The Kings new ownership showed this weekend that they are willing to add salary for talent and name recognition. Well, since you're in the market...
The holidays are fast approaching, and it seems as if the Pistons' four-year, $53 million signing of Josh Smith was a preemptive lump of coal in their stockings. But with 16 days left until Christmas, Detroit Bad Boys would like to celebrate with day 5 of the Trade Josh Smith Advent Calendar.
This doesn't mean we expect Josh Smith to be traded or benched anytime soon. It's just an exploration of possible deals with the various teams of the NBA if the Pistons decide the "big three" experiment just won't work. Consider it a little advanced recon.
For the same reason they traded for Rudy Gay. They want talent now and they're not afraid to take on salary to get it. It's really not that bad of a strategy - it seems to be working for the Washington Wizards. And with young players at key positions, there's room to round out the roster with high-salary veterans. Also as Tom Ziller pointed out, they may be looking at some additional factors to get an optimistic outlook on Gay - one that would similarly apply to Smith.
Additionally, their roster is still in flux. SB Nation's Sactown Royalty takes a look at the rotation, and there are more questions than answers. But both Thornton and Jimmer look thoroughly expendable, and there's no ideal solution at power forward. A frontcourt of Gay, Smith, and Cousins with Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams rounding out the depth just might be very attractive.
They might be concerned about the depth behind Thomas and McLemore. Well, the Pistons' roster is filled to the brim as it is. Fredette would likely be waived after the trade, allowing him to eventually make his way back to the Kings. Another possibility would be expanding the deal to include Will Bynum and Travis Outlaw.
Why the Pistons do it
It's time for this year's edition of the Annual Rodney Stuckey Injury Extravaganza! That was a fun run Rodney, but we all know how the story goes from here.
It's unsure how much time Stuckey will miss or how it will impact his play upon return, but some insurance would be helpful. It was clear in Sunday's loss to the Heat just now reliant the team's offense is on Stuckey's presence this year.
Both Thornton and Jimmer offer reliable, efficient shooters who can also help at point guard in a pinch. With Stuckey on the shelf and expiring at the end of the year, it wouldn't hurt to get a look at other options for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's future backup.
With Toronto beginning to plan for the future, might the Heat be interested in their starting point guard?
Just a day after trading Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings, ESPN is reporting that the Raptors might still be looking to deal, and that Kyle Lowry might be the next piece to go.
"New Raptors front-office boss Masai Ujiri has managed to trade away Andrea Bargnani and now Gay over the past six months to create financial flexibility going forward and -- with Toronto apparently determined to avoid any accidental success in the Atlantic Division -- is said to be happy to surrender veteran point guard Kyle Lowry next."
While Stein doesn't mention the Heat in particular, an interesting tidbit popped up later in the day on the ESPN rumors page. Joe Kaiser speculates that the Heat might be interested in Lowry to fill their need for a backup guard to take Dwyane Wade's minutes on his off nights.
"Miami Heat: Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported last week that the Heat have started trade talks to get backcourt help, and there might not be a better target out there than Lowry. To pull off the deal, the Heat would have to send a higher salary back in return since they are over the cap, and a deal that would make the most sense is Joel Anthony and James Jones, along with a 2014 first-rounder. The only problem with that is Anthony is due $3.8 million next season, so the Raptors likely would push the Heat to include some cash in the deal (otherwise, Toronto's expenses go up $2.9 million next year in such a deal)."
Which begs a few questions: is this a good deal for Miami? Is this what Toronto is looking for? Does Lowry fit in with the Heat?
According to hoopsworld.com, Joel Anthony (who is Canadian) is set to make $3.8 million this season and has a player option for the same amount next year. Jones is on the books for $1.5 million this season, and is an expiring contract. On Toronto's side, Lowry has an expiring contract worth $6.2 million.
On Miami's side, financially, the deal is probably beneficial, as they shed Joel Anthony's contract next season and could potentially throw some of that money at Mario Chalmers, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Jones is an expiring contract, so financially, his presence in the deal is just to balance things out. Kaiser mentions that the Heat would likely have to throw in some cash to lighten the blow of Toronto having to pay Anthony next season, but if they feel Lowry is the right fit, it seems likely that they would do that.
In terms of how this deal would work out on the court, I'm skeptical. Lowry is listed at 6'0", and while Wade isn't exactly tall for a shooting guard, Lowry doesn't fid the mold at all for a 2. Lowry isn't a great floor spacer, something the Heat really value (he's a career 34% three-point shooter, which is good, but not great), and defensively, does he really sound so much different from what the Heat already have at point guard? From Zach Lowe of Grantland last season:
"Lowry is a speedy ball-hawk whose defense has slipped since his peak in Houston in 2010-11, mostly because he breaks from the system to freelance far too often - a habit that's annoyed coaches at all of his stops."
The first sentence seems to be what the Heat already have in Chalmers and Cole, and the second sentence doesn't fit the culture of the team at all.
Anthony and Jones aren't giving the Heat any on court production right now, but are both fan favorites and good teammates. Is it really worth it for the Heat to make changes in the locker room when there is such as a questionable on court fit? And on top of that, the Heat would definitely have to give up their 2014 first round pick, and with the Big 3 potentially splitting up after this season, can they really afford to do that just to add a third point guard?
While Lowry is extremely talented - he's averaging 15 points and 7 assists per game this season with a PER over 17 - the fit here is extremely questionable. If the Heat do bring in veteran help to help the team when Dwyane Wade needs to rest, they will likely seek out somebody who can give them one of two things: defense and floor spacing, which have basically been the two staples of the Big 3 era. Does Lowry fit that role? I say no.
(As for why Toronto would take this deal? I think this guy knows the answer. They can almost definitely get more for Lowry, but if the Heat call with this deal, I don't think they hang up immediately).
I'm not expecting the Heat to stay quiet for much longer if they do plan to make a move, but I would not expect to see Kyle Lowry bringing his talents to South Beach any time soon.
After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in thrilling fashion on Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks are now the holders of the NBA Championship Belt. Their first title defense is against the Sacramento Kings in the world-record holder for loudest indoor arena, Sleep Train Arena. The Kings will not have their new acquisition in Rudy Gay. With Greivis Vasquez now north of the border, Isaiah Thomas will get the start and should see more time with the ball (at least until Gay arrives). Here is tonight's tale of the tape.
The Kings' point guard turned the Mavs' big man away at the rim, but did he actually get credit for the rejection?
The Kings have once again become relevant in the NBA conversation following their trade for Rudy Gay on Sunday night. They will have a new on-court look given the personnel that will be changing uniforms, and that includes some role changes for players who were already in Sacramento.
Perhaps Bernard James will think twice in the future before attacking the rim with the Kings' shot-blocker hanging around, especially if the "hand is part of the ball" rule is in effect.
Side note: Isaiah Thomas was not credited for a block on this play. What say you? Was this a rejection?
It's officially 'Kings Doing Awesome Things Night' in Sacramento.
The Kings just can't stop doing fun things tonight.
Sure, Isaiah Thomas' earlier rejection of Bernard James at the rim was pretty cool, but Derrick Williams just threw his name in the hat for Play of the Night on this alley-oop dunk off the backboard.
Oh and how about Williams? He's got 27 points on just 14 shots tonight. What is it they say about changes of scenery, again?
That basically sums up a pretty horrible night for the Mavs. Here's how it went down:
With Blair again starting at center for the Mavs, they went to...well, I would say work, but not so much. The Kings mostly had their way with the Mavs in the first, with Isaiah Thomas getting any shot he wanted. Dallas was running out some interesting lineups trying to get things going, with Mekel/Crowder/James/Vince/Marion at one point -- but nothing seemed to be working out. Monta Ellis on Jimmer Fredette seemed to make up for a little towards the end of the quarter, and the Mavs would end the first down 23-34.
The Mavs would figure things out for a while in the second though, thanks to some good hard work by Bernard James, and cut the lead to single digits about four minutes in - and go ahead about halfway through. Despite keeping it close for a lot of the quarter, the offense went back to looking totally confused with a few horrible sequences and some bizarre plays, the quarter ended with Cousins free throws and the Mavs down by 10. Cousins would end the half already with a double-double.
Coming out swinging in the third, the Mavs would get the lead back down a little before letting the Kings have their way with them, going down 20 at one point. Dallas simply could not buy a shot, had zero flow, zero defense, and no ability to take care of the ball -- just atrocious.
The fourth quarter didn't see much improvement from the third, with the lineup a few minutes in actually Larkin/Dirk/Crowder/Ellington/Sarge. Basically the white flag lineup minus Dirk. The deficit went up to 23. I may have started crying a little. (Okay, that part's not true. But it HAS been a rough night for Dallas sports, give me a break.)
The Mavs would go on to lose, 97-112.
As I mentioned in the preview earlier, the Kings have played hard in every game and the Mavs simply could not judge them on their record. This was a Mavs team that looked lost against a Kings team that seemed young and energized. It sounds like a broken record but bears repeating: if the Mavs want to get anywhere this season, they cannot go into these games underestimating their opponent, they have to find SOMETHING on defense, and they must keep up with the other team on scoring. Basically, on a night where the Kings went out and had fun and scored a bunch, the Mavs didn't have an answer.
Cry yourself out in the comments below. They've got the Warriors on the road in two days.
DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Williams broke the 30-point line for the Kings, who stomped Dallas.
DeMarcus Cousins tallied 32 points on 10-17 shooting and 19 rebounds and Derrick Williams had 31 on 12-16 shooting with five steals as the Kings absolutely destroyed the Mavericks 112-97 on Monday. The Kings were shorthanded, though the new members of the team did watch the game from a suite and make an appearance in the fourth quarter with fans chanting "Rudy!"
Isaiah Thomas was awesome too, with 24 points, 12 assists and two turnovers. The Kings led by 10 at halftime and 19 after three. Dirk Nowitzki played well with 18 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Monta Ellis was also good with 21 points on 9-18 shooting. But the rest of the Mavs weren't so good, and the Dallas defense was atrocious.
This happened.
And then later on this happened.
The Curse of Johnny Salmons is lifted! The Kings are awesome again!
The Kings next play Wednesday against the Jazz. Rudy Gay is expected to make his Sacramento debut. Get ready, folks.
In the wake of the Rudy Gay trade, Adam Francis looks at not only three keys to tonight's match-up vs the Spurs, but also to the next series of games as the Raptors bide time before Masai Ujiri's next move.
Tonight likely represents what could be a strange series of games for the Toronto Raptors.
But as has been discussed all over the interweb, the current roster is likely to change again as new GM Masai Ujiri continues to put his stamp on the club.
So in many ways, games like tonight's are somewhat irrelevant.
Other than hoping for losses - if you're in the "pro-tank" camp - games like this represent somewhat of a "biding of time," we'll call it until Ujiri gets the combination of players he truly wants on the club.
That may mean banishing the likes of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to Never Never Land as many are anticipating, or it may mean moving literally any combination of players on the current squad as Ujiri moves the chess pieces around to his liking.
So it's hard to put too much stock into "three keys" for tonight's match-up in terms of a trifecta of elements necessary for a Toronto win. Instead, I've decided this morning to go with three keys until Ujiri's next sequence of moves, ones that I think will most benefit the club in the long run.
1) Let Jonas and Terrence go wild. One of the immediate returns from the Rudy Gay trade was that his removal would have a big impact on the club's two youngest prospects, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas. Sans-Gay, Ross would most likely get a lot more playing time, something crucial for the Dinos. The team desperately needs to get an idea of what they have in the sophomore not only in terms of deciding if he's a big part of the club's future, but understanding his value for inclusion in potential future trades.
As for Jonas, this one is a bit more of a case of addition by subtraction. While Jonas was getting more consistent playing time while Gay was a member of the Raptors, Gay's black-holishness was negating many of Big Val's offensive abilities and impacting his growth and development. Now, the club should be able to do a better job featuring the young Lithuanian on O, again, an essential part of understanding just what this franchise has for potential building blocks going forward.
2) Give the keys to the offence to Kyle Lowry. This one is especially important considering one of the incoming Raptors from the Rudy Gay trade, Grievis Vasquez, is purported to be a Dwane Casey favourite. If the club truly wants to move Kyle Lowry, maximizing his value would certainly be beneficial for the Raptors and that means giving him free reign over the club's offense. Lowry looked great sans-Gay on Sunday night against the Lakers and the Raps need to continue with him captaining the ship so to speak. What can't happen is another point guard battle where Casey elects to go with Vasquez over Lowry which would equate to "penny smart, dollar foolish."
3) If not tank then... Look, we know Dwane Casey isn't going to try and lose games. At least not on purpose. But at the same time, he needs to understand that this club frankly is best served by bottoming out and the challenge will be to do this while getting top efforts out of his club, and maintaining/increasing the trade values of his current roster, all of whom could find themselves in new area codes in the coming months. It's a tough spot for him to be in for sure, but Casey had to understand that with a new sheriff in town, this was a likely outcome to the season.
So I say play the youngsters as much as possible, find spots where guys like Landry Fields and Tyler Hansbrough can be effective and put them to good use.
The Mavericks once again find themselves without a set starting lineup. Dallas was crushed my Sacramento on Monday night and Samuel Dalembert was no where to be found. What's going on?
It started after the very first game. After the very first preseason game.
Rick Carlisle called out Samuel Dalembert. He did so without even being asked about it, which means he was making it a point to mention it no matter how the press conference unfolded. That's not a good sign.
"I just told him in front of the whole team that he's got to keep working," said Carlisle, who mentioned Dalembert's conditioning issues to the media without a question being asked about the center. "We need his minutes. They're going to be very important to us. He's a factor. When he's in shape, he's a factor as a rim protector and rebounder, and he gives you a big, active, athletic body in there."
What's worse is that Dalembert then said conditioning wasn't even the issue and that he was a little roughed up from a previous practice. Again, it didn't even take one game for Dalembert to be in Carlisle's crosshairs. An ultimate foreshadowing of what was to happen.
Right now, Dalembert isn't doing much of anything. He's not starting and, for now, he's not even the backup. That would be second-round pick Bernard James who, while doing his best, you might remember for being easily overmatched in his 2013 Summer League debut before being waived and then resigned and who never played meaningful minutes until Saturday night.
This isn't even about James or Dejuan Blair, who's been fantastic in his own right. Blair has a very specific and niche role on the team: crash the boards, bring energy, set screens, finish at the rim. Him doing this for around 20ish minutes a night is perfect. Especially if he can do this coming off the bench and taking advantage of weaker big man most typical second units compose of.
Yet Blair is starting now. He' started the last three games, including last night's beatdown against the Kings. Again, this is nothing against Blair -- he's really great in his role. Against certain teams, there isn't much issue with Blair starting. Against the weak and Antony Davis-less front court of the Pelicans? Sure. The Blazers don't have a big post threat (LaMarcus Aldridge tends to drift more to the mid-range area) so that was OK too. Did you see the screens he set in that fourth quarter? Phenomenal. But against the Kings? Why?
When Dalembert was first demoted, Carlisle mentioned it had more to do with matchups than anything. Dalembert is a post defender and rim protector. Against teams that don't like to get into the paint that much, his defensive role is wasted. Plugging in Blair, who's a bit more mobile to snare longer rebounds and run the floor, makes sense in those type of matchups. But Blair has never, ever held the reputation of a good defender. He's a lousy post defender and an out-of-sorts help defender, either overextending his reach or being slow to react.
DeMarcus Cousins had his way with the Mavs last night. He did pretty much anything he wanted, shooting over Blair, grabbing rebounds over Blair and muscling his way to whatever spot he wanted. That's not really Blair's fault -- he isn't supposed to be a guy who contains big guys like Cousins. He's supposed to be the change of pace guy.
For some reason, Dalembert only logged 12 minutes against the Kings. Almost all of them were garbage time minutes, once the Mavs were soundly beaten and Cousins out of the game. For the rest of the game, Carlisle went with Blair and James. It didn't work. It was never going to work. Blair and James are nice players in their own way, but they were never supposed to stop guys like Cousins. That's what Dalembert is for.
Why not start Dalembert on Monday night and see how he handles Cousins? What was the harm? If Dalembert moped around and didn't do anything, make the switch, go to Blair and James and sit Dalembert's ass on the bench. Not even allowing him to attempt to check the Kings front court, which was dominant all night, seems perplexing.
This isn't unusual for Carlisle. Brendan Haywood and Chris Kaman both ran into Carlisle's dog house, but for good reason. Haywood sulked constantly and couldn't be counted on in crunch time because of his free throw shooting. Kaman was horrible defensively, and the Mavs guarded at league-worst levels when he and Dirk shared the floor.
While Dalembert hasn't been great, he certainly hasn't stooped to the level of Kaman and Haywood. The Mavs have a net rating of +1.8 when he's on the floor, not amazing but not putrid. Not get-benched-for-Bernard-James bad. The Mavs two most-used five-man lineups are the typical four starters (Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Dirk) paired with either Dalembert or Blair. Both have similar net ratings (Blair's group at 5.7, Dalembert's at 5.6) but Dalembert's group gives up about seven points per 100 possessions less than Blair's (112.1 to 105.3 for Dalembert's group). So the Mavs core group defends better with Dalembert rather than Blair (although "defend" might not be the best word. A 105.3 defensive efficiency is still really bad).
The same thing goes to when you just pair it down to each big with Dirk. The Mavs defense is slightly better when Dalembert and Dirk are on the court, as opposed to Blair and Dirk (101.9 to 102.8). It's so slight that it's really a toss up, but it goes to show that the Mavs are no better defensively when Blair is on the court.
I almost wonder if that's the rub. Maybe Carlisle understands that it doesn't matter if it's Dalembert or Blair, the Mavs defense stinks and he'd rather go with the guy who makes the offense better, which is clearly Blair. But still, in certain scenarios, Dalembert has to be a factor, like last night against the Kings.
The Dalembert benching sparked an interesting debate between Andy, myself and Tim (leader Tim): What's the deal with Carlisle's sometimes wonky rotations and lineups? Wayne Ellington, a good shooter and solid defender, seems lost even with the Harris injury. Shane Larkin is clearly more talented than Gal Mekel, but neither can hammer down the backup point guard spot. Remember, last year's Mavericks were a disaster in terms of having a cohesive unit. No team used more starting lineups and Carlisle admitted even he didn't know who was going to start every night.
Carlisle yanked around Darren Collison so much I'm surprised he didn't just wear a coat hanger with his jersey -- it'd just make things easier for Carlisle to give him the hook. Mike James started, so did Bernard James and the Mavs had very curious late-game lineups (small-ball, no Brandan Wright, no Elton Brand, etc.) Even Zach Lowe of Grantland noticed it last season:
Carlisle has been unusually ornery this season, and he admits this strange campaign has taken a toll on him. He threatened to suspend players for lack of effort in late December, has publicly called Darren Collison a career backup, been very slow to trust Brandan Wright, and struggled to find any workable front-line combination.
It's an interesting trend -- when Carlisle doesn't have a set roster in place, he tinkers like mad and pulls players in and out of the lineup. He did it in 2009-2010 season with Rodrigue Beaubois, going back and forth between playing him and J.J. Barea (even though Beaubois was clearly the better player at the time. Remember: Barea's emergence really didn't happen till the next season and the playoffs. In that 2009-2010 season, Barea definitely wasn't a sure thing. He was still a good backup point guard, but Beaubois was outplaying him then.) He did it again, even in the title season, not deciding on the starting two-guard till the team made its case for DeShawn Stevenson...only for Beaubois to start, then come off the bench, then start again before Stevenson started the final regular season game.
Of course, last season's lineup changes were well-documented. It's easier to make the case for last season, because a lot of the players Carlisle was tinkering with were just bad. Kaman isn't doing much for Los Angeles off the bench, Darren Collison is a back-up now and Mike James had his ashes spread across the Pacific Ocean. That doesn't excuse the puzzling decisions though -- Carlisle almost went out of his way to make sure Dirk and Elton Brand never finished a game together, despite the duo having the most potential (to be fair, Brand's defensive numbers paired with Dirk were not as great as you'd think). It took far too long for Wright to get run, with the coaching staffs hesitation of exposing Wright's flaws with more minutes (that never made much sense to me...the Mavericks were going to be bad defensively no matter what. Might as well get your very best players on the court for as much as possible and see what happens). Anthony Morrow was brought in for some much-needed bench shooting, but never played. It's almost as if the front-office didn't even let Carlisle know he had a new player on his bench that could hit at least 40 percent of his threes. It's not like O.J. Mayo could have used a rest. Oh wait! Yes he could! Remember how poorly Mayo shot to end the season? Surely it couldn't have been to playing so many 40+ minute games up till that point, right? Moving on.
Now we're here at this season with Dalembert. He was brought in to play defense, rebound and protect the rim. He hasn't been the best at it, but for the large part, he's done his job. Sitting Dalembert and starting Blair depending on the matchups make sense, but Monday night was Dalembert's matchup. It's why the Mavs signed him.
To counter, I realize that Dalembert's numbers have always been hollow throughout his career. I mentioned as much when the Mavs announced the signing. Dalembert always seems to put up good raw point, rebound and block totals but he's never anchored a good defense and never been a focal point on offense. He's just kind of there, grabbing some boards, blocking some shots, fouling some dudes. He isn't a game-changer by any means.
But the Mavs need him. The roster needs him. As someone mentioned to me on Twitter, the Mavericks aren't good enough to teach Dalembert an effort lesson or send him a message. They need his minutes and need his production, however limited it may be. Carlisle had the opportunity to do this with Haywood and Kaman, because there were options. The Mavs had Tyson Chandler, Ian Mahinmi, Wright or Brand. These Mavs just have Blair and James, neither defensive difference makers like the previous players could be.
Again, Carlisle is a fantastic coach. Watch his management of the Portland win. But there does seem to be something strange going on when it comes to lineups and rotations. It isn't big, but it's there. It's noticeable.
Perhaps this won't even matter, with Wright so close to returning. Maybe Wright will start, Blair will back him up and Dalembert will phase out of our memories as the Mavericks defense improves with Wright's athleticism and the eventual return of Devin Harris. But for right now, with no Wright, the Mavericks need Dalembert. Whether Carlisle likes it or not.
Isaiah Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Williams all had monster nights as the shorthanded Kings dismantled the Mavericks.
Last night was one of the most enjoyable Kings games to watch in recent memory. The Kings were down four players due to the big Rudy Gay trade, and faced a veteran Mavericks team that had just beaten the red-hot Portland Trailblazers. The advantage was decidedly not Sacramento's.
It didn't matter. The Kings came out firing on all cylinders, and won the game on the backs of huge performances by DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Williams. Those three combined for 87 points, 26 rebounds, 15 assists, and 9 steals.
Williams' 31 points were a career-high in just his sixth game with the Kings. He shot 12-16 from the field including 3-5 from downtown. He showed impressive touch on his jumper and did a great job of anticipating passing lanes on his way to five steals. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Williams since the Kings have acquired him is that he hasn't looked out of place as a Small Forward; He's so quick, athletic and strong that it's seemed a natural fit actually. He's an absolute terror on the fastbreak, and the fact that he can rebound the ball and push it himself is great. The Kings acquired him in the hope that he would upgrade the talent base of the team. So far he's done that in spades.
One of the biggest problems for the Kings offense so far this season is that they took so long to get into their offensive sets. Greivis Vasquez is a prototypical Point Guard, but he was slow and methodical and his defense was way too porous. He simply could not stay in front of his defender. To be a running team you need to generate stops, something that was not occurring with Vasquez in the starting lineup. Sacramento looked so much sharper last night with Isaiah Thomas finally in charge. Thomas pushed the pace and the Kings beat the Mavericks in the fastbreak 23 to 5.
His quickness on the defensive side of things allowed everyone else to look better. His ability to stay in front of his man, or to rotate to another quickly, gives the rest of the team time to react as well, rather than being a step behind because the other team's point guard is already in the paint. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Kings best defensive performance (Dallas shot 38.9% from the field and just 18.5% from three) came with Isaiah starting.
Thomas also was able to break down Dallas' defense repeatedly, setting up teammates along the way. Isaiah has been one of the best Pick and Roll players in the NBA since he came into the league, and that's not just me bloviating. According to Synergy Sports, Isaiah is the 16th most effective P&R Ball handler in the league, and has been in the top 20 each of his first three years in the league. There's this (frankly stupid) narrative that Isaiah Thomas is not a Point Guard because he doesn't look to pass first. While it's true that he looks for his shot a lot, he still has good vision, and is able to make a lot of play simply because of how much of a threat he is to score. His assist rate of 34.6% is not only a career-high, but higher than the following players this year: Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, Tony Parker, Kyrie Irving, Michael Carter-Williams, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Raymond Felton and ... Greivis Vasquez. In fact, only 10 players have a higher assist rate him at all. The only Point Guards with a higher PER than Isaiah (and there are only 9 TOTAL players with a higher PER) are Chris Paul and Stephen Curry. Thomas probably should have been starting all along, but he joins the starting lineup at a great time. With Rudy Gay's addition, Thomas has four weapons to choose from, and that's not including himself.
We've gotten this far and we haven't yet talked about DeMarcus Cousins' dominating performance. Cousins was just a monster on the low block that Dallas didn't have an answer for. If Coach Michael Malone deserves praise for just one thing, it's been keeping Cousins in the post for the most part. Yes, he'll still shoot jumpers, and yes he'll try to play Point Guard for some reason, but most of the time he's in the post and he's phenomenal there. He's showing so much patience this year and it's paying a lot of dividends since many times he'll either score or get to the line. We're seeing a career-year from Cousins all across the board, and as Tom pointed out on Twitter, his FG% is at 49.2%, inching towards that magical 50% number we had all hoped for. He's also rebounding like a maniac, snatching just over 30% of all available defensive rebounds while he's on the floor. The only person grabbing defensive boards at a higher rate is Kevin Love and the difference is negligible.
The best part about Cousins performance to me this year is that it has been so good despite the fact that there are still so many areas he could improve in. For starters, he should never, ever, ever try to play Point Guard again. Cousins had 9 turnovers and I felt like at least 4 of them last night were from him not getting the ball to his guards. I have no problem with Cousins grabbing a rebound and then pushing the break out to say the halfcourt line, but unless he has a clear path to the basket, get the ball to the Point Guard. There's also the fact that Cousins has only been averaging just over 30 minutes a game to this point of the season. If he can stay out of foul trouble and get that up closer to 36 (around what most stars average) that'll be great, because the Kings are so much better with him on the floor.
Not everything clicked last night of course. The bench performed miserably in the second quarter, with Jimmer getting a terrible matchup against Monta Ellis (who showed me why I didn't want him this summer when he started shooting jumpers over Jimmer instead of just driving on him every time). Ben McLemore had a rough shooting night again, going just 1-7 and picking up five fouls. Marcus Thornton had just 1 point in 24 minutes. But the good far outweighed the bad, and I can't wait to see how this team incorporates the new guys. Gay has seemed to operate best as a player when he isn't the go-to guy, and with Cousins and Isaiah playing like they are, he shouldn't have to be.
We'll get a chance to see Gay, Gray and Acy in action on Wednesday, when the Kings take on the Utah Jazz at home.
Random Observations:
If Ben McLemore starts hitting his open shots, look out NBA. He already gets plenty, and now with the addition of Gay, the Kings will have a lot of guys that defenses need to stay keyed on. One thing I did like about Ben's performance last night was his passing. He was able to find open guys so he could contribute even while struggling from the field.
The Kings are the holders of the NBA's championship belt! (Click the link if you have no idea what I'm talking about)
Jimmer Fredette got the call as backup Point Guard over rookie Ray McCallum but neither really stood out. McCallum was outplayed by the smaller Shane Larkin in garbage time.
Larkin meanwhile looks like a nice find. I liked him better than Gal Mekel at least.
Few shots in NBA history that are as pretty to look at or as automatic as Dirk Nowitzki's turnaround fadeaway.
Per NBA.com's lineup data, when Isaiah and Cousins are on the floor together they're outscoring opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possession. (H/T to Ball Don't Lie's Dan Devine for pointing out in his recap)
Though the Kings have been competitive recently, they remain miles away from playoff contention in the deep Western Conference. Sacramento is further out of the eighth seed than the current No. 8 (Golden State) is from leading the conference. And while Gay might work better in California's capital, adding him doesn't solve the Kings' defensive woes or upgrade the team's outside shooting. So Sacramento will likely continue to tread water in the West, with less flexibility than it had before this deal.
And on the Raps' side:
The only thing not to like about this trade is the Raptors taking on some salary for next season. A deal that completely cleared the cap would have merited an A+. This version still earns far better than a passing grade.
Jerry Reynolds was on KHTK yesterday talking Kings basketball, and the subject of nicknames came up. He mentioned how he gets a lot of nicknames from Sactown Royalty but that we (and I quote) have "failed him miserably" this year.
This cannot stand.
Well, with trades comes new opportunity. Sacramento has four fresh new faces, all acquired within the last few weeks: Derrick Williams, Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray. They need nicknames. This is where you all come in. In the thread below, add your favorite potential nicknames, Jerry-isms, etc. This is the site where the "Brock Ness Monster" became a T-Shirt, where "the Hustlin' Husky" was born and the "Bayou Bomber" took off. If you create a good enough nickname, you could hear it used by Jerry on the air for years to come.
Before I hand it over to you fine gents, let me start us off with a Derrick Williams nickname of my own creation. After last night's game, I posted on Twitter: "More like Derrick Thrilliams". Josh Gold responded:
From there, Derrick Thrilliams evolved to the simple "Thriller". I've also heard "D-Thrill" mentioned, which is great. On every dunk we could play Vincent Price's laugh or the first few bars of Thriller.
Feel free to come up with new nicknames for old Kings too! Travis Outlaw could use a good moniker now that he's actually playing well. Make Jerry proud!
NOTE: Creating homophobic riffs on Rudy Gay's last name will not be tolerated. It's not funny, and you will be banned from posting.
The deadline to turn in arena petitions was today, and anti-arena group S.T.O.P. delivered 35,000 signatures to city hall in an attempt to get the arena on the ballot.
S.T.O.P. (aka Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork) today filed 35,000 petitions at City Hall in an attempt to put the arena to a public vote. The initiative movement needs about 22,000 valid signatures to be successful. If it is successful, an initiative will be put to a public vote in June of 2014 to make all arena subsidies require a public vote. If that is successful, then a vote on the Downtown Arena plan would take place in November of 2014.
First, the signatures have to clear though. KCRA's David Bienick says that the last three petition drives in Sacramento had about 61-79% rate of valid signatures.
Also, Crown Downtown and Region Builders themselves have filed 15,277 petition withdrawal forms, which also need to be validated by the City Clerk. Names on S.T.O.P.'s petition will be removed if they also signed one of the petition withdrawal forms.
As most of you will know, S.T.O.P. received the largest portion of their funding ($100,000) from Chris Hansen, the man who tried to buy the team from the Maloofs and move it to Seattle.
We won't know for a few weeks whether the initiative has enough signatures to qualify for the June ballot. In the meantime, there could be other challenges to the petition drive, most likely from the Mayor's office.
With Greivis Vasquez headed to the Toronto Raptors, Isaiah Thomas has been handed the keys to the point guard position, which will open new doors for the Hustlin' Husky.
Even though Isaiah Thomas downplayed the importance of starting for the first time this season on Monday, the move means a lot for his game moving forward and the Kings overall.
Following Monday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Michael Malone confirmed Thomas will be the starter for the remainder of the season, and it could pay huge dividends. Thomas has played with a chip on his shoulder his entire career, battling for minutes and respect. Now, he's got both to go along with the confidence of his coach.
"For me, knowing that I have trust in my coach, that says a lot so I'm just going to keep fighting, keep battling, try to help this team win some games," Thomas told Sactown Royalty.
The green light given to Thomas paid off on Monday as he helped lead the Kings to a 112-97 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on his way to a career-high 12 assists, to go along with 24 points. Thomas' assist total on the first night without Vasquez on the team was ironic considering the knock on him has been he is not a "pass-first" point guard.
The Kings have now made it clear Thomas is the guy who will handle a bulk of the scoring load and also be responsible, in large part, for the ball movement. Thomas believes he plays best when he sticks to what he is good at (pushing the tempo and scoring) before he worries about passing.
"When I try to do that [pass first], it takes away my aggressiveness to just be me," Thomas told reporters.
Malone wants his 5'9'' point guard to simply be aggressive and make plays.
"I told him after the game, 'that's who you need to be.' Be a scorer, be in attack mode, but you also have to make sure you are facilitating and getting all your teammates shots," Malone told Sactown Royalty following the win over the Mavericks.
Pete D'Alessandro continues to stack the roster with athletes and jettison the pieces from the Geoff Petrie era (other than Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins, the remaining Petrie players on the roster are Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Travis Outlaw). One of the biggest takeaways from the Rudy Gay trade (and there are many) was that D'Alessandro did not have to ship Thomas as part of the deal. And that is a definite positive considering Thomas is good for the Kings on the floor and represents Sacramento well - his underdog story and his fighting spirit run parallel to everything this city and Kings fans have endured in recent years.
Thomas has been handed the keys to the point guard position as pure athletes are installed around him and Cousins, and Thomas is now in a situation that he hasn't been in yet in his NBA career: No more looking over his shoulder to see who will be checking in off the bench for him and no more questions about how many minutes he is going to play.
Now, the Hustlin' Husky can use that chip he has on his shoulder to focus on helping this team make that next step.
The Heat went ice cold in the second half and the Pacers came back to win at home. This defense is nasty.
For all our cheers at the rise of Paul George as a scorer, the mindful growth of Lance Stephenson on the ball and rock-steady shooting of David West, the Indiana Pacers are a defensive team. It was the case last year, and it's the case this year. Indiana is maybe the best team in the NBA primarily because it is really hard to score on the Pacers. Ask the Miami Heat, who sport the league's No. 3 offense and put up a whopping 37 points in 45 possessions in the second half on Tuesday as the Pacers came back to win, 90-84.
In the second half, LeBron James -- who basically can't miss this season -- played 22 minutes and shot 2-8. Dwyane Wade, back from injury, played 20 second-half minutes and shot 3-7. Chris Bosh went 3-6 in the third, but didn't get off a single shot in six minutes of the fourth. The horde of spot-shooting role players added little. Opponents have an effective field goal percentage of .444 against Indiana, lowest in the league this season and 13th in the three-point era.
It's reminiscent, really, of the Spurs teams of the previous decade. The Pacers, like the Spurs of yesteryear, have only one or two defensive weak links in the entire rotation as well as a shutdown wing and an unimpeachably smart paint defender. Roy Hibbert, like Tim Duncan before him, really allows everyone else to be aggressive in closing out on shooters and getting a hand up for every attempt. Even against a team like Miami, who devours open lanes like birthday cake, having Hibbert back there (in addition to other bigs who rotate well) is a complete deterrent.
There's a reason centers are so expensive; they have an incredible defensive impact, either positive or negative. Hibbert has developed a bunch since he signed a max deal two summers ago, but chances are he would have been worth it had he never improved from that day forward. He's not solely responsible for Indiana's top-ranked defense. That ignores the impact of the shutdown wing (George) and the other plus defenders (West, Stephenson, George Hill), not to mention the work of Frank Vogel and his staff. But Hibbert is a huge, outsized piece of this team's success.
Keep this in mind as we start comparing Joel Embiid to the other draft prospects making noise.
WORD SPEW TRUMPS LOGIC
This week has been weird. I have been among the most vocal writers on the subject of Rudy Gay's devolution over the past year. Now, my favorite team -- one I think is now run by competent, smart folks -- has traded for him. Do my feelings on the competency of the Kings' management change? Do I rethink my position on Gay's value?
No, I try to understand why the Kings made the deal, figure out if that is logical and move forward. I'm the rare (only?) so-called "stats guy" who thinks that the Gay trade can work out for the Kings for the reasons I laid out in Monday's Hook. The short version: he's least efficient at high usage, and playing with two other high-usage guys (DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas) should lower his own usage, making Gay more efficient. That is, unless his 2011 shoulder injury is a bigger source of his recent efficiency trouble. In the meantime, the Kings gave up no real assets and only sacrificed one year's worth of salary cap cushion, which makes the risk in the deal basically nil.
This is the analytic argument for the Gay trade. The analytic argument against the Gay trade is dead simple; he's horrifically inefficient to the point that you're better off without him, especially considering he makes $17 million.
Jones mentions two advanced stats: usage rate and PER. He uses a definition of usage rate that I honestly haven't seen in ages (i.e. is not the NBA's version). He implements usage rate to show that, yes, Gay, Cousins and Thomas all have high usage rates. He uses PER to show that while Cousins and Thomas rank highly, Gay is outside the top 100. The funny thing is that many stats-inclined folks think PER overrates volume scorers like Gay. The fact that Rudy's PER is above league-average despite his horrendous shooting numbers would help that case.
So in Jones' effort to dismiss the analytic argument against Gay, Jones cites a stat that says nothing about quality (usage) and a stat that actually rates Gay better than other metrics might (PER). And nowhere in the piece does Jones so much as mention the actual analytic argument against Gay, that he's a horribly inefficient shooter. The only other stat Jones cites in this thoroughly confusing debunking of analytics is points per game. Not a single mention of even basic field goal percentage, let alone effective field goal percentage or True Shooting percentage. You know, the core stats in the argument against Gay.
Again, an article seeking to debunk the analytic arguments against Rudy Gay didn't mention any flavor of field goal percentage. That's insane.
But all of that is just a prelude to the real kicker here:
Yes, the Kings know the numbers. They just don't care about them. In some cases, numbers don't tell the whole story and they believe Gay's talent will trump all analytics.
In this final paragraph, Jones manages to make Kings management look inept in Jones' purported defense of its decision, trot out the most tired of anti-analytics clichés and finish off with a statement that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. "Gay's talent will trump all analytics." It's like "analytics" is some skill that is in competition with "talent," not like the two are distinct attributes someone can have.
Analytics measure performance, which is a product of talent (among other things). Without talent, chances are your analytics will say that you stink. Gay has talent, yet the analytics largely say that he stinks. Logic says that either his talent is incompatible with good performance (totally unlikely, given his Memphis history) or that he's not leveraging his talent properly. Jones argues that because Gay has talent, the analytics are irrelevant.
The sad thing is that there are NBA GMs -- fewer, but they are still out there -- who would agree with Jones. Thank God that the GM Jones is trying to defend isn't one of them. I think.
We try to keep up with Pitt-related players in the pros getting traded, but sometimes one slips through the crack. That was the case this week when Aaron Gray was traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Sacramento Kings as part of a seven-player deal. A reader sent me an email and here we are.
For all intents and purposes, Gray is a role player in the NBA. To say he's in the league simply because he's a seven-footer is wholly unfair, but, well, let's just say it helps.
If nothing else, Gray should get more of an opportunity in Sacramento. He's never been a full-time starter for an entire season, but he did start about 1/4 of the Chicago Bulls' games in his second season and about 1/5 of the Raptors' games last year. The year before, Gray started about 1/2 the season, getting 40 starts. But with Toronto starting their 2011 first-round pick Jonas Valanciunas this season, playing time has been hard to come by for Gray this year. He's suited up in only four games and his name has been synonymous with the infamous DNPCD since I don't think he's had any significant injuries.
Gray won't start for the Kings since Demarcus Cousins holds that job, but he could be the primary backup center. Sacramento only has Hamady Ndiaye in Gray's way and Gray will have a good chance at beating him out for the backup job.
Gray's been moved around quite a bit and this is his fourth team in seven seasons. Such is the life of a journeyman center, though, and if nothing else, escaping Toronto in the winter for Sacramento has to be a plus, right?
The new-look Kings will debut on Wednesday with Rudy Gay and friends joining the crew.
The streaking Sacramento Kings are back in action! Huzzah! Rudy Gay will play as the Kings host the Utah Jazz, looking for a third straight win. Aaron Gray will likely also play, and it's conceivable that Quincy Acy could get a look. Of course, Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins will also play, which instantly makes the game worth watching.
Cousins got in some foul trouble in the first half on Saturday, then destroyed Kanter in the second half. Like, it was a horror flick and Cousins was the killer and Kanter was the door protecting the nubile victim. Just simply destroyed. So, uh, I'd like to see that happen again. Derrick Favors might be back in action, which would give Utah a fighting chance in the middle.
3 THINGS
1. How many shots will Gay take, and what type of shots will they be? My hope is "around 10" and "assisted threes, run-outs, and layups." We'll see. He doesn't need to take tough mid-range shots in Sacramento: there are some creative options on the floor, unless he's playing only with reserves. (I don't really ever want to see Gay and Marcus Thornton on the court together without Cousins or Isaiah, for instance. Actually, I don't think I want to see Gay on the court without either Cousins or Isaiah at all.)
2. Will Isaiah stay really aggressive early? Before Monday, I.T. had been struggling to get going in the first half all season. He was crazy aggressive in the first quarter Monday. Was that just a response to becoming the starter, or is this what Starter Isaiah will be? (And yes, I know Isaiah started a lot in the past two seasons. But this is a new coach, new system and new Boogie Man he's dealing with.)
3. Can the Kings defend Gordon Hayward well? He's the No. 1, 2 and 3 threat for Utah. The Kings have galvanized their wings. Please don't let him go off!
START FOUR
Here's the group with the leaderboard. Still about 30something folks ahead of me and eligible for the drawing ... IF I DON'T CRUSH THEM. Unfortunately, it seems as though Start Four has lagged in updating rosters. I'd advise you to not pick Greivis Vasquez!
PREGAME HAIKU
Welcome to Sactown, Rudy, Quincy and Aaron. Now go win some games!
Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.
Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.
All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.
Questions:
1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)
2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)
3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)
4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)
5. Predict Rudy Gay's Points, Rebounds and Three Pointers Made in his Kings debut (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)
The Sacramento Kings were looking for a talent infusion when they acquired Rudy Gay, but they're really making the same mistake the Toronto Raptors did 11 months ago.
The Toronto Raptors and Bryan Colangelo brought in Rudy Gay in February as a last-ditch effort to save several years of maneuvering that hadn't been going so well. Gay was available for cheap and was supposed to be a significant upgrade over any of the players sent out to acquire him.
In theory, Gay would supersede DeMar DeRozan as the primary wing scorer, providing the isolation scoring from the wing that the team needed. He would be the infusion of pure talent that they lacked. And even though he didn't fit on paper alongside Derozan and Andrea Bargnani, the defense and rebounding of Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Amir Johnson and Landry Fields would offset it, as would the shooting of Terrence Ross. The sheer infusion of talent he represented would make it worthwhile.
In reality, it didn't work. Bargnani regressed to the point he became toxic, Lowry struggled, the team failed to find cohesiveness and defense. Meanwhile, DeRozan and Gay did not mesh at all. DeRozan in fact looks noticeably improved thus far this season and has ultimately ended up being the one who surpassed Gay. Arguably always surplus to requirements, Gay subsequently became extremely surplus to requirements, and at an enormous price tag. Even in spite of how recently he had arrived, it was clear that he had to go. But it looked impossible.
It was possible, though, and it has happened. Indeed, the Raptors may have somehow gotten an even return in the deal to alleviate their mistake. In exchange for Gay, third-string center Aaron Gray, third-string power forward Quincy Acy and (effectively) third-string point guard D.J. Augustin (waived to accommodate the deal), the Raptors acquired a point guard in Greivis Vasquez who was among the league leaders in assists as recently as last season and a couple of occasionally useful backups. It is just a shame the whole process cost them Ed Davis.
More importantly, Toronto gained significant salary savings. Of the four players acquired, only the $1 million guaranteed portion of John Salmons and the $5,958,750 contract of Chuck Hayes are guaranteed next season, and nothing in any seasons thereafter. Compared with the $19,317,326 owed to Gay next year, that is a saving of $13.2 million. Should they opt to re-sign Vasquez, he will cut back into that amount, but a saving of $13.2 million on a player who wasn't helping the team and whom you were struggling to trade is a significant result.
But if he wasn't helping the team, why does the other team want him?
On the most basic level, the Sacramento Kings needed more talent. They now have that. Even after years of mismanagement and the frivolous burning of assets, Sacramento now has, you would think, a core five. Isaiah Thomas, one of the draft steals of the decade and a man who thoroughly outplayed Vasquez thus far this season, is the point guard. Preconceptions that small score-first guards must come of the bench should be disposed of, because Thomas is a legitimate starter. Rookie Ben McLemore has had a slow first month, but has plenty of time on his side to be the two guard of the future while Gay slots in at small forward. Derrick Williams is thriving since his trade from Minnesota, now that he is finally functioning as a full time power forward. DeMarcus Cousins is tied into a maximum contract extension, the certified core piece going forward. Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry compliment this lineup from the bench with quality role player production, creating a front eight of players that any team could use.
However, the overall improvement in the Kings's picture stems from moves made BEFORE this deal. Aside from Gay, the other seven were already there. All this deal does is add a hugely expensive starting small forward who doesn't necessarily fit well with the incumbent pieces and who, frankly, has never demonstrated that he makes his teammates or his team significantly better. That front eight lacks defense and is comprised of players who have been inefficient scorers in their careers to date, despite their offensive talents. It also lacks half-court creation; Thomas, a capable playmaker who needs to use this skill a bit more, is the sole backcourt player who fits this bill. Without someone creating high-efficiency looks, these low-efficiency players will always be inefficient, no matter how good their individual scoring talents are.
In short: Gay is famously inefficient offensively and mediocre defensively, neither of which addresses a need for the Kings.
Getting a quality player for spare parts and no future assets is rarely a bad idea. But when that player is hugely expensive, it needs to make perfect sense. It doesn't here. Sacramento is perhaps guilty of the same thinking that got Toronto in trouble, that a pure talent infusion will offset the poor fit of said talent.
Moreover, they've been suckered into the myth of Gay's talent. Rudy Gay is one of the most tantalizing players in the NBA. He looks incredible, a general manager's dream. In a workout situation, he has everything a team wants. Tall and athletic with body control, a handle, and a jump shot, he looks as though he should be an all-world player. But it has never been this way. It most likely never will be this way. Gay gives off the appearance that he can be the next Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant, but never has he come especially close to doing so.
Gay isn't as skilled as it looks like he should be, or as perception would have you believe. Memphis knew this when they re-signed him, Toronto should have known this when they traded for him, and Sacramento definitely should know it now. The Kings aren't trading for Gay in the misguided belief that he will become a superstar, but they are trading for him -- and paying a hefty price in pure salary, as well as the basketball assets they gave up -- in the belief that he will be a significant help to their team. We don't have much evidence of that being true, though. The teams he has been on to date have been unnervingly similar without him than when with him. Being an upgrade to Travis Outlaw and John Salmons isn't that hard. Being worth $19.3 million is.
Gay has a player option for next season, and there is a chance he opts out of it. If he does, he does so only to re-sign long term. If Gay opts out of $19 million next season, he won't get $19 million again in 2014/15, but he might re-sign for four years and upwards of $50 million. Sacramento, then, has a few scenarios that might play out. They could watch him walk at the end of the season, they could keep him around for next year at the exorbitant price of $19,317,326, or they could pay the price to re-sign him. Considering the price to re-sign him will be excessive, this option means being stuck to an overpaid player with no remaining upside in full knowledge that he doesn't help your team as much as someone at his price band should do.
The only way this is not the case is if Gay proves to be a considerable help to the Kings on the court. And this is something that is tough to imagine occurring.
The Kings didn't pay a big cost to acquire Gay in terms of basketball assets. They traded three deep bench backups and their second-best point guard for their new best small forward, and everyone else is irrelevant. But that just isn't the point.
The holidays can be a tough time for many families who already struggle to make ends meet. Every kid deserves to receive a gift on Christmas, but sadly that's not always the reality for many local area children. But last night, Christmas got a little bit more magical when Santa Cuz came to town!
Last night, 100 underprivileged children from Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center, Oak Park Preparatory Academy, the Del Paso Heights community and other organizations were treated to a shopping spree at Walmart courtesy of Boogie Claus! And he truly looked like he was having a blast doing it. This is the Cousins we've grown to love at StR. He's as hilarious and good hearted as he is misunderstood.
Check out every entry of the Trade Josh Smith Advent Calendar
