yes except I was on board with this trade looking at 22 and was told that trade isn’t happening Monte’s getting played. I pointed to all the news stories.... sure enough I was wrong.
It’s like poker you have to know when your the fish.
#22 ended up being Isaiah Jackson. He wouldn't have been my pick there and I'm not sure he's better than Quetas. And there weren't many wing options available. Christopher, Grimes, Hyland, Tomas and Springer were the next five picks and all are guards. Day'Ron Sharpe went at #29.
Point being, that deal could have amounted to Kuzma, Harrell and a project center or yet another PG or SG, none of whom I'm super high on, especially after the Kings drafted Mitchell.
Harrell is a slight downgrade from Holmes but a decent replacement. Kuzma is a decent stretch four bug doesn't offer a ton else (he's not a great rebounder, playmaker, and is iffy on defense). So I'm not heartbroken that the Kings didn't get those guys.
It wasn't a great deal for the Kings. If it was people's opinion on it wouldn't have been swayed so much by whether the #22 pick was included or not.
But more importantly, Hield is MUCH more valuable for an LA team centered around LeBron and AD than he is in Sacramento. The idea of giving the Lakers a key piece for another title wouldn't sit well with me. I'm happier that they got Westbrook who hurts their spacing more, will struggle off ball with James handling a lot of the playmaking, and hamstrings their efforts to add a supporting cast.