2015 Offseason To-Dos

[twslam07]

Considering the Kings we're playing great basketball at the start of the season under Malone and considering the lineup of Collison, McLemore, Gay, Thompson, and Cousins was one of the stronger rotations in the league, I don't think the Kings are far off from being a competitive team.

They have a future HOF coach who will get his opportunity to get everyone on the same page in the offseason. Playing right now is just a bonus as far as preparation for next year. Granted, we would all like to see a little momentum going into the end of the year, but I do think this time that Karl has with the team is valuable to our team's success next year.

They have a number of players who are still young and still developing.

• Hopefully Cousins continues to improve (decision making, shot selection, post moves, attitude).
• McLemore showed us how much he was able to improve in 1 year. Let's hope his shot, handle, and defense continues to improve at a similar rate.
• Stauskas is starting to come along. He's been playing with much more confidence lately and he's been very efficient from the field the last 5 games (59% FG, 60% 3PT, 88% FT). Hopefully he builds on this success for the remainder of the season and carries it over into next season where he can really become a solid contributor for us.
• With A. Miller on the roster this year (and possibly next year), McCallum has an opportunity to learn as much as he can from him. His 3pt shooting has gone down this season. However, all of his midrange efficiency has gone up. I still think he has the potential to be a solid backup PG if he continues to work hard on his game.

So considering the team played well at the beginning of the year, the starting lineup was really clicking, the coach is a future HOFer, and we have a number of players who are still developing, I don't think we need to make a trade this offseason. Of course if the right deal comes along or the right player becomes available, we can look into it, but I think bringing in a few free agents, drafting a rookie with out pick, and giving Coach Karl an entire offseason to work with the team should result in significant improvement next year.

With that in mind, these are the players I think we should target in the draft and free agency.

2015 Draft
I'm assuming that the Kings will land in the 6th-7th range since we never seem to win the lottery, and statistically speaking, it's not likely. So I think in the 6-7 range the obvious pick would be Cauley-Stein. The guy is a 21 year old Junior right now, so he can be considered a little more "NBA ready." His defense, athleticism, size, length, and energy would instantly translate over to where he could start making a significant impact. He would also help anchor our defense and help keep Cousins out of foul trouble.

So if we were to take him with the 6th pick, his contract would cost approximately $3,283,320 the first year. That would put us at a payroll of $56,428,449. With the cap projected to be $66,300,000, that would give us $9,871,551 in cap space.

2015 Free Agency
With $9,871,551 in cap space (Miller, Williams, Casspi, Evans, & Hollins are off the books), we should target a bench wing who can help spread the floor, put some points on the board, and play good defense against SFs. This way, we would have at least a good defender at SG (McLemore) & SF (Free Agent) in case we need to lockdown anyone in a particular matchup.

I think Middleton would be the perfect target for us. He's a long, athletic wing who can swing between SG & SF. Not to mention he shoots above 40% from three, is efficient from the floor, and plays good defense. If the Kings gave him $15 mil over 3 years, that might be enough to snatch him away. This would drop our cap space to $4,871,551.

Next, the Kings should look to fill out the remaining rosters spots with some cheap players. I would look to sign Babbit & Aldrich for the veteran minimum (they would both cost $1,185,784). Babbit would give us another shooter deep on our bench to help space the floor if needed, and Aldrich would give us another big body at C who can give us some defense and rebounding when in. Another player to look at is Jeffrey Taylor. I think we could be able to sign him for $4 mil over 2 years. I really liked him coming out of college, and I think he could still be a decent 3 and D roleplayer in this league. These moves would bring us to a payroll of $65,800,017 which would leave $499,983 in cap space.

Lastly, I would offer the Room Exception to Andre Miller. He's been a breath of fresh air, and his experience and high IQ is very much welcomed. I think I would rather have Miller backup Collison over McCallum at this point. Miller's stability in the second unit should help turn our bench situation around.

So after these moves, our rotation would be:

PG - Collison/Miller/McCallum
SG - McLemore/Stauskas/Taylor
SF - Gay/Middleton/Babbit
PF - Cauley-Stein/Landry/Moreland
C - Cousins/Thompson/Aldrich

I think the presence of Cauley-Stein and the progression of McLemore & Cousins should only make this starting unit that much better next year. Not to mention a bench of Miller, a progressing Stauskas, Middleton, Landry, and Thompson should be a much better bench next season. Floor spacing should be better as well since Collison, McLemore, Stauskas, Taylor, Gay, Middleton, Babbit, Landry, Thompson, & Cousins can all stretch the floor.

 

[KingMilz]

I like a lot of what you have said but imo if we can get Middleton (it will take more than 15mil over 3 years the Bucks would match that instantly), than imo trade Rudy Gay for a starting level PF or really good PG and move DC to the bench. I'd also try sign Wilson Chandler as the back up 3 if we can't get Taylor like you said.

We need some playmaking big time as well as a starting PF imo what Gay brings is fairly easy to replace by two solid players (you also assume Mclemore "should" get better) plus they will bring a lot more on defense than Gay does who while capable as a defender just does not show the desire to play D.

Good write up twslam07

 

[twslam07]

I like a lot of what you have said but imo if we can get Middleton (it will take more than 15mil over 3 years the Bucks would match that instantly), than imo trade Rudy Gay for a starting level PF or really good PG and move DC to the bench. I'd also try sign Wilson Chandler as the back up 3 if we can't get Taylor like you said.

We need some playmaking big time as well as a starting PF imo what Gay brings is fairly easy to replace by two solid players (you also assume Mclemore "should" get better) plus they will bring a lot more on defense than Gay does who while capable as a defender just does not show the desire to play D.

Good write up twslam07

You may be right about Middleton costing more than $15 mil over 3 years. If instead of offering Taylor a $2 mil per year contract, we could sign another player to the veteran minimum, that would allow us to give him $20.4 mil over 3 years (average of $6.8 mil per year). Or we can just sign Babbit to the veteran minimum and leave the roster at 14 players. That would give us the ability to offer him $24.2 mil over 3 years (average of $8.1 mil per year). I think those offers could possibly net us Middleton.

With that being said, I'm not onboard with getting rid of Gay. I think having him play that #2 option behind Cousins fits him well and is a critical piece to the puzzle. And for the sake of stability, we need to pick a core and stick to it. This constant reshuffling of players is only going to take the team longer to learn each others tendencies and play more in sync.

I wouldn't really call Gay a bad defender. I see him as an average defender, but if we have Collison, McLemore, Cauley-Stein, & Cousins in the lineup around him, it shouldn't be much of an issue since all of them are above average defenders. Not to mention, our backup SF would be a good defender as well.

 

[lwc]

WCS would be a awesome draft pick for our defense. If he is available at any spot outside the top 2, you draft him.

 

[KingMilz]

You may be right about Middleton costing more than $15 mil over 3 years. If instead of offering Taylor a $2 mil per year contract, we could sign another player to the veteran minimum, that would allow us to give him $20.4 mil over 3 years (average of $6.8 mil per year). Or we can just sign Babbit to the veteran minimum and leave the roster at 14 players. That would give us the ability to offer him $24.2 mil over 3 years (average of $8.1 mil per year). I think those offers could possibly net us Middleton.

With that being said, I'm not onboard with getting rid of Gay. I think having him play that #2 option behind Cousins fits him well and is a critical piece to the puzzle. And for the sake of stability, we need to pick a core and stick to it. This constant reshuffling of players is only going to take the team longer to learn each others tendencies and play more in sync.

I wouldn't really call Gay a bad defender. I see him as an average defender, but if we have Collison, McLemore, Cauley-Stein, & Cousins in the lineup around him, it shouldn't be much of an issue since all of them are above average defenders. Not to mention, our backup SF would be a good defender as well.

I just don't see why Middleton would sign a offer sheet from the Kings to be a back up for Rudy Gay, why leave a decent team in the East (where you can literally make the playoffs every year) to come to basically a rubbish team in a loaded conference to play 2nd fiddle to Rudy Gay a guy who he might feel might not even be a better overall player than himself in regards to helping a team win. I don't think any quality SF is going to sign to be a back up to Rudy Gay unless we plan on playing Middleton 30+ mins as the starting SG over Mclemore.

 

[Albatros]

Put Ben on the market ASAP

 

[twslam07]

I just don't see why Middleton would sign a offer sheet from the Kings to be a back up for Rudy Gay, why leave a decent team in the East (where you can literally make the playoffs every year) to come to basically a rubbish team in a loaded conference to play 2nd fiddle to Rudy Gay a guy who he might feel might not even be a better overall player than himself in regards to helping a team win. I don't think any quality SF is going to sign to be a back up to Rudy Gay unless we plan on playing Middleton 30+ mins as the starting SG over Mclemore.

Well I would say a guy like Middleton would leave the Bucks because he's only made $2.2 mil over his 3 year career. As much as players want to play on winning teams, this is a business. They have their futures to think about. A guy like Middleton will likely sign where the money is. If we make him a lucrative offer, I don't see why he wouldn't sign with us.

He could step in and take over the starting SG role for McLemore. I would still give Middleton all the backup SF minutes with McLemore coming off the bench to play SG. Stauskas might be hidden a bit on the bench, but that can be a good problem to have (depth, injuries, trade flexibility, etc.).

Personally, I would have Middleton come off the bench due to his versatility to sub in at SG or SF. I would also have him come off the bench due to his skillset versus McLemore. McLemore is an off-ball specialist right now who scores mainly by moving, slashing, and spotting up. Middleton can create a little bit on his own which I think would be better utilized with the 2nd unit while guys like Gay and Cousins are on the bench.

I think this minute rotation would be solid:
PG - Collison (35 min) / Miller (13 min) / McCallum
SG - McLemore (30 min) / Middleton (18 min) / Stauskas / Taylor
SF - Gay (35 min) / Middleton (13 min) / Babbit
PF - Cauley-Stein (27 min) / Thompson (14 min) / Landry (7 min) / Moreland
C - Cousins (35 min) / Thompson (13 min) / Aldrich

 

[macadocious]

Phili traded Middleton because they were not going to match the ridiculous offers he's going to get this offseason. I bet gets 12mm per

 

[kingsboi]

well....for one I'd like to keep the draft pick and see what's available on the board by the time the Kings draft at 6-8 because that's most likely where they will be drafting. Second, focus on acquiring some defensive players...It's hard to stomach watching teams score 115 a game on us.

 

[twslam07]

Phili traded Middleton because they were not going to match the ridiculous offers he's going to get this offseason. I bet gets 12mm per

I believe you are thinking of someone else. Middleton has never played for the 76ers. You're probably thinking of the rookie K.J. McDaniels who averaged 25 MPG / 40% FG / 29% 3PT / 76% FT / 9.2 PPG / 3.8 RPG / 1.3 APG / 0.8 SPG / 1.3 BPG / 2.0 TOPG playing for the 76ers, and he hasn't even been able to crack the rotation since being traded to the Rockets (8 total minutes played). I highly doubt a player of this caliber who has only been in the league for 1 year will get $12 mil per year next year...

 

[twslam07]

well....for one I'd like to keep the draft pick and see what's available on the board by the time the Kings draft at 6-8 because that's most likely where they will be drafting. Second, focus on acquiring some defensive players...It's hard to stomach watching teams score 115 a game on us.

Well considering the Kings can't trade the pick until it's basically their time to draft, you'll most likely get your first wish no matter what. In regards to defense, I think we have a decent amount of defensive players already. Collison, McLemore, Thompson, and Cousins have shown they are good defenders this year. Add a guy like Cauley-Stein and a bench wing who can defend (Middleton), and we're in business.

 

[sdballer]

Someone asked carmichael dave his opinion and he thought we'd look to trade our draft pick for Lawson or faried. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[macadocious]

I believe you are thinking of someone else. Middleton has never played for the 76ers. You're probably thinking of the rookie K.J. McDaniels who averaged 25 MPG / 40% FG / 29% 3PT / 76% FT / 9.2 PPG / 3.8 RPG / 1.3 APG / 0.8 SPG / 1.3 BPG / 2.0 TOPG playing for the 76ers, and he hasn't even been able to crack the rotation since being traded to the Rockets (8 total minutes played). I highly doubt a player of this caliber who has only been in the league for 1 year will get $12 mil per year next year...

Ya your right. Sorry was early

 

[funkykingston]

I think Middleton is going to be a hot name in free agency and at minimum he is going to get 4 years/36 million once bidding starts up. That prices him out of the Kings range which is fine by me. As much as I like his game, he's going to get overpaid this summer and will have a salary far too large for a bench player, even a sixth man quality bench player. Now, if McLemore were moved to fill another hole and Middleton brought in as the starting SG then you could make a case for trying to snag him but I still think the Bucks match all but the Gordon Hayward level deals.

That said, I think you're identifying the needs of this team - interior defense, bench production and outside shooting. If the Kings draft in the 6th or 7th slot and Cauley-Stein is there you take him without hesitation. I'd love a promising young PG who could learn behind Collison for a season or so and then supplant him, pushing DC to the bench as an ideal backup PG. It's why I'm still annoyed by the Stauskas over Payton move. But barring a jump to the 2nd or 3rd pick (assuming Towns goes #1) I don't know that Mudiay (who I haven't seen) or Russell would be there and I'm not sure I take either over WCS anyway.

I'd love to see Landry traded. He looked like a terrible signing two offseasons ago when it happened, looked like a terrible signing last year when he was hurt nearly the whole season and has looked like a terrible signing under Corbin and Karl. The only time he seemed to bring real value was early in the year under Malone. Landry and Cousins are a bad fit in the frontcourt so Carl really needs to be in when Boogie is out and be the primary frontcourt option on offense. In Malone's grind it out half court that was the case but not afterward. I don't imagine anything of value could be gleaned but even getting out from under his contract a year earlier by dealing for a contract or two that end next offsesaon would help IMO.

I like Thompson as a backup PF/C but I'd also like to see a stretch four behind the starter at PF (assuming the Kings can draft, sign or trade for one) and I wouldn't mind seeing Casspi back if he comes at a reasonable rate.

 

[twslam07]

Someone asked carmichael dave his opinion and he thought we'd look to trade our draft pick for Lawson or faried. Take it for what it's worth.

I hope this isn't the case. I really am not that all interested in either one of them. I want players who can help us defensively. Collison, McLemore, Thompson, Cousins, & Cauley-Stein would be a good core of defensive players. We don't necessarily need more offensive punch in the starting unit if it means we get weaker defensively. Collison has shown he can handle third option duties and I'm sure as McLemore continues to progress, he'll begin to share those third option duties with Collison. Scoring is not our problem.

 

[funkykingston]

Someone asked carmichael dave his opinion and he thought we'd look to trade our draft pick for Lawson or faried. Take it for what it's worth.

I'd be pretty upset if we missed the chance at Cauley-Stein to get Lawson. I'd be furious if it was for Faried.

And that's been my big fear with Karl. That he wouldn't know how to utilize DeMarcus Cousins and instead would push for moves that let him small ball and run-and-gun while marginalizing Boogie.

I'm pretty much done with the 49ers at this point. I never thought I'd ever say that about the Kings but if they make terrible moves this offseason I don't know that I'll invest a lot of time or money next season to watch them. And if they run Cousins out of town I think that will be the last straw for me.

 

[lawlman91]

Considering the Kings we're playing great basketball at the start of the season under Malone and considering the lineup of Collison, McLemore, Gay, Thompson, and Cousins was one of the stronger rotations in the league, I don't think the Kings are far off from being a competitive team.

They have a future HOF coach who will get his opportunity to get everyone on the same page in the offseason. Playing right now is just a bonus as far as preparation for next year. Granted, we would all like to see a little momentum going into the end of the year, but I do think this time that Karl has with the team is valuable to our team's success next year.

They have a number of players who are still young and still developing.

• Hopefully Cousins continues to improve (decision making, shot selection, post moves, attitude).
• McLemore showed us how much he was able to improve in 1 year. Let's hope his shot, handle, and defense continues to improve at a similar rate.
• Stauskas is starting to come along. He's been playing with much more confidence lately and he's been very efficient from the field the last 5 games (59% FG, 60% 3PT, 88% FT). Hopefully he builds on this success for the remainder of the season and carries it over into next season where he can really become a solid contributor for us.
• With A. Miller on the roster this year (and possibly next year), McCallum has an opportunity to learn as much as he can from him. His 3pt shooting has gone down this season. However, all of his midrange efficiency has gone up. I still think he has the potential to be a solid backup PG if he continues to work hard on his game.

So considering the team played well at the beginning of the year, the starting lineup was really clicking, the coach is a future HOFer, and we have a number of players who are still developing, I don't think we need to make a trade this offseason. Of course if the right deal comes along or the right player becomes available, we can look into it, but I think bringing in a few free agents, drafting a rookie with out pick, and giving Coach Karl an entire offseason to work with the team should result in significant improvement next year.

With that in mind, these are the players I think we should target in the draft and free agency.

2015 Draft
I'm assuming that the Kings will land in the 6th-7th range since we never seem to win the lottery, and statistically speaking, it's not likely. So I think in the 6-7 range the obvious pick would be Cauley-Stein. The guy is a 21 year old Junior right now, so he can be considered a little more "NBA ready." His defense, athleticism, size, length, and energy would instantly translate over to where he could start making a significant impact. He would also help anchor our defense and help keep Cousins out of foul trouble.

So if we were to take him with the 6th pick, his contract would cost approximately $3,283,320 the first year. That would put us at a payroll of $56,428,449. With the cap projected to be $66,300,000, that would give us $9,871,551 in cap space.

2015 Free Agency
With $9,871,551 in cap space (Miller, Williams, Casspi, Evans, & Hollins are off the books), we should target a bench wing who can help spread the floor, put some points on the board, and play good defense against SFs. This way, we would have at least a good defender at SG (McLemore) & SF (Free Agent) in case we need to lockdown anyone in a particular matchup.

I think Middleton would be the perfect target for us. He's a long, athletic wing who can swing between SG & SF. Not to mention he shoots above 40% from three, is efficient from the floor, and plays good defense. If the Kings gave him $15 mil over 3 years, that might be enough to snatch him away. This would drop our cap space to $4,871,551.

Next, the Kings should look to fill out the remaining rosters spots with some cheap players. I would look to sign Babbit & Aldrich for the veteran minimum (they would both cost $1,185,784). Babbit would give us another shooter deep on our bench to help space the floor if needed, and Aldrich would give us another big body at C who can give us some defense and rebounding when in. Another player to look at is Jeffrey Taylor. I think we could be able to sign him for $4 mil over 2 years. I really liked him coming out of college, and I think he could still be a decent 3 and D roleplayer in this league. These moves would bring us to a payroll of $65,800,017 which would leave $499,983 in cap space.

Lastly, I would offer the Room Exception to Andre Miller. He's been a breath of fresh air, and his experience and high IQ is very much welcomed. I think I would rather have Miller backup Collison over McCallum at this point. Miller's stability in the second unit should help turn our bench situation around.

So after these moves, our rotation would be:

PG - Collison/Miller/McCallum
SG - McLemore/Stauskas/Taylor
SF - Gay/Middleton/Babbit
PF - Cauley-Stein/Landry/Moreland
C - Cousins/Thompson/Aldrich

I think the presence of Cauley-Stein and the progression of McLemore & Cousins should only make this starting unit that much better next year. Not to mention a bench of Miller, a progressing Stauskas, Middleton, Landry, and Thompson should be a much better bench next season. Floor spacing should be better as well since Collison, McLemore, Stauskas, Taylor, Gay, Middleton, Babbit, Landry, Thompson, & Cousins can all stretch the floor.

Favorite part about this is that the team is relatively stable. Loving the continuity.

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

Getting Middleton is not realistic.

 

[twslam07]

I think Middleton is going to be a hot name in free agency and at minimum he is going to get 4 years/36 million once bidding starts up. That prices him out of the Kings range which is fine by me. As much as I like his game, he's going to get overpaid this summer and will have a salary far too large for a bench player, even a sixth man quality bench player. Now, if McLemore were moved to fill another hole and Middleton brought in as the starting SG then you could make a case for trying to snag him but I still think the Bucks match all but the Gordon Hayward level deals.

That said, I think you're identifying the needs of this team - interior defense, bench production and outside shooting. If the Kings draft in the 6th or 7th slot and Cauley-Stein is there you take him without hesitation. I'd love a promising young PG who could learn behind Collison for a season or so and then supplant him, pushing DC to the bench as an ideal backup PG. It's why I'm still annoyed by the Stauskas over Payton move. But barring a jump to the 2nd or 3rd pick (assuming Towns goes #1) I don't know that Mudiay (who I haven't seen) or Russell would be there and I'm not sure I take either over WCS anyway.

I'd love to see Landry traded. He looked like a terrible signing two offseasons ago when it happened, looked like a terrible signing last year when he was hurt nearly the whole season and has looked like a terrible signing under Corbin and Karl. The only time he seemed to bring real value was early in the year under Malone. Landry and Cousins are a bad fit in the frontcourt so Carl really needs to be in when Boogie is out and be the primary frontcourt option on offense. In Malone's grind it out half court that was the case but not afterward. I don't imagine anything of value could be gleaned but even getting out from under his contract a year earlier by dealing for a contract or two that end next offsesaon would help IMO.

I like Thompson as a backup PF/C but I'd also like to see a stretch four behind the starter at PF (assuming the Kings can draft, sign or trade for one) and I wouldn't mind seeing Casspi back if he comes at a reasonable rate.

It'll be interesting to see what offers Middleton gets. There are actually quite a few SG/SF free agents this year that might bring his demand down (thus decreasing his price tag). Matthews, Afflalo, D. Green, McDaniels, Shumpert, C. Brewer, J. Butler, G. Green, T. Harris, K. Leonard, & Singler are the ones that come to mind.

But you still may be right. He could be too expensive for us. However, we would have $9,871,551 in cap space after signing our 1st round pick. That means we could use all of that cap space to go after a guy like Middleton (if we wanted to). Using the 7.5% increase per year rule, the most we could offer him is $44.1 mil over 4 years (approximately $11 mil a year). Now I don't think he should be getting a deal similar to what Curry, Holiday, Lowry, & DeRozan got, but I'm just making the point that we have the ability to offer him quite a bit. If we were to sign him with all of our cap space, we could still sign Babbit & Aldrich to veteran minimum deals and use the Room Exception on Miller.

I just thought of another interesting scenario that would result in us signing Middleton. What if we drafted Cauley-Stein, signed Middleton to this 4 year/$36 mil deal you mentioned (leaves us $1.8 mil in cap room), use the remaining cap room to sign Taylor to a 2 year deal, sign Babbit to the veteran minimum, sign Aldrich to the verteran minimum, & then sign A. Miller to the Room Exception. From here we would trade McLemore, Landry, and remove the protection on the Bulls pick for Taj Gibson. Our rotation would look like this:

PG - Collison (35 min) / Miller (13 min) / McCallum
SG - Middleton (23 min) /Stauskas (25 min)
SF - Gay (35 min) / Middleton (7 min) / Taylor (6 min) / Babbit
PF - Gibson (30 min) /Thompson (18 min) / Moreland
C - Cousins (35 min) / Cauley-Stein (7 min) / Thompson (6 min) / Aldrich

Cousins - 35 min
Gay - 35 min
Collison - 35 min
Gibson - 30 min
Middleton - 30 min
Stauskas - 25 min
Thompson - 24 min
Miller - 13 min
Cauley-Stein - 7 min
Taylor - 6 min

That starting lineup is full of veterans who should be reliable. The only hesitation here is that we would be relying on Stauskas to step it up next year and play a much bigger role on this team. He's played well of late and I still have confidence that he'll be a player in this league, so it's definitely a possibility that we are pleasantly surprised with how he plays next year. He just looks like he is starting to get his confidence back.

 

[twslam07]

Getting Middleton is not realistic.

I wouldn’t be so sure. We can offer him 4 years/$44.1 mil dollars next year. Not saying he is worth that type of money under the current CBA, but money restrictions shouldn’t be an issue for us in terms of signing a 3 and D SG. Perhaps you offer him the 4 year/$44.1 mil deal knowing the salary cap is going to make a massive jump the following offseason (projected to be $91.2 mil) thus he would no longer be considered overpaid (and you have your guy in hand).

 

[funkykingston]

I wouldn't be upset with an offseason that netted the Kings players like WCS and Middleton, especially if additional shooters are added on the cheap. Middleton might not be the guy (and I worry that he'll be overpaid) but I think getting a difference maker in the draft and having at least one impact signing in free agency will be key to the Kings being better next season.

I just wish I had more confidence in D'Alessandro's player evaluation/draft acumen or his plan for building this team. I honestly think this is the offseason where either PDA solidifies his role or firmly places his head in the chopping block.

 

[kingsboi]

Well considering the Kings can't trade the pick until it's basically their time to draft, you'll most likely get your first wish no matter what. In regards to defense, I think we have a decent amount of defensive players already. Collison, McLemore, Thompson, and Cousins have shown they are good defenders this year. Add a guy like Cauley-Stein and a bench wing who can defend (Middleton), and we're in business.

I'm not advocating trading the pick though. Especially if the Kings can land in the top 6 where there will be impact players. If the Kings have a chance at a franchise changing talent to help DeMarcus I'm all for it. What we have is a team that is incapable of playing TEAM defense which is important, it all starts with guard penetration and I don't think Collison is good enough, but that doesn't mean I'm hoping to get rid of him. He's a solid PG to have, as long as he can be injury free next season. McLemore and Thompson have such bad defensive habits that there needs to be other players that help them learn to play defense properly and consistently. There is no body on this team that can teach them that right now. Middleton will be asking for way too much money, more than I hope the Kings are willing to dish out. He is having a nice year but let's not get fooled here, he is in a contract year.

 

[twslam07]

I wouldn't be upset with an offseason that netted the Kings players like WCS and Middleton, especially if additional shooters are added on the cheap. Middleton might not be the guy (and I worry that he'll be overpaid) but I think getting a difference maker in the draft and having at least one impact signing in free agency will be key to the Kings being better next season.

I just wish I had more confidence in D'Alessandro's player evaluation/draft acumen or his plan for building this team. I honestly think this is the offseason where either PDA solidifies his role or firmly places his head in the chopping block.

The more I think about it, I think I would be willing to throw 4 years/$44 mil at him. Giving him that amount of money won't affect our ability to sign some players to the veteran minimum and we can still use the Room Exception. Not to mention the salary cap is projected to go up to $91.2 mil the following offseason which would make Middleton's deal much more easy on the eyes.

I mean he is a good all around player that would fit in really well with our core. Below are his per36 numbers this year:

.475 FG% / .426 3PT% / .850 FT% / 15.8 PPG / 5.8 RPG / 2.6 APG / 2.0 SPG / 0.2 BPG / 1.6 TOPG

Those are very good numbers for a starting SG. All of those percentages are very efficient and he has a 1.6 A/T ratio. Not to mention he has excellent size and length at the SG position.

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

I also think it's dangerous to project Cauley-Stein as that much better than Ryan Hollins. Even though he's being more productive than Ryan Hollins was in college, I would be conservative and guess that Cauley-Stein is just a backup center.

He'd still be a reasonable draft pick though because he addresses our need for more steals, more blocks, and a backup center.

 

[twslam07]

I also think it's dangerous to project Cauley-Stein as that much better than Ryan Hollins.

You better hope Baja doesn't read this...

 

[Gilles]

There were some rumors, that Board of Governors might decide to smooth cap increase, rather than go for massive single spike in 2016. Problem is whether it happens or not teams with any cap space this summer know, they can go bonkers and still be massively under the cap next summer, since they can't go much above the cap due to CBA and there might be $22-24 million cap raise between seasons, if there's no smoothing. This means players with a lot of positive publicity is going to be paid...a lot. That will obviously lead to guys like Middleton, Draymond Green and Butler getting really nice new contracts. There's no way you get them with under $10 million starting salary.

Due to Landry and JT deals Kings don't have much room to maneuver. I assume, Landry is an immovable object at this point, unless Kings attach an asset to move him. It looks like this summer all Kings have in cap space is $8-9 million, then Room Exception ($2.814 million) and just minimum contracts after that. Alternatively, if Kings proceed trade route, but without using cap space to facilitate transactions, they can avail themselves to usual non-taxpayer MLE with salary starting at $5.46 million, since bi-annual exception was used in 2015 on Ramon.
Tradeable assets are the pick in 2015(most likely 5-7 with about 20-25% of moving into top-3), removing protection from the pick in 2016 (works, only if Bulls are part of the trade) and both SGs. Thing is Ben worked rather well in starting lineup and with another productive summer he might be stepping on Collison toes as far as 3rd option is concerned. At the same time Stauskas doesn't hold much value, unless he shows some steady play for the rest of this season.

As for pick, unless Kings jump into top-3, obvious play for WCS is obvious. Willie moves like average SF, so Karl should be willing to throw a lot of PF/C minutes his way. Good thing he plays nothing like SF, and will help defensively and as an alley-oop and cut threat, who cannot be left without consequences, on the other end. WCS will get usual rookie treatment, but he's one of two guys (along with RHJ), who will positively impact their team's defense right from the start. There will be a couple of smart guys, who can fit into team play, and look like they are good defenders as rookies too, but for me only these two can be raw impactful defenders in their first year.

Still even drafting WCS you're left with the question, do you roll with just Boogie/JT/WCS, which is rather thin anyway, or you make a play for another big, which would be preferred way, if Kings were to challenge for POs. With O'Quinn becoming a huge question mark I would make a play for Amir Johnson and throw all the cap space at him: knows, how to be a role-playing PF, good defender and is able to space the floor, plus can handle and pass the ball a bit. Left with just Room Exception, I would explore, if Miller is willing to come back for minimum: for him it will be $1.5 million, which is a big paycut from $2.814 million, but that's definitely worth trying, so that Kings were able to use RE on another combo-guard/swingman to beef-up rotation in case of an injury or Stauskas failing to produce at needed level.
Can't be really picky with minimum contracts, so would definitely try to bring back on such contracts Omri and Derrick. Don't know, what to do with Hollins and Reggie as would rather see relatively young, but experienced guys like Aldrich or Lavoy Allen to round out the end of the bench.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I also think it's dangerous to project Cauley-Stein as that much better than Ryan Hollins. Even though he's being more productive than Ryan Hollins was in college, I would be conservative and guess that Cauley-Stein is just a backup center.

He'd still be a reasonable draft pick though because he addresses our need for more steals, more blocks, and a backup center.

It's not, at all.

 

[Bricklayer]

1) fire GM
2) take fired GM out into the middle of the Mexican dessert and leave him there
3) come back and pee in a cup and leave it next to fired GM n the Mexican desert so he doesn't get dehydrated
4) show pictures of fired GM in the Mexican desert drinking pee out of a cup to the Golden State consultant, and tell him never to show his face again
5) beg Maloofs to repurchase team


6) get some bleeping shooters and defenders.

 

[funkykingston]

I also think it's dangerous to project Cauley-Stein as that much better than Ryan Hollins. Even though he's being more productive than Ryan Hollins was in college, I would be conservative and guess that Cauley-Stein is just a backup center.

He'd still be a reasonable draft pick though because he addresses our need for more steals, more blocks, and a backup center.

Despite being on a very good and high profile UCLA team, Ryan Hollins was the 50th pick (20th of the 2nd round) in a relatively weak draft. Cauley-Stein is being looked at as a top 6 or 7 pick in a strong draft class.

To be fair to Hollins, nobody drafted after him that year is still in the NBA so he's done enough to carve out a career over the last few years. But Cauley-Stein is far closer to Tyson Chandler than Ryan Hollins. In fact, I've never seen a seven footer who could both anchor a defense inside AND jump out and contain guards so fluidly. His offense will never be anything to write home about, but if you want an athletic shotblocker/defender to pair with DeMarcus Cousins I'm going to guess that WCS will fill that role 100 times better than Ryan Hollins ever could.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

1) fire GM

Probably not really necessary. I know you don't like him, but...

2) take fired GM out into the middle of the Mexican dessert and leave him there

What, stick him in a flan?

3) come back and pee in a cup and leave it next to fired GM n the Mexican desert so he doesn't get dehydrated

Oh, "desert". So skip that whole thing about the flan, then. Still, maybe a bit harsh?

4) show pictures of fired GM in the Mexican desert drinking pee out of a cup to the Golden State consultant, and tell him never to show his face again

Really, just a bad way to go about business...

5) beg Maloofs to repurchase team

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