In spite of their somewhat bizarre decision to load up on veterans in the off-season, the Kings are still sitting at 13-31 and in last place of the western conference standings. Also, by the numbers, the Kings are technically the worst team in the NBA as they are currently last in the NBA in offense and defense.
It is clear that as per usual for the past decade or so, the Kings aren’t going anywhere. So what does that mean? (I will give you a second…) time to enter tank mode!
According to a report from James Ham of NBC Sports California, the Kings will start sitting out some of their veterans every game.
Both management and the coaching staff are on the same page with the decision, NBC Sports California has confirmed. Two or three players will sit each night as the team explores what they have in youngsters.
“Going forward, what I’m going to do is, we’re going to play a rotation where two of our five veterans are going to be out every night. It might be some times there’ll be three. It’s an opportunity for some other guys to get some minutes as we go throughout the course of the season. I’ve got it laid out…I’ve got about five or six games laid out, and every week I’ll go out again because you want to communicate with those guys when they’re not going to play. Other guys, they’ve got to be ready. If you’re in the first three years of your contract, you can expect to play a little, or a lot, or none, but you should be ready to play,” Joerger told the media after the Kings’ loss to the Thunder on Monday night.”
I have to chuckle a little bit because the final sentence of that statement from Joeger essentially means nothing.
The Kings are also deciding to shut down rookie big man Harry Giles for the remainder of the season:
Official announcement from Kings on Giles: pic.twitter.com/uGJBDK3MqK
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) January 18, 2018
These are both very savvy decisions by the Kings and kudos to them for being out in the open and upfront about resting healthy veterans on given nights to give more playing time to their young players and (read between the lines) lose more games.
I am sure this will not sit well with competitive veterans like Zach Randolph, George Hill and Vince Carter, but at least they are getting paid for their troubles right?
Expect a lot more playing time for De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal LaBissiere, Justin Jackson and Frank Mason.
The Kings have officially established themselves as major players and possibly favorites to win the coveted lottery ball accumulation for 2018.
