Kings seriously pursuing Pau Gasol (multiple sources)

The 2019 draft occurs after the 2018/2019 season right? That means if Cousins walks at the end of the 2017/2018 season the following season we might have the worst record in the league. And that's the season where our pick is completely unprotected. Say what you want about Sam Hinkie, he's not dumb. The draft isn't a panacea but it is how teams typically try to rebuild after their franchise player leaves. Sure you may think the draft is irrelevant because it never helps us anyway, but we got Tyreke and DeMarcus with top 5 picks. And if we're going to trade 2 young players and more draft rights for a 35 year old who's 2 months away from being an unrestricted free agent we're rapidly burning through every tradeable asset we have right in the middle of DeMarcus' prime and may have nothing to show for it but a diminished roster and a grumpy star player.
I mentioned before, you have to assume that with Pau we would end bottom 10 this year (don't think so) AND that in the last year of DMC contract we are bottom ten as well (would require several years of mess up for that to happen).

Otherwise, Philly does not get unprotected pick. So it is far from certain or even highly likely to happen.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
I mentioned before, you have to assume that with Pau we would end bottom 10 this year (don't think so) AND that in the last year of DMC contract we are bottom ten as well (would require several years of mess up for that to happen).

Otherwise, Philly does not get unprotected pick. So it is far from certain or even highly likely to happen.
It's far from a guarantee that we improve enough post All-Star break to give the pick to Chicago. If we don't, then the pick automatically jumps to 2019 if we give Chicago our pick next year because you can't give up future picks in consecutive years. So if we end up keeping the pick this year, we would have to be one of the worst 10 teams again next season (no one wants that) or that Philly pick jumps to 2019 unprotected and those are the picks that really hurt. Well, winning the lotto this year so Philly can draft Ben Simmons would hurt too, but that's a longshot. Philly is sitting on a potential gold mine -- they're either going to extort us to make the deal happen or tell us no deal, we want your 2019 pick so we aren't going to help you win this year. And that's what I hate about this the most. Vlade has put us in a position whether other teams get to dictate the terms to us. That's a disaster.
 
I'm not opposed to bringing Gasol here. I don't like Koufos' deal, and I would prefer to find a trade that brings him off the books. A Snell for McLemore swap is a wash in my opinion, so we're really looking at moving Koufos and slightly lowering the pick for Gasol (was reported that he'll likely opt out).

I also wonder if we could do another deal with Chicago during the offseason that would send them Gay. Maybe a 3 way deal? We get G. Hill & Gibson, Bulls get Gay, & Pacers get Mirotic. Bulls have a Rose/Butler/Gay/Portis/Koufos starting lineup, and the Pacers move towards an Ellis/George/Mirotic/Turner core in the future. If we could trade Belinelli to a contender for a highly protected pick and Gasol opts out (again, it's been reported that he will). We'd have this team:

PG - Hill/Collison/Curry
SG - Snell/Anderson
SF - Casspi
PF - Gibson/Acy
C - Cousins/Cauley-Stein

And we'd have about $40 mil in cap space. Sign Batum and Crabbe/Lee & you have a defensive, 3pt shooting team around a dominant big. You'd only make the Gay trade if Batum gives you the go ahead that he'd sign because you're going to need to have an extra playmaker next to Cousins if Hill is going to be starting at PG.

PG - Hill (20 min)/Collison (28 min)/Curry
SG - Crabbe (28 min)/Batum (12 min)/Hill (8 min)/Snell/Anderson
SF - Batum (24 min)/Casspi (24 min)
PF - Gibson (30 min)/Cauley-Stein (18 min)/Acy
C - Cousins (36 min)/Cauley-Stein (12 min)/Aldrich

Cousins - 36 min
Batum - 36 min
Gibson - 30 min
Cauley-Stein - 30 min
Hill - 28 min
Crabbe - 28 min
Collison - 28 min
Casspi - 24 min

The starting lineup would be very solid. Everyone is a good defender. Cousins & Gibson would be able to matchup defensively with any frontcourt and also protect the rim at a high rate. Hill, Crabbe, & Batum are all good to great perimeter defenders. With Cousins being a dominant force that consistently draws double teams, shooting is a must. Hill, Crabbe, & Batum are all good to great 3pt shooters & Gibson can even knock down long range jumpers. The opposing defense will have to pick their poison. But not only do you have shooters around Cousins, but you have a solid secondary scorer in Batum to help relieve the pressure. Other than Cousins, there aren't any ball stoppers in the lineup, nobody's selfish, and a lot of them have been on teams that have gone far in the playoffs. Then you have scorers & shooters off the bench with Collison & Casspi who can bring a spark if the starting unit is struggling. Cauley-Stein would be terrific off the bench and could sub in at PF or C depending on if Cousins is in foul trouble. His defensive versatility would allow us to put him on a player who is giving us fits to start the game. Not to mention, all 3 of those subs compliment Cousins well.

It's always a pipe dream banking on FA signings when you are the Sacramento Kings, but there are a lot of good 3 and D players available this year. I'd like to see us go after some.
 
It's far from a guarantee that we improve enough post All-Star break to give the pick to Chicago. If we don't, then the pick automatically jumps to 2019 if we give Chicago our pick next year because you can't give up future picks in consecutive years. So if we end up keeping the pick this year, we would have to be one of the worst 10 teams again next season (no one wants that) or that Philly pick jumps to 2019 unprotected and those are the picks that really hurt. Well, winning the lotto this year so Philly can draft Ben Simmons would hurt too, but that's a longshot. Philly is sitting on a potential gold mine -- they're either going to extort us to make the deal happen or tell us no deal, we want your 2019 pick so we aren't going to help you win this year. And that's what I hate about this the most. Vlade has put us in a position whether other teams get to dictate the terms to us. That's a disaster.
we are about 2 games away from getting out of bottom 10.
Nothing is guaranteed, but to me it looks like we have better odds of achieving that than not. Do you think that if that trade goes down we would not be better to catch up with 2 games differential with Wizards and Orlando?

Philly is sitting on "top 10 protected" pick in all likelihood, with off chance of hitting something better. That is all.
 
how far have those "assets" gotten us in the past? time to try winning some games. If we're still in the top ten of the lottery come 2018-19, then
we have MUCH bigger problems on our hands, folks.
This has been the approach used by Nets and Knicks and they're dumpster fires. That's with the advantage of being a destination city. FAs look at those team/organization situations and promptly say no thank you.

Kinda have to learn from history.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
At 35 years old Pau does more on the court than Ben and Kosta combined.
AND having him here for even a short time could be very helpful in WCS's development.

I don't get all the angst. People cry when we don't go after someone and yet, when Vlade makes a bold proposal, people cower and wring their hands and snivel.

Audaces fortuna iavat.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
The difference is, the Pistons don't have leaks like our team does, which is why you didn't see that trade coming.
Um, there's no indication our team has any leaks. Did you see the Walberg firing mentioned before it happens?

There's every chance the leaks are coming from agents other than front offices.
 
AND having him here for even a short time could be very helpful in WCS's development.

I don't get all the angst. People cry when we don't go after someone and yet, when Vlade makes a bold proposal, people cower and wring their hands and snivel.

Audaces fortuna iavat.
Just a quick question, has Vlade helped out WCS with his post game? From the looks of it Vlade looks close to the players so was just wondering whether or not he's helped any bigs out.

And Pau would only be brought here to push us to playoffs. 2 months would do nothing in helping WCS development. If by some miraculous feat the FO was able to re-sign Pau, then it helps WCS development because they'd have summer and training camp. But 2 months in the last stretch to make the playoffs would have little to no effects on Pau molding WCS in any way.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
60 minutes Vladerellla. At this point, I don't care if he does something smart or something dumb, just do something!!!!
And that's the attitude we definitely don't want from our GM. Luckily, Vlade has made it abundantly clear he's not going to make a deal unless it makes the team better. Doing something just to do something isn't in his repertoire.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Just a quick question, has Vlade helped out WCS with his post game? From the looks of it Vlade looks close to the players so was just wondering whether or not he's helped any bigs out.

And Pau would only be brought here to push us to playoffs. 2 months would do nothing in helping WCS development. If by some miraculous feat the FO was able to re-sign Pau, then it helps WCS development because they'd have summer and training camp. But 2 months in the last stretch to make the playoffs would have little to no effects on Pau molding WCS in any way.
1. I have no idea if Vlade has helped WCS with his post game. He's the president of basketball operations and the GM, not a player or coach.

2. You don't know if Pau would re-sign or not. Even 2 months playing along side Pau could be beneficial for WCS. I honestly cannot understand how you would think otherwise.
 
And that's the attitude we definitely don't want from our GM. Luckily, Vlade has made it abundantly clear he's not going to make a deal unless it makes the team better. Doing something just to do something isn't in his repertoire.
And trusting this FO is exactly what Kings fans should do. Right.
 
1. I have no idea if Vlade has helped WCS with his post game. He's the president of basketball operations and the GM, not a player or coach.

2. You don't know if Pau would re-sign or not. Even 2 months playing along side Pau could be beneficial for WCS. I honestly cannot understand how you would think otherwise.
Pau isn't going to play his last year's on a NBA team that has been a circus for the past decade. A player averaging 17 and 10 will not play for anything but a contender. The only teams that has a serious shot at Pau 2 years ago were the Bulls, Thunder, Spurs and wherever LeBron was playing at that time. So it is safe to say that probably nothing has changed his mind, especially if he is still producing at an All Star Level.

And my best guess would be the only non contednder to get Pau would be the Grizzlies.

And WCS would need a lot of work on his post game, he'd basically have to start with the fundamentas. Believing Pau can do that in 2 months is crazy, especially when this team would be focused on winning games. And Pau is 35, he is not going to be fully active at every practice, he would need his rest for a late season push.
 
Pau isn't going to play his last year's on a NBA team that has been a circus for the past decade. A player averaging 17 and 10 will not play for anything but a contender. The only teams that has a serious shot at Pau 2 years ago were the Bulls, Thunder, Spurs and wherever LeBron was playing at that time. So it is safe to say that probably nothing has changed his mind, especially if he is still producing at an All Star Level.

And my best guess would be the only non contednder to get Pau would be the Grizzlies.

And WCS would need a lot of work on his post game, he'd basically have to start with the fundamentas. Believing Pau can do that in 2 months is crazy, especially when this team would be focused on winning games. And Pau is 35, he is not going to be fully active at every practice, he would need his rest for a late season push.
I just love how you are saying all these things with such conviction like you work closely with the NBA or something.
 
Trading for Pau scratches the same itch hiring Karl did exactly one year ago. Just a quck little band aid to give fans hope for next season and sell some season tickets. A bandaid for a wound that requires multiple stitches.
this roster is nowhere near as bad as some of you make it out to be. I know we have issues but Pau would be more than a bandaid when you consider who
he'd be playing with up front
 
I just love how you are saying all these things with such conviction like you work closely with the NBA or something.
It doesn't take somebody to work close to the NBA to realize that 2 years ago Pau mainly only took meetings or calls from those teams.

And also doesn't take a genius to realize we would have Pau here for only 2 months for a playoff push. 27 games. With no training camp or summer to help develop the young guys. Also would lose practice time with WCS due to back to back's, flight time and probably skipped practice for a 35 year old. Doesn't take someone with connections to the NBA to realize a 35 year old would need rest especially if we would play him excessive minutes for a playoff push. Jeez.

So good try and great addition to the topic I must say.
 
It doesn't take somebody to work close to the NBA to realize that 2 years ago Pau mainly only took meetings or calls from those teams.

And also doesn't take a genius to realize we would have Pau here for only 2 months for a playoff push. 27 games. With no training camp or summer to help develop the young guys. Also would lose practice time with WCS due to back to back's, flight time and probably skipped practice for a 35 year old. Doesn't take someone with connections to the NBA to realize a 35 year old would need rest especially if we would play him excessive minutes for a playoff push. Jeez.

So good try and great addition to the topic I must say.
Nothing you said is of 100% certainty. Stranger things have happened.

But I digress.
 
Nothing you said is of 100% certainty. Stranger things have happened.

But I digress.
While stranger things have happened, I'm just looking at Gasol's track record. If he wasn't putting up all star numbers, I'd say we have a shot at getting him back and mentoring the young guys. Like KG, when he realized he could no longer contribute he went to help mentor players and get a paycheck.

Anyways, 3 minutes to the deadline, looks like we caused ruckus over nothing.