Starting Point Guard Options For Sacramento Kings
The Kings have none. Scott Perry said in his introductory presser, er, we need a point guard. It’s priority number one. Yep. Got to figure that out. So, we’re going to figure it out for him. It’s the purpose of this program. If you’d like to participate, 916909 1320 9169091320. This is the Insiders. That’s James Ham. I’m Kyle Madson. All right. I want to get this out of the way quick because I think I know the answer. Okay. There’s no in-house option here, right? My Okay, so my first reaction is no. Um, like I don’t think Devin Carter is a pure point guard at all at at all. I I think he’s just a combo guard. Yep. Um, and then I I believe that Malik Monk is is closer to a point guard than anything else that they have. Mhm. Um, but I also don’t think that you can survive an NBA season with Malik Monk and uh and Zack Lavine as your starting back court just defensively. So, yeah. And I and I just on the on the Malik thing real quick before you continue. I also think that asking him to be a I hate this phrase, but pure point guard Yeah. takes away from what makes Malik Monk valuable. Oh, I totally agree with that. So, I don’t know that you want him to be your starting point guard because in an ideal world, if he is, well, then he’s not helping in the ways that that he’s best at helping. I agree. But I also think there is a way in which you can support him and make him into a point guard. Uh, and and again, this team doesn’t need a pure point guard uh because they have Demon Sabonis. And I would like to see Domas get back up to the eight assist the year before. Yeah, I would agree. I I I totally disagree with what happened down the stretch where it became iso ball and just not a not a fun watch but just out of desperation trying to get through with it the season and trying to hold on right and I thought they went away from Domas as the primary hub on offense and his points per game dipped and his and his assist numbers dipped um and I just thought it was a huge mistake. I think you can go back to Malik Monk as a starting point guard, but you have to have Keon Ellis starting next to him in the back court. And and that means you’ve got to move Zack Lavine to the three or Zack Lavine can’t be there anymore. And I still don’t know if that works, but it’s something that I would at least try because I know how good Malik Monk is as a pick and roll point guard, but I I So, is your offense going to be pick and roll heavy? Well, it it would have to be and you don’t have the players for a pick and roll heavy offense, right? So, I mean, you can with Domos and a little bit with Valenunis, but you also need like an above the rim finishing guy. To me, if you’re if you’re going to if you’re going to build out a a more cohesive roster, because that’s what this is about, right? Kings have a lot of players in a vacuum are good, but the the the cohesion is not there. So to me, if you’re going to have a cohesive roster, you need somebody who’s not Malik Monk running the point for you because I think there were a couple times last year where it was a little bit disorganized offensively because you didn’t have it. Let’s let’s go to the conference finals. A Mike Connley Mike Connley is going to knock down some threes and he’s going to make sure that things don’t get out of control between Julius Randall and Anthony Edwards and ISO ball and all this stuff. Going to bring the ball up. He’s going to get the team into his offense and then he’s going to go hang out in the court and he’ll shoot it if it comes. He’s an organizer. Yes. And that’s what I think that’s what I think Sacramento’s going to need. And so, can Malik Monk run the point at times or in a pinch play that spot? Like, yeah, for sure. We’ve seen it. We’ve seen him be a really good distributor. Like, that’s that’s without question. But I think if you’re talking starting point guard day one, I think ideally Malik Monk is your sixman. And you have a starting point guard who is what you the word to use your word, an organizer. Just get get everybody in the right place and then get into the offense. Yeah, that’s that’s something that I don’t I don’t know that I trust Malik Monk to do for 82 games. Well, I I think the other problem too I’m going to bring this up and and I don’t like harping on him because I don’t think like Malik Monk is in bad shape, right? I think he’s a he’s in good shape. He’s in but he’s a hooper. Yes. He’s not like a workout warrior. Yes. Right. And he loves to golf. He he loves his off time. Yeah. And I’m not like begrudging him for that at all. But if I had his money, I would do the same thing. FYI, totally. I don’t have his money and I do that. Yeah. But I I think Malik Monk uh when you put him in a starting role and you started to play him 32 minutes a night, 31.6 minutes a night, I think he wore out really quickly. He played 65 games this season, 45 as a starter. If you look at his per 36 minutes, uh so last the season before he averaged 26 minutes a night, right? And you think, oh well, at least this year he averaged 17.2 versus 15.4. He was a better player. Uh he wasn’t. The the uh the per 36 minute uh looks like 19.6 points per game as in this last season as a starter half the time and versus 21.3 the year before. 6.3 assists as a primary point guard versus 7.1 the year before. He was better in limited minutes in in less minutes. And I think that that’s just his role is to play, you know, he can get up to 28 minutes. But if he’s going to be a full-fledged starter, he better come into the season with that in mind, you know, and that means like you got to be able to run a marathon. Sure. You know, because that’s what the NBA is. and the energy that he plays with. If you lose that energy, which I think the Kings miss so much with him moving to the starting lineup, it just killed him. You need him to be at his best. And when he’s at his best, it’s as like a disruptive force, giving everything he has for 13, 14 minutes at a time and then another 13 or 14 minutes in the second half. Yeah. And they just haven’t been able to do that with him moving to the starting lineup. Yeah, man. Uh for me, and obviously with no first round pick, you’re not going to find your starting point guard in the draft. Nope. So to me, where I where I stand on things and and I think probably where Scott Perry stands on it is there’s not an in-house option because that’s not maximizing what you’re getting out of Malik Mo is for for me. So, uh let’s do free agent options first because this is a list of dudes that is primarily what you talked about yesterday. What was your what was the the the issue you’ve had with how the Kings have added point guards in the past? Yeah, I mean the problem is is if you go out and get a bunch of players who are they’re solid NBA players, right? Like Darren Coulson, solid NBA player. Ty Lawson, solid NBA player. uh even you know the version of Isaiah Thomas that they had and you just keep looking at like until they got to the De’Aran Fox era they didn’t have a true like number one dude and these guys they’re fine but if you’re going to have a mid point guard if you’re going to have a guy who is in between 20 and 30 in the league and NBA point guards you’re not going to be very good. You’re going to be limited by how good your point guard is. especially in a league that is it’s so point guard heavy. Mhm. So, you know, teams that don’t have like really really strong point guards typically aren’t very good. And the the only way around that is if you have sort of this all-in-one combo dude, right, which we see from, you know, the Shay Gildas Alexander, we we see it from Luca, you see it from LeBron, like the guy who has the ball in his hands the whole time. He’s not the point guard, but just a singular offensive force. Yeah. Yeah. you’re James Hardens of the world who you know has been a true point guard for points of his career but still more of a scorer. So um like the Kings don’t have either of those you know because Zack Lavine is not that. No. And that’s okay. Like I I’m not that’s not a d on Zack Lavine. No, it’s just not Yeah. It’s just not That would be like saying they need a center. Zack Lavine is not that. Yeah. Yeah. It’s not the the role play. I mean go back to like the early 2000 Bucks. Uh, Zack Lavine is more Ray Allen than he is Sam Cassell. Like, you know, that’s as a player. That’s who he is. So, all right. So, let me give you a bunch of names that fit that exact description. Yep. Uh, if you want to stop on any of these names, let me know. I think Ty Jerome can run the point for you. Okay. Going to be a free agent. That’s a possibility. Not inspiring for me. Ty Jerome as a starting point guard feels like the kind of thing that that happens. and 40 games in you go, “Oh, no.” Like, he was good off the bench for a really good Cleveland team. He’s not a starter for a team that’s trying to get back to the playoffs. He like I mean, you could say he’s a poor man’s Malik Monk. Sure. In certain Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. How’s Chris Paul grabb you? Uh, well, I don’t think Chris Paul’s going to come to Sacramento. Um, but he’s also like I mean, it’s fine. He’s an organizer. Mhm. uh one of the great point guards that we’ve ever seen, but at this point he’s what, 39? Yeah, he played 82 games last year. Look, if Chris Paul is available and I don’t San Antonio might just want him back. Yeah. To to be a a mentor, player, coach type of guy. Oh, he’s 40. He’s already 40. Is he 40? He’s 40. Oh my god. Yeah. Hey, man. I’m not a big Chris Paul guy. I’m still in on the Chris Paul idea. Just be a teacher. Run the point. played 20 minutes a night. Can I tell you the problem with that? You’d need another point guard to play the other 28 minutes. He’s not playing. Who is he teaching? Everyone, just where to be on the floor. But the problem is you don’t have the star pupil to put next to him. So organizing. It’s one thing if he’s organizing and he’s teaching Stefon Castle how to be a point guard. Uhhuh. You don’t have Stefan Castle. You don’t have an NBA point guard. Okay. May Okay, but wait. Okay. Zack Lavine after a year under Chris Paul. Yeah. No, I I I guess I I I see what you’re saying. Okay. What about Fred Van Valet? Fred Vanvalite has a $42 million team option this year. It would just be so difficult to get Fred Fred Vanleet and then once you got him because I don’t think he’s opting out. And if he does opt out, he’s not going to sign him. It’s a team option, isn’t it? Oh, you’re you’re right. You’re right. It is a team option, but if and they push the team option back a little bit closer to uh like after the draft, I just don’t know that you can trade for Fred Vanble like because again it’s 42 million bucks in order to get up assuming they pick up that option. Yeah, which they probably might because I don’t know that they are they ready to just give Reed Shepard the keys? Well, they they you’re right. they’re probably going to pick up that option, but also like how do you what is what sense does it make because in order to get him financially you’re going to have to give up Zack Lavine and so at least you would have a point guard I guess would be the answer there but now is Malik Monk you’re starting to or is Keon Ellis you’re starting to like maybe you can figure that out sure but at the same time I don’t think that Houston is gonna trade for Zack Lavine and I don’t think they’re gonna take on 49 million so I I I don’t think he’s an option because in order to piece together another deal that included Demard Rosen, it would have to be Demard Rosen, it’d have to be Valenunis, and it would have to be Devin Carter for one season of of Fred Vanble at 42 million. All right, we’re 0 for three. Keep in mind here, guys, I I just want this to be abundantly clear in case anybody’s coming in mid-con conversation. These are just names. These are not people that I’m like, “Yeah, you’re not fighting for any of this, right?” Okay, we’re 0 for three though on names that I wrote down. Malcolm Brogden. I love Malcolm Brogden as a player. He just can’t stay healthy. No, Malcolm Brogden would be a great backup point guard if you had a legit starter. Yes. D’Angelo Russell. No. D’Angelo Russell running the point. No. D’Angelo Russell like one of my least favorite players to watch in the NBA. Super out. So inconsistent. Dennis Shruder. He’s the first one that you’re at least like, “Okay.” But again, this is Darren Collison. It it’s the same thing. It’s like you’re you’re looking at a guy who’s going to be maybe the 22nd best point guard in the NBA. Yeah. Maybe maybe a little lower than that. Like again, if that’s your answer, you’re pretty mid. He’s another one that I didn’t don’t mind him as a backup, but if you’re signing him as like, “Yeah, hey, he’s going to be our starter. He’s going to play 34 minutes a night.” probably in a little bit of trouble. Yeah. And defender though. Yeah. I I don’t a lot of big games. I don’t hate the idea, but if you’re going to get Dennis Shruder, that means that you have to get such an incredible player at the small forward position. Sure. That it makes that make sense. Okay. Got me. What about Trey Jones? Tai Jones brother, 25 years old. Yeah. Like both of the Jones brothers again, they’re both Jones have a lot of Jones. Just have Yeah. Double. Yeah. Twice the Joneses. Jones squared. I I would be okay with one or both. Um and I just don’t again that’s it’s not a needle mover and it is very much a game manager minus minus minus right like this is like two years ago uh Tus Jones was on Washington had a $10 million salary. I they tried to trade him for a first round pick. No one would take it. They tried to trade him for a second round pick. no one would take his contract for and he had just he was in expiring contract at 10 million. Yeah. And then it got down to like the wire and they were asking for a second and it was too late and and teams were like, “Yeah, we’ve already moved on.” And then he signed for a league minimum in Phoenix. Yeah. And and I thought that that would be a really good thing for Phoenix. But again, I thought it’d be a really good thing for Phoenix because they had Devin Booker and they had uh they had Kevin Durant and they had Bradley Beal and a great shooter and uh you know like overall I thought that that would work. It didn’t work. Mhm. And so I’m now kind of at the point where it’s like, okay, that is really, really a low. Like, if you make that move, that’s fine, but you’ve got to have somebody else that you’re bringing along to be the next actual point guard. I was so certain that this conversation was going to bleed into tomorrow. It’s certainly going to bleed into the handoff with uh I think it’s Kenny Carowway today from DLO and Casey. He’s going to join us next. I want to keep running through these free agent options because there’s a couple of names left on here. Well, there’s a few names left, but there’s two that really jump out as to me intriguing.
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