AL in CAL (@ALinCALI22 on Twitter) joins me today. Al is on a meme creating streak which will go on until the Kings make the playoffs! We talk about his memes, specifically the ones I have in my top 5 from his collection. We also cover the last two Kings games against the Bulls and the Nets and some other topics come through as well. Enjoy!

My top 5 picks from Al's meme's in reverse order:

Day 40: @chewislin's (the "40 WINS!!" guy) face pasted over Spider-Man's body being carried by the crowd from Spider-Man 2

Day 44: Trey Lyles grabbing Brook Lopez's throat. Trey is Fox. Brook is the Clutch Player of the Year Award.

Day 15: "Newman" from Seinfeld in Jurassic Park saying "He doesn't like the beam" with that guy being the 29 other NBA teams. Then Newman says "See? Nobody cares!" 

Day 35: Jordan from The Last Dance "I took that personally". Mike Brown's face over Jordan's and "Kings have missed playoffs the last 16 years" above his head. 

Day 26: Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel on the set of Passion of the Christ. Mel looks normal and Jim is in the Jesus costume with blood ALL OVER HIM. Mel is Lakers fans complaining about perhaps missing the playoffs two years in a row. Jim is Kings fans. 

Joe Seward (@josephseward91 on Twitter) joins me to tell his Kings fan story, talk about Cowbell Talk, discuss the No Quit Kings, go over what it will take for the Kings to get 10th, 8th, 6th, and remain in 3rd, and look at Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles. Enjoy!

J. Cliff's magic number spreadsheet that I copied to a Google Sheet

Element (@grandberry1998 on Twitter) joined me on Thursday November 10th! Apologies to Element for the delay in posting. He started out by telling his Kings fandom origin story then he broke down our starting 5 and which anime characters he sees them as. I don't know anime, but if you do, please comment on Twitter after listening to Element's picks. We also talked about Trey Lyles, Chimezie Metu, and Malik Monk. Then we went into various NBA and Kings-related topics. 

Will Griffith (@WillOfThaPeople on Twitter) of the Kings Herald preview articles and King Herald Show podcast joins me to talk about Operation MCNAIR - the Kings fan based charity drive he started last year and is continuing this year. We also talk about being optimistic, pessimistic, or realistic for your sports team, recent officiating in Kings games, Domas Sabonis's fouls, Kevin Huerter's hot start, and Richaun Holmes' early struggles.

Be sure to follow Will on Twitter or check out the game recaps at The Kings Herald to see which charity he chooses for every loss.

Here is an article on the Chicago/Zoom action which the Kings have used and should continue to use for Huerter and Sabonis that was briefly mentioned in the podcast. 

Brandon (@BNutty2 with display name Uncle on Twitter) joins me to cover some Kings topics after their first 3 games. We cover the early struggles of Harrison Barnes, whether KZ Okpala should be in the standard rotation, the way Holmes is being used, whether the additions of Huerter and Monk have improved our "small wing" department, and we spend a little time giving Fox his flowers. 

Andrew Davidson (@eeengine on Twitter) joins me as we go over 4 questions I wrote and 7 questions he wrote before the Kings first game against the Trail Blazers. Essentially these are the things we were looking out for after preseason. Lots of discussion on game 1. 

Megalu (@megalutou on Twitter), The Daily Sabonis (@dailysabonis) and David Bruce (@davbruce89) joined me for the pod's first roundtable! We had three question prompts we started with, and from there it dovetailed into a wide-ranging conversation on the Kings as they get ready for the 22-23 regular season. 

Doug White (@douglaslwhite on Twitter) joins me on October 14th before the Lakers game to look at some positives and negatives for the team going into the season. We also discuss Okpala starting and Keegan playing small forward before looking at the first 10 games of the season and wrapping up with overall win predictions for the season. 

Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA on Twitter) joins me to describe his first time at media day and training camp for the Kings and then we look at six pick and roll coverages (Drop, At The Level, Hedge, Blitz, Ice, and Weak) by seeing how our guard and center combos would match up with combos on the Lakers and the Suns. This should be a good podcast for learning how any team defends the pick and roll if you want to learn how it's done. 

Here is the excellent article at The Basketball Actoin Dictionary that describes the six coverages. 

Brenden's Twitter Profile

Nate Hughart (@21ShadesofKG on Twitter) joins me, so we can propose two rotations each for the Kings. I used the rotation building tool at the website The Hoops Geek. I encourage everyone reading this to create their own rotation and @ me @catterj12 or DM me on Twitter. 

The Hoops Geek website

My rotation #1 - this one staggers Fox and Sabonis and probably has way too much Monk at SF

My rotation #2 - this one starts Monk at SG, Huerter at SF, and Barnes at PF with Keegan off the bench. Also, Keegan plays some SF and Fox and Sabonis play together. 

Devin Hestand (@DevinHestandATC on Twitter) joins me again, this time to evaluate the roster as of today. We go by the positions listed at Cleaning the Glass - point, combo, wing, forward, and big. Looking at who stayed, left, and arrived for each, we give our take on whether the team has improved, regressed, or stayed the same. We end by talking about some probably too early record projections for the Kings and other teams in the Western Conference. 

My tweet that Richard Holmes liked that I mentioned in the episode. 

Devin's Twitter Profile

Bowser (@bowser2bowser on Twitter), the creator of the absolutely fantastic The Basketball Action Dictionary at medium.com joins me to talk about SEVEN X's and O's actions that have been, could be, and should be used by the Kings with their new wing Kevin Huerter. Bowser is also a contributor for Peachtree Hoops, the SBNation site that covers the Atlanta Hawks, so he already knows a lot about Huerter in particular. Here is a link to a companion piece for this podcast where Bowser provides a play diagram and two or more gif examples of each action. There is actually a bonus 8th action in the piece we didn't have time for on the pod. Thank you very much to Bowser for coming on!

The Basketball Action Dictionary on Medium

Bowser's Twitter Profile

The precursor - The Basketball Dictionary

The BBall Index - mentioned in the pod

@BMutch on Twitter (display name Too Mutch Sauce) joins me on Royal Review. We hear his Kings fan origin story, go over some of his irreverent and hilarious beam memes, talk about the fantastic win against the Clippers and taking care of business against the Trail Blazers. We finish by discussing who the leaders of the Kings are. This was a very enjoyable talk for me; I hope you enjoy it too.

https://twitter.com/Bmutch/status/1593678846225620992

Blake (@blewis216 on Twitter) joins me to grade the Kings draft, Huerter trade, and free agency (so far) as well as discuss Keon Ellis and Neemias Queta and their performance in Summer League. 

Blake's Twitter Profile

David Bruce (@davbruce89 on Twitter) joins me again to cover both the California Classic and Las Vegas venues of Summer League for the Sacramento Kings. We get general impressions, focus in on Keegan, Neemias, and Keon, and touch on the other guys before getting David's win projection as of now. 

Ben (@AusSac1 on Twitter) joins me to evaluate the draft, the signing of Malik Monk, and the trade for Kevin Huerter. We also discuss potential moves still to come this offseason, and Ben is the first one to give me his 2023-2024 win total range predictions. I give mine too, but both ours are subject to change. 

Ben's Twitter

Video on Vezenkov

Rory (@bigrordawg on Twitter) joins me to discuss the 2022 NBA Draft for the Kings, give a few brief notes on the tools the Kings can use in free agency, and then go into four mock rosters the Kings could construct with trades and free agency. These rosters work under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. THANK YOU to the TWELVE people who provided mock trades and desired free agents on Twitter. You are all mentioned with your Twitter handles near the beginning, and Rory used some of the ideas to build his rosters. He created a Google Sheet with the four rosters and that is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i6i_vJID-sWmkgbMGJFyZsFLFSpDxc6yv1HciA-CG8w/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you enjoy and go Kings!

Drew Mac "Peter Popoff" (@loneInMyThots on Twitter) joins me to discuss some draft day trades and some possible free agents the Kings could sign. We also discuss the Cowbell Talk Twitter Spaces and Playback room as I do with all my guests that participate there. 

Brandon (uncle daddy, @BNutty2 on Twitter) joins me to talk about being a fan of individual players and the Kings as well, getting a lot out of Twitter Spaces and Cowbell Talk, and some players at the top of the draft big boards including Paolo Banchero, Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey, and Chet Holmgren. Thank you to Brandon for coming on!

Brandon's Twitter Profile

Brett Huff's latest consensus big board

Cowbell Talk's Playback room

Skyler AKA Kings Film Room (@sacfilmroom on Twitter) joins me to talk about being born into Kings fandom, how he learned X's and O's, what his vision for his future is, and a detailed breakdown of five clips from his currently pinned tweet on Mike Brown's offense plays from a prior head coaching stint. We look at how each of Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, and Jaden Ivey could fit in the plays, assuming one is drafted by the Kings.  His Twitter Profile

His tweet thread on Mike Brown with clips he covers

Jrue's thread on Mike Brown's coaching of Team Nigeria, mentioned on the pod

The Kings Film Room YouTube channel

Devin Hestand (@DevinHestandATC on Twitter) joins me to discuss the draft. We go over his origin story as a Kings fan, his choice for the 4th pick, three prospects each for the 37th and 49th picks, some interesting trade proposals, and some general trade targets for the Kings. Devin has a great and very extensive spreadsheet for the draft that is available for sharing. DM him at @DevinHestandATC on Twitter!

The Daily Sabonis (@DailySabonis on Twitter) joins me this week! We discuss the Kings jumping to the 4th pick and how to think about which player to pick at that spot. Then he dives into some second round prospects the Kings might consider for the 37th and 49th pick. Second round prospects covered include:

• David Roddy
• Jake LaRavia
• Keon Ellis
• Peyton Watson
• Kenny Lofton Jr.
• Dalen Terry
• Ron Harper Jr. 

Andy (@ANDY_F44 on Twitter) joins me to go over a list of trade and free agent targets. At the end, we also discuss what to do with the lottery pick if we jump. 

Liz Hardiman (@hardiman_12 on Twitter), one of our NEW co-hosts of Cowbell Talk, and I look at how the landscape of the Western Conference changed with flurry of trades near and at the deadline. We first look at the Kings' trade and then every trade by a Western team somewhat likely to make the playoffs. Liz always provides a steady stream of good takes on Cowbell Talk and her takes on this episode of Royal Review were of the same quality. 

James Ham (@james_hamnba) joins me today! After I gave a detailed intro relating a story of my use of James' platform The Kings Beat, I learned some of his story including how he started as a fan and made the transition to credentialed media member. We also talk about the potential head coaches and whether NBA owners can truly meddle in their team's affairs.  I hope you enjoy, and I hope you support consistent, generous, great Kings content at James' platform The Kings Beat. Thank you James for coming on!

Jrue (@thatl0calguy on Twitter) comes on for the second time to break down some of the X's and O's that Steve Clifford and Mike D'Antoni have run. Per this James Ham tweet, Clifford and D'Antoni are interviewing for Sacramento Kings head coach this week. This is a really good opportunity to learn about the actions these guys actually run on the court, and I don't think any other Kings fan or media is doing this in such detail. 

Check out Jrue's Twitter thread on Steve Clifford's X's and O's which prompted this recording. 

Check out the SportsEthos Sacramento Kings podcast where Jill Adge breaks down many potential Kings coaches' stories including Clifford and, I expect soon, D'Antoni. 

Here are some links to visual breakdowns at The Basketball Dictionary and The Basketball Action Dictionary of actions Jrue talks about on the podcast:

• Pindown at TBD
• Stagger at TBD
• Drag at TBD
• Double Drag at TBD
• Re-Screen at TBD
• Angle AKA Spread Pick and Roll at TBD
• Drop Part 2 at TBD. This post goes into drop against empty corner pick and roll which we discussed.
• Ice at TBD
• Chicago at TBAD
• Pistol at TBAD
• Ram at TBAD
• Ricky at TBAD
• Spain Pick and Roll at TBAD

Enjoy!

Touchdown Al (@Touchdown_al on Twitter) joins me to go over some playtype stats I pulled from NBA Stats (stats.nba.com) and see how relevant they might be to the team. He also covers Mike Brown as a potential head coach hire towards the end. 

Rory (@BigRorDawg on Twitter) joins me to explain how the rules in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will affect the Kings in the offseason. A great resource for the CBA is CBAFAQ.com. Some topics Rory covered:

• how Rory became a Kings fan and the ruckus during the glory years down in San Luis Obispo
• the general structure of the salary cap including exceptions and holds which means the Kings will not be using cap space to improve in the offseason. 
• Donte DiVicenzo's restricted free agency, his bird rights, and what team might sign him to an offer sheet and whether we should choose to overpay or not
• Damian Jones' unrestricted free agency and what he might get on the open market
• the breakdown of Metu's non-guaranteed year for next year and the team option on Lyles
• what Neemias Queta might receive next season
• and some free agents we might go after with our non-tax mid-level exception

Rory really knows his stuff and it was great to have him on. Hopefully, this can make you a more informed fan. Enjoy!

Megalu (@megalutou on Twitter) joins me on the show for the second time to review some major storylines from the season. In my opinion, Megalu is probably THE most well-informed fan of the Kings. If it's been published on the Kings in whatever format, she's probably watched it, read it, or listened to it.

We discussed the ill-fated early season tenure of Luke Walton including his stalled-up offense, the strange season for Richaun Holmes, Tristan Thompson's impassioned rant, Fox's slow start along with his hot finish and what might have caused that, the puke game, the trade for Domas and how the team performed with him including how Lyles and Metu might play with him next year, how fans choose to fan, Fox's mid-season ankle soreness injury, and Jon's hatred of the NBA draft lottery and whether it and recent rule changes have had some effect on teams. 

Thanks to Megalu for joining me and I hope you enjoy!

Andy (@ANDY_F44 on Twitter) joins me to go over his top head coaching candidates for the Sacramento Kings. I start out saying we'll cover five but we eventually cover six. They are:

• Jeff Van Gundy
• Kenny Atkinson
• Sam Cassell - for Sam I mentioned a TNT NBA Fundmentals video he did on the mid-range shot. That is here. 
• Quin Snyder
• Mark Jackson
• Mike Brown

Andy is an extremely devoted NBA and basketball fan. He knows about teams throughout the league. Check out the episode and give Andy a follow!

Doug White (@douglaslwhite on Twitter) joins the show to talk about his top trade targets for the Sacramento Kings in the 2022 offseason. We go into detail on the following players:

• John Collins
• Kyle Kuzma
• Rui Hachimura
• PJ Washington
• Christian Wood
• Jerami Grant
• Josh Hart
• Evan Fournier

We also touch on Pascal Siakam, Luke Kennard, and Duncan Robinson. In my opinion, Doug brings up a lot of realistic trade proposals on Twitter that can make sense for both sides. Hope you like the talk!

David Bruce (@davbruce89 on Twitter) joins me today to briefly discuss Twitter Spaces, then why he always roots for the Kings to win every game, his holistic approach to team building from a fan perspective, and what needs the team has going into the offseason. David is a very intelligent, reasonable, and positive presence on the #CowbellTalk Twitter Spaces. I hope you enjoy!

Also, his sister and her fiancée have a podcast called Dead Ends that is going to cover the TV show Pretty Little Liars from beginning to end. If you're a fan of that show or know someone who is, direct them to the Dead Ends podcast. 

Here are the main actions discussed and good written summaries of them at The Basketball Dictionary and The Basketball Action Dictionary: 

• Split Cut
• Spain Pick and Roll
• Rip DHO
• Laker Cut

Shot video clips of the actions courtesy of NBA.com/stats

• Split Cut - 2/14 BKN 3Q 2:24
• Split Cut - 2/12 WAS 4Q 8:50
• Spain PnR - 2/16 CHI 4Q 6:30
• RIP DHO - 2/28 OKC 4Q 4:32
• Laker Cut - 2/26 DEN 3Q 6:52
• Similar to Laker Cut - 2/26 DEN 3Q 7:25

Other actions Jrue has seen the Kings run:

• Empty corner pick and roll
• Flex sets
• Double Drag screens

Other actions Jrue would like to see the Kings run:

• Floppy
• Turn or Flip

Hope you enjoy and thank you Jrue for joining the show!

Cardwellington (@cardwel71ngt0n on Twitter) joins me to discuss the All-Star selections including the lack of a De'Aaron Fox selection and three rumored trade candidates for the Kings. It's always great to talk to Card. He always has a great vibe on Cowbell Talk, and I think it's the same on this episode. 

The Daily Sabonis (@DailySabonis) joins the show to talk about moving to Sacramento a couple years before the Kings did, moderating the unofficial Kings fan postgame Twitter Spaces, and his top 6 draft prospects. Those prospects are:

1. Jabari Smith Jr.
2. Paolo Banchero
3. Chet Holmgren
4. Jaden Ivey
5. Johnny Davis
6. Keegan Murray

We cover these prospects in reverse order as the show progresses. 

ALSO, I am holding a contest to give away two tickets in Section 109 to the March 16th Kings vs. Milwaukee Bucks game. To play you just write a review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot when you are about to upload it, and send that to me on Twitter (@catterj12). I will select the winner on March 14th. I hope you participate and thank you for listening to the Royal Review podcast!

My guest this week is Megan (display name is Megalu and handle is @megalutou on Twitter) who has been hosting Twitter Spaces with me on the Sacramento Kings. We discuss how she became a Kings fan in the Boogie/IT years, what we've been doing on Twitter Spaces for Kings fans, the Sabonis-Haliburton trade, removing Buddy and Bagley while keeping Barnes, Donte DiVincenzo and what his next contract may look like, going for the playin versus trying to get a higher pick, and why the three point shot is so overrated today. 

Megan's Twitter Profile

Be sure to look for a Kings Twitter Space after their games that will run until Deuce & Mo start!

Will Zimmerle (@will_zimmerle on Twitter) joins the show to talk about his story of being a Sacramento Kings fan, how he got to know Damien Barling of ESPN 1320 and how the stats Will finds are now showcased on the DLo and KC radio show on 1320, how he finds the info he provides, and a deep dive into various aspects of Domantas Sabonis's game based on stats along with a small amount of discussion on Donte DiVicenzo. Hope you enjoy!

Will's Twitter Profile

The ESPN 1320 YouTube Channel

• The origin story of his fandom
• Why he started the website
• The wide variety of products in his online store
• All the graphics you see from his Twitter account
• His latest article Haphazard Kings Need An Actual Plan and what direction should the Kings take?
• Trading Buddy Hield to the Lakers with the main return being Talen Horton-Tucker.

CapCityCrown Store

Haphazard Kings Need An Actual Plan article

Touchdown Al (@Touchdown_al on Twitter), Kings fan and stat puller extraordinaire joins the show to talk about:

• his Kings fandom
• how he finds so many deep yet relevant basketball stats
• an advanced you cannot find at Basketball Reference or NBA Stats - R Squared - and how it can help evaluate an NBA team
• how much defensive rebounds cost the Kings each game
• The value of Moe Harkless to the team - may be higher than you think.
• Trading De'Aaron Fox - when and why or why not

Jill Adge (@JillAdge on Twitter) joins the show, and we learn about her story as a Kings fan, how she became a part of Sacramento Kings media culminating (for now) with the SportsEthos Sacramento Kings podcast, how she finds out so much about the lesser-known prospective head coaches and general managers, and much more!

General link to the SportsEthos Sacramento Kings podcast on Apple Podcasts - definitely recommended! Podcast Link

Link to the podcast episode where Jill reveals her first two coaching candidates - Link

Link to the episode with her next two candidates - Link

• How Will was born a Laker hater, literally
• How he became a Kings fan
• The Sactown Royalty Fanpost that helped a Kings dancer hopeful (and Kings fan!) achieve her dream of performing for the Kings - A Call to STR - A Dancer's Date with Destiny
• Writing about his love for his brother, the tragic death of his brother, and relating it to the tragic death of Kobe Bryant - Life, Death, and the Los Angeles Lakers
• The case for gold accents in Kings jerseys (not those gold jerseys, different ones) - In Defense of Gold
• A look at former Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie - Thinking About Hinkie
• When should an NBA franchise tank? (When their chosen window has closed)
• Should the Kings tank? And if so, how could they? 

Thank you for listening!

Brenden Nunes joins the show and we learn about his background and then discuss Tyrese Haliburton's emergence and whether him and De'Aaron Fox can work together. 

You can find Brenden's work at:

• The Kings Herald - kingsherald.com
• The Kings Pulse Podcast - available on all podcast platforms
• The Sacramento Bee - sacbee.com

Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3 on Twitter) joins me to discuss trade season! The deadline is just 13 days away and we discuss the Kings players Harrison Barnes (sorry Cowbell Talk), Richaun Holmes, Terrence Davis, and Alex Len. Then we touch on Jarred Vanderbilt, Mason Plumlee, Isaiah Hartenstein, John Collins, and Jae Crowder from other teams. I really enjoyed this pod, and Frankie is one of the hardest working members of media that cover the Kings!

Frankie's Twitter Page

Gran Toreno (@grantoreno916 on Twitter) of the Cowbell Talk Twitter Spaces joins me to discuss the Marc Stein report that Monte will get a contract extension in early 2023, the rumor that the Kings may be interested in trading for Mo Bamba, a discussion of how Domas's handoffs have benefited Kings players, and a look at the recent performance of Sabonis, Barnes, and Keegan. Toreno always has well thought out reasonable takes in Cowbell Talk and it was great to talk Kings with him!

Devin Hestand (@DevinHestandATC on Twitter) joins me to talk about rim protection from the Kings roster, the resiliency and fight of these 22-23 "No Quit Kings", the defensive lineup stats of the second unit, Fox, Monk, Sabonis, and two mock trades Devin came up with. Devin is a very well-informed and thoughtful NBA and Kings fan. Great to have him on!

Top 50 players in DFGA at the rim sorted by DFG% at the rim - Sabonis 10th

My tweet in which I show the Kings second unit lineup stats DRtg

Cardwellington (@cardwel71ngt0n on Twitter) joins me to talk about his Kings fan story, the Cowbell Talk Twitter Spaces, Monk, Sabonis, Barnes, and Keegan. Card is a great presence on Cowbell Talk, and it was a pleasure to have him on!

Buddha (@hegobrazy16 on Twitter) joins me to tell his Kings fan story and talk about his revised expectations for this Kings season if he has any. Then we talk about the memes "light the beam!" and Monk's band-aids followed by a look at the Kings defense. We wrap up by talking about Huerter, Barnes, and Metu. In there we also touch on Tyrese Haliburton's recent comments and Instagram posts and whether the Kings should trade anyone with the vibes so strong.