Kings Preseason Presser 2032-33

[NOLa.]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to yet another Sacramento Kings Preseason Presser! As we may recall last season at our presser, I decided to come back to take my team off auto-pilot only to forget to check in during the offseason. We signed no one, drafted poorly, and the team was in shambles with veteran Erik Haynes and youngster Daniel Yandell. The presser was not an overly enthusiastic one.

So let's talk about what happened last season. We traded Erik Haynes to the Nuggets for youth and went on our way to try to take on salary for points or picks. It was not a pretty season and definitively up there with one of the worst fielded teams I've put on. We decided to not outright tank which may have been a bad move on our end, but we were hoping good karma works out.

Finally the season was over and we were able to make additions to the team. The contraction draft was favorable for us with the 7th pick I beleive, which we were able to use to draft James Kirkendall. We definitely wish we had a high pick here to draft a younger player to pair with Yandell, but in the end we felt we were able to pick up one of the better players at our position. Kirkendall stood out to us as a scorer and defender, and being a multi-time All NBA 1st Team and former DPOY we felt would really benefit the team.

We then looked forward to the regular draft and were hoping for a lucky lotto, but that didn't happen. With the 5th pick we did feel fortunate to draft Ronald Jordan, who we had as the #3 prospect in the draft. He's raw but we felt his potentials, size, and athleticism were a great combo to pair with Yandell. We also bought the Lakers pick and selected Nickolas Lynch who we will stash away and hope for the best.

In UFA we had a lot of cap space available to bid, so we swung for the fences as hard as we could on several players. We were ecstatic to sign Udoka Azubuike, who we feel is a very similar player to Kirkendall in that he is an excellent scorer and defender. We made a few more signings and made a trade with the Magic to acquire Kenrich Williams to start at SF.

We have high hopes but we know with the current team we aren't where we need to be. Due to the contraction draft and UFA results, we have two great veterans in their primes with Udoka and Kirkendall, but we also have Yandell at PG who is still needing time to develop and no true SG. Below is our projected starting lineup.

C: Udoka Azubuike
PF: James Kirkendall
SF: Kenrich WIlliams
SG: Ja'Vonte Smart
PG: Daniel Yandell

Playoffs don't look likely hahahaha.

[JNR]

GWR: As you are more active than recent years, do you anticipate much roster turnover this year?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With a mix of win-now and win later players, when do you see the window aligning for the Kings to get competitive, and what's your plan for this season to prepare for that window?

[NOLa.]

GWR: As you are more active than recent years, do you anticipate much roster turnover this year?

If I were to bet I think there will be some turnover. Since free agency I've been trying to figure out the right balance to having win-now pieces together with my not-ready-yet rookie deal players. If I can win some games and actually stay competitive, I would be more tempted to try to trade for more win-now pieces using the youth on my team. If I am struggling like I think I will, I may be tempted to sell off the vets in hopes of picking up youth or picks and points.

[NOLa.]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With a mix of win-now and win later players, when do you see the window aligning for the Kings to get competitive, and what's your plan for this season to prepare for that window?

Oh man I've been pondering this question for a few days now and I don't have a good answer. Realistically if I keep everyone going into next season and use my available cap to swing for another max player or several decent players, I think the team can be good enough to be a tough playoff team. There's a lot of "ifs" in that scenario of keeping everyone, hitting again in UFA or RFA, and training camp going well. I expect there to be some movement this season, I just don't know which way to go at the moment.

[MexicanMamba]

You mentioned needing Yandell to continue to develop before he's a true primetime player. What are the key areas that you feel he needs to focus on to reach his potential?

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[NOLa.]

You mentioned needing Yandell to continue to develop before he's a true primetime player. What are the key areas that you feel he needs to focus on to reach his potential?

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The gif is my serious reaction because he is still raw. Of all the skills he has decent potentials in, I think his jump shooting is the only thing close to being developed. To answer your question with an actual answer: passing and defense. With Kirkendall and Udoka we have two good scorers, I just need Yandell to be the PG that gets them the ball and not be a liability on defense. I believe next season he will be more ready for this role and he will struggle this year.

[Keepit100]

Alex Sayuck - Laser Eye Basketball Magazine

With arguably the best frontcourt in PBSL, in terms of shot-blocking, do you foresee any issues with teams opting to stretch your bigs out, given Kirkendall and Azubuike's relative lack of agility?

[NOLa.]

Alex Sayuck - Laser Eye Basketball Magazine

With arguably the best frontcourt in PBSL, in terms of shot-blocking, do you foresee any issues with teams opting to stretch your bigs out, given Kirkendall and Azubuike's relative lack of agility?

It definitely can be an issue if we run into a team that has stretch bigs, as I don't think we would have any response to that. We really don't have great perimeter defenders on the team as a whole let alone our frontcourt. Our big hope would be that our frontcourt guys win the battle down low and do just enough to limit outside shooters.

[greepleairport]

Picking up players like Udoka and Kirkendall this offseason positions you way better than you looked last year, like Karma is paying off early. Will you be looking to make any trades this season to bolster your talent and record or play a longer game for seasons to come?

[NickMalone77]

Do you see Dan Yandell finally being able to use his time in the league as a way to turn that into a leadership role with the Kings or do you see that role being handled by Azubuike/Kirkendall?

[NOLa.]

Picking up players like Udoka and Kirkendall this offseason positions you way better than you looked last year, like Karma is paying off early. Will you be looking to make any trades this season to bolster your talent and record or play a longer game for seasons to come?

I’m so back and forth on what I want to do. Part of me really wants to make a big trade by trading youth for a star so I can break this streak of 4 missed postseasons, the longest in my tenure. But a wise GM asked me if a team with another veteran puts me into the postseason and I don’t think it does. There are so many talented teams in my division, let alone the conference. I may be looking to sell my vets over acquiring another and just let the rebuild take time. But hey if the team is playing well by Day 60 I’ll start looking around.


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[NOLa.]

Do you see Dan Yandell finally being able to use his time in the league as a way to turn that into a leadership role with the Kings or do you see that role being handled by Azubuike/Kirkendall?

I think he’s one more good training camp away from being the leader. He has holes in his game we are addressing so my hope is Az and Kirk can shoulder the load for the time being. I think at PG he will shine with his size and athleticism down the road and I’m very excited to have a player with his skill set, it’s a player you want to build around and pair with a dominant big or wing to take advantage of his scoring and passing.


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[false9]

Having a regular season and a full off-season cycle under your belt, do you feel like you're back in the swing of things or are you still feeling a little rust?

[NOLa.]

Having a regular season and a full off-season cycle under your belt, do you feel like you're back in the swing of things or are you still feeling a little rust?

I think I’m getting back into the swing of things. Starting with DanYan and Haynes in my lineup and not much else to look at when I got back from my vacation, the team looks exponentially better off with a mix of All Stars in Ukoda and Kirkendall, a trio of promising youths with DanYan, Jordan, and Thomas, and all our picks and a future teams pick. There is still a lot to do but I’ve steadily been building a team back.


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