Jerry Reynolds’ First Impression of the Kings’ New Rookies

Jerry Reynolds’ First Impression of the Kings’ New Rookies

on uh alltime Kings icon, nice enough to join us and he’s got a lot going on these days. So, we appreciate his time. The one and only Jerry Reynolds. How are you today, coach? I’m doing great. Doing great, guys. Uh you know, listening to you. I was just telling Jay, I really enjoyed his uh some takes on baseball there and and uh views of how Maddox threw the ball and and things like that. Of course, the idea of facing a 100 mph pitcher, which would be terrifying. And you you uh I know we’ve talked about this before, but let’s remind people, Jerry, you had quite a bit of success as a ball player yourself in high school, right? I did at the level I was playing, which uh like you say, would probably qualify as JV baseball here uh high school. I just and but I did face I faced one guy when Jay’s talking about that was drafted and signed you know those days you had you know triple A B C and D and he was so you know basically they they got everybody and he he was signed and he was supposedly and I don’t know they said he could throw you know in the in the 90s you know which meant pro maybe but anyway I faced him and and uh I really wasn’t really concerned. I wasn’t really concerned about getting hit. I was uh concerned about getting hit, you know. I was I was losing, I’ll tell you that. Yeah. But you I bet you you you drove one up the middle and didn’t you had a very high batting average, right? I did. I I didn’t against him, but uh No, I did have I did get a single, but it was a a swinging single, you know. Yeah, I just beat out because, you know, the third baseman was a fat ass. So, that was that was a scouting report. That was Yeah. So, anyway, towards the weakness, legend, I understand. But I I pretty much knew that if I had to do that for a living, I was going to not eat very well. But back then, they only they didn’t have as many teams, right? So you say, “Oh, they drafted everybody.” But there weren’t as many teams to draft player, right? No. You know, and the other part of it was they really in those days, I mean, baseball got so many of the top athletes. Really? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, guys would choose to play baseball over football and basketball in those days. Legend, you you uh you look like a a a middle infielder to me. You’re a second baseman or third baseman. Where’d you go? You know, through high school, I played mostly shortstop. See, middle infielder. Oh, yeah. I see. I I I had honestly I had good hands and and everything, but just arm of a probably a 9year-old girl. But other than that, uh but accurate, right? Accurate, baby. Pepper. Pepper the chest. The letters, huh? Oh my goodness. Uh Jerry Reynolds with us. Jerry, could the Kings have the greatest summer league team ever assembled? I think there’s a chance. Uh you know, like I touched the other night, I mean, the Celtics and Lakers, they worry about those banners for championships, but the Kings aren’t, you know, they might just get a get a total control this summer league stuff. Yeah. Start start hanging banners right and left. That was a nice opener. I mean, as far as those things go. Yeah, it was uh the rookies looked solid. You know, obviously Renault was just terrific early and uh you know, certainly showed a lot of potential and then uh Clifford late I thought uh there again when the game was on the line made made some nice plays. So, you know, you you you had to like what you saw with the rookies and you know, obviously Carter was disappointing, but uh I know, you know, fans want to throw him over overboard already. I like I say, that’s what summer league is for. And uh let’s see how it goes the remainder of the summer league. That’s what I would say. Legend, as a as someone that’s been around the game in so many different facets of the game, when it comes to summer league, what would you or you know, your staff or you the front office, you being part of the front office, what would you guys employ on the players? Would it be, you know, five key things? Would it be one thing for per player? Is it you’re trying to, you know, uh uh put put the infrastructure in of an offense scheming? What what kind of went into the planning of summer league? Well, I think a lot of it depend on who you drafted and and how many, you know, young players you had in your summer league? I mean, if it it was a case of uh I always remember with Hedo Turku, he was really the only key drafty. And so, you know, the rest of summer league team quite honestly were guys probably didn’t have much interest in really other than uh and so everything was built, you know, offensively to make sure that Hedo got a lot of minutes and got a lot of touches and and a couple of different positions, you know, so you wanted to immediately find out, you know, uh get some idea what we might have there. And uh you know, and to Hedo’s credit, he showed it pretty clearly. He He was good. Mhm. Um Jerry, we have no idea what the Kings front office thinks of Devin Carter. We assume they like him for what it’s worth. Jay and I agree that he’s a young asset that you know, you you want to play the long game with him. But that said, you being among other things a scout. Um how much would it uh improve his chances of sticking if he can a shoot better and then b learn to play on the ball a little bit more? Well, I think it his career is almost that determines his career, I would say. I mean, he’s really going to have to be a play I call it more of a lead guard in today’s game as opposed to a point guard. You know, the days of uh you heard you guys talking Rondo or uh John Stock and those it’s a different game now. Yeah. the that position calls for scoring as well as leadership and playmaking and and I and I think for for Carter at his size doesn’t mean he has to be has to be his best position but I think he for him to have any kind of a long career he’s going to have to be able to play a both guard positions I would say with some productivity joined by the legendary Jerry Reynolds legend I apologize ologize about asking you, not so much as direct questions, but you’re a gray mind and I want to learn from this. Uh, you know, I’m kind of a little bit across the board with this, but as far as we’re talking about, uh, a guy like Devin Carter or Max Rayard or we talking about Nick Clifford and you talked about how Hedo, you know, you would give him opportunities leaving from the summer league. Could you take anything away from the summer league like where you could just really pin it into your pad and say we really like this or we really don’t like that and this is pretty much what it is knowing you can always change it but this is pretty much how we’re locking him in and this is how we believe he can play. I I think you you know really what you would come out of with is is exactly that some some idea you think yeah this guy’s going to be good enough you know and you never know how good or or if he he’d reach that I mean but you you’d come out of it thinking yeah he can play you know he’ll be able to play don’t know how much don’t know if he can be a star type don’t you know those things you just can’t you can’t know unless it’s uh you know I don’t know Blake Griffin or as a, you know, summer league or something like that that just you knew was going to be awfully good. But, but I I do think you want to come out of it in a guy’s first summer league if you’ve drafted them especially highly. uh that yeah, you can visualize plugging them in and playing them in in the regular season and then then hoping that well maybe you know that that there is more to it that maybe they can reach you know some star level. You know, you have to be careful though because I always say I mean I always remember Spencer Halls and Jason Thompson as rookies and you know they were just marginal pros but they had career long careers but they were outstanding in summer league. Shock and Haw, right? Isn’t that what you guys used to call them? Shock and Haw. Yeah. I I sold that like a a total shill but not not one of my prouder moments. I’ll say legend. To follow that up, I jump in front of Whitey. Could it be the opposite? Could you come away from the summer league just absolutely knowing? And I’ve heard, you know, we’ve heard the rumors of uh uh why am I blanking? From Kansas. My goodness. Uh Thomas Robinson, right? Excuse me. Thomas Robinson. Well, we’ve heard a from the very beginning, a lot of NBA scouts looked at and say that’s just not going to work. Could you come away from the summer league knowing? Yeah, this is this this this going to be uphill battle. I gotta be honest with you. I I mean really I’ll never forget the first practice and uh saw him walk through the door and you know and of course he’d been one of those guys we hadn’t had in for a visit because his agent, you know, he’s supposed to go second, you know, one of those guys that slipped, you know, he was supposed to be 610 and walked out. I said, “Damn, he might not be 6’8. power forward, you know, and then the practice started and you I got to be honest, you know, I there was a lot of crestf falling people. You didn’t know that he couldn’t play, but you knew he wasn’t, you know, you pretty well knew there wasn’t a stardom there. You know, it’s not to say, you know, some guys get off to a slow start and get, you know, I and I think he could have if he had understood the one thing he could do was rebound on the defensive board. He was really in a good, but he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to be, you know, slick Dick McGick, you know, he wanted to, you know, and so so you know, you know, he just played himself out of the league, you know. Yeah. Slick Dick was a good player. I mean, right. Slick. Yeah. Well, he had his moment. Well, we’re having fun on a Friday with of course uh Jerry Reynolds. They the Kings, Jerry, they did still run a lot of DHL dribble handoff stuff yesterday. Now, you know, it’s summer league. Does that mean that the dribble handoff is likely to continue to be part of the offense or or do you not install your your offense until camp? I mean, I was thinking they’re going to go away from that as yesterday indicate maybe they’re not going to go away from that. Well, I think it’ll always be part of it. I think more and more teams use it. Not as well as the Kings did some years ago. Of course, Domas is better at it than probably just about every center. Uh but, you know, that’d be like saying, “Are we are we not going to see the high screen and roll?” Well, of course you are. And and the draw and kick and everybody. So, so that’s that’s a staple these days. I I was kind of interested as much as anything. uh even though it’s summer league just to see the defensive pressure and I thought uh you know credit to the coaches and everything but they were picking up getting into guys and uh you know you that’s kind of thing you hope continues and when the the main guys are involved but uh yeah it uh yeah from an offensive scheme you know couple of practices you’re not going to put in exactly an offense you you’re going to spread the floor and try to play out of things, legend, when you uh you take a look at some of the other ball uh some of the players that played last night, I I really thought Isaac Jones would try to jump off the uh the map. Isaiah Crawford might put put his foot forward. What’s your thoughts on some of the others like the Isaiah Crawford’s and Isaac Jones? I I was uh kind of expecting more to be honest. Uh you know, I thought they you know, they kind of blended in maybe more than they should have. I I I like say I was expecting more productivity out of those guys. And here again, it’s a little bit like Carter. I don’t want to, you know, it’s one game. It’s a some one summer league game. So, let’s uh you know, at the end of it when they played four or five games or maybe six or something, you’ll you’ll have enough minutes and stats to to maybe make a you know, some sort of a legitimate uh uh opinion. and as opposed to I, you know, I just think it’s too early. It’s kind of like with the rookies who were good last night, but maybe they won’t be when it’s over. Or maybe they’ll just get better and better. We’ll just have to see. Jerry, I got to ask you about this. There was a player on Oklahoma City who in the summer league game against the Nets, um, there was a jump ball at one end and he got the tip and he scored on the wrong basket. Have you ever in your time as a coach that ever happened to a player you coached? And also the player’s name was Eric Reynolds. Is it any relation? It sounds like some of my relatives might do. You know, there’s some uh there’s some slow learners back in the history of the family. But uh no, I no no relation. And and I’ve seen it uh you know, I’ve seen it in high school several times. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it in college or pros, you know. So, uh, now having said that, if if if the player would get credit for four points scored, there’s a lot of guys probably I’ve been around that would gladly go on the other basket if they could, it would count for him. Remember Ricky, I think it was Ricky Davis went and shot at the wrong basket and missed on purpose because he wanted to get the rebound. Yeah, that wasn’t that wasn’t one of the NBA’s finer moments. And uh hey, by the way, I did hear you guys talk about Kyle Draper talking to some agents or something. Yeah. I was thinking, you know, the the only reasons that that an agent would be, you know, kind of doing something like that is number probably number one, he doesn’t have any offers for his guy anywhere. Yeah. Yeah. uh he and or even if he does and it’s terrible and he’s trying to, you know, Yeah. basically use whatever he can to create little interest to to uh to kind of play one against the other. And of course, by that time, he’s already figured out that Scott Perry ain’t taking their calls. So, it does seem So, tell D to keep working though. You know, it might seems like you’ve been a part of something like this, huh? Legend. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I I know those people. Let’s Let’s just call them Lakers. Laker agents. Yeah. Yeah. That Yes, they’re all Laker agents when you really get down to it. Uh Jerry, speaking of all this intrigue, uh would you, if you were the Kings, would you have uh any interest in Jonathan Kuminga at this point? Well, I I would for the right deal. Mhm. uh he’s young, he’s talented, you know, he’s he hadn’t been a fit there, but he clearly could score the ball and and I mean it if in fact the Kings ever want to get younger and stuff, uh you know, he’s uh but like I say, for the right deal, I I the idea of, you know, trading young talent that the Kings have plus first round picks, things like that for him, I wouldn’t do that. Legend just point blank period. Who is the backup uh wing three for this team? That’s a great question. Uh I mean it might be a neat Clifford at this stage. Wow. Uh you know, and he’s that’s he’s really small for that. I But I think you know that’s really a an issue. I mean they clearly need another long wing. Yeah. you know, but uh I mean obviously Keegan can play two spots, but he can’t play both at the same time. And uh so they I mean obviously with with D Rozan and that’s really probably not his natural position either. Mhm. So I mean you would kind of like somebody longer and more athletic than Demar at that position, right? So yeah, this a well I heard you guys talking about I mean I think they’re clearly aware that the roster’s unbalanced and uh you know I think probably 98% of the fans who go to Kings game would agree. Mhm. Um I know uh that um Jay has his flashback question for you. Before we get to that, I don’t know if you heard this, Jerry. We were talking about that that poor guy on the Thunder that scored on the wrong basket, and we were talking about the most embarrassing moments that we’ve had in our uh sports careers. And I was wondering for you if it might be that time that you and your brother uh were in the high school game and you didn’t pass it to him and your mother got angry at you. Would that would that be the Well, I wouldn’t say that’s the most embarrassing, but it was plenty embarrassing. It’s not especially when I got home. Uhhuh. Cuz I I stole the ball. Yeah. And and my brother was out. He was slightly ahead. Maybe. Well, he says he’s way ahead, but it made no difference. There wasn’t anybody else out there. And I just said, I stole it. I’m going to score it. Yeah. and and then we got into a little sort of a tiff, you know, a little cussing and things on the court and and during the game, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. We didn’t want to waste time. Get straight to it. If you’re going to make fool of yourself, you don’t need to, you know, waste time and and so so mom uh we got home. I mean, yeah, she kind of read the ride act. I mean, pretty much at me for some reason. You made the steal, you get the sugar. That’s what didn’t that make sense to you guys? I mean, he was a sophomore. I was a senior. I was, you know, come on. He was just I said, you know, you’re still you probably shouldn’t even be on the verse. This is my team. You’re fitting in with me, brother. I like I like where you coming from. Yeah. Speaking of It’s funny that you went that way, Whitey. So, I have two two questions here. We’ll start with the uh the first one that we’ve been talking about, but my second one kind of has a resemblance to that leading down to uh your brother and being back home, the summer league. We were talking to Henry Turner and I remember the summer league kind of starting in the late 90s. HTT was like, “No, I played in the summer league in Utah.” We went back and seen it was the Rocky Mountain review, which was like, “Oh, yeah. I I remember that.” Do you have any fond memories or any any thoughts on summer league like in the 90s and being in Utah or early on when it was in Orlando? Well, yeah. You know, at one point or time we’ve kind of been in all of them and I’ve been in there’s one in Long Beach for a few years. Uh but the Utah thing was the best I thought until Vegas. you know, they really ran it well and especially when they they started it playing at East High School. Wow. And then uh then they finally moved to the what the Delta Center and that was then it was great then because it’s comfortable and air conditioned and everything but the crowds were good and uh yeah it was uh you know for years that was that was the one and I mean they had others but that was the one where you’d have at least probably 16 teams or more every year. And then uh like I say, Vegas then. Uh I guess it was probably the early 90s. I I think uh it it I’m pretty sure it was cuz I remember us being in the uh in the Utah camp or the Utah league and and Jeff asked me to to go down to Vegas cuz they they had like eight teams in it then were just starting. Warren Legary was the guy running it. Still is I think and I said just see how it is because it seems like a lot of teams are going in there next year. It’s you know just see what you think of it. I did and I said really great facilities you know they had use both place or we’re going to use both places and uh said other than being 110 degrees it’s it’s great. It’s a win. Wow. Yeah. That’s interesting man. That’s the beginning right there. You want to know if something’s worth the order or not, you send Jerry and the legendary Jerry Reynolds. Well, of course, he may have just wanted to get me out of out of the hotel. I don’t know. I didn’t want to say that. I know you guys are being nice, but I mean, Jeff was so tired of me. He said, you know, go somewhere. Legend, my uh my my throwback question is obviously French Lick, Larry Bird, Jerry Reynolds. Jerry Reynolds being number one. Of course, coming from French Lick. Yeah. I I’m pretty sure you’ve told this story. I feel like I’ve never heard it from you. I would imagine you have great insight. How in the hell did Larry Bird wind up at Indiana State compared to all the other colleges that were coming knocking on his door? Do you have any information on that? Oh, yeah. I mean, he he actually uh wanted to go to Kentucky and they but they decided not to recruit him and they thought he was Yeah. and and he always had, you know, I mean, he’s never forgot it either, by the way, but he was recruited then he went to Indiana originally for with coach Knight and then uh you know, I think that just this he was kind of he didn’t never really wanted to go there, but the town almost demanded it, you know, it was during you know, Indiana watches, you go uh you know, it’s your duty. That’s right. Civic duty. And so he went there and it he he just said I didn’t fit and uh you know the coach Knight wasn’t exactly the most pleasant guy to be around at that time uh for a freshman you know and so he dropped out of school and uh laid out and I always remember worked on a with the uh like oh the community uh maintenance crew garbage truck and did stuff like that and uh cuz I remember spent a lot of time with that doing that and then uh he but he’d made his mind up and uh that he was going to go to Indiana State and uh then and and so you know cuz I’m I’d be reason I’d kind of stopped to visit with him. I just wanted to see if what he was thinking cuz I I said I knew he’s too good, you know. I mean, he he I didn’t know he’s going to be what he was, but I knew he’s way too good not to not to continue his career, you know, and uh so that was kind of that. But, uh yeah, you know, he was uh kind of kind of unique. He he’d actually went to a junior college locally there, Northwood Institute really, and was Yeah. He was there about two weeks. got in a fight and they kicked him out. Larry Larry uh you know he he sometimes he can be a little irassable. You ain’t you ain’t ever try to recruit him to Rockhurst? No. No. You know I did I did try to recruit him to West Georgia when I was down there. Okay. because I was there and I’d uh recruited and because I’d had a his high school teammate Danny King and I’d placed him in a junior college and then I he was going to come there and but then I decided to go to Rockhurst and uh so Danny left to go to Indiana State and that was part of the that was also part of the reason that Larry went and uh and so Danny was a couple years older but uh yeah I actually uh and I I think Larry would tell you this. I was the first coach to ever try to recruit him. Wow. I I’d sent stuff to him his junior year through my brother, a lot of recruiting stuff because he was, you know, he was 6’3 and 160 pounds, you know, but I knew he was going to be good enough for us. Uhhuh. I didn’t know he was going to be grow four more inches that year and then two more after that. But I I you know I saw him just play once that year in high school. But I I’d never seen anybody pass like that. That was the thing. I mean his pass well you know still he might be the best passing small forward ever but uh probably is but uh so anyway that’s there those kind of stories I could probably tell you forever. But but it was it I know it meant something to him that that I was the first to try to recruit him. You know that Jared Reynolds under under the bug. Look, he he was passing it through his brother. Well, if id have known he’s going to be that good, I’d have really kissed his butt. You know, I thought I kind of that time I Well, I think he’s going to be good. I think I thought I was doing him a favor, you know. He should have with uh in blue chips Nick. He should have passed the tractor. He should have sent the tractor over his way. Yeah. Yeah. Well, anyway, yeah, but it was an interesting time for him and and and I’m in a tough time, you know, and and like I say, uh it uh the Indiana thing, you know, who knows how that would have worked, but I always felt that probably going to Indiana State allowed him to to really be the superstar that he became, you know, because they had to build everything around him. Not sure that Knight would have done that. Mhm. Yeah. Jerry, I I gotta ask you. I know. Do you have a moment? I mean, are we taking up too much of your time? No, I got no life. You know that. We’ve been talking this week about the 40 greatest moments in Kings history for 40 years of Sacramento. And I’m remembering that game. I wasn’t here, but I’ve heard about it. The night where Larry came in and I it might have been the first building. I think it was Arco 2. He missed a couple free throws late and you guys won and then he I think it was after that that he said Sacramento fans were the best fans in the NBA. Yeah. You know, he he missed two free throws. We won the game. I always tell him I said, “You really gagged on those, didn’t you?” And uh so but uh but the most important thing of that night was he had to buy the beer all night. And uh of course the other side of that is the last time he ever had to. That was a That was just a And of course I always remembering though he told me though too we you know probably had three or four more but anyway he told me he said well yeah we lost this one but he said Portland’s going to pay I may get 50 on them. Uhhuh. And he didn’t he only got 47 or something next. Incredible. Thank you coach. We appreciate it. It’s always great catching up. Always great talking to you guys and keep keep the baseball stories going. J, I appreciate you, Legend. And why do you and Jay try to try to keep Kyle out of the agent business? We will. We’ll do. We definitely will. Have a good weekend. See you guys, Jerry. Yeah.

Sacramento Kings legend Jerry Reynolds joined the Drive Guys today to talk about his thoughts on the Kings new rookies, should we be worried about Devin Carter, and how much stake should we put in Summer League as fans.

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