Updated Draft and Draft Rumors

[sactownfan]

After all the rumors and talking by PDA, the Kings fan in me is expecting to take Doug McDermott at 8 and nothing else. With a later quote from PDA saying "We tried really hard to make moves but ultimately there was nothing out there we felt was good, we're very happy to be adding Doug to the Kings family and we'll see what happens the through the summer". That is what I would expect with a Petrie led Kings, hopefully all the rumors are true and we are making moves.

before we start hating on PDA or the new ownership/front office group... Lets have a moment of silence for all the former Kings we had going into last year. Salmons, P-Pat, GV, Luc, Jimmer, Hayes and Thornton! whew!!!

This new front office BLEW THIS TEAM UP IN A HEATBEAT!!! its been making moves left and right. You'd be hard pressed to find a more active team in the league. Not only that but were drop'n CASH MONEY $$$$$$$$$$$$ and TAKING RISKS.... WE ARE BUYERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER..... for example....

Rudy Gay trade was a absolute WIN!!! he went from being one of the least efficient players consider a shell of his former self to one of the most efficient SF's in the league.... starting from his first game on the floor with Cousins he had potentially his best statistical year ever!!!

We also got a TON of contracts coming off the books at the end of this year. Acy, Outlaw (thank goodness), D-Williams, reggie Evans and Gay (probably gonna be extended tho). including Rudy Gay its like 36.6 million.. ish... without Gay 16.6 ish.... those are movable pieces..

everyone expects the Kings to make a deal .... i expect a deal to happen.... if something doesn't go down its not for lack of trying

 

[JLoss22]

On another forum I go on, someone said the reason the trade talks ended was because we wanted a future first from Detroit. Not sure if that's true but it makes sense.

 

[Bricklayer]

On another forum I go on, someone said the reason the trade talks ended was because we wanted a future first from Detroit. Not sure if that's true but it makes sense.

Hmmm, my own guess would have been because they just wanted Williams and Terry, all enders, and we wanted/needed to dump at least one of the bad ones on them + may have had another use (Rondo?) for the other ender.

 

[KingMilz]

I think I might be the only one who would have wanted Josh Smith had Rudy Gay not re-signed , but both of them on the same team god no.

 

[Bricklayer]

I think I might be the only one who would have wanted Josh Smith had Rudy Gay not re-signed , but both of them on the same team god no.

Given the way the rumor mill works, who knows, that could even have been what happened. We set it up as a contingency plan if Rudy opted out. He did not, so we back off.

Alternately it may be contingent on Boston biting on a Rondo trade. No Rondo, we want to spend our money/assets elsewhere. With Rondo, we gamble he can keep all three guys happy.

Who knows.

 

[King Baller]

Given the way the rumor mill works, who knows, that could even have been what happened. We set it up as a contingency plan if Rudy opted out. He did not, so we back off.

Alternately it may be contingent on Boston biting on a Rondo trade. No Rondo, we want to spend our money/assets elsewhere. With Rondo, we gamble he can keep all three guys happy.

Who knows.

This brings up an interesting question. Say the Kings had Cousins, Josh Smith, Gay and Rondo. Could those guys compare to Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo?

I think it is close

 

[Dreadnought]

This brings up an interesting question. Say the Kings had Cousins, Josh Smith, Gay and Rondo. Could those guys compare to Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo?

I think it is close

Those guys had experience you can't quite replicate. I think it's easy to forget how good KG was in his prime as well.

 

[macadocious]

This brings up an interesting question. Say the Kings had Cousins, Josh Smith, Gay and Rondo. Could those guys compare to Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo?

I think it is close

It's not.

 

[King Baller]

Those guys had experience you can't quite replicate. I think it's easy to forget how good KG was in his prime as well.

Well if we can agree that the KG we saw in the Playoffs with the Twolves was the "Prime" version then we saw him play against CWebb. And that battle was a draw I would say. I think Cousins is or will soon be in their league.

 

[Hoovtrain]

It's not.

Lol. This.

 

[Dreadnought]

Well if we can agree that the KG we saw in the Playoffs with the Twolves was the "Prime" version then we saw him play against CWebb. And that battle was a draw I would say. I think Cousins is or will soon be in their league.

Perhaps I'm letting nostalgia get the best of me, but I remember Chris Webber being leaps and bounds better than DeMarcus. KG was also one of the most incredible players of the last generation. 24/14/5 with 2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game is something that hasn't been touched.

 

[King Baller]

It's not.

I think Cousins an KG is a draw.
Pierce was not better than Gay.
Ray Allen did have an edge on Josh Smith but they are totally different players.
Rondo is Rondo.

So I think its close

 

[King Baller]

Perhaps I'm letting nostalgia get the best of me, but I remember Chris Webber being leaps and bounds better than DeMarcus. KG was also one of the most incredible players of the last generation. 24/14/5 with 2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game is something that hasn't been touched.

I checked the stats. You are right. KG had 6 seasons where he played almost 40 minutes a game and at least 80 games a season. Pretty damn impressive. All near the stats you stated.

 

[Admiral]

I appear to have done what I always do, take a lkook at what is.

Josh Smith has been horribly overrated for a long time. HE'S TOO SMALL. He's too dumb. He's weak for a "power" forward, and would be a complete nothing in the West. A middle level guy at $14mil per. He has never taken advantage of his gifts. He has always been a second tier empty stats and even overrated defender.

BUT

He's still far more talented than the junk going the other way. And his particular traits: athletic mobile shotblocker on defense, are hard to find, and a rare fit next to Cousins. Whether that's worth all the times we pull out our hair as he hosts his 8th 21ft bricked jumper of the night rather than dumps it into Cousins inside, I do not know.

I know there are 2 other pages of responses I haven't gotten to yet, but this is basically where I am after having just read about this about an hour ago. First reaction was bad...sunk in and especially with the potential for Rondo, this is great. Potentially maddening to watch, but what Kings game wasn't last year to some extent? Kinda nice to feel excited about being a Kings fan again in any capacity!

 

[Hoovtrain]

I think Cousins an KG is a draw.
Pierce was not better than Gay.
Ray Allen did have an edge on Josh Smith but they are totally different players.
Rondo is Rondo.

So I think its close

Wow, that pretty optimistic of you . I don't think any of the 3 comparisons are even close, IMO. Maybe Cousins will some day be in KG 's league, but right now he is not close to what KG was in his prime. Gay isn't and never has been even in the same stratosphere as Pierce. And Allen was a FAR superior player to Smith. I think we would have a formidable team, but its a stretch to compare those players. But you are certainly entitled to your opinion

 

[King Baller]

Wow, that pretty optimistic of you . I don't think any of the 3 comparisons are even close, IMO. Maybe Cousins will some day be in KG 's league, but right now he is not close to what KG was in his prime. Gay isn't and never has been even in the same stratosphere as Pierce. And Allen was a FAR superior player to Smith. I think we would have a formidable team, but its a stretch to compare those players. But you are certainly entitled to your opinion

OK, I got carried away with FANatic excitement What can I say. I went back and looked at the stats and thought about those great Celtic teams.

Maybe its not that close after all

 

[pshn80]

After all the rumors and talking by PDA, the Kings fan in me is expecting to take Doug McDermott at 8 and nothing else. With a later quote from PDA saying "We tried really hard to make moves but ultimately there was nothing out there we felt was good, we're very happy to be adding Doug to the Kings family and we'll see what happens the through the summer". That is what I would expect with a Petrie led Kings, hopefully all the rumors are true and we are making moves.

Just think of all the bad things that can happen for the Kings over the net 2 or 3 days. Sobering. I'm looking forward to every minute of it.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

At least the ownership/management has made these last two offseasons x100 more active than the previous ownership/management. So exciting to be named in many potential trades.

 

[Hoovtrain]

OK, I got carried away with FANatic excitement What can I say. I went back and looked at the stats and thought about those great Celtic teams.

Maybe its not that close after all

No worries man. That's the great thing about opinions, and yours isn't wrong, I just disagree. You should hear some of the crap has come out of my mouth

 

[KingMilz]

This brings up an interesting question. Say the Kings had Cousins, Josh Smith, Gay and Rondo. Could those guys compare to Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo?

I think it is close

The difference in basketball IQ could not be any bigger

 

[kennadog]

I don't think its fair to compare DeMarcus to players "in their prime." He's only 23 (24 in August). He has a little way to go to his "prime," I would think.

 

[Bricklayer]

Perhaps I'm letting nostalgia get the best of me, but I remember Chris Webber being leaps and bounds better than DeMarcus. KG was also one of the most incredible players of the last generation. 24/14/5 with 2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game is something that hasn't been touched.

That's the fun thing about DeMarcus Cousins. Basically NO NBA big man we've seen in the last 40 years is out of his offensive class for a player his age. The key thing that will determine just where his greatness peaks will be the defense.

I have posted the per 36 numbers, and the per game numbers before. But my new little stats fetish is the new per 100 possessions numbers that basketball-reference put up a few weeks ago. Takes difference in minutes played, and pace played, out of the equation. The results for Boogie are pretty staggering.

At 23 years of age he just got done putting up:
35.7pts (.555TS%) 18.4reb 4.6ast 2.4stl 2.0blk 5.6TO

At age 23 Kevin Garnett put up:
29.9pts (.545TS%) 15.4reb 6.5ast 1.9stl 2.0blk 4.3TO

Heck, in KG's MVP year he only put up:
33.2pts (.547TS%) 19.0reb 6.8ast 2.0stl 3.0blk 3.5TO

People didn't realize what they were watching last year.

Chris Webber's biggest season for us ('00-01):
34.0pts (.516TS%) 13.9reb 5.3ast 1.7stl 2.1blk 3.5TO

Tim Duncan's MVP years (01-02, 02-03):
33.5pts (.576TS%) 16.7reb 4.9ast 1.0stl 3.3blk 4.2TO
31.6pts (.564TS%) 17.5reb 5.3ast 0.9stl 4.0blk 4.2TO

Moses Malone's 3 MVP years (79-80, 81-82, 82-83):
32.0pts (.560TS%) 18.0reb 2.2ast 1.2stl 1.6blk 4.5TO
36.6pts (.576TS%) 17.3reb 2.1ast 1.1stl 1.8blk 4.3TO
30.5pts (.578TS%) 19.1reb 1.6ast 1.4stl 2.5blk 4.2TO

I mean, I'm not even comparing them at the same age even. Those are the very best seasons by some of the best bigs in history. And last season Cousins was right there with them already. Young, a little rough, but productivity wise completely off the charts. To say there is a colossal blindspot hovering over Boogie would be an understatement.

 

[roasthawg]

That's the fun thing about DeMarcus Cousins. Basically NO NBA big man we've seen in the last 40 years is out of his offensive class for a player his age. The key thing that will determine just where his greatness peaks will be the defense.

I have posted the per 36 numbers, and the per game numbers before. But my new little stats fetish is the new per 100 possessions numbers that basketball-reference put up a few weeks ago. Takes difference in minutes played, and pace played, out of the equation. The results for Boogie are pretty staggering.

At 23 years of age he just got done putting up:
35.7pts (.555TS%) 18.4reb 4.6ast 2.4stl 2.0blk 5.6TO

At age 23 Kevin Garnett put up:
29.9pts (.545TS%) 15.4reb 6.5ast 1.9stl 2.0blk 4.3TO

Heck, in KG's MVP year he only put up:
33.2pts (.547TS%) 19.0reb 6.8ast 2.0stl 3.0blk 3.5TO

People didn't realize what they were watching last year.

Chris Webber's biggest season for us ('00-01):
34.0pts (.516TS%) 13.9reb 5.3ast 1.7satl 2.1blk 3.5TO

Tim Duncan's MVP years (01-02, 02-03):
33.5pts (.576TS%) 16.7reb 4.9ast 1.0satl 3.3blk 4.2TO
31.6pts (.564TS%) 17.5reb 5.3ast 0.9satl 4.0blk 4.2TO

Moses Malone's 3 MVP years (79-80, 81-82, 82-83):
32.0pts (.560TS%) 18.0reb 2.2ast 1.2satl 1.6blk 4.5TO
36.6pts (.576TS%) 17.3reb 2.1ast 1.1satl 1.8blk 4.3TO
30.5pts (.578TS%) 19.1reb 1.6ast 1.4satl 2.5blk 4.2TO

I mean, I'm not even comparing them at the same age even. Those are the very best seasons by some of the best bigs in history. And last season Cousins was right there with them already. Young, a little rough, but productivity wise completely off the charts. To say there is a colossal blindspot hovering over Boogie would be an understatement.

Awesome post.... the main thing keeping DMC from receiving the recognition that those guys did is probably minutes played. Most of those guys approached or exceeded 40mpg in their primes. Not sure if Boogie will get there as he's significantly heavier than every one of those comps. 32 mpg last year was his career high... if he could play 34 mpg this year that would be huge for us.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Conditioning and cutting down the fouls will help that. I trust he'll continue to work on those things.

 

[Mass]

Shaq was able to play up to 38-40 mins per game in his prime, so I'm sure DMC will be ok from a conditioning standpoint. If DMC can cut down the fouls and spend more time on the floor, it will be a huge plus for him and this team.

 

[roasthawg]

Conditioning and cutting down the fouls will help that. I trust he'll continue to work on those things.

For sure... but it's not gonna change who he is either. All the guys Brick listed played 39-40mpg when they were 23 yrs old... and they never went as much as 2mpg higher than that the rest of their careers. Even if he caps out around 34mpg he's still a beast... just might not get quite the recognition as those other guys because his per game numbers will be a little lower.

 

[roasthawg]

Shaq was able to play up to 38-40 mins per game in his prime, so I'm sure DMC will be ok from a conditioning standpoint. If DMC can cut down the fouls and spend more time on the floor, it will be a huge plus for him and this team.

Shaq also played 40mpg at the age of 21. I'd be happy with 34-35mpg thru his prime years for Demarcus.

 

[Mass]

Actually Shaq played 40 mins in 1999-00 and 39.5 in 2000-01, when he was 28 and 29. But I agree with you. 34-35 mins per game would be a huge improvement for DMC next year. Step by step, he will get to 40 in 2/3 years if he cuts down the fouls.

 

[roasthawg]

Actually Shaq played 40 mins in 1999-00 and 39.5 in 2000-01, when he was 28 and 29. But I agree with you. 34-35 mins per game would be a huge improvement for DMC next year. Step by step, he will get to 40 in 2/3 years if he cuts down the fouls.

Sorry, the reason I said Shaq played 40mpg when he was 21 was to show how far apart he and DMC were in that regard at a young age. Saying DMC will ever get to 40mpg might be a stretch... when I'm saying 34-35 I'm giving my best case guess.

Again, this isn't a huge deal. If you take the per 100 numbers Brick gave us and adjust for minutes played and give Aaron Gray the rest of the minutes (so Gray plays 16mpg w/Demarcus and his 32mpg and plays only 8mpg with Weber and KG) you still get the following:

Demarcus/Gray:
26.8 points/100
17.5 reb/100
4 assists/100
2.1 stl/100
1.7 block/100

KG/Gray:
29.2 points/100
15.8 reb/100
5.7 assists/100
1.9 stl/100
2.7 block/100

Weber/Gray:
29.9 points/100
14.2 reb/100
4.9 assists/100
1.7 stl/100
2.0 block/100

 

[Gary]

I think Cousins an KG is a draw.
Pierce was not better than Gay.
Ray Allen did have an edge on Josh Smith but they are totally different players.
Rondo is Rondo.

So I think its close

Missing one big thing.. Chemistry and they all accepted their roles. Wouldn't work here unless everyone stopped thinking about their own numbers and played team ball.

Remember it took two seasons for the Webber/Divac Kings to make it out of the first round. We were a 7th and then an 8th seed if I remember correctly before being a top 4 seed and winning against Phoenix in a series.