SBNation.com User Blog: Evan A

KJ, other Kings up for Hall of Fame

Evan A — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:14:24 -0000

KJ, other Kings up for Hall of Fame

Several players in Kings lore up for the Hall this year: KJ, Vlade, Mitch, and Westphal. Thoughts?

FTM Night Idea (Caution: Light Game of Thrones Spoilers)

Evan A — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 03:09:46 -0000

First and foremost, I’d like to take off my figurative hat to the brains behind Fans Thank Maloofs Night. The event not only gives our fan base the opportunity to state our displeasure in a civilized and family friendly manner, but also allows for a showcase of our creativity and humor.

In the last few days, I’ve been wondering what exactly I would do at FTM night. I know my goals for the event are:

Make as many people as possible take notice that something strange is happening in Sacramento. My hope is their curiosity leads to some background reading about our plight and, ultimately, attention to our cause.
Make the Maloofs annoyed and perplexed.
Have fun.

With this in mind, I’m floating the idea that we do a group A Song of Ice and Fire parallel. We can dress in cheesy medieval attire and be Northerners rebelling against Southern Maloof injustice. For those of you who would feel uncomfortable at the game/walking through the parking lot dressed as such, at least it would kinda blend in with the Kings.

Sign ideas include:

-Lannisters Sit the Iron Throne (perhaps with photoshopped pictures of the Maloofs on Joffrey, Jamie, Cersei, Tyrion, etc.)

-The King in the North (with a picture of KJ)

-Relocation is dark and full of terrors (with David Stern’s face in a flaming heart)

If you would support such weirdness, discuss.

How the Maloofs plan on paying for this summer's free agent spending spree...

Evan A — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:04:21 -0000

How the Maloofs plan on paying for this summer's free agent spending spree...

This is not DeMarcus's Fault

Evan A — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 03:02:29 -0000

DeMarcus's reaction last night was, of course, very unprofessional to say the least. But this situation is indicative of a bigger problem that is absolutely not his fault.

This stems from the preferential treatment that Petrie and Westphal decided to give Reke last year. We all remember the team exceeded expectations at the beginning of last season, causing Petrie to get a very premature extension mainly predicated on him drafting a future star in Evans. Then the team started to come back down to earth. At that point, instead of concentrating on making adjustments to improve the team, the focus became pushing Reke for ROY as a means to legitimize the franchise and Petrie's extension. Making sure Reke got his 20 5 5 became more important than the final score. And to make sure Tyreke had the ball as much as possible, we traded Kevin Martin, one of the most efficient players in the league, for what is going to end up being nothing.

As a side bar, by drafting Tyreke but trading Kevin for a guy who is seemingly unsuited for the team's long term future, did we even move forward as a franchise? If you believe in PER, win share or any other stat, I would say no.

Then we draft DMC -- talent galore and competitive, but a guy who speaks his mind and is prone to outbursts (that is

being nice). What he is seeing here, a losing team with a lead guard that pounds the ball so hard he puts dents in the wood, is a lot different than what

he had at Kentucky -- a true pass-first point guard and a team committed to winning.

DeMarcus is not handling himself properly, but that should come as no surprise. Ultimately, this comes down to Petrie. Petrie drafted DeMarcus, which is defensible to say the least, but Petrie's real crime is making last year's team an AAU team with the primary goal of featuring Tyreke. No one likes playing with a guy who has been groomed to be a self-serving player. Sure Tyreke can help any team in the league, but he doesn't know how to make the players around him better, or when to say die when another coach has checkmated his, let's be honest, simple offensive arsenal. While other players are now used to this and have accepted it, DeMarcus is not and does not accept it. Good for him.

I can't even really blame Tyreke -- he is young and is really probably just trying to learn and lesson, as you'd want any young franchise player to be. But based on the concerns of his game, we as fans must ask what is he being told? He is not the reason we have been losing for the past several seasons. The reason for this losing, as well as our current roster of individual talents who do not mesh and the revolving door of coaches, is Petrie. He is the one constant.

We need a real front office that will not only consider character and chemistry when analyzing players, but also commit to establishing a culture of accountability and teamwork that is conducive to winning. I know everyone is going to jump to Petrie's defense and defend him based on the Webber years and the cap space he is incorrectly given credit for creating (remember that Jason Levien guy?), but enough is enough. We cannot risk another offseason, especially given our cap space and his recent record of signing the wrong free agents, with Petrie at the helm.

DeMarcus's reaction last night was, of course, very unprofessional to say the least. But this situation is indicative of a bigger problem that is absolutely not his fault.

Then we draft DMC -- talent galore and competitive, but a guy who speaks his mind and is prone to outbursts (that is

being nice). What he is seeing here, a losing team with a lead guard that pounds the ball so hard he puts dents in the wood, is a lot different than what

he had at Kentucky -- a true pass-first point guard and a team committed to winning.

NBA Power Rankings Reflection: Changing the Front Office to Right the Ship

Evan A — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:14:51 -0000

Marc Stein's new ESPN Power Rankings provide an opportunity for a vicious wake up today. The Kings have ended their free fall at terminal velocity and are now a dismal 30. You know, out of 30. John Hollinger also ranks the Kings at 30. This calls for reflection. (Edit: That’s 2 in a row we dropped to the Clippers, no one can argue with this ranking anymore)

Some may cry that the Kings have 3 fewer losses than the 4-17 Clippers, but their recent winning spurt and Thanksgiving beat down proved enough to propel the young Clips to 25. But this isn't about the Clippers, or any other franchise. It's time to review the front office.

As Stein notes, "The Kings are 15-55 since Geoff Petrie's contract extension was announced in December 2009 when they were 14-16." Petrie for the most part has been spared criticism, presumably because he was the architect of the beloved 1999-2006 era which we are all so familiar with. But it is time for Kings fans to stop looking the other way, and at the least evaluate what is wrong with the front office.

What worked in 1998-2006 isn’t necessarily going to work now, as talent evaluation has evolved. The biggest problem with the front office is the looseness of its structure. We don’t have a statistics department to probe the statistical nuances of the modern game. This clouds the organization’s judgment of its own players, prospective players to trade for, and most importantly draft options. For a team that has made so many moves in the last 5 years, and heavily depends upon the lottery for its current talent, this is completely inexcusable. To make matters worse, Petrie rarely works out several players widely considered to be within logical drafting range. I mean, if we’re going to be dependent drafted players to carry the franchise, the amount of energy devoted to the process better reflect the investment. Right now, it doesn’t. And that’s how we draft players like Quincy Douby and Spencer Hawes.

Which brings me to my next point, pressure on the budding stars. Yes, it is great that Tyreke Evans is the reigning Rookie of the Year. But when the season was lost last year, and the Kings face planted after the All-Star break, winning games took a backseat to making sure Tyreke got his. This gave the season some tangible success, but perhaps came at the cost of developing the team. Without working closely in the Kings organization, I can't say where this comes from for sure. But the coaching staff knew about it based on how much we played ‘Reke down the stretch, which makes me think it wasn’t completely the marketing department. The bottom line is in creating tangible success the franchise has put a nearly unbearable pressure on its young star. The same kind of attitude can be seen in the giant murals of DeMarcus Cousins. The kid is already under enough scrutiny as it is. Let him do something before you plaster his face all over the city and the arena.

There seems to be a sense that there are instant fixes out there if we can only figure them out. Players who can simply walk into the lineup with a skill set that will perfectly complement their teammate’s games and generate instant success. The front office seems to be searching for this component, as we have turned over the majority of players in the last season and a half. But many have not panned out, and when you sign a veteran support specialist who doesn’t do his specialty, and doesn’t nurture the younger players as a veteran should valuable playing time is sucked away from the young talent. You know, the young talent that we’re so dependent on. Pertinent examples include Ime Udoka, Luther Head, Darnell Jackson, and Antoine Wright. The organization is wasting an already tight budget so our future can rack up frustratingly few minutes, and in worst-case scenarios DNPs (see the revolving dog door Donte, Omri, and JT).

It’s catastrophic because if the team keeps doing this poorly there will be no chance of getting support for a new team. The rebuilding tag only works so long as there are no expectations. Cue this season, and our current power ranking. It’s not the players at this point. Or the coaching staff, although I have my own separate problems with them as well. The best thing to do is ride the storm out with all hands on deck. Let’s see if we can’t develop some chemistry by implementing a set rotation and letting young guys play with each other. And if and when the storm clears, it’s time to put nostalgia away and talk about replacing the captain, or at least the way the ship operates.