Cowbell Kingdom Podcast Ep 63: Jim Eyen, Sacramento Kings assistant coach

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham 

With 20-plus years of NBA coaching experience, Jim Eyen brings a wealth of knowledge to Keith Smart’s staff.  James Ham caught up with Eyen following Wednesday’s preseason game in the first half of this week’s podcast.  In segment two, Jonathan Santiago mulls over what he’s seen so far out of the Kings’ in their first three exhibitions.

Excerpt

This year’s team is the most talented group Eyen has had a chance to coach in his three seasons with the Kings. How does Eyen and the rest of the coaching staff envision utilizing that depth to their advantage this season?

I think that’s one of our biggest assets this year is our ability to be versatile. We can play small. We can play big. We can play fast. And we can play more of a half-court game. We can throw a lineup in there that can press full court and extend defenses and trap, so I think we have a lot of different combinations we can use.

The talent level has increased and now it’s our job to find the right roles for people and the right rotations and it’s kind of a nice problem to have. So we’re looking forward, as we go through the preseason, to let the dust settle a little bit and see where we need to put people and how we’re going to use people. But the thing that stands out most is that we have a very deep team. And I think that unlike some teams that may play seven, eight, nine guys, I think there are definitely nights that we can play 10, maybe 11 and then maybe some nights not. But I think we have that ability and I think it’s a nice problem to have.

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Music Credit: Ronald Jenkees – Guitar Sound

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