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Welcome in to your morning cup of Kings. Sacramento lost their 11th straight game Friday night, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers by a final of 114-111. It was a competitive game, but once again head coach Doug Christie turned to the young players to finish out the fourth quarter and came up short. Here is a look at Six Quick Thoughts from the loss:

🏀 1. Earning his new contract. Dylan Cardwell just got a sizable pay bump and a four-year contract on Thursday. He went to work, scoring 14 points and 14 rebounds. This was the 7th 10+ rebound game for Cardwell this season after accomplishing that feat just 4 times in 5 seasons at Auburn.

🏀 2. Caught fire. Malik Monk rained down three 3-point shots in the span of a minute or so in the first quarter. He came out firing again in the third quarter, hitting another 2 long bombs on his way to 18 points on 6-of-9 from three. 

🏀 3. Mad Max. With Domantas Sabonis out with a back issue, Max Raynaud picked up another start. The rookie center got downhill in the pick-and-roll in the third quarter and finished with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with 5 rebounds. Another solid outing.

🏀 4. Rookies on display. Cardwell and Raynaud had quality games, but they weren't the only ones. Nique Clifford continued his surge, scoring 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and 2 steals. He's adding to his game. 

🏀 5. Welcome to the conversation. Devin Carter has struggled to earn court time in his second NBA season, but with the youth movement in full effect in Sacramento, the Friar is getting his shot. Carter posted 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. 

🏀 6. Man down. Newly acquired De'Andre Hunter got poked in the eye during the third quarter and stayed down on the court for a while before heading to the locker room. He was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game with a left eye injury.

You can find postgame media clips at the bottom of this post.

Here is the latest Locked On Kings episode following the loss to the Clipper.

Following a quiet NBA trade deadline, general manager Scott Perry called a press conference to explain the current state of the Kings. It was a long media session that spanned all kinds of topics, including where the Kings are at in their build, why prudence and patience are needed and how head coach Doug Christie fits into the overall puzzle.

Here are some notable quotes, plus links to the three video clips.

“We're at the extreme early stages of laying the foundation here, and all— you've heard the phrase from me, prudent and patient. That's how it has to be if you want to create a foundation of sustainable winning like what we want to do. So we're not going to do anything out of panic. There's a lot of outside noise that comes throughout the year, especially during trade deadline. But I've been around long enough. I'm an experienced enough person in this position that I'm not going to allow that to sway any of our decision-making, to do anything out of panic and make any what I would call bad decisions.“ -Scott Perry on where the Kings are at in their current build

“We always want to compete, and I think you short-sell the young guys. Just when people say you're going to play young guys more, that you're not going to be competitive. In some ways, they're going to bring more energy on a team that's not winning, maybe more so than even your established guys. So no, we want to compete, and I want to win as many games as we can, you know, because I think it's important for the mental health of the organization and for the locker room, that the guys can play 48 minutes and come in that locker room with some wins and not all losses. That's important as you build. I've never subscribed to, and we're not doing this, so let's be clear on that, to what I would call institutionalizing losing. No, that's not in our vocabulary. Tanking institutions. You're not going to see a team that's going to go out in these final 30 games and say we're trying to lose. Absolutely not.“ -Scott Perry on idea of tanking

“I really enjoy working with him, his energy, his passion, not only for the game and to get better as a coach, but he has a passion for this community, as you know. I mean, he was a star player on this team years ago and extremely invested in the community. Now, with that being said, there's a lot of learning that goes into that. And I think he'd be the first to tell you he's right in the midst of a learning curve being a head coach. And that's not just coaching the game, that's managing the staff, that's working with front office, it's all those things. So, but he's approached it with the appropriate mindset or demeanor, I would say. And so, but nobody wants to win more games than him. And I hope he wins as many games as he can this year.“ -Scott Perry on head coach Doug Christie

Read More: Why did the Kings stand down while the league exploded?

When Perry swung the trade that sent Keon Ellis, Dennis Schröder and Dario Saric out and brought back only De’Andre Hunter, that cleared up two roster spots. One of those went to Dylan Cardwell, but the Kings still have one remaining.

Sacramento currently owns the worst record in the NBA, which means they have top priority on the waiver wire. Unfortunately, according to Spotrac.com, the Kings are just $1,069,009 under the luxury tax.

They still have room to sign a minimum scale contract and give a player a shot here in the final 29 games. Cardwell’s contract, as a rookie, pays him $871,000 for the remainder of the season, so a contract like his would fit into the cap.

Perry also has an open two-way contract with Cardwell being elevated to the main roster. That two-way contract slot has 18 games remaining after Cardwell used up 32 games. It should also be noted that two-way contracts don’t count toward the Kings’ salary cap or luxury tax number.

Following the loss to the Clippers, Raynaud, as well as Daeqwon Plowden and Doug Christie spoke to the media. Raynaud is getting a lot more comfortable in front of the media and allowing his personality to show more. He even compared himself to a baby giraffe with his early season play.

Plowden, who is one of the team’s two, two-way players, is polished, insightful and definitely worth a listen.