Kings active in trade talks?
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If we can't get a deal done to bring in a better PG then Sanders could be a guy to go after.
As it's been mentioned, the risk is there that he just had the one great season and that he isn't capable of actually being the player that he portrayed himself to earn the contract.
The other risk is that there is only 1 good PG in the draft and we'd need a top 5 pick to get him. But there are great defensive bigs which will come cheap and who don't have the same off-court issues as Sanders that will be available even if we don't 'win' the lottery. Cauley-Stein projects to be a Tyson Chandler type and Vonleh projects to be a Larry Sanders type.
So if you do burn assets to bring in Sanders and he comes in and plays pretty well for you, but then you've got both of these great defensive guys that you can choose from...what do you do?
At this point, I don't care how it happens, but we have to start next year with a defensive big next to Cousins.
If Sanders is the best bet, then take the gamble. If the draft is the best bet, and draft that big.
I don't care.
We just need it badly next to Cousins because we'll never be a championship quality team with-out it.
As it's been mentioned, the risk is there that he just had the one great season and that he isn't capable of actually being the player that he portrayed himself to earn the contract.
The other risk is that there is only 1 good PG in the draft and we'd need a top 5 pick to get him. But there are great defensive bigs which will come cheap and who don't have the same off-court issues as Sanders that will be available even if we don't 'win' the lottery. Cauley-Stein projects to be a Tyson Chandler type and Vonleh projects to be a Larry Sanders type.
So if you do burn assets to bring in Sanders and he comes in and plays pretty well for you, but then you've got both of these great defensive guys that you can choose from...what do you do?
At this point, I don't care how it happens, but we have to start next year with a defensive big next to Cousins.
If Sanders is the best bet, then take the gamble. If the draft is the best bet, and draft that big.
I don't care.
We just need it badly next to Cousins because we'll never be a championship quality team with-out it.
There is another PG that I like, but he could be had mid to late first round, and that's Semaj Christon, the 6'3" PG from Xavior. Good athlete and terrific ballhandler. Good defender at the college level. Needs to add strength, and refine his outside shot, but he's a talented kid. I think Smart will be a good player but not a great player. For one thing, and I've watched him play a lot over the last two years, he's not a great athlete. He's not a bad athlete either. I'd say he's a little above average, with very good lateral quickness. What he is, is big and stocky, and he uses it to bull his way to the basket, similar to Tyreke, but he's not near the ballhandler that Tyreke is. He doesn't blow you away with his assist totals, and I question that he'll be able to bull his way to the basket the same way in the NBA, where he'll go up against bigger, stronger players. His outside shot has returned to last seasons form, and that was my major mark on him last year.
I could be wrong about him. I've been wrong many times, but I just don't think so. Someone mentioned that neither Smart nor Exum can shoot the ball from the outside. I beg to differ. Exum is a far better shooter, especially when he's on balance, and not required to carry the offense all on his own. When it comes to athleticism, Exum is a 10, and Smart is a 7.
I could be wrong about him. I've been wrong many times, but I just don't think so. Someone mentioned that neither Smart nor Exum can shoot the ball from the outside. I beg to differ. Exum is a far better shooter, especially when he's on balance, and not required to carry the offense all on his own. When it comes to athleticism, Exum is a 10, and Smart is a 7.
Look, things are falling apart already with less than half a season of more losing under their belts. There is no way this franchise is going to ask Cousins or Malone to endure another year and a half of this. It won't stand. It would be a disaster. With people already at each other's throats I am wondering how we are even going to limp on through the next 4 months to reach that lottery pick, let alone plan to go into another year with a "winning isn't important" attitude. Its important to the franchise player. Its important to the coach. You can hold them for a bit with promises it will get better in the future, but you can't expect them to endure for years.
scary, indeed, but it certainly sounds like the kind of risk that pete d'allesandro has claimed he wants to take as the kings' gm. acquiring rudy gay represented a relatively minor risk, given the brief remainder of gay's contract, and considering what the kings parted with. acquiring larry sanders on his current deal is a much more dangerous chess move, but one that could pay off untold dividends if successful. i like it. i'd do it. pull the trigger, i say, if at all possible.
indeed, and that's an interesting point. where geoff petrie was often complacent and risk-averse in his latter days with the kings, pete d'allesandro is a young gm who appears as though he really wants to make his mark in the nba. while i remain skeptical of his ability to successfully reshape this team, he gets brownie points from me for not sitting on his hands with a near-talentless roster. he's upgraded the kings' talent level, and that's a start. but, at some point, the pieces have to fit together. and while it's easy to recognize that the kings could use a rim protector, it's another thing entirely to swing for the fences on larry sanders and his contract. personally, i'd love to see that kinduva gutsy move. it could very well backfire... and massively so. but the kings aren't climbing up the standings without taking a calculated risk or two, nor are they climbing up the standings without defensive personnel...
Question for you.
If Pete D'Allesandro was looking at two trade packages and had the green light to pull the trigger on either one, which of the two would you prefer he go with?
1.) Obtain Rondo/Wallace for IT/DWill/Thornton/JT
2.) Obtain Sanders/Mayo for IT/DWill/Thornton
Personally I go with obtaining Rondo and then pick up my defender in the draft.
If the 1st trade isn't available, then I take a very hard look at Sanders to try and determine if he can play to what he did last year and then I might hesitantly pull the trigger while trying to figure out what to do about getting my PG. But to me Sanders is a very big gamble and if you miss it, then it's doubly bad because there are defenders that can be picked up on draft day.
If Pete D'Allesandro was looking at two trade packages and had the green light to pull the trigger on either one, which of the two would you prefer he go with?
1.) Obtain Rondo/Wallace for IT/DWill/Thornton/JT
2.) Obtain Sanders/Mayo for IT/DWill/Thornton
Personally I go with obtaining Rondo and then pick up my defender in the draft.
If the 1st trade isn't available, then I take a very hard look at Sanders to try and determine if he can play to what he did last year and then I might hesitantly pull the trigger while trying to figure out what to do about getting my PG. But to me Sanders is a very big gamble and if you miss it, then it's doubly bad because there are defenders that can be picked up on draft day.
whoo... that's a tough one. but i agree: the first option. provided he's 100% healthy upon returning from injury, rajon rondo is quite a perfect fit in the kings' starting lineup. it'd be tough to absorb wallace's contract in that scenario, but he'd be a solid utility defender off the bench. taking on that contract is also just about the only way boston deals rondo, in the first place. it does leave the kings' woefully thin at PF, but they should still end up with a record that allows them to snag one of the solid defensive PF's in the draft...
I totally disagree with the 3 of you. At least Sanders is healthy. If you actually get Rondo you better damn we'll start winning otherwise you just traded a pg that gets into locker room arguments for a pg that gets into locker room arguments. I don't know. There's more of a premium on shot blockers and for that reason I'd take the Sanders trade. That and because we would have the best front court in the league by a large margin.
Yep, which is why if you can get an elite PG via trade, then that is probably the better way to go as you have the opportunity to fill both holes.
And think about it.
If something of that nature does occur and we end up getting both Rondo and a defensive big in this draft it will mean that in a little under a season we would have manage to acquire:
1.) #2 scorer who is also a SF after years of it being our biggest need.
2.) an elite defensive PG
3.) That defensive big we also need.
To be able to add those three pieces to Cousins who looks to be the most dominant big for a long time, would be astounding.
And think about it.
If something of that nature does occur and we end up getting both Rondo and a defensive big in this draft it will mean that in a little under a season we would have manage to acquire:
1.) #2 scorer who is also a SF after years of it being our biggest need.
2.) an elite defensive PG
3.) That defensive big we also need.
To be able to add those three pieces to Cousins who looks to be the most dominant big for a long time, would be astounding.
The difference is that Memphis had a trade exception to which to absorb Lee's contract.
For Boston they can see if Bayless can do anything, and if not, like Jimmer he's a 3 million dollar ender. So for all intents and purposes this is more like a salary dump from Boston's perspective, rather than getting a highly coveted asset in Bayless.
The Kings don't have the capacity to do a straight Jimmer for Lee swap, while the trade exception that Memphis possessed did allow them that deal.
Also, I really think it's the hope of the FO that Ben can become a really good defender. He certainly isn't there yet, and I don't know if he'll make it, but it appears to me that the FO is banking on it.
For Boston they can see if Bayless can do anything, and if not, like Jimmer he's a 3 million dollar ender. So for all intents and purposes this is more like a salary dump from Boston's perspective, rather than getting a highly coveted asset in Bayless.
The Kings don't have the capacity to do a straight Jimmer for Lee swap, while the trade exception that Memphis possessed did allow them that deal.
Also, I really think it's the hope of the FO that Ben can become a really good defender. He certainly isn't there yet, and I don't know if he'll make it, but it appears to me that the FO is banking on it.
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I've seen Indiana play a few times this year with the express purpose of watching Vonleh. I still have 5 games recorded that I need to watch to catch up on the season. Right now from what I've seen I would agree with you to some extent. Embiid and WCS definitely look to be the better shot blockers, but they also appear to be able to also play the Center position which means that they are just longer than Vonleh.
Vonleh does look to me to be really a PF with-out much of an ability to effectively defend the bigger centers in the NBA, but from what I've seen he definitely has athleticism as well as defensive awareness, so I think there is a good chance that he could develop into the defensive PF we want next to Cousins. Granted I've got 5 more games to watch, but that is just my initial impressions.
Do you remember Tristan Thompson from Texas?
I remember watching Texas play to watch him and Jordan Hamilton and Cory Joseph play. I started the season focusing on all three, but stopped really watching Tristan because I didn't think that he had the potential to be much better than JT. The Cavs shocked me when they took him #4 as I thought it was an utter reach.
Well, so far in watching Vonleh play I haven't gotten the same vibe. I think that he would be able to come in and force JT to the bench, and any sort of PF that we can draft that can do that represents a 'win' in my book.
So though I might currently have Vonleh as the 3rd of the 3 defensive bigs, that by no means makes me think he can't come in and play the role that we'd want of him.
Vonleh does look to me to be really a PF with-out much of an ability to effectively defend the bigger centers in the NBA, but from what I've seen he definitely has athleticism as well as defensive awareness, so I think there is a good chance that he could develop into the defensive PF we want next to Cousins. Granted I've got 5 more games to watch, but that is just my initial impressions.
Do you remember Tristan Thompson from Texas?
I remember watching Texas play to watch him and Jordan Hamilton and Cory Joseph play. I started the season focusing on all three, but stopped really watching Tristan because I didn't think that he had the potential to be much better than JT. The Cavs shocked me when they took him #4 as I thought it was an utter reach.
Well, so far in watching Vonleh play I haven't gotten the same vibe. I think that he would be able to come in and force JT to the bench, and any sort of PF that we can draft that can do that represents a 'win' in my book.
So though I might currently have Vonleh as the 3rd of the 3 defensive bigs, that by no means makes me think he can't come in and play the role that we'd want of him.
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