Beno agrees to terms with Kings

[JB_kings]

This future PG is really a long shot. We got one surefire one in this recent draft and the Bulls defied long odds to get to #1. The last star PGs drafted were Chris Paul and Deron Williams a few years ago. And those teams had to lose a lot of games to get there. So how long do you hold down the fort? 1 year?, 2-3 years? A good possibilty of 6 years maybe? Or more than likely you are going to have to reach for a converted SG like Westbrook or Bayless and take yet another chance. Maybe most fans that don't mind the Kings going fully into the tank to get that longshot franchise player. But I wonder how many of them are season ticket holders shelling out big money and asking this team to go into the tank? I'm guessing that number is pretty low.

So they sign Beno and position themselves for a run at the playoffs if they don't have significant injuries. They address some concerns about having an athletic big man. They have some pieces to trade with and months to do just that. Somehow I don't think Joe Seasonticketholder is going to buy the "sign Anthony Johnson for a few years and hope for some guy who may still be in middle school right now" theory. By the way, I was a former season ticket holder back when starting PGs for the team were guys like Rory Sparrow. I didn't wait that one out and shelled out for tickets until Jason Williams showed up many years later. Been there and done that.

 

[nbrans]

Kind of an absurd statement. Its not like the only two options are continually signing mediocre players to salary cap crippling contracts or trading our crap for stars. I think the issue some of us fans have is that this is not a long term strategy for rebuilding a contender. It is a strategy for fielding a competitive team that may squeak into the playoffs and is ok to watch, but that's it. Some people are ok with that strategy and have hopes that a mid-draft pick develops better than expected or a lucky trade is offered and that's one way to look at it.

I would rather the team look at the future and make some moves that are clearly built towards a contending team and not merely a competitive one. But that's just me.

I understand that people have some reservations about Udrih (and I do as well), but why isn't this necessarily a step toward building a contender? You don't have to have a superstar at every position, and Beno has shown himself to be a capable point guard, still young, a team player, and with the opportunity to get better. You don't necessarily need a superstar point guard to win a championship. Rondo, Derek Fisher, Ron Harper... decidedly not superstars.

And I also think people are exaggerating the extent to which this influences the cap down the line. Even with Beno signed for five years, there is still cap room in 2010. Lots of it. Even WITH Beno we're looking at approx. $29 million in cap room in 2010, depending on what we do in the meantime.

To review, going into the 2010 we're looking at:

Martin: $11 million
Beno: $6 million
Salmons: $5.8 million
Hawes: $3 million
Thompson: $3 million
2009 draft pick: $2 million

And..... that's it! Maybe we'll have a few more young players by then if 2nd rounders and others (or if we extend Garcia or Douby), but probably at least $20 million.

I just don't see it as an either/or thing. Obviously there is risk involved with signing an MLE player 5 years, but it's not like we're squandering some major opportunity by signing Beno.

 

[sdballer]

Sorry, but you don't know anything about basketball. You don't do what Beno did consistently over the course of a season, game after game, without having serious game. Beno can absolutely torch the Lakers and Derek Fisher for 5 games in a season...that's reason enough to give him 30 million

All these fans bemoaning the fact we signed him, and used up our 'precious' cap space, get real. This is good value, smart use of cap dollars, and a tradeable piece in the future if he shows the same level of professionalism and commitment to his game as he did last year.

Easy tiger. Its not a good idea to challenge someone's basketball knowledge and then throw around opinions with little data to back it up.

Facts:
He was also traded for a 2nd round pick by one of the best franchises around.
He was then waived.
He was signed to a franchise in need of a pg in a contract year.
Beno has talent and played well for about a half a season.
This was all in the span of one year.

Now maybe he continues at that level or builds upon that wake-up-call induced opportunity. Maybe he doesn't. But history doesn't suggest that this is the kind of move that helps create a contender.

 

[Warhawk]

I understand that people have some reservations about Udrih (and I do as well), but why isn't this necessarily a step toward building a contender? You don't have to have a superstar at every position, and Beno has shown himself to be a capable point guard, still young, a team player, and with the opportunity to get better. You don't necessarily need a superstar point guard to win a championship. Rondo, Derek Fisher, Ron Harper... decidedly not superstars.

And I also think people are exaggerating the extent to which this influences the cap down the line. Even with Beno signed for five years, there is still cap room in 2010. Lots of it. Even WITH Beno we're looking at approx. $29 million in cap room in 2010, depending on what we do in the meantime.

To review, going into the 2010 we're looking at:

Martin: $11 million
Beno: $6 million
Salmons: $5.8 million
Hawes: $3 million
Thompson: $3 million
2009 draft pick: $2 million

And..... that's it! Maybe we'll have a few more young players by then if 2nd rounders and others (or if we extend Garcia or Douby), but probably at least $20 million.

I just don't see it as an either/or thing. Obviously there is risk involved with signing an MLE player 5 years, but it's not like we're squandering some major opportunity by signing Beno.

Exactly. Thanks for summing it up nicely. And yes, I do hope in the next couple years we can look at drafting a "star" PG. But if it is 2 years before we can draft one and it takes a year or two to get them up to speed.....guess what, Beno's contract is coming to a close. If we draft one sooner or get one in trade, a decent PG on an MLE contract should not be that hard to move.

One question - do we still have half of Moore's contract that year (2010) as well if he is not picked up for the final year? I don't remember when that ends.

 

[nbrans]

Exactly. Thanks for summing it up nicely. And yes, I do hope in the next couple years we can look at drafting a "star" PG. But if it is 2 years before we can draft one and it takes a year or two to get them up to speed.....guess what, Beno's contract is coming to a close. If we draft one sooner or get one in trade, a decent PG on an MLE contract should not be that hard to move.

One question - do we still have half of Moore's contract that year (2010) as well if he is not picked up for the final year? I don't remember when that ends.

That's partially guaranteed for the 2009/2010 season and expires before the 2010 free agency period.

 

[JB_kings]

Easy tiger. Its not a good idea to challenge someone's basketball knowledge and then throw around opinions with little data to back it up.

Facts:
He was also traded for a 2nd round pick by one of the best franchises around.
He was then waived.
He was signed to a franchise in need of a pg in a contract year.
Beno has talent and played well for about a half a season.
This was all in the span of one year.

Now maybe he continues at that level or builds upon that wake-up-call induced opportunity. Maybe he doesn't. But history doesn't suggest that this is the kind of move that helps create a contender.

He's a mid-level talent PG that just signed a mid-level contract. Or perhaps they could have went after Baron Davis or Arenas and paid superstar money... which is the risk you want to take?

 

[Warhawk]

That's partially guaranteed for the 2009/2010 season and expires before the 2010 free agency period.

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[fnordius]

However the story is not finished yet, you never know what moves will be made next.

We do, however, know that we won't be signing any FAs that won't work for vet's minimum, because that would be all we could pay now. Our roster's maxxed, and Geoff seems to like carrying 14 players during the season, which makes adding any FAs unlikely, since he'd have to waive both of our second rounders to sign one guy and be at 14.

But maybe there will be trades this year. One can only hope.

 

[Kings Faithful]

Beno is the best PG in the FA for that kind of money. If we were to let him slide and go use our MLE on someone Beno would probably be the best pick up considering his consistent numbers and the fact that we are in desperate need of a PG. We need to stop complaining 6 mil for 5 years isn't going to ruin our future, it just makes us better this year. We have a chance at playoffs if we stay healthy and thats all i care about right now, i don't give a crap about 2 years from now.

 

[rfdong]

beno

Look at the list of guys making 4-7 mil in the league. who's better than Beno? and the one guy Ford, is scared and always hurt. the last neck deal and I'm not saying it wasn't scary for him, he was out 3 months with no medical reason other than nerves. I really thought he wouldn't play again. Beno's a good sign for the MLE as really that's peanuts in NBA land. We got a guy who will be 30 when his option comes up, and if he sees the writing on the wall (if we have a better PG option through the draft next year when there's a glut of PG's) he will opt out. We get a PG prospect next year almost for sure and that dudes gonna take a couple to figure it out unless he's CP3 or DWilliams. this was a good solid if not very good sign, Beno only has one year under his belt as a starter, was stuck in a bad situation in SA and never got a chance in Min. He'll get better as he learns what Theus is wanting to do. Remember, we signed him during the season when he was still hurt, no camp or summer to learn the coaches stuff.

So, we got Martin, two young bigs, a solid PG and a crazy SF who's already wishing he opted out. Not bad. This is Douby's make/break year and he'll likely not get extended unless he really shows up this year. Ron Rons gone for sure during or after the season. Hopefully we can trade him and given his talent get one of the whales off the cap in SAR/KT with him for an expiring.

 

[sdballer]

I understand that people have some reservations about Udrih (and I do as well), but why isn't this necessarily a step toward building a contender? You don't have to have a superstar at every position, and Beno has shown himself to be a capable point guard, still young, a team player, and with the opportunity to get better. You don't necessarily need a superstar point guard to win a championship. Rondo, Derek Fisher, Ron Harper... decidedly not superstars.

And I also think people are exaggerating the extent to which this influences the cap down the line. Even with Beno signed for five years, there is still cap room in 2010. Lots of it. Even WITH Beno we're looking at approx. $29 million in cap room in 2010, depending on what we do in the meantime.

To review, going into the 2010 we're looking at:

Martin: $11 million
Beno: $6 million
Salmons: $5.8 million
Hawes: $3 million
Thompson: $3 million
2009 draft pick: $2 million

And..... that's it! Maybe we'll have a few more young players by then if 2nd rounders and others (or if we extend Garcia or Douby), but probably at least $20 million.

I just don't see it as an either/or thing. Obviously there is risk involved with signing an MLE player 5 years, but it's not like we're squandering some major opportunity by signing Beno.

I agree you don't need stars at every position but you do need them at some and we don't have them nor are we necessarily compiling the cap space/picks/young talent to acquire or develop them. I think Beno's a nice player and on the right team, a good fit. But he's not a great backup, especially at that price, and we don't have stars to surround him with. Now if we start to make moves that change that, great. But when, and how?

And my issue with the cap space is that if we truly believe that we are going to make a big splash in free agency in 2010 (which I don't think is a guarantee), why keep signing mi-level guys. Honestly, take off Salmons, Reef, Moore and Udrih and you are $20+ million lower now. Are we that worse a team? Not when you consider who we could use that money on or the better draft picks we would have used. Its all irrelevant at this point, unless the team doesn't learn and keeps making the same mistakes.

 

[bench_blob]

Easy tiger. Its not a good idea to challenge someone's basketball knowledge and then throw around opinions with little data to back it up.

Facts:
He was also traded for a 2nd round pick by one of the best franchises around.
He was then waived.
He was signed to a franchise in need of a pg in a contract year.
Beno has talent and played well for about a half a season.
This was all in the span of one year.

Now maybe he continues at that level or builds upon that wake-up-call induced opportunity. Maybe he doesn't. But history doesn't suggest that this is the kind of move that helps create a contender.

Fact #1: He saved our season. Without Beno, we win 22 games.

Fact #2: Beno has a really good set of skills that is not measured solely in stats, or where he was drafted, or the fact he was with a team that did not allow him to display his skills, or the fact the Timberwolves and McHale were too stupid to keep him. Ask the T'Wolves if they would waive him if they had a choice to make the same decision again. How can you logically use this as a means to assess his value as a player?

Fact #3: He drives hard to the hoop, finishes strong, and draws fouls; he has a great mid-range game which is rare for a point guard; his 3 point shot became more consistent as the season wore on, he's a clutch performer, good work ethic, gets along with teammates, underrated defensivley. It is really important to note he can be an effective performer without making his outside shot (unlike Kirk Heinreich, Quincy Douby, for example, who are useless when their jump shot is off).

Geoff Petrie is astute enough of a GM to recognize facts #1, #2, and #3. Thus, contract given, contract received.

Class dismissed.

 

[fnordius]

He's a mid-level talent PG that just signed a mid-level contract. Or perhaps they could have went after Baron Davis or Arenas and paid superstar money... which is the risk you want to take?

They could have tried to get someone like Anthony Carter for a year or two at vet's minimum - a TOTAL band aid job - until they had a shot at drafting a replacement. Or tried some sort of deal for a young and promising PG like Louis Williams. But big money for a superstar would be virtually impossible right now.

 

[nbrans]

And my issue with the cap space is that if we truly believe that we are going to make a big splash in free agency in 2010 (which I don't think is a guarantee), why keep signing mi-level guys. Honestly, take off Salmons, Reef, Moore and Udrih and you are $20+ million lower now. Are we that worse a team? Not when you consider who we could use that money on or the better draft picks we would have used. Its all irrelevant at this point, unless the team doesn't learn and keeps making the same mistakes.

But take those guys off the payroll now and we actually don't have cap room. We'd be at $52 million, or roughly an MLE amount below the cap. It wouldn't have any effect.

The difference between this offseason and 2010 is that Brad, KT, Moore and Reef are all expiring. You have to get substantially below the cap in order for it to have any benefit.

Now, that doesn't let Petrie off the hook for not seeing the writing on the wall sooner and trading some of these guys for expirings sooner (assuming those opportunities were available). But right now removing the MLE club alone off the payroll doesn't do you much good, so might as well have them for some possible trade value and expirings down the line.

 

[CruzDude]

Beno is the perfect choice for the Kings and he brings the same abilities as Tony Parker and to some extent Steve Nash as well. He is quick, a really good slasher with either hand from either side, can dish out well, has a great stop-and-pop from 10-18 ft and at 6-3 and 205 has the size to push around most other PGs.

He is very much the GP type player and at only 25 has his peak years 2-3 yr down the road when hopefully the kids the Kings have start to be big contributors. I like it.

 

[Bricklayer]

Beno is the perfect choice for the Kings and he brings the same abilities as Tony Parker and to some extent Steve Nash as well.

Okay....just stop right there.

 

[sdballer]

Fact #1: He saved our season. Without Beno, we win 22 games.


Class dismissed.

Fact #1: With 22 wins, we have great chance at Derrick Rose or Michael Beasly.

Let me guess, you aren't a teacher.

 

[KP]

Beno is the perfect choice for the Kings and he brings the same abilities as Tony Parker and to some extent Steve Nash as well.

Please tell me you're joking^...

If Beno makes it through the season without getting injured again I'll be shocked.

 

[bajaden]

this is my fifth. you learn to live without sweet oxygen.

but on the bright side, now that i know what it's like every year, i get a whole 365 days to come up with arguments both for and against rebuilding, tanking, importance of the draft, "true fans," using the MLE, playing the younger guys, coaching philosophies, slamson, whether the front office is on autopilot, and whole bunch of other things!

Ha Ha. Thanks, I needed a good laugh..

 

[Showtime]

Kind of an absurd statement. Its not like the only two options are continually signing mediocre players to salary cap crippling contracts or trading our crap for stars. I think the issue some of us fans have is that this is not a long term strategy for rebuilding a contender. It is a strategy for fielding a competitive team that may squeak into the playoffs and is ok to watch, but that's it. Some people are ok with that strategy and have hopes that a mid-draft pick develops better than expected or a lucky trade is offered and that's one way to look at it.

I would rather the team look at the future and make some moves that are clearly built towards a contending team and not merely a competitive one. But that's just me.

And what you fail to realize is that if they take the attitude of the people I was commenting on, you are looking at 2-3 years of 20-30 win seasons hoping to get a top 5 pick for the chance that a future star will be there that will catapult the team into contention ala Chris Paul. Would you sit through 2 or 3 horrible seasons so that the Kings might get a chance at a top 3 pick? Not even a lock, just the chance to grab a top pick that might be a franchise guy? That's the point.

I understand the frustration with signing MLE deals for mediocre talent. I get that. But some of the comments are just baseless, and those were the points I was addressing. Again, if you make a comment like "look at the future" and make some moves, what, EXACTLY, are you talking about? Are you talking about unloading Miller for expirings and picks? Are you talking about not signing Beno and just playing Singletary at the point right away? What exactly is the alternative situations? I think people think it's easier to be a GM than it really is. It takes two teams to deal, and when you look around the league at all the worse teams and even worse deals some of these players get, the reality is that the Kings haven't done that badly considering their situation. They aren't a top market that can draw top talent, get HOF coaches, etc.

The Hawks have had how many lottery picks? How many top 5 picks? And where are they at? Barely making the playoffs in the east with a losing record yet again, and possibly losing Smith and Childress to free agency? Saying the Kings should hold off on any moves that aren't for "the future", so they can lose 55 games and get a top pick doesn't guarantee anything.

 

[king07]

Another player added to the list of players we overpaid.

 

[Heuge]

My prediction. Beno will last longer as a King then Petrie.

Our front office is a joke.

 

[bajaden]

The sole purpose of Beno is to keep this team in the middle. That's the whole purpose of it, to keep us afloat NOW, it has nothing to do with the future and that's what's wrong with it. Yea, he's 26, I get it. He's still a role playing vet who is what he is. He's not apart of a rebuilding process, he's apart of the rebuilding on the fly process, which hasn't worked yet and will never work.

Just how do you know he has nothing to do with the future? That he has nothing to do with the rebuilding? Do you have some crystal ball you look into that tells you what none of the rest of us know? We had a 30 yr old pt guard, and now we have a soon to be 26 yr old pt guard. By the way, early Happy Birthday Beno. His birthday is on the 5th. So we just got younger at the pt position. How well that will turn out is still unknown. I don't know how he will work out, and neither do you. Its one thing to give an opinion and its another thing to state it as a fact.

I, personaly am willing to wait and see. I have my reservations about Beno and about the contract, if the info is accurate. My main concerns have nothing to do with how he'll play. He's already shown he can play, and he played better than a backup last year. I don't know if he will get any better. History tells us that most people will improve with playing time. My main concern is his injury history. If he can stay healthy, and even if he never plays any better than last year, he'll always be a movable commodity.

 

[PFFFT!!]

Truth of the matter is GP is getting paid to do something or anything for that matter, not sit. Everyone here is hoping he either puts a crappy product out there which will ruin his sparkly resume, or put in a championship team which will never happen in my lifetime. Hes playing to put the best team he can out there year in, year out, regardless of top draft picks or putting a bunch of 35 year old has beens out there to represent. He could care less what anyone in this forum or the news for that matter have to say. Hes in it for his own skin ultimately. mmmkuy?

 

[bajaden]

I understand that people have some reservations about Udrih (and I do as well), but why isn't this necessarily a step toward building a contender? You don't have to have a superstar at every position, and Beno has shown himself to be a capable point guard, still young, a team player, and with the opportunity to get better. You don't necessarily need a superstar point guard to win a championship. Rondo, Derek Fisher, Ron Harper... decidedly not superstars.

And I also think people are exaggerating the extent to which this influences the cap down the line. Even with Beno signed for five years, there is still cap room in 2010. Lots of it. Even WITH Beno we're looking at approx. $29 million in cap room in 2010, depending on what we do in the meantime.

To review, going into the 2010 we're looking at:

Martin: $11 million
Beno: $6 million
Salmons: $5.8 million
Hawes: $3 million
Thompson: $3 million
2009 draft pick: $2 million

And..... that's it! Maybe we'll have a few more young players by then if 2nd rounders and others (or if we extend Garcia or Douby), but probably at least $20 million.

I just don't see it as an either/or thing. Obviously there is risk involved with signing an MLE player 5 years, but it's not like we're squandering some major opportunity by signing Beno.

I went and looked at the cap myself and your absolutely right. Actually I think the minimun we should have is around 22 mil under the cap and thats with resigning Cisco to a decent contract. and a couple of league minimums. 22 mil is enough to sign at least one superstar or two very good players. In any event, the team should take on a very different look after the 2009/2010 season. In the meantime let these guys play together and build a little chemistry.

 

[macadocious]

Why?

Seriously why? I don't get it. Are we going to keep overpaying for moderate talent to stay just competitive enough to get the 11-14 pick.

Sweet! :bigfatuglyfrownyface:

So we have 17 Million a year tied up in backcourt that does not crack the top half of the league. Beno would be a great 6/7th man on a contender. Starting PG, not so much.

I haven't even read any of this thread yet, I have no idea how everyone feels about this, I am assuming everyone is as disgusted as I am, if not you should be. So far our mid level exception guys have all gotten the full amount and years. SAR, Miki and now Beno. And I only moderately like Beno out of that bunch.

I cannot imagine Petrie is the one pulling these strings. If we give every player we sign 5-6 million a year, how are we ever going to go out and sign a top 1 or 2 tier player?

/rant

 

[One and Done]

Ugh...I have a feeling that we're going to regret this three years from now. Sure, if he continues his play and stays healthy, he'll be a nice asset and possibly a "moveable piece." But tell me, when the hell has this ever happened for the Kings? It always seems to turn out worse...and oh yeah, just like Jason Hart and Kenny Thomas, he'll be happy to pick up his player option.

Now GP has fulfilled his summer obligations (minus scouting scrubs for Training Camp), so he can kick his feet up on his desk and enjoy the summer. I wonder when will we stop "managing the downward spiral."

 

[hrdboild]

Truth of the matter is GP is getting paid to do something or anything for that matter, not sit. Everyone here is hoping he either puts a crappy product out there which will ruin his sparkly resume, or put in a championship team which will never happen in my lifetime. Hes playing to put the best team he can out there year in, year out, regardless of top draft picks or putting a bunch of 35 year old has beens out there to represent. He could care less what anyone in this forum or the news for that matter have to say. Hes in it for his own skin ultimately. mmmkuy?

That may be true, but when I look at what the GMs are doing in Portland and Seattle and Toronto I think maybe Geoff may not have a job in this league for much longer. You can't afford to sit on your hands when everyone else is running circles around you.

I don't think we should put a crappy product out there, but I do think that if you're trying to build a winning team, not just a good team but a team than contend for a championship, you have to be stingy about what you choose to spend your money on. We've got half our payroll tied up in inactive players and aging veterans who are declining in production. That is not smart money management any way you look at it. And adding full MLE deals year after year for league average players is not helping this team get better.

 

[Heuge]

And adding full MLE deals year after year for league average players is not helping this team get better.

What was the appropriate acronymn....QTF

 

[SacKings7]

Good news. I'm surprised we didn't go a cheaper route a la Duhon or Pargo, but I like Beno and think he did a great job for us last season. Good signing