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11th coach in Sacramento in 16 years, we tell him when?

Hearing that the Kings (6-11) are struggling is far from the least recurring formula in the NBA. Partly because they missed the Playoffs for 15 consecutive seasons, the longest famine in League history. This Sunday, Luke Walton paid the price after losing seven of his last eight games. Assistant coach Alvin Gentry takes the interim, but could this new appointment be different from the others?

As an assistant, Alvin Gentry aimed to use his experience to help Luke Walton make Sacramento a strong contender for the Playoffs. It was a failure. The situation ultimately benefits the former Pelicans coach, because it is in Lucky Luke (68-93 in 161 in Sacramento) that the leaders of Sacramento no longer believe, as for the experience of grandpa Alvin, they expect to lead Sac Town to better performance, implying a play-in spot. Also, Alvin Gentry is no stranger to the interim title, this is the fourth time he has been promoted in this way after Miami, Detroit and Phoenix. In any case, the sixty-something seems to believe in the potential of his current team in order to break the infernal spiral that she has been going through for now … the whole life of a kid born in 2006. “We have some great pieces here”, he said. It is possible that a system change is needed to fully unleash the potential of young Davion Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton. With the experience of the new head-coach, the objective is to play faster, to better manage the end of the match and to find a way to revive De’Aaron Fox, whose stats are in bad decline (5.5 points, 5.8% shooting and 1.4 assists less than last season).

In the event that, at the end of the season, Alvin Gentry’s leg is not enough, it will be time to indulge in the expectation because that would mean that another change of coach is needed. But at this level, the Kings have abused a bit. The second guess would be that Monte McNair was wrong about the franchise cap and De’Aaron Fox’s potential. Currently, he has to let others create for him instead of doing everything himself, and the concern is that he is not the most prolific of 3-point shooters. Alvin Gentry has always been an offensive trainer, mostly preaching Mike D’Antoni-like concepts with quite a few bombs from the parking lot. In the short term he can do the trick but if the Kings are really looking for a long term solution, a possible change of course will have to be considered. A trade is perhaps the most plausible solution to alleviating Sacramento’s worries. A team with three leaders full of potential can quickly lead to a traffic jam and the difference in style, inhibiting the abilities of some. However, Sacramento remains an unattractive market, so following Sam Presti’s method with the Thunder – that is, developing the kids – is not the worst idea, but it is pure extrapolation. .

Alvin Gentry is well respected and the team seems to support his outlook, but nothing new at Sacramento, who is on his eleventh coach in 16 seasons. Kings fans just have to hope that Coach Gentry can unleash some of his magic on the way.

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