NBA legend passes, Kings coaching situation is getting complicated

NBA legend passes, Kings coaching situation is getting complicated

welcome to the Kings beat podcast I am James hamy Kings Insider for ESPN 1320 and the Kings beat we’re joining you live on this Memorial Day Monday uh and of course joining me is Brendon Nunes from the Kings pulse podcast Brendan how are you what’s going on you know I debated putting myself together a little bit more for the Pod but figured I’m out near Lake havu and I just go full authentic you know this this is how we’re living on Memorial day so I thought I’d embrace it for the Pod the the gun show is out I guess so I guess so you know I need a little bit of color I’m blinding people out here so well you know I have a problem with that myself Brandon um Sean is of course away for the weekend he uh he went to Bottle Rock and uh he’s hanging out doing whatever he’s doing uh so uh welcome into the show uh we are of course a bluewire podcast brought to you by prize picks um we uh I I debated on going live or not uh clearly the Insiders is off today uh and wherever Brendan Works they are also off today so we decided a live show would would actually work with so many people like still needing uh sort of their their fix um but I want to start the show with uh some some really sad news that we just learned um uh maybe I don’t know half hour ago uh the great Bill Walton has passed away at the age of 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer um I don’t know about you Brandon but like I I grew up with Bill Walton as like a commentator as the crazy guy yelling throw down big man and um you know especially during the Golden Age of the Kings he was live at a lot of those shows uh live at a lot of those games as as the the color guy you know bringing as much color as anyone in the world has ever brought to a basketball game and I I don’t know do you have any you have any quick thoughts on uh on Bill Walton and his impact in your basketball watching world yeah for me obviously a little bit younger um a lot of it is as a commentator and it brings me to I know that comment got me laughing a little bit too um it brings me to specifically college basketball um like he just always you you said it pretty well he’s just color as a color commentator gets adds a lot of spice um to it and in getting to talked to Luke a little bit during the time he covered the kings that was my first year and only got a handful of interactions with Luke but you almost could feel that same sort of energy just like the goofiness and um just seems like a very charismatic guy and you could feel that in Luke a little bit as well I felt like so um yeah I mean he’s definitely a big part of the basketball community and you know caught me off guard this morning wishing the best for for that entire family but his commentary is definitely from my perspective what really stands out and and he just just always added he’d get you to laugh at some point in a broadcast and and I always appreciated the looseness that sort of came with that yeah so so Bill Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players of all time uh without any question he’s part of the great run at uccla where they never lost for years um he came into the league and was phenomenal early in his career injuries derailed his his career overall um you know I had the uh the pleasure of of meeting Bill Walton multiple times um first of all he would show up in Sacramento for Luke’s games uh there was there was a point where he would show up he’d be in Sacramento for maybe a weekend or three or four games and just hang out he would sit in the media room and ask his son questions during press conferences um just really just a doting father a very very proud dad of his son um so that’s one thing that stuck out I also I’ve told the story a million times um about the time Bill Walton blew me up and kicked me out of a media scrum um but I I think you know if you haven’t heard that story like he asked me to put my wife my my white uh mic away and then and then like shoot me out of a out of a media scrum that was just me and him and uh Paul westall rip and Jim Gray uh this was during the one year where the malof decided to bring in Jim Gray as their sideline reporter and Bill walon as as a third on their broadcast for I think it was 20s something games anyway I think you know the the way that that whole entire incident played out was one was one thing it was like an eye openening experience for me as a young journalist and reporter uh but the aftermath of it to me was was where I I’ll kind of go back to um I was on the court after the whole situation where Bill like blew me off and then Paul Westfall like was very angry about it um and he came over and it took him like a good like 3 minutes to walk from half court to where I was on the Baseline and he came over and he apologized he asked me my name we had a conversation for a couple of minutes and just he wanted to make sure that uh he he was sorry if I if if he offended me uh later on that same night he actually found me again uh introduced me to his wife and and again apologized profusely and uh it was he was a very very nice man who by you know like the age I I think in his mid-50s has already had like his his ankles fused uh he had a carbon fiber like cage in his in his spine to keep him upright like the injuries really did take a a toll on him and so uh I just want to make sure that we you know give the the positives of Bill Walton uh not just a funny story about how he like lit me up at one point uh but like a really really offs spoken like uh gentle giant if you will and uh so I I think the basketball world and and the world itself lost a a really colorful character and a very nice man today so uh just want to send our condolences to the Walton family and of course Luke who I knew very well and uh I’m sure is absolutely distraught today um you know he he adored his father absolutely adored him and uh just a really sad day for for the the Walton family absolutely I mean condolences uh it’s cool that I didn’t know that bill came around like that uh when Luke was when Luke was head coach because Luke was the the year Luke got let go was my first year there so I only got about 10 games Max of Luke or so um but I’d imagine I guess listeners aren’t fully aware but like the media room where everybody hangs out needs and everything having him in there has got to be some good energy in that room that uh you know lifts it up a little bit yeah definitely and and not only that but he he would like sit in the press conference and then raise his hand and and then you know they would pass the mic to to Bill and he would ask a question I more to just mess with his son and and like have a good time with it but again like a a good spirit a good guy to have around so uh yeah definitely uh you know a sad day for the for the Walton family in the basketball world um let’s get to uh the the standard business here if you are watching on YouTube we wouldn’t mind if you gave us a thumbs up uh subscribe to the channel I don’t think I turned it on where you have to subscribe in order to make a chat to be in the chat but uh it’s good to see a lot of our friends from the chatty house popping in hi Spencer uh this is a thing he does every single day uh in the chatty house uh hi Russell hunt hi Steven cetta I would encourage people leave questions throughout the throughout the show yeah leave questions like if we can take questions like throughout the show we will uh hi Jim Garfunkle hi DFW Amir uh alir sorry uh Brett Huff Brett with already a Zinger aimed at our our good friend Brennan here uh Dennis Young Blood uh sack Kings Rock welcome in everybody uh we’re we’re going to do a live show I don’t know how long we’ll last today uh we have plenty of things to talk about outside of uh the past Bill Walton um but uh yeah and I would even say when healthy like this is this is very correct when healthy Walton was as good as anyone who’s ever played especially at the center position he was just unbelievable one of the first true passing big men in the league uh just had a an incredible feel for the game and thought of the game in a much different way I guess real quick can you put that in perspective for me like when we’re talking about dominant in college like obviously I’ve heard stories and even through the NBA obviously but can I get a little educated on the player Bill Walton if you don’t mind yeah I mean he was one of the great rebounding passing scoring bigman uh that we’ve seen um he he thought the game like defensive wise he was incredible uh but but again the ankle injury started to slow him down very quickly in the NBA at the college level like UCLA went through through like a stretch with him and Lou alisander you know Kim Abdul Jabar as like their their bigs and I think they only lost one game over like a six or seven or eighty year period um I would have to go back and look at at the record books um but like they were the most do dominant college program of all time and he was like a number one pick coming into the draft and uh just just a tremendous tremendous feel for the game I think that’s what like stood out like his ability to just read everything um really the game flowed through him really like a lot like uh a much taller longer armed domos uh but but in those days you didn’t have a bunch of big men running around averaging eight or nine assists a game that just wasn’t the way the game was played um yeah see there we go they won 88 straight with Walton from Randy B Jesus proud as a redhead huh yeah yeah I mean that’s that’s crazy yeah that’s it’s wild he’s also a huge huge Grateful Dead fan he toured with a Grateful Dead for for many years he was also an avid bicyclist uh he he bicycled all over the place um and you know he was part of like the LA Clippers and I I think I’m not the LA the San Diego Clippers and I think that’s kind of where Luke grew up Luke grew up with a lot of like the beach um you know played for the Celtics the Portland Trailblazers um yeah I don’t have it in front of me but yeah um anyway it’s uh they seem like beach guys oh no totally and Luke married a like a college volleyball player and Luke is a outstanding volleyball player from what I know like a beach volleyball player like Pro if he didn’t play in the NBA he probably would have been a professional volleyball player so yeah and then they have tall kids that also play volleyball yeah so um let’s get to uh let’s get to the next slate of news and that is uh the Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown the situation is getting a little getting a little dicey and uh like I wrote a piece earlier in the week um we saw some pieces you know right after the season from there was one from Slater and from Amic uh that basically said that you know Mike was looking for10 to 12 million a year and looking for an extension uh we saw it last week where uh Jake fiser said they the two sides were expected to be in the range of you know a certain amount that’s what where the negotiations were expected and then um again everything I’ve heard is um you know ownership wasn’t super happy about the Kings missing the playoffs and and I think that’s not specifically aimed at Mike Brown It’s aimed at everybody like they they just weren’t happy uh VC uh got a taste of the good life and rightfully so wanted to continue the upward trend of making the playoffs and and having you know sort of building what you’re going to be maybe your legacy as an owner and all that stuff with a with a long stretch and and year two uh the team fell short a little bit they lost two more games than they did the previous season although some of that could definitely beend on injuries late in the season uh but also I think that they uh they just never felt like the same team from the year before and uh and again that that’s something you know ownership uh they lost a lot of money when it came to not making the playoffs not getting playoff dollar um you know all that stuff and and so we’re now at sort of an impass it’s kind of a weird situation where Mike has got a uh he had a three-year contract with a fourth year as a mutual option that option was not picked up and so oh am I back yes I was not sure if it was you or me to be honest but we’re back no it was me it was me sorry about that everybody there we go we got a freeze at 10:57 you were on the mutual option yeah yeah had a mutual option uh that option was not picked up uh because salaries for NBA coaches have skyrocketed since Mike signed his original deal we talked a little bit about this last week but um from what I know uh Mike’s contract is for Less uh than than what Luke Walton was making during his time in Sacramento uh Luke I think out a four year 20 something like that uh at basically five million a year and Mike makes less than five million a year um and and it just so happens that Monty Williams uh during the last like after Mike got his job Monty Williams signed for an astronomical amount what is it a fiveyear 75 no uh six years 7 whatever it was it’s 13 year 13 million a year uh and once that happened the flood rate floodgates opened uh Greg papovich signed a massive extension that pays him 678 for money 678 okay so uh papovich is uh 16 million a year Steve cerr got a two-year $35 million deal so 17 and a half million Eric spola signed a eight-year $120 million contract extension and it doesn’t just stop with like the top end of the top end coaches first of all I’m not going to put Monty Williams in the top end of the top end B is is his career record nowhere near as good as Mike Brown’s um and he got paid as as if he were like one of the best of the best uh but we’ve seen Jason kid get an extension we’ve seen Mike buen Holzer get a fiveyear $50 million contract to coach the uh Phoenix Sun so the point is that the salaries have have moved from where they used to be to where they are going forward and uh Mike Brown would like to be paid what people that have a 607 career win percentage with a ton of playoff experience and four championship rings as an assistant coach he’d like to get paid in that way two coach of the years you know um but my question here I guess sort of a two-parter have you ever seen any sort of inflation jump like this and I’m curious because I I do feel like obviously this is just a new market based on everything you laid out um but what point does that like fully get accepted and embraced do you feel like we’re already past that point where this is just the new normal um or you know when does it it’s just kind of weird to me that this just seemingly sort of happened out of nowhere where Monty got paid and all the other coaches are like well I deserve the same um which I think is understandable but have you ever seen any sort of inflation jump like this not necessarily has to be coaching but in any sort of um like I guess specific role like this I I feel like the falloff is or or just the the things that are happening since it’s just a weird way for it to initially happen yeah you know brandan that’s a great question to be honest we haven’t seen a coaching Spike like this that I can remember but you also have to look at this as um number one the player Spike has happened time and time again right like anytime there’s a new CBA if they don’t do what’s called a smoothing out where which is what they’re doing this time right so when the new telion money comes in just so everyone knows I’ll sidebar here for a sec the new television money comes in which is going to jump from like 2.8 billion dollar a year to we’re looking at it sounds like 7.5 to to eight million uh billion a year so that jump is astronomical right that that’s that’s huge uh and so so normally the players all like lineup where they’re going to be free agents the year that something like that would happen because the salary cap has to jump because it’s got to be uh the players have to get 51% of what’s called brri basketball related income television deal is part of basketball related income right so there would be a spike and this is where you had um the warriors were able to go out and sign Kevin Durant because the spike happened well they’re going to do what’s called a smoothing this year and uh the smoothing is going to be the salary cap is going to go up 10% a year and and you know for years from here on out because that’s how until they catch up and so that means that the salary cap this year is like a 141 million next year it’ll be 155 the year after that’ll be 170 like 171 the year after that it’ll be like 188 a year after that it’ll be like $25 million right um but what they’re going to do is they’re going to make those 10% increments whatever the players aren’t getting is going to be rerouted back to the players in like an uh like an escro account and then like I I think that they’re going to level up everybody across the board with all the money that came in right so if there’s an extra let’s say a billion dollars and then each team gets a chunk of that like you know you know 30 teams so each team gets I don’t know what that the math would be there I’m not going to do the math in my head right now um but maybe it’s 330 million is that what that no 33 million each team would get that much then they would go back in and raise player salaries to accommodate that number because they have to get to that 51% of basketball related income so that’s all excuse me that’s all in the basketball side but Brendan the problem is the coaches have never got in on all this right right and this is an opportunity for the the coaches to get on it in on it and not only that I think the biggest point that I would make is we see the top end getting all this money and then you know where sort of the bottom end is number one Mike Brown isn’t a bottom end Coach he’s a guy who again is has a 607 career win percentage um but also it’s it’s sort of on mic to make sure that the number is solidified to make sure that N9 or 10 or 11 million the year for a coach that is as good as him is the number does that make sense to you yeah so do you think we’re going to get to the point where that’s just every coach in the NBA is around that range or at least like 25 of them you know no I would say that that there’s probably going to be like there’s going to be a lot of coaches that get up and around this range and then like we don’t know if it’s G to go up from here but certainly if if the player salaries are going up and you know we’re hearing that like the in year five of of this new CBA and this new television contract players that are signing fiveyear extensions are going to have $400 million extensions we’re at a lak house we got family coming in and out but I’m listening all right yeah way to just roll with it way to just roll with it Brendan um uh so yeah my point would be that uh like if if the players are getting all this extra money eventually it’s going to trickle down to the coaches right uh nothing better than a live show there we go you all right Brandon yeah she’s trying to hide from the camera and I think she did the exact opposite it was just I’m good I’m good I’m listening I’m just laughing a little bit yeah she’s now out of the frame the one thing um that I would ask here or I feel like the other important part of the conversation is just about last year and how last year went like you mentioned it kind of was um they didn’t keep up the upward trajectory necessarily which I think is normal I I think that it’s not all linear when it comes to growing a team you can look at Denver you can look at Minnesota those were the teams that guys like to post to uh point to a lot but was last year really that disappointing or necessarily A I’m I’m really trying here guys um was was last year I I don’t know how much of last year’s disappointments quote unquote I can really put on Mike um I feel like he did what he could with she did draw way more attention to herself um I feel like he did what he could with what he had available there were a lot of injuries essentially ran it back didn’t really make improvements at the trade deadline when it came to that um you know if I would assume that is part of this conversation then I I just don’t feel like I can point myself to last year and be like Mike didn’t take advantage of what he had in front of him I felt like it was properly utilized people do love to point to the rotations I get the frustration there um but what I would say is that he was searching because there wasn’t really a good answer I I think he had reasons to search it was very obvious when he was searching you could see it in a rotation you can tell he’s just trying um sometimes almost throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks but that’s how you get Keon Ellis you know that was a learned thing from Steve cerr you try everybody keep everybody engaged um but from your perspective is there anything that when it comes to last year that you’re like man Mike really just didn’t didn’t take care of this no to be honest with you I I thought he tried just about everything possible and you know remember the moments where he turned to javil McGee and gave javil McGee like five game stance and sometimes those five game stent would turn into a one-game stent because you’re like man or or the first half and it’ be like man what in the world just happened I’m not going to do that again uh or I’m gonna try something different in the second half I I think that he relied on guys like Alex Len uh once Alex Lenn sort of prove that he’s part of the rotation I think he was able to really like allow Malik monk to to grow into the player he’s become um you’re right about finding Keon Ellis but also so look at what his coaching staff has done with Kagan Murray turning him from what should have been like a League average Defender to a plus plus defender in the span of one season and dearon like dearon talks just like Mike Brown I don’t I don’t know if you feel that too but they speak the exact same language and I feel like that’s a great sign they seem to be on the same page I mean Mike’s always talking about when he had him at a uh what is it NY nybl camp or Adidas Nations Camp whatever it is when they were young um and or when dear was young and he saw the defender then like dearon is totally B bought into the defensive end and I feel like he talks just like Mike he feels like the perfect coach for him in my mind yeah and you know I think to that point too like we can talk about the players that regress this year right we can say okay but Harrison Barnes really struggled he did not put up the same numbers and to be honest a lot of that is on Harrison taking a back seat and not and not being assertive we can also look at Kevin herder and say what happened to Kevin herder and did Mike mess with Kevin herder too much and to be honest with you like it’s not on Mike to go out there and hit three-point shots it’s on Mike to put guys in a position to hit threo shots and whether they make them or not there’s nothing you can do about a player who goes from averaging 15.3 points per game has his career year under you in one season and comes back to next year and barely averages 10 and and can’t hit the broadside of the barn for long stretches of the season and same with the free throws yeah yeah and so you could say well Mike did mess with Kevin herder but look like in in preseason where he said hey I’m gonna start Chris DTE a couple of games right and of course Chris Forte gets hurt after one game so it didn’t really matter anyways um but I would say like as a coach it’s your job to keep pushing and pushing and pushing every individual player you have to reach every individual player in a different way and maybe that’s something that Mike learned this year that the way that he tried to approach Kevin wasn’t really the way that Kevin receives uh coaching a and that’s okay because look look every player you have to treat everybody the same you have to say have the same set of rules for everybody but that doesn’t mean that you actually coach everybody the same and that you have the same conversations with everybody and so I I think that there was a point um where like look maybe Mike lost Kevin herder a little bit or Kevin got lost in his own head and then you had to like give him space to try to figure it out but that’s coaching a and again how is a coach to know that a player is going to lose five points a game off his scoring average when again he was the third leading scorer on the Kings the year before and so it’s difficult to like maintain with the same exact group every year and try to keep building um especially when you didn’t make any marked like improve ments to the roster at all yeah and I think people are quick to forget like I know sometimes players don’t get treated as like human or it’s easy to forget a little bit from a fan perspective but I feel like coaches get that even more extreme like coaches get better over time as well you know Mike is getting more accustomed to this roster he’s getting better at coaching each one of these guys every year and and time that passes you know I really do think that he is somebody that in a way is a a players coach and does seemed to get along with his players I I don’t feel like even when there was the little bit of weird Kevin hder stuff it didn’t necessarily feel like an animosity towards Mike but just more so specifically frustration with the situation probably including himself you know he knows he was not playing that well and he talked at his at his exit interviews um about some of his offseason work how maybe he feels like he wants to mess with that I’m a mess today guys uh I’m loving Brendan’s struggles this is this is a a great struggles are crazy my little brother left his iPad it’s loud over here point being I think Mike has done everything I really don’t know what else um he would need to prove right now I I get the thought that maybe eventually there’s another guy that goes to the next level right I can’t help but shake like there there’s a lot of talk about how V and how he likes the Warriors right or potentially trying to follow the Warriors Path and to me this I I can’t help but think about Mark Jackson and I just don’t think that’s this situation I don’t think that you need a guy that takes you to the next step that he’s the motivator and you need somebody to come in and really change things up for the schemes I feel like we’re just scratching the surface and if you come in and somebody throws everything over tries to rewrite the way that this works um that things could just get blown out of proportion and I really think it would just be one of the first dominoes you know I know I’ve said it before but I can’t help but think how is dearn going to feel if a Coach that he seems to like and you know how many times has this happened that he ends up gone you know there’s only a matter of time before a player asks out I’m not saying that like I know anything but like it just I feel like that’s obvious eventually you could reach to that point I feel like it’s a um you know reasonable concern in this aspect but I really don’t feel like this is a Mark Jackson where you need somebody else to take you to your next step and honestly even if it is I don’t feel like we’re far enough along to know I I feel like you still need more steps of Mike before we really know there’s a foundation being laid it feels like there’s some sort of culture you know what to expect with King’s basketball right now I feel like and there’s value in that from free agency from what Malik monk is trying to figure out the guys that are currently on the team the morale and all of that um I I just I think he’s building something and that needs to continue to be built it can get tear down very quickly and I just really think that would be the wrong decision yeah and I’m going to pull up a a a qu here from Dennis Young Blood uh James stop good coaches get fired winning coaches get fired losing coaches get fired um I totally agree with that I would tell you this though I’ve covered this team this was 14 season my 14th season and in that 14 years I think this was my ninth head coach a lot of coaches got fired that weren’t good coaches or that didn’t have a way to make this team better and you can’t ignore the fact that in 39 years in Sacramento the Kings have had 10 500 plus records eight of those are Rick Adelman two of them are Mike Brown that’s that’s it like he’s done something here that no one else outside of Rick Adelman has been able to do in almost 40 years can I ask how much do you think that should matter like obviously they were historically [ __ ] to be honest but how much should that matter when we’re talking about Mike well I think it should matter a ton that the fact that you haven’t I mean I mean again how many head coaches has has VC had let’s see Mike Malone Ty Corbin George Carl Dave joerger Luke Walton uh Alvin Gentry and so this is his seventh coach and he took over the team in 2013 so yeah I mean you should already be able to understand that you have a guy who’s built the winning culture that you wanted now whether that means he’s going to keep winning we don’t know but certainly two years of building a winning culture and finishing over 500 does matter you know the fact that they won two less games this year and went from the third seed in the Western Conference to the ninth seed that’s because number one the West got better but number two that’s not really a drop off I mean you can listen a mic or dear and talk about how they lost five games this season because they missed free throws five games where and you’re not even talking about making all your free throws you’re just saying just make what your team averages and you would have won five more well and dear won the inaugural clutch player of the year last year like you know that’s a credit to him he’s very talented guy in those situations but those are kind of coin flips sometimes you know they won a lot of close games last year and that’s not going to happen every year yeah no it’s it’s tough man I like I don’t know and there could be there could come a point just like what you said where where Mike Brown uh can’t get the team over the hump right but that’s not year year two of a build and just like the elephant in the room you got two months three months into this season and knew your team wasn’t good enough you did you knew that you lacked the length and athleticism of all of the teams around you in the Western Conference other teams they went out and made moves and you didn’t and you you rode with the same group of dudes all the way through the season expect never came and the fact is that the Dallas Mavericks went out and made two what have now become substantial moves at the deadline you know the the gaffer trade has proven to be huge for them the PJ Washington trade is probably the reason why they’re in the Western Conference Finals he played so incredibly well through the first two rounds whether or not he’s the reason they get to the finals probably not that’s probably Luca and Kyrie but it doesn’t change the fact that that team made major adjustments uh and most of the teams that they’re competing with continue to make adjustments throughout the last year and a half that the Kings just haven’t made and so I think that not only is stability and continuity something that this this franchise has started to preach but at one point does that mean like actually sticking to what you’re saying you know that like sticking with the leader that you have that that his One games were no one else did in Sacramento and so I don’t know for me like there again there could come a point where this doesn’t make any where where Mike Brown can’t get you over the hump I don’t know but I don’t think it’s certainly after year or two first year we just don’t know enough yet you know I feel like that something is starting and even if you know as much as I have my gripes about Mark Jackson like there are Pros that come if eventually they need to take the next step fine um but we we really can’t know yet and I I think that there’s also the aspect of I don’t even know what a different coach would look like like who would we even be talking about that’s out there right now this is a whole coaching staff we’re talking about Luke got in a good relationship with dearn Fox um he’s a big Mike guy I would imagine if Mike’s gone that Luke’s probably gone um this is a whole over change that we’d be talking about um and I just I can’t help but think that restarting wouldn’t be anything but kangs same old kangs to be honest and youd re right back to middle of the pack I I do feel like you have something going I do feel like there’s a shell of an identity I know somebody pointed out earlier like yes there were a lot of inconsistencies last year um but I do feel like you knew what they were preaching and what they were trying to do while they were out there even if they didn’t have the ideal pieces to necessarily do it and I I think just having an identity is a really big thing that Mike has started and it’s at least since I’ve covered the team this is I think I’m going into year four this is the first time I I’ve really seen them have an identity like this and it seems like the players have bought in um I I just it’s kind of mind-blowing to me to be honest I I think this should be a no-brainer yeah I think it’s intriguing for sure I’m not sure why we’re we’re at this point and it just seems way too early in the lifespan of this head coach to be in this point and and partially that’s that’s like again let me let me make a parallel let me like people understand right the reason why Malik monk doesn’t have early bird he only has early bird rights and not and not full Larry Bird rights is because he only signed a two-year deal even though he was eligible for up to a four-year deal with the the mid-level exception which is what the king signed him for right so now you get two years in and it limits what you can do with him uh it makes it so the only way you can retain there there’s a dollar amount that you Rec can you can retain him for and not not a penny over it’s like 17.4 million starting salary where if you would have given him a three-year deal number one he’d be playing out this year at like 10.5 million or something but number two he would have full Larry Bird rights and he would be extension eligible this offseason where you could give him the big money that he’s looking for and that kind of feels like again this contract that they signed with with Mike Brown they had given Dave Viger a four-year deal they gave George Carl I believe a four-year deal they gave Michael Malone a four-year deal and Michael Malone got paid like two and a half years after he was gone he got paid they gave Tyrone Corbin A two-year fully guaranteed head coaching uh like salary and they gave Luke Walton a four-year contract when they got some like Brown they hedged their bet with the final year so if things didn’t go well they could fire him like at the beginning of this year have an interim coach and then start over fresh the next year well then he won and he’s done something no one else has been able to do win so that’s where you you open this door for him to for the the final year to not be picked up and now we’re we’re looking at like your coach going into the final going into a lame duck season and that’s where my concern is my concern is like look Mike Brown I’ve covered so many head coaches it’s crazy like again I think it’s nine um I’m already on four somehow you’re already on four I think it’s four it’s um Luke Alvin oh three three but I had three in two years the first two years yeah I mean I had let’s see Westfall I had um Keith smart Michael Malone Ty Corbin George Carl Dave Jagger um Luke Walton Albin Gentry Mike Brown so nine yeah um yeah so my problem too is that like we’re looking at like they’re building a culture and what does that mean for a Malik monk does Malik monk want to come back to a situation where maybe it’s not stable you know and not only that but like if we go back to the Rudy Gay statement about welcome to basketball Hill his statement was very much predicated on the fact that he signed up to co to to play for one coach and that coach got fired like a month later and he wasn’t the only one who felt that way that they had joined the Kings to play for Michael Malone and he had worked with Malone the year before and loved Michael Malone was like okay we got something here let’s go and then you cut your legs out from underneath you and I I worry about similar things happening here in Sacramento with domos signing in a massive extension last year you’re waiting to see if and when uh dearen Fox will sign an extension um he probably won’t this summer uh just because he didn’t make all NBA and and that has an impact on how much money he can get paid um but you know Malik monk there’s other players here that are involved that you want you can only imagine would like to see Mike stick around um I don’t know that there was any player there were players like over the last few years uh not this last year or the year before there were players that didn’t love playing for other head coaches and and whether they made it fully known or was more of like the the you know the unknown out there in the public that we knew behind the scenes you know there are players who would rather not have been in Sacramento still that’s just not the case that I’ve seen with Mike so kind of I imagine even like the reporting that’s going on right now and this whole kind of back in fourth is a little like unnerving to Malik you know trying to figure it out it’s like well clearly they’re not very sure about this guy um I had a question for you and it just totally slipped my mind oh um so obviously ex got all this going on with the A’s right bringing them over there’s finances involved with that for my understanding um and I I bring this up to say a lot of people are talking about the finances online when it comes to this um from your perspective not to put you on the spot too much um how much of it do you think has to do with a willingness to spend here obviously his results and the results of the team in general ener factor into that um but how much of it from your perspective do you think has to do with just like a willingness to spend as they’re getting closer to the cap here yeah okay so so I would say like when it comes to players or to coaching I guess I was thinking coaching okay specifically so coaching it has nothing to do with the cap we understand that right um so whatever they’re going to pay they’re going to pay uh my I think that there is more of a Rel an to extend Mike out longterm because look he’s already under contract for for next season um so we’re talking about the year after the year after the year after and if you don’t like what happened this last season if you’re you’re uncomfortable with you know like the path forward but understand that you are sort of pot committed to this path um I think it’s more about maybe years than it is the doll amount like I I think that they aren’t that far off as far as what the kings are willing to offer um and what Mike Brown would be willing to take as far as like the dollar per year I think they are far apart on how many years that’s going to be and you know part of that is like as a head coach you want stability you want to know that if you sign a three-year deal here right now and that puts you under contract for four years years that you’re at least going to get you know you’re going to see three years of that money no matter what and that’s something that because it if you lose a head coaching job at this point I mean Mike Brown will be a high level assistant in the league for years making you know a million and a half to3 million doar a year uh as a lead assistant like he could go on coaching for a long time and not have the stress and the rigor of being a head coach um but it’s still it would be difficult for for him to get an he he might not get another head coaching job especially right away maybe he would uh but it’s also possible he wouldn’t yeah that makes sense how how much do you think that um you know his dude I’m I’m losing everything that I’m about to say right as I start the lake is really taking me over here um do you think that when it comes to Mike that there’s a way that we go into this year and this just Remains the way you know that this is just in a way a lame duck season that this is kind of what we’re going to be dealing with or do you feel like something has to be settled either way before the year starts because everybody talks about a lame duck year the last year of a head coach right practically not existing um where are you at when it comes to the current year that does still remain I just think it’s a huge mistake because again you’re putting your free agency you’re putting everything else into like into question so let’s just say like in in some weird world where the Sacramento Kings are are able to go out and trade for Brandon Ingram right I don’t know how we’ll just you know whatever whatever contract St uh like what however you build a contract I mean the the trade you figure out a way like people should know that Brandon Ingram’s on a one-year deal he’s on a he he makes one he has a oneyear $36 million contract remaining now he’s eligible to sign for a long-term extension um but that doesn’t mean he will and if you’re GNA go through a season with a lame duck coach and the guy like literally a lame duck coach means the Kings could fire him at any time winning losing it doesn’t matter they could find they could fire him at any time screw your whole season you fire the coach in the middle of the season the season’s done right like well it has every other time they fir the head coach because I’ve been through a bunch of them so yeah it does it typically just blows your season to to Pieces yeah Alvin was just a weird you know um teacher that assistant teacher what’s the term uh oh whatever oh a substitute teacher thank you thank you yeah yeah yeah so anyway I like I think it’s just complex right like we don’t know how all the the pieces work together and and and you know you could have players who maybe haven’t outwardly said it or or maybe have said it to management hey you know I don’t know if this is going to be the right thing I don’t think that’s the case though it short does feel like everybody has been on the same page we have 100% Buy in each and every season that we’ve been there and I think the other point that I would make is that two of the the four teams that are in the the Conference Finals right now are defensive juggernauts right we know that the best two defensive teams in the NBA are the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota timber wolves I don’t think there’s any question that’s how you win in the playoffs and I know Dallas too like Dallas got really good defensively after the trade and even Indiana I feel like Indiana is the other end of it where they’re fully offensive and in my mind you’re seeing that can only get you to a point yeah yeah yeah I I I totally agree so um yeah I mean Indiana came in as a non-defensive team and they’re learning like the Kings did last year on the fly like Hey how we get to the next level and that’s not easy it’s a difficult thing to do is to to grow to get better defensively as you’re moving through a season it it really isn’t like super simple right um anyway I I think it’s a it’s a good conversation and you know like at people in the chat here like every coach has flaws it’s totally true every every single player has flaws every coach has flaws it just is what it is and it’s your job to like build a group around that and I think that that’s one thing that Mike has done Mike has been a defensive minded coach forever he brought in Jay Triano who is an offensive minded coach and has done really really good things with the offense the offense took a step back but I think you can point to a lot of reasons why the offens uh the offense took a step back and some of that is just straight up on on certain players that that didn’t have the same type of season they had the year before and that’s not easy so uh Jim th thorough kill is asking where is Shawn Shawn is at Bottle Rock for the for the weekend um and we’re just going to leave him I don’t know I hope he’s not in a ditch somewhere but I mean let’s be honest it’s there’s always that possibility right yeah yeah he’ll get out of that ditch eventually he’ll be he will eventually climb out of the ditch and it’ll be a great story it will probably we can’t talk about it here um uh Brendan what uh we’re watching the the finals play out the the Conference Finals play out in a very different way than I expected them to like I don’t think that either one of these series are are all that competitive within the games they’re competitive but aren’t we at three 0 with both series we are which is kind of crazy I I expected a little bit on the Boston Indie side um you know I thought Indie might get a game but the the west side is it’s pretty crazy you know I’m sure for some Kings fans watching Luca do this isn’t the most enjoyable experience but I I think that team is crazy I do really enjoy them um I am a big PJ Washington Guy The Gafford trade obviously those things as you mentioned have done a lot for their team um and they’re a great example of the importance of role players you can really see how that team turned around just by getting the right complimentary pieces even though the stars are the exact same um and even the willingness to admit your mistakes quickly I’ve always appreciated that in teams they signed Grant Williams they were willing to move off from that quickly when they realized it necessarily wasn’t the right fit and sort of restructure a little bit um but it’s been entertaining I like all the [ __ ] talking I I like that Luca talks to be honest um and I I still don’t think I do think Dallas is winning obviously I think Minnesota’s got a game or two in them still though you know after that last game or last series they went down 20 also in those home games I thought they might have stole it in Dallas yesterday but they didn’t obviously um they have fight I I think that they are internally they they have some sense of belief specifically I feel like with ant and I think they’ll fight a little bit more but obviously probably going to go towards Dallas here and I hope they can put up a fight in the finals I I hope we at least get a little bit more of a a competitive finals here but not as entertaining necessarily as I would have hoped yeah I I think first of all like I’ve always been harsh on Luca because I don’t love the incessant complaining um to me it’s crazy like and I I’ve even like Tred to explain it like if you watch him live it’s much different than watching on TV cuz it doesn’t stop like all you see is tidbits of it on TV when they pan out wide the entire time he’s yelling at officials and I think that he’s for the most part like curb that throughout this series and throughout the playoffs and I think we were starting to see him find his joy as a basketball player and that’s when it’s like oh boy like this is one of the most talented players in the league and what he’s doing right now at and if he’s playing with a smile on his face like he’s devastating like my goodness he’s so good and so I think Kyrie deserves like somewhat of some credit for that you know take away all the offc court stuff and all the stuff that comes with Kyrie but I think he and Paul George to me are the two stars that you could just throw anywhere and they will fit in and it’s not a very easy skill um I think it’s something that’s acquired obviously Kyrie’s done it in a couple spots but he really just kind of flawlessly fits in and lets luk could be Luca yeah I even think that he’s empowered Luca in a weird way and I think he’s also like shown Luca the way I think he’s like put a pathway like hey like look man you have to involve people you can’t do it on your own you’ve got to have support you have to empower people like PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford and every other player that Derrik Jones Jr how in the world is deric Jones Jr figuring out how to really fit in and be an impactful player at like 27 years old and you say again like Daniel Gafford uh what um who’s their big man that got hurt yesterday Lively oh yeah Derek Lively just like they’re they’re finding ways to make these players better and I think that’s the influence that luk that um that Kyrie’s had on this team it’s it’s he’s had on Luca specifically it’s like going to Luca and making sure he understands what it is to be a teammate and not just showing everybody in the world how good you are at the game of basketball it’s it show showing the whole world how good you can make a team at the game of basketball and that’s that’s something that I think Luca is learning right now definitely totally the other thing I have to say is the dunk that at hand yesterday was ridiculous I do not understand how he gets more hype as he hits somebody it’s ridiculous it’s ridiculous a just I could watch that guy dunk the ball on people all day long yeah no I mean I he’s been tremendous all the way through I you kind of feel bad for him um because it just feels like they’ve met their match all of a sudden and and I think it’s interesting that we always like kind of run into these moments in the NBA where like I don’t think the Pelicans are a better team than the Kings because they didn’t show that they’re a better team throughout 8 they’re right at the same base but the fact that they beat the Kings six times it went 6-0 against them is crazy but the fact that the Kings could beat Dallas the fact that the Kings could beat Minnesota they won the season series against Minnesota against Denver uh you know OKC they’re you know split like there are always going to be matchup problems in the NBA and you just don’t expect them to like show up like this uh and all of a sudden the matchup issues like okay this is trouble I mean again Minnesota uh I I thought yic said it right like Minnesota’s built to beat us yeah ktim Conley like he he built the team and he built the team to beat him yeah yeah it’s like someone playing chess against themselves right yeah that’s what it feels like and surprisingly they were able to do it and then you get to this series and again they’re able to do what every other team has done to Rudy goar and that’s almost play him off the court because he can’t stick on the perimeter and it’s it’s tough because it’s not like Rudy gober’s doing anything wrong he it’s just nearly impossible I mean that switch where Luca hit the what are we doing switching right there that’s that to me was crazy but yeah well and Dallas just has so many like perimeter creators well specifically when you talk KY and Luka I feel like they do it way differently Luca is like more physical kind of goes through you I feel like he doesn’t really struggle with the length necessarily you have Jaden McDaniels a little um you know more thin and can kind of go through him and then Kyrie’s just a totally different Beast obviously maybe the craziest handle there is um and even like Jayden Hardy was doing it a little bit there was a play Yesterday where Luka it looked like Jaden Hardy came out and was going to give the wall back to Luca and uh Luka saw that goar was on him and just kind of waved him off like you got it you know and it’s crazy to me that a guy that was picked in the second round they’re telling to ISO the four-time defense player of the year and it’s the right move and I think he picked up his fourth foul on that play C it’s a weird dynamic because yeah I I’m I’m always torn because I get the the maybe people being uh hesitant about some of goar’s skills but at the same time there is a reason that he won those Awards yeah no I think there is especially there’s a reason why that team is the best defensive team in the league and a lot of it is on him um I I want to like let’s tie this back to the Kings though um when you’re watching is there something that you’re looking at and you just go man the Kings don’t have that and they got to find a way to get it it’s probably just the ideal rooll pieces I I think typically if like the kings were anywhere near this situation there’d be a guy or two playing that you’re just like I probably shouldn’t be out here is really what it is you know or specifically the defensive pieces that also fit in and do their job offensively they just don’t look totally out of sorts or um you know I think there’s players that could be out there that would get totally ignored on the perimeter so I to me it’s really quality depth and I do think that it does stand out to me I think all the things Mike has been preaching specifically on the defensive end and winning The Possession battle I feel like you see it be important in a lot of these games and I think it’s more so on the king’s perspective just not necessarily having the ideal Personnel but to me I think that in big-time situations I’m a truster of dearon um I think that domas can help run an offense throughout the course of it I I think it’s just about getting more ideal complimentary pieces and maybe one more guy that you can just say we need a bucket you know go get one yeah I mean I think that that’s what you truly lost when Malik left when Malik got injured is it you you lost your secondary Creator and the Kings just look different when Malik is healthy um yeah so for me it is yeah like length athleticism uh wing and big like like I’m just going through the chat there’s a lot of people making very like when I’m watching they they maybe a handful of players that stand out that like the Kings need that type of guy um and number one it’s the the Jaden McDaniels or even Derrick Jones junr player that like you have to have that guy and then the other one is you got to find a Nas Reed and I don’t know how you find a NS read and like I’ve been sort of compiling like Kyle and I on the Insiders have been compiling a list of potential guys who you might be able to go chase during uh whether they’re free agents or whether you know like I think Nick Clon is unrestricted free agent um I think that there is a lot of guys that you need to go out and and like sort of find that forceful like whether he can hit the three if he can hit the three it’s great like I mean if you can somehow pry Isaiah Stewart out of out of Detroit that makes sense I think Nick Richards is another guy who’s quietly kind of building this type of game uh with Charlotte um I like Brandon Clark although he’s coming off injury and he’s owed quite a bit of money and you know he can’t shoot the three uh like Jared vanderbelt uh is another a guy who again he not a great three-point shooter but rangy uh you know rangy Defender at the four I think that’s the type of guy that the Kings fully need for sure my understanding is you know the king liked NZ Reed before um kind of chased after him a little bit last summer he ended up going back to Minnesota but that type of guy makes a lot of sense a guy that can play the four next to domas and also be your backup five I think would be very ideal way to go and try and spend your money but obviously uh the easiest prototype to exactly go out there and get but I can’t tell you how many times and I’m sure you heard it too James that Mike is talking up the length and athleticism of the team that they happen to be going up against that night I got to the point where I’m like I almost feel like he’s like asking for help here because he keeps talking about how you know the other team they’re really long and athletic and it got to a point where I just heard you know they’re a lot longer than us um yeah and I I just I think that was kind of a reality of this team no I totally agree I I mean that’s going to be sort of the thing that I don’t want to say it’s the offense defense because like look I think if you look if you uh take a glance at the Indiana Pacers roster um you know while I again I don’t think Indiana has any business being the Eastern Conference Finals like that not that they’ve looked into it but like injuries played a role in where they are for sure injuries to the other teams um and now they have an injury of their own which is going to play into whether or not they could even steal a game maybe um but uh it’s not just like this the guards that they have that have just been phenomenal throughout the playoffs whether it’s nard or it’s or it’s Tyrese palton or it’s TJ McConnell those guys have all been tremendous but it’s this whole group of like super athletic bigs whether it’s Miles Turner or it’s Isaiah um Isaiah Jackson um they Jaylen Smith plays here and there um but it’s all those other players that they have that like have also made a huge difference and are tough to match up against in certain situations even someone brings Obi toen um yeah yeah I mean there are definitely some guys in there that uh that the Kings could use I think Indiana might even be a nice trade partner for the Kings yet again for sure I I mean I also think that like you can think back to the Closeouts earlier this year the Closeouts were a big thing for the Kings to the point where Mike said that you know he had to he and his staff had to go more in deep detail than than he had ever done in his career on just sort of coaching Closeouts part of that is because they’re not very long you know I remember specifically against New Orleans I think that was a big part of it is that Trey Murphy is tall as heck and his release is really high in the air and if you don’t have that length to be able to go and contest um it gets felt and it gets felt in a lot of different areas and I think that was the case this year yeah and I this uh some people are throwing some names into the chat and uh like Zack 0 I mean first of all I’m not taking Zack Ed at number 13 and if he made it to the second round I still have a tough time because like look I just don’t know that um we talk about length and and he certainly has the size and the length but the missing piece is the athleticism I don’t know that number one I don’t think he’s gonna be Rudy goar as a defensive player um and he might be a better offensive player than Rudy goar but I don’t know that he can run with the Kings and then and I don’t know that he can run with most NBA teams I I think that’s going to be a huge problem for Zack Ed I I know we’re a king spot and the whole thing is an offensive Center um but I just keep me away from offensive centers in the draft I think I’m good I don’t want to post up Center I just don’t I I don’t think it’s a smart use of that pick specifically from a king’s perspective but even in general yeah and I mean I think it’s interesting uh pick house says uh in the chat says Donovan Donovan kingan um oh there we go I like look he’s the type of player that it sure does look like the kings are interested in so if you start looking around like who the the names that the Kings have been Associated even if it’s Loosely uh a Jared Allen um that we talked about this uh Jonas Jonas valent chunis uh yonas Valen is a dude who um you know like I know a lot of Kings fans don’t like because of the the chimi metu situation but at the same time it sure does looked like the Kings might be looking for a big to put alongside sabonis for at least somewhat uh of a of a time um yeah so interesting um the kinging uh I bring up clinging because our friend Sean Cunningham said uh according to one of his sources that the Kings actually interviewed him at the combine and again that could be for all kinds of reasons like down the road uh you might uh definitely have a conversation with with a player like that right um like he’s a guy that you could Chase I don’t think the kings are going to move up in the draft and I don’t think clean is going to drop down to them in the draft this is a weird draft like I I don’t I’ve talked about this a little bit and we talked about it before the lottery about moving up and then I looked at uh NBA salaries for draft picks the first pick in this year’s draft Brendan makes 13.2 Million Bucks starting first year damn the second pick is 11.8 million the third pick is 10.6 the fourth pick is 9.6 the fifth pick is 9 uh 8.7 uh 7.9 for the sixth pick 7.2 for the seventh pick even the king’s pick at number 13 is 4.9 million bucks that’s a no I really should have been an NBA player James well you clearly got the guns to do it no no don’t think don’t think so if I could have I would I wouldn’t be here love you but I wouldn’t be here that’s right that’s right um Cooper says the king should trade 13 and 17 for no 13 for uh 17 and 21 I don’t know that you want two picks in this year’s draft I don’t um again we can argue this if we want but I don’t think this year’s draft is particularly great I do think that being 10 through 20 just like dollar for dooll is probably more advantageous than being in the top 10 U because I don’t know how much you’re going to get out of those guys in the top 10 early on in their careers and it’s a lot of money to spend on someone that you you don’t know what you’re getting but yeah and I think people should keep in mind like this is all part of the process these are guys that are going to be in the league and part of future trade conversations or future free agencies like you just want to be familiar in general yeah totally totally and the other guy who’s around the king’s range uh that’s a big that’s a center a big man that we’re talking about is Philip howski from duke and he went out there and did one of the rarest things I’ve ever seen he’s taller than his wingspan oh he’s got a negative huh that makes with the shooting a little bit he’s got a negative he’s got he’s a 6’1 and a like 75 height and a 6′ 10 and a quarter like wingspan I don’t know that I’ve seen that I think yeah no I don’t think I’ve seen anybody with that height right but there’s a lot of Shooters like I think JJ reck’s a negative wingspan and why do I want to say Bruce Bowen I I could be wrong with Bowen I know reck Bruce bone or Bruce Brown H see now I’m questioning myself I don’t know but I think it’s typically a shooter thing um that you know I must help out with the movement sort of thing but I think JJ has that I haven’t seen it with a big though yeah the guards I mean I think yeah Desmond Bane looks like a negative wingspan although that’s one yeah I think I looked up Desmond Bane and Desmond bangs Wings span isn’t as uh as uh like off as you would think but I also think he’s Barrel chested he’s like broad through the shoulders so his arms can be he you can have a decent Siz wingspan if you’re broad through the shoulders and still have short arms right so look at you look at you um let’s see uh do we have anything else to discuss today Brandon um you know I don’t know if I do really I’m having the time of my life out here you have you have anything specific going on any boat activities I was out on the boat yesterday uh it’s been chilly I don’t know what the deal is it’s even like right now it’s like 74° outside um yeah yeah were nothing too crazy on my end okay yeah the water’s too cold to get in I I think I I saw a couple people jump in the water yesterday and I thought they were crazy especially if there’s a breeze and the water’s cold I’m like I’m not gonna jump in um let’s see do we have any questions that we need to answer secur and the monk oh that was a point I was going to make too uh is Monty on the hot seat I don’t know if Mike Brown is on the seat I don’t think it’s going to be all that much time before Monty would be uh would be on the hot seat as well um I don’t think that Mike Brown is on the hot seat as much as it is they’re fighting over uh dollars and years of a contract extension um so uh that that’s one thing that I would point out um and I guess like um you know when it comes to all the mic stuff it seems like that it it’s not from Monty’s perspective that we’re really talking about here right more ownership um I’m not sure interesting like again I think that like they’re gonna it’s going to be united front right so that’s something that I think I definitely would point out that we’re not going to have like um you know like a whole lot of issu like ownership and management are on the same page I I’d also like it keeps slipping my mind I was going to point out that um people need to remember too that that McNair entered last season as a lame duck general manager and that in February he got his extension and to me that um that was weird is either January or February he got his extension I thought that that to me was very strange because you were allowing a a general manager to walk into trade season where he very well could have traded away your future and he didn’t have a a contract pass last year uh past last season and I would say that it’s much more common place for a front office Personnel to go into an a season as a lame duck as opposed to a head coach I head coaches because of the way they get fired mid-season all the time general managers get let go all the time as well but it’s typically during the offseason coaches get fired mid-season I mean again I don’t know how many times seen that in my time here in Sacramento I Westfall Malone um you can throw Ty Corbin in that uh what was that Walton yeah Walton um so at least four times I’ve seen that uh anyway it’s um you don’t want I don’t think this is a situation you want to go into it just doesn’t it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me um but I even from my perspective like it’s not something that I want to have to be talking about that much I don’t feel like it needs to be much of a conversation and I’d imagine that the players feel somewhat similar that they don’t want this to be something that gets talked about a bunch you know and and be something that’s hanging over um their heads really the whole season and and on the the Monty Point Monty getting extended mid season you’re right I forgot that had happened the other weird aspect is like I don’t feel like anything was necessarily proved in the season up to that point you know in my mind that’s like okay let’s wait let’s see you prove it a little bit I I don’t know that necessarily anything was really proven up to that point yeah and and I’m wondering was it last season or was it the season before where Monty was coming into the season as a lame duck you know actually it might have been the year before yeah when they started winning I think so yeah yeah so maybe that’s something where they’re like well it worked out in this situation and I don’t think that that’s typically what you do with coaches um I just like I don’t know right um Ley asked where will my guy Rong Holland go uh I I don’t know Holland’s going to go somewhere between like 10 and 20 super athletic uh you know again Jonathan kaminga esque uh maybe not as as uh as much pop but reminds me a little bit of RJ Barrett caught him a couple times when he went to stockt in this year I I do think that he he’s a very fun player but I don’t I I can’t help but think that these 19yearold guys just aren’t the king’s type you know I would love for them to get some like more raw Prospect I could spend a lot of time at stockt in but I get why maybe that’s not the ideal route like they are kind of trying to take those next steps sooner rather than later um but to play the other side when are you g to pick this high again um so you know if you’re going to take a swing I could see it making sense but I can’t help but think the track record previous track record of this front office makes me stay away from thinking that’s where they’re going to go yeah I would agree and I I’m just going to like any coach could have got us 40 plus wins I don’t know what you’re talking about man because I covered the team for again 14 years my first 12 no one ever got no one ever got 40 plus wins and it’s only happened 10 times now in the history the 39e history of the Kings where they got where they got to 40 wins like well where they got 41 wins there I think there was one other season where they finished 40 and 40 no I don’t I think that the Jagger year they got 39 and they almost beat Portland on the last game of the year with a bunch of Nob buies and then Anthony Simons went crazy yeah yeah yeah um well I was there for that that was a mess the that was a the scall and Caleb swanigan year when those those guys got traded back and forth a couple times yeah and also that’s um that was Jagger I think they scored 84 or 86 in the first half the Kings did and then and then Dave pulled everybody and then it and Portland played six players and and came back and beat him yeah yeah so um anyway yeah it’s it’s it’s a little crazy yeah you know I don’t know I don’t know what else to say about like players I mean about coaches going into a final season like this and and how anyone could have coached his team to 40 plus wins that’s I mean did anyone realize that like Mike Brown had an 18 game improvement in wins from he from the year before he got there until the year he got there now it’s not really fair because it was um of course the uh it was a 72 Game season I believe the year before um but they were on Pace to win like 33 34 games uh they won 30 um and I don’t even know if it’s was 33 34 I’d say like they’re on Pace to probably win 32 or 33 so even if it was a 15 the 16 game improvement that’s stunning that’s like absolutely wild yeah I just keep going back to like what else do you need to see I feel like Mike’s done everything that he could with what’s in front of him I feel like the players have embraced him and to be honest that’s really enough for me like Let It Roll for a little while longer at least it would get I just hope this doesn’t end up being messy like I don’t like I said I don’t want to be talking about it all year I imagine the players don’t want to hang in over them Mike all of the above just get this handled try to have a normal year I I totally agree I totally avoid the drama um let’s see lezy ass uh any chance make kings make a crazy move to get cat I don’t think cat’s gonna be on the Block they literally are in the Western Conference Finals I I don’t think that that’s gonna happen and I don’t know his injury history maybe he could play well next to sabonis but I don’t know yeah they seem to have a weird uh financial situation but I’d imagine making it Western Conference Finals probably helps a little bit also their ownership thing is that’s one of the weirdest things going on in sports when you have both owners like your apparent future one and the current I guess I don’t even know the proper wording for this at the current point but super weird to see A-Rod there Courtside dapping guys up with all this weird stuff going on it feels very gangs uh yeah they and they’re well above the second apron for next year so the second a well I don’t know well I think the second apron is 180 8 million it’s 17.5 million over the luxury tax so 188.50 million something like that and they’re right on the cusp of being over the second apron if you’re over the second apron it freezes your 2032 first round pick so you can’t trade it at all and I don’t know what that means like I don’t know if if eventually they take it from you or not but it certainly freezes it and it limits what you can do going forward and you can only sign minimum scale contracts you have no mid-level you have no bu annual you have you have nothing and any trade that you make has to be dollar for dollar it cannot be uh taking back any more money at all like you cannot you don’t get like the 125 125% or double player salary or you know uh whatever like all of the different the 10 plus million that you can you have to you cannot take back any more salary than is coming in like so they’re right there in that situation and and that’s not that’s not great yeah we’ll see what they end up doing I will say real quick quit credit to cat you know cat gets a lot of a lot of [ __ ] and I think that some of that is uh deserved at times but I feel like he’s really embraced the defensive end and he’s playing hard you know I I I’ve questioned even a little bit of uh what level of I guess it’s kind of cliche like winning player he necessarily is um but I I think that he’s bought into all those little details and I feel like he’s he’s playing differently right now than than I’ve seen before at least yeah big shout out to Chris Finch who’s out there like hiding on the second row because he he popped his uh patella tendon like when Mike uh Connelly ran into him in the first round and and a huge shout out to Mike anori who you know uh was a king’s assistant a super super good dude and and super funny he’s been like sort of a live wire all year long anytime they they do like the in-game interviews he’s just been hilarious and uh and you know I think that that’s uh like they’ve done a really good job of getting the team to this point uh Benjamin brings up make a make a play for Mikel Bridges um that might be more possible now than it was like last week because we’re hearing that their owner saying that they might start over but maybe I’m wrong he’s the he’s the type of guy that makes sense you know we’re talking about ideal roll pieces that kind of just fill their spot also can kind of get you a bucket sometimes in the lengthen athleticism he might be the picture perfect definition um I I think he does everything three levels I mean that’s that’s as good as it gets but it’s gonna cost you a a pretty penny for sure and in all these deals I keep coming back to like you know there’s not a star piece playerwise you know I feel like a lot of teams are going to offer a really solid young player in a handful of picks and um if Keegan’s not in that deal I just you know I struggle to think of a way that the Kings have the best offer there even if they can make something respectable I don’t think that it necessarily would be the best best thing on the table for Brooklyn yeah I think it’s going to be really interesting if Mel Bridges remain if he does come up uh first of all he doesn’t make any money which is crazy he makes like 22 million and 24 million something like that over the next two years so uh so you definitely can like somehow go out and get him financially that wouldn’t even take take very much to go out and get him um it just depends on what Brooklyn’s looking for clearly it’s going to be a lot of draft picks if they’re starting over uh so I I also think he is like I think it’s probably between him and Brandon Ingram of who’s a better fit and I would say he’s a better Defender than Brandon Ingram Ingram’s not only a better scorer but a better Creator averages like you know over five and a half assists a game um and uh I think that the thing with male’s number one got two years on his deal versus one year for Brandon Ingram and then the other thing I would bring up with him um is that he plays nonstop like very seldom does he miss games and that’s not something you can say for Brandon Ingram I would take male so quickly between the two I I I think that like the defense he brings getting to put a lengthy guy like that on Perimeter creators is something that the Kings just haven’t really had unless we’re talking about KY oala or Mo harkless and like they try to do it with Keegan Murray a bit sometimes it works um but I I think m is between the two I’m easily a male bres guy yeah I mean he’s a very very good player Mel Bridges and so I just don’t know that there’s a way to get him it’s possible he did average 26 points a game after he got traded to to Brooklyn um but we’re literally talking about it his first year 82 games the second year he missed nine games uh he played 72 in this 72 game season oh no that year that he played 73 and Miss n he didn’t miss Nine games that was a 72 Game season somehow he played 73 uh 82 he also played 83 games and then 82 last year so uh from my math not only has he never missed a game but he’s actually played two more games than any other PE person like during that stretch so that is a not bad a yeah and I like he’s like someone Compares him Brian Compares him to PJ Washington he’s a much better player than PJ Washington he’s a much better Defender he’s a much better scorer overall um yeah and again I like PJ Washington and I tip to PJ Washington for being in like Primo shape after the trade like he’s done a really good job of getting himself in great shape for sure yeah definitely a difference between the two though like PJ is just a really good role player and there’s no hate like I was just talking about the importance of those guys um I think is a little bit more Fringe star though yeah no I I think so too yeah that’s a tough one man I think because he doesn’t miss games Mel Bridges would have to be like if you were G to somehow choose between those two he’s also they’re either way they’re the perfect fit if you could have either one of those guys next to Keegan Murray that would be tremendous like I I think the Kings would be like the switchability of those two would be pretty amazing so um and then uh I hope no one is bringing up uh the other Bridges because I don’t want to touch which I will say real quick when ownership if there’s a sense where ownership or just decision makers are getting pressured I think that’s how weird things like that happen where there’s some desperation you know um and I just hope we don’t get to a point where people feel pressured to do something that maybe they don’t even feel great about like uh in my mind you know other Bridges like just okay stay away yeah I’m I’m of that uh that thought too the other desperate move to me would be Zack LaVine I don’t think anyone can uh can actually you know like Zach is a perfectly fine scorer and Creator he just can’t stay healthy at all um lezy asked thoughts on Doug Chrissy coaching summer league team I think it’s a really good move for Doug uh I think coaching the summer league team is it like feeling the responsibility of having the team yourself um like of of having to like worry about everything that goes into being a head coach even though it’s for like a twoe period I still think it’s a really really really good experience and also relying on those around you and feeling that I mean that’s it’s a big deal um I don’t know okay Brandon we got to get you back out to the lake um I think I have to go for a walk and my wife is hitting me up to go for a walk which is perfectly fun I that’s my my get in shape uh for summer uh no we don’t take the dogs with us because we walk fast and they get distracted and um yeah so we just go go go but yeah I’ve been walking three to four miles a day every day for last week week and a half so there you go it’s good I’m a little sore gotta be honest it’s a good thing yeah no it’s it’s definitely a good thing um do you have any final thoughts there brenon you know nothing crazy just missing sea um I hope he misses us too and yeah I don’t really have anything I’m excited to get back out on the lake you know um yeah this had to be a little bit of an earlier Morning Show because I am enjoying my time out on the lake so I appreciate you being flexible with me on timing wise and uh everybody hopping in here but yeah everybody enjoy their Memorial Day Weekend yeah uh thanks for for everybody showing up on Memorial Day I’m I’m glad we’re able to get a show in and to have it coincide kind of where the Insiders would be uh there is no DLo and Casey today on on ESPN 1320 no Insiders on ESPN 1320 we had the weekend off which is really really really nice um uh real quickly Jim Garfunkle I don’t if they bring in a replacement for Jordy it’ll be like a lower level coach they’ve already promoted uh Luke LS to the front of the bench and uh they’ll probably bring in like one or two assistant slash Player Development coaches for the guys that they have lost um yeah anyway uh Benjamin’s right the ladies are going crazy for Brendan he’s rocking out with the the gun show over here the gun show over here I tried to be authentic all right I debated putting myself together but this is how we’re living so this is how we’re potting that’s right um okay well thanks for tuning in to the Kings be podcast uh we are of course a bluewire podcast brought to you by Price piic thanks for joining us we’ll see you next week Sean will be back so for Brenda Nunes from the Kings worlds podcast I am James ham Kings and Sater for ESPN 1320 in the Kings be see you soon

Brenden Nunes from the Kings Pulse Podcast and The Kings Beat’s James Ham join forces for coverage of the Sacramento Kings.

Topics include the passing of NBA legend Bill Walton, and update on Mike Brown’s contract situation, what have we learned from watching the Western and Eastern Conference Finals, and some questions from the audience.

Thanks for joining us on this adventure! Big shoutout to Paul Jinkerson (@paulitition) for creating a new intro and outro for the podcast and to Brenden for creating our new overlay for the podcast.

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