Still, Bryant had tried to cajole the Lakers into fielding better teams around him in his final few seasons in L.A., recruiting free agent forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, and encouraging a trade for Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, sources said.

The Lakers didn't land any of them. Instead, Bryant played his final seasons with teammates who were infants when he entered the league. Over Bryant's final three seasons, the Lakers won a combined 65 games.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41594659/inside-lakers-training-camp-lebron-bronny-redick-painful-lessons-kobe

View Poll

Sacramento Kings: D+

The DeMar DeRozan fit, in itself, is bad but justifiable. The Kings fell from "most efficient offense in NBA history" in 2023 to "barely above average" in 2024. They want to win with offense so they found another scorer. Should that scorer be 35 years old on a roster that is still relatively young? Should he be a non-defender? Should he be someone that barely attempts 3s on a roster that already has two high-usage creators in the starting lineup and one of the NBA's best bench gunners returning on a four-year, $78 million deal? The answer to all of these questions is "no," but it's a no that doesn't have to torpedo their season. If nothing else, he's a floor-raiser. DeRozan is always healthy, he gets to the line a ton and he's great at the end of games. He's valuable even if he isn't exactly what this team needs. Fine. They'll hover in the mid-40s in terms of wins again this season. That's a fine barometer for the Kings. It just doesn't seem like one they're at peace with.

Taken in totality, this Kings offseason raises a lot of red flags. Sacramento missed the playoffs 16 years in a row. They made it in the 17th year. In Year 18, their record dipped by two wins, but because of injuries and a tougher conference, they fell from the No. 3 seed to No. 9. In the immediate aftermath of their two-win decline, they played hardball in contract negotiations with 2023 Coach of the Year Mike Brown, who is, again, the only coach to lead them to the playoffs since 2006. They did get him signed eventually, and there was no reporting suggesting that his job was in immediate risk, but remember, this is the team that fired Michael Malone because of a losing streak that came as DeMarcus Cousins dealt with a case of viral meningitis, so there's a history of irrationality here. They immediately followed that up by trading away a potentially very valuable pick-swap for an aging, big-name player with a redundant skill set. To be frank, these are the actions of the "Kangz" of old rather than the more normal, pragmatic franchise they were becoming during Monte McNair's early tenure. It screams immense and unwarranted ownership pressure, and there's at least some reporting supporting that idea.

There just wasn't a reason to force a big move this offseason. There's potential harm to doing so. It's going to be a lot harder for Keegan Murray to develop as an on-ball scorer if he's spending next season watching DeRozan dribble. Sacramento's top-four scorers last season were 27 or younger, and 10 of their top 11 were in their 20s. They can and should be slow-playing this thing. If there's a big trade to be made here, it should be a for defensive-minded forward. That player isn't available right now. That's fine. Give it six months to a year. That player will find his way onto the market. The Kings can still get him. They still control most of their own picks, though the salary side of the equation is more complicated with a DeRozan overpay on the books (and yes, it was an overpay simply because nobody else wanted to pay him that much). But there's just an overriding sense here that the Kings are more concerned with immediate splashes than managing this promising build properly and patiently. If getting DeRozan had made them a genuine title contender, that might have been justifiable. It didn't. It made them slightly more difficult cannon fodder for the real juggernauts of the West. The difference between 46 and 48 wins is pretty minimal. The Kings should've realized that. Maybe another year in that ballpark sends that message.

Does anyone run a fantasy basketball league and have any openings? I'm looking to join a league and it would be cool to join a local league with other Kings fans.

Another option is to start a league if we could get 12 people interested.

My baseball team actually is good this year (LFGSD!) so I haven’t been obsessed with the Kings as much.

Did you get a notification that they’re ready for pick up already?

https://x.com/MattGeorgeSAC/status/1841586927268720874

Notes from day 2 of Sacramento Kings training camp:

1. We didn't get to see any team drills today, but a lot of guys stayed after for individual work (including De'Aaron Fox)

2. A lot of people are encouraging Keegan Murray to talk more. Keegan said he feels comfortable demanding the ball when he's hot.

3. Terry Taylor was working on a lot of 3-point shooting off the dribble and was shooting really well.

4. Cal Bears men's basketball coach Mark Madsen was a guest at camp.

5. Mike Brown says the physicality has been really good and practice got a bit chippy today. The next step is playing physical without fouling, which was an issue last season.

6. More signs point to Keon Ellis starting at the 2 spot. Mike Brown pointed out that Keon commands the least amount of shots out of himself, Huerter & Monk, which might be important with the amount of scorers in the starting lineup.

7. Malik Monk apparently is stealing the practice plans and keeping the coaches on schedule. Mike Brown says Monk calls out the drills before he does.

YOU ARE A PIZZA GUY 👑

Going to the preseason opener on Wednesday and heading to Aftershock the next day. Asking all Kings fans to REPRESENT our boys on Thursday at the show. Whether you rock a T-shirt, a hat, a pin.. whatever is clever. Rep for our boys and tell a friend.