No, they utilized the sign and trade to at least get something for Tyreke since the only other alternative was let him walk for nothing...
Here is the problem. If Tyreke was an unrestricted FA and he wanted to go to NO then this is a no-brainer deal. You do the S&T and you get back an asset in Vasquez and you do it every time.
However, he is a restricted FA in time around. So it's impossible for him to 'walk for nothing' if we don't want him to.
As mentioned before, we're getting 2 things for Tyreke. We're getting Vasquez and we're getting cap space.
Tyreke is the far, far, far more valuable piece than Vasquez. We now know that Vasquez wasn't even our first PG choice...and that they really wanted Calderon.
So the only way this is a good move is if we get a great impact player with the cap space that is gained via the Tyreke for Vasquez swap.
If we don't get an impact player, then this is simply a bad move. And the reason it's a bad move is very simple.
We have the ability to sign Tyreke and retain his services...and then trade him on OUR terms if we need to. Tyreke is a valuable asset and he will continue to be a valuable asset at 11m/year.
So from an asset standpoint Tyreke at 11m/year is better value than Vasquez + 9m wasted cap space.
It could very well be that DA has a lot of plans for this cap space. He could still try to bring in AI/Granger/Gay to have an impact SF alongside Cousins/Vasquez/B-Mac. Or it could get wasted on the likes of Chuck Hayes/Ben Gordan/Charlie V.
But the Kings FO is in the driver's seat when it comes to Tyreke. He can't walk for nothing...and the FO had better have a plan to use the cap space to bring back an impact player else this will have been a poor decision by them.