State of the Kings Pre-trade Deadline Edition
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
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I actually think The Kings for once have GM that knows how to value their players correctly. If I had to guess they aren't selling because they wouldn't get correct value in return. Barnes has been great this year. You can't just replace him so easily. Buddy has been on fire too of late. Only a couple players in the league that can shoot the three like him.
I think the deals were out there if they wanted to sell. That Denver package could have gotten them Barnes I think if they were looking to sell. The Kings got some marginal role players that fit to make as much of a run as they can. Again, the Kings starting unit is top 5 in net rating. That's a window of opportunity there. In the hands of Luke Walton as the caveat.
I'd prefer we just keep Barnes, Holmes, and Whiteside right now for team chemistry reasons. Buddy should be available but not for free. Elite shooting is hard to replace but his dumb turnovers are going to be twice as painful in the playoffs. I don't think Bagley will bring back much but I'd have him on the block too.
I know. Barnes is a top 15 SF and Buddy has been lights out in March. There's no reason to move them for pennies. I just hope that was why, and if it is I hope deals get done in the offseason to unload them. Unless we somehow bring on a major game changer the way the Raps did with Kawhi, this just isn't a team capable of making noise in the playoffs.
This push toward the playoffs is just going to wind up with no playoff berth and a push further back in the lottery.
The team has been in this exact same scenario for 5 out of the last 6 years and only by sheer luck did they jump in the lottery to 5th and 2nd for two of the years. We're going to wind up picking 10th-12th again because of this stupidity. I can see trying it once or twice but clearly we have enough data now to know how this is going to wind up. Purgatory.
They went 0-9. Since then they've gone 7-5. Who have they beat?
Pistons
Lakers with no Lebron or AD. Only won by 3.
Rockets
Wizards
Celtics
Cavs
Hawks
In this "run" they've gone on, they've beaten 4 bottom dweller teams, 2 .500ish teams and barely scraped by a playoff team missing two HOFers.
Not sure what else to say other than hello to the 12th pick in the draft again.
The team has been in this exact same scenario for 5 out of the last 6 years and only by sheer luck did they jump in the lottery to 5th and 2nd for two of the years. We're going to wind up picking 10th-12th again because of this stupidity. I can see trying it once or twice but clearly we have enough data now to know how this is going to wind up. Purgatory.
They went 0-9. Since then they've gone 7-5. Who have they beat?
Pistons
Lakers with no Lebron or AD. Only won by 3.
Rockets
Wizards
Celtics
Cavs
Hawks
In this "run" they've gone on, they've beaten 4 bottom dweller teams, 2 .500ish teams and barely scraped by a playoff team missing two HOFers.
Not sure what else to say other than hello to the 12th pick in the draft again.
It's certainly possible and it will be a hard day for Monte if they come up short. The potential is they do have a top lineup with the new starters. I mean, they are in the middle of the all the contenders in terms of net rating. They also have the bye bye Walton coaching change bump potential if they slide a bit. They also have an easier schedule to end the season out on. Also Bagley could potentially get them another 1st on draft night that could package them up into the Kistpert/Wagner range potentially.
From the sounds of it, teams are basically trying to get Bagley for free because his value is so low. Obviously they're trying to fleece McNair but I would be absolutely shocked if a team gave a first for Bagley. I know I certainly wouldn't if I was a GM.
Harris, Hampton and a first was the Denver deal right? No I wouldn't have done that unless Harris was still playing at the level he was a few years ago but he's dropped off since then and I'm not high on Hampton at all.
I wouldn't have dealt Buddy for that package either. Two players that don't do much for the future of the team and a pick swap with a team that will likely be better than the Kings for quite some time. If Sacramento was a free agent destination then maybe I'd see about that one but we're obviously not.
Harris, Hampton and a first was the Denver deal right? No I wouldn't have done that unless Harris was still playing at the level he was a few years ago but he's dropped off since then and I'm not high on Hampton at all.
I wouldn't have dealt Buddy for that package either. Two players that don't do much for the future of the team and a pick swap with a team that will likely be better than the Kings for quite some time. If Sacramento was a free agent destination then maybe I'd see about that one but we're obviously not.
We had 14 roster spots taken a few days ago...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Joseph
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside
...after the Kabengele trade, that took us up to 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Joseph
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading Joseph for Wright kept us at 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading Bjelica for Harkless and Silva would bring us to 16 rosters spots taken. I'd waive Parker to keep us at 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Harkless / Silva
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading for Davis brings us back up to 16 roster spots taken....
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / Davis / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Harkless / Silva
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
Who would you waive from the list above? You can't waive Davis, but I think you can waive any of the other newcomers if you'd prefer (Wright, Harkless, Silva, & Kabengele)? Could be wrong though.
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Joseph
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside
...after the Kabengele trade, that took us up to 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Joseph
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading Joseph for Wright kept us at 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Parker
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading Bjelica for Harkless and Silva would bring us to 16 rosters spots taken. I'd waive Parker to keep us at 15 roster spots taken...
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Harkless / Silva
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
...trading for Davis brings us back up to 16 roster spots taken....
PG - Fox / Haliburton / Wright
SG - Hield / Davis / James / Ramsey
SF - Barnes / Jeffries / Woodard
PF - Bagley / Harkless / Silva
C - Holmes / Whiteside / Kabengele
Who would you waive from the list above? You can't waive Davis, but I think you can waive any of the other newcomers if you'd prefer (Wright, Harkless, Silva, & Kabengele)? Could be wrong though.
I'm perfectly fine with the moves made. The team has been upgraded a little bit, which is all you can ask for. I'm just not in line with the what is surely going to be a chips all in attempt at a play in spot with a draft full of talented kids at the top. It's the exact same mistake they always make, just with a slightly different cast of characters this time.
I really can't imagine the thought process being "What if this guy plays too well? Let's cut him!" I mean, that is not a thing that happens.
Still, the move to cut Kabengele is inexplicable. We just traded for him, and got essentially nothing (a 31-55 protected pick from the Hawks, so that's not conveying) in exchange for picking up the ~$1M on his deal. Fine, if you're going to play him. But if you're just going to toss him out with the dishwater the next day...we just burned like $1M. Hey, Monte! Next time you want to burn $1M, why don't you call ME first instead of the Clippers?
Still, the move to cut Kabengele is inexplicable. We just traded for him, and got essentially nothing (a 31-55 protected pick from the Hawks, so that's not conveying) in exchange for picking up the ~$1M on his deal. Fine, if you're going to play him. But if you're just going to toss him out with the dishwater the next day...we just burned like $1M. Hey, Monte! Next time you want to burn $1M, why don't you call ME first instead of the Clippers?
IDK, with Fox, Hield, Barnes, Bagley, Wright, Haliburton, Ramsey, Woodard, and some picks we are at 10; we have options for Silva, James, and DQJ (each at 1.7 M), which would bring us to 103M.
We don't even have the full non-tax midlevel according to Spotrac because 1.6 M went to Metu???
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/cap/2021/
Fox, Ty
Hield, Wright, Ramsey
Barnes, Woodard
Bagley, 2nd Round pick
(Holmes of FA), 1st Round pick
*We may want to hold onto Silva if he looks promising.
Metu, Davis, and Guy will be restricted.
We don't even have the full non-tax midlevel according to Spotrac because 1.6 M went to Metu???
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/cap/2021/
Fox, Ty
Hield, Wright, Ramsey
Barnes, Woodard
Bagley, 2nd Round pick
(Holmes of FA), 1st Round pick
*We may want to hold onto Silva if he looks promising.
Metu, Davis, and Guy will be restricted.
Yeah I thought initially when we heard those reports that ownership was pushing a playoff run maybe it was an elaborate smoke screen using a common well known reputation about our meddling owner but once the trade deadline came and went the evidence is actually starting to mount that it was no smoke screen, this is and always has been the MO of our desperate owners
A ten-seed in a playin is not a playoff birth and nobody will consider it such. I know everyone hates Vivek but I really struggle to see how he could be that stupid. Maybe the minority owners if there is any additional revenue to be had by reaching the playin and being promptly bounced are driving it, but Vivek as the face of the franchise and an ego driven billionaire probably does not want/care for the reputation he has been getting and it really does look like he has taken a backseat this season.
the trades show Vivek has no strategic direction than to eek into the 8th spot with a cast of role players. A strategy that failed with Pete, Vlade and now we try it again with Monte. It’s pretty obvious why the better known candidates all dropped out of the interview process.
at least Monte didn’t dump a lot of unprotected first round picks this time..... only seconds. So we have marginal improvement.
at least Monte didn’t dump a lot of unprotected first round picks this time..... only seconds. So we have marginal improvement.
I'm really confused how any of the moves we made don't seem to be kick the can moves so we can enter the draft/free agency/start of next season with a little more certainty than these actually being construed as "playoff seeking moves". Like we acquired a bunch of expirings with better retaining rights and dumped two players nobody wanted to see play another minute, we did not even do what we did 2 years ago when we traded for Barnes as part of a plan to secure a playoff spot for a .500 team. We shuffled the deck chairs.
I think dealing CoJo for Le Samouraï makes us better. I don't know if the guys we picked up today will play big roles - Harkless might provide some defense off the bench, and I suppose we'll see if Silva and Davis play much.
But I think it's pretty clear that we're gunning for a play-in spot. After our second down-turn of the season we're playing pretty well again, and at the very least we did not sell. Whiteside is still here. Buddy is still here. Barnes is still here. Holmes is still here. Bagley is still here. We played the deadline like a team who thinks that a small move here and there coupled with improved play of late can sneak us into a play-in spot, and that we'd rather do that than hit the reset button again. But we didn't play it like a team who was desperate to mortgage the future to make up the 7 games we'd have to make up to get into the playoffs outright without a play-in.
To me, it looks like we're not hitting the reset button and we're not panicking. We're going to try to run with essentially this core (Fox/Hali/Barnes/Bagley/Hield/Holmes, though some may get traded for other core pieces) and try to fill in around them in free agency/middle 2021 1st rather blow up the core and try to rebuild around Fox/Hali/Lotto 2021 1st. I don't think that's the wrong strategy, especially given that the tank race is already being won by other teams, and it's probably better morale-wise for Fox/Hali to fight than for this team to give up yet again.
But I think it's pretty clear that we're gunning for a play-in spot. After our second down-turn of the season we're playing pretty well again, and at the very least we did not sell. Whiteside is still here. Buddy is still here. Barnes is still here. Holmes is still here. Bagley is still here. We played the deadline like a team who thinks that a small move here and there coupled with improved play of late can sneak us into a play-in spot, and that we'd rather do that than hit the reset button again. But we didn't play it like a team who was desperate to mortgage the future to make up the 7 games we'd have to make up to get into the playoffs outright without a play-in.
To me, it looks like we're not hitting the reset button and we're not panicking. We're going to try to run with essentially this core (Fox/Hali/Barnes/Bagley/Hield/Holmes, though some may get traded for other core pieces) and try to fill in around them in free agency/middle 2021 1st rather blow up the core and try to rebuild around Fox/Hali/Lotto 2021 1st. I don't think that's the wrong strategy, especially given that the tank race is already being won by other teams, and it's probably better morale-wise for Fox/Hali to fight than for this team to give up yet again.
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