Carmichael Dave: Summer League Diary Day One- Its HOT
Hey and hello from summer league in Vegas! I'm Carmichael Dave, and I'll try to finish this blog before I burst into actual flames. We will be down here through Monday night bringing you all the coverage you could possibly want, as always, courtesy of our friends at Jiffy Lube. Here are some notes from Day One.....
It's HOT.....
Let me first acknowledge that I obsessed on this trip this year. Being able to come down and report on summer league as "my job" is badass, and I realize there are many people reading this that would love to be down here. I get it. But I'm going to bitch for a moment anyway.....why Vegas? Can't we have Tahoe summer league? Even better, why not Seattle summer league? They should have a team anyway, why not at least give them two weeks of pseudo-NBA basketball, in one of the most beautiful climates you could possibly ask for in July. Vegas?? They might as well play the games from behind the exhaust pipe of a school bus.
(and that ends my old man ranting for today, but damn its 117 degrees).
More national media weighs in on the Kings......
On The Drive this morning, Chris Mannix of the vertical revealed 2 things:
- The guy who is outscooping the scooper, Woj- is Shams Charania. Shams works for The Vertical, where Woj used to work. Woj is now at ESPN, but since his move, he's been getting scooped more than a few times by Charania, his former understudy. When I asked Mannix about him, he told us that Shams is STILL IN COLLEGE!! What?? The air apparent to the NBA Scoop Throne is still hanging out on a quad somewhere playing guitar? Also, its Shams like "Brahms", not "Hams". Don't know why I didn't know that.
- Mannix said he's been harder on the Kings than just about anyone, that they're the gift that keeps on giving. He also said the Kings would do stupid things, then lie about it later. Pretty tough talk, but Mannix is almost always fair. Yet following those comments, he said: "This has unquestionably been an A+ offseason for Sacramento. They have been absolutely flawless." Now, as my colleague Damien Barling says, you can't hate the national media when they crack on the Kings, and sing their praises when they're complimentary- but it is nice for a change to hear the Kings being viewed in a good light from afar, and not as a national joke.
Malachi Richardson, we have NOT forgotten you. Trust us.
The second-year man out of Syracuse has put on 15 pounds of muscle, and looks ready to roll in Las Vegas. He made it clear at mini-camp yesterday that although the Kings have brought in a ton of fresh faces over the offseason, they haven't even scratched the surface in seeing what he can do on the floor. In other words, don't sleep on Mal.....
Shouts to Cowbell Kingdom for the vid:
Kings fans are the best in the world, but hey I'm biased......
Was informed today that tickets for Monday's Kings vs Lakers summer league game (Fox vs Ball 1) are all gone.
-The game is in Las Vegas
-Its a summer league game
-The tickets were to watch the game at Golden One in Sacramento
-On the big screen
Yeah that's right. The Kings smartly decided to open G1C for this game, and though tickets were free, you had to register and do some mobile phone stuff. Needless to say, the arena will be packed for what is effectively a meaningless game, but in Kingsland, nothing is meaningless. Ever.
Said Kings President of Business Ops John Rinehart:
"It's no surprise to us that the best fans in the world are coming out in force. There is obviously a lot of buzz around the Kings, ticket sales have been beyond brisk since the draft. We are thrilled to open the beautiful Golden One Center to out fans and we look forward to a great night together."
See that? Even the suits are excited!
Dave Joerger's coaching staff is rad......
Also this morning on The Drive, we had Kings' assistant coach Jason March on. Not only is he awesome because he's a Florida State grad, but he will be the head coach of this year's summer league entry. He spoke about helping to educate the kids on what it means to where the logo on the jersey, and what he's looking for in these games. But one quote stood out:
"Last year was our first year in Sac as a staff. There were several times during the season where in the middle of a game the coaches would look at each other and say 'Do you believe this crowd??' Kings fans are amazing through thick and thin."
Always good to get a little Sacramento Proud in there.
******
Kayte and I will be down here through Monday, returning Tuesday. Stay tuned each day to KHTK.com and our social media for more posts and videos on all the happenings here in Vegas. Come Monday we will have a ton of sound for you to digest, as we take the only glimpse we'll have of this squad (most of it) before October.