Chris Mannix: Is Sabonis the Right Fit for the Kings Long Term?

Chris Mannix: Is Sabonis the Right Fit for the Kings Long Term?

supports, you know what I mean? Other than his own pockets. Here it is. Chris Manx. How are you, Chris? What’s going on, guys? What’s up, Manx? Hey, did you study up on Sacramento Kings stuff like I asked you to? This ain’t a a Boston Celtics friendly show here. We’re talking Kings here, Big Bell. You study up on a league that I cover on a regular basis, Draper. And I know it’s a Kingscentric show. I saw you in Vegas walking around with your Sacramento Kings gear basically hoping that someone would recognize you in either Thomas and Mac or Cox. Like you’re one of those guys like you’re on Cameo, aren’t you? I bet you’re on. Damn Skippy. I’ve made a couple of thousand dollars off of Cameo. That’s a good Cameo. Hey, can we clip this? I’mma use this as part of an ad, a commercial or something. Get the word out there. Uh Chris, uh what were some of the things besides seeing Kyle Draper everywhere that stood out to you about summer league so far? I I I I’m very intrigued by Yang Hansen and I I was I was killing the pick when it happened. Um because I had sent some, you know, when it happens like I don’t know a lot about this guy. I sent a few text messages to people that cover the draft process and I didn’t get a lot of enthusiastic responses. you know, basically people saying he’s kind of a backup big, he’s got a limited skill set, blah blah blah. I don’t think those people really studied him well enough. Just watching him play in I think I saw about two and a half games with the Blazers during summer league, the last one on Tuesday, um there’s real skill there. Like he’s 7 foot something, can shoot the three. Uh is a natural passer. I saw him make some very yokichi arvida sabonisy passes from the top of the key. Uh he’s just got to sound like obviously he’s 20 years old physically especially with his upper body he’s got to get a lot stronger. Uh but I think there’s a player in there and I’m really curious to see how that played out. The other guy I I watched a lot because I’m I He’s a guy I can’t believe so many people passed on like Jani Broom who Philadelphia scooped up at 35 steel. I was I’m telling you I I don’t get a lot right but I was banging the drum on Jani Broom for the months before the draft. Like this was the runner up to national player of the year. a guy that can play off the dribble, play through the post, looks NBA ready, which as you guys know is I mean that is like the most coveted commodity. If you can get a cheap NBA ready player for a contending team, that’s a no-brainer. He go all the way to 35 with Philadelphia. He’s shooting 45 and a half% from three in summer league. If he can get even close to that in the NBA, it be part of the Sixers rotation next year. I I I couldn’t believe that so many teams looked at his age. He’d be 23. I think today I think today’s his birthday. Um he’s going to be 2 23 years old. That’s why teams passed on him. He he is going to be a player in this league. To me that’s a second round steal. I’m with you. And and the thing about it, you recited the numbers, Chris, but when you watch him shoot that three, he looks comfortable out there. You know, the shot looks good. No hesitation. With that being said, Chris, you know, you you mentioned the steals. You know, we didn’t get to see Ace Bailey a whole lot. We only saw Cooper flag a couple of games. BJ Edgecom was banged up as well. What about the top of the draft? Who’s standing out and what stood out to you about the top of the draft? Well, let me first say that like load management at summer league is just weird like you know the these guys should be playing every single game and then they can go home for two months and wait for, you know, training camp to start. Um well, let me start with Bailey. Like I I’ve talked to a lot of Jazz people about Ace Bailey and and to say they’re enthusiastic about his potential is is an understatement. They they do think that the offense is going to be a work in progress. He’s really raw on that end of the floor when it comes to understanding concepts and, you know, finding his own shots. But they think defensively he’s going to be able to come in and play right away. I mean, I watched a little bit on TV of the Utah summer league. He had some blocks in that that summer league that were really impressive. like and and if you’re the Jazz like like maybe someone like Jeremiah Fears is going to be a player, but you couldn’t you just couldn’t take someone like that at this stage of your development. You need a potential franchise player. And I think Ace Bailey um is a potential franchise player if everything about him pans out. And look, I I did a cover story on Cooper Flag. I spent a lot of time with him and his family over the last couple of months. I I think he’s really special. like he’s one of those guys, you know, Brian Scalabbrini, your pal, Kyle, um he called him a supercomputer, you know, and he worked with him extensively in Boston. He said he’s got the same kind of mind that a LeBron James has where he’s able to take information, process it, implement it. Uh I think by the second half of this season, Cooper Flag’s been playing at a pretty high level. That’s why when, you know, I always look at that team and say if Kyrie comes back around the All-Star break and Cooper Flag develops in the way I think he’s going to develop, you know, that’s that’s a team to watch in the postseason this year, not just in the 26th 27th season. Wow. That’s Chris Manx from uh Sports Illustrated. Chris, I don’t know how much of the Kings at Summer League you you’ve gotten to see, but based on the way they’ve played, you you pencil the Kings in for 50 55 or 60 wins this regular season. you know, uh, I saw a little bit. Um, I I don’t know I don’t know if any of the guys I saw are going to be playing for the Kings necessarily, uh, you know, during the regular season. Look, I mean, Sacramento’s got it’s a good team. It’s just in a conference of killers. Yeah. Where where all the teams that finish behind Sacramento, save one or two, are are looking to make moves this year. You know, I mean, the Pelicans, I watch Dark Queen play. He I know he just got injured and is going to be out for a few months, but he looks like he’s got some some game to him. We know San Antonio is making moves. Portland, you know, putting the Lillard deal aside, you know, they expect to be in the mix next year with the development of some of their guys. I mean, I just think it’s it’s such a rock fight every single night. And while I like some of the talent in Sacramento, obviously Zach and Demar can can play and, you know, you know, Malik Monk can play. Uh I I just I I don’t know. I I don’t know. it’s going to be really difficult to do anything but kind of battle for one of those playin slots uh at the end of the season. It’s not a knock on some of the guys they have. It’s just you’re in if you’re in the Eastern Conference, you’re a playoff team. I mean, it’s kind of the way it is. But in the Western Conference, man, the the team that finishes 13th might be the fifth seed in the East. That’s how how good the conference is compared to his counterpart. Chris Manx joining us. Chris, when you look at Scott Perry, uh, his draft, you know, bringing in Dennis Shruder, obviously, you know, he’s been around the league for, you know, a couple of decades. What do you make of the Kings hiring him and the task at hand for him trying to turn this thing around? Yeah, I like Scott. They did a credible job in New York, uh, when he was there. I covered him more, uh, out there. He’s got experience, multiple teams within the league. Um, so I think it’s a good solid hire for the Kings. I mean, Schroeder, he kind of is what he is. What how many number of teams is this for Dennis Schroer? This like 10. Like he’s he’s he’s been around the block. He He kind of is what he is. Like if you give him the ball and allow him to get up, you know, double digit shots, he’s going to get you double digit points. Like that’s that’s sort of who he is at this point. He can make some defensive stops as well. So he’s a nice little fit there. But, you know, this is a team I think that has some big decisions to make in the next, you know, couple of years. you’ve got a a veteranladen roster that that clearly has a ceiling, you know, a ceiling to it. Uh you still need, you know, a real point guard the long term. Uh is Sabonis the right fit for this team long term? There’s going to be a lot of of, you know, a deep analysis that Scott Perry and his new staff are going to have to do on this team and decide if it’s the kind of group that you want to continue to add on to and build around or is the kind of group that you look to, you know, unfortunately tear down and and try to build back up again. What’s your uh thoughts on that, Chris, in terms of, you know, tearing it apart sort of like Utah did uh some of these other teams or, you know, sort of like Miami, try to stay relevant and build on the fly. What’s your take on that? It it’s I don’t like the Miami approach. Um I know the Heat have had success with it. I think you’ve got to go one of two directions. Either you’re trying to win a championship or you’re trying to break it all apart to to rebuild the next championship team. Um, you know, I don’t know off top of my head, I don’t have this Kings draft capital, but, you know, I think they’ve got a lot of their picks in the in the future. Yeah. They have they have their number ones for the foreseeable. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, if you have that, like they’re not in a Milwaukee situation where, you know, you don’t have control of your own first. If you have control of your own first, it gives you options. I mean, I’m just being honest, looking at this objectively, I you know, D Rozan in his 30s, Sabonis a good player, but can can you win with his limitations defensively, the lack of a true point guard on the roster? I I don’t I don’t know. I think if you got to look around the league and say if there’s a market for a Sabonis, if there’s a market for a D Rozan in a potential deal, I think you got to look long and hard at it. I mean, look, the the Jazz are in a tough spot. And look, I know Danny Ames is going to be beyond frustrated at the team’s lack of lottery success over the last couple of years. I mean, they were just hanging Cooper flag jerseys outside that building, you know, during the season. They were really hoping to get their hands on him. But you you got to have franchise type players. And I I don’t look at the Kings as being a team that I mean, Zack Lavine kind of is, but beyond that, they don’t really have that guy yet. And to compete, not just in that conference, but for a championship, it’s it’s difficult. Look, and Scott Scott has kind of a blank slate here. He’s he’s coming in, he didn’t do any of the things that that got the Kings, you know, to this point. It’s got to be incredibly disappointing for Kings fans that were part of that 46 win season that you know that they they they rose up the the playoff racket the playoff rankings did really well like to to see it in this position now has got to be incredibly frustrating but you know sometimes you got to make tough decisions and I think Scott may be faced with making some really tough decisions. Chris Manx we always appreciate your time and just so you know you know Drapes takes shots at you here and there but when you’re going to come on he’s so excited. Oh my god. Chris Manx is going to come on. So, just so you know, no matter what he says, he gets very excited when you’re going to come on. What What’s What’s the cameo go for? 99 cents. What are we What are we raising, dude? I think I’m at like 50 bucks now, bro. Like, there is no way I would pay $50 for any kind of message from you. Just to be clear. That’s messed up, man. I know you miss me out there. You miss me in Boston. I know you do. I I know you do. It’s all right, man. Thank you, Chris. You got it, guys. That’s tough. That’s tough. See, he’s he’s messing me up. I may have to lower my price now after dealing with this guy. Jeez.

Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Boston joins the Drive Guys to talk about the future of the Kings in the West, the steals of the draft, and who to look out for as summer league continues.

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