Nique Clifford is More Than NBA Ready! | Locked On Kings

Nique Clifford is More Than NBA Ready! | Locked On Kings

I’ve seen enough. Not only is Nate Clifford for sure an NBA player, he belongs in the Sacramento Kings rotation on opening night. But now the question becomes, do you shut him and Devin Carter and Maxim Reno down for the remainder of summer league or push for a summer league title? We’ll talk about it right here on Locked on Kings. You are Locked on Kings, your daily Sacramento Kings podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is that time. Time for another episode of Locked on Kings. Hello and welcome into Locked on Kings, your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all off season long. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. My name is Matt George. I have the privilege of being your host here. I’m a Sacramento sports anchor and reporter for ABC 10 News. And full transparency, I’m starting the recording of this podcast before this summer league game is even over with. Why? Because the Kings are up, I think, 40 on the Phoenix Suns. The main guys have subbed out early in the fourth quarter, so their night is done. I know how this game is ending and sorry to be disrespectful to some of the end of the bench guys who are fighting to make an NBA roster or a G-League roster, get a training camp invite, but the guys that we’ve we are tuning in to see not only handled their business tonight, they specifically delivered in areas that I was was directly asking or looking for. First and foremost, Maxim Moreno did not play in this game. He was a scratch earlier this afternoon from the lineup dealing with right wrist soreness. Say that five times fast. Maxim, from what I understand, it’s a cautionary thing. They’re not worried about it being too serious or anything like that. He’s experiencing it after the the game against Chicago. Uh and the Kings just airing on the side of caution with a player that they expect to potentially also be a part of their rotation at some point this coming season if not right away too. So no Maxim Reno. We’ll talk about him and some of the things that Scott Perry had to say about him as Perry was part or at least interviewed as part of the uh the ESPN broadcast for this game and also the obvious impact of Maxim’s absence on the offense. That’s all coming later on the podcast, but we have to talk about Nick Clifford, right? Cuz as soon as I saw, well, even before I knew anything about Maxim and his injury, you could go back to the the episode after the Kings win over the Bulls. And I said, okay, these are two straight performances where M where uh Nick has been fantastic in the fourth quarter, right? But can the Kings get like a fullgame performance out of Nick, especially offensively from the get-go? And even and once we saw Maxim Reno was out, right, it was even more important for Meek to establish himself and get himself going early on. And he did just that. Just listen to this stat line. Nick’s already had some ridiculously impressive stat lines in summer league. Listen to this. 19 points, seven of eight shooting from the field, three of three from three-point range, three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block. Again, 19 points, seven of eight from the field, three of three from three, three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block. That is the stat line of one man. And that stat line, if that doesn’t scream versatility, again, that’s been a buzzword to describe Nick Clifford in his game, but he is a versatile player. He can do it all. That stat line right there tells you everything you need to know. Numbers don’t always tell the full story. The eye test is important, too, but in this case, the eye test and the numbers are perfectly aligned. Meek Clifford is everywhere. does everything. And offensively, he got the Sacramento Kings going in this game. And then defensively, when the Sacramento Kings clamped up on the defensive end, like midway through the second quarter, the Kings decided, you know what, defensively, we’re going to pick up the tempo. It was a blowout from that point on. Guess who was leading the charge on that? Meek Clifford. Nick did an interview with ESPN before the game started. The thing that jumped out to me the most about that interview was him saying, “I I’m it’s my job to guard the best player. He wants to establish himself on the defensive end.” Not only did he establish himself, he helped establish the entire Sacramento Kings team in this game with his work on the defensive end. Now, Devin Carter was right there with him setting the tone defensively. And I’ll talk about Devin Carter and a really, really good game that Carter had later on in the podcast. don’t want to give Nick all of the the the credit for it, but like I don’t need to see anymore. I don’t need to see anymore to know that Nick Clifford belongs in the NBA. That Nick Clifford should be a guy that is playing for Doug Christie on opening night. Whether it’s in Sacramento or in some other city, we don’t know. The schedule’s not out yet. But Nick Clifford should be a part of the Sacramento Kings rotation right away because he is a jack of all trades. He can fit in, in my opinion, with any lineup. Versatile position-wise, versatile defensively. You need him to knock down threes, he’s got you. You need him just to focus on the defensive end of the floor, he’s got you. You need him to to to grab rebounds, he’s got you. You even need him to run the point a little bit or or or facilitate the offensive ball movement, find the open man, he’s got you. He’s shown it all in these three games. He’s been consistent with that through these three games. And I don’t care that it’s just summer league when you’re dominating this much. And domination goes beyond just scoring. He doesn’t have to score 30 points or do what Kyle Philippowski is doing for the Utah Jazz or what Cooper Flag did in game two of the summer league for the Dallas Mavericks. He doesn’t have to do all that with just the scoring. He is dominating the summer league in every way that he is playing right now. That just screams NBA player. And the Kings are desperately in need of someone or more bodies who can do it all like Nick Clifford can. Again, I’m realistic about what doing it all means. Do I think Nick is going to score? I think he’s averaging like 17, 18 points per game so far in the summer league. Do I think he’s going to do that at the NBA level? No. But he’s capable of having good scoring games. He’s capable of shooting a high percentage. And if that number dips to 9 10 11 points per game because but he’s a consistent 12 to 15 minute role player off of the bench who’s also delivering on the defensive end too and fitting in with how the Sacramento Kings are trying to play fitting in with the culture that Doug Christie and Scott Perry are trying to establish establish here. I’ll take that 10 times out of 10. No ifs or buts about it. And I I can’t help but like imagine like, okay, what does this look like if Nick’s out there on the floor next to Keegan Murray? What does this look like if Nick is out there on the floor next to Keon Ellis? Heck, what does this look like if Nick’s out there spacing the floor and being left alone in the corner or on the wing because Zack Lavine or Demard Rosen are cooking, right? I think Nick just fits. It just makes sense. And yes, I’m getting excited based off of three summer league performances, but this is exactly what you want to see out of your rookie. Especially when your rookie, like when your rookie lives up to the strengths that you’ve identified and for lack of a better term, sold your fan base on from draft night. Right after after the draft, we see all these packages and see these words used in the draft broadcast. Here’s what the Kings got. Versatility, a two-way player. Then you have Scott Perry take the podium on draft night, say, “Here’s what we got. Versatility, two-way player, a guy we feel can contribute right away.” And then the three times, the three looks that we’ve gotten on an actual basketball court, Neat Clifford has delivered in all those areas and then some, you can’t you literally cannot ask for more. You cannot ask for more. But here’s the question, and we can apply this question too to the other guys, but especially with Nick Clifford. Cooper Flag not playing anymore. All these other NBA teams are pretty much shutting down their top guys. Do you shut down Nick Clifford? Do you shut down Deon Carter? Do you shut down Maxim Reno? Have they shown you enough? Or do you push to try and win this thing? I’m talking about the summer league, the summer league title. Now, some of you might be rolling your eyes, Matt. It’s the summer league title. Who cares? Those guys do. This Kings team, watch this Kings team in summer league and tell me they’re just playing for themselves in their own individual development. This team looks like they’ve been together for weeks. This team is hustling. They’re battling. They’re playing hard and their goal is to win in addition to their individual development. Right? This is not a showcase of players to try and make a roster. This is a team that’s trying to win the ultimate prize that they can at this level. And I know there are other undefeated teams in summer league. If the Kings decide not to shut down their top guys, I don’t know if there’s a better, more well-rounded team. Maybe not even a better defensive team. Imagine saying that. The Sacramento Kings the best defensive team right now. I don’t know if there’s a better one. This team is stacked. They’re playing really, really good basketball. And I completely understand the argument of Matt, you said it yourself, Nick has shown you enough. He’s ready for the NBA. Don’t risk any kind of injury or anything like that. Just let him let him enjoy his summer. Get ready for training camp. I understand that completely and I see the logic and the sense in it. But I’d be lying to you if there wasn’t part of my heart that says, “Man, let him keep playing. Let him go win that summer league title. If nothing else, just for the fun and the bragging rights here in Sacramento again. We’ll see it. I I think logic says you can shut him down. But it’s about the heart. The heart. The heart. I just want to see Nick Clifford play more basketball, man. He’s been that good. Like I said at the top of the show, today’s episode of Locked on Kings is brought to you by FanDuel. Summer sports are in full swing. And whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. You’re already following the action, so why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. Use FanDuel to track all of your favorite matchups, and the app keeps it fresh and fun with new daily promotions and great ways to bet all summer long. Use it as a time killer, too, before the start of the next NBA season. It’s easy to use, payouts are fast when you win, and makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events, even when there’s 162 of them, like in baseball. Whether you’re placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride deep into the ninth inning, FanDuel makes it feel like you are part of the action. And if you’re new to FanDuel, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. Devin Carter’s game got off to a little bit of a rough start and I was concerned because he has the game one struggles then he drops 30 points in game two. A showcase game that we love to see and celebrated and then he starts out game three 0 for four and not really doing too much. I think he finished the first quarter with zero points. did have, I think, a rebound and an assist or two, but ultimately it was not the greatest of starts for Devin compared to the 30-point outing. I was a little worried about I was like, uh, what like it was great to see that showcase game from Devin, but what you’re looking for now from him is consistency, right? Can he consistently not score 30 points a game, but he can he consistently look comfortable in that point guard spot? Well, as soon as the Sacramento Kings defense turned it on, and Devin was a major part of that along with Nick Clifford, Devin Carter’s game really got going. He finished with 17 points. Again, that’s basically through three and a three quarters and a couple of minutes, right? He didn’t play a full game. 17 points, seven of 12 from the field, three of five from three-point range, three assists, three steals, one block. A stat line very similar to Nick Clifford’s, right? These two guards filled it up for the Kings in this game. Completely carried the Kings in so many ways. He delivered on that consistency request. He he he specifically for the second straight game while handling the point guard responsibilities, he looked like himself. And that’s the most important thing to me is how can Devin Carter hold down a new position while still looking like himself and impacting the game in the ways that are natural to him. Game one, it looked like he was trying to manage the point guard position and those responsibilities and focusing on that more than just playing basketball. I can’t really blame him for that, but it didn’t look natural. game two and game three, he looked like himself who happened to be playing and holding down point guard responsibilities. And did you see his halftime buzzer beater? That was a an amazing play by the Kings, period. It’s like a one-handed running floater. I don’t know what the heck that buzzer beater was, but a big three from Devin Carter. Really cool highlight. If you missed it, it’s on my Twitter, Matt George Sack. You can check it out there. When Perry was on the broadcast, he was asked directly about Devin Carter and handling that point guard position. And Perry said some interesting things. I also, if you go to my Twitter account, Matt George Sack, I also tweeted out his full answer to that question. It’s like a minute and a half, minute 45 seconds straight of Perry just talking about Devin Carter at that point guard spot. First thing he says right away, defensively, Devin, we already knew Devin could handle it, right? Defensively, we already know he can guard that position. The offense is the key. And Perry shared that his challenge to Devin has been dedication. Are you dedicated to putting in the work every single day necessary to learn and get comfortable at that point guard position for this team? Are you dedicated to doing that? Because we know you have the skills in other areas, but are you dedicated to committing to what that role and what that position requires? I thought it was a really interesting answer from from Perry. really interesting thoughts on on how the general manager is looking at Carter potentially holding down that position. It’s no secret that Perry has shopped Devin Carter in trade talks. It’s no secret that Perry has looked to move on from Carter potentially to find something better for this roster. It’s not personal. It’s in his prerogative to do so. But as of now, Carter is on this team. And even if Carter wasn’t Perry’s draft pick last season, there is still value. And Perry still recognizes the value even if it’s a player that isn’t his or he thinks he could find a better version of or use to get better talent. I appreciated that answer from Perry. I also really really liked a story that Mark Jones shared on the broadcast. Mark Jones was on the call, of course, also broadcasts Kings games, and he shared a story of how Devin Carter back in May called up his dad, who’s former NBA player, former Sacramento King, current assistant coach, I believe, with the Memphis Grizzlies, called him up and said, “Hey, dad, like, can we get to work?” And again, this is all from Mark Jones. This is not from me. This is from Mark Jones. Mark Jones shared that they went down to Phoenix, Arizona, and they got an Airbnb together, and for a couple weeks, they just had basically a point guard mini camp where the two of them worked on point guard responsibilities. Devon’s dad played point guard. In the morning, they did skills. In the evenings, they did conditioning over and over and over and over again for a few weeks in Phoenix. Again, if Perry’s questioning dedication, the dedication to learning that position, and you have Carter that initiated with his father this rigorous offseason work and mini camp essentially to attack that position and get more comfortable with that position. That’s a really good sign in my book for Carter and in embracing this position. In fact, look, I don’t again, I don’t know if the Kings are going to shut him down or not. I think there’s a again a really good argument for don’t Devin doesn’t need to play anymore for the rest of summer league whether he keeps playing or not unless you move on from Devin or go out and find another capable backup point guard which Scott Perry may very well do in the months before training camp. If training camp started tomorrow, I would expect the Kings to go into training camp and have Devin Carter get that backup point guard look. Meaning like let’s say they’re doing scrimmages, right, in training camp, it’s Dennis Shruder’s on the the starter group with the black jerseys on and then the white jerseys are the the the bench unit. I would expect Devin Carter to be the point guard in that bench unit right now. Doesn’t mean he’s going to have it to start the season. doesn’t mean he’s going to be locked into that position on opening night, but training camp and preeason, I think Devin Carter has earned based off of his play in summer league, based off of the offseason work that we now know he’s put in. I think he’s earned that look. He’s earned that right. And while I’m still not 100% sold on Devin for the Kings and holding down that point guard spot, I do still have concerns. I don’t think what he’s shown in these last two games is going to be he’s going to be able to do that every single night yet. Hopefully, he can get there, but I don’t think he’s there yet at the NBA level. But he’s shown me enough and given me enough confidence, a lot more confidence than I had initially to say, “All right, let’s give it a shot. Let’s give it a try. And that’s a credit to Devin. I don’t think I’m alone on that. I think fans feel the same way. I think there’s members of that Kings organization that feel the same way as I do with Devon’s performances here in these uh in these couple of summer league games. This episode of the Lockdown Kings podcast is also brought to you by Hungry Route. Let’s be honest, meal planning and grocery shopping can be overwhelming between busy schedules, picky eaters, trying to eat healthy. It’s a lot. And that’s why Hungry Root is so clutch. They take the stress out of planning by filling your cart for you with personalized groceries and meal options based on what you like and what you need. Hungry Root uses their smart cart technology to recommend groceries, recipes, and even supplements tailored to your preferences. Whether you’re dairy free, gluten-free, focused on gut health, or just trying to eat better, Hungry Roots got you covered. You can take their quiz right away and Hungar will already start putting together your shopping list and your meal plans for you. They take all of that busy work busy work out of it. That ultimately saves you a bunch of times. It’s been a major help for me and my family sticking with our nutrition goals, right? Because eating healthy is is not easy. The planning and the cost is sometimes even more difficult than the actual making the food and sticking to that plan. Well, better uh Hungar is a massive, massive benefit and a massive plus in that area. Take advantage of this exclusive offer for a limited time. Get 40% off of your first box plus a free item in every box for life. Go to hungarroot.com/lockedonba and use code locked on NBA. That’s hungerroot.com/lockedonba to get 40% off of your first box and a free item of your choice for life. I tell you, as we watch the first three, four minutes of this game, actually, honestly, you could say the entire first quarter, but especially the the first few um minutes of this game, this it was the most disjointed of a start that this Kings offense has had so far in summer league. Now, maybe that also might happen to or has something to do with the fact that the game started 45 freaking minutes late, which is ridiculous. They were just way behind schedule today, I guess. But the Kings offense did not look great to start. And I don’t think Maxim Reo’s absence and that slow start is a coincidence. I think Reo has been a massive um privilege isn’t the right word. Just a benefit, a a a gift, a boon, whatever you want to call it. He’s been so important to Sacramento’s offensive fluidity through these through the first two summer league games, and there was definitely an adjustment to not having him out there right away. Now, Isaac Jones, I haven’t talked about him a lot this summer league, and he’s been pretty impressive this summer league. He started at the center spot, and again, I I’m recording this before the game is over. Last I checked, Isaac Jones had like 11 points and eight rebounds. Did a really good job attacking the basket for a couple dunks. He’s been playing physical, been playing solid. Um, so I I give him a lot of credit, too. But I did feel that Maxi Marino’s presence was really or lack of presence was really impacting Sacramento’s offense early on. Again, once their defense picked up in the second quarter, that’s when they really started to shine. And I would have loved to see what like how Maxim could have been a part of that defense. But it’s also not like, oh, this defense is happening now that Maxim’s not playing because the Kings defense has been good in all three summer league games. So, it’s a bummer Maxim’s not playing. But, man, he’s showing off his leadership. the amount of times the camera caught him on the bench just communicating and talking and celebrating and yelling. Brennan Nunez was sitting courtside uh in Las Vegas and he got a great video of Maxine just yelling and screaming defensively on the bench trying to communicate with his teammates. Scott Perry in his interview on the broadcast said the number one thing that’s jumped out to him about Maxim Mareno is how much he talks and communicates and leads and quarterbacks on the defensive end as a center. And this is coming from the guy that I’ve been saying I need to see more out of and I want to see more out of him individually as a defender. But the communication, the leadership, the things you don’t like the things you shouldn’t have to teach. You don’t have to teach those intangibles that’s there for him. And that’s really encouraging. Again, maybe you shut down Maxim Reno. Maybe you try and give him one more look if his wrist uh is ready to go. If they air on the side of caution and just call it a a a summer league for him, I don’t blame them one bit for doing that, but I’ve really enjoyed watching him play. missed not watching him. And just like I’m saying, man, Nick Clifford needs to be a part of the Kings rotation on opening night. Maxim Reno is going to make a hell of a case right away. Like I I thought the Kings brought in Drew Eubanks to kind of buy Maxim Reno a little bit of time. Look, no disrespect to Drew Eubanks, like even if Maxim’s not fully ready, give him the spot. And this leads into a broader conversation that we will have here on Locked on Kings probably when summer league is over because I already see Kings fans talking about it a lot on social media. The Kings have a lot of veterans on this squad and there are going to be many times if not every time that those veterans are prioritized minutes wise and shot attempts wise. So Nick Clifford and Maxim Reo and to some extent even like Keon Ellis, Keegan Murray, these guys are not going to get as many looks because Demard Rosen and Zack Lavine and Demand Sabonis and Dennis Shruder and guys like that are out there. I understand any Kings fan that’s saying, “Man, just just play the young guys. Just let play Nick, play Maxim, let that team win 20 games, but be fun and and develop.” I understand that. It’s not happening. It’s just not happening. It’s not realistic. It’s not happening. But I understand that sentiment 100%. Again, that’s a conversation that we’ll we’ll have more later on in the offseason when we get into that dead period of August when nothing’s going on before training camp. We’ll talk about that. Uh and then some also want to again shout out Dylan Cardwell really quick. There’s a clip and Brendan also had an angle of this uh court side, but I noticed it on the broadcast right away. The fire that Dylan Cardwell plays with on defense is so much fun. Like there there was a play where the Kings just it was when they were starting to get going defensively in the second quarter and Cardwell deflected the ball out of bounds and just turns and lets out this roar. This just this loud scream that everybody in the building heard uh in the it was easily picked up on the broadcast. Just the the the fire and intensity that he plays with on the defensive end of the floor. Even if he’s a two-way player, I don’t know how much if any opportunity he’s going to get in the NBA this year or at all. Just having someone like that in your building because as a two-way player, he’s going to get to practice and work with the Kings main roster, at least for this year, for this season. Just having a guy like that in the building is more than beneficial for this organization. And you can see how he fits that identity mold that Scott Perry wants to establish here in Sacramento. That being said, Dylan Cardwell on offense, there’s not really anything there. He botched a dunk that would have given Nick Clifford his fourth assist off of a nice dime. He’s not a good free throw shooter either, apparently. Whatever. I’m I’m excited about the defense. I’m excited about the fire that he plays with. All right. Now, I want to hear from you. Your thoughts on Nick Clifford, on Devin Carter? I’ll throw the question out to you. Do you shut him down or do you keep playing him and push for a summer league title? And hey, maybe this team without him can win a summer league title, although it gets a lot more difficult. Let me know in the comment section down below if you’re watching on YouTube or you can reach out to me on Twitter matte sack or email me [email protected]. Appreciate your support. Can’t wait to have you join me on the next episode of Locked on Kings. Until then, my name is Matt George. You’ve been listening to the Locked On podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network.

Matt George reacts to Nique Clifford’s fantastic third Summer League game, followed by another great performance from Devin Carter.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

OpenPhoneStreamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonnba

HungryrootWith Hungryroot, it’s like having a personal shopper and a nutritionist all in one.For a limited time, get 40% off your first box and a free item in every box for life! Just go to Hungryroot.com/lockedonnba and use codeLOCKEDONNBA.

Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

WANT MORE DAILY SACRAMENTO KINGS CONTENT?

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOKings?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattGeorgeSAC

#SacramentoKings #NBA #LightTheBeam