Kings Roster next season

#1
With this season realistically over let’s look at our roster.....

under contract:
Guards:
Probable starters:
DeAaron Fox (28.1), Tyrese Haliburton (4.0)
Bench:
Buddy Hield (22.7), Delon Wright (8.5), Jahmi’us Ramsey (1.5), James (1.7 non-guaranteed)

Front Court:
Probable starters
Harrison Barnes (20.2),
Bench
Marvin Bagley (11.3), Robert Woodard (1.5), Chimezie Metu (1.7 non-guaranteed), Damian Jones (1.9 non-guaranteed)

Restricted Free agents:
Terrance Davis

Early Bird rights:
Richaun Holmes

thoughts:
  • the Kings may have trouble matching any significant offer for Davis in an already crowded back court
  • The Kings have one quality starter in the front court in Barnes.
  • While generally you take best player available the Kings must find front court help in the draft.
  • Kings have to hope one of Bagley, Metu or Jones develops into a quality starter.
  • Will Buddy happily play the role of instant offense off the bench for which he is most suited
 
#2
With this season realistically over let’s look at our roster.....

under contract:
Guards:
Probable starters:
DeAaron Fox (28.1), Tyrese Haliburton (4.0)
Bench:
Buddy Hield (22.7), Delon Wright (8.5), Jahmi’us Ramsey (1.5), James (1.7 non-guaranteed)

Front Court:
Probable starters
Harrison Barnes (20.2),
Bench
Marvin Bagley (11.3), Robert Woodard (1.5), Chimezie Metu (1.7 non-guaranteed), Damian Jones (1.9 non-guaranteed)

Restricted Free agents:
Terrance Davis

Early Bird rights:
Richaun Holmes

thoughts:
  • the Kings may have trouble matching any significant offer for Davis in an already crowded back court
  • The Kings have one quality starter in the front court in Barnes.
  • While generally you take best player available the Kings must find front court help in the draft.
  • Kings have to hope one of Bagley, Metu or Jones develops into a quality starter.
  • Will Buddy happily play the role of instant offense off the bench for which he is most suited
with this front court unless the Kings strike gold with a front court player in the draft.... hard to see us not missing the playoffs again.

it will be interesting who targets Holmes but if I’m Minnesota he would be a great fit next to KAT.
 
#4
I don’t claim to be well-versed in the NBA salary cap rules, but I do know that there is the Mid-Level Exception (MLE) and other exceptions possibly open that the Kings can take advantage of for new signings. I’m optimistic that Mr. McNair will use his available options wisely.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
#5
TD
King
Harkless
Metu
Jones



Swag Ramsey
New JJ
Woodard
Draft Pick
Whiteside (for vet leadership and locker room camaraderie)

Dump all those other scrubs and losers.
 
#7
I believe Captain or someone else mentioned we have the means to sign both Holmes and Davis assuming they don’t get a crazy offer from another team
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#8
I believe Captain or someone else mentioned we have the means to sign both Holmes and Davis assuming they don’t get a crazy offer from another team
There may be issues and Capt. will have to chime in on that but if the Kings don't have cap space exceeding the MLE Holmes is capped at that, and of course that means the Kings can't add anything else with it so.... one huge way of improving the team is gone. If Holmes doesn't get at least a MLE offer which is now pretty big heap of money nowadays then something is wrong with 29 other teams.
 
#9
There may be issues and Capt. will have to chime in on that but if the Kings don't have cap space exceeding the MLE Holmes is capped at that, and of course that means the Kings can't add anything else with it so.... one huge way of improving the team is gone. If Holmes doesn't get at least a MLE offer which is now pretty big heap of money nowadays then something is wrong with 29 other teams.
Yeah I think the mid level is 9.2. I’m not sure if the T Wolves can offer that to Holmes but I think they ought to consider it. Holmes is a perfect guy to pair with KAT.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#10
There may be issues and Capt. will have to chime in on that but if the Kings don't have cap space exceeding the MLE Holmes is capped at that, and of course that means the Kings can't add anything else with it so.... one huge way of improving the team is gone. If Holmes doesn't get at least a MLE offer which is now pretty big heap of money nowadays then something is wrong with 29 other teams.
We can use Early Bird for Holmes, which is 105% of the average salary and probably comes up to around $10.5-11M next year, so it's a bit more than the MLE. If a team comes in aggressive with something like $15M, we would have to clear cap space to make an equivalent offer.
 
#11
We can use Early Bird for Holmes, which is 105% of the average salary and probably comes up to around $10.5-11M next year, so it's a bit more than the MLE. If a team comes in aggressive with something like $15M, we would have to clear cap space to make an equivalent offer.
Oh, I thought his Bird rights had some issues going on. Well, then I think it's probably likely more than a few of the young guys getting burn at the end here will probably be waived in the near future. Yay! This is going to get somewhat dicey, a draft pick to add, Holmes to re-sign, Davis to re-sign, roster holes to fill, Fox starts his max. Vivek might not get away with one of the lower capsheets next year.
 
#12
an already crowded back court
  • The Kings have one quality starter in the front court in Barnes.
  • While generally you take best player available the Kings must find front court help in the draft.
  • Kings have to hope one of Bagley, Metu or Jones develops into a quality starter.
  • Will Buddy happily play the role of instant offense off the bench for which he is most suited
Why is Barnes a quality starter? It's been 3 seasons of absolute mediocre crap from him and the team got worse the moment he came. Unless the Kings move Barnes or Buddy or both for winning players it's another season finishing 11-15. Neither Metu or Bagley will ever be quality starters because both combined have zero basketball IQ.

Unless the Kings draft pick have a Donvon Mitchell type rookie season and that roster being put out does not change much its another season of blaming coaches, refs and whatever else other than the core group of Fox/Barnes/Buddy (which is the real issue).
 
#13
Why is Barnes a quality starter? It's been 3 seasons of absolute mediocre crap from him and the team got worse the moment he came. Unless the Kings move Barnes or Buddy or both for winning players it's another season finishing 11-15. Neither Metu or Bagley will ever be quality starters because both combined have zero basketball IQ.

Unless the Kings draft pick have a Donvon Mitchell type rookie season and that roster being put out does not change much its another season of blaming coaches, refs and whatever else other than the core group of Fox/Barnes/Buddy (which is the real issue).
Don’t agree on Barnes. I have been pleased with his play and improvement.
 
#14
Why is Barnes a quality starter? It's been 3 seasons of absolute mediocre crap from him and the team got worse the moment he came. Unless the Kings move Barnes or Buddy or both for winning players it's another season finishing 11-15. Neither Metu or Bagley will ever be quality starters because both combined have zero basketball IQ.

Unless the Kings draft pick have a Donvon Mitchell type rookie season and that roster being put out does not change much its another season of blaming coaches, refs and whatever else other than the core group of Fox/Barnes/Buddy (which is the real issue).
You clearly don't remember what the SF position looked like before Barnes. He is most definitely a quality starter. 16/6.6/3.5? Rebounds and assists are close to career bests. He's definitely a high IQ player, and he's a guy I want on the FT stripe with the game on the line.

Look, not everybody needs to be the same age. He's a vet that does his job, and with a competent coach, will look even better. Not everyone needs to be an all-star. The back court with Fox and Haliburton looks excellent. Buddy should net some value to a team that recognizes his misuse under Walton. Could Bagley make the leap that Randle made in his SEVENTH year? But I do agree that this team needs another impact player in the front court. And also a competent coach.
 
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#15
Barring vast improvement by 2 or 3 bench guys, draft/trade magic, hali, fox and buddy all take another step, and probably a new coach, I dont see the playoffs.
 
#16
I'm for resigning Holmes. He brings qualities that no one else on the team does and that were sorely missed before we had him.

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Edit: source is b-ball index LeBron metric.
 
#18
  • Will Buddy happily play the role of instant offense off the bench for which he is most suited
Agree Buddy's best role is as a sixth man. He could be a great bench scorer for a top team. And he would get as many points and accolades as now. I do think our backcourt acquisitions make Buddy expendable (or more expendable, for those who think he should've been traded yesterday). Am keen to see how much player movement there is this offseason.
 
#19
Buddy got paid so he doesn't have much to complain about until his next contract year. It seems like he actually tried a little harder on defense when I was still watching nightly. I assume he'll accept whatever role he has but it would be nice to get out from his contract in a year or two if he isn't playing starter caliber ball or competing as a 6th Man of the Year candidate.
 
#20
I think the only question with Holmes is will he take what we can pay him or will some team overpay him out of our reach. Re-signing him is basically its own bubble. We're operating over the cap when it comes to retaining him.
I think he adds more overall value than Buddy and Barnes and will cost half as much. I would rather Buddy or Barnes disappear. Even if we slightly overplayed Holmes by 1 or 2 mil he would still be substantially cheaper.
 
#21
Agree Buddy's best role is as a sixth man. He could be a great bench scorer for a top team. And he would get as many points and accolades as now. I do think our backcourt acquisitions make Buddy expendable (or more expendable, for those who think he should've been traded yesterday). Am keen to see how much player movement there is this offseason.
Moving him doesn't make you better but paying a 6th man that kind money has to come with some sort of qualifiers. Like WINNING. This is why not seeing if a new voice in the locker room within this season was so damaging. Right now the Kings are at the point of considering the option of coming in mostly, if not all the same with no guarantees on winning. When you start keeping your core together at this salary level and then go onto start considering keeping players that are on the peripheral of it you usually want to AT LEAST have verifiable evidence of being a playoff contender and truthfully, usually a contender. When you aren't you're basically operating on the foundation of hope that something randomly clicks and it all works. It's possible and yes this team even now is deep and talented, but if and when it doesn't work? Well, it gets you to a 15 year playoff drought with only 1-2 true rebuild attempts in that entire span. The 2nd one being on the back end of that number. So if they have to start back over with a bunch of bloated contracts you better tack on 4-5 years on the end of that because it won't be easy to get your cap back under control for at least a season or 2, or 3.
 
#22
Buddy got paid so he doesn't have much to complain about until his next contract year. It seems like he actually tried a little harder on defense when I was still watching nightly. I assume he'll accept whatever role he has but it would be nice to get out from his contract in a year or two if he isn't playing starter caliber ball or competing as a 6th Man of the Year candidate.
Buddy has done more than asked. He running point now and doing a good job to boot. That's great and all too, but I still can't see taking a 28 year old player that is easily one of the best catch and shoot guys and turning him into a PG but hey, KANGZ. The land of throw **** at the wall and see what sticks is alive and well.
 
#23
I'm for resigning Holmes. He brings qualities that no one else on the team does and that were sorely missed before we had him.

View attachment 10547
Edit: source is b-ball index LeBron metric.
Not knocking Holmes value but here they sit, not even in a play in scenario against teams with hardly one star to speak of making it. Things like win share, etc. it's a dangerous game to play sometimes.
 
#24
I think he adds more overall value than Buddy and Barnes and will cost half as much. I would rather Buddy or Barnes disappear. Even if we slightly overplayed Holmes by 1 or 2 mil he would still be substantially cheaper.
We can't "overpay" him. We have pretty much a hard cap on what we can pay him, which is 105% of the average contract (early Bird contract) or the MLE - whichever winds up being more - but it's roughly about 10m per. Ideally he signs the early-Bird deal and we keep the MLE for another signing.

There's no reason to offer him anything beneath that either, because we are technically under the cap, it's just that Holmes or his hold will put us over. So it's just something we do immediately and hopefully nobody comes along and offers him 12 or 14 or something we can't touch.
 
#25
We can't "overpay" him. We have pretty much a hard cap on what we can pay him, which is 105% of the average contract (early Bird contract) or the MLE - whichever winds up being more - but it's roughly about 10m per. Ideally he signs the early-Bird deal and we keep the MLE for another signing.

There's no reason to offer him anything beneath that either, because we are technically under the cap, it's just that Holmes or his hold will put us over. So it's just something we do immediately and hopefully nobody comes along and offers him 12 or 14 or something we can't touch.
And teams aren't stupid, they'll be calling for a clean dump of Bagley. The Kings have potentially unnecessarily pitted themselves against themselves in the open market.
 
#28
If we dumped Bagley just to get $2 million more to retain Holmes we may as well fold the team.

Hey I like Holmes, but if we get outbid that's a slug in the arm not a kick in the junk.
Do you have 4th year Bagley taking the step from one of the worst rotational players in the NBA to being better than Holmes?
 
#29
Do you have 4th year Bagley taking the step from one of the worst rotational players in the NBA to being better than Holmes?
My calculus is highly dependent on whether Walton is back or not. But still, you're talking about 4 years of control over a young player's contract vs. dumping his salary to try to retain an unrestricted free agent in the event there is a bidding war for his services?

I am not against moving Bagley but you're damn skippy I am against moving him to free up cap space to go over 10m per year on Holmes.

But if it was Bagley + 8/9/10 to move into the top 4 and the player we wanted was there, of course I do it and hopefully that opens up the extra room for Holmes.
 
#30
You clearly don't remember what the SF position looked like before Barnes. He is most definitely a quality starter. 16/6.6/3.5? Rebounds and assists are close to career bests. He's definitely a high IQ player, and he's a guy I want on the FT stripe with the game on the line.

Look, not everybody needs to be the same age. He's a vet that does his job, and with a competent coach, will look even better. Not everyone needs to be an all-star. The back court with Fox and Haliburton looks excellent. Buddy should net some value to a team that recognizes his misuse under Walton. Could Bagley make the leap that Randle made in his SEVENTH year? But I do agree that this team needs another impact player in the front court. And also a competent coach.
You mean when the Kings were over 500. with Shumpert? I clearly remember.