When October arrives, the curtain of the Kings’ training camp falls, and the annual media day unfolds at this time.
Although there were some minor issues during training camp, every player seemed very excited on media day.
Some clues could be gleaned from the players’ interviews.
"This is the year I’ve seen the most reporters since I came to Sacramento." Stan said with genuine excitement.
The agreement he had reached with Ludar was a compromise, as Hansen’s tough stance made him realize that if he didn’t follow the coaching staff’s instructions, he would only end up being traded.
And going to a new team to start over would be terrible for him, especially in a contract year.
But at this moment, he truly felt the changes in the Kings and realized that staying with the Kings was the best route for him.
"That’s not important to me; I have bigger goals."
When reporters expressed dissatisfaction for Mitchell missing out on last season’s Rookie of the Year award, Mitchell’s emotions were mixed.
After losing to Simmons at last season’s award ceremony, Mitchell had voiced his frustration on social media.
Simmons was just on a better team, surrounded by Jimmy Butler and Embiid, while Mitchell had Guy and Sabonis as teammates.
He lost to Simmons just like Anthony lost to James back in the day.
Not to mention Simmons was actually a second-year player.
However, his comments did not attract much attention because Simmons was a media darling and was in a big city like Philadelphia, whereas he was in Sacramento, with the Kings, a team buried in obscurity.
Yet before the new season even started, the media began to proactively voice support for him.
Mitchell knew it wasn’t the media that changed their minds; it was the Kings that had changed.
To use O’Neal’s words, players go to big cities for a bigger platform, but Hansen himself was the biggest platform.
Wherever he went, it meant that place would become the focus of media and journalists.
And this focus would make players excited about the present and full of anticipation for the future.
After media day ended, the new season officially kicked off, starting with the preseason games.
The Kings’ first preseason opponent for the new season was the Rockets.
Even though the Rockets fell short in the Western Conference Finals last season, the management continued to renew contracts for Paul and Capela over the summer, retaining the main team lineup as much as possible.
Add to that, they signed Carmelo Anthony, who had been traded by the Thunders to the Hawks and then bought out.
This somewhat related to a change in ownership, as last season, the notoriously frugal Alexander, due to aging, finally sold the team to Tilman Fertitta.
Of course, what’s more important is that Hansen’s departure from the Cavaliers was akin to Jordan’s first retirement, igniting the strongest desire among all teams to compete for the championship in the new season.
Because everyone is well aware of Hansen’s strength, it’s possible that one day, Hansen could make a Jordan-like comeback with the Kings, leaving them only a brief championship window.
This preseason game was held at the Kings’ home court.
Then, it was the turn for Sacramento fans to genuinely feel the difference of the new season.
Preseason games in the NBA are similar to warm-up games; most of the main lineup only plays half the game, so the tickets for preseason games are very affordable.
Take the Kings for example; last season’s cheapest preseason ticket was $5, not much different from being free.
Still, the number of fans watching the game at the arena was very limited, usually just a small scale.
But this year, the tickets for this preseason game sold out shortly after going on sale, and now the ones still circulating are those held by scalpers.
Compared to commercial investments which do not directly impact, this polarizing ticket sales situation is the most direct.
When the Kings emerged from the player tunnel of Golden One Arena, they saw a packed audience, leaving the original Kings players stunned.
"Are we playing the finals?" Sabonis couldn’t help but exclaim.
"That’s our goal." Mitchell was the first to recover from the shock.
NBA is a job for players, but who wouldn’t want to show themselves on a bigger stage, in front of more fans? Newest update provıded by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Money is the biggest motivation for playing, but it’s not all.
Preseason games don’t have opening ceremonies, and after warming up, both teams’ starting lineups were announced.
Rockets: Paul, Harden, Anthony, Tucker, Capela
Kings: Hansen, Mitchell, Tatum, Sabonis, Stan
Winning or losing in preseason isn’t important; it’s more about honing the lineup.
In this game, Hansen was positioned the same as he was during his time with the Cavaliers, at the point guard position.
After the game began, the Kings quickly fell behind.
The Rockets’ fast-paced offense and defense completely outmatched the Kings’ rhythm.
Clearly, compared to the Kings, the Rockets were a more mature and stronger team.
On the Kings’ side, the newcomers were still adapting to Hansen’s presence, always passing the ball to Hansen.
Mitchell was the only one willing to play aggressively, but facing Paul’s defense, he couldn’t perform well.