Joe Dumars advised them well

Not a joke, look it up. Joe was an advisor for the Kings before he became the Pelicans GM.

It’s honestly closer to \(50M than \)40.

To Spurs for Fox (shorter deal, and they need a big). To the Jazz for Markkanen (shorter deal, good pairing with JJJ). Contract is in the ballpark of Zion’s at least. Not a lot of similar contracts at the position otherwise that would be likely to move.

Jalen Johnson basically does the same thing. Offensive hub that rebound, and gets assists

we need a rim protector not sabonis

I’ll give Sabonis a lot of shit but he’s never struck me as a locker room problem

Well when half of the time, the team will default to giving it to Acuff at the end of the shot clock…

Not really. He hits Saboner in the pick and roll nonstop and he refuses to shoot the ball

Its Lillard and Lamarcus Aldridge all over again. Except Lamarcus would actually take a jumper. So many times Sabonis would have the ball wide open from at the 3 point line AND just above the freethrow line for a midrange and his man will literally be nowhere near him clogging up the passing lanes. Sabonis is literally just wide open every play like Draymond. By himself. Refusing to shoot the ball.

Because he has no faith in his jumper.

To protect his shooting percentage.

Unfortunately for Sabonis Acuff has ZERO interest in playing hot potato and will shoot that shit if you dont do something with it.

He’s pretty short, tbh

No, the offense runs through him though, which is what Domas wants

Yes

From what I’ve seen Acuff is a very talented ball player, and while he has undeniably struggled in the first 6 games of his career, he’s also looked like a superstar in some moments. I encourage you to watch the games to answer this question yourself. He hits his team for open shots after collapsing the defense, but a frustrating amount of the time they bobble it and turn it over, or just miss their shot. He had 14 assists against the pelicans, so he’s definitely looking for opportunities to get his team to score, but it’s the kings we’re talking about.

That’s not to say he’s an efficient and seasoned point guard, but he plays with great pace, shows an understanding of what his strengths and weaknesses are, and often makes the right reads on a given play. The offense is designed to run through him right now so of course he’s taking plenty of shots. But he takes them when they make sense. With time, experience, professional resources, and physical growth he’ll get more efficient. I think if he can stay healthy and keep developing he’ll be a top 5 pg in the NBA in 3-4 years.

Maybe six games in that’s just as hyperbolic as calling him a shot chucker or ball hog, but he’s incredibly fun to watch and I’m very optimistic about his future.

24 field goal attempts a game (most in the NBA, and most on his own team by almost 10 attempts) while having a field goal percentage under 40%. He averages about as many points as he does shot attempts.

I’m sure its more the Kings FO and staff are just like “go chuck the ball and try your best to carry lil bro” lol. I have Acuff and Sabonis on my Dynasty team, I know, fantasy bleh. But I tend to watch my players a lot during the seasons, there are times when Sabonis is wide tf open and not even looking for a shot. Acuff is the only guy who is taking them, I’ve seen Zach Lavine pass out of a few open drives/shots to get it to Acuff. A lot is on the rooks shoulders, I don’t get why the media is trying to make some narrative around him.

Walk me through how Magic getting worse floor spacing helps

I like the Dallas destination, mind

idk Sabonis does have a lot of screen assists

Of course Christie can’t build anything, he should have never been a head coach to begin with. It’s Vivek that can’t build anything. He makes Jerry Jones look like competent as an owner.

Sabonis has in fact been excellent with Acuff. Domas’s own performance has been really good so far this season except for like one bad game.

Also the narrative that Sabonis doesn’t want to play with Acuff is completely fabricated, confirmed by multiple of the Kings most trusted insiders.

That said yeah no shit Doug Christie is the worst coach in the NBA. We knew that last year already

Achuwa should be out there to set off-ball screens as well, rather than taking more shots than Sabonis does.

The weird thing is he is making things easier for Acuff, and Acuff hits him in the pick and roll constantly.

I’ve never seen a rookie who has elicited as much hate as quickly as Acuff has. Writing shit like this about a 19 year old who has played 6 games is disgraceful

yeah it’s wild. his efficiency has gone up every game. if you scratch the first two games it’s really good

sean deveney from the clickbait farm heavy dot com.

Feels like Sabonis’ agent trying to make his trade request look justified

The whole take is dumb

Bad writing and reporting often gets ESPN the same traffic. If its rage inducing enough it will get them tons of traffic like what we hear from First Take.

Like I’m watching this guy get straight buckets and he passes good too 😂

Especially since he was pretty efficient in the NCAA as a freshman guard.

It’s been true so far. I’d hate to have to play along side Acuff.

It’s not bad writing, it’s the truth. It’s like yal don’t actually watch the games

So far he has been that though, shooting 40% fg and 32% from 3 while taking 24 fga per game. Whether he continues to be that no one knows, but so far that is what he is.

He’s basically Jalen Green

But are they wrong?

Yeah we won the most insanely useless game in history to put ourselves in a coin flip that ended up as the number 2 pick

The Kings did not spend the last two years tanking. Last year we desperately wanted them to and they instead beat out the tanking teams into the 7th pick.

I guess that strategy might work this year…

He’s leading the league in FGA across 7 games while shooting 39%..

What do you consider a low efficiency chucker if not this?

He excels at very little other things and is brutal defensively.

They tanked last year. They just didn’t tank as hard as some of the super tanks

Sad thing is they were genuinely attempting to win last year.

I mean Sean Deveney has been writing for decades on the NBA, most famously at The Sporting News. Just because you’ve never heard of him doesn’t mean anything.

Personally I don’t have a horse in the race but that’s a really lazy way to frame an argument because you’re just weaponizing your own ignorance

Acuff started off with 3 horrible shooting games, not just 1.

Respectfully, the roster is not talented. Teams have gotten so much deeper and the bar just keeps getting higher. You might be able to say this team has talent like 10 years ago.

Haliburton was the culture guy who actually wanted to be there and Fox forced him out. Then fox a year later demanded out.

Just an incompetent team from top to bottom

It starts with the owner.

The draft isn’t just “bad luck”…

Culture Stink is a very underrated factor in sports. It permeates everything and it’s extremely hard to get rid of, imo.

The team is shit because of the owner. Frankly I believe having no team is better than supporting a team that produces nothing but anger, misery and eventually apathy. I moved to apathy. I hope Acuff leaves that shitshow of an organization fast.

He’s passing quite often and sets up his teammates in the first few games. And he was said to be an efficient shooter in school, so i expect his shooting percentage to get better.

To put it simply, he very likely just quit on the Kings, at least the scoring wise. He does the other things (rebounding, assisting) without not half-ass’ing it for now. But he clearly dropped the ball on taking any shots. He probably see a high increase of shots all around the team and just thinks: well you want to shoot, take all the shots.

I can’t find another rational explanation since Saboni’s never was that indifferent like he was against the Griz yesterday.

He’s checked out. He knows he’s not part of the Kings’ future.

He isn’t a shooter, doesn’t really have a post game. Where are 15 plus shots coming from?

Thank you for this. After Fox was traded Sabonis straight up went to the media and said we need a Point guard. Well now we have a point guard with actual offensive upside as a scorer and playmaker and now his camp is going to sources to complain that he’s shooting too much. All while HE is not looking to score at all last night and getting pissy with Acuff if he doesn’t pass it to him in the exact spot down to the millimeter (this has happened)

Wow, it’s like Lavine and Sabonis are looking to be the focal point of the team but cant come to the realization that they aren’t wanted as the focal point anymore!

I remember years ago being at a Pacers-76ers game. Embiid was out, so Drummond was their starting center and when he was on the bench they went small with Tobias Harris at the 5.

I thought that Sabonis would be able to absolutely crush that mismatch…nope.

He’s leading the league with 24 FGA/game and his true shooting percentage is 50%. He’s literally the textbook definition of low efficiency chucker right now. He obviously will improve over time, but that’s what he is currently.

Letting your 19 year old rookie take 25 shots per game is WILD, and honestly disrespectful to the vets on the team.

He’s not a better player than Sabonis or Lavine at this stage. Why should they defer to him like he’s Michael Jordan?

What is Acuff’s ceiling?

Sabonis has been around long enough to know the game. Is he wrong? I doubt it.

I was gonna say, I didn’t get that vibe watching every game so far. He was very excited when Acuff made that monster dunk and he was flexing behind him. Most of the time he also was the one who kept passing Acuff the ball and their interaction has always been positive (like on an assist or on time out).

Yeah that part is bs. He doesnt mind playing with Acuff. They have actually had decent chemistry. He very likely doesnt want to be on the team but not because of acuff

No fucking clue, never heard of him, and actual insiders like Carmichael Dave (who I don’t love) have aggressively refuted this dudes story. I hate that this bs is getting any traction

I think his best pairing is with Jaren Jackson.

He needs a rim protecting, spacing PF.

I think Lavine could help in the right role. He’s like a sixth man / bench lineup leader guy. The problem of course is the salary.

Utah and Warriors are interesting spots for Sabonis. Beyond that I’m not sure.

Lavine feels like a buyout guy for Miami.

Suns could use him for sure, our rebounding is awful and they need someone else who can playmake

Sabonis would be amazing for Toronto. I would attach Poetl and a FRP for him.

He’s not good on defense at all, but the defense of the Raps should be able to cover for him.

they’re just gonna ride out Lavine and let him come off the books

Isnt he just an expiring?

If so, unless the Kings can get another expiring + long term assets ( even if some low end young Player that the Kings can use ), why not just waive Lavine?

Utah? Sabonis and JJJ seem like they were made to play with each other, they cover each other’s flaws. Might be the most expensive totally mid frontcourt tho.

Lavine is extremely talented but he is not a championship type player in my opinion.

It reminds me of my friend who I play video games with. He is individually excellent with amazing aim, but he doesn’t fight well with a team so his skills don’t always translate well into team fights or situations requiring coordination.

He’s technically talented, but his playstyle and shortcomings bring the team down.

I think Lavine is the same. He’s undeniably talented but his issues like his defense and inconsistency mean he’s often just a liability for the team. I’ve always hated him on the Kings and can’t wait to get rid of him.

Sabonis on the other hand is one of those players who I always felt had amazing potential but has been held back by the fact he’s on the Kings. He’s also undersized and these days it seems like the best teams just don’t rely on a guy like Sabonis

Lavine should start learning how to be a bench player. and no one will offer him money for starting position next year

Lavine will only have value cuz of the expiring contract IMO. As for Sabonis, I wouldn’t mind my Blazers grabbing him for the right price. Definitely not a 1st though. Would be pretty cool to have another Sabonis on the roster and I think he would be a good fit with our second unit or times when Clingan is in foul trouble (which happens often

He’d be perfect for the Raptors. Would have Scottie next to him for defense and he can rebound and help facilitate

Utah like others mentioned, or the raptors. Although taking Poeltl at this point would require 2first by itself. But the raps can use more playmaking and rebounding, whilst having decent rim protection from the wings already.

We in Minnesota would gladly take Sabonis over Rudy’s regressing ass

Not with that insane contract. But as a Bulls fan I’m extremely interested to see what his market as a free agent. He’ll be one this off season and if he’s getting paid his worth he can be a very valuable scorer for a contending team

I would like to have him on warriors

Sabonis would fit very well next to wemby. I would sacrifice Fox just to get Fox off the team. Then they could have a first as well. I’d even throw in two firsts. One for taking sabonis and one for them taking Fox. The spurs get more size and rebounding. sabonis can actually run an offense unlike Fox. Then wemby covers all of sabonis’ bad defense. It also fixes the spurs cap situation as the sabonis contract is shorter. The kangz also get a pg to lead acuff like Fox led Harper and castle.

I know this is going to be an unpopular take here but Sabonis contributes less to winning on a decent-to-good team than Lavine. Both are making stupid money though so it’s kind of a moot point.

Probably Miami, would be a good fit for what they seem to be going for

If Lavine willing to come off the bench and be a more situational player it’s definitely some teams that would take him

id actually be super happy with either of them, Lavines a bigger question mark but he has talent just 0 motivation maybe on a true contender hed step up

Sabonis would be great on the Jazz

Of course they’d touch Lavine. Reddit is such a weird place. Someone touched KAT and they won a chip, why wouldn’t the touch Lavine?

He looks defeated because he’s on the Kings and his next contract is probably a paycut because of the aprons/most teams not having a ton of cap space.

Sabonis been defeated ever since looney ate his ass for breakfast lunch and dinner. Oh and when everyone clowned on him and blamed him for getting stomped on by a donkey

How many kings games have you watched?

Sabonis only had like six attempts last game that’s nuts

Acuff feeds sabonis of PnR constantly, then sabonis will pass it out even if he’s open in the mid range

Last year was an even worse time. He was injured for most of the year, putting up the worst numbers he’s ever had in a Kings jersey, while having one more year on his overpaid contract.

Yeah i’ll take that

I still think he pairs very well with cade cunningham

well he’s not going to be an allstar in sac no matter what so it’s a win win

He is hardly an obvious allstar. He was a fringe allstar at one point. He has for the most part but up big numbers on bad teams. He’d be great for the allstar game in that he is horrible defensively

i doubt he makes another all star for the rest of his career tbh

I wonder how he would fit on the Spurs next to Wemby. They have very different skill sets and might compliment each other nicely.

The best public impact stats don’t like him very much. He doesn’t seem to statistically drive that much winning despite his gaudy individual numbers

Basically Sabonis causes you to Sabonify your team, which forces weird team building and lineup decisions and also gives you a pretty low ceiling as a first round playoff team.

I think on an actual good team he’s a high quality backup, but the Kings gave him a comically huge contract.

Not to mention his age and his injury history make him pretty risky at this point for the price too. He’s stuck, needs a perfect fit almost where a team will pay him and also be a contender so he can be happy where he’s at

Sabonis is the type of player that devalues triple doubles.

He is another Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic.