Fansided

NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Kings holding on for any sign of hope

By Andrew Mentock

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 1: The Sacramento Kings are seen against the Phoenix Suns during a pre-season game on October 1, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 1: The Sacramento Kings are seen against the Phoenix Suns during a pre-season game on October 1, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Dating back to the 2007 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings have picked in the lottery every year. In some of those drafts, they ended up trading the rights to their picks, but over that time span, their average pick was in the top seven.

Yet, through poor management and controversial front office decisions, the team isn’t any closer to getting into the playoffs and out of the lottery. In fact, the number two overall pick the franchise had in the 2018 NBA Draft is the highest pick its had since 1989 (they drafted Pervis Ellison that year with the number one overall pick). It also doesn’t help that the entire franchise appears to be in disarray, especially after an employee recently embezzled money from companies associated with the organization.

Going forward, the Kings are holding on to any glimmer of hope for the future, especially since they won’t be participating in the first round of the draft next year because their pick will be going to either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, years of high draft picks has not resulted in any surefire stars.

Worse yet, head coach Dave Joerger will likely continue to prioritize giving minutes to more experienced players and traditional lineups over young, developing prospects. Sure, it’s nice to have Zach Randolph and George Hill on your roster, but not if it’s at the expense of the team’s future.

To better understand what it’s like to root for the Kings, I spoke to my friend, Patrick, who is a lifelong passionate fan that grew up in Sacramento. When I asked what he expected out of the upcoming season, he had this to say:

“I’m personally more interested in this season than maybe any since the one Boogie season where we started out over .500 — before he got hurt and we inexplicably fired out head coach (who, of course, is now the coach of a very exciting Nuggets team). I just want to see what we have, if anything.”

Justifiably, Patrick is setting the bar low. He isn’t wondering which player will become the next franchise star, he’s wondering what players will be worth keeping around in two to three years.

The five most intriguing young players on the Kings are De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic and rookies Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles (he sat out all of the 2017-18 season), and some fans like Patrick are dreaming of getting a chance to see them play together.

“Since we’re going to likely be the worst team in the West, people would like to see a Fox-Hield-Bogdanovic-Bagley-Giles/WCS starting lineup, but it seems unlikely Joerger will play Bogdanovic and Buddy together.”

Instead, Joerger seems more interested in experimenting with a lineup of centers than joining the modern NBA by playing multiple shooters and ball handlers.

As the No. 2 overall pick in last years draft, Bagley has the most pressure on him to be good and productive. He also lobbied hard for the Kings to draft him, but fans will quickly regret his desire to play in Sacramento if his play doesn’t significantly improve after a porous defensive NBA summer league where the big man averaged 15 points per game on 39 percent shooting and just seven rebounds.

On the other hand, one bright spot during the summer was Harry Giles’s return to action. He only averaged 10.8 points per game on 42 percent shooting, but he displayed a level of athleticism basketball fans and scouts haven’t seen from him since he was in high school, which is a very good sign for him and the franchise. This summer on the Ringer’s Bill Simmons Podcast, Jayson Tatum spoke about his fellow classmate and how great he was when they were in high school.

“You can ask anybody that was in our [draft] class. Harry was the only player I would’ve said in high school, ”Yeah, he might be better than me.”

He also compared him to one of the greatest Sacramento Kings of all time.

“I used to call him Chris Webber. That’s who I thought he used to play like.”

He still has a long way to go, but if he can continue to improve, Giles could ultimately be the Kings future star big man — a role Bagley was initially expected to fill.

It’s also important for the team that Fox takes a leap and Hield continues to make strides as a deep-range shooter. Bogdanovic ended up being the surprise of the team last year after the Serbian made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Next. Meet the 2018 NBA 25-under-25. dark

No matter what happens this year, the Kings will likely be just as bad, if not worse, as itheir veterans get older and young players look for an identity. So while this may be the most optimistic Patrick and other Kings are for the upcoming season, they know they’ve essentially been tricked into having something to look forward to.

With a sigh, Patrick said, “Most of us are in on the joke.”