Addressing the Indiana Pacers’ Success & the Sabonis/Haliburton Trade | Locked On Kings

Addressing the Indiana Pacers’ Success & the Sabonis/Haliburton Trade | Locked On Kings

in just their second full season with Tyrese halberton at the helm the Indiana Pacers are headed to the Eastern Conference Finals which is reignited conversation around the halberton Damon sabonis trade from 2022 how has the Pacers success changed the narrative around that deal if at all we’ll discuss right here on lockon 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 lockon Kings your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all offseason long today’s episode is brought to you by prize pick prize picks is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prix.com on NBA and use code all lowercase locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 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 I already know what a lot of you are going to say in the comment section I already know what a lot of you Sacramento Kings fans and lockon Kings listeners are thinking Matt why even bring this up why even address this this trade is years upon years upon years old and we’ve talked about it frequently over the course of the last couple of years most recently the last time we had a conversation about halberton sabonis and that trade was essentially me saying it’s try time to put the conversations to bed and in a lot of cases that’s true however as long as these two players are continuing to play they will always be connected through this trade and with the Indiana Pacers is making it to the Eastern Conference Finals it’s no surprise that this topic is coming up again I am not here on the lock on Kings podcast today to change my tune but I also do believe that if I’m going to speak openly about the the success of the trade for the Sacramento Kings from their perspective and from our perspective when things are going well for Sacramento and things weren’t going well for Indiana when the flip the script is flipped and the kings are out of the playoffs and the Pacers have made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final me not talking about it is in my opinion not the right thing to do look I’ve been wrong about things many many many times many times those of you who have listened to Lon Kings for for a while or even for a little bit know how often I’ve been wrong about things but let me make this perfectly clear for you I am not wrong about the Tyrese Halbert and deonis sabonis trade my Approach and my thoughts on this trade have always been this it was a necessary deal for both sides to make but especially from the king’s perspective it was the right move to make it is not a bad trade whether or not you want to declare a winner for the trade or not that’s really up to you look depending upon how you choose to watch the Indiana Pacers play if you choose it all from a king’s perspective it’s really up to you when you are ready to move on or ready to get over it right it’s like a breakup or a relationship right it is really on you to decide when you should move on now I have my opinions and my I think you should be in a state like I’m in right now where I can watch the Indiana Pacers play I can watch the Indiana Pacers make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and I can enjoy it one as a basketball fan and two as a fan of Tyrese halberton I actively root for Tyrese halberton I want him to succeed the only time I do not want Tyrese halberton to be successful is when he is playing the Sacramento Kings that comes from my appreciation of him as a player and that comes from my short time of being able to interact and work and cover Tyrese while he was here in Sacramento I wish nothing but the absolute best for the guy and I’m always rooting for the guy that being said does it suck to see Tyrese and the Pacers playing in the Eastern Conference Finals while the Sacramento Kings didn’t even make the playoffs this season after making it for the first time in over 16 years last season of course it does yes that sucks depending upon what you take from this conversations is up to you if if you if Tyrese’s success has reignited that frustration for you hey air it out reach out to me Matt George sack on Twitter or X if you’d like to you can email me Matt Georg Sports gmail.com I already know there’s going to be conversation about this in the comment section I have a lot of Indiana Pacers fans reaching out to me and coming after me on social media right now responding to a tweet that I’m going to read and respond to in a second but look if Pacers fans y’all here to take your Victory lap because your team is in these Easter Conference Finals go for it man congratulations you should be on Cloud9 right now you B just beat the New York Knicks game seven in Madison Square Garden you won back-to-back elimination games to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals now I’m not saying this to try and cut you down to size I think the Pacers are going to get rocked by the Boston Celtics I would have said the same thing about New York the the the Boston Celtics are not just the best team in the Eastern Conference in my opinion they’re the best team in the NBA they’re the team that should win the NBA Finals now should and do very different things right but I expect the Boston Celtics to come out of the East has nothing to do with my dislike of the Pacers or desire to see them fail because of my bitterness based off of a a trade from over two years ago right but look this is this is the this is what I tweeted out and again I think I think it’s important for me to bring this up and I think it’s important for me to reignite this conversation and talk about this because again if I’m going to talk about it and be vocal about it on the podcast and on social media when things are going well and it fits my argument or it fits my point but not do it when times are rough then I think that that speaks negatively on me as a commentator so here is the tweet that I put out there this was back in March of 2023 after it was announced that uh Tyrese halberton was going to miss I think the rest of the season or a handful of games with with an injury that he was dealing with last season I said t uh taking back the sabonis halberton terrible Kings Trade takes just by calling it an even trade isn’t good enough kings are third in the west Pacers are 12th in the East call it like it is before hlee got hurt Pacers were balling but this is a results League is winning this deal so at the time March 2023 there’s nothing wrong in that statement at all period sack was winning the deal if if you care about Winners in losers sack was winning the deal and in reality this was not a take to go at Indiana Pacers fans or or Tyrese halberton or anything regarding the Pacers this was a take addressing what has always been my biggest issue with how the halberton sabonis trade was received and that was the commentary especially nationally towards the Kings and towards that deal where the Pacers fleece the Kings and the Pacers get this future Superstar and Tyrese halberton and he’s absolutely B become that right halberton is absolutely a star no ifs hands or butts about it but the kings were fools the kings were idiots sabonis is overrated they’re never going to win immediately all of them were proven wrong with Sacramento’s instantaneous success but how did that narrative change for them they didn’t walk it back and go we were wrong we’re sorry what a great trade for the Kings you can still be excited about the Pacers but the Kings have turned themselves around and that trade was a massive part of it no that wasn’t what it was they walked it back by saying oh what a great what a great trade for both teams which it is it is a great trade for both teams honestly in NBA history maybe one of the most even win-win trades ever for both teams at the time this these comments were completely correct March of 2023 Kings the third seed heading into the playoffs the Indiana Pacers pretty much out of the playoff picture in their first full season with Tyrese halberton so I don’t know like the expectations weren’t for the Pacers to be a playoff team that year to be completely honest with you and that’s fine at the time those comments were correct and were accurate and were directed at the people who spoke nonsense about the Kings after that deal and then tried to walk it back without still giving the Kings credit or their their due Credit Now in May of 2024 the last line of that this this uh these comments and that tweet is what people are hung up on and I understand completely because I said Zack is winning this deal if you’re keeping score they’re not anymore first quarter kings were up second quarter Pacers are up big Kings didn’t make it out of the first round Pacers in their first playoffs trip under Tyrese halberton or with Tyrese halberton I should say have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals hey man I call a spade a spade I see it like it is I acknowledge it if you’re keeping score if you truly care who’s w or lost the trade as of right now the Indiana Pacers are ahead I could admit that while still not feeling wrong about saying that that trade for the Sacramento Kings was the right move to make just like the Pacers would say that that trade for them was the absolute right move to make and also the Pacers being ahead in the trade or or winning the trade right now because of they’re e they’re making it to the Eastern Conference Finals that doesn’t change how wrong so many pundits and commentators were about the Kings and that deal in the first place now unfortunately the success of the Indiana Pacers has also brought a lot of UR roaches out from underneath the floorboards saying see we knew all along the kings are trash with sabonis what a stupid trade for Monty McNair they should have traded dearon Fox blah blah blah blah blah y’all don’t surprise me one bit I mean y’all come out after every single King’s loss if damont sabonis is a halfway bad game anyway y’all been coming out all regular season wrong y’all are coming out and talking crazy when tyres halberton and the Indiana Pacers were making a run to win the inaugural uh inseason tournament y’all were talking crazy then so y’all want to keep talking y’all want to do your thing especially the Kings fans who feel that way if y’all want to be miserable and make yourself miserable just to be proven right hey be my guest go for it you can do whatever you want you can feel whatever you want if you still don’t like the trade you hate the trade and this is fuel to your fire all the power to you as of right now if you’re you care about winning or losing the deal the kings are losing it you happy it’s still the right deal for the Sacramento Kings to make and look context is important as well right I’m completely over the trade for a number of reasons one both Fox and halberton are thriving as the primary ball handlers on their team they didn’t have a ton of time in Sacramento to figure it out but from the time we got it clearly wasn’t working number two the Kings tro chose to trade Tyrese halberton for two reasons number one Tyrese halton’s value significantly higher than dearon Fox not because halberton was a better player than Fox at the time but because of halton’s upside and more importantly because of the money and the Team friendly contract that halberton was on and is still on versus dearen Fox had just signed his big deal at the time the other reason the Kings went out and finally got dearon Fox the big man that they’ve been trying to pair him up with his entire career that was what Marvin Bagley was supposed to be and he failed so they went out and got a center in damont sabonis who has made the All-Star team immediately should have made the All-Star team twice right was unbelievable this year shattering all sorts of Records yes the Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs this year but that was not because of damont sabonis and that was not because of this deal so all that context is still important you can celebrate what the tyres Halbert and Lead Indiana Pacers are doing making it to the Eastern Conference Finals you can feel bad seeing their success while the Sacramento Kings are sitting on their couches at home if you want to but because the Pacers are having this success led by Tyrese does not mean that that trade for Sacramento was a failure there are some things worth pointing out too and I’ll address these really quick and I I don’t mean to say these truly I do not mean to say these to piss off the Pacers or undermine what they do in fact I’m going to actively work while listing these things out to acknowledge the differences between the Kings and the Pacers situations but not use them as an excuse for or against Indiana right couple things worth pointing out number one the Pacers ran into two wounded teams in the playoffs they did now again I’m not using this as an excuse to tear the Pacers down or undermine their accomplishments because it is not their fault you have to beat whatever is put in front of you it is not the Pacers fault that ogan and Obi got hurt it is not the Pacers fault that jannis hpo didn’t play at round one it’s not the Pacers fault that uh Damen Lillard only played like half of that round one series that has nothing to do with Indiana they are charged with beating the team that’s put in front of them and they did it in two separate series including a game seven on the road in New York against a very game Nicks team I know OG anobi was a shell of himself at that point because of his injury but still they went in they got the job done I’m not taking anything away from them but that is worth pointing out the other another couple things this is a reality statement this is a fact not used to undermine the Pacers but to when you’re comparing the Kings and Pacers situations you have to talk about this the Pacers play in the East it is undeniable fact that the West is significantly harder than the East is undeniable that being said you put the the Kings and you put the Pacers in the same conference the Pacers had one more win than the Kings did 47 to 46 so by that standard the Pacers were ahead of the Kings this year who knows how it would have gone in the playoffs in that dream scenario but we don’t have to worry about that in reality the Pacers play in the conference they play it’s not their fault either they won 47 games and they’ve made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with two big Series wins I don’t know how they would have fared if they were out west taking on Western Conference teams in the opening rounds of the playoffs but building an argument based off of that hypothetical which is something I’ve seen people do on social media to defend the Kings those aren’t legs to stand on however again it’s important to point out they play in the East where 47 wins gets you a six seed in the west 46 wins was the ninth seed big difference in conferences finally the Pacers had to make a big addition at the trade deadline they did not the Pacers fault and anything this is credit to Indiana they recognize their weaknesses they recognize they still needed something so what’ they go out and do they went and got an NBA champion they got Pascal seaka they got someone who is a veteran who has experience in the playoffs brought them into this young core and said help us get there and once we get there help us succeed now of course the kings were involved in the Pascal SE yakum sweep Stakes it got pretty close they bowed out when they believed that Pascal would not resign in Sacramento Indiana went through credit to them they got the trade done but it is worth pointing out that the Indiana Pacers are having this success in the playoffs yes because of Tyrese halberton and he was excellent in game seven by the way against the New York Knicks he was unbelievable in that game but also Pascal SE yakum is leading this team and scoring 21 points per game during the playoffs they’re leaning on Pascal and his experience more in the postseason than they are at times leaning on Tyrese Halbert and at least for scoring that’s not to take anything away from Tyrese again I think it’s a feather in the Pacers cap they recognized a weakness they went out there and they filled it so if this is a Monty McNair versus whoever the Pacers GM is and I’m blanking on his name then I guess advantage to the Pacers GM he did what Monty didn’t wenton got an upgrade and it’s paying dividends for him if might sound like I’m arguing against myself I’m really not trying to argue anything my whole point to make it perfectly clear for you because you might be lost at this point my whole point is this the Pacers scenario is the Pacers scenario and they’re succeeding it sucks to see Indiana having more success than the kings are having that’s reality that’s real there’s no way to sugarcoat that but their scenario is very different than the king scenario the bottom line is this the Kings do not regret that trade they will never regret that trade unless suddenly damanda sabonis is horrendous and tyres goes on to win six straight NBA championships which is not gonna happen right the kings are not going to regret this deal even if the Pacers have more success in the long run the Kings will not regret this deal because it was the right move for them and the move that they had to make the Pacers certainly don’t regret the deal either both sides are fine I’m addressing it because it needs to be addressed it needs to be Revisited and once again put to bed but the one thing that always needs to be discussed in these conversations and the one cherry on top of this conversation is always this the comments around the deal at the time and still today are wrong they’re lwh hanging fruit and they are incorrect and invalid when tearing apart that deal for Sacramento you don’t have to like the deal but the deal has been successful and the things that people have said about that deal and how they’ve torn the SA Kings down while giving Indiana all the praise it’s always been wrong and for those people to now take this success for Indiana and take it and run with it and skew it to now go back and attack the Sacramento Kings y’all are in the wrong you are and I have no problem saying that no problem pointing that out as for you Pacers fans who are coming by to take your Victory laps or in my mentions on social media go ahead enjoy it have some fun and truly wholeheartedly best of luck against Boston you’re going to need it and I’m not saying that to wish ill upon you I’m rooting for the Pacers to beat the Celtics because I think that would be an awesome story but also Celtics in five that’s what’s going to happen that’s what I feel is going to happen hope I’m wrong but I’m not rooting against you I promise I’m not today’s episode of the long on Kings podcast is brought to you by Yahoo finance when it comes to your financial future you think you’ve done it all saved you’ve researched you’ve invested all that you can now you need to take all of those Investments to the next level by using what every Financial great uses which is Yahoo finance for more than 25 years Yahoo finance has been the brand behind every great investor whether you’re a seasoned investor or looking to uh get started and get that extra guidance Yahoo finance gives you all the tools and data that you need all in one easy to use place they are the number one Finance destination providing a whole list look at the financial news cycle including breaking news original editorial perspectives analyst ratings independent research customizable charts and so much more securely link your brokerage accounts for a unified view of your wealth including your 401k and other Investments a comprehensive perspective is what 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Kings or at least the smoke stacks and the rumors and the conversations surrounding the Kings at this early part of the off season and two very different well one’s actually a report and one is just some betting odds but two big men have been somewhat linked to the Sacramento Kings one in trade talks one in free agency we’ll go we’re going to break down both of these guys the first guy is Jonas Fallen chunis according to bada Jonas malunis is the betting favorite the oddson favorite are I I I let me flip that according to Bovada the Sacramento Kings are the betting favorite or oddson favorite to sign yonas Valen chunis who is a free agent now I saw this and my initial reaction was yes I love it I love it and that was my heart speaking not my brain I’m happy to say that because yonas valun is one I’m a fan of that kind of player right and in in some ways in in a lot of ways yonas Valen chunis is a big man that this king’s team could absolutely use absolutely 100% so I separated well by the way Jonas Valen chunis and dadus sabonis are teammates on the Lithuanian national team so that’s important to point out as well so I I separated this into the the heart and the head because they’re at odds with each other with theonis Valen chunis now ultimately I’ll tell you what side I’m going to go with and what side makes more sense to go with but here’s what the heart’s saying the heart is saying I love the idea of valunas in Sacramento largely because that means that that damand sabonis will not have to face yonas Valen junis right the New Orleans Pelicans were an absolute nightmare for the Kings to deal with this year valent chunis wasn’t the main part of that but he was a large part of it and how he defended damont sabonis how physical he was able to defend sabonis sabonis couldn’t necessarily bully valent chunis like he’s able to bully some other bigs in the NBA on top of that yonas Valen chunis provides a pent a paint presence and a physicality that disrupts guards attacking the ring him he’s just a disruptive physical big man now in terms of physical big men damont sabonis of course is one to the heart loves that if Jonas valent chunis came to Sacramento and teamed up with damont sabonis the Kings would have the most physical front line in the league period they would like these are two guys that have no problem pushing and shoving and getting involved and fighting down low and getting in a mosh pit a little bit if that’s what it takes to score the basketball or secure a rebound or get a defensive stop so you’re talking about a wall of just Lithuanian Force that’s what these two guys would be and I’m not going to lie to you the heart loves that physicality the Kings upping the physicality in the second half or really final third of the season is what made a big difference for the Kings defensively so the idea of having those two physical brutes on this roster yeah I like the idea of that plus the rebounding the defense his presence period the the screen setting there’s a lot to like about yonas Fen chunis on your team no matter who you are that being said the brain the head wins here right because as much as the heart likes these things the head is screaming at me how in the hell does that ever work from a basketball standpoint how the hell do you make damanda sabonis and Jonas valent chunis work together Lithuania is trying to figure that out but at the NBA level that’s a whole different question right how do you make that work on offense it is a spacing nightmare because Jonas Valen chunis is not a good three-point shooter he shoots barely over one per game and he’s like 30% three-point shooter damont sabonis was around 40% from three-point range which is good except he only shot around an attempt per game as well these are two guys that do not shoot the three ball maybe they’re capable of it but if you’re going to have these two playing together that probably means sabonis is going to spend less time around the rim and more time on the perimeter offensively not saying he can’t shoot more threes but it’s not his game a guy who’s already struggling with turning down mid-range jumpers and three-point shots at times is suddenly going to be more willing to take those open looks because he physically can’t go down low as much because yonas valent chunis is down there yeah offensively certainly doesn’t make sense as well as it just clogs up the paint in the middle for guys like dearon and Malik monk if he comes back and Keegan Marie attacking the basket offensively it’s a spacing nightmare the defense like we talked about would be physical would be fun it would also be slow I think du and mo talked about this as well on the DU and mo podcast recently and they hit the nail on the head right like physicality is good but in the modern NBA shooting and athleticism is extremely important and there are teams that have a lot of success like the Milwaukee Bucks for example playing Five out playing on the perimeter having their Center draw a big like sabonis or valent chunis out of the paint away from the rim and forcing them to defend on the perimeter the king’s perimeter defense is already slow and bad to begin with you add Valen chunis into the mix again the interior presence fantastic the perimeter not good so there’s an issue with that of course I’m not at all buying the idea of yonas funus is a backup center for a couple reasons one I think he’s going to cost mid-level money and I don’t know if you want to pay midlevel to above midlevel money for a backup center especially a backup center guys who’s going to be playing like maximum 15 minutes a night unless he is spending time sharing the floor with domas you’re not cutting damont sabonis is minutes for yonas Valen chunis and that’s not a that’s not to undermine Valen chunis at all because I think he’s a starting caliber Center in this league it’s because it’s redundant right why would you take away someone who is so largely responsible for your success and minimize his minutes just to get Valen chunis the minutes that he deserves or slightly the minutes that he deserves and avoid having the two of them share the floor together I don’t buy valent Tunis as a backup center the brain says this move does not work will not work Bovada you can have your odds and maybe they’re I don’t know where those odds come from if the Kings have interest in yonas valent Tunis I understand surface level reasons why but I don’t see a scenario where it ever happens so I’m kind of out on it my heart loves it but I’m kind of out on it but yonas valun is not the only big man that the Kings have been connected to recently the rumors are running wild I’ll share with you who that other big is in just a second today’s episode of the lockon Kings podcast is also brought to you by my great friends at sack yard Community Tap House I love sacyard so much I owe so much to sacyard this season this past season they were the first ever local sponsor that I had here on lockon Kings and I’m so thankful for them so blessed blessed to be able to have worked with them all season long got to host a couple of watch parties which were amazing got to host my first ever live podcast with Gary Gerald and Jerry Reynolds which was unbelievable they are fantastic and no matter what happens in our future if the partnership continues or whatever happens saakar will always be a frequent place for me to go to why because year round it’s the perfect place to either watch sports or just go and hang out with friends have parties bring my kid bring my family bring my dog right there’s there’s so many wonderful things for you to do it sack yard there outdoor patio is perfect year round during the winter time they have fire pits out there for you to go and chill out during the summer time right now even though it’s getting hot they have misters and Lawn games plus delicious ice cold beer for you on tap as well as some local wines for you to try plus they have their food as well delicious food there too if you go to sacyard I highly encourage you to do so make sure you mention lockon Kings you’ll get a 10% discount off of your tab by mentoring lockon Kings because sacyard is your official home of the Lockton Kings listener today’s episode of lockon Kings is also brought to you by FanDuel and right now y’all it is winner take all time in the NBA and the NHL the NBA Playoffs the Stanley Cup playoffs oh the action is going wild and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet all you have to do deposit $5 of your own money right pick a bet that is a massive favorite even if the payout isn’t good right find something that is basically as close to a guaranteed win as is possible bet on that you’ll win 50 cents for it or something like that but more importantly you’ll also get $150 in bonus bets right then and there and then you use that $150 to bet on spreads money lines player props and more visit fanduel.com logdon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel is America’s number one sports book so it’s a no on yonas valent Tunis for me but what about Jared Allen oh yes the Cleveland Cavaliers Center who unfortunately dealt with a lot of injuries here during the playoffs and during the latter part of the season so who knows what the Cavs could have been with Jared Allen healthy Jared Allen is potentially a name that the Sacramento Kings are interested in now this is according to a report from lockon Cavaliers host Evan deal he brought up in a in an article or he said somewhere I can’t remember exactly what it was he had talked to somebody with knowledge of the situation who believes that the Sacramento Kings have interest in acquiring Jared Allen all right so let’s like break this down like we did the yonas Valen chunis thing first off Jared Allen has owned $20 million a year over the next two seasons so $20 million next season $20 million the year after that that is a lot of money for a guy who is either gonna I mean there’s no way Jared Allen is backing up D montis sabonis again we’re talking like an All-Star caliber Center or former All-Star caliber Center so if you’re getting Jared Allen if the kings are really interested in getting Jared Allen it’s because they’re going to partner him with domos and domas is going to play the four let’s talk about before we dive into that let’s talk about just the money side of things the kings are also coming up on paydays for dearn Fox for Keegan Murray still trying to bring Malik monk back and you want to acquire a $20 million player at a position that you don’t necessarily need compared to some other positions okay there’s some hesitancy there let’s talk about the good like Jared Allen instantly instantly like that makes the Sacramento Kings a elite Rim protecting team on his own right his Rim protection skills are unbelievable he’s a shot blocker he’s a shot changer now there’s a very big difference between the two you get credit for shot blocks or I should say block shots in stat columns you don’t really get credit statistically for changing shots but being a good rim protector is not just blocking a lot of shots it’s changing a lot of shots making guards making wings whoever’s attacking the basket make them second guess or at the very least make their life a lot harder by cutting off their angles or just making them think about it making them hesitate a little bit right Jared Allen is that kind of guy Mike Brown is not the biggest fan of the shot block stat why because Mike Brown does not or he he recognizes that blocking a shot does not mean that you get possession a steal you get possession block shot you don’t get possession for so if the kings are going after J Jared Allen because they like him as a shot blocker I don’t necessarily buy that on top of that Jared Allen is an even bigger space nightmare with The Monto sabonis then Jonas Valen chunis is at least Jonas Valen chunis shot a three from time to time Jared Allen does not shoot period 0% from three-point range does not shoot the ball if he is in offensively he is around the rim now I love the idea of a Malik monk Jared Allen Twan game I’m not going to lie to you about that I think you could have some fun with that but you’re running into not just the exact same problem of the Allen sabonis pairing as you did with theonis Valen chunes the problem’s worse on offense defensively I love the possibility I love the rim protection I love the rebounding although sabonis and Allen would be fighting each other for rebounds that or Allen’s rebounding with plummet because sabonis is the NBA’s leading rebounder for the second straight year on paper on NBA 2K it sounds like a fun experiment in real life yeah it ain’t working look I don’t know if this is just fun offseason talk it probably is I don’t know if there’s validity to these reports if the base level is that the kings are interested in these players or like these players then I understand that to some extent because I like them too and there’s a lot to like about what they could bring to your team and they would address some needs that the Sacramento Kings have certainly but I not at all expecting either of them to be in a king’s uniform I’m not at all expecting the Kings to use the assets that they have to pursue those Jared Allen would have to be in a trade and I imagine the Cavaliers would move Jared Allen to open up cap space and to to go retain Donovan Mitchell and try and build around him a little bit better I don’t know their scenario in Cleveland is is a mess I’m not buying it right in fact if the Sacramento Kings this is one of the areas and I’ve talked about this before this is one of the areas of the offseason where I’m okay with the Kings running it back have damont sabonis spear starting center have Alex Len continue to come off the bench and back him up in the 10 to 15 minutes a night that he doesn’t play sometimes less than 10 minutes a night that he doesn’t play that I don’t think that’s broken I don’t think there’s an issue with that your issues in other areas so I don’t if if there if there are names the kings are connected to I’m here for Brandon Ingram I’m here for Jeremy Grant I believe those conversations these they’re fun to have on a podcast in in late may but that’s as far as they go in my opinion but hey you like the idea of valent chunis or sabonis or excuse me or Allen you let me know hit me up on Twitter atmt George sack email me mattj Sports atgmailcom let’s talk about them in the comment section down below if you like them if you enjoy those ideas we can have some fun and hash those out I promised you NBA Draft coverage and I’m giving you NBA Draft coverage tomorrow un lock on Kings Bobby Gerald the son of Kings radio broadcaster and legendary Gary Gerald he joins me every single offseason around draft time because he provides some of the D best draft coverage out there and of course he has Sacramento ties and he’s very familiar with the Kings and What the Kings need and what the Kings should do I love having Bobby on already had that convers ation with Bobby already recorded it it drops tomorrow I’m very excited about it and Bobby has some names he’s got names for y’all that I think you’ll like for the Kings to go out and potentially pursue so make sure you tune in for that episode Bobby and I will talk Kings draft coming up on the next episode of lockon Kings until then my name is Matt George you’ve been listening to the lockon Kings podcast part of the locked on podcast Network [Music]

Matt George shares his honest thoughts on the Indiana Pacers making the Eastern Conference Finals and the impact that has on how we look at the Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton trade.

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Addressing the Indiana Pacers’ Success & the Sabonis/Haliburton Trade
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCer6XxOVaMbmW2HBLpuLkzQ

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