Current Team Discussion and Possible Trades

[Kingsfan23]

Not only would I personally refresh this roster and start over if we can get value, but I'm wondering if Cousins is a true superstar now. Yes, his help is lacking and Gay/Collison are not proving second and third options, but at this point you have to compare the rosters to Hardens or Westbrooks supporting cast. Cousins is still a great player, arguably somewhere top 12, but he needs to do more as a cornerstone to inspire confidence that he's not tradable

 

[KingsFan80]

But you can't "take" Crabbe. He has to agree to come here. Again, this isn't NBA 2K.

It was a hypothetical comment. I know he isn't coming here. My response was to the in response to this comment made by the other poster: . Yet you continue to insist that his value is far lower than Allen Crabbe, a role player who is being paid like a star, simply because Bogdanovic (who is the same age as Crabbe) hasn't yet played in the NBA.

 

[twslam07]

Had a couple trade ideas if we were wanting to make another attempt at building around Cousins by trading some vets/expirings for youth & picks. Even if Gay would stay, it's going to be difficult to bring another big time FA here to help propel us to the next level. Cousins may be the only type of guy that would still resign with us even if we're not uber competitive. It might make sense to try and retool & add some more youth/potential to try and hit it big. Keeping the vets on these short term deals is only going to make it more difficult for players to learn each others tendencies or for the coach to install his culture/system.

TOR Gets: Omri Casspi
SAC Gets: Delon Wright
Why? Move an expiring for a player who has some upside as a big 3&D PG and is still on his rookie contract for 2 more years. Toronto moves a player out of the rotation for a sharp shooting wing/stretch 4 who could be part of their playoff run.

CHI Gets: Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, & Kosta Koufos
SAC Gets: Rajon Rondo, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant, & Chicago's 2017 1st (top 20 protected)
Why? Gay & Collison are expring & Koufos is redundant with Cousins, Cauley-Stein, & Papagiannis. Rondo has only $3 mil guranteed next year so he can be cut this year if need be. Valentine, Portis, Grant, & a late 2017 1st would all have decent upside and be on their rookie deals for 2-5 more years. Chicago gets a better PG fit next to Wade/Butler, a super sixth man scorer in Gay, & a solid backup C in Koufos to spell Lopez for 20 or so minutes a game.

After these trades, I would assume we would be playing at a level that would keep our 1st round pick, so we'd have these players/picks next year.

PG - Grant / Wright
SG - Temple / Bogdanovic / Richardson
SF - Barnes / Valentine
PF - Tolliver / Portis / Labissiere
C - Cousins / Cauley-Stein / Papagiannis

*SAC 2017 1st
*CHI 2017 1st (top 20 protected)
**~$47 mil in cap space

Considering we'd have so much cap space & we'd probably not be able to fill it with good players, I might just pick up Tolliver's option. He's a great teammate and having him & Temple around to mentor the young guys would probably do some good. I'd probably try to snag Porter away from Washington, but that's probably a long shot. At least this roster would be littered with youth & potential around Cousins. It would be up to Coach Joerger to develop them, teach his system, and make it work.

 

[Joshoua]

Why did I read a page on Allen Crabbe. That dude is ass and is on a terrible contract you'd have to be a fool to trade value for him.

 

[Telemachus]

Why did I read a page on Allen Crabbe. That dude is ass and is on a terrible contract you'd have to be a fool to trade value for him.

Because someone around here thinks Crabbe is better than everyone on the Kings except Cousins and Gay.

 

[Blob]

My argument wasn't against acquiring Crabbe, or saying that at the moment he's not better than Afflalo. He probably is better overall than Afflalo right now. Certainly younger! My argument was against what we were going to give up to get him, (Bogdanvoic and Willie) his current salary, and that he's a starting SG and Afflalo isn't. Of course whether you start or not is a subjective decision by the team your on, and the amount of talent they have. Bogdanovic may end up being a very good player, perhaps even a star. Or not. He may just end up being as good as Crabbe, which would mean we have given up Willie for nothing. By the way the only reason I compared Afflalo's fourth season to Crabbe's current one, is that it's Crabbe's fourth season. Just trying my feeble best to be as fair as I can... Especially if it's in my favor.......

Who proposed Willie and Bogdanovic? My idea was Willie and Affalo. The former trade wouldn't even work.

 

[Blob]

Again, you are over-rating Crabbe. He is a spot up shooter. He is an average ball handler and passer, and a poor rebounder and defender. He is playing more minutes a game than Afflalo (who hasn't played great) and putting similar numbers. If BMac was playing the same minutes as Crabbe, his numbers would be better.

I also like how you point out that Bogdanovic will be 25 next year, when he is the same age as Crabbe. BTW, Bogdanovic can shoot both off the dribble and as a spot up shooter. He is also a better ball-handler and passer IMO. I don't know about his defense, but he can't be worse than Crabbe.

Crabbe is actually a good defender. He trails his man well through screens, and he has length to get to shots on perimeter. He has good balance and doesn't bite on fakes. He can defend two positions. He's a notch below Temple and notch above Ben.

 

[Blob]

He isn't being asked to be a star player on the Blazers. Typically he doesn't even get enough minutes. He is a role player who is shooting close to 40% from three point range. If he joined the Kings he would be asked to be a star player along with Cousins and Gay. Sorry I am just looking for something to look forward to and a young up and coming SG stands out over a washed up SG and a role player like Temple

Spot on.

 

[twslam07]

Crabbe is actually a good defender. He trails his man well through screens, and he has length to get to shots on perimeter. He has good balance and doesn't bite on fakes. He can defend two positions. He's a notch below Temple and notch above Ben.

As I've already shown you, he has not been a good defender...yet.

He has good defensive potential, but at 24, how much better is he really going to get?

 

[Telemachus]

Crabbe is actually a good defender. He trails his man well through screens, and he has length to get to shots on perimeter. He has good balance and doesn't bite on fakes. He can defend two positions. He's a notch below Temple and notch above Ben.

Crabbe has shown good defensive potential with flashes of good defence, but overall has been a bad defensive player.

 

[twslam07]

Had a couple trade ideas if we were wanting to make another attempt at building around Cousins by trading some vets/expirings for youth & picks. Even if Gay would stay, it's going to be difficult to bring another big time FA here to help propel us to the next level. Cousins may be the only type of guy that would still resign with us even if we're not uber competitive. It might make sense to try and retool & add some more youth/potential to try and hit it big. Keeping the vets on these short term deals is only going to make it more difficult for players to learn each others tendencies or for the coach to install his culture/system.

TOR Gets: Omri Casspi
SAC Gets: Delon Wright
Why? Move an expiring for a player who has some upside as a big 3&D PG and is still on his rookie contract for 2 more years. Toronto moves a player out of the rotation for a sharp shooting wing/stretch 4 who could be part of their playoff run.

CHI Gets: Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, & Kosta Koufos
SAC Gets: Rajon Rondo, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant, & Chicago's 2017 1st (top 20 protected)
Why? Gay & Collison are expring & Koufos is redundant with Cousins, Cauley-Stein, & Papagiannis. Rondo has only $3 mil guranteed next year so he can be cut this year if need be. Valentine, Portis, Grant, & a late 2017 1st would all have decent upside and be on their rookie deals for 2-5 more years. Chicago gets a better PG fit next to Wade/Butler, a super sixth man scorer in Gay, & a solid backup C in Koufos to spell Lopez for 20 or so minutes a game.

After these trades, I would assume we would be playing at a level that would keep our 1st round pick, so we'd have these players/picks next year.

PG - Grant / Wright
SG - Temple / Bogdanovic / Richardson
SF - Barnes / Valentine
PF - Tolliver / Portis / Labissiere
C - Cousins / Cauley-Stein / Papagiannis

*SAC 2017 1st
*CHI 2017 1st (top 20 protected)
**~$47 mil in cap space

Considering we'd have so much cap space & we'd probably not be able to fill it with good players, I might just pick up Tolliver's option. He's a great teammate and having him & Temple around to mentor the young guys would probably do some good. I'd probably try to snag Porter away from Washington, but that's probably a long shot. At least this roster would be littered with youth & potential around Cousins. It would be up to Coach Joerger to develop them, teach his system, and make it work.

Piggy backing off my idea above, it may be wise to target one of the top SF prospects with our 2017 1st (Jackson/Isaac/Tatum). Personally, I don't think we'll be high enough to draft Jackson, and as of now, I would prefer Isaac over Tatum. I like Isaac's motor, size/length, rebounding, scoring potential, & 3pt shot. I think he could be an excellent complement to Cousins long term. Then maybe with the Chicago pick, we take someone like Isaiah Hartenstein who may be available later in the 1st round but also has a very high upside. He also may not come over right away which may work out as it'd give our current young bigs Labissiere, Portis, Cauley-Stein, & Papagiannis more minutes, so we would have a better idea which bigs we'd like to keep long term (after their rookie contracts).

Then you hope to sell Cousins on the new direction/potential of the team and resign him in the 2018 offseason. Considering we'd have so many young guys in the middle of their development/growth, we're likely to get another decent pick in 2018 to add yet another solid asset going forward. Then going into the 2019-2020 season, our roster would consist of the following players below (with the amount of NBA experience they would have at this time):

DeMarcus Cousins - 9 years
Jerian Grant - 4 years (RFA - do we keep?)
Delon Wright - 4 years (RFA - do we keep?)
Bobby Portis - 4 years (RFA - do we keep?)
Willie Cauley-Stein - 4 years (RFA - do we keep?)
Malachi Richardson - 3 years
Denzel Valentine - 3 years
Skal Labissiere - 3 years
Georgios Papagiannis - 3 years
Bogdan Bogdanovic - 2 years
Jonathan Isaac - 2 years
Isaiah Hartenstein - 0-1 years
SAC 2018 1st - 1 year

By this time, you're hoping some of these guys are showing signs they can contribute at a high level. During the 2019 offseason, we'd have a lot of cap flexibility and a promising young core (hopefully). It just so happens that both Wall & Bledsoe are unrestricted FAs in the 2019 offseason. You'd hope the promising, up & coming core & Cousins' connection with his two close friends is enough to sway one of them to sign with the team. Then you're looking at something like:

PG - Wall / Wright* / Grant*
SG - Richardson / Valentine
SF - Isaac / Bogdanovic / SAC 2018 1st
PF - Labissiere / Portis* / Hartenstein
C - Cousins / Cauley-Stein* / Papagiannis
* = RFA

Now that team has the potential to be a formidable in this league. Cousins & Wall are stars w/ Isaac, Labissiere, & Hartenstein all having the potential to become stars as well. Richardson, Valentine, Isaac, Bogdanovic, Labissiere, Portis, & Hartenstein are all projected to be good/great 3pt shooters which would give great spacing for Cousins & Wall (not to mention both are respectable 3pt shooters themselves hitting 38% of their attempts).

 

[KingsFan80]

It's funny how you say nobody has a clue how Bogdanovic is going to do but you seem so confident in how Chriss will turn out. It goes both ways. I'd suggest approaching both situations similarly rather than showing your inherent bias against one specific player.

Is starting for the Suns supposed to impress me or really anyone for that matter? Players who shouldn't be starting (if they want to field a competitive team) get starts all the time in the NBA. The Suns have the 2nd to worst record in the western conference this year. They are wanting to build & develop their youth where as we're trying to be competitive as possible this year to try and persuade Cousins to stay. Chriss would not start on our team, and he probably wouldn't even be in our rotation just by watching his play thus far. He's playing like a rookie. That's not a knock since he is a rookie, but he's not helping any team this year whether that's on the Kings or Suns.

In fact, Chriss has been god awful this year. I'm curious to think if suns fans are starting to get a little worried about their lotto pick (they shouldn't because he's a project, but I'd be curious to know).

0.496 TS% (Horrible)
0.419 Ast/TO ratio (Horrible)
-3.17 RPM (89th among PFs & 319th in the league = Horrible)
-4.3 On/Off (Horrible)

As much as you like to hype this guy up, you would think he would be winning rookie of the month awards left and right. The fact of the matter is that Chriss has been awful for his team this year. That doesn't mean he won't develop and amount to something someday, but in your own words, "nobody has a clue." So instead of beating the "Chriss is great/Bogdanovic who?" drum, how about you find some middle ground?

EDIT: I also find it funny that you would rather have had Knight in the trade considering it's been known for a few seasons now that Knight is fools gold and contributes to his team losing.

RAPM
-1.14 ('15-'16)

RPM
-4.26 ('16-'17)
-2.04 ('15-'16)
-2.36 ('14-'15)
-3.18 ('13-'14)

On/Off
-17.1 ('16-'17)
+1.7 ('15-'16)
-5.7 (MIL '14-'15)
-1.8 (PHO '14-'15)
-1.4 ('13-'14)

You wanted us to pick up a losing player, on a big long term contract rather than take a chance on some draft picks? Yikes! I'm glad you're not making these decisions.

In regards to Bledsoe, how do you know we didn't try and get him? He could have been our main target, but perhaps Phoenix was unwilling to move him. This isn't NBA 2K. It takes two to tango.

Chriss is 19 years old. Say that again 19 years old! A lot is going to change by the time he Bogdanovics current age.

 

[funkykingston]

Not only would I personally refresh this roster and start over if we can get value, but I'm wondering if Cousins is a true superstar now. Yes, his help is lacking and Gay/Collison are not proving second and third options, but at this point you have to compare the rosters to Hardens or Westbrooks supporting cast. Cousins is still a great player, arguably somewhere top 12, but he needs to do more as a cornerstone to inspire confidence that he's not tradable

To my way of thinking it may not matter if Cousins is a true superstar/cornerstone player or not. I lean towards thinking he is and is IMO, the most talented player to wear a Sacramento Kings jersey, but whether he is or isn't is looking somewhat irrelevant to me right now.

If he isn't a superstar franchise player then obviously it makes sense for the Kings to trade him now while his value is still high. Kevin Love looked like a superstar in Minnesota and the T'Wolves got a nice haul for him but now in Cleveland everyone can see that he's a good but not great player. A nice complimentary guy but not a superstar. That could be the case with Cousins. I really doubt it - I think he'd put a good team over the top but it's possible that he's a just good player putting up great numbers on a bad team.

But even if Cousins is a franchise guy, I don't see a way to build a winner around him now. Gay, Collison, Lawson, Casspi and McLemore will be free agents. Do you overpay (assuming those players even consider returning) to keep a mediocre team together? If not, can the team sign upgrades in free agency? History says they won't. Afflalo and Tolliver would also likely get cut loose. Barnes (if he's still on the team after the facts come out from this last incident) will be 37.

And if the Kings play just a bit better the rest of this season than they are now (relatively likely given the schedule and the time to gel under Joerger) they'd also lose their draft pick to Chicago. So where can the improvement come from?

On the other hand, trading Cousins - let's say to Boston for Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson (ending contract), the C's 2017 pick (they have the right to swap with Brooklyn) and Brooklyn's 2018 pick along with Rozier and/or the rights to Zizic - then the Kings have the ability to slowly build a winner.

They'd likely have a top 5 pick from swapping with Brooklyn this year and another likely top five pick from how bad they'd likely be without Cousins. The Sixers could swap with them for that pick but right now Philly is also headed towards a high lottery pick as well.

The young players would get a lot of court time and while it would be ugly this season it would likely help their development too.

Next season would likely be more of the same. Lots of growing pains and probably another pair of lottery picks.

Assuming (and it's a big assumption) that the Kings don't screw up four lottery picks in two years there's a good chance that the Kings look like an up and coming young team in the 2018-2019 season.

I'd rather see the team build a contender around Cousins but if anyone can provide a reasonable blueprint for doing that given the current situation I'd love to hear it.

 

[KingsFan80]

Why are you knocking a guy for playing & developing overseas? What's wrong with being 25 & ready to contribute right away? I really don't know where all this resentment comes from in regards to Bogdanovic...

I don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, I just want the Kings to win. Right now we are 7-13 and playing awful. This roster sucks. Outside of Cousins and Gay we don't have any "real" talent on this team. and Bogdanovic isn't walking through that door tomorrow--so I will get excited about that later when he does.

Are we trying to keep Cousins? Are we not? If we are then why go sign all of these scrub free agents (outside of Temple) and then complete a horrible draft. There were people on the board we could have taken who could immediately play. If not Chriss, then Sabonis, he is starting for the Thunder while our 13th pick is learning how to play basketball in the D-League. I honestly can't see us getting any good players via trade because we have nothing to offer. All of our draft picks have been traded away, Gay's value is diminishing by the day, and the only way to really get anything is to trade Cousins, which I hope never happens.

 

[206Fan]

Who proposed Willie and Bogdanovic? My idea was Willie and Affalo. The former trade wouldn't even work.

Reading the last page...I was so confused. People are acting like if we traded for Crabbe, it means Bogdanovic will be our bench scrub....

Makes absolutely no sense.

 

[funkykingston]

Chriss is 19 years old. Say that again 19 years old! A lot is going to change by the time he Bogdanovics current age.

Tyrus Thomas was 19 years old when he was drafted too. Super athletic PF who was taken #4 overall and was loaded with potential.

By the time he was Bogdanovic's age he was just about out of the NBA.

I actually like Marquese Chriss and think he has a chance to be a good player but again, the idea that Bogdanovic is a complete mystery and that what he's doing in international basketball won't translate ro the NBA but Chriss is much more of a sure thing is somewhat ridiculous. Chriss has a much higher ceiling but I'd argue that Bogdanovic has a higher floor.

 

[twslam07]

Chriss is 19 years old. Say that again 19 years old! A lot is going to change by the time he Bogdanovics current age.

In your own words, "nobody has a clue" if that will be true. See how that works?

The fact of the matter is that Chriss is absolute garbage right now. He'll either remain garbage or become a player one day, but nobody knows for certain. You should really stop acting as if Chriss is the second coming especially during a season where he has been god awful. How about you wait until he actually starts playing well (if he ever does).

 

[KingsFan80]

Reading the last page...I was so confused. People are acting like if we traded for Crabbe, it means Bogdanovic will be our bench scrub....

Makes absolutely no sense.

It was because I said to trade for Crabbe because there is no guarantee Bogdanovic could ever be a star SG. Then out of the woodwork came Vlade's Sunshine Pumper henchmen

 

[twslam07]

I don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, I just want the Kings to win. Right now we are 7-13 and playing awful. This roster sucks. Outside of Cousins and Gay we don't have any "real" talent on this team. and Bogdanovic isn't walking through that door tomorrow--so I will get excited about that later when he does.

Are we trying to keep Cousins? Are we not? If we are then why go sign all of these scrub free agents (outside of Temple) and then complete a horrible draft. There were people on the board we could have taken who could immediately play. If not Chriss, then Sabonis, he is starting for the Thunder while our 13th pick is learning how to play basketball in the D-League. I honestly can't see us getting any good players via trade because we have nothing to offer. All of our draft picks have been traded away, Gay's value is diminishing by the day, and the only way to really get anything is to trade Cousins, which I hope never happens.

If you don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, then why don't you acknowledge the value he holds? Your actions don't match what you said above. And what do they all say? Actions speak louder than words...

Nobody knows for sure if we had a bad draft. You can certainly make assumptions at this point, but it's FAR from a fact at this point in time.

I've laid out a few scenarios that gives us a good shot at putting a top notch team. I don't see it happening over night, but it definitely is possible.

 

[twslam07]

It was because I said to trade for Crabbe because there is no guarantee Bogdanovic could ever be a star SG. Then out of the woodwork came Vlade's Sunshine Pumper henchmen

Just like there's no guarantee Crabbe could ever be a star SG. Again, see how that works?

 

[funkykingston]

I don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, I just want the Kings to win. Right now we are 7-13 and playing awful. This roster sucks. Outside of Cousins and Gay we don't have any "real" talent on this team. and Bogdanovic isn't walking through that door tomorrow--so I will get excited about that later when he does.

Are we trying to keep Cousins? Are we not? If we are then why go sign all of these scrub free agents (outside of Temple) and then complete a horrible draft. There were people on the board we could have taken who could immediately play. If not Chriss, then Sabonis, he is starting for the Thunder while our 13th pick is learning how to play basketball in the D-League. I honestly can't see us getting any good players via trade because we have nothing to offer. All of our draft picks have been traded away, Gay's value is diminishing by the day, and the only way to really get anything is to trade Cousins, which I hope never happens.

I like Chriss but if the goal is to win games to keep Cousins happy, Marquese Chriss wouldn't help with that at all. No team that is actually trying to win this season would even be giving him extended minutes, let alone starting him. I like Sabonis. He's fallen off lately but he's doing the same thing in the NBA that I watched him do in college - do little things to help his team and sneakily fill up a few columns in the box score. His shooting from outside has been a surprise.

Still, as much as I hated the Papagiannis pick at the time and skeptical as I still am about him I think gambling on Papa, Skal and Bogdanovic is probably a better bet than a high floor and relatively low ceiling player like Sabonis.

 

[KingsFan80]

If you don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, then why don't you acknowledge the value he holds? Your actions don't match what you said above. And what do they all say? Actions speak louder than words...

Nobody knows for sure if we had a bad draft. You can certainly make assumptions at this point, but it's FAR from a fact at this point in time.

I've laid out a few scenarios that gives us a good shot at putting a top notch team. I don't see it happening over night, but it definitely is possible.

I don't have an issue with Bogdanovic joining the team and getting some minutes at some point. You said i had resentment towards him, I don't. I just would rather have someone already in the NBA . I don't think he will be a star player in the NBA and I don't think will make or break the Kings.

 

[KingsFan80]

Just like there's no guarantee Crabbe could ever be a star SG. Again, see how that works?

Crabbe is already a good player, in the NBA. All he needs is the opportunity to be a star player

 

[twslam07]

I don't have an issue with Bogdanovic joining the team and getting some minutes at some point. You said i had resentment towards him, I don't. I just would rather have someone already in the NBA . I don't think he will be a star player in the NBA and I don't think will make or break the Kings.

Even if that said player has a lower ceiling or will take a few years to adjust to the NBA? It's illogical.

And players don't have to be stars to help a team win.

 

[twslam07]

Crabbe is already a good player, in the NBA. All he needs is the opportunity to be a star player

But he hasn't been a good player. The fact that you think he is a good player is concerning. He has potential to be a good player, sure, but he's 24. I don't see him making huge strides at this point in his career.

2016-17
-3.53 RPM
-15.6 On/Off

2015-16
-0.86 RAPM
-2.40 RPM
-1.9 On/Off

2014-15
-3.28 RPM
-7.1 On/Off

2013-14
-1.48 RPM
-4.1 On/Off

Talk about a player who has yet to help a team win... He might have some flashy attributes that make you think he is a good player, but he has yet to develop into the player the Blazers hope he will become. That contract is looking worse and worse by the minute.

 

[twslam07]

To my way of thinking it may not matter if Cousins is a true superstar/cornerstone player or not. I lean towards thinking he is and is IMO, the most talented player to wear a Sacramento Kings jersey, but whether he is or isn't is looking somewhat irrelevant to me right now.

If he isn't a superstar franchise player then obviously it makes sense for the Kings to trade him now while his value is still high. Kevin Love looked like a superstar in Minnesota and the T'Wolves got a nice haul for him but now in Cleveland everyone can see that he's a good but not great player. A nice complimentary guy but not a superstar. That could be the case with Cousins. I really doubt it - I think he'd put a good team over the top but it's possible that he's a just good player putting up great numbers on a bad team.

But even if Cousins is a franchise guy, I don't see a way to build a winner around him now. Gay, Collison, Lawson, Casspi and McLemore will be free agents. Do you overpay (assuming those players even consider returning) to keep a mediocre team together? If not, can the team sign upgrades in free agency? History says they won't. Afflalo and Tolliver would also likely get cut loose. Barnes (if he's still on the team after the facts come out from this last incident) will be 37.

And if the Kings play just a bit better the rest of this season than they are now (relatively likely given the schedule and the time to gel under Joerger) they'd also lose their draft pick to Chicago. So where can the improvement come from?

On the other hand, trading Cousins - let's say to Boston for Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson (ending contract), the C's 2017 pick (they have the right to swap with Brooklyn) and Brooklyn's 2018 pick along with Rozier and/or the rights to Zizic - then the Kings have the ability to slowly build a winner.

They'd likely have a top 5 pick from swapping with Brooklyn this year and another likely top five pick from how bad they'd likely be without Cousins. The Sixers could swap with them for that pick but right now Philly is also headed towards a high lottery pick as well.

The young players would get a lot of court time and while it would be ugly this season it would likely help their development too.

Next season would likely be more of the same. Lots of growing pains and probably another pair of lottery picks.

Assuming (and it's a big assumption) that the Kings don't screw up four lottery picks in two years there's a good chance that the Kings look like an up and coming young team in the 2018-2019 season.

I'd rather see the team build a contender around Cousins but if anyone can provide a reasonable blueprint for doing that given the current situation I'd love to hear it.

I think my plan above your post is a possible option of how we could (emphasis on could) put a contender around Cousins. It would take some time, but it's a possibility if we're able to resign Cousins and sell him on the future.

The thought process would be that moving Gay, Collison, Koufos, & Casspi for Rondo, D. Wright, J. Grant, Valentine, & Portis would make us much less competitive (especially if Joerger focuses on playing/developing youth for the remainder of the year). With that in mind, we'll probably keep our pick and it'll likely fall between 5-10. That's a shot at landing a star right there. The Chicago pick (which would probably fall between 21-26) should be spent on the player with the highest potential (swing for the fences sort of pick) to give us yet another shot at finding a star next to Cousins.

The 2017 season would likely be a season where we miss the playoffs yet again (not sure a team of D. Wright, J. Grant, Temple, M. Richardson, Bogdanovic, Barnes, Valentine, Labissiere, Portis, Cauley-Stein, Papagiannis, Cousins, SAC 2017 1st, & CHI 2017 1st is going to make the playoffs). So that would give us yet another shot to land a potential star with the pick.

With that in mind you're looking at Cousins (superstar), Labissiere (potential star), SAC 2017 1st (potential star), CHI 2017 1st (potential star), SAC 2018 1st (potential star), and Wall/Bledsoe (star that we could lure during the 2019 offseason via the Cousins connection).

If we did want to move on from Cousins, I'd agree that the Boston deal seems rather attractive because we not only get some assets that could turn into stars, but it indirectly gives us a better shot at finding a star with our own pick (because trading Cousins will make us much worse). I would tweak your deal however. I'd make it Brown, Rozier, Zeller, '17 BOS/BKN Swap, & '18 BOS/BKN Swap for Cousins & Casspi. Cousins slides in perfectly next to Horford and they get a cheap backup SF (to replace Brown) who is an excellent shooter & rebounder for his position. I'd still make the other Chicago deal as well (moving Gay, Collison, & Koufos for Rondo, Valentine, Grant, Portis, & CHI 2017 1st). That would really put us in a position to tank hard for this pick (potentially giving us two top 5 picks this year). Those trades would leave us with these assets:

PG - Rozier / Grant
SG - Bogdanovic / Richardson
SF - Brown / Valentine
PF - Labissiere / Portis
C - Cauley-Stein / Papagiannis

*2017 SAC 1st
*2017 BKN 1st
*2017 CHI 1st
*2018 SAC 1st
*2018 BKN 1st

Like you said, that could be a hell of a team as well and really jump start the rebuild if we draft well over the next 2 years. All the young players on the team would have at least 2 more years before they become a RFA giving us some time to see which cream rises to the top and who we would like to keep long term.

 

[CelticsFan]

If you don't have an issue with Bogdanovic, then why don't you acknowledge the value he holds? Your actions don't match what you said above. And what do they all say? Actions speak louder than words...

Nobody knows for sure if we had a bad draft. You can certainly make assumptions at this point, but it's FAR from a fact at this point in time.

I've laid out a few scenarios that gives us a good shot at putting a top notch team. I don't see it happening over night, but it definitely is possible.

We have to remember just like it's FAR from fact that Vlade had a bad draft it's far from fact Bogdanovic becomes anything more then a role player in the NBA. It's also not a fact he will ever even come over to the NBA.

For example Nemanja Bjelica who plays for the Timberwolves played for this same team Bogdanovic plays for. Bjelica won EuroLeague MVP in 2014-2015. Today in the NBA he's averaging

17.3 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 3.5 trb and 1.2 ast.

Not exactly mind blowing stats coming from someone who recently won MVP. Another example is Jan Vesely who currently plays with Bogdanovic now. Vesley made All Euro League First Team last season. Vesely was drafted 6th overall in 2011 and played his last season in the NBA in 2013-2014. He was never able to establish himself in the NBA, I would consider him a bust in terms of where he was drafted.

I like Bogdanovic but I don't think you can necessarily assume he becomes a successful NBA player.

 

[CelticsFan]

Bogdanovic's 2016-2017 stats so far

26.1 mpg, 12.6 ppg, 3.1 ast, 2.8 rpg, .348 3fg%, .491 fg%

I think everyone can agree here that the NBA is a far superior league then Bogdanovic is playing in now. These numbers don't blow me away. I think he will be a nice player for this team he just won't be the guy that will be able to move the needle for this team IF he comes over next season.

 

[Kingsfan23]

To my way of thinking it may not matter if Cousins is a true superstar/cornerstone player or not. I lean towards thinking he is and is IMO, the most talented player to wear a Sacramento Kings jersey, but whether he is or isn't is looking somewhat irrelevant to me right now.

If he isn't a superstar franchise player then obviously it makes sense for the Kings to trade him now while his value is still high. Kevin Love looked like a superstar in Minnesota and the T'Wolves got a nice haul for him but now in Cleveland everyone can see that he's a good but not great player. A nice complimentary guy but not a superstar. That could be the case with Cousins. I really doubt it - I think he'd put a good team over the top but it's possible that he's a just good player putting up great numbers on a bad team.

But even if Cousins is a franchise guy, I don't see a way to build a winner around him now. Gay, Collison, Lawson, Casspi and McLemore will be free agents. Do you overpay (assuming those players even consider returning) to keep a mediocre team together? If not, can the team sign upgrades in free agency? History says they won't. Afflalo and Tolliver would also likely get cut loose. Barnes (if he's still on the team after the facts come out from this last incident) will be 37.

And if the Kings play just a bit better the rest of this season than they are now (relatively likely given the schedule and the time to gel under Joerger) they'd also lose their draft pick to Chicago. So where can the improvement come from?

On the other hand, trading Cousins - let's say to Boston for Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson (ending contract), the C's 2017 pick (they have the right to swap with Brooklyn) and Brooklyn's 2018 pick along with Rozier and/or the rights to Zizic - then the Kings have the ability to slowly build a winner.

They'd likely have a top 5 pick from swapping with Brooklyn this year and another likely top five pick from how bad they'd likely be without Cousins. The Sixers could swap with them for that pick but right now Philly is also headed towards a high lottery pick as well.

The young players would get a lot of court time and while it would be ugly this season it would likely help their development too.

Next season would likely be more of the same. Lots of growing pains and probably another pair of lottery picks.

Assuming (and it's a big assumption) that the Kings don't screw up four lottery picks in two years there's a good chance that the Kings look like an up and coming young team in the 2018-2019 season.

I'd rather see the team build a contender around Cousins but if anyone can provide a reasonable blueprint for doing that given the current situation I'd love to hear it.

Good post, but I don't see Boston including all that. I think they'd do Bkn17, Rozier,Zizic and a lesser first at most. Cousins rep is still questionable and his efficiency has been lessening, and Boston is really the only destination with these amount of assets and possible immediate will to take the next step without a true center. If they aren't interested then who? They could just get Bogut for a weak first

Deciding to move him is only one step, the other part is someone has to give value, and unfortunately that's not a given

 

[Joshoua]

Good post, but I don't see Boston including all that. I think they'd do Bkn17, Rozier,Zizic and a lesser first at most. Cousins rep is still questionable and his efficiency has been lessening, and Boston is really the only destination with these amount of assets and possible immediate will to take the next step without a true center. If they aren't interested then who? They could just get Bogut for a weak first

Deciding to move him is only one step, the other part is someone has to give value, and unfortunately that's not a given

You're out of your mind if you think that's getting Cousins or that's all Boston will offer. We will get '17Nets and Brown plus Roizer or '18 nets pick added on. Angie isn't a fool he knows franchise players win and there desperate for one. Add in the fact that there the 3rd best team in the east and IT who will beg for cousins and we will get that trade. Hell you can and make a case that with DMC playing 30 regular season games plus 2 playoff rounds Boston would beat Cleveland in the ECF, when you look at Clevelands bigs plus no guards to match IT.

Also Vlade will make it a bidding war. That lowball offer you said can be matched by

Denver: Jokic/Murray/ 2 1sts
Lakers: Russell/Randle
Phoenix: Bender/Warren/1st