'I'm not sure this is going to work'

The Sydney Kings have dominated the headlines this off-season, landing two of the biggest free agents in Matthew Dellavedova and Kendric Davis, and pairing them together in the backcourt.

With two of the best guard talents the league saw last season now on the same team, it’s easy to believe that this will be a hugely positive result for the Kings. But Damon Lowery isn’t convinced just yet.

“It ain’t automatic. It’s not written in stone that this is gonna work,” he said on The Marketplace.

“How do they mesh? They are two lead singers. You can’t have two lead singers at the same time. Somebody’s got to play the backup role.”

Davis is coming off an outstanding individual season for the Adelaide 36ers, where he finished runner-up in MVP voting and put together one of the best statistical seasons the league has ever seen in the 40-minute era.

“KD is definitely not a backup guard. He’s not playing off the ball. He’s best with the ball in his hands,” Lowery added.

“Delly, on the other hand, is also a ball-dominant guard — not from a scoring point of view, but from a setup, organisational point of view. I don’t know how those two are going to work.

“You’ve got an old head in Delly and a young killer in KD. I’m going to sit on the fence and say I’m not 100 per cent sure this is going to work.”

Derek Rucker, on the other hand, is confident that the two stars can figure it all out and help lead the Kings back to their lofty championship goals.

“Yeah, it’s gonna work. Don’t doubt these guys,” he said.

“You’ve got the two best playmakers, the two best assist guys in the competition from NBL25. Kendric Davis and Dellavedova are outstanding in looking after their teammates.

“Both of these guys understand what they’re getting into. I’m sure there have been enough conversations in the past six weeks where they have clearly laid out how this is going to look.”

Rucker took aim at Lowery’s concerns and highlighted that the drama-filled 36ers season played a contributing factor in Davis’ decision to join the Kings for NBL26.

“Kendric is looking for guidance, for leadership, for structure, and I think Dellavedova gives him that — from a peer group perspective and from the Sydney Kings, who provide that structure I believe he needs to take his game to the next level,” he said.

“That I agree with,” Lowery said.

“Because we know that the leadership of the 36ers wasn’t conducive to a young guy starting out his professional career. They were a circus. Now you come into a stable environment like the Brian Goorjian-led Kings, and you’ve got Andrew Bogut on the staff as well. No doubt about it, the stability is there.”