Takeaways from DeMar DeRozan intro presser with Sacramento Kings
Michael Jordan of Sacramento Kings beat Riders James ham um check him out at the Kings beat.com uh you were down at the demard D roen pressor yesterday you the assembled Kings media assembled Kings uh Personnel to watch the introduction of perhaps the biggest name free agent acquisition and I’m going to you know what let me pause right there I’m going to call this a free agent acquisition I’m gonna call it a free agent signing I’m gonna call it a signing I’m gonna I’m that’s just that’s what I’m going to do okay you call it what you want Kyle thank you I’m going to I understand that this was a trade that is on the T I get it the Kings moved Harrison Barnes and an unprotected first round pick swap to the Spurs and then they move Chris DTE in a couple of seconds and some cash to the Bulls and then they acquired demard rozan in that swap I get it it’s there I’m calling it a signing so if anybody has a problem with that go listen to something else okay that’s that’s fine Kyle because I I honestly believe at some point we do have to give them some credit for this being a free agent signing because that’s what it was the way that they courted him the way that they brought him in this was not a a standard trade this was having to roll out the red carpet and convince somebody that you’re the right team for them at the right time and that’s what they did with D rozan I thought it was it was interesting that uh there were a lot of either fans or King’s employees or employees of like local businesses there I’m not sure but it reminded me of like 1970s television where this this episode is filled in front of a live studio audience and you’re like okay like there was a laugh track man I it was it was very strange what an odd what an odd thing but I guess I mean it it deserves a little bit of Pomp and Circumstance just given what yeah the agency has meant in in Sacramento for ever I’ve been in Sacramento since 2008 2008 oh my God that’s so long ago uh 2008 I started doing media in Sacramento in 2011 and every year free agency was well kings are off the table who can they trade for who’s available what’s the draft look like like that’s always been what it is and the reason look the reason we’re going to call this a signing moving forward and we’re going to get into the press conference here in a second but the reason we’re calling this a signing is because demaro Rosen was a free agent this is not a player who was under contract with the Bulls and the Bulls said oh God we got to shed some salary let’s get rid of him and the kings were went oh us us us like he was a free agent he wanted to come to Sacramento he would not have facilitated a sign in trade if he do did not want to go to Sacramento he would have signed with whatever team he wanted to sign with well that end Kyle I can tell you like the deal was worked out like on Thursday or Friday right they had the parameters of a deal in place where Harrison Barnes would go to San Antonio and Chris Forte would go to the Bulls like all of it was worked out the only question was whether or not demard de R rozan would sign or not sure and so that’s where I do agree with you that it is truly it feels like a free agent signing and you know I was able to ask him yesterday about that Monty McNair and and uh demard Rosen about you know there is a stigma in Sacramento about for free agent signing here there has been forever I mean again we can talk about George Hill we can talk about vad divots um people want to bring up Malik monk like look Malik monk was a league minimum player that’s it and yeah and and the King signed him to a two-year $19 million deal I mean sure that’s a a nice quality deal for him but that’s who he was when they brought him in and so when you look at the level of player that you just got we’re talking about a six-time Allstar we’re talking about a three-time all all NBA selection we’re talking about a guy who’s averaged over 20 points per game 11 consecutive Seasons to land one of those guys even at the age of 34 it doesn’t matter this is a highly highly effective very good basketball player that typically is out of the reach of the Sacramento Kings as a free agent destination yeah and you you like you said you asked Monty McNair and demard Rosen about that yesterday we’ll hear that sound here in just a second but I just want to just real quick on the on on the like you said people bring up vlat and vlat was obviously incredibly impactful and super meaningful to to what the Kings did in the in the late 90s and the early 2000s that is undeniable but he had never his the the one quote unquote award to his name at that point in his career through his first uh what is it nine Seasons uh was he finished ninth and most improved player voting in the 94 95 season wow like that that’s it this is not a three-time all NBA guy not a six-time uh seven time All-Star seven seven time all six time six- time allar six-time All-Star three-time all NBA uh top three in clutch Player of the Year voting the last two years uh like he’s just a he’s just a different level of of player and I think that’s why you saw a lot of the pump and Circumstance yesterday and it’s also why James you asked Monty McNair and Demar de rosan about just kind of that stigma and here’s what they had to say this is uh via the Kings beat uh n ESPN 1320 yeah I think like I said it’s you know I don’t know for us personally you know that that’s just our job but I think for the organization uh for somebody of Demar s look when you’re a free agent you get to choose where you go and uh for somebody like that to choose our team I think it just speaks to what we’re building here and uh you know this this is a great City it’s a great organization we have incredible fans but number one we’ve been winning um you know I think us and Denver the only two teams that have won 46 or more in the west last two years it’s incredibly tough West but um you know hopefully that’s part of what Demar saw here and uh that we can have you know even bigger dreams in the future yeah Demar sort of the same question just what is it about this fit that you felt like okay I’m willing to take a gamble where so many other players in the past haven’t how many time I seen that being lit up when I was chilling at home you know especially being on Central time um you know me watching I watch every NBA game so like I said you’re just always seeing something lit up like damn what what’s the significance of pushing this button you know but like I said winning saws off and that’s one thing I always express to guys that I play with that you know want to be all stars or want to get paid blah blah blah everything that winning sols everything you know you want to be a part of winning you want to be a winner you want to be known as a winner so for me that’s just you know that’s the most impaling thing for me you know you see it um every single night when this team plays it’s all about winning so was DeMar rosen andman McNair again that’s via the Kings be shout out to you James for gutting it out yesterday and heading down to the presser um re just just real quick on the on the aside from the whole winning aspect ECT of this because that that just kind of confirms what we what you and I talked about a little bit yesterday if this was the 2018 Sacramento Kings they’re not getting Demar D rozan he’s signing for the mid-level with the Clippers like that that’s that’s just kind of the reality of this even if the Kings had thrown you know three years and and $74 million at him $75 million but I guess it’s between those two but um I don’t I don’t know that he would have he would have come to Sacramento even five years ago no I totally agree and I’ve been around this team forever and I always heard this from the from them inside like look winning cures all it does like just wait once it once we win it’ll cure everything all of this noise will go away um you know the the way that people view DeMarcus Cousins will be different the way that they view dearin Fox will be different and I I said okay that’s fine but you you have like an untested Theory right because you guys don’t win and you’ve never been able to win and so until you can win and you can show me that that actually means something then I don’t know that that’s the fact and all of a sudden you have a a player who comes in who again normally you wouldn’t again if you’re looking at 30-year-old demard de Rosen number one you can’t afford him um you know he’s making 40 he’s not making 24 or 25 uh but number two like you’re getting a guy guy who probably looks at this as a way that like he doesn’t have to ease into what’s next but he certainly understands that this team is well built and that he won’t have to carry a team every single night and that’s probably something that’s a little bit more appealing to him at age 34 where like look just all the pressure of carrying a team isn’t going to be focused just on him you have Fox you have deonis you have monk you’ve got Keegan you’ve got all these other pieces and that’s probably a good thing too so yeah I think it’s a good moment for the Kings and it’s one of those moments where like look yeah I guess I guess it was it was right like winning DUS all um now let’s see if you can win more right that that’s that’s just kind of it and I think that’s that’s where when when the excitement of the offseason kind of wears off that’s what it’s going to come down to now is now there to to me there’s not going to be like well Malik monk was out and you know was second year and they’re still jelling like no now Now’s the Time it’s go time and winning winning to this point has been has been great but now it needs to now it needs to continue at a higher level than it was yeah I totally agree and I would even say that uh the fit thing um when it comes to fit demaro Rosen was very clear like like look he’s been in the league a long time he knows how to fit with anyone he knows how to adapt his game and to learn the offense and to study and he he talked about it in that clip he watches every basketball game like he knows what he’s getting into I’m calling BS you don’t think so he watches every single basketball game that’s played through an entire season he’s got film to watch he’s got practice to go to he’s got sleep to get he’s got games to play I’m calling shenanigans that he watches every single NBA game hey I I do know that there are people out there that do watch every single game um whether whether they watch it like at one one and a halftime speed or yeah so like whatever but they are watching games all the time um he’s a Hooper that’s what he is that’s what he you know he he loves the game and and that I think that that comes through with his messaging yeah yeah for sure and that’s I I obviously tongue and cheek on the watching every NBA game thing maybe he does because I know that players get access to film and they they can watch the like condensed version of games where you can get an entire NBA game in in in 28 minutes or however long it is um but I I overall was was impressed by the way he just kind of comported himself yesterday um I think there was it was pretty genuine uh his this this was not because I was what I was watching for frankly was hey did the Kings just offer this guy the most money and he knows that this is his last chance to get a real contract and he just kind of took the big contract and that didn’t come through to me at all like that that worry was assuaged almost immediately uh I I genuinely think that he likes what’s being built here and I think he genuinely wants to be a part of it and he thinks that he can help this team Ascend to a level that they could not get to last year um and I I I really think he’s going to help them do that you know fit aside somebody said this yesterday in the in the chatty house and I and I just I couldn’t agree more with them and I wish I could remember who it was if this was you please step forward and say so um this is a guy who played for Greg papovich he did not go down to San Antonio with Greg papovich and go no I’m playing my way like that just not how it goes in San Antonio so I don’t expect that to be a to be an issue I I think he’s gonna be a perfectly fine fit yeah and if you needed to know anymore that he’s he’s all in he wore a poofy vest with with Monty on 110 degree day yeah as Logan coulston uh who said that on on Monday shout out to Logan salute appreciate you listening um dude The Outfits yesterday I know this everyone’s been talking about this insane this is not his first time in Sacramento he was in Sacramento uh what what day was that Saturday it was like 114 on Saturday it was so hot you knew what you were getting into what was with that outfit it was the L I don’t even mind the long pants some people are not shorts people some people are like I will wear jeans or chinos or joggers or whatever 365 days a year don’t beudy that’s fine but the hoodie okay maybe he’s got the hoodie on because he’s going to be inside maybe he doesn’t like being cold maybe it’s cold in that building so he brought a hoodie he’s layering that’s fine but then the vest the vest to me I don’t know if that was a bit with Monty where he was like I’m gonna wear a vest because Monty’s wearing a vest uh or if that was a matter of like this hoodie is not coming off I’m layering with the vest this is completing this outfit it a clean look it looks great it I’m not but no no shade at the look it was a great look for like December 9th not July 9th that’s insane clean it up dude I agree figure it out all right I have major concerns about his decision making now now we’ve blown through we’ve blown through the break James we’re just we’re we’re just going now all right yeah no we blew through it a while ago okay um no I I I overall um again winning a press conference losing a press conference doesn’t frankly matter um but if there was any concern like I said about about why he’s here or or the fit here or whatever it is uh to me that that went away yesterday and also I think he got some really good insight into into what Demar D Rosen is or or who demard de rozan is as a person um and as a I I think this this reflects on how how he will be as a teammate but the fact that after his press conference he went and had sitd Downs with basically anybody who wanted one chats with everybody he had one-on ones with probably 10 different media Outlets everyone and some media Outlets got two people I didn’t go over because I’m again I’m sick so I didn’t go over but outside of that everybody got time with him and that’s something that uh San Antonio guys that were in town told me like man he doesn’t say no to Media he’s one of the best uh in the lock room that it that you can possibly come by and he’s a guy that’s always going to give you time yeah yeah that’s just and that’s just really that’s that’s pretty rare um and it wasn’t like a handshake and a Hello nice to meet you it was like sit down interviews and that’s that’s you know five six minutes whatever it was that’s that’s super rare that a player is is willing to do that so shout out to Demar de rosan uh and shout out to all the media friendly players out there uh it is deeply
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2 Comments
The entire reason DeMar decided to come to Sac was to push the button. He gonna lose his socks to the Beam.
James Flham?