No it means making a concerted effort to show you want him(as a sixth man or otherwise). From what we know there never even was a meeting between IT and our FO. Phoenix went out of their way to make him a pitch with all the bells and whistles, on a human level it feels good to feel wanted, and IT didn't with the Kings FO.
IT = Rumor of 3/24 offer from Pistons
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the difference is that phoenix appears to want isaiah thomas, while it's not clear at all that the lakers truly want anything to do with thomas. i would think they would have an interest, but most of what we've heard about possible destinations for IT have come from IT's camp. the lakers, mavericks, and suns are teams with cap room. these are the teams where IT would apparently like to end up, and they're each attractive destinations for a variety of reasons, not one of which comes with a guarantee of a starting job...
How am I twisting reality? I'm going off of what we as the public know. What we know is that the Kings offered him a lowball contract, brought in another PG, and never had any sort of pitch/meeting with IT and his camp. What that shows is that the FO is telling IT "you can stay but only if you continue to play for us for less than you are worth, take it or leave it".
this strikes me as unlikely, if only because phoenix would be tying up so much of their salary in their backcourt (provided their intent is to match any offer for eric bledsoe). as talented and dynamic as that backcourt would be, i can't imagine they'd overpay for a 6th man, not when the market's sorta petered out a bit for thomas' services...
Well now that the LBJ lynch pin has been pulled we will see the FA market move and I suspect the IT situation will come to resolution. I sincerely hope we get assets back for him even if they are thin, as many of us have said letting tallent walk is a luxury we can ill afford. Of course if the offers are not too high I would love to see IT back coming off the bench, but I fear that ship has sailed.
I keep saying this but I don't see how/why we'll get anything back for him. We're pretty close to capped out and not a real threat to match an $8/mil a year offer... meaning the only way we get something back is if the team he chooses to sign with wants to get rid of something. They're not gonna feel the need to give us something to entice us not to match the offer... there's no need to sweeten the pot as we're not matching $8/mil per. So unless they just so happen to have a player they want to get rid of and we just so happen to covet that player then no sign and trade unfortunately.
i don't disagree with you on this point. i was adamant that the front office should trade IT before the deadline last season to avoid this exact scenario. now that they're here, i maintain that they should match any deal for thomas that tops out at about $5 million per; he's still a tradeable asset on such a deal, and while he's not likely to bring back much on his own in a future trade, he can easily be packaged with another of the front office's anticipated pieces of trade bait, like, say, jason thompson...
restricted free agency is a gift to small market franchises. it puts you in control. if you're the kings, you simply aren't going to become a winner overnight with the roster you have, and there aren't many avenues left for improvement during this particular offseason. so you have to manage your assets properly. on a reasonable deal, isaiah thomas is undeniably an asset. i wouldn't let him just walk for nothing because of the threat of paying minimally into the luxury tax...
restricted free agency is a gift to small market franchises. it puts you in control. if you're the kings, you simply aren't going to become a winner overnight with the roster you have, and there aren't many avenues left for improvement during this particular offseason. so you have to manage your assets properly. on a reasonable deal, isaiah thomas is undeniably an asset. i wouldn't let him just walk for nothing because of the threat of paying minimally into the luxury tax...
Yeah there is no reason for them to give us assets, they can sign IT and Bledsoe no problem. If they feel we won't match their contract(which by the way the FO handled this situation is clear), there is no reason for them to come at us with a S&T because there is no chance of us matching. Again really poor from our FO.
I have no doubt our FO wants him less than you may want or for less than he might be worth to others. However, that isn't what you posted.
"apparently our FO didn't want him at all"
That's what I responded to.
Players are generally worth a different amount to different teams, based on cap flexibility and the need to fill a role. It doesn't mean because one team values a player a bit more or less than another, that they "don't want the player at all". Look at the Reke situation, our FO didn't want him at 11M. Does that mean they didn't want him at all? No. They wanted him for 8M. Less than NO but still wanted him to an extent.
"apparently our FO didn't want him at all"
That's what I responded to.
Players are generally worth a different amount to different teams, based on cap flexibility and the need to fill a role. It doesn't mean because one team values a player a bit more or less than another, that they "don't want the player at all". Look at the Reke situation, our FO didn't want him at 11M. Does that mean they didn't want him at all? No. They wanted him for 8M. Less than NO but still wanted him to an extent.
I'm sorry if this has already been discussed, but I just read the Slam Online Q & A with Isaiah. I got the distinct feeling he's been perturbed for a long time. I also get the feeling he still resents being drafted #60. I wish him all the luck in the world wherever he lands, but I cannot help but wonder if he'll ever get over his self-resentment over being 5'9"...
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http://www.slamonline.com/nba/q-a-isaiah-thomas/
SLAM: Shaq said down there (on the panel) that you’re coming back to Sacramento. Is that your No. 1 choice, to be back there?
IT: I just want to be wanted. I don’t know if they really want me like other teams do. Like I said, since day one I just want to be wanted. I know there’s a few teams out there that’s showing a lot of interest. I’m just waiting to see what’s the best fit for me. At the end of the day it’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself.
SLAM: The team signed Darren Collison last week. After the season you had, how did it feel to see them go out and get another point guard when you’re sitting there?
IT: It hurt, but at the same time that’s been my story my whole life. People have doubted me, people always bring guys in who they think are going to outplay me or outwork me and that’s just not the case. I’m going to just continue working hard, continue to be me, and hopefully a real good team wants me on their team and I can go there.
SLAM: Shaq said down there (on the panel) that you’re coming back to Sacramento. Is that your No. 1 choice, to be back there?
IT: I just want to be wanted. I don’t know if they really want me like other teams do. Like I said, since day one I just want to be wanted. I know there’s a few teams out there that’s showing a lot of interest. I’m just waiting to see what’s the best fit for me. At the end of the day it’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself.
SLAM: The team signed Darren Collison last week. After the season you had, how did it feel to see them go out and get another point guard when you’re sitting there?
IT: It hurt, but at the same time that’s been my story my whole life. People have doubted me, people always bring guys in who they think are going to outplay me or outwork me and that’s just not the case. I’m going to just continue working hard, continue to be me, and hopefully a real good team wants me on their team and I can go there.
Sorry, I can't help myself...
I'd like to see IT just once say that he's glad Sacramento was willing to give him a chance, even if things haven't worked out the way he liked. We drafted him with the final pick of the draft. If we hadn't, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to show what he could do.
Just my two cents, BTW.
I'd like to see IT just once say that he's glad Sacramento was willing to give him a chance, even if things haven't worked out the way he liked. We drafted him with the final pick of the draft. If we hadn't, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to show what he could do.
Just my two cents, BTW.
Well this also depends on if anyone else is making offers in that ballpark either to IT or to PDA. Let's say the Suns really do want IT at 8 mill, but another team, say the Lakers, are willing to take him for 8 mill and trade a resigned Hill, or even just picks for him... well there you are. In short as long as we have the right to match, and time to get under the cap we CAN still get something for IT, it may just take work rather than a simple sign and trade. If I am PDA and the Suns make and offer, I am on the phone asking them how badly they want him and calling all the other teams that have made inquires.
They have approx 27 million under. 5-6 for Tucker already gone. Contract for IT at 8? So they have approx 14 million, not sure how that works out to get both Deng and Bledsoe under contract. But that's a cap question and it's a little complicated with Bledsoe being a RFA.
But if they want Deng, Bledsoe, and IT, then I'd say yes, they're open to moving a contract. How much would the Kings take back? Doubt PHX offers up Plumlee or Len, maybe a Morris brother at best.
But if they want Deng, Bledsoe, and IT, then I'd say yes, they're open to moving a contract. How much would the Kings take back? Doubt PHX offers up Plumlee or Len, maybe a Morris brother at best.
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