Free Agency

[Hoovtrain]

It's been talked about before but would anyone be interested in crazy Lance Stephenson? What if you could sign Lance, have a trade centered around Gay for Bledsoe (just the loose parameters ) and then say sign Barnes.

PG-Bledsoe/Collison/Curry
SG Stephenson/BenMac/Richardson
SF-Barnes/Casspi
PF-WCS/Skal
C-DMC/KK/Poppin Fresh

 

[BeerNerd916]

I'm sorry you CANNOT go into the season with Ben Mclemore your starter and rookie as your backup. I would be fine with giving Ben one last shot under Joerger, but not as the main SG.

Agreed. But I would rather give Afflalo a one and one and bank on Mclemore over a 4 yr deal for courtney lee.

 

[Noble]

I would make Stephenson a top priority FA target I don't care how crazy he is. He played well this past year and I just like his game overall. Rondo/Stephenson/Gay/WCS/Cousins would be hardcore.

 

[King Baller]

I would make Stephenson a top priority FA target I don't care how crazy he is. He played well this past year and I just like his game overall. Rondo/Stephenson/Gay/WCS/Cousins would be hardcore.

Spacing would kinda suck with that starting unit. Opposing teams would pack the paint.

 

[KingsCitizen]

If Rondo signs, I think it's worth a try to trade for Tony Allen in Memphis. He and Rondo got that ring in Boston and Tony has played good basketball under Joerger, except when he got injured. Tony Allen has is an expiring contract and a warrior like that won't be sleeping on his contract season.
Tony Allen for Ben is a win now kind of move.
Then we get a shooter with a Kosta trade or hope Malachi's efficiency improve come summer league to earn a back-up spot.

 

[The_Jamal]

You all must hate Cousins. Rondo with Lance or Tony Allen is a death sentence to giving Boogie space to operate in the post. He'd get collapsed on every play by 2 or 3 guys and they'd just let our guards brick shots all game long.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Spacing would kinda suck with that starting unit. Opposing teams would pack the paint.

And what's a ballhandling street baller like Stephenson worth, when forced into a catch and shoot role alongside Rondo?
Lance would be a good backcourt partner for DC not for Rondo.

 

[ESP47]

You can run Lance out there with a defense first PG who lacks playmaking abilities due to his own. He might not work well with Rondo but he works well with nearly every other PG out there.

 

[ParniValjak]

Lance is a terrible fit with Rondo but a good fit with DC and Curry is he is back.

 

[KingsCitizen]

You all must hate Cousins. Rondo with Lance or Tony Allen is a death sentence to giving Boogie space to operate in the post. He'd get collapsed on every play by 2 or 3 guys and they'd just let our guards brick shots all game long.

Well to be fair, in my post I added that that we need to add a shooter.
We definitely need a lock down defender in the perimeter unless we go on amnesia on how every guard in the league gets career nights against the Kings.

 

[Gilles]

It's been talked about before but would anyone be interested in crazy Lance Stephenson? What if you could sign Lance, have a trade centered around Gay for Bledsoe (just the loose parameters ) and then say sign Barnes.

PG-Bledsoe/Collison/Curry
SG Stephenson/BenMac/Richardson
SF-Barnes/Casspi
PF-WCS/Skal
C-DMC/KK/Poppin Fresh

Bledsoe is missing half a season every other year, so, I guess, this would be the time to have him on the team, as long as Kings trade him by the start of 17/18 season.
After nice laugh the essense stay the same: Bledsoe is a massive injury risk, and once you lose him on that team, Kings are done as a PO team.
Stephenson is not a starter: he thinks, he should be the main creator at any time, no matter, who's on the court with him. Fine between Seth and Casspi, not good next to Boogie. Once Lance is on your roster though, you can't afford any below average shooters at any position except center. And putting him next to Bledsoe and Barnes? Pacers had excellent C&S guys at every position, and Lance hasn't figured, how to work with other playmakers, since leaving Indiana. Obviously Lance is no better fit next to Rondo than to Bledsoe.
Having Lance on the roster allows you to get away with only 3&D backup PG though or just put quick SG there, and that's nice flexibility: really helps Seth, if Kings retain him, as there's no pressure of running the second unit of PO team on his own.
Lance would be a nice get as long as he's coming to be a bencher, i.e. same role he played in Memphis, and it's for a starting salary of $5-6m.
P.S. Since Kings will need another SG to start, Ben should be traded.

 

[Bricklayer]

Reports this morning that if Durant passes on them as expected, Wizards might make Ryan Anderson their top priority. If that's true they have nearly as much cap room as we do, and it could make it prohibitively/stupidly expensive to sign him.

Also, Grizzlies declined Lance Stephensen's option. I don't think we should be interested, but Joerger did coach him successfully just a few months ago.

 

[ParniValjak]

Reports this morning that if Durant passes on them as expected, Wizards might make Ryan Anderson their top priority. If that's true they have nearly as much cap room as we do, and it could make it prohibitively/stupidly expensive to sign him.

Also, Grizzlies declined Lance Stephensen's option. I don't think we should be interested, but Joerger did coach him successfully just a few months ago.

While I would like Anderson, there are other stretch 4 options on the market. It has taken years but Marvin Williams has developed into a solid stretch 4. Similarly, while not at the level of Anderson or Williams, Teletović could be a decent pick up to play that role.

Personally, I would make Batum our #1 priority but I am not convinced that we would head down that path.

 

[Amit149]

I don't hate the idea of Lance, he's not a classic 3&D player but he's a good defender, rebounder, great playmaker for a SG and there is hope about him as a shooter (and in general he is pretty effective if we ignore his terrible year with the Hornets- 54.8 TS% last year, 56.4 last year in Indiana) and Joerger had great results with him last season.

If we are resigning Rondo he's out of the question, but if we'll sign Lin for example signing Lance than resigning Curry isn't that bad- this is how our roster would look like:

PG: Lin/DC/Curry/IC
SG: Stephenson/Ben/Richardson (Curry)
SF: Gay/Casspi/Butler
PF: WCS/Skal (Casspi)
C: Cousins/KK/Papa

That's a pretty deep roster that we should be able to get realisticly (since I doubt the market for Lance would be that competitive compared to the other options at SG), it's not ideal but I think Joerger can make this team compete for a playoff spot.

 

[Flopi]

Personally, I would make Batum our #1 priority but I am not convinced that we would head down that path.

Batum is also my dream target. Unfortunately, I don't see it happening as it seems there is a strong mutual interest between Batum and the Hornets.
In french media, Batum said that, while he will listen to other teams, he will give the Hornets a priority call.

 

[biltalent]

While I would like Anderson, there are other stretch 4 options on the market. It has taken years but Marvin Williams has developed into a solid stretch 4. Similarly, while not at the level of Anderson or Williams, Teletović could be a decent pick up to play that role.

Personally, I would make Batum our #1 priority but I am not convinced that we would head down that path.

I'm not even that high on getting a Stretch 4 because we could always just use Omri in that role. The only reason I want Anderson is that he would protect us from totally collapsing if Cousins is out/injured. But if his price is way above 15 million - pass. Then I'd rather use the money to fix the SG spot long term.

 

[joemama]

Today reports are the knicks second choice (Noah beimg first) are to target Mozgov. He is pretty similar to Koufos and could potentially make a trade partner.

With knicks only having 6 players under contract it makes it difficult to bring back a guard but i would take O'quinn (Acy pt 2) or just deal Koufos for cap space and future asset.

I know not ideal but a sign and trade could potentially work for a sg such as affalo or lee.

 

[funkykingston]

Today reports are the knicks second choice (Noah beimg first) are to target Mozgov. He is pretty similar to Koufos and could potentially make a trade partner.

With knicks only having 6 players under contract it makes it difficult to bring back a guard but i would take O'quinn (Acy pt 2) or just deal Koufos for cap space and future asset.

I know not ideal but a sign and trade could potentially work for a sg such as affalo or lee.

There's really no reason to deal Koufos for cap room. With the new salary cap KK at $8 million is worth more than what that $8 million could get on the open market.

Kosta could be a good trade piece to balance the roster but I like him more than O'Quinn and I don't think you deal him for another big and I don't see additional caproom helping the Kings this offseason.

 

[ParniValjak]

There's really no reason to deal Koufos for cap room. With the new salary cap KK at $8 million is worth more than what that $8 million could get on the open market.

Kosta could be a good trade piece to balance the roster but I like him more than O'Quinn and I don't think you deal him for another big and I don't see additional caproom helping the Kings this offseason.

Agred. If KK gets moved, it's to address a need via a trade and not to clear up room. I suspect KK will get used to get a SG.

 

[Amit149]

There's really no reason to deal Koufos for cap room. With the new salary cap KK at $8 million is worth more than what that $8 million could get on the open market.

Kosta could be a good trade piece to balance the roster but I like him more than O'Quinn and I don't think you deal him for another big and I don't see additional caproom helping the Kings this offseason.

I agree that Koufos has good value for money overall but the league is stacked with FA centers right now so I doubt teams will give much for him, here is a not complete list of 20 decent FA centers available:

Whiteside
Howard
Pau
Jefferson
Noah
Biyombo
Ezeli
Meyers Leonard
Pachulia
Mahimni
D-Mo
Speights
Mozgov
Hibbert
Plumlee
Aldrich
Zeller
Jordan Hill
Boban Marjanovic
Hickson

So I doubt teams would give great value for a center in that market.

 

[joemama]

There's really no reason to deal Koufos for cap room. With the new salary cap KK at $8 million is worth more than what that $8 million could get on the open market.

Kosta could be a good trade piece to balance the roster but I like him more than O'Quinn and I don't think you deal him for another big and I don't see additional caproom helping the Kings this offseason.

I agreed but this is why i suggested a sign and trade. If Lee wants 14, sign and trade would only eat 6 mil of our cap and would allow freedom to pay other free agents.

 

[twslam07]

Solomon Hill has the chance to be the steal of this FA period.

His defense & athleticism are stellar and he's a very good rebounder for his position (not to mention he'll be 25 at the start of next season). His shooting has been inconsistent up until now, but once he started getting increased minutes at the end of the year (above 25 minutes a game), he was shooting much more consistently. His last 14 games of the season (including the playoffs) he shot 52% from three on 3.3 attempts per game. Granted it's a small sample size, but you want to see players improving towards the end of the year (not falling off). Also, considering he went from 10-15 mpg to 29 mpg for that last stretch, it bodes well for him.

And it's not like this shooting is coming out of nowhere. He shot 86% from the free throw line and is 83% for his career. That's usually an indicator that he has a good stroke and in time he can develop a reliable jumpshot. He also shot 39% from the college 3 his last two years at Arizona, so again, I don't think his 3pt shooting is as much as an anomaly as some people may think. In this day and age, players understand how valuable it is to have a 3pt shot, and I'm sure Hill has been working very hard at getting it down.

Hill is a bit under the radar compared to players like Bazemore, Crabbe, Fournier, & Lee considering there is that risk with him regressing on his shot, but being Sacramento and being a small market team, we need to take some chances. Again, Hill could be the steal of this FA and turn into one of the best 3&D wings and be on a Crowder like contract that is uber valuable. Having a starting caliber SG/SF that is a ferocious defender, good 3pt shooter, 25 years old, and on an 8-10mil a year deal under the new CBA is ridiculous value.

I really hope the Kings make him their #1 priority this offseason. He's well worth the investment.

 

[funkykingston]

Solomon Hill has the chance to be the steal of this FA period.

His defense & athleticism are stellar and he's a very good rebounder for his position (not to mention he'll be 25 at the start of next season). His shooting has been inconsistent up until now, but once he started getting increased minutes at the end of the year (above 25 minutes a game), he was shooting much more consistently. His last 14 games of the season (including the playoffs) he shot 52% from three on 3.3 attempts per game. Granted it's a small sample size, but you want to see players improving towards the end of the year (not falling off). Also, considering he went from 10-15 mpg to 29 mpg for that last stretch, it bodes well for him.

And it's not like this shooting is coming out of nowhere. He shot 86% from the free throw line and is 83% for his career. That's usually an indicator that he has a good stroke and in time he can develop a reliable jumpshot. He also shot 39% from the college 3 his last two years at Arizona, so again, I don't think his 3pt shooting is as much as an anomaly as some people may think. In this day and age, players understand how valuable it is to have a 3pt shot, and I'm sure Hill has been working very hard at getting it down.

Hill is a bit under the radar compared to players like Bazemore, Crabbe, Fournier, & Lee considering there is that risk with him regressing on his shot, but being Sacramento and being a small market team, we need to take some chances. Again, Hill could be the steal of this FA and turn into one of the best 3&D wings and be on a Crowder like contract that is uber valuable. Having a starting caliber SG/SF that is a ferocious defender, good 3pt shooter, 25 years old, and on an 8-10mil a year deal under the new CBA is ridiculous value.

I really hope the Kings make him their #1 priority this offseason. He's well worth the investment.

I like Hill but he's definitely a gamble. The Pacers all but gave up on him and only his late season play gives hope that he's on the upswing.

But you're right, those are the types of gambles a team like the Kings has to take.

I think Hill is much more of a SF but that frees up the Kings to trade Gay for guard help.

 

[twslam07]

I like Hill but he's definitely a gamble. The Pacers all but gave up on him and only his last season play gives hope that he's on the upswing.

But you're right, those are the types of gambles a team like the Kings has to take.

I think Hill is much more of a SF but that frees up the Kings to trade Gay for guard help.

Well I think the great thing about Hill is that he gives us flexibility for either position. Meaning if we sign him, we can either look for a SG or SF to play next to him which gives us more options/flexibility vs. if you sign a guy like C. Lee, you are solely looking for a SF to play next to him. Considering we don't have many players lining up to come here, that flexibility is very, very valuable.

EDIT: And if you keep Gay, you could have Hill take the tougher defensive assignment & hide Gay on the weaker offensive player.

 

[macadocious]

OK so I did some cap numbers here in a spread sheet (Captain please correct me where I am wrong, I pulled from a few different sites)

These numbers assume the following

1.) releasing Rondo's cap hold
2.) Matching a 3 year offer on Seth Currry starting at 6.5 in first year. I estimated high because I feel like it's going to be bigger than we previously thought. 7.5% raises and P/O 3rd year
3.) Sign and trade for Courtney Lee with Koufos starting Lee at 13.5 in year 1, 3 year deal with 7.5% raises
4.) Signing Ryan Anderson 3 year guaranteed contract starting at 16 and giving 7.5% raises (possibly could add a team option for year 4 if he is still playing well at that time)
5.) Signing Bogdan Bogdanovich next year at 7.5 3 year deal to be our starting SG, (possibly team option for year 4)

This leaves us about $4MM shy of the cap possibly for a back up PG if Curry and Cousins don't work out. Veteran like Norris Cole or Mario Chalmers.

We still retain Rudy and Ben in this scenario, I have a hard time figuring out good trades for them, because we need better versions of them back in those trades. Unless we could swing them for Rubio, but I cant see Minnesota doing that.

 

[Gilles]

I like Hill but he's definitely a gamble. The Pacers all but gave up on him and only his late season play gives hope that he's on the upswing.

But you're right, those are the types of gambles a team like the Kings has to take.

I think Hill is much more of a SF but that frees up the Kings to trade Gay for guard help.

There's quite a bit of history in Bird not picking Hill's option: after usual for late first-rounder non-playing rookie season Hill was thrown into the starting role due to George's injury and did ok. Outside shot hasn't appeared yet, and a lot of his offense was based on 2s of his own creating - certainly not good shots, but that Pacers team was taking whatever offense they could find. Hill ended the season lowest on the roster in +/-, and Bird told him, they want to evaluate him in Summer League. After being the starter for a year already Hill took affront to that proposition and showed up out of shape for SL. I guess, things didn't go smooth as Hill came to training camp in the same form. Bird declined his option, and Hill sat on the bench, until injuries forced Vogel to return him into rotation. It seems, things weren't as bad by the end of the year as apparently Bird advised Hill to try and put more arc into his shot sometime this winter, and looks like it did the trick with his shot.
Hill would be fine at 2, and that way Kings would become bigger and longer, helping with more effective guard screens, which is a usual offensive feature nowadays, cutting, rebounding, personal defense, defensive and positional versatility.

 

[Gilles]

OK so I did some cap numbers here in a spread sheet (Captain please correct me where I am wrong, I pulled from a few different sites)

These numbers assume the following

1.) releasing Rondo's cap hold
2.) Matching a 3 year offer on Seth Currry starting at 6.5 in first year. I estimated high because I feel like it's going to be bigger than we previously thought. 7.5% raises and P/O 3rd year
3.) Sign and trade for Courtney Lee with Koufos starting Lee at 13.5 in year 1, 3 year deal with 7.5% raises
4.) Signing Ryan Anderson 3 year guaranteed contract starting at 16 and giving 7.5% raises (possibly could add a team option for year 4 if he is still playing well at that time)
5.) Signing Bogdan Bogdanovich next year at 7.5 3 year deal to be our starting SG, (possibly team option for year 4)

This leaves us about $4MM shy of the cap possibly for a back up PG if Curry and Cousins don't work out. Veteran like Norris Cole or Mario Chalmers.

We still retain Rudy and Ben in this scenario, I have a hard time figuring out good trades for them, because we need better versions of them back in those trades. Unless we could swing them for Rubio, but I cant see Minnesota doing that.

Kings can't offer 7.5% raises to other team FAs. Lee's salary is probably reasonable expectation, if Kings are at the top of his preference list, but, I think, Ryno will get more.
You also miss the point of very likely having only Seth and ICousins at PG to start the season - not gonna cut it.

 

[macadocious]

Kings can't offer 7.5% raises to other team FAs. Lee's salary is probably reasonable expectation, if Kings are at the top of his preference list, but, I think, Ryno will get more.
You also miss the point of very likely having only Seth and ICousins at PG to start the season - not gonna cut it.

I don't think Collison is going to be suspended much more than 5 games.

 

[ockingsfan]

Reports this morning that if Durant passes on them as expected, Wizards might make Ryan Anderson their top priority. If that's true they have nearly as much cap room as we do, and it could make it prohibitively/stupidly expensive to sign him.

Also, Grizzlies declined Lance Stephensen's option. I don't think we should be interested, but Joerger did coach him successfully just a few months ago.

Unless we trade Rudy Gay or a big, we don't really have any roster space for Ryan Anderson.

Maybe a sign and trade of Ryan Anderson for Rudy Gay may work. But Ryan Anderson would have to play Small Forward, for that trade to work. And I don't think Anderson can play SF full time.

If we re-sign Rondo, Stephenson would not fit along side Rondo. Whoever we sign at Shooting Guard, needs to be capable of starting. Lance and Rondo don't work as a starting backcourt.

I would try signing Courtney Lee first and if we can't sign him, I would try to sign Eric Gordon.

Man, we haven't had a shooting guard that could shoot since Kevin Martin.

PF: WCS / Skal
SF: Gay / Casspi
C DMC / KK/ Big Papa
SG: Gordon / McClemore / Richardson
PG: Rondo / DC / Curry or I Cousisns

 

[joemama]

Kings are interested in. . .
Dion waiters...?