Sacramento Kings offseason PREVIEW! How busy will it be?

Sacramento Kings offseason PREVIEW! How busy will it be?

this feels like the Calm before the storm of the NBA offseason the draft’s coming up free agency you got trade rumors probably coming soon so why not bring a guy who’s super locked in Fox 40’s own Sean Cunningham yeah hi Sean de and mo hi how are you we good see you guys yeah what I look good oh thank you I I said we are you know it’s so funny I thought you said how are you or something and I just said we are good and then that was very awkward we were trying to finish each other oh yeah I love I thought you said I look good like yeah you look good you look good we to shave I got to cut this down get little you’re offseason scraggly um this is this is just every day you know this this is standard Cunningham uniform what’s going I got the black polo I got the early hat let’s let’s go so I I feel like this offseason with the Kings has been interesting you had a Mike Brown extension and the week before the extension I thought like the franchise was relocating to a different country at one point the way people were talking about it but no it’s Sean right I mean it got done so they got that done then the news came from about Sasha venko from overseas where one person is saying that uh he doesn’t want he’s not returning to Sacramento which was interesting another one was like oh no the Kings told him he’s not in the plans well you learned some stuff this week where do we stand right now with Sasha B zenov and his future in Sacramento uh I still think there’s a little bit of confusion there and and I think the best way I can um after talking to a lot of people it’s probably best just to kind of rewind and look at those reports because you’re right there was confusion not only about his future in Sacramento but his future within the league I mean there was people speculating that he was ready to go back pack it up and go back to Europe after one year and so when you see some of those reports like I’m looking at it like okay this shouldn’t be hard to get people to talk about particularly um both you know I think within the organization uh both from agencies both from Team venkov I mean somebody’s going to come out and either say yes this is true or no this is not true especially if it’s not true I think they’d want to get ahead of it really soon and that there were crickets for like days um and that was a little concerning because that makes me think that oh there might be some truth to this but I think all you have to do is really rewind back to what he said in his ex interviews and you guys were both there and he I thought was very candid and um they were comments that were that were both pretty consistent with what he had said and if you had talked to him uh in weeks leading up to the end of the season you know just kind of disappointment kind of wishing he had had more minutes and really just wanting to play um I think he factors in the injury but um at the end of the day he’s looking at it like man I you know I wish my role was a little bit different I think this I wish this year had gone different and certainly you could understand that because everybody wants to play yeah but then you fast forward to this and it’s like oh no his future with the Kings is in doubt and I think you know after talking to a lot of people I almost didn’t go with the report until I got one source that was um much more closer to him and that was the definitive part where I said no he’s going to honor his contract now honor his contract is if push me shove he’s going to be playing the NBA if he truly wants to go to Europe I think there are ways and mechanisms in place for him to do that but I don’t see that happening right so what’s that mean for his future with the Kings well whether it’s with the Kings or anybody else he just wants to play and I and and part of my tweet there and I think some people may have been confused by it but whether it’s in Sacramento or he makes a decision to force a trade or the Kings just say you know what we soured on you after this one year which I don’t necessarily think is true we’re we’re much we look at you in a different light and we’re going to try to shop you um wherever he’s trying to go he just wants to play and I don’t know that heavy rotational minutes are are in the cards in other situations especially ones that are win now situations so um it’ll be interesting to see like are are his days numbered in Sacramento possibly and I think there are still fans with him in the organization there are fans with him within the organization within the coaching staff um but I think you have to factor in the disappointment of just the injuries and what they and how those play a toll I mean the guy missed like nine weeks of the Season practically um and and so it’s just a long-winded way of saying like I don’t think much has changed at least from things that I’ve talked about and I still think that yeah you can still like a guy and still look at shopping him because you’re trying to ultimately you’re trying to make your team better I mean I have Point all the time like they traded Tyrese halberton like nobody is untouchable right so if they if you’re untouchable until you’re not and if there’s a move out there that makes a team better uh they they won’t hesitate in moving him and I think he’s got a very team-friendly contract for wherever he goes and this year Mike Brown talked about it a lot it’s it’s like that monu Joby first year when he was with the Spurs he was kind of a a big learning curve there was a lot of stuff he had to get used to both not only here in America but just within the NBA game so um when you factor in injuries and when you factor in you know the win now mentality that they had they you know it was those are some that that’s a that’s a that’s a learn by fire trial by fire kind of uh situation for him so um I think he wishes it had gone differently but that’s the beauty of having a three-year contract with a team option on that third year next year they might have a bigger role for you or the expectations might change like even if the situation isn’t here in Sacramento I just feel like he his identity as a player being a sharpshooter he can you know quick release shoot the ball that alone in the NBA there’s value to it and I felt like the times before the injuries that you kind of mentioned it was you saw this flow that he was kind of gaining like he was starting to understand the flow of the NBA game and um feeling a little bit more comfortable injury happens again injury you know and then not really being able to find a spot within the rotation with the Sacramento Kings like you it it made sense too because of what they were pushing for there at the end but I I look around the NBA and I go there’s got to be a lot of value still to him being a shooter um have you heard anything about people and how they feel about him around the league yeah I mean certainly I think there’s a lot of intrigue I think the first year does make people a little cold to wanting to welcome him into the uh to a winning situation right away like I don’t think anyone’s looking at Sasha venkov and going oh that guy that guy puts us over the top right yeah so I think you’re looking at teams that are on this that have room for him that that might be looking to for a little bit of a push and they might be able to think that he can help in to a to a lesser extent on maybe a losing team or a team that might be looking to be on the rise a little bit but I don’t think a team like let’s say you’re Memphis all of a sudden although it’s kind of funny I was talking I actually think he would be a good fit on Memphis but you know they’re all of a sudden trying to they have John Morant back they’ll have a lot of you know this this this this hype surrounding them to try to replicate what they did just two years ago you know obviously going through a season where it’s completely disappointing and John Morant is out and it totally disrupts everything that they do if you’re Memphis you’re looking at next year going we can get right back into that top five in the west and whether I agree with that or not like I I do feel that that’s a team that’s going to need a push and certainly shooting is at the is at the top of the list for them so any long-winded way to say I think you’re right but but also another way of looking at it too is with his disappointment around the injury and I remember talking to him several times in in in while he was dealing with his injury never really thinking on the ankle injuries that he would be out as long as he was and I think that what what he had to really remember is like hey in Europe you’re not playing every day you know you’ve got days off in between your schedule and team would be more likely to say oh you’ve got two days rest three days rest here maybe a practice and then here you go um whereas here in the NBA you’ve got to deal with three games in four nights backto backs travel and if you look at one of the stretches in March I mean it was it was pretty brutal and they didn’t even have I think they had one practice in like a two and a half week period so it was harder for him to to to get back on the floor and then then when he first started you know that season last year I had legit heard talk about him going to g-league and and you know learning just getting the nuances of of of the game but what was interesting too and I think this has been consistent if you guys I mean you guys obviously remember inz kada his first year in the NBA I I was thinking man it’s kind of a disservice he didn’t go to the G League at all until you know as much as he probably should have but they kept him around the culture of the NBA so practices and shootarounds those became like game days for him uh and it certainly worked you know he took a bigger step with the g- league and in his next year um not that Sasha would go there as a 28-year-old but keeping him around the America the team’s culture I think is Paramount for him and I think I think it did pay off I think like you mentioned Morgan I think you see a lot of glimmers of oh we know why they like this guy he’s shown Improvement particularly in that second half of the Season then all of a sudden he has another setback so if I’m if you’re a team out there I I can I can absolutely buy the fact that there’s a market for him I just don’t know what it looks like and what the situation looks like and if it’s going to be enough for him to want to buy in and just watching him last year and you start thinking about the Kings roster as a whole they just need more athleticism you know when you have Harrison Barnes who you know struggles defending guys at his spot at times and you know Trey ly can can these guys can do some nice things offensively but defensively just from athleticism standpoint you’re watching the the teams in the playoffs like they have all these athletes they’re switchable they’ve got length and the Kings lack that so even if you think Sasha could help you you have to just look at the rest of roster and go okay where does he fit where does HB fit where do all these guys fit because it’s clear the Kings need more L than athleticism yeah 100% you’ve got guys that that are almost replicate you know of each other you know I’ve I’ve talked about how you know I think coming into last season you look at Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes and uh I think there’s some people like well why did they bring back Harrison if Keegan looked ready to go and they ultimately kind of do the same thing in a lot of different facets of their game or at least serve a similar role in the starting five uh and I I I I’ve always kind of said it as as I had kind of learned a little bit it’s like well there’s no guarantee that Keegan takes that step forward in the second year some guys regress in their second year and clearly if you’re a Kings fan you’ve seen that happen with rookies uh that have come throughout the years um but that didn’t happen you know Keegan did take a step forward it might not have been the dramatic step forward that some people would like and that’s kind of you know my belief coming into the offseason last year I was kind of saying you know if he can just replicate his rookie year that’ll go a long way because he was so impactful that rookie season um and I think he did take a dramatic step with with the defense that he had and to your point dues that length that defense you if you’re watching the playoffs you know I believe the Kings could have been a competitive team against a number of these teams in the playoffs I don’t know that I would picked him to win but you can clearly see the the difference right especially from from the you know I think they’re learning to play physical I think they’re learning to be a better defensive team and I think they’re capable of being that fast-paced offensive team that you see but in these playoffs you’re there’s such a there’s such a a you know a microscope on each series um to where you can really see the nuances and and the things that this team lack and to me I think you hit it there’s a lot of guys that kind of do the same thing and that and you don’t have a you don’t have that break glass in case of emergency or even that hockey goon out there that can really help will this team I mean you hear that term that that term dog a lot and I think it was kind of brought to the surface a little bit with the passing of Jerry West in those comments he says I’m not a dog I’m a wolf right I eat the dogs yeah yeah I eat dogs and it’s funny because it’s like that’s just the like when you think of competitive nature in the NBA it just shows how different the league is today but I feel like you really see it Amplified in the playoffs you can’t just totally go through the motions and every round just has this this this this added something to it to where the you know these guys are you kind of want to you do what you do you still have your identity but you’re going to be put in situations that are just different and um you can tell that those are things that the Kings really kind of lacked like like I kind of can you imagine if they’ gone up against Minnesota who they did play pretty well I think you would see a much different result uh in in that series and I also think that you know look at Dallas I mean Dallas has played well and I I think they really got hot towards the end of the season but they look like a completely different team than I mean those two games in Sacramento and they were competitive they were fun games before the end of the season but that didn’t look like the same Dallas team that you saw before the trade deadline and you can certainly say oh okay yeah they added Daniel Gafford and they added PJ Washington and Derek Lively has taking another step um so guys like that have really taken a step forward but even Luca you know just been incredible so yeah it’s interesting man there’s a there’s a there’s a gap there there’s a there’s a huge divide between what the Kings would like to be and what they currently are and it’s hard to pinpoint just like one thing to improve on because you know I think they took some strides defensively especially once Keon was in the starting lab I thought Fox was really good defensively there are some nights I felt like maybe against guards that aren’t to his caliber that maybe he wasn’t super focused in on at times sure but when he was locked in he brought it I thought Keegan did a great job defensively Keon sabonis he has limitations but he plays hard but come playoff time like these teams are hunting and I feel like the Kings as they’re constructed right now they’ve got too many guys that you can hunt yeah sabonis they try to hunt him herder right HB HB so it just and then you go to your bench and that that’s what’s so challenging where you look at it this is the extreme Boston well yeah you may hunt someone but it’s still not terrible like I’m going to go after Horford a little bit or Luca’s going to try to go at Tatum a little bit they they don’t have a ton of we it’s kind of like what Sean was even saying like at that level it’s it’s definitely also a mix of individual Talent Plus a different mentality I mean a different type of discipline from an entire team from an individual that is willing and wanting to play that same type of defensive effort night in and night out yeah I I also think I go in my head I go they’re not that far away they won 46 games I think there some good things you saw last year but what became apparent after monk went down and I think her injury hurt as well like the shot creation it was just it was dearon and so as this we go into this offseason one of the biggest questions is just you know Malik Monk’s future in Sacramento will another team offer him a ton of money and then he’ll just dip out as it stands right now what do you think about the Malik monk situation do you still think there’s a chance he could return or you think it’s more likely he he departs I mean I think they’re prepared for anything I think I mean that’s the beauty of his situation right it’s like you knew when the season ended how much you’re like what you can offer they know what you can offer like there’s no it’s not like you can turn over this card and go but what about this right like like they know and it’s really incumbent of they I think they’re prepared to make him to to give him that that offer that they can give uh the four years at 7 8 and maybe you’ve got it opt out after two and you know however that looks but the reality is it’s it’s it’s almost like restricted for agency in a way uh only you don’t really get a chance to keep your guy it’s like if the other teams come in higher uh or if some of the teams with cap room can present a they’re the ones that have to lure Malik monk away and they’ve got the pockets to do it they’ve got the cap room to do it and the Kings just have those handcuffs on where it’s like this is what we can give we’ve got a great situation you love living here you’ve got a lot of relationships you’ve had the best seasons of your life and I think Malik knows that you know and I think that’s it was fun man like I was out at a um a couple weeks ago there was a autograph show that came to to the area um like Dennis Rodman out there with tattoo on his face with these jewels and St like that was wild um but Malik was was right after him and there was a lot of people there to see him as you can imagine I mean this guy’s like a Kings fan favorite and every everyone coming up just like we want you to stay we want you to stay and he’s hearing all this stuff and he he’s he’s you know smiling he’s saying the right things he’s like facts I want I want to be back he he wants to be back yeah you know these are all good things we all know this I mean we heard in the exit interview I mean he’s he doesn’t really shy away from wanting to be here but the reality is like he’s got to go and take care of himself and uh if that means a different situation I think he’s prepared to do so but if you’re the Kings I mean from day one they know everyone everyone’s cards are on the the table when it comes to the Kings and it’s just matter of whether or not you say yeah we want to give you that that what we can and it’s up for him to stay and you know I kind of talked to domas the other day for a separate story and he he he had that same energy where he’s like yeah I’m if he leaves I’m sick of him I don’t I don’t want to see him again and and he’s joking but he’s just like he’s trying to be he’s trying to be koi but it’s literally like you know the Press is on everyone’s talking to him you know they’re in his ear trying to keep him to come back but the reality is too they all respect the fact that he can go out there and kind of change his life a little bit and you know a lot of people look at it and go oh what’s the difference between 78 and potentially 90 84 whatever it looks like and it’s like a lot especially when you live in California do you especially you all know so yeah um doesn’t matter how much money you make you’re gonna know what that what that feels like so if you can go and improve your situation he’s got to do it and that’s why I love that like the his teammates and people do respect like it’s business at the end of the day you know and um you just never know what can happen in this league and especially in a sport where it’s so physical I mean look what just happened to him yeah um you know at the end of the toward the end of this season so um understand that but I guess now from an on the court situation you know you say that the kings are prepared for anything to happen I mean is that when you you take a look at the draft and you go okay they’re going to make uh a like are they making a decision based on what could happen or how do you think they’re necessarily going about that well I think they’re prepared if if he if they have to move on from Malik I think they they have identified things that they would like to Target and have conversations about but I think Kings don’t necessarily want to show their hand um unless they have already been told that no you know Malik isn’t coming back um when it comes to the draft particularly though you know holding I think we could just talk about 13 as as opposed to the second round pick but holding 13 in the draft it’s like what is the value of that pick particularly this year and the good news is it’s not necessarily about 13 because they have other draft picks that they can I mean they have all their picks really with the exception of what goes to Atlanta potentially next year but um we saw last year how they were able to draft a player for another team in uh maxon’s prosper and send him to Dallas and unload money for which was ran Holmes’s contract so you’re only really you have you have all your picks it’s like what will the value of 13 be and I I do expect them to be very very aggressive and looking at shopping this pick potentially even moving up in this draft um for something that they might identify that can help them right away but you have to leave un every stone un you have to uncover every stone and figure out what what is available to you and I think they’ve had those conversations I think they’ve had um they’re prepared to make the pick at 13 they’re prepared to drop back they’re prepared to move up but when you weigh all of what you can possibly get for those picks it may not be to your liking so the reality is you have to be prepared to draft it um you also have to be prepared to say okay well what if you’re taking 13 in the future first or whatever that looks like and and moving it on they have to make the right play and I think making making that move with Malik in their future is certainly a lot much more of a Nirvana than having to turn around and make a move to replace Malik Monk and then find those pieces that you still need because that makes life a lot harder considering just how pressed up against the cap you are I’m very curious to see who the real threats are for Malik because we always tie him to like the team we go hey Orlando they got some space they have a need um you know he’s been tied San Antonio’s been mentioned um but I don’t necessarily think we we know for a fact that these teams would be interested in Malik I’m sure they would be have some level of interest but what are they willing to pay I wonder like would Philly be a threat and I know Maxi’s there but they’ve got so much cap space and like if you sorry I didn’t mean to cut you off they’re the ones that I’ve identified I talked about it uh for weeks I said don’t sleep on Philly and and and I think Philly it’s funny because I think Philly has a a a u an ecosystem where you have maybe two or three different scenarios I think they’re big game hunting for sure you know I think there’s they’re they’re looking at trying to land something large and Paul George right and if you and what does that look like you know can you can you still you still have a lot of money there but you know having Paul George as opposed to maybe making a trade with another team like the Knicks I think you know embiid’s been rumored to the Knicks forever right like I mean that’s just everyone seems to speculate that’s eventually going to happen uh I don’t think that happens this year but whatever like let’s just say you go coveted free agents or you make a a significant splash I think Malik is such the type that he can almost adapt to any situation you know having that playmaking ability having that energy that he brings and I you know it’s funny he may not say this as much I know he did when he first got here but this the him him growing as a as as a basketball player and as a professional and understanding different nuances of the game and how he can impact the game from just playing with LeBron I think was was Paramount for him um and and obviously H the the Swagger that he brings it didn’t happen so much with with LA I mean certainly LeBron was hurt for a good period of time where he flourished um but his what he does to a team impacts the Kings especially so much it gives them an identity and they just they feed off of it and I honestly feel that the the way Joel embiid is and the way Tyrese Maxi is from a from a uh a chemistry standpoint I think he’d fit in beautifully there so it’s just depending upon what that makeup of that team looks like and can he have that same type of uh impact on a team particularly when it comes to that that chemistry uh because I think that’s so valuable and you already know what he is a playmaker um and we’ve seen it embiid’s looking for help all over the place and that’s what’s been allow that’s allowed guys like Maxi to shine my last one for you just as we head into the off season and it gets busy is how aggressive do you think they’re going to be I guess they they I guess the Kings would argue well we’re always aggressive we’re always searching for these deals but how How likely do you think it is that they will actually get something pretty significant done or will there be a serious makeover with this squad yeah I mean I think you look at what they did last season clearly and even at the obviously at the trade deadline and their lack of movement there um anything is going to be more dramatic than those two things right I mean we’re going back to Sasha I mean he was really him and dorte were kind of the big fish that they landed um I would argue you said big fish and it made me laugh but but I get it I get it go on yeah I mean I I would argue that the sabonis move and locking him up was was honestly their their move right you know what and I think that does often get overlooked because if you think about if what if they didn’t get that done like imagine the noise going into this offseason about him is he staying is yeah and then you would have Mike Brown thing too oh God he kind of crazy yeah and in sprinkle in Sasha as well right like you’ve got all kinds of chaos at that point uh no I think look I I I think that certainly any movement will be better I I think they could argue that they could bring in a piece or two maybe make you know three or four moves uh ultimately changing up the makeup I I my whole thing is and I think this is where a lot of fans are at is you you know you kind of have your your your long-term guys like Fox domos you could throw Kevin herder in there to a degree because he has a longer contract even though he’s likely going to be shopped um Keegan Murray certainly with where he’s at in the situation but that’s not necessarily a three-headed monster right and I think you need somebody this is kind of going back to the Pascal SE yakum uh conversation when he was at the trade deadline like I think that’s the type of player that they need they need a a big time scorer they need BR Ingram Sean oh my God right I’m hey I’m all you know me I’m all for that I am so in on Brandon Ingram I don’t know like I know his contracts coming up that what well because I just wonder how real I I feel like the Pelicans are going to try to shake some some stuff up for the for sure and he could be available yeah yeah I’m with you and and you know he adds length you get that type of scoring mentality you give domas some help I mean he’s obviously a good shooter and he can get to the rim I I there’s there’s some concerns about injury but yeah that’s the type of player that’s the type of move that I feel that they are in position to make now does it have to happen this offseason no um you can you can build some things around it you can still answer some questions that you might have answer some things you might have some questions about maybe it turns different towards the the trade deadline and maybe the asking prices and High I understand that but but ultimately whether it happens in the offseason or if it happens at some point during this next calendar year so to speak of the NBA that’s to me the move you have to make and you know if you’re you have to build around Fox and domos and you’ve got obviously a whole bunch of things that you’re wanting to hold on to but for the right asking price uh and I’m not just talking about Keegan Murray I’m talking about Kevin herder I’m talking about Davon Mitchell I mean you’ve got to you know what your team is and there shouldn’t be many unanswered questions at this point I mean they ran it back and they legit ran it back it’s two year it’s two wins different and you f all the way to ninth the the the landscape of the NBA changes by the day I I like to say that a lot and clearly this season especially with I mean we’ve talked about it man like look at these finals and I’ve said it for the entire season but I think I really believed it in January like it’s not just the Celtics are the best team in the league they are heads and tails above everybody I don’t think like think there’s the Celtics You could argue maybe there’s the you know the Nuggets a little bit or or or whatever but to me it’s the Celtics and everybody else like nobody else is in that class they hang hang on one second we’re gonna kill a dog for a second that’s just barking nonstop okay I didn’t even hear it it’s fine it got to a point where I was like okay it’s been happening for too long so we’re going to stop it we’re going to stop it for a um and I can how are the dogs doing by the way they’re well Carlin is um he’s the same he just can’t move I mean sorry he can move but not his back legs and he’s happy he’s not in pain and he’s rolling around like an idiot and then you know boj Jack is just screaming like crazy like look what a dick yeah look at this thing dick like look at this thing hey yeah you you talk basketball right now right now now I mean so sorry about that anyway um yeah you’re talking about how the Celtics dogs are dogs are phenomenal the Celtics are clearly ahead of you know everybody else in the NBA right now and the West is super challenging you have to look at okay San Antonio should be better next year like what kind of moves they make what’s Victor’s impact year two Houston took steps what they look like this year you already mentioned Memphis now there’s other teams that could drop off too who the hell knows what’s going on with golden state you know the Lakers the Clippers there are questions too but I still think the Kings aren’t far away from like being a legit playoff team and that’s how fragile it is like you know if they got in this year could they have won a first round series maybe it’s all about matchups but I I think it is imperative for this front office to to make something happen it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Brandon Ingram but upgrading some spots could make a world of difference I think Keegan’s got to take an offensive step this year work on expanding his game and you have to maximize Fox and sabonis is kind of prime years at this point but and also Sean I think whenever deuce and I talk about this to it’s the same thing that you said with like chriso Arte and javel McGee it was like I understood the idea surrounding them and the oh Chris DTE played well his rookie year with zonis oh javel McGee like you know can he be that length that you need around the rim behind some like I understand the idea you just can’t I feel like you’re now at the point where you can’t miss because of where domos and de are in their careers no and I agree I agree with both what you said I think that’s kind of the point I was getting to is you have the Celtics and then there’s everyone else in my opinion right and the parody that that what just shows you that it’s that are far and that are Far and Away in terms of you know you you ran it back got two wins different but it was dramatic you went from three to nine right that’s my point like it it while it looks insurmountable it looks like there’s not that much difference in my opinion and to me it should make them more aggressive that there’s so much par and this thing is wide open especially in the west where you could really you know you you know what it’s going to take to get your guys positioned well and and a step like that an Ingram a three moves that make you a little bit more of a of a physical team or a longer team or give in my mind it’s all about getting domas help right because he look he’s he’s one of the most talented players in the league and what he does especially in the modern NBA but can he be your best player do you still have to have a guy who can just go get you a bucket right and domas is such that he feeds everybody like everyone has career years when they go and play with domas they love playing with the guy he shares the ball he’s you know we’re always telling he should probably score more he should probably do maybe a little bit more and I only say that because that’s how you identify this team getting better you’ve got guys that are feeding off it but it’s like man if he was only like did this just a little bit more it’s like at the end of the day he is what he is and he’s a great basketball player and um that’s why he gets a lot of the criticisms that he gets is because people want to see more like you’re so talented you’re so dominant you can do all these things but at the end of the day if you put a spotlight on him it’s like you know like he needs everyone around him right I agree and you have to find the right those right pieces around him and to your point again going back to Ingram like he would flourish around him I I I mean I think you know everyone talks about playing in Sacramento and how you know Sacramento obviously small market and California and it’s not you’re in California but you don’t get the LA Spotlight and all that kind of stuff we get it right but at the same time playing with a guy like sabonis is incredibly attractive to a lot of players and guys who can come in here and have career years and then position themselves for a potential payday and all you have to do is look at Malik monk like you know the two of those guys had in my opinion for better part of the two years that they played together some of the best two-man game in the NBA uh and and and now Malik is in a position to get an ultimate payday um you know you saw what he unlocked in Fox like Fox was already a good player he became a great player because of Deon sabonis in my opinion you know he has another guy that can take that pressure off him and allow him to really flourish in a system around him then you space him out with some shooting like no wonder they had the offensive Firepower they did in that first year you take a little bit of a back seat this year can you get back to a little bit more doesn’t have to be number one but can you get back to playing with that that level of Firepower and I think they can I mean you look at this year I mean free throws three-point shooting I mean it just wasn’t what it was in the first year yeah the the regression from you know herder and even Keegan from the three-point shooting you know and fox just took a lot more you know he didn’t put as much pressure on the rim at times and part of that is because those other guys aren’t knocking down shots and they’re packing the paint so and also you guys health and injuries like screwed with the flow of you know like you look at a team again like the Celtics and the amount of death and that they have this identity and this strategy as a team where they can go next man up next man up the Kings it was like a drop off not not even necessarily because the individual was like a certain tier of basketball player it just I mean it’s just one of the best leagues in the world and you have to make sure you don’t have that type of drop off uh with the type of identity that you’re trying to play with as an organization yeah yeah and you got to find those guys that are going to be two-way players I think they’ve you know it’s it’s it’s easier said than done but you know and you compare them to a team like the Celtics which they probably shouldn’t because again they’re an anomal but they’ve got two-way players all throughout the roster it’s wild do you think it’s too much to ask to have sabonis take like four threes a game next year yeah probably I I just don’t think they’ll be I just don’t think they’ll have that in their makeup I don’t know that he’ll I think this year certainly gives him a confidence I know he’s still working on it playing in in in the Lithuanian national team they’ve got to go and qualify for the Olympics but if he if he can take the qualifying and if somehow they win their group and they can make the Olympics um he won’t be asked to play that type of role I don’t think you’ll see him shoot threes in in any of the international competition but I I feel like coming off of that um and adding some of the tools that he’s added to his game over the last season and seeing some of the you know people leave him out on the island and he takes a shot um I feel like there should be a confidence there and I feel like even if it’s whether it’s the three-point line or if it’s even that top of the key right there where he could just do the Chris Weber shot free throw extended and nail it um I think that that’s probably where his game should gravitate towards uh or at least evolve to uh in in some of these years to come maybe this is this will be the first of it because we’ve seen a lot where people leave him on the island and he’s exposed and he doesn’t get the motion around him and he’s just holding the basket so um yeah I don’t know that I’d expect it but certainly it would be a welcome site see and that’s that’s the thing with him you’re right the the long mid-range shot I mean he took more mid-range I think it was a career high in mid-range but most of them were like 4 to 14 feet away not that like free throw line extended one and you think of someone like Al Horford and like he went from not being a three-point shooter to turning into one or Brook Lopez and obviously sabonis is such a force inside at times but I just think about when teams are leaving him and if he can just have that confidence to Just Launch it do not hesitate it from 20 feet from three point land he he can knock it down he just doesn’t take it it’s funny in talking to him the other day and and it kind of app propo that here we are on Saturday before Father’s Day as we record this it’s like it was a Father’s Day Feelgood like and it didn’t you know do you and I are a lot Al like when it comes to our fathers and and you know kind of out of we don’t have them in our lives kind of a thing so it didn’t dawn on me until someone really like hit me over the head with a hammer and they’re like no it was like father’s day’s on Sunday and we’re here we are talking about arvus yeah um him getting the number from 10 to1 to honor his father you know what that number means not only for his father and his family his name’s his daughter 11 she’s born on July 11th of last year this really kind of cool scenario right her name’s 11 yeah so so cute didn’t didn’t hear my interview cool uh but the go ahead we listen to everything you do Sean but didn’t the interview though am you’re you have interesting yeah in that interview though what was what was fun for me because you know he comes to Sacramento and what’s the first thing you do as a journalist you’re like oh we got to talk about your father right he never had like this Joy of talking about him uh and it’s probably because he’s had to talk about his dad his entire life so it’s like okay I’m kind of I’m My Own guy blah blah blah so it was most fun I’ve had talking to him about his father because he was playing the role he was having fun with it um but it was moment of him it’s like you know I run into people who don’t remember you know Charles Barkley as a player and they just think of him as his media member right um or an analyst and they they don’t remember him what he was as a player um I imagine there’s a ton of people that have no idea what his dad was like and his dad was as literal still is I mean he’s a 73 humongous person mass as a basketball yeah massive and his head is enormous too by the way that that’s one of the things that strike me I go I didn’t think a human head could get that anyway um to see him do his skill set yes he’s a he’s a slower guy but like his skill set would fit the modern day NBA I mean he extended the floor he was a force down low he had the crazy passes and domas has crazy passes he’s like no he did it like 20 times a game I might get a fancy pass one every whatever he’s like but he did it all the time so I literally asked him I like who who’s who’s better like I know eras are different he goes there’s no way I’ll ever be as good as my Dad wow and I think part of that is because of how he extended the floor he could shoot the three he could do it consistently you had to respect he could draw the center and back in the day A Center was as big as Sha and Alonzo morning and you know Patrick ying and those types of guys you can draw those guys out to the perimeter and if you do even a slow guy like arvita sabonis can go by you or dish it off with some crazy fancy pass and he just dazzled people and people forget like he came to the NBA when he was 30 and still had a he still made the Hall of Fame but it’s mainly because what he did internationally but he was a that dude was amazing to watch so um hearing domos talk about his father that way was enlightening it was fun and yeah it just happened to coincide with Father’s Day weekend so it was uh it was kind of one of those Father Day Father’s Day feelg Goods you mentioned him changing his number to 11 I think I’m to the point now no more retiring of jerseys because to that point you’ve been to that point Bob Davies you know that was his number they got permission from the family no it’s just like obviously the Warriors don’t need to sign 30 for when Steph retires like we don’t we’re not going to sign it you don’t no one else gets to wear it okay but like at this point just you could still hang the number in the rafters you can still do like a Ring of Honor thing but who it’s just a number but let let these guys wear what they want I think you’re on to something I think it just means something different for for each individual team and and look like you’re the if you’re the Lakers right and you’ve majority of your retired numbers have come from the Los Angeles days and not the Minneapolis days you have a ton of numbers up in the rafters like a silly amount but you’ve won so many championships so it’s harder for a team like them think of how many numbers are retired in the Sacramento era you’re just you’re doing just fine because you haven’t had many winning seasons now again a lot of your numbers have come from I mean the Kings have gone from you know rockchester Omaha Kansas City now in Sacramento I’m forgetting Cincinnati I mean there’s that’s ridiculous so um I I think it just means something to each individual team and really when you break it down and I don’t mean to be rude to some of the players that have their numbers retired you can make an argument in the Sacramento era it should only be Chris Weber and Mitch Richmond and that’s it right oh he said it out yeah I mean here’s my rule on Jersey retirements as if you’re going to allow them it’s people try to like oh you have to win a championship or you have to be a Hall of Famer you have to have all these rules it’s like no I think it just if the player matters if the fans Vibe who cares but let’s be honest when the Kings retired like Paia and Vlade and Weber wasn’t it like the same season and it was during like a terrible terrible year and you know the blof were trying to get people to come to games and that was one way to do it retire we know we missed that too like what else do you I mean yeah and some if you keep retiring numbers you’re just going to have to people are to go to letters and then that’ll just be weird and we don’t need to do that right you just you just find different ways to honor them and like you said is it a Ring of Honor can you build a statue you know I think with the sanord giant Deuce here I think we’re all Giants fans I forget Morgan like the Giants have a really cool thing they do retire numbers but there’s not many of them they do have a wall of fame you know getting up on there and that’s way they honor their players too obviously there’s some people who have statues at at Oracle Park but um yeah every team’s different how they do it and yeah you might run out of numbers one day but it’s it’s fun I think you can you know you get to a point where it’s like you know what just because we retired the number doesn’t mean we can’t uh bring it back do an instance like Bob Davies or you know what sorry Sam Lacy let’s take your number away we’re no longer we’re gonna honor you in a different way exactly well Sean um thanks for taking some time talk some Kings off season I’m excited to see what happens the next few weeks got the draft we got free agency California classic Vegas H we got it all uh you guys hanging out in Vegas with me this year cuz with you in Vegas tast of it last year yeah I was going to say wait did I didn’t did I hang out he I did I did we got drinks at the chandelier bar at Arya wow Deuce was a trooper um Morgan was getting pizza she was in that pizza stup I was in Pizza line for two hours like let a girl eat we have different ways we experience Vegas I’ll tell you that much yeah we do yes we Sean Sean’s like here’s this that makes your tongue numb and then take the drink it’s like okay that’s what he does let me chew on this goddamn flower yeah he doesn’t even he doesn’t even do work that’s all he does is just chew on this flowers it’s so good it’s so good the verbina at the chandelier bar I should yeah we’ll get one together this year Sean yeah they they need to have that elsewhere I I wouldn’t trust it anywhere else I don’t think but uh I think mun used to have one in Roseville actually because i’ I I’ve had this drink before and I believe it was at Muni in Roseville but this was years and years ago and I know exactly what it is and I remember it making my tongue numb and I was like whoa that’s cool it is really good and then I turned into Sean Cunningham and it was so weird uh shout out Chuck Hayes who thought I poisoned him one time he was at the he was there you do that to the wrong person like what did you just do to me I I I gave him my heads up I said this is going to taste different but I didn’t mean to name drop but you know Chuck is it is one of the funniest I’ve seen two people that had funny experiences at that bar one of them happened to be Chuck Hayes and another one if you know Vegas has an element around them that’s always trying to uh proposition people like me and they come up and uh I said you know what I’m flattered but you know why don’t I just why don’t I buy you a drink and so I bought her that drink and she thought I drugged her and she ran off so oh my God that’s the best way to get someone away from we’re going to have to do a post summer league edition of this podcast with Sean where we just hear his stories of trying to hand random people some numbing drinks he just has a bag of flowers you want one no man this is all right Sean appreciate you man and uh we’ll talk to you soon love you guys thanks yeah one and only Sean Cunningham

Deuce and Mo catch up with FOX40’s Sean Cunningham who has covered the Sacramento Kings for years. They talk about the Kings offseason, the latest with Sasha Vezenkov, Malik Monk and the importance of this offseason for the Sacramento Kings as they try to return to the playoffs.

0:00-Sean Cunningham joins the podcast
1:33-What is Sasha Vezenkov’s future in Sacramento?
10:40-What the Kings need more of this offseason
15:45-Is there a chance Malik Monk returns?
19:38-Does Malik’s situation change how they approach draft?
21:43-Who are the biggest threats to land Malik Monk?
24:40-Will the Kings make some real moves this offseason?
28:36-BoJack makes an appearance
29:45-Back to Kings offseason moves
35:10-Could Sabonis take more threes next year?
40:18-No more retiring jerseys in the NBA
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