Kings mailbag: When will Walton get fired? Do Fox and Bagley have chemistry? Start Tyrese?
The winds of change are whistling through the Downtown Commons district outside Golden 1 Center as the Kings approach the NBA All-Star break with more questions than answers.
There could be a number of changes to the roster before the March 25 trade deadline. Changes to the coaching staff could come even sooner than that. The Kings (13-21) will play host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday before concluding the first half on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. After that, anything could happen.
The Kings are still smarting after losing nine in a row during one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history. Walton’s critics are carrying torches and pitchforks through the public square on social media, calling on the organization to fire the coach for the 11th time in 15 years. Meanwhile, Kings general manager Monte McNair is calling around the league to explore trade possibilities, with one source recently saying Sacramento was working on something significant.
This squad wasn’t built to win now, but bad teams don’t get better by staying the same. Changes are coming. Will Walton lose his job? Will Buddy Hield be traded? Is it time for rookie Tyrese Haliburton to move into the starting lineup? Do De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III have any chemistry after all that dad drama on Twitter?
You have questions and we have answers in this week’s Kings mailbag.
Note: Some questions have been edited for length and clarity.
Fox and Bagley chemistry
@TerrenceH20 asks: Any thoughts on the relationship between De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III? I know there has been drama because of their fathers, but I would LOVE to see more chemistry between them.
This is a good question and it’s something I’ve been watching since the start of the season. Fox had some kind of beef with Bagley’s father last summer. Then when Bagley’s dad asked the Kings to trade his son on Twitter in January, Fox’s father tweeted: “Trade him.”
If the Kings are going to continue to build around Fox and Bagley, it’s fair to wonder if the two players can coexist. Honestly, the dynamic didn’t always look good early in the season, but over the past couple of weeks there have been some very nice moments between the two of them.
“We get better every game,” Bagley said. “Every game, we continue to learn each other, we continue to feed off each other and we just keep it going.”
Fox expressed some similar views.
“You learn something about someone every day and we’re continuing to learn each other’s games, where we want the ball, things like that,” Fox said. “It’s just continuing to add to what we had already. We let each other know if something’s not there, what a counter to it would be, and we’ll continue to grow together and continue to get better together.”
Walton agreed, saying the chemistry between Fox and Bagley has gotten much better.
“It has improved a lot,” Walton said. “I was talking to the coaches about it today actually, about that chemistry and where it’s going. … There is a nice little two-man rhythm that those guys are playing with that has come a long way since the start of the season.”
Luke Walton on the hot seat
@Kingsr93 asks: When does Luke Walton get fired?
The All-Star break would make sense if McNair has already made up his mind. After wrapping up the first half Thursday night in Portland, the Kings will have a week off before they begin the second half at home against the Houston Rockets on March 11.
The front office and what remains of the coaching staff could use that time for the transition of power, even if lead assistant Alvin Gentry is appointed interim head coach. The week away would also give players a chance to escape the fallout with no media availability scheduled during the break.
If this is going to happen now, there’s a good chance it will happen Friday. As of Monday night, there was no indication that anything was imminent and Gentry was already being mentioned as a potential replacement for Lloyd Pierce in Atlanta.
Walton is in the second year of a four-year deal with the Kings after being hired by former general manager Vlade Divac in April 2019. There has been some speculation on local airwaves about a team option in the final year, but league sources tell The Sacramento Bee there is no option year.
Fox and Barnes have maintained Walton is not to blame for the team’s struggles. Walton said he believed he still had McNair’s support after the Kings lost their ninth in a row to the New York Knicks on Thursday.
“As far as pressure from the front office, no,” Walton said. “I feel very connected with them and very locked in as far as where we’re at and where we’re trying to go as a group, and they’ve been very supportive.”
Should Tyrese Haliburton start?
@sac_kings_daily asks: Is it time to start Tyrese Haliburton? It seems like he excels as the secondary playmaker alongside Fox.
The rookie first-round pick from Iowa State has excelled in many facets of the game whether he’s on the floor with starters or reserves.
Walton likes the bridge Haliburton provides between the two units and the scoring punch he brings off the bench. There was no reason to rush Haliburton into the starting lineup as he acclimated himself to the NBA game over the first half of the season, but it would be somewhat surprising if he doesn’t become a starter in the second half.
Starting Hield made sense at the beginning of the season and not just because the Kings hoped to improve his trade value. Haliburton is a rookie who came out of a truncated offseason while Hield is an established starter and a renowned 3-point shooter who helps create the spacing the team wants.
Hield can stretch defenses based on his reputation alone, but he has struggled this season, shooting career lows of 37.7% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point range. He’s still averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, but his scoring average has dropped nearly five points over the past two seasons.
Haliburton is averaging 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals. He has also been incredibly efficient, shooting 49.4% from the field and 43.3% from beyond the arc with 161 assists and 46 turnovers, and he’s better than Hield defensively.
Haliburton has quickly established himself as one of the team’s best players. Sooner or later, he will have to find his way into the starting lineup whether Hield remains with the team beyond the trade deadline or not.
Robert Woodard II and Jahmi’us Ramsey
@jarritt_orlando asks: Do you think we will see rookies Robert Woodard II or Jahmi’us Ramsey in the Kings’ rotation after the trade deadline?
Both players have had some nice moments in the G League bubble and Woodard has been a force, but it’s not clear if either is ready for a role in Sacramento and now Woodard is out with an injury.
Woodard, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound small forward, suffered a strained left hamstring while playing for the Austin Spurs on Sunday. The Kings recalled Woodard on Monday and said he will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.
Woodard, 21, appeared in 12 games for Austin, the G League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 16.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.2 minutes per game. He recorded a team-high seven double-doubles and ranked sixth in the G League in rebounding, but he shot just 41.5% from the field and 21.3% from 3-point range.
Ramsey, 19, has appeared in 12 games for the Agua Caliente Clippers, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Clippers. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard is averaging 10.2 points, but he is shooting just 35.6% from the field and 22.4% from beyond the arc.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
