“Nut-cutting time”: Kings owners on struggles

Sydney Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut has ruled out any suggestion the club is looking to make a coaching change but has admitted it is “nut-cutting time” for the back-to-back defending champions. 

The Kings have lost three of their past four games and suffered a disappointing 104-94 defeat to an undermanned South East Melbourne Phoenix in Sydney on Sunday.

Some pundits have questioned the Kings’ style of play this season - largely on the defensive end - but Bogut told his Rogue Bogues podcast coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah is in no danger.

“He is a rookie NBL head coach, he is still navigating how things work. We are not in any position whatsoever or conversation that we’re thinking about is this the right coach…absolutely not,” Bogut said.

However, the 2019 NBL MVP did suggest a rotational shake-up could be a potential solution to the Kings' recent struggles.

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“It’s nut-cutting time…I would probably change some rotations, potentially look at injecting some new life in the starting five,” Bogut said.

“Our starting five is very talented but it seems like we roll out there, and kind of let’s get a feel on how this is going to go…oh sh*t we are down 15, timeout, and then our coach has to kind of get into the guys a little bit and spray them.

“When you lose games this way and you play this way, whether there’s a line-up change in the starting line-up, whether there’s minutes that get cut for certain guys…he is going to figure it out and he is going to have to play that game.

“There’s probably going to be some hurt feelings along the way, that’s just the way things go when those tough decisions are made.”

Sydney has time to turn things around and still sit fourth on the ladder, but with the high expectation set within an organisation seeking a threepeat, Bogut knows losing games on effort is simply unacceptable.

“It’s a huge wake-up call. We are not tracking the way we thought we would be, the good news is we’re literally at the halfway point of the season…as long as we are surging those last five games it’s all that matters, but can we get there is the big question,” Bogut said.

“As an owner, front office…you can only have so much control. You got to kind of let things navigate themselves. I don’t want to be doing the coaching, neither does our ownership group, we are obviously a resource for our coaches at any time.

“At the end of the day it comes to the coach, the assistants, and that group of players coming together and getting their sh*t together. They know this is not an acceptable performance.

“I can stomach losing to a better player or team on the day, I can’t stomach effort stuff. That’s where our players know that’s not an acceptable way to play when you’re in Sydney.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NBL analyst Damon Lowery believes the Kings&#39; quest for a third consecutive title could be in jeopardy ?<br><br>Listen to NBL Now - <a href="https://t.co/uyEBuhY1BO">https://t.co/uyEBuhY1BO</a> <a href="https://t.co/n3YtgflAcz">pic.twitter.com/n3YtgflAcz</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1734396001920946458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Fellow co-owner and three-time NBA champion Luc Longley has put the spotlight on the Kings’ lackadaisical defence.

Sydney is currently seventh in the league in defensive rating, a stat that often correlates to championships. Since 2012, the winner of the title has always been in the top three of defensive rating at the end of the season, and the Kings last two title-winning sides have been the only teams in that time outside the top two.

“We never quite know what we’re going to get and I hope that changes,” Longley told News Corp.

“We will have to learn how to play defence if we’re going to go all the way. We’ve been a good defensive unit the last couple of years when we’ve won it and everyone knows defence wins championships.

“Right now, we’re struggling to find our defensive identity, but we’re still playing some moments of really good basketball — flowing, sharing, natural, instinctive, fun to watch basketball — and then when teams get grimy and dour with us we haven’t quite solved that part yet.

“I think we can win it. I love the way we go about it most of the time. We’re just a bit unpredictable at the moment. This is a new coach with 50 per cent new guys.”

The Kings are back on court on Sunday afternoon against the second placed Tasmania JackJumpers.