Last night, in a thrilling finals matchup of the NBA Cup, the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 124-113. Despite being in the lead for most of the game, including leading 94-89 going into the 4th quarter, this young Spurs team couldn’t close out against the well-seasoned Knicks roster.
New York outscored the Spurs 35 to 19 in the 4th quarter en route to the 11-point win.
Why could I possibly be starting this article talking about the NBA Cup, a tournament the Kings can only view from a distance?
Well, my friends, why do you think the Knicks were able to come back in the 4th quarter?
Surely it’s their playoff experience from their star players. It is partly because of that, but also because the Knicks had a coach keeping them locked into the game at all times, a coach leading them to believe it was always attainable to take control of the game, no matter the score. As long as they didn’t half-ass anything, this coach would be leading them to exactly where the roster wants to go.
That coach, Mike Brown, is better known by us Kings fans as “2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year”, or by his other alias, “The Only Kings Coach other than Rick Adelman to have a winning record in the 21st Century.” Long nicknames, for sure, but apt. The Knicks winning the NBA Cup was a harrowing reminder to Kings fans of the beauty of the past and the horrors of the present. The years-long mismanagement of the team was on center stage for the world to see. Surely the fans are moved almost to the point of illness to see these things happen. The fans are the ones taking the brunt of the damage. We watch the games, we spend the money, and we put in the effort to involve ourselves in how this team is doing. The ownership that made these horrific decisions? Who knows what they feel?
Maybe they feel like they’ve made mistakes, or maybe they feel like those were the necessary moves for the team’s long-term future.
Regardless, both of those feelings can be summed up in the word “delusion”. If they feel like firing Mike Brown was truly a mistake, then we should’ve seen more aggressive changes by now. Not even “get back on track” changes, but more “tear it down to the nuts and bolts” changes. If they think those were the necessary changes to succeed in the long term? Well, the Kings are currently 6-20. Delusion.
Don’t worry, though! There’s more! Dylan Harper led the Spurs in scoring last night with 21, and Victor Wembanyama had 18 points, despite struggling a bit with the paint physicality of Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Do you know why the Spurs were in a good position early in this game? The play of their point guard, De’Aaron Fox. Fox had 8 straight points for the Spurs in the third quarter, and came an assist short of a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 9 assists. I really, really don’t want to spend more time talking about the complete farce that the De’Aaron Fox trade was. But the key points I want to touch on again were that it was a) completely avoidable and b) a bad return of assets.
Mike Brown and De’Aaron Fox
Here’s what I believe about the Fox trade. Fox had no intention of leaving, especially with the team performing better than it ever had when he was around, but he made it clear he had no desire to play for another new regime in Sacramento. Tensions flared in the locker room as the Kings’ season started off slow, and a vocal group of players was allegedly speaking out against how Mike Brown wasn’t the guy they wanted as their coach. Meanwhile, Fox always had Brown’s back in the media. This disconnect between the team’s star player and the rest of the team came to a head when ownership decided to fire Brown. Immediately, the writing was on the wall for Fox, and a month later, he’s a Spur.
Now, the Kings’ coach is Doug Christie. Doug is a much different coach than Mike Brown. Brown demanded accountability and 100% effort in practice and in play. From all reports, Doug is more of a “player’s coach”. Not necessarily avoiding accountability, but more gentle than Brown ever was. With Fox and Brown gone, it seems the players in the locker room got what they wanted, right? Right?
Potential Trades
Welp, new reports from ESPN’s Marc J. Spears say the Kings are expected to trade some veteran players who have a disconnect with Christie and his staff. These players are likely Dennis Schroder, DeMar DeRozan, and Russell Westbrook. Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are also in the mix of trade rumors, with those two likely bringing forward the most value for the Kings. What seems to be the most interesting takeaway is that last year, certain players in the locker room were unhappy with Brown, which led to his firing. Now, it seems like at least 1 of those players is now unhappy with Christie. Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
In that same article, De’Aaron Fox spoke very bluntly. He doesn’t follow the Kings; he really only keeps in contact with Keegan Murray. He doesn’t have anything to say about the organization, just that he hopes Murray is in the best situation possible for his career.
The quote Fox uses is:
“The grass is greener on this side.”
Kings fans have been through a lot since the franchise landed in California’s capital in 1985. However, that quote might be the most piercing bullet fans have felt since that move 40 years ago.
He’s right. We all know it. And we know there are a few more years of this nightmare before there’s even a thought of waking up.
