Offseason

Tracee Jay

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox linked up with JJ Redick for his second appearance on The Old Man and The Three podcast on Thursday.

As both players spent weeks in the Orlando bubble, insight was shared on some of the favorite and least favorite elements of the eight-game slate.

Fox liked that the Bubble “gave us an AAU vibe” and that he “enjoyed seeing [other NBA players] more than you would have [normally].”

However, at the top of his Bubble pet-peeves was that Florida humidity.

“I’m from [Houston] so I’m used to humidity, but Florida is a different level.”

The conversation eventually shifted towards Kings basketball.

Swipa revealed his feelings leading up to the Draft before he was selected by Sacramento.

“I want[ed] to go to 5, I want[ed] to be the fifth and go to the Kings.”

The Kentucky product made it clear that he wants to be a part of the squad that ends the 14-year playoff drought.

“It’s hard as hell, especially being in the West. But, just being able to part of [making the playoffs] would be something special.” He continued, “If we can end up building a championship contending team, then it’s like you’re winning a championship in Sacramento, that’s looked at a lot differently. You probably feel better than you do with anything else and I just want to be a part of that process.”

For Fox, this process started with a good foundation.

No. 5 cherished the sage advice he received from his previous veteran teammates like Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, Garrett Temple, and George Hill. According to the De’Aaron it’s helped him tailor his game even more.

Swipa knows even with the mentorship he’s received, the work begins in the gym.

“I have to be able to take and make threes.” Fox expanded, “at the end of the day, I know to be valuable and to win, you have to be able to make threes.”

From the hour-long conversation, one thing is clear: De’Aaron is ready to get back to work for Sacramento.

To listen to the entire episode of the podcast, click here.

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Swipa Talks Building a Contender on JJ Redick’s Podcast

Kyle Ramos

Not just any player gets a signature shoe in the NBA, but De’Aaron Fox is not just any player.

This week on Bleacher Report’s B/R Kicks channel, Fox hopped on a virtual call with NBA legend Charles Barkley to discuss the latter’s upcoming sneaker release.

Barkley explained during the conversation his thought process behind the creation of his own signature shoe: the Nike Air Max CB ‘94.

“I was looking for light, but I wanted ‘em to be really sturdy,” Barkley told Meech from the B/R Kicks team.

The spotlight then turned to De’Aaron, a rising star in his own right in the Association. When No. 5 was asked if he had thought about getting his own signature sneakers one day, the Kings floor general responded with “definitely” but also acknowledged that he still has some steps to take.

“I know I have to continue to rise my game and carry my team,” said Swipa. “And then those type of things will come.”

Fox referred to several of Kobe Bryant’s shoes as some of his favorites to hoop in historically. However, due to some ankle injury issues, the Kentucky product had recently turned to lacing up the high top Kobe 9’s in particular - a sneaker that he would want his signature kicks to be “very similar to.”

Swipa got a taste of customizing his own set of sneakers last summer when he teamed up with Nike to create his own spin on the classic Air Max 1 model.

The full conversation can be viewed below.

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Swipa Talks Signature Shoes with Charles Barkley

“I knew it was over for me when these young guys came in, and they were running so fast.”

Dwyane Wade recently joined Pelicans Guard JJ Redick to talk hoops, retirement and more on The Old Man and the Three Podcast.

Following the 2018-19 season, Wade hung up his jersey and said goodbye to a phenomenal 16-year career in the NBA.

While his run was nothing short of exceptional, he didn’t hold back on when he knew it was time to bring his career to an end.

“De’Aaron Fox and Buddy [Hield] were getting a shot off in like three seconds!

The Flash went on, “I can’t even get back in three seconds, let alone you get a shot up in three seconds.”

That moment had D-Wade wanting to check out of the game but his ego wouldn’t let him.

While Wade was thinking about retirement, we’re almost positive the young duo of Fox and Hield were just honored to play against a legend.

Watch the full clip from Redick’s The Old Man and the Three Podcast here.

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Fox, Hield Helped D-Wade Come to Terms with Retirement

Hannah Taheri

As Senior Director of Entertainment for the Sacramento Kings, what do your day-to-day responsibilities include?

I oversee all aspects of the in-game entertainment at Sacramento Kings games. I direct the show from courtside, calling cues for music, lighting, video, entertainment groups, mascot, hosts, on-court promotions, halftime entertainment.

Prior to landing this position, you worked as a referee, a stage manager, a center court lead, and more. How did these different roles help prepare you for the position you hold today?

I actually started officiating shortly after starting with the Kings. As a game-night coordinator back in 2000-01, I would be stationed close to courtside. I remember watching the referees work and saying to myself that I could do this.

So, I started in high school and then made it into the junior college level and for the past 12 years, I’ve officiated at Division II college basketball games. At one point, I had ambitions of working at the NBA level, but the process is so tough and time consuming. I’m content at the college level. 

I’ve worked with the NBA since 2005, working the NBA All-Star weekends. I started as a Stage Manager, working the celebrity games, and other events leading up to the All-Star Sunday. I had the chance to co-direct the 2017 and 2018 NBA All-Star games in New Orleans and Los Angeles. That was a very cool experience! It was challenging and intense, but fun.

As a Sacramento native, did you grow up a Kings fan? If so, how does it feel to be working for the team you’ve been rooting for your whole life?

Yes, I have always been a fan. Although I didn’t attend many games as a fan growing up, I remember collecting pins and memorabilia since I was a kid!

What are you most looking forward to this upcoming season?  

I’m looking forward to the development of our entertainment teams. Not only did we add a new group — our new co-ed performance team, 916 Crew — we had a makeover of our street team and drumline, adding talented members to both groups.

As for the 916 Crew, I think this new crew will be very entertaining. Their level of dance is very good, the team is inclusive of all body types, about half the team is male dancers, and overall the team represents the very diverse community we live in.  

Lastly, if you could pick ONE word to describe the energy of the arena at a Kings game to try to convince someone to come out to a game, what would that word be?

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Offseason Sit-Down: Maurice Brazelton

Mark Nelson

What are your responsibilities as the Director of Groups and Hospitality at the Kings?

My job is to ensure that we bring in new business for every upcoming season. I also strive to maintain and renew around 80-90% of our groups that come out. Fortunately, we hit record numbers last year that was based on team play, but we also have many programs that help us reach our numbers.

When the excitement and demand increases, we had lots of groups add two or three more games just based on the fun game experience. Our overall strategy looks for ways to bring in new groups, maintain our existing accounts, and ultimately make sure that our staff of eight hit their goals each year. This also includes the arena show side with events like Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, and PBR.

Can you talk about your journey within the Kings organization?

It's crazy to think that this will be my 12th season with the Sacramento Kings – an evolution that took us from Arco to Sleep Train and now to Golden 1 Center. It's been a fun ride. I have met some of the greatest people working for the Kings organization that are lifetime friends. It's definitely the people and the culture that makes this place special.

I started as a seller and learned right away to provide the best customer service. It’s making sure that you know the little things. I would find out my clients’ birthdates or their favorite Kings player, or if there was an opportunity for me to go above and beyond to make someone's day better with the fan experiences that we have available.

These are all things that we look for when we're trying to put programming together on the hospitality side. We try to engage as much as possible not just with group leaders, but also with our suite clients, our partners, and our season ticket holders because everyone is a prospect that we can work with. When I attend different sporting events and I see the passion of fans, not all of them can match what we do here in Sacramento. It's always a jam-packed fun atmosphere. Our fans bleed purple and are “Sacramento Proud” and we just hope we can provide great hospitality to thank them for coming out to games and supporting us.

People. I would say it's working with not only my staff and my co-workers, but all the different departments. I love walking through the concourse and seeing past clients, current clients, and people that purchased season tickets from me eight years ago. I'm a very competitive person. For me, if I can find ways to get new groups or someone to try out something different, that's a challenge.

If I get someone to come back or add-on, that's a win and I get really excited about that. In our world, it's getting people to come back, but also to refer their friends, refer their businesses, and get people to want to come out and experience a Kings game at Golden 1 Center.

How does innovation play a key role throughout your department's efforts?

We are very lucky that our owner, Vivek, is always looking to find ways to engage with our fan base. So if there's a way that we can stand out and try something new, he will try it and it trickles down to our management team. We’re trying to engage with as many people as possible.

The communication is not always going to be by telephone, right? Now, we have tools where we can send specific text messages to different platforms. We have the opportunity to do video emails with a cool backdrop. If we're talking to a specific company, we can put their logo on there. There are new ways to talk to people. Even our processes for onboarding season ticket holders, courtside clients or suite clients have evolved. We want to make sure we stand out and do something different like personalized client jerseys or a toast at Center Court.

Within Groups and Hospitality, what is something important, but often overlooked?

The biggest thing that gets overlooked is communication and touch points, but we get better each year. We show value when we host a River Cats game for season ticket holders or we take our top-10 group clients to dinner to see how they're doing. We may surprise them with a birthday or anniversary gift. My old mentor told me that you should always want to talk to your clients every other day or maybe once or twice a week. I preach to my team that communication is key.

I’ve been invited to three different clients’ weddings – what we do cultivates a very special relationship because they probably see us more than some of their own family (20-40 times per year for events, versus I see my parents five times a year). We are committed to ensuring Kings fans have a great experience. Even though the season is only eight months, we want them to feel like we are a part of their lives all year round.

What is your favorite memory working with the Kings?

There are so many great memories, but at last year's draft when we jumped up to move to the number two spot, the whole entire staff went nuts. It was so cool because we don't always get those bounces to go our way.

How has the new Golden 1 Center helped you and your team give people a better experience?

Being downtown and being able a part of DOCO is a tremendous advantage. It makes people want to come out early to get some food/drinks or go shopping and experience the downtown area. This big, brand-new arena with the biggest scoreboard ever has great appeal.

Do you have advice for anyone wanting to follow your similar career path?

My best advice is to find one or two different mentors that you can throw back ideas or get some professional guidance from. Networking is also a great advantage at conferences or internships because you never know who might be able to help you in your career path. Be passionate about what you do, find ways to learn, grow and get better at what you do.

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Offseason Sit-Down: Michael Ramos

Walk us through a typical work day in the life of Scott Freshour here at the Sacramento Kings.

What a lot of people don’t know is that not only am I the Emcee, but I’m also the Director of Entertainment here. So, I work with a very talented team that helps produce all the entertainment that takes place during a game day. On a typical day for me, I am sitting in creative sessions and production meetings, working with talent groups to help put the show together, and so on.

How does your work differ in the offseason from that of the regular season?

The offseason is a lot more planning for the upcoming season while during the season it's a lot of getting things done for what’s happening right now. I could say, “Oh, I want to have a Star Wars theme night.” But as we get closer to the game, that's when I actually create the content that goes into it.

How did you get into the entertainment business?

I never thought I would get into announcing. I got an internship with the Kings when I was 18-years-old. It was always my goal to work for the Kings. So, I got the internship and it was more so on the live event, production side.

Then, there was a point where they needed an Emcee and they just asked me if I could do it because they thought I had a big personality – and I just ran with it ever since. There were multiple Emcees throughout the season and the next season they decided on which ones they wanted to keep. So, it was kind of a tryout, but not really. I never had any formal training or anything, so I just went out there and tried to be myself.

How much of your interaction with fans during crowd moments is you being your spontaneous self and how much of it is scripted?

Everything I do is 100% spontaneous on a game night. I know my guidelines and I know bullet points of what I'm about to say, but I don't memorize. I just go out there and I act like me. It's always been my choice to just be Scott Freshour on the microphone versus pretending or playing an ‘Emcee role’.

So, every time you see me on the court, it really is just me. If you see me interacting with a fan, that's how I am. It's pretty authentic to who I am and I like that because I really enjoy interacting with those people and having fun. Because people can tell if you're faking it. So, I've always said I'm just going to be 100% authentic.

Over the years, you’ve gotten to have a lot of crowd moments with Kings fans. Do you have a favorite crowd moment in particular?

So, one of my favorite moments was back at Sleep Train Arena when we broke the Guinness World Record for the World’s Loudest In-Arena Crowd. That was pretty rad. They put it LIVE on ESPN and measured it with a decibel meter. We couldn't play other music underneath it — it had to be genuine crowd noise. You can find it on YouTube, it's pretty awesome.

Do you have a secret for getting hyped up before a game? Any pregame rituals?

I mean caffeine always helps. It’s a lot of natural adrenaline from being on a court in front of 17,000 people. What I've been doing the last year or so is finding time to meditate around 5 o'clock or so. It helps me to forget the stress of the day and just focus on emceeing. When I come out of a meditation, I'm pretty focused and ready to put on that new hat that I have to wear.

You’re a father of two little boys. If your sons grew up and wanted to follow in Dad’s footsteps, what kind of advice would you give them?

Oh, jeez. I would say to them that to work in something this special, you need to be prepared to work hard for it. You need to make sure it's your passion because you will spend a lot of hours and time here at the arena or the office. 

But, most importantly, I would say that if you want to get into this line of work or any line of work—treat people with respect and kindness. No matter who they are or what their job title is, every single person deserves respect, kindness, and compassion.

You recently had a hand in helping assemble the new 916 Crew. Can you talk about what Kings fans can expect from these dancers this year?

I think fans are going to really enjoy the 916 Crew. So far, from what I've seen, their energy is infectious. The physicality and the explosiveness of their routines is going to leave people genuinely entertained.

I would use the word “experience,” because it is more than just a basketball game. Our goal as creative professionals is to turn sport into an experience that has multiple layers of entertainment and engagement throughout the evening.

You could stay at home and watch the game, or you could come to the arena and have an experience and see some entertainment, have some laughs, get really excited, and have the camaraderie of sharing that event with your family or friends.

It's truly an experience like going to Disneyland. You don't go to Disneyland just to go on Splash Mountain. You go there for the cotton candy, you go there for the music, you go there for the photo opportunities. That's what we've tried to do here. Obviously, the basketball is the main event, but we like to create all the fun that happens around it.

offseason-sit-down-scott-fresh-freshour

Offseason Sit-Down: Scott "Fresh" Freshour

Willie Cauley-Stein, through an offseason of grinding and self-reflection, is looking to become an even bigger factor for the Kings this upcoming season.

Now going into his fourth year with Sactown, Trill has his sights set on continuing to grow as a player on the court and a leader to his teammates, as well.

In a recent interview with Kings legend Doug Christie on The Grant Napear Show, Cauley-Stein provided a simple explanation when asked about what he hopes to see from himself in 2018-19.

“Consistency. I mean, that’s it,” Willie said.

The Kentucky product’s Instagram feed has been populated with frequent looks into his offseason workouts. Trill added more insight into his mindset in the interview.

“[The offseason] is going along like it’s supposed to go along. Locked in early, I’m in a frame of mind right now that I can’t even explain... I’m locked in on something, I’ve never been locked in like this before,” said Cauley-Stein. “I’m excited...I’ve never been this excited about hoops before.”

As noted by Bryant West of Sactown Royalty, the Kings big man looked to be more locked in during the second half of 2017-18 - recording higher statistics in his averages for points, assists, and rebounds per game, as well as field goal and rebound percentage after the All-Star break.

With an offseason full of work and a new mental approach, it will be exciting to see how Trill will elevate his game heading into the upcoming season.

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Trill Looking to Lead with Consistency

sacjwise

By all accounts, Skal Labissiere is a low key guy.

No. 7 rarely shares updates on social media - making exactly one post on Instagram since the end of the season.

In an era of professionally produced offseason workout videos, high-profile pick-up games and glitzy summer vacations, Skal stays in the background, right where he likes it.

Thanks to Memphis-area trainer Raheem Shabazz, we get a glimpse into Labissere's offseason regimen - and Skal looks ready to make the leap.

Working on agility and strength, both mentally and physically, Coach Shabazz highlights the Haitian-born forward's hard work this offseason.

Averaging just a tenth less per game in points (8.7 in 2017-18 and 8.8 in 2016-17) and rebounds (4.8 in 2017-18 and 4.9 in 2016-17), Skal won't hope to repeat the consistency. In addition to growth statistically, No. 7 is clearly working on his body to improve durability as he appeared in only 60 games last season before sitting the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.

Although the team's springy forward likes to keep it low key in the offseason, by the looks of these videos, he's trying to do anything but that during his third year in the NBA.