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Welcome to your morning cup of Kings. We are within hours of the NBA Trade deadline and the Kings are still scrambling to change the roster. They also have games to play and Wednesday’s 129-125 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies was another tough pill to swallow for fans hoping to get back on the right track.
If winning isn’t a priority for you as a fan, more power to you. As we continue to develop the Morning Cup of Kings, we’ll continue to add elements. On the mornings after games, we’ll use six quick thoughts, as well as post game video elements to enhance the coverage.
Keep in mind that the NBA trade deadline is today, Feb. 5 at 12:00 PM PST. If there is movement, I’ll have a reaction podcast ready to roll that will hit your inbox as soon as possible.
Here is the latest Locked On Kings Podcast from Wednesday night:
Six Quick Thoughts
Yikes. The Sacramento Kings played a depleted Memphis Grizzlies team still reeling from a big trade on Wednesday night. It didn't matter. Memphis out-gritted the home team to send Sacramento to their tenth straight loss, this one by a final of 129-125. Here are six quick thoughts:
Welcome to Sacramento. De'Andre Hunter drilled a three for the first points of the game. He had a quiet night after that. The veteran wing finished the night with 9 points on 3-for-11 shooting. You can see his defensive acumen. You can also see how one player can't help the current roster.
One more dance or here to stay? On the eve of the NBA trade deadline, Domantas Sabonis, who has been in trade rumors all week, put on a show for the Golden 1 Center crowd. Sabonis finished the night with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists in 24 minutes.
Two bigs. Doug Christie mixed and matched Sabonis with rookies Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud. Whether this would work against a regular sized squad was unknown, but these three had some nice moments. It should be noted that Precious Achiuwa didn't see the court.
Back to the bench. After starting four of the last five games, Nique Clifford played with the second team and looked solid. The rookie had a couple of nice transition buckets and hit a three on his way to 14 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. He's getting better.
Showed something. Former lottery pick Devin Carter got some burn and actually made an impact in the game. The second-year guard came off the bench to post 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block. He pushed the tempo and played defense.
Happy birthday! Malik Monk turned 28 on Wednesday and showed no signs of slowing down. The Kings' sixth man scored 13 points and dished out 4 assists in 18 minutes of action. After a season of rumors, there is a good chance he sticks in Sacramento past the deadline.
Post Game Videos
The Kings Beat Podcast
In case you missed it, Sean Cunningham, Brenden Nunes and I hosted a new edition of The Kings Beat Podcast on Sunday evening.
For some unexplained reason, the newsletter format struggles with live shows, so here is a link to the Youtube video:
And here are your audio options:
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