Carmichael Dave: Young Kings Should Earn Those Minutes

During the final preseason game against the Warriors, I got into a fun little twitter debate about minutes, and specifically Frank Mason III.

To me, Mason has been the most impressive King in preseason. Zach Randolph has sure been fun, and you can't blame the veterans for just simply getting into gear, that's expected. But the rest of the team has been a little questionable:

Willie Cauley-Stein- meh. He shows flashes, but he's always shown flashes. This is it, this is the year. He HAS to take the leap if he wants to avoid the reputation of being role playing big man. Can he?

Skal- Ok. After the Demarcus Cousins trade, there were times when Skal showed more than flashes, he was downright scary. An offseason of adding serious bulk to that wiry frame should pay off, but he didn't blow me away in his time.

Buddy- Nothing crazy, nothing bad. Looks like he's ready to build on last year.

Bogdan- You can tell he's getting used to the system, but you can also tell he's more vet than rook, and once that shot starts falling like it does in practice, he'll be a force. He'll keep defenses honest.

De'Aaron Fox- Tough one. In the time he's played, he's shown that John Wall flash and bits of power. Even before he landed on his upper tushy to finish his preseason, there were questions about the 82-game durability on that thin, thin frame. I'm curious as to how he does during the NBA grind.

Frank Mason III- Best player this preseason. He's a rookie, but he's also older than almost half the team, being a 4 year guy at Kansas. Three things will hurt this guy that really shouldn't: He's 24, he's 5'11, and he's a second round pick.

I pointed a lot of this out on twitter, with the comment that I felt he had earned minutes. Now that certainly sounds like I'm advocating him getting minutes over Fox or Hill, and in a sense I am. But my overarching point was this- I want his play on the floor and in practice to determine his minutes, not the above mitigating factors. If he plays better than Fox and/or Hill in practice and in games, then he should get extra minutes.

I was (and remain) a huge fan of both Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins. And they both certainly had issues of their own doing. But the way the franchise handled both of them did them no favors.

Evans was a spark at a time when the Maloofs were practically giving away new cars with Kings tickets, willing to do anything (Jimmer!!!) to fill seats. The anointing of Evans with the 20-10-5 (he's Lebron James!!) was borderline criminal, and he never really recovered from it. That and of course the injuries....

Cousins anointment was more gradual. He came in with some questions, but by the end of the year he was the unquestioned nucleus of the franchise. Coaches couldn't control him, he was given pretty much carte blanche, both on and off the floor. Because of that, there was an expectation, and perhaps a lack of appreciation for NBA minutes that wasn't totally his fault. You can't expect someone to value something that practically gets handed to them.

So forgive me if I'm gun-shy. Do I think Frank Mason will be an all-star someday? Doubt it. Do I think he's going to be better than Fox? Perhaps slightly at first, but in the long run? Doubt it.

Doesn't matter. Part of this culture rebuild should be about earning every bit of what you have. Whether you're blue chip rookie, foreign import, half-amazing, or a 20 million dollar guard.....the guys that play should be the guys that play.