That team was good. They were good the next season as well, they won 48 and then 46 wins. Playoff calibur team that got bad matchup luck in the playoffs/play-in.

The issue was that their ceiling was high 40s, which in the West usually means the play-in or 6th seed. If they were in the East they would likely have won 50+ that second year and easily been in the playoffs.

What that team wasn’t was a championship team, there is no way that team actually competes for a championship, they were too flawed and too exploitable in a long series. They had no avenue to getting towards Championship contention because their two beat players were the reason they could be exploited in a long series.

Fox is a speedy player that is inconsistent at shooting, he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. He isn’t great at defense. Sabonis is a center that doesn’t protect the rim and also doesn’t shoot, he does a ton of other things well but it’s hard to build a good defense, and you have lineup limitations when both Fox and Sabonis are playing. You essentially need three shooters around them at all times. So the Kings had to stagger their two stars and load up on shooting and defense.

3 and D defensive players cost a premium in the NBA and teams don’t like to part ways with these useful players. Huerter also was/is a streaky shooter. For stretches he seems like he is Klay Thompson, and for other stretches he shoots under 30% for weeks. An even more streaky version of Klay. Monk is a decent shooter and shot creator/facilitator but he isn’t the best defender and is best suited as a 6th man. Murray was their best 3 and D player and he doesn’t at all create his own shot, which is okay in their system

However adding DeRozen completely screwed up this already precarious balance. The Kings played fast. DeRozen didn’t. DeRozen was a third player that needed the ball. DeRozen doesn’t shoot 3s that often and isn’t a huge threat there. So Monk, Fox, DeRozen and Sabonis are all best with the ball in their hands and only one of those players can shoot and all of them have defensive liabilities.

Terrible roster construction. They added a star and got worse.

There was really nowhere to go from the “Beam Team” they peaked at high 40s. They should have traded Fox or Sabonis or both when they had more value after their 46 win season, or not picked up DeDozen and ran back whatever they had. Instead they are selling low and taking the slow route in a rebuild.

Pretty sure Fox choked that Warriors series away too

We won one less game the following year with a ton of injuries especially at the end. Yes we lost to you in game two of the playin however it wasn’t until year three when we added Deebo and Fox gave up on the Kings that offseason. He quite quick from game 1, and all the kings fan saw it coming the moment he hired Rich Paul.

The Kings FO prioritized Fox his whole eight years with us. Traded or refused to draft anyone that could be a threat to him. He took maximum money the whole way so it’s not he was doing the Kings organization any favors (not that he should). Then after he got his coach fired, tanked his trade value and demanded to be traded to only the Spurs people act like we did him wrong. Did the Kings make plenty of mistakes, sure we did. However the beam team was a good start they just botched the execution by not getting a good PF and the shooters they had literally forgetting how to shoot the ball.

People (Kings fans included) conveniently gloss over this when talking about Fox and Brown and the Kangz.

Didn’t choose, Pacers/other teams wanted Hali not Fox and they made that known

I still think that was absolute bullshit the Fox camp put out to make them look righteous. We all saw how Fox was playing under Brown. He did not give a shit about his coach. And all indications are Monk and Sabonis had a problem with Brown for not getting on Fox’s ass for how nonchalant he was all the time.

And Brown doesn’t look too fond of Fox since the firing all I’ll say.

Fox was just waiting for an excuse to jump ship, the Brown firing just gave PR cover to a guy that hates being seen as the Bad Guy

If he actually cared about keeping Brown he could have actually took accountability during the losing streak instead of doing his typical idgaf say whatever makes you happy shtick

We’ll never know the full truth but it was a smart play from Fox and Rich Paul to use the firing to get out.

Fox had quit on Brown and the team before the firing (honestly it led to the firing). I don’t believe that bs for a second. Brown also doesn’t seem to care for Fox at all since the firing.

Flick the bean

When he’s not under pressure he can make vet moves but the BBIQ seems to randomly disappear.

And because, for some reason, Vivek Ranadive has/has an infatuation with Zach Lavine.

Yeah and he demanded a trade because they fired Mike Brown lol

Love being a fan of this team ❤️

Especially when you look at this year, the Knicks played like steamed ass for 11 games and then turned it completely around. He’s earned our trust now.

I’ve literally never heard this rumor and I’m a fucking online degenerate.

People forget the spurs were struggling before Fox came back. Their guards were breaking records for turnovers against OKC. It’s a shame he made several blunders in a row but he helped them get into this position in the first place.

Recency Bias

The fact that their closing lineup has Alverado and Brunson is overlooked. That lineup seems ridiculously defensively compromised but holy shit did it ever work. I love Alverado

Believe me, the most senior Knicks fans who have endured years of struggles are very lowkey and respectful. I still can’t process what happened last night.

I blame Sidetalk, it has generated a sub “culture” of 21yo degenerates looking for 30 secs of fame.

Yeah literally my ONLY beef has been Wemby getting carried away with the frustration fouls and occasional dirty plays. I seriously like him and the whole spurs team as well.

But i’m from New Jersey, and my fam grew up in the boogie down so Knicks in 5 lmao.

Wemby and Castle sold the entire 4th quarter too, you guys are really deflecting from the fact Wemby was chucking and missing threes, or Castle’s reckless turnovers

And I forgot to mention Wemby missing those free throws 😂

Fox made some boneheaded plays down the stretch, but he has played really well these past few weeks.

Do you guys forget what these kids looked like vs OKC without him? A million turnovers left and right. They have constantly looked lost on offense without him on the court. He’s the only guard who actually knows how to run some offense besides run directly into the chest of OG or Hart.

Yeah if you have a talented team that can win a title but have players whose egos might get in the way of success… there’s no question who you want coaching that team, in the history of American sports.

You would think OKC hadn’t already won 3 games that series the way people act like it would have been impossible for them to win with Haliburton on the floor

Exactly. It’s easy to see but to articulate in a way that clearly describes what’s happening to the average viewer is a true talent. Basketball IQ through the roof.

And here I was saying he’s one of the best coaches in the league while Kings and Knicks fans were calling me dumb. I’m so happy for Mike Brown. He’s always been a scapegoat

Exactly. I was hoping he’d return as an assistant coach.

Pop would’ve ripped the TO when, i forget which Spurs player it was, jacked up an extremely early 3 off the dribble for a nothing possession that let the Knicks close the gap from like 26 to 21 and ripped them apart

A shot clock violation would’ve been better odds to win than a long early shot clock 3 that gives the Knicks a quick transition before your D gets setup and Wemby needs to run another suicide

As a Celtics fan, I saw that shot and thought immediately, yeah they’re going to blow this just like we do every time