2022 Everything Free Agency/Trades Thread

[Tetsujin]

Even if what you’re saying is true, how is it any different than most any other player in today’s personal/politically infused sports world?

Only real difference as far as I can tell is players like Kyrie and Jonathan Isaac actually put their money where their mouth is. And that’s why they are labeled as ‘problems’.

Remember, it was Kyrie that was lobbying the players union to actually sit out the bubble and/or the 2020/2021 season in the wake of the highly publicized police shootings, while most of the other so called star players were content virtue signaling versus sacrificing paydays and chances for another ring plus more career statisitcs.

I don’t agree with Kyrie on a lot of things. But I don’t have to agree with someone to still respect their willingness to put their morals and beliefs ahead of their career and money.

Feels like Kyrie’s been labeled as a problem because he’s burned bridges with literally every single franchise he’s played for by either plain quitting on them and/or being so obnoxious that people don’t want to play with him anymore but maybe that’s just me.

 

[Padrino]

Feels like Kyrie’s been labeled as a problem because he’s burned bridges with literally every single franchise he’s played for by either plain quitting on them and/or being so obnoxious that people don’t want to play with him anymore but maybe that’s just me.

Yep. The above is why nobody other than the Lakers is currently attempting to trade for Kyrie. You can set aside the whacko flat earth nonsense, the wild conspiracy theories, and even the earnest political stances. Every NBA team will accept a player's activism and endure a player's most grating quirks if the player is talented enough, available enough, and if the locker room holds.

The problem with Irving is that he marches so recklessly to the beat of his own drum that he alienates himself from teammates, coaches, and front offices, and renders himself unavailable to play without consideration for the needs of the team. He may not play for any number of "personal reasons." He may not play because his individual choices are at odds with league rules or public policy. And he may not play because he's oft-injured and generally uninterested in returning to the court on anything but his own time table. Some of his absences are more justified than others, but regardless, the team he plays for gets left holding the bag.

And if Irving's lack of availability wasn't bad enough, his personality quirks also have a tendency to divide locker rooms. Despite the attention he draws to himself, he's never been a natural leader, and his very public quest for self-actualization seems to read as egocentrism to those around him. When notorious sulk extraordinaire James Harden demands a trade to get away from you because you're an even bigger malcontent than he is in the locker room, you know you've got a problem.

Regardless of his talent level, Kyrie Irving is really unreliable and a toxic presence on most teams. Front offices around the league have simply determined that he's not worth the headache. The Lakers are, of course, hoping that Lebron's prior stint with Irving might gift him with "Kyrie Whisperer" abilities, but it sure seems to me that Irving has only become more eccentric and mercurial in his attitudes since his time on the Cavaliers.

 

[sactowndog]

Okay this may sound odd but I wouldn’t mind bringing Josh Jackson back for a roster spot. He can play D and I don’t know who else we have who can besides Davion.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1544796546960461824

 

[pdxKingsFan]

While a lot of Detroit basketball twitter and elsewhere is convinced Kings fans are just sour grapes and they got themselves a steal with Bagley (and some of this may be true), they should know that even with the "he's not Luka" we did enjoy more than a half season of honeymoon with Bags before it all went to crap. And he wasn't playing for a contract or with anything to prove at that time.

I certainly don't wish Bagley any ill will but until Detroit starts trying to play winning basketball and he shows he can play on both sides of the floor I don't think he's anything but a stat stuffer, perhaps he will be the next Jerami Grant type who Detroit can sell at a (small) profit in the last year of his contract. He should enjoy a fairly easy season under Casey with zero pressure but 3 years is a long time in Bagley land for it to go sideways.

 

[serbiangoat]

Why is Lofton Jr not a NBA player? He's more talented than any big other than Sabonis the Kings have and he's not on a NBA roster......Queta/Metu don't look anywhere near as talented.

 

[Tetsujin]

Why is Lofton Jr not a NBA player? He's more talented than any big other than Sabonis the Kings have and he's not on a NBA roster......Queta/Metu don't look anywhere near as talented.

For his bulk, he’s not very long. He’s got bad defensive instincts. I agree he should have gotten more looks during the draft but it’s not like teams were crazy for passing on a 6’5” 280 pound small forward

 

[Livinthedream]

While a lot of Detroit basketball twitter and elsewhere is convinced Kings fans are just sour grapes and they got themselves a steal with Bagley (and some of this may be true), they should know that even with the "he's not Luka" we did enjoy more than a half season of honeymoon with Bags before it all went to crap. And he wasn't playing for a contract or with anything to prove at that time.

I certainly don't wish Bagley any ill will but until Detroit starts trying to play winning basketball and he shows he can play on both sides of the floor I don't think he's anything but a stat stuffer, perhaps he will be the next Jerami Grant type who Detroit can sell at a (small) profit in the last year of his contract. He should enjoy a fairly easy season under Casey with zero pressure but 3 years is a long time in Bagley land for it to go sideways.

The key is, Detroit is paying Bagley for what he is and can be if his skill set is maximized. They aren't looking at it through a lense of what they wish he was.

Kings drafted a guy who was the focal point of an offense where he was fed the ball in the paint and then went to work scoring bucket after bucket. Comes to the Kings and gets chastised when he doesn't "playmake", isn't effective standing in the corner on offense shooting 3s and is not a rim protector. Every year, the Kings asked Marvin to change his game to match other players on the roster.

Glad Bagley found a team that fits him. Whatever comes of it is Detroit's issue now.

 

[Kings49ers]

I’ve done enough hw on him for him to be my new “I need the Kings to go get this man” now. Yuta Watanabe as someone, or someone’s, have mentioned a couple times here is our guy. SF depth, great energy off the bench, big effort guy, decent 3P% albeit on limited shots, good rebounder, surprisingly great shot blocker/rim protector for his position, and just enough handling to create a little on offense or at least not be lost with the ball in his hands. He’s more defense than offense at this point which is exactly what we’re missing and has some needed size/length. Anywhere from 6-7 to 6-9 depending on what website you’re looking at. I’m gonna need this to happen now.

 

[kingsfan101]

Why is Lofton Jr not a NBA player? He's more talented than any big other than Sabonis the Kings have and he's not on a NBA roster......Queta/Metu don't look anywhere near as talented.

I thought he had a 2-way contract with the Grizz. Saw some highlights against Chet, and thought we could use a player like him.

 

[SacTownKid]

The key is, Detroit is paying Bagley for what he is and can be if his skill set is maximized. They aren't looking at it through a lense of what they wish he was.

Kings drafted a guy who was the focal point of an offense where he was fed the ball in the paint and then went to work scoring bucket after bucket. Comes to the Kings and gets chastised when he doesn't "playmake", isn't effective standing in the corner on offense shooting 3s and is not a rim protector. Every year, the Kings asked Marvin to change his game to match other players on the roster.

Glad Bagley found a team that fits him. Whatever comes of it is Detroit's issue now.

They also did the same to Fox, thankfully, that looks to be in the rearview finally. The only problem with Detroit is they are going to use him at PF when that won't be his best position. Players like him have to play C.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

The key is, Detroit is paying Bagley for what he is and can be if his skill set is maximized. They aren't looking at it through a lense of what they wish he was.

Kings drafted a guy who was the focal point of an offense where he was fed the ball in the paint and then went to work scoring bucket after bucket. Comes to the Kings and gets chastised when he doesn't "playmake", isn't effective standing in the corner on offense shooting 3s and is not a rim protector. Every year, the Kings asked Marvin to change his game to match other players on the roster.

Glad Bagley found a team that fits him. Whatever comes of it is Detroit's issue now.

I think the notion that anyone knows what Detroit is going to do is highly questionable. They haven't even attempted to win games in several seasons now. Casey will likely be gone when that changes, so they'll bring in a new coach and then we'll see what happens.

 

[Livinthedream]

They also did the same to Fox, thankfully, that looks to be in the rearview finally. The only problem with Detroit is they are going to use him at PF when that won't be his best position. Players like him have to play C.

I think Detroit will slide him back and forth at the 4 and 5 as the game dictates. Stewart may be odd man out unless he shows he can also play the 4.

 

[Livinthedream]

I think the notion that anyone knows what Detroit is going to do is highly questionable. They haven't even attempted to win games in several seasons now. Casey will likely be gone when that changes, so they'll bring in a new coach and then we'll see what happens.

Maybe so. But it's unlikely Troy Weaver would have given Bagley a gauranteed 12.5 per year for 3 years just as roster filler. It's more likely that they hope he outperforms that contract and they can make a trade like they did with Wood and Grant if needed.

 

[serbiangoat]

For his bulk, he’s not very long. He’s got bad defensive instincts. I agree he should have gotten more looks during the draft but it’s not like teams were crazy for passing on a 6’5” 280 pound small forward

O damn didn't know he was only 6'5 looked about 6'8 when playing I see now.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Feels like Kyrie’s been labeled as a problem because he’s burned bridges with literally every single franchise he’s played for by either plain quitting on them and/or being so obnoxious that people don’t want to play with him anymore but maybe that’s just me.

I can’t speak to how Kyrie is with teammates or front office personnel and, actually, neither can you.

Either you believe in heresay or you don’t. Or opt to reserve judgement.

Not only that, as I said, you can dig up locker room dirt on most any diva player in the league. LBJ, KD, Bearded Hag, #77, etc., all have detractors and/or teammates they didn’t mesh well with.

So having said that, please educate me as to when Kyrie quit on his team. And please don’t cite his personal right to refuse vaccination. Because that’s not quitting, whether you or I agree with his personal choice or not.

 

[TaxMan]

I certainly don't wish Bagley any ill will but until Detroit starts trying to play winning basketball and he shows he can play on both sides of the floor I don't think he's anything but a stat stuffer, perhaps he will be the next Jerami Grant type who Detroit can sell at a (small) profit in the last year of his contract. He should enjoy a fairly easy season under Casey with zero pressure but 3 years is a long time in Bagley land for it to go sideways.

But is he even a “stat stuffer”? People throw out that he’s a walking 20/10 player. But, is he? I don’t want to hear about per 36. The dude has been a very consistent, inefficient 14/7 player for 4 years now. He doesn’t stuff any other stats that I’m aware of. That’s who he is.

 

[Tetsujin]

I can’t speak to how Kyrie is with teammates or front office personnel and, actually, neither can you.

Either you believe in heresay or you don’t. Or opt to reserve judgement.

Not only that, as I said, you can dig up locker room dirt on most any diva player in the league. LBJ, KD, Bearded Hag, #77, etc., all have detractors and/or teammates they didn’t mesh well with.

So having said that, please educate me as to when Kyrie quit on his team. And please don’t cite his personal right to refuse vaccination. Because that’s not quitting, whether you or I agree with his personal choice or not.

Dude refused to play on the Cavs coming off of a finals appearance, got traded to the Celtics and eventually straight up and abandoned them (this also led into the controversy in the playoffs last year when he was stepping on the Celtics logo after games and all that jazz), and then, irrespective of whether you agree with his vaccine stance or not, put his teammates in terrible position by refusig by to play any games at the beginning of the season and then eventually coming around to playing away games but only after the point where James Harden was so ticked off at the situation that he actively tanked their season.

The icing on the cake is this offseason where he made not so subtle efforts to find a shiny new contract elsewhere, only to opt in to his final year when he realized there were no other offers to be had. By that point, he had damaged the front office’s standing so much that Kevin Durant decided he longer wanted any part of a Brooklyn Big Two-and-a-Half.

this isn’t just about his vaccine stance. Brad Beal just got a quarter billion dollar extension and he’s been anti-vax from the start. Justin Holiday and Buddy Hield played for the Kings last season with nary an issue. Matiss Thybulle has been getting fawned over by basketball Twitter all offseason and he actually missed playoff games because Canada wasn’t going to let an unvaccinated player into their country.

This is a matter of Kyrie the personality, a personality that no team really seems interested in putting up with.

 

[Sac.Kings]

I can’t speak to how Kyrie is with teammates or front office personnel and, actually, neither can you.

Either you believe in heresay or you don’t. Or opt to reserve judgement.

Not only that, as I said, you can dig up locker room dirt on most any diva player in the league. LBJ, KD, Bearded Hag, #77, etc., all have detractors and/or teammates they didn’t mesh well with.

So having said that, please educate me as to when Kyrie quit on his team. And please don’t cite his personal right to refuse vaccination. Because that’s not quitting, whether you or I agree with his personal choice or not.

A 5 min google search will answer any and all your questions. If you’ve been following the nba the last couple of seasons, Kyrie has been questionable at best about his commitment to play basketball. Has nothing to do with vaccine status at all. One example is when the Nets and Steve Nash included had no idea where Kyrie was and even said this when interviewed, followed by the usual “we support him…” nonsense because what else can you say? I would wager that Kyrie has received an incredible amount of flexibility from his teams (more so than any other player during this time period), but it’s not a stretch of the imagination to say he has thinned out a lot of his support. Ultimately, this is basketball and if you aren’t playing basketball you aren’t worth a contract like his. Point blank.

 

[funkykingston]

I can’t speak to how Kyrie is with teammates or front office personnel and, actually, neither can you.

Either you believe in heresay or you don’t. Or opt to reserve judgement.

Not only that, as I said, you can dig up locker room dirt on most any diva player in the league. LBJ, KD, Bearded Hag, #77, etc., all have detractors and/or teammates they didn’t mesh well with.

So having said that, please educate me as to when Kyrie quit on his team. And please don’t cite his personal right to refuse vaccination. Because that’s not quitting, whether you or I agree with his personal choice or not.

https://www.sportscasting.com/kyrie...after-ditching-the-nets-for-personal-reasons/

 

[funkykingston]

Yeah, nobody knows what it's like to be Kyrie Irving's teammate or work with him as a member of a front office. That's a bit of a weird argument since unless there are a few people on this board that have recently played in the NBA or worked as a GM that I don't know about, that's true for every single player in the NBA.

So we do what we've always done as fans - we get bits and pieces of info from reports, or the players actual words and actions. And when a player says he doesn't "talk to pawns" as his way of explaining why he ducked media obligations or joins a team that went to the playoffs the year before and then complains that the roster isn't good enough to win after going 6 for 21 as the team's "star" people will notice that.

And when that same player makes the choice to miss most of the season but then proclaims that he's going to "manage the franchise" alongside the owner and GM and states that his name is worth billions while calling everyone else puppets, or that "normal people keep the world going, but those how dare to be different lead us into tomorrow", people notice that too.

Yeah, some people criticize Kyrie for his anti-vax stance or his dalliance with flat earth beliefs, but most fans just see him as an out of touch athlete that thinks he's above/better than everyone else while not taking any accountability. And most fans have very little patience for that. I'm assuming teams and front offices do too.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1545456489040691200

 

[funkykingston]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1545456489040691200

Good play for Indy. They have nothing to lose and signing Ayton opens up Turner as a trade piece. Worst case scenario is that Phoenix matches, but this late in free agency it isn't tying their hands to make other impact moves. So if you like Ayton, why not do it?

 

[Kingster]

Why is Lofton Jr not a NBA player? He's more talented than any big other than Sabonis the Kings have and he's not on a NBA roster......Queta/Metu don't look anywhere near as talented.

He's got to get the weight off. A talk with Barkley would help. He's got talent, that's for sure. Another freaking steal by the Grizzlies.

 

[sactowndog]

So does Monte find a trade for Barnes or does he lose yet another asset for nothing. Ham saying Barnes very unlikely to resign with the Kings.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

So does Monte find a trade for Barnes or does he lose yet another asset for nothing. Ham saying Barnes very unlikely to resign with the Kings.

I'm sure Barnes is being shopped but right now we need another SF before we can trade him. It's a near certainty that we will "lose" the talent equation of any Barnes trade so I don't think this "lose an asset for nothing" talk is quite honest. The only benefit a team will get for trading for him is his Bird rights.

 

[The_Jamal]

I'm sure Barnes is being shopped but right now we need another SF before we can trade him. It's a near certainty that we will "lose" the talent equation of any Barnes trade so I don't think this "lose an asset for nothing" talk is quite honest. The only benefit a team will get for trading for him is his Bird rights.

There's also benefit to Barnes playing out his contract this year, helping make a (hopeful) playoff bid and use his expiring contract to have some room in 2023 with Fox/Mitchell/Huerter/Sabonis/Monk/Murray all signed. Depends what the asset is, but min-maxing Barnes for a future asset doesn't make a ton of sense, especially in a season we want to win.

And personally, paying 31 year old Barnes another massive contract doesn't sound all that great to me anyway.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

There's also benefit to Barnes playing out his contract this year, helping make a (hopeful) playoff bid and use his expiring contract to have some room in 2023 with Fox/Mitchell/Huerter/Sabonis/Monk/Murray all signed. Depends what the asset is, but min-maxing Barnes for a future asset doesn't make a ton of sense, especially in a season we want to win.

And personally, paying 31 year old Barnes another massive contract doesn't sound all that great to me anyway.

I'm not sure what's out there but if we are winning we'll probably ride it out and if we're losing then I think you look at trying to get a young 3 and draft compensation back from a team in the middle of the hunt. Maybe we can do something with Golden State? Miami?

 

[LPKingsFan]

Before the Huerter trade I took the trade machine for a spin looking for a realistic small forward upgrade for Barnes, and it’s hard to come up with something that works. It’s probably harder now with the pick tied up after the Huerter trade. Maybe there’s still a deal around Barnes and Holmes for Hayward, but is that even an upgrade at this point? Certainly not on defense.

 

[funkykingston]

Before the Huerter trade I took the trade machine for a spin looking for a realistic small forward upgrade for Barnes, and it’s hard to come up with something that works. It’s probably harder now with the pick tied up after the Huerter trade. Maybe there’s still a deal around Barnes and Holmes for Hayward, but is that even an upgrade at this point? Certainly not on defense.

If Philly really wants to shed Tobias Harris' contract, Harris & Thybulle for Barnes, Holmes, and Davis works.

Holmes provides a solid backup for Embiid (which is important if Joel misses a fair number of games to rest and/or injury), Barnes gives them almost the same contribution as Harris for less money and comes off the books next summer, and Davis adds a bit more punch off the bench.

The Kings gain two wings (another 4/3 and a 2/3) but downgrade at backup center and would still have 3 open roster spots for their 3rd string PG, C and (depending on how you primarily view Thybulle) 3rd string SG or SF.