him a max contract. They look forward to the upcoming season and can't wait to see what their hard work produces in the regular season. NOLa.: I think that about wraps up all that I wanted to talk about before I got to your questions and comments as promised. We look forward to the 1997-98 season and hope the team can start a new era in the Kings legacy.
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Post by Inner_GI on Oct 22, 2014 12:42:40 GMT -6
Last year was a big struggle for your team, but with the influx on surpreme young talent. What are you expecting from your rookies and sophmore players? Do you plan on starting those young guys together even if it leads to early season struggles?
P.S. Not confirmed, but your starting lineup has to be the youngest in the league.
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 12:56:15 GMT -6
Last year was a big struggle for your team, but with the influx on surpreme young talent. What are you expecting from your rookies and sophmore players? Do you plan on starting those young guys together even if it leads to early season struggles? P.S. Not confirmed, but your starting lineup has to be the youngest in the league. I'm expecting more production from my sophomore group definitely. Camby, Strickland and Shandon improved over this offseason and if my team stands any chance in the West they are the ones that need to step up. McGrady might be the only rookie to get plenty of minutes, whereas Daniels and Johnson will be looking at limited minutes if injuries hit. Hopefully we smooth McGrady into his soon-to-be alpha role without any hiccups. If it wasn't for Shaw I think I would have the youngest, but it's always good to have veteran presence to strengthen your depth. |
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Post by Conroy on Oct 22, 2014 12:58:32 GMT -6
Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, the youth and talent level for this team is off the charts. Plus you still have a few picks left, is now the time to start to trade some of those in for some veteran pieces or will the youth revolt continue?
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 13:04:52 GMT -6
Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, the youth and talent level for this team is off the charts. Plus you still have a few picks left, is now the time to start to trade some of those in for some veteran pieces or will the youth revolt continue? Very interesting question because it's a situation that I try to answer to myself the last few days. In my fantasy world I would love to keep stockpiling more and more youth and keep my picks to build a super young team. Realistically, the tax man is a dick and RFA will more than likely make sure I pay to keep my players or lose them for nothing. As much as I'd like to horde, I do understand the need to not only have talent but also salary cap controlled. I am looking to trade some of my picks. However, even picks like the Nuggets and Pistons, who are projected to go anywhere from late teens to mid 20s, still have value to me in the quest to stockpile talent. Plus, after looking at the Draft Preview page this 98 class looks great and the 99 should be even better! |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Oct 22, 2014 13:17:31 GMT -6
nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: With the youth on this team, there was still a pressing need to fill the point guard position on your squad. Clearly, this past off season was filled with veteran laiden talent at the position. Were you surprised at how many you were able to sign that expressed their desire to wanna play in Sacramento after last year's disappointing season?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 13:20:39 GMT -6
Sterling Archer here, with the recent rumors of you possibly being the victim of repeated trape attempts are you planning on being more monogamous with trape partners? Are you the one behind the "anonymous" sign seen at every airport in each NBA stating "it's a draft pick not an invitation "?
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 13:21:55 GMT -6
nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: With the youth on this team, there was still a pressing need to fill the point guard position on your squad. Clearly, this past off season was filled with veteran laiden talent at the position. Were you surprised at how many you were able to sign that expressed their desire to wanna play in Sacramento after last year's disappointing season? I was surprised because I only put one bid in of high amount to make sure I got him in Brian Shaw. Kenny Smith joining at $2.5 million was a pleasant surprise as well because it covered my entire need of starting and backup PG this offseason. I think our teams situation last season helped us bring in those players instead of them running, because we were a decent basketball team with no one to run the offense and it showed. We were the worst passing team in the league and I'd even go as far as saying ever. With plenty of opportunity to play, Shaw and Smith will see plenty of court time and are obvious upgrades compared to last season. |
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 13:27:50 GMT -6
Sterling Archer here, with the recent rumors of you possibly being the victim of repeated trape attempts are you planning on being more monogamous with trape partners? Are you the one behind the "anonymous" sign seen at every airport in each NBA stating "it's a draft pick not an invitation "? Sometimes when you have a lot of a great thing others see that as having too much of a good thing and offer trades to "help me" reduce my assets, which has become common the last few seasons. I've been open to moving some of my assets but others think that's our front office trying to shed for whatever value we can get, but as we've proven over the last few seasons we are very patient and we have a plan. I can be a tough negotiator at times but these situations are the reason why. We're not looking to downgrade, if anything we'd like to move horizontally with our next trade if at all possible. |
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Post by WigNosy on Oct 22, 2014 13:31:35 GMT -6
Will your offense be tilted towards McGrady in an attempt to get him into the Rookie of the Year discussion? With such a deep backcourt, are you considering "three-guard" deployments around your twin towers of Camby and Jones in order to get everyone enough minutes to keep them happy?
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 13:42:24 GMT -6
Will your offense be tilted towards McGrady in an attempt to get him into the Rookie of the Year discussion? With such a deep backcourt, are you considering "three-guard" deployments around your twin towers of Camby and Jones in order to get everyone enough minutes to keep them happy? The offense will not be geared towards McGrady, after evaluating him when TC concluded we feel he is isn't there yet. Throwing him to the wolves and making the offense run through him during his rookie season most likely won't help us win as many games as we could with a balanced approach. Defense is still #1 priority. And yes, we have tinkered with our depth chart and have come up with a few slightly different lineups that we can deploy. Since McGrady has the size at 6'8 we can easily slide him over to the SF spot and have any 2 of our stable of guards to come in. If McGrady does well in SF we'll consider moving him as the starter and will try to find the most optimal lineup. |
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J2
Junior Member
Washington Wizards
Posts: 955 
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Post by J2 on Oct 22, 2014 14:49:46 GMT -6
Johnny Junior, The Washington Post: You are ridiculously deep out on the wing and in the backcourt. Who exactly do you have pegged as key players in your rotation, and who has the edge in terms of starting?
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 22, 2014 15:07:43 GMT -6
Johnny Junior, The Washington Post: You are ridiculously deep out on the wing and in the backcourt. Who exactly do you have pegged as key players in your rotation, and who has the edge in terms of starting? Welcome to the presser and congrats on your team advancing all the way to the Finals! We have decided to try Shaw, McGrady, and Shandon at the 1,2 & 3, respectively, this preseason, but it's will be an on-going evaluation this season to figure the rotation out. With McGrady able to slide down, we can start Shandon, Strickland, or Kenny. The young rookie guards, even with great camps, are not ready for major minutes. We also like the idea of Kenny, Shaw, and Magic at the 1,2,3 as well to give us a specialized passing group. The rotation could start to be set if we explore trade options to move any one of our guards, allowing the others to get more minutes. |
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Soundwave
Full Member
Toronto Raptors
Winter is coming
Posts: 2,465
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Post by Soundwave on Oct 23, 2014 11:10:46 GMT -6
Clark Kent, Daily Planet:
How many picks are too many? At what point do you think it's better to trade for an established player? We all know that once a drafted player is connected to that pick then the luster has worn off and value decreases. Are you gonna continue to play the odds or cash in?
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Post by NOLa. on Oct 23, 2014 11:49:31 GMT -6
Clark Kent, Daily Planet: How many picks are too many? At what point do you think it's better to trade for an established player? We all know that once a drafted player is connected to that pick then the luster has worn off and value decreases. Are you gonna continue to play the odds or cash in? I don't know if there is an exact # but I think it's possible I'm over it. I think anytime you have the flexibility to choose between youth or veteran you should hold steady with the plans that were placed well before you put yourself in the situation. It is true that picks have sexier value when there's uncertainty, but that's because the pick can be hit-or-miss. The plan is to cut the misses and secure the hits, but you have to see them play first. I spent one season trading towards a rebuild and went full rebuild mode for another two seasons on top of that. I like to think I'm one of the more active general managers of the league and I don't go a day where I don't engage in talks to trade. At this moment I'm talking to a GM right now in private about this exact scenario lol. Point being, if you're active on the forums and behind the scenes with other GMs you put yourself in the best position to do what's best for your team. I think I can do just that. |
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credit loco for photoshop
