The Kings lost for the fifth time in six games on Wednesday night, dropping to 6-9 on the season and 1-3 on a road trip that included games in San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Detroit, and Minnesota. After the game, veteran center Tristan Thompson expressed frustration with the results of Wednesday’s contest and the road trip as a whole, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays.
“The reality is this road trip should have been a 4-0,” Thompson said. “I was going on this road trip planning on going 4-0. The teams that we played against — OKC, they don’t want to win games. They want to rebuild. Everyone f—ing knows that. The Spurs, they have all young guys. They’re trying to figure it out. They have damn near eight guys that all play the same position. They’re trying to figure it out.
“… The Timberwolves, they’ve got names, but are they trying to win? Roll the dice, see what happens, figure out their roster. Detroit, they do not want to win. They want another top-three or top-five pick, and that’s no disrespect to the players on their team. They’re going to play hard and give it everything they’ve got, but at the end of the day, I know how this league works and I know how the front office works. … These are the games you have to win if you’re trying to be in the playoffs, or be in the play-in game, these are the wins you have to capitalize on.”
A report earlier this week indicated that head coach Luke Walton is facing increasing pressure and that his job will likely be in jeopardy if the Kings’ slump continues. However, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Thompson dismissed the idea that it should be Walton’s responsibility to motivate Sacramento’s players.
“I think no man in this world should rely on another man to inspire them, point blank, period,” Thompson said, per Anderson.” You can put that in all capitals. Me personally, no one should ever need a coach to inspire you. If you don’t get inspired in a game, then you shouldn’t be on the court.
“Losing teams, losing players, you need to get inspiration from your coach, and I’m not with that s–t. My teammates aren’t with it because I know guys want to win and they want to win badly, so it’s not about Coach Walton inspiring you. This is not no freaking ‘Glory Road’ s—. … I don’t need no f—ing coach to inspire me. Never that. Never have. Never will. The day I need a coach to inspire me is the day I’m f—ing retiring. I’m going to go play with my kids in the park.”
Thompson ranks just 10th on the Kings in minutes per game and he has been a DNP-CD in a handful of games this season. However, the 30-year-old has a championship ring and is one of the veteran leaders on a team whose key players – including De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Davion Mitchell – are relatively young.
Thompson made it clear on Wednesday that he believes in his teammates and that his frustration stems from a belief that the Kings have enough talent to be better than they’ve been so far. The big man said that everyone’s “heart is in the right place” and that they badly want to win, but they need to cut down on mistakes to make it happen.
“We’ve just got to come together and we’ve just got to really learn from those mistakes and really make sure we make it a priority,” Thompson said. “And it’s all of us. Me, too. … We’re all at fault here. From the top to the bottom, we’re all at fault. We’re in this together.
“… I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we keep pushing. No one’s going to feel sorry for you. This is the NBA. No one’s going to feel sorry for you. C-Webb (Chris Webber) and (Mike) Bibby ain’t coming through that door, so you’ve got to keep pushing each and every day, keep getting better in practice, keep watching the film, learn from the mistakes. If we all can just get 1% better each and every day, then we’ll get our fair share of wins.”
Well he ain’t wrong..
So who is Tristan Thompson blaming for this 1-3 road trip.., that they should be 4-0 on? Because he says it’s not the coaches job to motivate, so is he saying the coaches X’s and O’s and game plan is to blame?
I guess he’s just saying they need to be better. Maybe not pointing a finger at anyone?
I think he’s just saying that the team as a whole needs to execute better on the court. He didn’t seem to necessarily blame Walton for anything; the coach can put players in the right situations, but if they don’t execute then it doesn’t matter.
He should watch Glory Road.
I think it’s clear he’s saying the players need to play better and he feels they are playing without energy, playing lazy.
I guess it’s because of mistakes the team makes on the floor (yes Michael Chaney.) He says everyone’s heart is in it.., so it’s not laziness. Cut down on the mistakes and they’ll get 1% better every day.
Added another one of his quotes (second-last graf) to make this clearer.
I think Thompson is just saying that if they fire Walton, it shouldn’t be because of the notion that the coach isn’t motivating the group enough to play their hardest. In a way its blaming the struggles on the coaches X’s and O’s and their gameplanning and/or his teammates aren’t playing with enough effort.
I mean this type of situation happens with a lot of poorly run teams/organizations. Team struggles —> players drop their effort level —> coach gets fired as the scapegoat —> players up their effort level for a little bit knowing they’re next since there is no one else to blame.
What makes him think these teams don’t want to win? Obviously The Kings are the ones who don’t want to win. He sucks. Only looked passable because of Lebron. Been irrelevant since Lebron left.
He isn’t as good as he used to be, of course. But he was the best offensive rebounder and one of the best energy guys in the game for years. To say he sucks and was only passible because of Lebron shows that you never saw him play in his prime.
Also, the lame excuse of using Lebron to talk about the success of another player means that you don’t have a better response to back up your argument. What is your proof or data that he sucks?
And let me reclarify, yeah he kinda sucks now. My point is that what he did at an elite level and in his prime (offensive rebounding and hustling) isn’t because of Lebron. It was because he had talent back then. He also had his best year 12 ppg, 10 reb (4offensive boards a game), after Lebron left in 2019-2020
Sounds like a simple way to get cut. It’s not like this guy is an elite player.
Right now in his career he is a back up bench player. Kings have the offense but lack defense. A center should be the defense leader around the bucket but he is not.
Kings lack a lot of things. Probably the most poorly run organization in the NBA right now. They’ve got like 6 centers on their roster but barely play any of them except for Holmes. Basically gave up on Bagley, but for some reason didn’t want to trade him even though he’d be warming the bench.
Kings have some very talented players but a roster full of parts. Its time for walton to go and maybe their GM. Perfect team for Sixers to trade with for Simmons. They could build a very good team around Haliburton, Simmons, and Mitchell. Trading Fox and Heild or Barnes to Sixers. 2 of those 3 should get Simmons.
They gave up on Bagley because he can’t stay healthy, is full of himself and hasn’t improved on anything since the day he entered the league. If they could have traded him for anything of value they obviously would have.
I mean… it’s the Kings bro. Like what are you expecting? And you’re a bench player now. Just don’t rock the boat and maybe you’ll keep getting contracts to pay for your bad relationship choices.
You know who could use Thompson. The Bulls, he’d fit right in.
At least he seems to care. First Kings player in years that has publicly acted angry about the team underperforming.
Thompson would be a perfect addition for the Bulls right now.
Thompson is averaging under 5 points and 6 rebounds a game this year. Perhaps he should work on being an actual asset on the court before he complains about the team