I advise the Clippers and generally don\u2019t share my insights publicly but suppose it\u2019s all right to tell you I like the Kings, especially De\u2019Aaron Fox, who speeds past more defenders than anyone in the league. He\u2019s also been hitting his jumpers and threes. Right, I know his outside shooting\u2019s cooled off recently. Last five games he\u2019s hitting about thirty-five percent and just twenty-five from long range. Why? I think it\u2019s a few things. He may be a little tired. I\u2019d recommend the Kings give him a game off once in a while. He doesn\u2019t have to play every game, and shouldn\u2019t. Another thing, and it\u2019s pretty subtle, I think De\u2019Aaron\u2019s not getting the same quality jumpers he was earlier. Part of that is defensive adjustment, of course. Teams know he\u2019s more of an outside threat than last season. But in addition to that, he may be moving into defenders a little and making his shots more difficult. Also, he was shooting about fifty percent overall and forty for threes, and that\u2019s just not sustainable. De\u2019Aaron\u2019s one of those guys who can help you even when his shooting\u2019s off. He\u2019s averaged eight assists and almost two steals in recent games.<\/p>\n
\tI knew you were going to ask: I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019d have advised taking Marvin Bagley or Luka Doncic. I wish we\u2019d had that dilemma. The Kings had a choice between a great prospect at power forward and a more finished backcourt leader. Luka\u2019s played a lot more minutes so his numbers are larger. In the last four games before his back injury, Marvin got about thirty minutes a game and responded really well, averaging about seventeen points and ten rebounds while shooting fifty-one percent, same as his season average. If the Kings can get him thirty minutes a game, he\u2019ll probably continue to produce like that, which is exceptional for a young man still nineteen. <\/p>\n
\tOh sure, I heard about the Kings\u2019 recent front office showdown. I\u2019ve been involved in a few of those and, frankly, they\u2019re really painful. I\u2019ve written in my autobiography, and been quite open in conversations, that I\u2019ve battled depression and anxiety all my life, and I take medications that give me some relief but I\u2019m still too sensitive. When I read coach Dave Joerger told the assistant general manager, Brandon Williams, to get out of practice, it really shook me because when I was running the Lakers Phil Jackson told me to get the fuck out of the gym. A year or so later I realized he and owner Jerry Buss wanted me out of town. I empathize with Joerger and Williams. And I understand their basketball beef. The front office drafted Marvin Bagley and wants him to have enough minutes to produce like a star. The coach wants to win as many games as possible or he may lose his job. Joerger thinks right now Nemanja Bjelica, who\u2019s played very well, deserves to start. But I do expect Marvin to continue to get significant minutes. He\u2019s the kind of talent that can raise a team, he and Fox. <\/p>\n
\tI\u2019m impressed by Joerger\u2019s recent decision to use a tight three-guard rotation of Fox, Buddy Hield, and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Fox already has starter\u2019s minutes and Buddy needs them and so does Bogi, and both can have them as long as two of the three are on the court most of the time. I\u2019m not saying they\u2019re the backcourt of the Bad Boys Pistons \u2013 Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson \u2013 but they\u2019re very good players who continue to improve. This is the perceptive kind of move I always liked my coaches to make. <\/p>\n
\tWillie Cauley-Stein? First, let me say he\u2019s a fine athlete, very dynamic at the rim, dunking or finishing alley oops. He\u2019s improved both his scoring and rebounding to fifteen and eight, but he often seems to lack focus and intensity. That\u2019s why a seven-foot center who\u2019s a leaper is only averaging only half a block a game. Three years ago, as a rookie playing several minutes less, he averaged one block. I ask myself what\u2019s going on with this player. He doesn\u2019t have the competitiveness I look for. I think the Kings will try to upgrade here, especially thinking about defense, which the team needs a lot more of. If the Kings can\u2019t find someone who\u2019s better, they can keep Willie and still be good, but I\u2019d still caution them not to spend too much on him. What\u2019s the limit? I\u2019m not telling you all my secrets.<\/p>\n
\tI agree with you and everyone else: small forward is the Kings\u2019 most serious concern. You\u2019d like Tobias Harris. Thank you. And so would we. Small forwards remind me of decathletes. They can do everything well, and they\u2019re also hard to find. It\u2019s unfortunate the Kings don\u2019t have a first round pick in 2019, so it gets down to free agency or a trade. You want my top ten list of small forwards. I bet you do. All the Kings really need to do, in addition to praying Justin Jackson starts to hit better than thirty-one percent on threes, is be patient and wait to see who\u2019s available in free agency. I see Troy Williams is only twenty-three and making about forty-four percent of his threes. Maybe he, Justin, and Iman Shumpert can fill the position by committee. After the season, the Kings\u2019ll know if the players available are better than what they have. <\/p>\n
\tWith De\u2019Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley, the Kings are close. They just need one more elite athlete. Don\u2019t blow it. That\u2019s what I\u2019d tell the Kings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I advise the Clippers and generally don\u2019t share my insights publicly but suppose it\u2019s all right to tell you I like the Kings, especially De\u2019Aaron Fox, who speeds past more defenders than anyone in the league. He\u2019s also been hitting his jumpers and threes. Right, I know his outside shooting\u2019s cooled off recently. Last five…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1687,1647,181,1067,496,65,1760,68,360],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n