With De’Aaron Fox on the shelf due to a right ankle sprain, the Kings are struggling to establish their identity and display the sort of physicality and stalwart defense that head coach Mike Brown wants to see, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. After suffering back-to-back blowouts to the Rockets in Houston on Saturday and Monday, Brown suggested changes might be coming to the rotation.
“I’ve got to evaluate some things,” Brown said. “In this business, you always have to have a sense of urgency, but you have to believe in what you do whenever you make any type of change or any time you do this instead of that. For me, I’m going to go back and I’m going to watch the film, and if I feel the same way after the film, then I’ve got to try to make sure I keep trying to put five guys out there who are going to do what we ask, which is to play together and play the right way while playing fast and bringing a sense of physicality.
“I always have a 24-hour rule, especially after something like this,” Brown continued. “So, I’m going to sleep on it and I’m going to watch this film, and if you earn a chance to play, I’m going to play you. Nobody’s position on this team is sacred.”
The Kings, winners of 48 games last season, are off to a 2-4 start in 2023/24 and rank 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating (114.0).
Let’s round up a few more notes from around the Western Conference…
- New Clippers forward P.J. Tucker admitted on Monday that, despite the trade rumors that swirled around teammate James Harden all offseason, he hadn’t anticipated being part of a Harden deal. “I wasn’t expecting to get traded, so I didn’t know,” Tucker told Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “It kind of came out of nowhere.”
- Pelicans head coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday that the team doesn’t have any new details on CJ McCollum‘s collapsed right lung, but expressed optimism that the ailment isn’t too serious, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “We don’t think it’s too bad,” Green said. “But we have to run more tests and see where we are after that.” As Clark observes, McCollum dealt with a similar health issue during his time in Portland and it cost him 18 games.
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl‘s two-way contract with the Pelicans is just a rest-of-season deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Robinson-Earl will be eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the 2023/24 season, assuming he plays out his new contract.
- Some rival scouts and executives think the Thunder are capable of being a top-four seed in the West this season, but head of basketball operations Sam Presti is preaching patience and appears in no rush to accelerate his team’s contention timeline, as Tim MacMahon details in an interesting feature for ESPN.com.
Always like CJ. See him as a combo guard. One of best around, plays both ways. This is the second time with this ailment. I wish him well. Praying he’s good for long haul. Get well baller.
Rockets looked good against Kings. Amazing what a good vet PG can do for a young team.
Rockets and Pistons have the best young talent to me.
Over the Thunder? Or are they too far along for that label to count?
And I’d still take the Magic over the Rockets. Wagner and Banchero are going to make a minimum of ten AS teams between them, Black is super impressive for as raw as he is, and the rest of the young guns look like they have a solidly high floor, even if they don’t reach max potential. I’m not a believer in Jalen Green, not as an All-Star at least. Still looks like mostly the same player, just more off-ball. Jabari looks damn good, though.
Thunder is a close third. But they got SGA when he was already considered a talent.
Eh. Between Jalen Williams, Osamune Dieng, Poku, Chet, Giddey, Dort, and now Cason Wallace, I’d still put the Thunder very slightly ahead of the Pistons. Duren needs more work than anticipated, Ivey is clearly not in Monty’s favor, Killian is awful. Sasser, Stewart, and Livers are all decent, but I wouldn’t put them on J-Dub’s or Chet’s level. Not even Giddey’s, really (though Sasser’s upside might get him there). Thompson and Cade, I would, but Thompson is a long way off.
The Thunder have the best young talent. SGA has gone from a talented prospect to All-NBA but it’s not just SGA. Giddey, Holmgren and Williams are legit. Dieng is still a work in progress but Wallace looks like he has promise and they still have a ton of picks and swaps to either trade for a star or make more selections with.
SGA is already an all star. This is young talent. Rooks, players who haven’t done anything yet. Thunder already in playoffs.
Thunder ——
Giddey- 21 yrs old
Chet – 21 yrs old
Williams – 22 yrs old
Wallace – 20 yrs old
Dieng – 20 yrs old
Dort – 24 yrs old
Pistons ——
Cade – 22 yrs old
Thompson – 21 yrs old
Stuart – 22 yrs old
Duren – 20 yrs old
Ivey – 21 yrs old
Wiseman – 22
Hayes – 22 yrs old
Bagley – 24 yrs old
Sasser – 23 yrs old
Rockets ——
Sengun – 21 yrs old
Thompson – 20 yrs old
Jalen – 21 yrs old
Smith – 20 yrs old
Whitmore – 19 yrs old
Eason – 22 yrs old
You see the age. That’s young talent. Like I said Thunder are a close third. Thunder and Rockets both have multiple #1 picks left.
Pistons and Rockets have best young talent to me.
Wiseman? He’s not even in the rotation. Bagley was in the same draft as Shai so if you count Bagley you have to count Shai. Isaiah Joe actually gets big minutes and is only 24 years old, he should be part of the Thunder list.
Count him if it makes you feel better. I just threw Bagley in to show his age. SGA is already there. What part of that don’t you get. This isn’t a competition. Like who you want.
Bagley is still growing. Cause he has not played enough. I’d say his stats show he still has upside. Even if it’s for a rotation player. That still means a lot. Wiseman needs to be explained then that says it all.
Wiseman 21 yrs old. 25 mins. 13 pts, 6 reb, 1 block. If you can’t see young talent here. Then it’s just shameful.
Bagley 24 yrs old. If you bother to look at his stats. You’d see he just like Markkanen. Who many here killed also I’m sure you did too. Only needs someone to play and let him grow. He imo can be a solid 4. His only issue was getting drafted ahead of Luka. Unfortunately instead of nurturing his talent. They like you have opted to look at the failure of drafting him #1.
The glass is always half full for me.
CJ needs mold free air
Come to
Sacramento and light that Beam!!
Q what trade would pull that off?
Perhaps HB40 + Huerter for CJ?
JRE deserves some more league run
Not too smart Tucker, even 2 k nation saw your salary moving for months now
Don’t mess this up again Presti. Great roster and they are capable. If a move is needed then make a move in the future, don’t be overly patient and content. The KD/Russ era was messed up by not extending Harden and trying another year, forcing Roberson as a starter and playing 4 & 5, draft picks of McGary, Cam Payne, and Huestis among a few.