SACTOWN DOESN'T BACK DOWN!!
Sacramento Kings - Fool's Gold
There's a difference between being a playoff team and being a title contender. The Kings are a good playoff team, a good punching bag for a top team in the NBA playoffs. They are competitive, not a pushover at all, but let's be real. They aren't winning a title, and that's why their ticket prices are so high. First, they know they won't be their long and second, they have to pay for that new stadium. Take advantage of ecstatic fans that think they have a chance. Great payday for the owner.
I would give the Sacramento Kings a B- overall. Drafting Keegan Murray over Jaden Ivey (#5 pick to Detroit), Mathurin (#6 to the Pacers), and Sharpe (#7 to the Trailblazers) in the 2022 NBA Draft was very short-sighted. It reminds me of when they drafted Shareef Abdur-Rahim over Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant in 1996. Abdur-Rahim was good, but Ray Allen and Kobe were great! They settle with mediocrity, taking role players in the top 10 as if they are just 1-piece away from competing. Passing on superstar after superstar. Tyreke Evans over Steph Curry, Ben McLemore over Giannis. Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic.
Last off-season, they drafted a 22-year-old Davion Mitchell last year over 18-year-old Turkey sensation, Alperen Şengün (Averaging 16 PPG and 10 RPG this year for the Rockets at just 19 years old). Then they top it off by drafting 22-year-old Keegan Murray over 19-year-old highlight reel, Jaden Ivey. Who is already a better 2 guard than any of the Kings' shooting guards on the roster! They also passed on Bennedict Mathurin, who looks like a stud this year at just 20 years old. He's already better than Keegan Murray even though he's 2 years younger. This is what happens when you draft for need instead of top talent. Shaedon Sharpe is also looking like a future phenom for the league. These are the 3 immediate players taken after Murray in the draft! They have it all backwards as they continue to take the finished product. It's because they don't trust their scouting or their intuition when it comes to deciding if a young player will develop into a good player.
It seems like the Kings' brass basically doesn't trust their scouts. I have a great eye, they should hire me, I'd help them out. They are able to bring these players in, talk to them, look at them, and work them out, and yet couldn't recognize it? Mathurin is a stud, could you not notice it when you watched him in a private workout, or did you not give him a workout? I'd like to know. Ivey could have played either guard position or provided flexibility. Don't get me wrong, Keegan knows how to play basketball, he knows how to be a role player and contribute. He's no Mathurin though.
Let it be known that neither Lebron nor Kobe liked Coach Mike Brown. He was fired when he was the Head Coach for each of their teams. However, he's done great with this unit. He must have learned from his mistakes. They have a good system and the players play hard for him. They seem to have a great relationship. The best thing that they did this last year was pick up Sabonis in a trade during mid-season, albeit letting Tyrese Haliburton go. Now some think that Haliburton will end up being better than Fox in the near future. Anyhow, they're doing well, but the real test will be in the playoffs. They have a solid team, good role players around Sabonis and Fox, but not good enough to compete for a title.
ROOKIE COMPARISON WATCH:
4th Pick - Keegan Murray (22 years old last August)
5th pick - Jaden Ivey (20 years old last February)
6th pick - Bennedict Mathurin (20 years old last June)
7th pick - Shaedon Sharpe (19 Years old last May)
Kyrie Irving Support Page
Kyrie Irving and his Freedom of Beliefs
On the 29th of October, I wrote about Kyrie's situation. I knew this was coming down the pipes eventually. I don't feel the same about Kanye's rant that I do about Kyrie's situation. It's not the same thing. Kanye was looking for drama, he was talking recklessly without a real plan. Kyrie is catching heat for not speaking on a subject, people are enraged because of his silence. The exact opposite. He is not unstable and wild in his emotions. Kyrie only posted a link to a movie without adding any commentary to the link. Kyrie does a lot for the black community; he doesn't just talk about it. While I agree that his beliefs could be radical and extreme, I believe in everyone's right to believe in whatever they choose to. In fact, it's your Constitutional right. No matter which perception of history that you choose to believe in, that's your natural human right. He never made any hateful comments or even made any summary opinion. He's being condemned for not giving an explanation or details of his opinion on something controversial that he posted. This is a case of employee conduct intersecting with freedom of beliefs. As I said on the 29th, Kyrie should be free to believe in whatever he wants. He should not be forced to explain or elaborate on those beliefs. That has to be some kind of HR violation. This is a man that, having had his history either erased or hidden from him, is in search of some answers.
I'll give you an example. If a Christian posted a link to the movie "The Passion of Christ." A movie that depicted the Jews persecuting their own God (in human form), which is exactly what Christians believe happened in history, should that player also be suspended? Jewish people put Jesus (the Messiah according to Christianity) on trial, asked Jesus to stand down on calling himself God. They told Him it was blasphemous to make such claims that go against everything they believed in. When Jesus wouldn't stand down, they tortured and killed Jesus on a cross. Ask any Christian if they believe that this event happened in history. This claim is equally as offensive to Jewish people, and to an extent, antisemitic by definition. However, the intent to hate Jewish people is not there for Christians. In their eyes, Jesus was also Jewish.
According to findlaw.com, "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment. The Act also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer"
Beliefs and religion go hand-in-hand.
Christians, imagine that your employer called you into their office and asked you to explain how in the world could you think that a human man could walk the earth with God's power? You don't have to explain your reasoning or thinking to anyone.
Muslims and Jewish people, imagine if your Christian employer called you into their office to explain your reasoning behind your beliefs. You don't have to explain your beliefs to them.
Imagine that they try to make you look crazy and discriminate against you for it.
They always leave a loophole at the end of these orders
(number 2 on article 9). I think it was strategic for letting the elites of the world and law-makers manipulate the wording.
Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching practice and observance.
2. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.