Rocky Start Has Kings Entering The Youth Movement
Jan 16, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:23 am
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Sacramento Kings are entering the youth movement by having their veteran players sit out so the team can start to develop their rookies.
Veterans such as George Hill, Garrett Temple, Kosta Koufos, Vince Carter and Zach Randolph will be rotated throughout the rest of the season so that the team can develop their younger players and give them a chance to gain some time on the court and prove what they can do.
After losing 15 games with the with their last five being five consecutive losses, it is no surprise the Kings are willing to see what potential their rookie players may have during the remainder of the season.
The Kings coaching staff and management have come to an agreement on the decision to prioritize the development of their younger players. According to NBC Sports, the Kings have decided that two or three vets will sit out each game in exchange for their younger players.
After the team’s loss to Oklahoma City Thunder, Joeger told the media;
“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. It might be some times there’ll be three. It’s an opportunity for some other guys to get some minutes as we go throughout the course of the season. I’ve got it laid out…I’ve got about five or six games laid out, and every week I’ll go out again because you want to communicate with those guys when they’re not going to play. Other guys, they’ve got to be ready. If you’re in the first three years of your contract, you can expect to play a little, or a lot, or none, but you should be ready to play…”
Sitting out won’t be easy for their veteran players but with their current five consecutive losses, some changes have to be made for the Kings.