Zach LaVine Gets Brutally Honest About Kings' Leadership

After falling to the Memphis Grizzlies to start the season 0-3, it seems like frustration is starting to mount for the Sacramento Kings. After the loss, Zach LaVine was asked how the acclimation process has been as the team learns how to play together. He did not hold back.

"Sometimes it's organized from the top down. Sometimes it's organized from a certain player on the team, like a Chris Paul... a very high-level leader... It can come from a veteran coach or even a bench coach,” LaVine said.

“But we're all working through it. We don't really have any of that right now, and it's not going to come anytime soon. So, as a collective, we need to figure out what's everybody's strengths."

There is a lot to unpack there, in terms of the state of the franchise and what the team needs to do moving forward. 

Who is LaVine referring to? 

The labels LaVine used clearly show a full-scale organizational reference. LaVine uses "top down," then, players, then coaches. 

Separating coaches from the “top down” category rather clearly refers to the front office and/or ownership. They are not on the court drawing up plays or imploring the players to defend, but they undoubtedly play a large role in the on-court product. 

Next, the coaching reference is very broad, as LaVine mentions “a veteran coach or even a bench coach”. This is head coach Doug Christie’s second full season as a head coach, and just his fifth on an NBA bench. The assistant coaches have significantly more experience, but LaVine makes it sound like the team is not getting the presence they need.

It is early, but the purported leadership void may be showing itself through a disconnect between the front office and coaching staff. The front office traded up to make Nique Clifford the first first-round pick of Scott Perry’s tenure as GM. This summer, they traded up to select Alex Karaban in the first round this summer. 

Despite the front office’s investment, both received DNP-CDs against the Grizzlies. Clifford has played just 19 minutes in 3 games this season. Karaban played 5 minutes in the opener and has not played the last two games. The coaching staff has gone with Emanuel Sharp (45th pick) and Daequon Plowden (converted from a two-way last season) for the reserve backcourt/wing minutes. 

This is not an indictment of Sharp or Plowden – both have earned where they are. However, prioritizing players in the draft to the point where you use additional assets to make sure you get them, then proceeding to not use the player once you have them, shows there is some gap between the front office evaluation strategy and the in-game strategy. 

These segments of the franchise need to be aligned for performance to be optimized. There is no point in the front office having conviction in prospects if they have to operate out of fear that the coaching staff will not even give the player a chance. This may not be what LaVine is referring to, but it is a noteworthy development while he calls for increased leadership from the top down. 

Finally, LaVine mentions player leadership, specifically noting Chris Paul as a strong veteran presence that can help organize a team. This is the least surprising reference of the three. When he was mic’d up for the broadcast during a preseason game, the 31-year-old swingman mentioned that he is now the oldest player on the Kings. 

Sacramento has had this in the past. Harrison Barnes was a great veteran for the Beam Team that happened to meaningfully contribute as well. Matthew Dellevadova was at the end of the bench for that team – not playing often, but still a great resource for other players to lean on as some of them played key roles in meaningful games for the first time. 

As LaVine (and the others) look around for the veteran presence to calm things down, the younger players are probably looking at LaVine given his age. That has to be odd for him, but that is the reality for LaVine and this Kings team as they turn the roster over and begin the rebuild.

What can Sacramento do to address this? 

Part of this could have been avoided relatively easily. The preseason is a key opportunity for teams to begin familiarizing themselves with one another in realistic settings so they do not enter the regular season starting from scratch. 

Coach Christie emphasized the importance of preseason games before the season began, and his outlook makes a lot of sense. 

As great as training camp and practices can be, there is simply no substitute for taking the floor against an actual opponent to learn what you have, what your strengths are, and how you can maximize those strong points to put yourself in the best position to win games. For some reason, Sacramento did not choose to do so. 

Now, the Kings have to figure these things out on the fly. This comes as the NBA’s new anti-tanking rules take effect, meaning all teams will be trying harder than ever to win every single night as they try to avoid the “relegation zone” that leads to significantly lower odds of landing a top draft pick. 

In sum, LaVine’s assessment is a sobering reality three games into the season. As he said, help is not coming any time soon. Sacramento has very limited means to change its roster during the season. 

Sacramento takes the court tomorrow against De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs. Here’s hoping the Kings can find some rhythm and get in the win column.

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