Post by heel7tiger on Aug 23, 2010 18:04:12 GMT -5
The Kings coaches, GM, and owners as well as all players are here available to answer questions.
Skrouse- Being a top 3 team in the west while having one of the best young cores in TMBS, O'Neal(25), Bosh(19), Forte(22), Prince(23) and Bibby(25), what steps do you feel your team needs to take in order to compete year in and year out with the elite teams of the East?
H/T- The Kings right now still have an average age of 23 for their starters which is pretty impressive considering we are winning at the moment. The problem with youth is the fact that it can go through slumps or fall asleep at the wheel without notice. So in that case the biggest need is to get experience. I mean Forte is only in his third year, Prince his second, Bosh and Jones are both rookies and Bibby and JO are both still only 25. I strongly feel once we get a few more years under us and are able to keep this nucleus together then competing and beating the elites of the east will come. Shooting guard is after experience in terms of needs, its one of those things we all can see but its still so small that its not keeping us from our current goal of finishing 6’th to 8’th in the West.
Jayrish- Give us an honest, bullshit-aside synopsis of the JO trade. Who won the deal and how valuable do you see all of the pieces you gave up for him ending up being?
H/T- All bullshit aside I feel I won this trade, but Bankz feels the same way about his end of the deal. I think it’s more of an opinion at this stage than anything. I gave up a 23 year old that was averaging about 16 ppg and 8 rpg and had tremendous upside, but lets face it will never be anything near what JO is at this point. I also gave up the 20th pick in the 2003 rookie draft which would have gotten me a bench player like Carlos Delfino or Dahntay Jones who I was still able to get later in the draft. The 20th pick was traded to get the 8’th pick for Bankz which looked good until he traded the player drafted. I also gave up two lottery picks. Sure with those lottery picks I could have gotten some talent, but would it ever equal what I knew JO could give me now? I don’t think anyone I would have drafted would have been able to. Lastly I gave up 4 second round picks 2 late and 2 early most likely. The 2 late mean nothing to the Kings as they do the Bulls. The two early he could possibly get a steal.
So in my opinion it was a great trade for me, but if he happens to land some high picks and those players turn out great it might be better for him, but at this stage today I feel there’s no doubt. Also if you were wondering what I got in the trade I got a guy who pretty close to being in the top 10 in scoring, hes second in rpg and second in bpg. If you put that in perspective, there is no one else that is scoring the ball as well and being such a dominating defender. Some have the scoring and rebounding but not the blocks. Some can get the blocks but not the boards. Its a luxury to know what you have in JO and what I have is pretty darn talented and still improving with an A potential.
Ohhaithur- Question for Joe Forte:
Joe, you've been traded a bunch, switched positions a few times, but finally seem to have a fit. How have this instability affected you (positively or negatively) and what are your plans this offseason as a free agent?
JF- Man Ohh, right now I love being with the Kings. Were a fam and we’ve endured a lot, and its fun to see our hard work pay off. I also have a great relationship with H/T he’s a part of the Tar Heel family and we relate very well and he’s always been there for me and made me his number one. I don’t think I could ask for much more from an organization standpoint. Switching positions was tough in the beginning I had to go against some great guards, Kobe lit me up as did Redd and others. I’ve tried to fight through it but its really affected my game. I feel I’m still the best option to play the 2 guard but only time will tell since the coaching staff has decided to go with Dahntays defense at this point. It hurts but I wish Dahntay the best and I hope he succeeds because I want to see us succeed, I wanna be out there but I gotta work on some things at practice. In all honesty I’m not thinking about this offseason just yet, were in the top quarter of the west and in a heated battle in the pacific. I’m worried about getting those wins and taking it from there, as I said before I love the Kings and I love H/T but if they don’t feel I’m fit for this organization or if I feel I need to move on I will. As of right now to end all speculation I plan on being a King for a few more years.
Duc15- You have been very patient as an organization through out the years how tough was that? You seemed to have a plan in place and have followed it closely. Was there a point throughout it all that you looked for quick fixes and players at the end of their careers or was it important for you to let the youth play out?
H/T- Duc, great question. We had a plan after the creation draft in 2001 to compete for titles and felt we could. Then we hit a bit of a landslide and might have seen a little reality. To this day I still question if getting rid of Stack, Finley and Bibby(who’s back with us) was the right move. We ended up decided to rebuild but not for a 5 year plan but more a 3 year plan. We couldn’t sit around losing for more than that, the struggles we did have were already hard enough. Once I saw what we had in our young guys though and grabbing Prince in the draft I knew to be patient and let this play out.
Of course there were times were I felt maybe I should see what I can do and try to win and I did in fact go shopping quite a bit but when I got close to making a deal for a player that didn’t meet what I was looking for I backed off politely. I had a lot of critics and a lot of skepticism so seeing this team as it is now is a fun thing. We got a little bit more to go but we will get there eventually.
20/20/20/20- I know you have made some big time moves to improve your roster, but they have left you without any 1st round picks for the next few years and a lack of tradeable assets outside your core. Does this concern you at all, and how do you plan on acquiring more talent to fill your holes and build depth? Do you think you will be able to use free agency to add to your team?
H/T- Another excellent question and probably one a lot of people are wondering themselves. I don’t have a draft pick until 2007 so for three drafts Ill be watching. The reasoning behind my decision was that in 2004, free agency heats up, it doesn’t get great but it gets usable. In 2005 and 2006 we will see some big names eligible and if you’re winning and you can resign your guys and maybe grab another key player your set for a few years so obviously it’s a gamble and so far I’ve played the high risk game during TMBSL and its worked for me. So yes I do see myself using FA quite a bit and I might learn an important lesson or I might strike gold but it all won’t be seen until 2005. The biggest concern I have is losing JO and Bibby the players I gave up my firsts to get, if I can resign them Ill be content. In terms of FA I’ve also tried to space things out so I don’t have more than two key signings each year which I feel will keep me in control of my cap but also the ability to poach that extra superstar. Lastly another reason for my lack of concern is were young and not just at the starting five but everywhere so like I said resign my guys and get them progressing in camp Ill be ok. In terms of tradable assets I feel some of my bench guys like Jones(starting at the moment), Forte, and Delfino can help me acquire some things later on depending on TC’s and other events out of my control.
Skrouse- Being a top 3 team in the west while having one of the best young cores in TMBS, O'Neal(25), Bosh(19), Forte(22), Prince(23) and Bibby(25), what steps do you feel your team needs to take in order to compete year in and year out with the elite teams of the East?
H/T- The Kings right now still have an average age of 23 for their starters which is pretty impressive considering we are winning at the moment. The problem with youth is the fact that it can go through slumps or fall asleep at the wheel without notice. So in that case the biggest need is to get experience. I mean Forte is only in his third year, Prince his second, Bosh and Jones are both rookies and Bibby and JO are both still only 25. I strongly feel once we get a few more years under us and are able to keep this nucleus together then competing and beating the elites of the east will come. Shooting guard is after experience in terms of needs, its one of those things we all can see but its still so small that its not keeping us from our current goal of finishing 6’th to 8’th in the West.
Jayrish- Give us an honest, bullshit-aside synopsis of the JO trade. Who won the deal and how valuable do you see all of the pieces you gave up for him ending up being?
H/T- All bullshit aside I feel I won this trade, but Bankz feels the same way about his end of the deal. I think it’s more of an opinion at this stage than anything. I gave up a 23 year old that was averaging about 16 ppg and 8 rpg and had tremendous upside, but lets face it will never be anything near what JO is at this point. I also gave up the 20th pick in the 2003 rookie draft which would have gotten me a bench player like Carlos Delfino or Dahntay Jones who I was still able to get later in the draft. The 20th pick was traded to get the 8’th pick for Bankz which looked good until he traded the player drafted. I also gave up two lottery picks. Sure with those lottery picks I could have gotten some talent, but would it ever equal what I knew JO could give me now? I don’t think anyone I would have drafted would have been able to. Lastly I gave up 4 second round picks 2 late and 2 early most likely. The 2 late mean nothing to the Kings as they do the Bulls. The two early he could possibly get a steal.
So in my opinion it was a great trade for me, but if he happens to land some high picks and those players turn out great it might be better for him, but at this stage today I feel there’s no doubt. Also if you were wondering what I got in the trade I got a guy who pretty close to being in the top 10 in scoring, hes second in rpg and second in bpg. If you put that in perspective, there is no one else that is scoring the ball as well and being such a dominating defender. Some have the scoring and rebounding but not the blocks. Some can get the blocks but not the boards. Its a luxury to know what you have in JO and what I have is pretty darn talented and still improving with an A potential.
Ohhaithur- Question for Joe Forte:
Joe, you've been traded a bunch, switched positions a few times, but finally seem to have a fit. How have this instability affected you (positively or negatively) and what are your plans this offseason as a free agent?
JF- Man Ohh, right now I love being with the Kings. Were a fam and we’ve endured a lot, and its fun to see our hard work pay off. I also have a great relationship with H/T he’s a part of the Tar Heel family and we relate very well and he’s always been there for me and made me his number one. I don’t think I could ask for much more from an organization standpoint. Switching positions was tough in the beginning I had to go against some great guards, Kobe lit me up as did Redd and others. I’ve tried to fight through it but its really affected my game. I feel I’m still the best option to play the 2 guard but only time will tell since the coaching staff has decided to go with Dahntays defense at this point. It hurts but I wish Dahntay the best and I hope he succeeds because I want to see us succeed, I wanna be out there but I gotta work on some things at practice. In all honesty I’m not thinking about this offseason just yet, were in the top quarter of the west and in a heated battle in the pacific. I’m worried about getting those wins and taking it from there, as I said before I love the Kings and I love H/T but if they don’t feel I’m fit for this organization or if I feel I need to move on I will. As of right now to end all speculation I plan on being a King for a few more years.
Duc15- You have been very patient as an organization through out the years how tough was that? You seemed to have a plan in place and have followed it closely. Was there a point throughout it all that you looked for quick fixes and players at the end of their careers or was it important for you to let the youth play out?
H/T- Duc, great question. We had a plan after the creation draft in 2001 to compete for titles and felt we could. Then we hit a bit of a landslide and might have seen a little reality. To this day I still question if getting rid of Stack, Finley and Bibby(who’s back with us) was the right move. We ended up decided to rebuild but not for a 5 year plan but more a 3 year plan. We couldn’t sit around losing for more than that, the struggles we did have were already hard enough. Once I saw what we had in our young guys though and grabbing Prince in the draft I knew to be patient and let this play out.
Of course there were times were I felt maybe I should see what I can do and try to win and I did in fact go shopping quite a bit but when I got close to making a deal for a player that didn’t meet what I was looking for I backed off politely. I had a lot of critics and a lot of skepticism so seeing this team as it is now is a fun thing. We got a little bit more to go but we will get there eventually.
20/20/20/20- I know you have made some big time moves to improve your roster, but they have left you without any 1st round picks for the next few years and a lack of tradeable assets outside your core. Does this concern you at all, and how do you plan on acquiring more talent to fill your holes and build depth? Do you think you will be able to use free agency to add to your team?
H/T- Another excellent question and probably one a lot of people are wondering themselves. I don’t have a draft pick until 2007 so for three drafts Ill be watching. The reasoning behind my decision was that in 2004, free agency heats up, it doesn’t get great but it gets usable. In 2005 and 2006 we will see some big names eligible and if you’re winning and you can resign your guys and maybe grab another key player your set for a few years so obviously it’s a gamble and so far I’ve played the high risk game during TMBSL and its worked for me. So yes I do see myself using FA quite a bit and I might learn an important lesson or I might strike gold but it all won’t be seen until 2005. The biggest concern I have is losing JO and Bibby the players I gave up my firsts to get, if I can resign them Ill be content. In terms of FA I’ve also tried to space things out so I don’t have more than two key signings each year which I feel will keep me in control of my cap but also the ability to poach that extra superstar. Lastly another reason for my lack of concern is were young and not just at the starting five but everywhere so like I said resign my guys and get them progressing in camp Ill be ok. In terms of tradable assets I feel some of my bench guys like Jones(starting at the moment), Forte, and Delfino can help me acquire some things later on depending on TC’s and other events out of my control.
