Baja, I didn't say they would start him. I brought up two scenarios. If they don't get a sf in free agency, then yes, he'd probably start over Omri/Donte, and then I don't know where all our cap space goes. Now if they do get a sf through free agency, then you have 4 sf's on the roster. 5 including Cisco. It's not about adding talent at that point. That's a poorly constructed roster with 5 sf's, some watching their market value drop.
If I new we would trade Omri or Donte, then that's different, but at this point they're on the roster. It's also easier said then done. Having 4 guards is different than 5 sf's. You know that. 4 players for 2 positions vs 5 players for 1 position.
If I personally didn;t want more talent, I'd wouldn't be harping on the fact that our cap space can get us more talent then the 7th pick can. But if you don't question the idea of having Omri, Cisco, and Donte already playing sf, drafting Leonard, and signing a vet sf, then we simply disagree. I think you also think it's easier to just move Omri or Donte then I do. I don't think you can just add one sf after another to your roster, and say we'll simply move one of them, and get at least market value in return.
We don't disagree often, but it seems we do here.
Lets start with capspace. Lets forget about how the roster may or may not be used. You and I have no control over that, nor do we have influence. We won 24 games last season, so I think we can agree, that although we do have a few special players, we certainly don't have a championship team, or even a playoff team at this point. Looking at the team from that prospective, its safe to say, that the team needs more talent. If the most talented player available in the draft when the Kings pick is a SF, then you draft him. If its a PG, then you draft him. The point is to add more talent, and not worry about rotations, minutes, feelings, or whether you have too many players at one position. One step at a time.
Now its apparent that the Kings believe Casspi, Cisco, and Greene aren't the answer at the SF position. That means, they'll either draft a SF, or trade for a SF, or sign a freeagent SF. Or, even do two of those things. As I stated previously, they could draft a Leonard, and then sign a Battier to a 3 yr deal for the short term until Leonard is more experienced. Or not! But I think its safe to think that they have a plan. If you and I, and the rest of the world, knows that there would be a logjam at the SF positon, something tells me that Petrie also knows.
Both Casspi and Greene would be easier to trade than you think. Neither make substantial amounts of money, and Greene is in the last year of his contract. Casspi is attractive because of his heritage, his long term potential, and his small contract. Greene is attractive because someone would be willing to take a one year flyer on a young player on the chance that a change of scenery will make a difference. And it might!. Now what you could get for either of them is another matter. But both are quite tradable. And I think that at least one, if not both will be end up being traded. Thats more likely than Cisco being traded. His contract is too big, for what he brings to the table, and his age is also a factor. But with crazy GM's like Kahn around, you never know.
As far as where the rest of our capspace would go? Well I think it all depends on who is available in a trade, thats lopsided financially with us absorbing salary. Or who we could attract in the freeagent market. I could start throwing out names, but that would be like shooting arrows in the air and hoping one hits something. The point is, we have money to spend, and the team needs more talent. That sounds like the perfect scenario to me.
The way I look at it, is that the Kings have three players that should be considered the core of the team. Cousins, Evans, and Thornton. I didn't add Dalembert because he's not a sure thing. Hopefully Thornton is. But lets assume he is. After that, every other player and positon is up for grabs. Now hopefully Dalembert will again be added, and I would assume, that barring some sort of trade, Thompson will be part of the mix. If so, now were up to five players. Of the players that are left under contract, how many would you want on a championship contender. Cisco? Greene? Casspi? Probably not! Beno? Yeah, I could see him as a role player on a good team. Ok, now were up to six players. Six players that we think can be on a good contending team. That leaves six players left to fill out a twelve man roster. So lets throw in Whiteside as the 12th player riding the bench just for the sake of potential.
If you add Cisco because you can't trade him, it still leaves you with four spots to fill, and the quality of the players you fill those spots with could make the difference between making or not making the playoffs. Barring a major trade, were talking about role players, but good role players. I know I'm assuming a lot. I'm assuming that at least two of our players under contract will be moved. Maybe three. Its been rumored that Beno has been shopped around the league. But its just a rumor. Bottom line is, I doubt we'll have a problem spending our capspace money. This team needs all the help it can get.
Let me finish by saying, and I mean no disrespect by this, but I think you and some others are overthinking this thing, and in many cases, putting the cart before the horse. You can't have too much talent on a team. You can have a poor fit, or missuse of that talent, but those are separate issues. And they should be addressed separately. As I stated before, you can't draft, or add talent in any way with the thought in mind of making it Westphal proof.
