Monte McNair on where the Kings stand after signing DeMar DeRozan

Monte McNair on where the Kings stand after signing DeMar DeRozan

[Music] with and Monty off Seasons come and go they’re kind of different each time but you’ve been busy uh let’s kind of maybe go through the order we’ll go back to um extending Mike Brown that’s that’s a big part of what you guys want to do how did all that go yeah no I think uh once you get through the draft in free agency people want to talk about the the players but let’s not forget our coach uh really excited to bring Mike back uh 94 wins the last two years and what he’s done for our organization um awesome we’re so excited to extend them and um you know excited for what’s next what he what he will get this you know kind of combination of new and old players uh to do next season in a tough West but um him and uh his staff you know they’ve done a great job obviously credit to Jordy Fernandez who who Brooklyn decided to lead their group which is a great you know sign for us obviously we’re we’re bum to lose somebody like Jordan but um it’s just a great sign for the organization people want to come and and poach from us a little bit but to retain Mike the rest of the group we’re excited I heard you say that stat the other day that you and Denver are the only teams 46 wins or more which one is amazing two it’s a three seed and then a non-play I mean how crazy is the West the West is always always crazy I’ve said it I think this is I don’t even know 16 17 years in now for me in the west between Houston and Sack and it uh we’ve seen it all I think um you know us in Golden State last year win 46 and don’t make it into that the final eight playoff teams which is I think the fifth and sixth teams ever to do that and um you know I think the year before maybe we got a little fortunate that 48 wins got us the three seed um but then for 46 wins a two wi Dro to drop you six spots it just shows how deep it is but um I think for us we took that as a challenge that um yeah you might have to win 48 50 52 games to to get into the playoffs in the west so how do we improve uh um you know how do we get back and and compete with um those teams because once you get in the playoffs I think we saw it last year Dallas had a great run from the um you know the last third of the Season into the playoffs uh making the finals from I guess the five seed and um you know so you get in the mix you gota you got a a chip in a chair as they say we’re here in Vegas but uh you know give us a shot so for us we got to get back into that mix that was the goal all right so you land coach that’s a big part the next one was Malik fans wanted him I’m sure you guys wanted him we you know we’re hearing all these things all these other teams potentially are are seeking him which is a great thing for him how did it all come about how did you uh convince him to to come back to Sacramento well I think I this goes back two years where uh credit to our staff because um you know Malik certainly didn’t have uh maybe the most standard of of Beginnings to his career but had started to show some flashes his last little bit in Charlotte and then with the Lakers and and a lot in our group saw big potential in Malik and so we were able to to get him into into Sacramento used used our midlevel um and you know obviously he’s had a previous relationship with deer and they they have a great uh Synergy together but I think um surpassed certainly my expectations uh and had a great two-year run and so at that point it’s like all right yeah now how do we keep this guy but I think the this goes back to Coach Brown um goes back to dearin and domas you know our two stars and you know and what they’re able to kind of open up for Malik and then how he’s able to fit in there and uh you know we certainly missed him down the stretch last season um but I think for him and I’m sure he had many other suitors but for him to look at our situation and say you know I want to come back and be a part of what’s next um you know huge Testament to him and and to to our group and um you know we’re really excited to see what what he can do and you know a couple new faces in there with him but him and dear and continue their two-man game him and domas a fantastic two-man game um super excited to have him back I’m sure you’ve got to love that though I mean from the top down and coaching you everybody’s trying to talk about culture and he chose you guys I mean there were other options so I mean just how rewarding is what you’re doing not just wins and losses but it’s it’s keeping guys that want to stay here yeah we’ve uh We’ve certainly had and I know we’ll get into dear and uh you know him choosing to come to Sacramento but we’ve also had I think a lot of successes of of guys coming to sack and then we’re able to you know keep them whether that’s uh you know a contract extension or a new contract and you know Malik’s the latest one fan favorite um just just a huge assessment what we’re building and I think it it shows that players want to win and uh when you’re winning when there’s when there’s uh the prospect of future winning you know and uh I think we’re set up well to to compete we’ll see we got to do it but uh we’re set up well to to compete next year and in the future of the West so uh I think that’s really a testament to that well you mentioned let’s get there I mean you know there’s rumors about the team and all the different guys that you guys may have been pursuing but it does end up being dear D Ro and how did you guys kind of make this work why did he choose a Sacramento well I think um you know a little bit of it just goes back to that we we’ve been set up where we have the ability to go and recruit a free agent like that we have the um the ability to kind of it’s a complicated transaction to sign and trade but the ability to both get the signing part done and the trading part done and um so credit to our staff uh ability to do that but you know ultimately this is a free agent who can go anywhere and um you know we’re kind of seeing the landscape Demar seeing his landscape and we get a couple days into free agency and continue to talk and uh you know credit to Wes Wilcox who does a fantastic job um you know working the phones and uh our staff trying to figure out okay if dear may come what does that mean how do we set up the trade and really working these these three or four paths at once uh to try to get them to ultimately come together uh which they somehow did right before cow classic uh game number one so uh certainly not a grand strategy that we had for that timing but it worked out great and um you know he’s just such a consumate professional somebody who uh you look at his career it’s like how has he done this for over a decade and uh I think led the league in minutes or minutes per game last year whatever it is um at his his age to show no signs of slowing down and continue to evolve his game add the passing and playmaking and um scoring at the line in the paint um in the mid-range he’s just uh you know a complete player and I think a six-time All-Star uh to True Sacramento um I think it’s because of what we’re building here and excited to bring him in I mean all NBA as well multiple times Hall of Fame career really how do you see the fit with him here well I think the the great thing about dear is uh like I said with the passing with the scoring with the ability to get to the line he’s gonna fit in all sorts of lineups and uh so whether that’s with sabonis uh with Fox with both of them obviously Keegan and his ability to score inside and out then you got Kevin herder Malik bunk Trey Lyles you go on and on down the line I think dear whether he needs to score or whether he needs to find others he’s gonna do that um you know he’s also sh the other end the ability to guard both both positions which is which is huge in today’s NBA so um just a another threat out there that teams have to account for I mean I you’re an opposing coach and you got to put somebody on de’arra somebody on domas that’s Allstar all NBA level Talent now you got dear in there and then you look up and somebody’s gonna have to guard Keegan or Kevin or Malik and it’s you know yeah it’s gonna be hard to guard us you know for us uh you know we’re going to have to put that in make sure we we do the work get the right shots uh take care of the ball and then uh you know at the other end continue to to improve like we did last year on the defensive end but um you know he he I think unlocks a lot of things for for us and for for Mike Jay on the offensive end also in the busy offseason you have a draft it’s always an exciting time too Devin Carter comes in uh as a lottery pick unfortunately he’s injured here to start but you know there’s still a bright future ahead for him kind of the thought process on drafting him and and hopefully when you’ll have him back yeah Devon I think uh unique in that I think he can fit us when he comes back this year um but also somebody that we can see fitting what whatever form we take five six seven years in the future and I think a little bit of what we’ve seen in the NBA now where um these kind of do it all guards wings I mean he’s like 69ine um Wings ban and um obviously his dad played in the NBA so he knows what it’s about but um you know I think that kind of Versatility defensively and then offensively he showed in college the ability to put the ball on the ground go to the basket uh shoot from outside really big Improvement this year um you know R bum’s not playing here at Summer League and and maybe for the start of the season but when he does come back I think he’s gonna make a big impact and just be a very good compliment to to what we’re already building and then you know hopefully continue to grow his game and and Sky’s a limit for him I’m curious on the process for you and your your front office how fluid the path has to be so let’s go to draft night and you’re 13 you may want to trade the pick you may want to make the pick maybe you’re pick goes before you also to Demar D rozan if you’re interested in other players too like how fluid do you have to be is it when the opportunity strikes this is one of our plans we go for it just kind of how was that process it it’s uh you know when you’re in the moment it’s it’s hard sometimes because you don’t know what’s to come you you know we have the draft it’s draft night now it’s two nights uh then you got a few days then you got free agency um trades obviously happen a lot at that time and you really the the Demar D rozan thing comes together on July 6th which you know that’s only 10 or so days from the draft but it feels like forever and you at the time at the draft you have no idea um what may come and there was a bunch of things floating around so you’re really trying to make these decisions at the time um you know there’s uh there’s there’s a bunch of different kind of uh you know Game Theory thought here about there’s there’s a stopping problem like okay when is this the one versus versus roll the dice and see what’s going forward and you know so we ended up having a lot of options uh at the draft but when Devon Devon fell we were really excited to get him and uh we said well let’s see what’s what’s going to happen in free agency and there we had some some trade options and things but as Demar came into Focus um the last few days of that that that became I think the the thing that we thought man this really this really checks a lot of boxes for us and um you know we still had to convince him we had to set up the other trades but um you know happy where it ended up um you know kind of uh you know restless nights in the interim uh trying to see where we were going to end up we were happy with you know I think our process there but um it’s certainly certainly tougher in the interim he seems happy was the convincing of Demar a difficult task or I I think it’s more just you’re competing with you know 20 other teams and um you know so so we have to I think um him coming to sack and see what we’re about and meeting with Co some of the coaches some of the players our front office staff um obviously ownership V was there um fantastic I think that he was able to see that and was like yeah this is what I want to be a part of so um you know at the same time you you got to you got to be able to offer him a package that is commensurate with his ability and and then put the the trade together to be able to to do that but um you know fortunate all those things came together but um but also credit to our group that’s a lot of planning uh so that you have the ability to do that and um and then I think the convincing of Demar came down to um coach our players and seeing what we’ve already been building and seeing that we have room to grow a couple other moves I mean it obviously cost you players that you’ve had U relationships with Harrison Barnes won part of the D rozan move um but um Sasha and daveon you get uh McDaniels there and you’ve also added Jordan mcclaflin how do those two guys help the Kings going forward yeah well um first you know Harrison Davon Sasha Chris dwarte among others you know just a huge part of what we’ve done last year and and the year before and um in turning this thing around so um big thanks to them and and wish them the best going forward um but in getting Jaylen McDaniels a big long Wing um you know I think has a chance to be impactful on both ends of the floor um you know something that you know we’re we’re looking to do if we can get bigger Longer um you know two-way players and then Jordan mlin uh you know really a fantastic few years in Minnesota last year in particular as they they kind of surge up the Western Conference standings um but for him him to come in and um certainly with Devon’s injury and uh I think just be a good fit you know both behind and potentially next to Dear with his shooting ability to defend just running offense um you know bring back Alex Len on the other end of the the roster at the at the big spot um who had a great year last year he’s uh you know really come into his own as finding his role and um just being an awesome professional whether he’s playing or not but you know we’re going to need him to play even more and uh bring bring his Rim protection and those things so excited for for what we’ve got there obviously you know haven’t even mentioned Keon Ellis and Kobe Jones you know two of our our younger guys you know Keon in particular played very well down the stretch we had some injuries at the at the guard Wing Spot and uh started in the in the play and for us um you know had a had an especially big game against Golden State and guarding Steph and and hitting some big shots so you know we we we know we’ll need it all in the west and uh you know there’s uh you know you’ll need your depth and you’ll need your kind of uh all the to in your tool belt uh as you go in of just different matchups each night but you know I think we we’ve got a lot of that and uh you know we’ll need guys to continue to improve internally uh as well as hopefully some of the external growth that we’ve had couple of final roster spots are left are there areas of need that you’re looking at more depth maybe front court side and like what what are kind of things you’d like to see addressed yeah I think for the for the most part you know we’re always looking to improve the team and if opportunities arise uh we’ll certainly take advantage do think at this point we’re uh we’re expecting that this is probably the core of the group that we’ll go into training camp with um but yeah potentially one or two more roster spots I think we’re going to take our time a little bit and see there uh probably be more more um Wing forward big uh we feel pretty good at at the guard spot right now so um you know we we’ll look this is big part of Summer leag and seeing what our own guys can do we got Scouts scouting the other 29 teams here uh great opportunity for a lot of these uh you know know young players to who who are not even on a roster potentially to to Showcase themselves and you know our our group’s been watching the g- league and international so a lot of a lot of different ways that we can go but um you know we we’ll take our time we’ll see what we got there and uh you know as we head into training camp we’ll fill those last couple spots but um you know I think uh we we’re we’re happy with the group as is again if something comes up we’ll certainly look at it but I think right now this is this is the bulk of the group we’ll have and uh you know a couple um you know last spots that we’ll fill uh right before training camp I’m thinking day one a training camp you clear the court and let all the guards go out there I mean that competition there’s some minutes up for grabs but there’s a lot of guys that can play I’d like to see how that goes yeah well I think uh you know Keegan mentioned it last year but guarding dear in all summer it’s pretty good uh you know trial by fire and uh we we have a lot of guys I think that uh you know yeah they’re going to go at each other you know over the summer uh and as as get into training camp and um you know obviously when Devon comes back you know he’ll add to that mix and I mean that is one competitive tough guy as well but uh you know I think for dearen too like him going against you know Keon and Kobe and some of these guys that can you know Keegan that can throw different different looks at him um you know Malik and and all the moves he has so um it’s a good group they push each other uh we hope they’d make each other better which they’ve done and uh and then we can go take it out on the other 14 teams in the west one last thought how do you feel about U like keagan’s experience playing with the select team is great and sabonis I mean you’re probably watching wanting them to do well but you know knock on wood stay as healthy as possible just guys that get opportunities to keep playing how do you guys kind of feel about that I think the for for the most part the competition the ability to play high level basketball in the summer is huge so Keegan was select um and both Trey and and domas with their their national teams I mean yeah of course we want our guys to come come to Camp healthy but we want them to be in great shape we want to be in you know great competitive shape and playing high level basketball is there’s no replacement for it so um bumber for for domas and Lithuania they fell one game short but um was great for him Trey I be excited to see him in the Olympics Keegan you know going up against some of the best in the world and going toe-to-toe um it’s just an incredible experience and growth opportunity for those guys and um you know it’s I mean frankly that’s what’s going to be every night in the west and uh so we’re gonna need every bit of experience there um and you know I think one last thing on that is sometimes those those provide opportunities for guys to maybe be out of their comfort zone do something a little bit different uh expand their game in some way and um you know I think we saw that a little bit with Keegan In Summer League last year uh hey go go be the scorer uh go guard the best guy and um you know he he was able to do more of that last year and so we’re excited to see you know what what he’s got in store for us you know I think we know domas and dear and you know what they’re going to do and be be in the mix for all NBA Allstar accolades obviously Demar and and what he’s done and um you know the more internal growth we can get and I think we’ve got guys that can continue continue to do that that’s that’s what we’re going to need to to continue to go uh up against these Behemoth in the west all right one last thing here is uh the question Dave and I probably get the most which you’re not going to believe it’s not money trading for this guy or picking this guy how is he wearing a vest when it’s 113 we get that a lot I’m do you get that at all I do I do it’s uh first of all I’m inside there’s air conditioning all right and sometimes it’s actually quite cold uh in our offices from the house to the car no you know like sometimes I actually believe it or not take it off put in the car put it on when I get inside um you have it on here now which is good and Miguel Lopez our Co manager he’s got some lightweight vests this year a little a little lighter uh but look they’re comfortable okay and uh they got great pockets for for all the stuff you got to bring to the gym and uh you know yeah it’s I I I agree if I was GNA sit outside for four hours in the 120 degree weather that would be a little excessive for the most part we’re inside and uh you know it’s a little cooler in there but uh I appreciate the fans taking notice and you know I’ve seen some some funny Twitter memes on it so uh it’s always good always good to see the the fun hat I’m sure there’s a mon vest account I don’t know but I bet there is you got to believe there is you know our fans I’m sure there is our fan they’re doing something they’re doing something that I I think it was last year in in Las Vegas actually I posted a picture from uh Caesars and somebody put a vest on the Statue there H as a joke so that was pretty funny that’s probably the best one I’ve seen all right Monty thank you so much thanks Jason that’s Monty M there hey and you know it was a great interview and then at the end it was a stunning stunning admission from Monty McNair what we were all looking for what the heck is going on with the vest in this heat I think he’s hiding something Jason you think so I mean I told him I told him the idea off fair I go look Monty this is you know Dave’s brought this up I want to give him credit for this um Team Store Monty vest like let’s start the line because you know I thought it was even funny he’s like well look some of these are more sleek and lighter weight I’m like it’s a vest in Sacramento in the summer I mean winter time that’s cool I actually think it looks good I really like the look but when we’re all wearing t-shirts or golf shirts or whatever and he’s Dawning the vest with long sleeves underneath it’s like man I mean yeah you might be inside in a freezing cold air conditioning but at some point you’re outside some point you’re in your car some point you’re walking to the garage or something but um it’s a good look for him he’s all in on it I’ll admit that well I’ll I’ll say this publicly and and I’ll and we’ll definitely communicate this to the Kings we’re always as their partner we’re always looking to help them out in any way we can so one of two things is going to happen either they need to make the money and come out with the Monty line of vests and by the way having working with a a club over in England that’s far smaller than the Sacramento Kings I I and as I wear their new road jersey as we speak I know how these things work a little bit better now you just call the manufacturer and say hey I’d like a test give me uh give me five or 10 in each size and let’s see how these things run it’s a minor investment you put them in the team store you announce it on social media and and and profit so a do that and we’ll go we’ll go buy a couple and you’ll see uh the two of us doing our shows and invest from time to time or three of us I think we could even do a better pre-order we don’t even have to do the test just just pre-order hey guys yes would you like a money vest great Point get all the pre-orders in so they’re already done and paid for or B you know my mom’s health hasn’t been great as everyone knows but she knows her way around a sewing machine I’ll I’ll I’ll go get a couple of vests and a couple of Kings patches and we’ll we’ll MOX them up ourselves and make them does that work can radio stations sell merchandise I I don’t know that is that a thing of course we can I know you’ve been trying for that Dave like a week or so for about a week or two you’ve been on it uh I I want to come back and talk about this a little bit more oh we got a couple minutes yeah um number one I noticed because you’re a good guy you very deftly Sid stepped the Drew Timmy question and I get it part of me wanted you to ask just because well what did he say but on the other hand I think you know that that’s a real big Feud going on right now between the two of us and you didn’t want to infringe on his his his generous time that he was giving you by bringing up something that’s obviously it’s a sore subject yeah I I did stay away from it I did think about it but I you know there were there were a lot of talking points to hit I’m glad we kind of went one by one through the offseason moves and he kind of addressed them all I mean I don’t know what your takeaway was but one for me like obviously they set their targets I I I’ve always been and you and I have talked about just fascinated with the process of it and how you have to move in real time and I could tell there was kind of something there of you know I I do think they had a lot of different plans and then when one starts to take shape you kind of go down that road I think that’s what happened with d rozan certainly with the draft of Carter um but it could have gone other ways and so I think that’s interesting and then he started getting into the game theory like hey look there’s Game Theory arguments like when do you roll the dice and go all in and just interesting there and then I think the other one Dave was the the takeaway that I kind of teased earlier but I think he said as of now it sure feels like this is the roster I feel like he feels higher on herder than than maybe a lot of people out there like he’s going to be in the mix and so um unless something changes um there might be some Fringe depth added but other than that this is I think he feels good about what they’ve got but doesn’t mean that can’t change before the season or certainly during the season and let’s run with that logic and we’ll we’ll we’ll switch this over in next segment and continue it as well we’ve talked about this before which is they they don’t have to be done let’s acknowledge one thing if you trade Kevin hder right now it’s about as low as his value can possibly be so for all we know well I mean we do know this they’re obviously watching Kevin her like a hawk they’ve got people in his workouts they’re in constant communication with him well what if what if they’re looking at herder for example and they’re saying uhuh we’re not selling them this low unless somebody’s going to overpay it current value this dude’s value is far higher number one combined with hey we just added a big piece into Rosen everybody’s healthy right now knock on wood Malik’s back blah blah blah let’s not handcuff ourselves because and those of us those of you listening right now will remember us talking about this the last couple weeks they don’t know what the needs are necessarily going to be that present themselves in real game time fashion by plugging in a 24 Point aame scorer in Demar D Ro and those needs may not be what we’re forecasting them so why handcuff yourself now before you’ve test driven this new engine in the vehicle rather than take it out run it around and now you still have assets either during the the first part of the Season or come the trade deadline yeah I mean there’s choices right and I think you know we’re going to look at this Dave and say you know people are going to have their opinions on every player right now and that’s true but you also could like it just depends on how you look at the player likey herder did not have a great season he would admit that last year but his first three quarters of his first season was tremendous and if you look at what they’re trying to do and mo motion and you know as a cutter he’s great as a shooter he could be awesome um can he get that form again how will it all look we all look at it now and go well I got some questions defensively maybe some size will that show up as big of an issue to as the season goes on we got to see them play a little bit and I think maybe that’s what the front office wants to see too still to come in the program Jason live in Vegas he sat down with our friend

Sacramento Kings GM Monte McNair sat down with Jason Ross to break down the offseason thus far, as DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk have signed multi-year contracts with the Beam Team.

Are the Kings done making moves? Monte sheds some light on how he views this current roster.

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