2019 FA Target; Khris Middleton

#1
Big $$$ longterm deal, turns 28 right before next season. Middleton is clearly is one of the big fish that makes the most sense for the Kings to throw huge $$ at.


Yes, he's got a player option for $13MM next season but that is a no-brainer decline. his market value is twice that if not more.

This and re-signing Willie would be the big moves of the offseason.

Keep in mind the Kings have ~41MM coming off the books and the cap is gonna rise to 109MM..

For arguments sake lets say they pay Middleton 25MM per, and Willie 18MM per. That takes them to about 91MM for 12 players(Middleton, WCS, MBIII, Bogdan, Bjelly, Fox, Buddy, Yogi, JJ, Harry, Skal, Mason) so still plenty of flexibility to fill out.
 
#2
This is the type of plan that is realistic and feasible - even if fans shutter at the thought of WCS at $18m per. Would like some athletes off the bench and a defensive minded big to play 10-15 minutes as well.

Not up to date on the Bucks financial situation next season but really they are in the drivers seat for Middleton, and that team is an under-the-radar contender in the East this season. Not sure he'd leave unless they couldn't handle paying lux tax. My guess is their long term plan has Middleton even with GreekFreak especially after losing Jabari this offseason for nothing.
 
#3
I don't think the Bucks let him leave and they'll pay anything he wants to keep him. He's their 2nd most important guy after Giannis.

On that point, they'll have to pay both Middleton and Bledsoe to keep that as their core. I am not sure if they want Bledsoe long term or not, but that will greatly cost them. This means they could be looking to shed salary, which opens up Tony Snell as a trade target. Not nearly as good as Middleton, but a lengthy guy who can play some D and shoot. (Though shoots inconsistently.)

I think a trade for a SF is the best option and targeting teams needing cap relief gives them an avenue towards that. I am watching the Wizards situation closely. There's a possible issue with Dwight not even showing up yet and them making a move for a big. I could also see Miami joining in that and looking to clear cap.
 
#4
I don't think the Bucks let him leave and they'll pay anything he wants to keep him. He's their 2nd most important guy after Giannis.

On that point, they'll have to pay both Middleton and Bledsoe to keep that as their core. I am not sure if they want Bledsoe long term or not, but that will greatly cost them. This means they could be looking to shed salary, which opens up Tony Snell as a trade target. Not nearly as good as Middleton, but a lengthy guy who can play some D and shoot. (Though shoots inconsistently.)

I think a trade for a SF is the best option and targeting teams needing cap relief gives them an avenue towards that. I am watching the Wizards situation closely. There's a possible issue with Dwight not even showing up yet and them making a move for a big. I could also see Miami joining in that and looking to clear cap.
Yeah, I'm still intrigued by Oubre, but after WCS's recent play don't believe he's the big I would give up to get him.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#7
Even with WCS's play of late, I'd trade him for Oubre straight-up. Acclerate Bagley's minutes at the center position (and PF). Play Bjelica some at center, as well as PF. Have the tenacious competitor Oubre at 3. Fox at the 1. Bogs at the 2. Sorry, WCS fans, I'm good to go with that lineup!
 
#9
Middleton is one of those guys that can fit on any team (similar to Porter). Of course we sign him if he wants to come here. The problem is that he will likely be heavily sought after (even with it being a strong FA class).

If we're able to trade for Oubre without taking on any long term contracts (like Mahinmi). We'd have enough cap space to resign Cauley-Stein & Oubre while also signing Middleton (if he wants to come).

A roster of...

PG - Fox / Ferrell / Mason
SG - Bogdanovic / Hield
SF - Middleton / Oubre / Jackson
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Giles
C - Cauley-Stein / Labissiere

...would be pretty exciting.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#10
Even with WCS's play of late, I'd trade him for Oubre straight-up. Acclerate Bagley's minutes at the center position (and PF). Play Bjelica some at center, as well as PF. Have the tenacious competitor Oubre at 3. Fox at the 1. Bogs at the 2. Sorry, WCS fans, I'm good to go with that lineup!
This would break my personal rule of trades, that you don't create a hole in order to fill a hole. There is no one on the Kings team right now that can do the things Willie is doing. In time Bagley should be able to, but right now, he's not ready. Just my opinion. At the moment, the Kings are winning, and have very good chemistry. If you can add to that, you do it. But you don't screw with the chemistry that's already in place.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#11
Middleton is one of those guys that can fit on any team (similar to Porter). Of course we sign him if he wants to come here. The problem is that he will likely be heavily sought after (even with it being a strong FA class).

If we're able to trade for Oubre without taking on any long term contracts (like Mahinmi). We'd have enough cap space to resign Cauley-Stein & Oubre while also signing Middleton (if he wants to come).

A roster of...

PG - Fox / Ferrell / Mason
SG - Bogdanovic / Hield
SF - Middleton / Oubre / Jackson
PF - Bagley / Bjelica / Giles
C - Cauley-Stein / Labissiere

...would be pretty exciting.
All I have to say is, make it happen. I think acquiring both Oubre and Middleton would take a miracle, but hey, if you can get it done, I'm on board...;)
 
#15
The trade the Bucks made with the Cavs makes Middleton less likely. They’ll have a lot more room to work with before hitting the tax.

I was hoping to somehow get Porter in a trade this year (sending WCS off in the process) and sign Middleton in the off-season.

PG - Fox / Mason / Ferrel
SG - Hield / Bogdanovic
SF - Middleton / Jackson
PF - Porter / Bjelica
C - Bagley / Giles

That would be some crazy spacing for Fox and Bagley to carve out defenses.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#19
Even with WCS's play of late, I'd trade him for Oubre straight-up. Acclerate Bagley's minutes at the center position (and PF). Play Bjelica some at center, as well as PF. Have the tenacious competitor Oubre at 3. Fox at the 1. Bogs at the 2. Sorry, WCS fans, I'm good to go with that lineup!
What is the fascination with Oubre? He has never shot better than 34% from the three, and at present is shooting just over 30% from the three. He's a pretty good defender, but other than that, there's not that much to rave about. He's a slightly undersized SF of which we already have a couple. Justin Jackson is a better shooter than Oubre. You want to trade Willie for Porter, I'm on board. But not for Oubre.

Why give up anyone for a player that can't shoot. Why not just wait till the offseason and sign someone. Like Rodney Hood, Reggie Bullock, James Ennis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Khris Middleton, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Darius Miller, Mario Hezonja, or Terrence Ross. All will be unrestricted freeagents. I realize that some probably aren't possible, but some are. There are also some restricted freeagents we could go after.

If your going to trade one of your core players, or at least one of your starters, then you should be sure your getting a proven player in return. To my mind, Kelly Oubre isn't yet a proven player. You dislike Willie's inconsistency, well your not going to like Oubre's inconsistency. For god's sake, don't go on one game he played against us.
 
#20
No but his agent or someone is leaking the LA teams to him and common sense based on history will tell us those teams will always be ahead of us to players.
I’ve seen nothing linking him to either LA team. Plus I’m not sure where he fits in on either team based on their makeup
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#21
No but his agent or someone is leaking the LA teams to him and common sense based on history will tell us those teams will always be ahead of us to players.
According to the Lakers, every player is going to sign with them. Not disagreeing about the difficulty of trying to sign a player like Middleton. Where the King's finish the season, and how their viewed nationally will certainly come into the picture. A player doesn't have to be in a big media market to get big deals anymore. With the advent of social media, and NBA TV, you can get national attention from just about anywhere.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#22
What is the fascination with Oubre? He has never shot better than 34% from the three, and at present is shooting just over 30% from the three. He's a pretty good defender, but other than that, there's not that much to rave about. He's a slightly undersized SF of which we already have a couple. Justin Jackson is a better shooter than Oubre. You want to trade Willie for Porter, I'm on board. But not for Oubre.

Why give up anyone for a player that can't shoot. Why not just wait till the offseason and sign someone. Like Rodney Hood, Reggie Bullock, James Ennis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Khris Middleton, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Darius Miller, Mario Hezonja, or Terrence Ross. All will be unrestricted freeagents. I realize that some probably aren't possible, but some are. There are also some restricted freeagents we could go after.

If your going to trade one of your core players, or at least one of your starters, then you should be sure your getting a proven player in return. To my mind, Kelly Oubre isn't yet a proven player. You dislike Willie's inconsistency, well your not going to like Oubre's inconsistency. For god's sake, don't go on one game he played against us.
Just cuz I'm a nice guy, give me Porter in a WCS deal! Ok. Now are you happy! I'm happy because now we have Porter and no WCS. Yeah! Everybody is happy!

PS The thing I like about Oubre is the guy fricken competes, even on a toxic team.
 
#23
According to the Lakers, every player is going to sign with them. Not disagreeing about the difficulty of trying to sign a player like Middleton. Where the King's finish the season, and how their viewed nationally will certainly come into the picture. A player doesn't have to be in a big media market to get big deals anymore. With the advent of social media, and NBA TV, you can get national attention from just about anywhere.
Did you notice after the game last night how they showed the young crew all giving love to Sexton? Obviously not a player who is available or who we need, but this is a team that is playing really nice together - not just a team that is exceeding expectations - and so if they are also showing love to other kids maybe we'll see some folks jump when they have a chance.

It's quite interesting with the Lakers, they have the name and the rep, and they do have LeBron, the question is how many people say they want to play with LeBron James publicly that have no desire to adjust their game to a secondary role for the LeBron show?
 
#24
Middleton is going to LaC, Lakers or staying in Milwaukee he’s not even gonna take a vist here.
Every SF is going to the Clippers. Interesting enough the Clippers have their own SF in Tobias Harris who declined an extension. Not clear Harris wants to be slid to the 4 or be a secondary ball handler. If the Clips sign other big name players we might make a run at Harris. He would fit perfectly as a 3 and D 3 for us.
 
#25
Every SF is going to the Clippers. Interesting enough the Clippers have their own SF in Tobias Harris who declined an extension. Not clear Harris wants to be slid to the 4 or be a secondary ball handler. If the Clips sign other big name players we might make a run at Harris. He would fit perfectly as a 3 and D 3 for us.
Harris seems to be more of a stretch 4
 
#26
Every SF is going to the Clippers. Interesting enough the Clippers have their own SF in Tobias Harris who declined an extension. Not clear Harris wants to be slid to the 4 or be a secondary ball handler. If the Clips sign other big name players we might make a run at Harris. He would fit perfectly as a 3 and D 3 for us.

Harris has been a 4 for the better part of 2 years now. He's found a serious edge at that spot as he punishes the slower/bigger PFs with his quickness and ability to create from the outside and he punishes small-ball PF with his strength and footwork in the post.

I love Harris a lot, but I'd hope we'd be signing him to run Fox/Buddy/SF/Harris/Bagley as the future core with Harris flexing into the 3 in some lineups. Not to force him into the full-time 3 role.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#27
Did you notice after the game last night how they showed the young crew all giving love to Sexton? Obviously not a player who is available or who we need, but this is a team that is playing really nice together - not just a team that is exceeding expectations - and so if they are also showing love to other kids maybe we'll see some folks jump when they have a chance.

It's quite interesting with the Lakers, they have the name and the rep, and they do have LeBron, the question is how many people say they want to play with LeBron James publicly that have no desire to adjust their game to a secondary role for the LeBron show?
Not sure how credible the reports of other star players not wanting to play with Lebron are. I can see it in Durant's case, since he's already caught some flack for joining the Warriors. I'm not sure why Durant would want to leave the Warriors where he'll be in the hunt for a ring for at least a couple more years, to join Lebron on a team with less talent. If they were to win a championship, once again, Lebron would get most of the credit.

What I can see is Leonard having success in Toronto and resigning. Ditto Butler in Philly. I don't see Middleton leaving the Bucks, and I don't see Harris leaving the Clippers. I think most of the movement with so called big names will be through trade, like Porter, Wall, etc. I could be wrong of course, and there will be a lot of money floating around this off season, so who knows?

The burning question should be, where will Cuz finally land this next off season? He has a lot depending on how he plays when he finally gets back on the floor. Personally, I'm still hoping that the Kings can find a way to acquire Porter. I think he's the perfect fit for this team. But you can't buy if the other side doesn't want to sell. Dec 15th is the big day. That's when more players will become available to be traded.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#28
Not sure how credible the reports of other star players not wanting to play with Lebron are. I can see it in Durant's case, since he's already caught some flack for joining the Warriors. I'm not sure why Durant would want to leave the Warriors where he'll be in the hunt for a ring for at least a couple more years, to join Lebron on a team with less talent. If they were to win a championship, once again, Lebron would get most of the credit.

What I can see is Leonard having success in Toronto and resigning. Ditto Butler in Philly. I don't see Middleton leaving the Bucks, and I don't see Harris leaving the Clippers. I think most of the movement with so called big names will be through trade, like Porter, Wall, etc. I could be wrong of course, and there will be a lot of money floating around this off season, so who knows?

The burning question should be, where will Cuz finally land this next off season? He has a lot depending on how he plays when he finally gets back on the floor. Personally, I'm still hoping that the Kings can find a way to acquire Porter. I think he's the perfect fit for this team. But you can't buy if the other side doesn't want to sell. Dec 15th is the big day. That's when more players will become available to be traded.
I tend to agree with this (bolded). I also hope that Divac has some not-so-big-names on his list that are under the radar and not close to reaching their respective primes.

The only reason for Durant to leave is because he wants everybody to know he's the MVP of the league, and the only sure fire way to do that is go to another team where everything revolves around him (Of course that wouldn't be the Lakers).
 
#29
What is the fascination with Oubre? He has never shot better than 34% from the three, and at present is shooting just over 30% from the three. He's a pretty good defender, but other than that, there's not that much to rave about. He's a slightly undersized SF of which we already have a couple. Justin Jackson is a better shooter than Oubre. You want to trade Willie for Porter, I'm on board. But not for Oubre.

Why give up anyone for a player that can't shoot. Why not just wait till the offseason and sign someone. Like Rodney Hood, Reggie Bullock, James Ennis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Khris Middleton, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Darius Miller, Mario Hezonja, or Terrence Ross. All will be unrestricted freeagents. I realize that some probably aren't possible, but some are. There are also some restricted freeagents we could go after.

If your going to trade one of your core players, or at least one of your starters, then you should be sure your getting a proven player in return. To my mind, Kelly Oubre isn't yet a proven player. You dislike Willie's inconsistency, well your not going to like Oubre's inconsistency. For god's sake, don't go on one game he played against us.
Agreed on Oubre, nothing special there. I dont even see him as an upgrade on shumpert
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#30
I tend to agree with this (bolded). I also hope that Divac has some not-so-big-names on his list that are under the radar and not close to reaching their respective primes.

The only reason for Durant to leave is because he wants everybody to know he's the MVP of the league, and the only sure fire way to do that is go to another team where everything revolves around him (Of course that wouldn't be the Lakers).
I can suggest a up and coming young talented team to him..;)