The Kings are going to let the youth movement run the team for the rest of the season. Following Monday’s loss to the Thunder, head coach Dave Joerger said to reporters that he plans to start sitting veterans.
“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,” Joerger said. “It’s not an easy conversation. All of them are rotation players on a playoff team. So to ask those guys to step aside at different times is not enjoyable for me.”
Joerger also said the vets will get advance notice of when they won’t play.
Sacramento has five veteran players on the roster; George Hill, Zach Randolph, Garrett Temple, Kosta Koufos, and Vince Carter. Carter and Randolph were healthy but did not play last night. Players like Justin Jackson and Georgios Papagiannis saw more minutes than normally expected.
Now that the Kings hold the worst record in the Western Conference, the team may be trying to fortify their draft position. With no pick in 2019, the Kings must take advantage of this year’s class and acquire assets. With rumors of Hill being unhappy with the franchise’s direction, a trade seems possible. By fielding an inexperienced team, the organization has no need to “tank for picks”.
Expect to see more of De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, and Frank Mason III commanding the floor in the vets’ absence.
