Potential Free agent/trade/sign tracker
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
- Start date
Welp I think it’s that time where I revisit Jerami Grant again…
What do we need to add? We need to add…
Jerami Grant checks the box on every single one of those attributes…
The framework of the deal would be…
Jerami Grant
Jabari Walker
Duop Reath
for
Kevin Huerter
Trey Lyles
Colby Jones
…but we’d likely have to add at least 1st round pick to get them to bite.
After making that trade, I’d seriously consider moving DeRozan to the bench which gives us one of the best 6th man/7th man combos in the NBA in DeRozan and Monk. The bench scoring has been a problem with this team but it’s hard to see that be the case with these two guys leading the way.
If we move DeRozan to the bench, that gives us a starting lineup of…
PG - Fox
SG - Ellis
SF - Murray
PF - Grant
C - Sabonis
That starting unit all of a sudden has a lot of length, athleticism, shooting, and defense surrounding Fox & Sabonis. And Grant can even be the 2nd/3rd option in that unit to help shoulder the scoring load with Monk and DeRozan coming off the bench.
I’d also be very interested in seeing how Carter looks once he’s back healthy. If he can hit the 3 at a good clip, I think he ultimately is an upgrade over Ellis at SG…
PG - Fox / Monk / McLaughlin
SG - Carter / Ellis
SF - Murray / DeRozan / McDermott
PF - Grant / Crowder / Walker
C - Sabonis / Len / Robinson / Reath
…and a minute rotation of….
PG - Fox (34) / Monk (14)
SG - Carter (24) / Monk (16) / Ellis (8)
SF - Murray (30) / DeRozan (12) / Ellis (6)
PF - Grant (30) / DeRozan (18)
C - Sabonis (34) / Len (14)
Fox = 34 min
Sabonis = 34 min
Murray = 30 min
Grant = 30 min
Monk = 30 min
DeRozan = 30 min
Carter = 24 min
Ellis = 14 min
Len = 14 min
Ideally, I’d like to find a backup C who is a good defender and good lob threat as I think having a vertical threat would be another good dimension for us to have (especially with Monk being good at throwing lobs in the PnR).
What do we need to add? We need to add…
- Size
- Length
- Athleticism
- Shooting
- Defense
Jerami Grant checks the box on every single one of those attributes…
- 214 lbs & 6’6.5” without shoes
- 7’2.75” wingspan & 8’11” standing reach
- Very athletic
- .402 3P% on 5.6 3PA per 36 min the last 2 years
- 0.9 STL & 1.4 BLK per 36 min for his career. And was an elite/great defender in general when he had a more limited offensive role (and I think he could be a guy that dials up his defense when it matters most)
The framework of the deal would be…
Jerami Grant
Jabari Walker
Duop Reath
for
Kevin Huerter
Trey Lyles
Colby Jones
…but we’d likely have to add at least 1st round pick to get them to bite.
After making that trade, I’d seriously consider moving DeRozan to the bench which gives us one of the best 6th man/7th man combos in the NBA in DeRozan and Monk. The bench scoring has been a problem with this team but it’s hard to see that be the case with these two guys leading the way.
If we move DeRozan to the bench, that gives us a starting lineup of…
PG - Fox
SG - Ellis
SF - Murray
PF - Grant
C - Sabonis
That starting unit all of a sudden has a lot of length, athleticism, shooting, and defense surrounding Fox & Sabonis. And Grant can even be the 2nd/3rd option in that unit to help shoulder the scoring load with Monk and DeRozan coming off the bench.
I’d also be very interested in seeing how Carter looks once he’s back healthy. If he can hit the 3 at a good clip, I think he ultimately is an upgrade over Ellis at SG…
- He’s considerably more athletic than Ellis (in fact, Carter’s athletic combine measurements were elite)
- His length is comparable to Ellis but still solid for a SG. His wingspan is longer but his standing reach is shorter. However, Carter has an excellent vertical which actually allows him to get higher than Ellis.
- His strength is considerably better. Ellis weighed 167 lbs at the combine and Carter weighed 193 lbs. Carter’s a bulldog and can compete with more physical players. Ellis is a bit more susceptible to being bullied.
- He should be a much better rebounder than Ellis. He averaged nearly 10 rebs per 40 min in college.
- I think he could be a better defender than Ellis. He was an absolute menace in college, and he not only has similar length to Ellis, but he has better athleticism and strength.
- He should be a much better scoring and playmaking threat than Ellis. Carter averaged 22.3 PTS & 4.1 AST per 40 min with a .597 TS% his last year in college. Ellis averaged 15.7 PTS & 2.3 AST per 40 min with a .614 TS%.That gives Fox a few different guys in the starting unit that you can throw the ball to and help get a bucket (Carter, Grant, & Sabonis).
PG - Fox / Monk / McLaughlin
SG - Carter / Ellis
SF - Murray / DeRozan / McDermott
PF - Grant / Crowder / Walker
C - Sabonis / Len / Robinson / Reath
…and a minute rotation of….
PG - Fox (34) / Monk (14)
SG - Carter (24) / Monk (16) / Ellis (8)
SF - Murray (30) / DeRozan (12) / Ellis (6)
PF - Grant (30) / DeRozan (18)
C - Sabonis (34) / Len (14)
Fox = 34 min
Sabonis = 34 min
Murray = 30 min
Grant = 30 min
Monk = 30 min
DeRozan = 30 min
Carter = 24 min
Ellis = 14 min
Len = 14 min
Ideally, I’d like to find a backup C who is a good defender and good lob threat as I think having a vertical threat would be another good dimension for us to have (especially with Monk being good at throwing lobs in the PnR).
It’s an interesting thought, we have an awful lot to sort out with this team and we may have opened a can of worms with starting Monk. Sure sounded like a guy in his presser that expects to be the starter long term.
I agree on Carter, imo he is the future starting 2 guard. We might only be 16-17 games away from getting to see him on the court.
Derozan to the bench is interesting if you wanted more shooting in the starting lineup you could keep Monk in that group and then let Deebo lead the second unit but I’m not sure that is on the table for a guy averaging 23 points a game.
I have no idea what Monte is going to do. He probably needs to see another 15 games or so to know if this team is going to turn it around or if we are cooked and he will need to hold off until the offseason.
I agree on Carter, imo he is the future starting 2 guard. We might only be 16-17 games away from getting to see him on the court.
Derozan to the bench is interesting if you wanted more shooting in the starting lineup you could keep Monk in that group and then let Deebo lead the second unit but I’m not sure that is on the table for a guy averaging 23 points a game.
I have no idea what Monte is going to do. He probably needs to see another 15 games or so to know if this team is going to turn it around or if we are cooked and he will need to hold off until the offseason.
I don't really know if it matters who is starting and who isn't. It's not like Brown utilizes a hockey shift change. Usually at least two of Monk, Fox, DDR and Sabonis are on the court at any point.
You have more faith in Carter than I do. High risk, high reward pick but he's anything but a sure thing and has a long way to go to even supplant Keon, let alone Monk.
I'm not quite sure Monte needs to do a whole lot right now. Yeah we need a wing but the team is massively underperforming with the roster we have and that's on Brown. Whatever this defense is that Loucks is running is trash and he's blaming the players for it but I think it's all scheme at this point. The Kings have never been a great defending team with Sabonis at the 5 but they've never been this bad either. Just consistently turning half the roster on the other team into Steph Curry almost night in and night out. I think this team has 3-4 more wins if they just stayed consistent with their defensive scheme from last year. They're back to the old "leave the guy in the corner wide open and guard no one" defense that they ran in the Cousins days.
It'll be interesting to see if they make a change here or if Brown hitches his wagon to Loucks and goes down in flames with him.
You have more faith in Carter than I do. High risk, high reward pick but he's anything but a sure thing and has a long way to go to even supplant Keon, let alone Monk.
I'm not quite sure Monte needs to do a whole lot right now. Yeah we need a wing but the team is massively underperforming with the roster we have and that's on Brown. Whatever this defense is that Loucks is running is trash and he's blaming the players for it but I think it's all scheme at this point. The Kings have never been a great defending team with Sabonis at the 5 but they've never been this bad either. Just consistently turning half the roster on the other team into Steph Curry almost night in and night out. I think this team has 3-4 more wins if they just stayed consistent with their defensive scheme from last year. They're back to the old "leave the guy in the corner wide open and guard no one" defense that they ran in the Cousins days.
It'll be interesting to see if they make a change here or if Brown hitches his wagon to Loucks and goes down in flames with him.
What are your concerns with Carter? If I had to guess it’s the shot and that this is Davion 2.0? Defensively he is a much better all around defender than Davion. Off night at this point is a very good point of attack defender who struggles in all other aspects of defense. Carter on the other hand is very good at the point of the attack and an awesome team defender. He also is incredible at rebounding which usually translates. The biggest swing skill is obviously 3 point shooting but at the very least he can still score in other ways so he won’t be a zero on that end either way. To me is a pretty safe bet to be a better player than Keon but who knows.
Brown hinted at some changes to the defense to “help the players”. I hope it happens because I agree we could be 12-8 and feeling pretty good if it wasn’t for the defense. Also, what happened to the defense of last season over the last 30 games?
Brown hinted at some changes to the defense to “help the players”. I hope it happens because I agree we could be 12-8 and feeling pretty good if it wasn’t for the defense. Also, what happened to the defense of last season over the last 30 games?
We're now 28th in the NBA in 3PA allowed and 28th in NBA in 3pt% allowed.
Last year we were 9th in NBA in 3PA allowed and 29th in 3pt%
Allowing 5.9 more 3PA when we're basically allowing 40% from 3 is just pure insanity. And Huerter ruined it for everybody when we just thought it was defensive incompetence from the players; he flat out told us the plan was to clog the paint and allow spray 3s. That's showing up in the stats and it's why we're getting pummeled.
Brown's got to see the writing on the wall here. If he continues riding with Loucks scheme, he's out of a job. I think we're getting to a point where another bad 2-3 weeks and he gets canned mid-season.
Last year we were 9th in NBA in 3PA allowed and 29th in 3pt%
Allowing 5.9 more 3PA when we're basically allowing 40% from 3 is just pure insanity. And Huerter ruined it for everybody when we just thought it was defensive incompetence from the players; he flat out told us the plan was to clog the paint and allow spray 3s. That's showing up in the stats and it's why we're getting pummeled.
Brown's got to see the writing on the wall here. If he continues riding with Loucks scheme, he's out of a job. I think we're getting to a point where another bad 2-3 weeks and he gets canned mid-season.
Kind of the same concerns I'd have with any player picked at 13. There's really no such thing as a sure thing there. If he does develop, is he just going to be a smaller version of Josh Hart? I don't see that being something that tips the scale for this team but it's not bad value for 13 either. His college numbers are fairly pedestrian until his Junior year when he really popped. That's not always the best sign. Shooting is a massive question mark and I think just scoring efficiently in general is as well. Other than effort, I'm really not confident about any aspect of his game but I'll definitely be rooting for him to be everything we can imagine.
I hope they make some changes quick because I don't know about you but I'm certainly falling into "don't really care anymore" territory fairly quickly. Funny thing is teams actually shot .387 from 3 on us last year compared to .382 this year but they're taking 6 more attempts this year compared to last. Our team shot .366 last year but only .332 this year on 5 less attempts. Huerter and Murray's brains turning into mush have really hurt us this year on offense. Both men shooting 27% when they're capable of 40%. Just awful.
I hope they make some changes quick because I don't know about you but I'm certainly falling into "don't really care anymore" territory fairly quickly. Funny thing is teams actually shot .387 from 3 on us last year compared to .382 this year but they're taking 6 more attempts this year compared to last. Our team shot .366 last year but only .332 this year on 5 less attempts. Huerter and Murray's brains turning into mush have really hurt us this year on offense. Both men shooting 27% when they're capable of 40%. Just awful.
Just seeing the writing on the wall here with where we're going as a club. A quick 3-0 sort of run fixes a lot of problems, but say we go like 1-5 over our next 6 games? That's basically it for the playoffs. We're already putting ourselves in a major hole being 2.5 games out of the 10th seed. This is exactly what I've been harping on all season; you just cannot let yourself get separated from the West pack.
People can ***** and moan all they want about Monte, but truth of the matter is this is the most talented Kings team we've had since that 02 team. I don't think it's particularly close. And while we played pretty good ball the first 14 games of the season (8-6, 7th ORtg, 12th DRtg), the team has just completely fallen off the wagon since. If Brown can't get this team playing up to it's expected talented level; I'm not sure Vivek waits around. Or that he even should. The West is so brutal that your whole season can be ruined by a bad 2-3 weeks. Welp, we already had our bad 2-3 weeks. Basically have to start playing elite level ball, right now, to get back into this race.
People can ***** and moan all they want about Monte, but truth of the matter is this is the most talented Kings team we've had since that 02 team. I don't think it's particularly close. And while we played pretty good ball the first 14 games of the season (8-6, 7th ORtg, 12th DRtg), the team has just completely fallen off the wagon since. If Brown can't get this team playing up to it's expected talented level; I'm not sure Vivek waits around. Or that he even should. The West is so brutal that your whole season can be ruined by a bad 2-3 weeks. Welp, we already had our bad 2-3 weeks. Basically have to start playing elite level ball, right now, to get back into this race.
And if that happens it could quickly spiral into a big mess. Who takes over as coach? Jay? Luke, Doug? And if they don’t turn it around are they brought back? Does Monte get a chance to bring in the next coach? And if he does and we don’t turn it around next season is Monte fired? Now you have a coach that wasn’t hired by the new GM.
Do you chance wasting more seasons for core players in their prime, because Ranadive was in a rush to give Brown an extension, when the smarter move would have been to let his first contract play out through this season. I never saw the sense it then and still don't now. The psychology of it, is that most everyone will work harder in a "contract year", as compared to the first season of a new contract.
I know what you're saying, but there's also another way to look at this. Which is move on sooner rather than later
I know what you're saying, but there's also another way to look at this. Which is move on sooner rather than later
Personally I don’t think the extension should or would play a role in any change. It doesn’t have any cap consequences and it’s a relatively small amount in comparison to the players. I don’t think Vivek will decide to retain him just because he is under contract. Interim coaches more often than not are place holders, so it would likely be Jay if we fired Mike. Especially given that he is an offense guy that would mesh with Monte’s vision. Does Luke become lead assistant? Is he in charge of the defense again and if so what did we gain?
If we are sure that Mike is the problem, then ya, you have to make that decision. I’m personally not convinced he is. I do absolutely think they need to change the defensive scheme, go back to last years if nothing else.
If we are sure that Mike is the problem, then ya, you have to make that decision. I’m personally not convinced he is. I do absolutely think they need to change the defensive scheme, go back to last years if nothing else.
Would look pretty "strange" to extend a coach with 3-4 more years, then fire him a few months later. I don't understand why he would put himself in that position, when he could have simply let the guy play out the last season of the contract that he agreed to, or fire him during that season if need be
he only got a two year extension. This year was just a raise. The reality is coaches get fired early in their contracts all the time. Vogel was 16 games over 500 with 4 years left on his deal and they let him go for example.
Even if they didn’t extend him and let him walk this year after one down year that doesn’t look good either. 2 years of stability and then back into the hiring and firing of old.
and hey, if they fire him and the kings finish strong and Fox extends and we make a few trades and everything is merry, great.
Even if they didn’t extend him and let him walk this year after one down year that doesn’t look good either. 2 years of stability and then back into the hiring and firing of old.
and hey, if they fire him and the kings finish strong and Fox extends and we make a few trades and everything is merry, great.
yeah, I'm not totally against it. If he can't figure out a way to make this a competitive team that looks like it could be dangerous against playoff talent, then someone else needs to come in and give it a go.
The thing he can change, is the defensive scheme and approach. He can't shoot for the guys, so that is totally on the players
The thing he can change, is the defensive scheme and approach. He can't shoot for the guys, so that is totally on the players
Because you try and do things the right way. Brown had lead to this team to its 2 most successful years in nearly 2 decades. You reward that with stability and an extension.
I still don't think it's likely he gets canned this year. But we're seeing the lower end of our expected range so far in terms of team success; especially with us just really crumbling the last few weeks. If that continues? All bets are off. These next 6-8 games are absolutely critical because if we continue to struggle, we're just going to be out of the playoff hunt in December. 2.5 games back of 10 seed can very quickly turn to 6 games back in the West.
I still don't think it's likely he gets canned this year. But we're seeing the lower end of our expected range so far in terms of team success; especially with us just really crumbling the last few weeks. If that continues? All bets are off. These next 6-8 games are absolutely critical because if we continue to struggle, we're just going to be out of the playoff hunt in December. 2.5 games back of 10 seed can very quickly turn to 6 games back in the West.
I'm coming from a place of that I wasn't convinced that he was the coach who would be a key factor in helping this team become a contender. Without that, I'm not extending him. Let him lead another playoff team in the last season of his contract and then we'll decide.
It's all water under the bridge now, but I have no idea what the hell he is doing or allowing someone else to do with the defense
It's all water under the bridge now, but I have no idea what the hell he is doing or allowing someone else to do with the defense
Again, 2026 cap. Sorry, I really think DeMar was the THE move. No way are the Kings going to add a contract like that at this point. Not with where they sit right now. That would potentially create a cap nightmare that might cost them Fox or Keegan if the Kings aren't winning after a deal like this.
Carter might not be a star in the end (the potential is there though) but in a worst case it's fairly hard for a player like him to really bust if he's alright upstairs. At worst he's a solid role player of a GPII variety. This is where Monk as a finisher has to be looked at. Not that Carter would have stopped Wemby on switches but there's not a single question that the Spurs were targeting Monk on those switches. Carter physically would easily have held his own much better. Again, it might not be an actual thing that Carter will be that versatile but the possibility exists and examples in college occurred.
Flat out, watch the playoffs, if you don't switch then good luck. Even Bibby basically said as much a few games ago. So, it's either a personnel issue or strategy. Then the question is are you better off letting a team try and one man show you in the post or give up open 3's? That's another question that might want to explored by this coaching staff. This might be about the devil you know vs. the devil you don't.
No, and I didn't say passively switch, in fact my point the entire time is how they hardly do it and when they do they tend to switch down into a zone practically. You switch like playoff teams do, into pressure. Now, the Kings aren't the Celitics but the C's started to experiment switching 1-5 last season and in the playoffs even if not a full time 1-5, you saw the difference. And there's another example of a team where it's guards are the key to it. We saw the turnaround last season when the Kings finally started doing it and then ball hawking since they were so small at times. The Kings switch issues are partly that. They switch, but they switch down, not up into the ball. It won't work against every team, but most teams run it and then rely on adjustments, not the other way around.
Oh, and in regards to switching, the mentality is also off. Most teams that switch have the mentality of we're going to lock you down. Every screen you're going to be met with defensive hell and another body. The Kings switching is the exact opposite. It's like, "Oh crap, we had to switch. Uh...HELP!!!".