Articles/reactions from around the league (merged)

E

ESP47

All-Star
#2
#2
Watched Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption.

On Around the Horn, 3 of the 4 were spot on in smashing the Kings. Bob Ryan couldn't even fathom why they did this deal. Said the panicked and should have just waited until the trade deadline to build leverage and force a team to give up more than they wanted. The only guy who said it was a good deal for us was Plaschke (Los Angeles) which is no surprise. Said this was the best deal we could get for Cousins.

PTI was worse. Kornheiser and Wilbon got nearly everything they said wrong except for how terrible a franchise the Kings are. Neither even acknowledged that Cousins can shoot 3's. Compared him to Shaq and said he doesn't operate out of the paint. Kornheiser said we should be in Seattle right now and that we're the least relevant franchise in all of sports except for maybe the Jaguars. He also said that Cousins has been uncoachable and has not listened to a single coach in Sacramento.
 
KingsFanSince85

KingsFanSince85

All-Star
#4
#4
Watching David Aldridge on NBA Gametime basically calling out the Divac and the Kings. He said that you can only trade your best player once so you better get the best deal you can and that there's no chance this was the best deal they could get whether it be yesterday, today, tomorrow or this Summer.
 
2

206Fan

All-Star
#6
#6
Kevin McHale on DeMarcus Cousins:

A few snippets. They asked McHale if he thinks we'll see change in Cousins' personality and game:
" No I don't think you'll see any change, and I don't think he'll fit in very well. He doesn't fit very well yet in the NBA. You can talk about numbers, you can talk about a lot of stuff."

He follows that directly by talking about Cousins' trade value. This is what McHale said:

"I hear people saying 'Oh Vlade got screwed in this deal', Vlade talked to every team in the league. Now from the outside looking in, you might say oh that's a... You know what, I always say this. If you have a house and everyone tells you that it's a 2 million dollar house, but the best offer you get is $1million, then you have a 1million dollar house. Because that's what other people are willing to pay for it."

The reason why I linked McHale is because we receive insight from a former player and coach. His thinking is probably what goes on in the minds of coaches and FOs. It's a different perspective. I think everyone over-estimated Cousins' value. His talent is worth 2 Nets pick, Jaylen Brown, and Avery Bradley. However, Cousins as a player? It's only worth 1 Pelican pick and Buddy Hield.
 
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Big Cuz 15

Big Cuz 15

All-Star
#7
#7
thought i was taking a break from kings then a friend sent me this damn link. **** YOU VIVEK

https://theringer.com/demarcus-cous...-jimmy-butler-celtics-bc7e5af236ff#.lnhozedje

But the fault is on Kings ownership. Vivek Ranadivé believes Buddy Hield has Stephen Curry–level potential, a source explained; they view him as the equivalent of a top-five pick with superstar upside — a franchise-altering piece. “People don’t realize that teams get fixated on certain players and do deals specifically to get those players,” said a league executive. Trades require ownership approval, and in Ranadivé’s eyes, Hield was by far the best available asset being offered.

According to an Eastern Conference source, Divac also called the Celtics, but asked for far too much in return and refused to negotiate. There’s also belief that the Nuggets were willing to include anyone but Nikola Jokic and perhaps Jamal Murray in a trade for Cousins. Per a separate source, the Suns were offering a package of players and multiple first-round draft picks (including one or both of their upcoming Miami picks), but the Kings declined. “We would have traded for him at the right price,” Suns general manager Ryan McDonough admitted to Arizona Sports 98.7. “We didn’t want to break up our young core to get him.”

If this doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry; it doesn’t make sense to anyone. It was not the most orderly or rational process by the Kings. “Vlade needed a huge haul to get Vivek to sign off [on a different deal],” said the Eastern Conference source. “They needed a home run deal to get past Vivek.”

Apparently that home run was Buddy Hield, a player Ranadivé was reportedly enamored with. Divac’s desperation stemmed from Ranadivé saying no over and over again to every Cousins trade proposal. The Kings owner was “softening slightly” to the idea of dealing the franchise center over the past year, per a source, and this was Divac’s chance to press the reset button. If Divac waited, there’s a chance Ranadivé would reverse course once again. The Kings wouldn’t have been in this mess if they had dealt Cousins for a huge return one to three years ago, but Ranadivé’s unwillingness at the time to move on made that impossible. Instead, they dealt Cousins, after assuring Boogie’s agent they were committed to signing the star big man long-term. Now, they’re a dysfunctional organization, barren of high-value assets, with a track record of burning bridges.
 
Big Cuz 15

Big Cuz 15

All-Star
#8
#8
I've been saying this like a broken record, vivek wants to be the warriors north. We will NOT stop until we get steph/klay clones on this team.
 
ockingsfan

ockingsfan

Starter
#9
#9
The saddest part about this "rebuild" is that Vlade and Vivek has put the future of the franchise into 4 players from the 2016 NBA Draft, a draft that is widely viewed as one of the weakest drafts in a long time.

For everyone's sake, lets hope that a couple of these projects work out and become legit NBA players.

I pray that Buddy Hield can at least get to a solid NBA starter level player.
 
S

Siranthony

Starter
#11
#11
206Fan said:
Kevin McHale on DeMarcus Cousins:

A few snippets. They asked McHale if he thinks we'll see change in Cousins' personality and game:
" No I don't think you'll see any change, and I don't think he'll fit in very well. He doesn't fit very well yet in the NBA. You can talk about numbers, you can talk about a lot of stuff."

He follows that directly by talking about Cousins' trade value. This is what McHale said:

"I hear people saying 'Oh Vlade got screwed in this deal', Vlade talked to every team in the league. Now from the outside looking in, you might say oh that's a... You know what, I always say this. If you have a house and everyone tells you that it's a 2 million dollar house, but the best offer you get is $1million, then you have a 1million dollar house. Because that's what other people are willing to pay for it."

The reason why I linked McHale is because we receive insight from a former player and coach. His thinking is probably what goes on in the minds of coaches and FOs. It's a different perspective. I think everyone over-estimated Cousins' value. His talent is worth 2 Nets pick, Jaylen Brown, and Avery Bradley. However, Cousins as a player? It's only worth 1 Pelican pick and Buddy Hield.
Click to expand...
Nice interview. Tells it like it is and not blinded by the talent cousins has. Sees the big picture.
 
sterö

sterö

Bench
#12
#12
I think it's time for a "Fire Vlade Divac" thread. Publicly lying about not trading Cousins, completely losing his credibility ensuring we won't land any key free-agents as long as he is our GM, and publicly confess that he failed in the Cousins trade (since he had a better offer for Cousins 2 days ago) should be reason enough to part ways. I was not necessarily against trading Cousins, but not this way. And Vlade clearly had his mark on the Stauskas trade disaster as well, giving up our unprotected 2019 (highly likely) top 5 pick for free. Thank you for making us the laughing stock of the NBA. #InVladeWeDontTrust
 
fansinceday1

fansinceday1

Starter
#13
#13
Listening to yesterday's vlade press conference I was ready to toss vlade out on his arse. Now, reading about the process I'm starting to soften on vlade a tad because he is in the most anetaneable position anyone can be in. Vivek on the other hand, I cannot stand the little man. Vlade, it seems, frantically took the heald deal because of his stupid moronic owner. This owner has hamstrung this team because of his obsession with his former team. And that obsession is not going to go away. Vlade will ultimately be the fall guy for what might be the worst trade in sports but we cannot forget this, this trade was all about viveks obsession with others becoming just like his beloved ex team. We're screwed for the foreseeable future.
 
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2

206Fan

All-Star
#16
#16
funkykingston said:
Interesting if true - Boston was never in the conversation.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...r-For-DeMarcus-Cousins-Fearful-Of-Him-Leaving
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think I linked it in a different thread, but they basically said the Celts weren't interested in Cousins. There was also a tweet from a Boston guy who said they asked if Stevens would like to coach Cousins, and he said no.

This speaks a lot of volume about Cousins. His value around the league isn't high, and we see that now. There's at least 20 teams out there who could've gave a competitive offer against the Pels'. However there were only 2 other teams who actually did. More telling about Cousins than the org.
 
P

Peter_Gibbons

Starter
#17
#17
Big Cuz 15 said:
thought i was taking a break from kings then a friend sent me this damn link. **** YOU VIVEK

https://theringer.com/demarcus-cous...-jimmy-butler-celtics-bc7e5af236ff#.lnhozedje

But the fault is on Kings ownership. Vivek Ranadivé believes Buddy Hield has Stephen Curry–level potential, a source explained; they view him as the equivalent of a top-five pick with superstar upside — a franchise-altering piece. “People don’t realize that teams get fixated on certain players and do deals specifically to get those players,” said a league executive. Trades require ownership approval, and in Ranadivé’s eyes, Hield was by far the best available asset being offered.

According to an Eastern Conference source, Divac also called the Celtics, but asked for far too much in return and refused to negotiate. There’s also belief that the Nuggets were willing to include anyone but Nikola Jokic and perhaps Jamal Murray in a trade for Cousins. Per a separate source, the Suns were offering a package of players and multiple first-round draft picks (including one or both of their upcoming Miami picks), but the Kings declined. “We would have traded for him at the right price,” Suns general manager Ryan McDonough admitted to Arizona Sports 98.7. “We didn’t want to break up our young core to get him.”

If this doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry; it doesn’t make sense to anyone. It was not the most orderly or rational process by the Kings. “Vlade needed a huge haul to get Vivek to sign off [on a different deal],” said the Eastern Conference source. “They needed a home run deal to get past Vivek.”

Apparently that home run was Buddy Hield, a player Ranadivé was reportedly enamored with. Divac’s desperation stemmed from Ranadivé saying no over and over again to every Cousins trade proposal. The Kings owner was “softening slightly” to the idea of dealing the franchise center over the past year, per a source, and this was Divac’s chance to press the reset button. If Divac waited, there’s a chance Ranadivé would reverse course once again. The Kings wouldn’t have been in this mess if they had dealt Cousins for a huge return one to three years ago, but Ranadivé’s unwillingness at the time to move on made that impossible. Instead, they dealt Cousins, after assuring Boogie’s agent they were committed to signing the star big man long-term. Now, they’re a dysfunctional organization, barren of high-value assets, with a track record of burning bridges.
Click to expand...

So if this is true, Vivek really thinks Hield will at least be as big a star player as Cousins. Basically if no "shooter" was offered, Vivek would've said no till the end.

Honestly, none of the rumored deals were good enough to get the best center in the world who is only 26 yrs old and loves the city he was playing for. But we ended up picking one of the worse.

LA espn radio was talking about the Lakers willing to include both Randle and Russell + a later 1st rounder they were trying to get for Lou Williams. Russell as this point is > Hield. Randle will likely be better than anyone Vlade will draft with the Pelicans pick.

Guys all over the national sports radio this morning were just mockign Vlade's interview line by line on how dumb he was to actually not know that agents will try to block trades to protect their client and their pocket.
 
P

Peter_Gibbons

Starter
#18
#18
fansinceday1 said:
Listening to yesterday's vlade press conference I was ready to toss vlade out on his arse. Now, reading about the process I'm starting to soften on vlade a tad because he is in the most anetaneable position anyone can be in. Vivek on the other hand, I cannot stand the little man. Vlade, it seems, frantically took the heald deal because of his stupid moronic owner. This owner has hamstrung this team because of his obsession with his former team. And that obsession is not going to go away. Vlade will ultimately be the fall guy for what might be the worst trade in sports but we cannot forget this, this trade was all about viveks obsession with others becoming just like his beloved ex team. We're screwed for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

It's hard to let Vlade off the hook because we don't know who's decision was it to tell Cousins+agents that they'll offer the max to keep him and then changing on that seemingly last min.

How can you work at this level and not make up your mind and have a long term plan before meeting with Cousins to talk about that? These actions further solidifies the narrative that the Kings FO are a laughing stock and the worse in all of sports. It sucks to hear that if you are a Kings fan but it's also the truth.
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#20
#20
206Fan said:
Yeah, I think I linked it in a different thread, but they basically said the Celts weren't interested in Cousins. There was also a tweet from a Boston guy who said they asked if Stevens would like to coach Cousins, and he said no.

This speaks a lot of volume about Cousins. His value around the league isn't high, and we see that now. There's at least 20 teams out there who could've gave a competitive offer against the Pels'. However there were only 2 other teams who actually did. More telling about Cousins than the org.
Click to expand...
I just realized that RealGM was pulling that info from a Voisin article. Take that for what it's worth.

How the Kings didn't get a 2nd 1st AND allowed the Pelicans to top 3 protect that pick is beyond me.

There is now a chance the Kings lose their pick to Chicago (very slim at this point) AND don't get a pick from New Orleans this season if they luck into a top three spot which right now they have about an 8% chance of doing.

So frustrating.
 
G

glassman

Guest
#22
#22
“Why the Kings Had to Take the Pelicans’ Offer” by The Ringer NBA Show

https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-demarcus-cousins-trade-analysis-27840c8cfc01#.7chgn0v9m

Being that it's so rare to find any slightly positive press on the trade I figured this could be it's own thread. He even went as far to say he believed that Vlade did his due diligence.

In a nutshell... we got the best possible deal we could. He goes team by team on how that was possible.

My take is this

The Kings for reasons known or unknown decided that we NEEDED to RIGHT NOW move on. Maybe there was another Cousins blow up behind the scenes, or maybe it was the overall collective antics and fear of that MASSIVE contract / ball and chain coming this summer. Either way a decision to move on happened.

Once that decision was made this is probably the best we could do.

As a Kings fan I realize my biased acceptance and view of his demonstrative behavior. However other teams don't see it the same. He had seriously damaged his reputation as a dependable franchise guy.

I wanted to keep Cousins and watch him mature and "finally get it". I wanted to watch the guy the media hated win with the team the media hated.

Unfortunately a decision was made.

I still have faith that Vivek has backed away for the most part and as this article points at ...we didn't lose Cousins for nothing like the OKC did with KD (that would have been even more devastating to the Kings future)

We get Two 1st RD picks (we get to keep ours) and a high 2nd in a good draft. Heild can't be counted out as a bust or not capable of being a star level player yet. Maybe for the first time since Cousins we can hit in the draft.

It's not the best case or haul we had hoped for but it beats nothing. Maybe we really did need to let go now.

Oh well I'm still a fan. I hope others will look to the positive and support all these young guys who could still be really good eventually.
 
KingsFanSince85

KingsFanSince85

All-Star
#26
#26
Siranthony said:
Nice interview. Tells it like it is and not blinded by the talent cousins has. Sees the big picture.
Click to expand...
Those that can't see how awful this is are blinded by their own personal feeling toward the player and actually DO NOT see the big picture.

Let me enlighten you on the big picture.

The reasons why they play the games and we fans watch is to get to the postseason and win a championship. And, make no mistake, you need a player like Cousins to win a championship. And before anybody starts with the "they weren't winning with Cousins" tripe, the reason they weren't and aren't winning is because the various ownership groups and GM's have botched nearly every draft pick, trade, coaching/front office hire, etc. they've made. As good a player as Cousins is, no single player in the league was going to win in Sacramento given all those circumstances. Period. You won't find a single team winning 40+ games or making playoff appearances while in the midst of 5 consecutive 1st round draft picks that have produced little to nothing or while trading away MVP caliber players for a small return. And let's not even get into the 9 coaching hires since 2006, the relocation drama, or ownership changes.

While the Kings might be able to eventually find themselves a solid starting 5 that can win 40+ games and reach the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs, the fact is they will never win a title unless they have a true superstar talent to go with it. Despite never having drafted one (other than Cousins) in 32 years, they oh so willingly just gave one of those players away for essentially nothing. And why? Because he didn't have the positive body language of Kosta Koufas or the mild-mannered demeanor of Ben McLemore? Wonderful. If that's what's important to you, have fave fun trying to win with those guys.

Our beloved 2002 era Sacramento Kings didn't win a title for numerous reasons. While injuries and officiating were part of it, another key component was that they didn't have a go to player. A player that in the most important and dire of situations is going to make the key shot, assist, steal, rebound or block needed to win the game. A guy that you could give the ball to on the final play all while knowing he was going to be doubled or tripled, but had the talent to overcome and the mentality not to fold under the pressure. As great as that team was, they didn't have that guy. They had 6 or 7 A- to B+ level players.

But when the pressure reached it's peak in the WCF's, that team missed free throws, open 3's and other key plays because they didn't have a pit bull like Kobe Bryant. Mike Bibby was the sorta that guy, but he had nowhere near the skill or talent to do what Kobe Bryant did for the Lakers or Allen Iverson did for the Sixers. Bibby wasn't unique. Chris Webber was, but he didn't have a killer mentality. However, DeMarcus Cousins is Mike Bibby and Chris Webber rolled into one. A guy that has all the talent in the world and isn't afraid to fail.

So, the "big" picture should be to not only get to the playoffs, but to have a realistic chance to win once you get there. Teams like the 2014/15 Atlanta Hawks can win 60 games in the regular season, but they have no shot to win a title because they don't have a DeMarcus Cousins type talent. The Sacramento Kings did, but they failed to surround him with the complimentary talent like that Hawks team had. And that is the fault of ownership/GM who had multiple opportunities to compile the necessary talent yet couldn't make even one sound decision.

The real problem in Sacramento is it's front office leadership or lack there of. It's been that way since 2006 and isn't changing any time soon unless the current chairman hires a capable and qualified GM and gets out of the way OR sells off to a new chairman that actually has a clue how to do things the right way.

Sunday's trade did nothing to change "culture" because the bozos making all the mistakes are still running the team.
 
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P

Peter_Gibbons

Starter
#27
#27
glassman said:
“Why the Kings Had to Take the Pelicans’ Offer” by The Ringer NBA Show

https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-demarcus-cousins-trade-analysis-27840c8cfc01#.7chgn0v9m

Being that it's so rare to find any slightly positive press on the trade I figured this could be it's own thread. He even went as far to say he believed that Vlade did his due diligence.

In a nutshell... we got the best possible deal we could. He goes team by team on how that was possible.

My take is this

The Kings for reasons known or unknown decided that we NEEDED to RIGHT NOW move on. Maybe there was another Cousins blow up behind the scenes, or maybe it was the overall collective antics and fear of that MASSIVE contract / ball and chain coming this summer. Either way a decision to move on happened.

Once that decision was made this is probably the best we could do.

As a Kings fan I realize my biased acceptance and view of his demonstrative behavior. However other teams don't see it the same. He had seriously damaged his reputation as a dependable franchise guy.

I wanted to keep Cousins and watch him mature and "finally get it". I wanted to watch the guy the media hated win with the team the media hated.

Unfortunately a decision was made.

I still have faith that Vivek has backed away for the most part and as this article points at ...we didn't lose Cousins for nothing like the OKC did with KD (that would have been even more devastating to the Kings future)

We get Two 1st RD picks (we get to keep ours) and a high 2nd in a good draft. Heild can't be counted out as a bust or not capable of being a star level player yet. Maybe for the first time since Cousins we can hit in the draft.

It's not the best case or haul we had hoped for but it beats nothing. Maybe we really did need to let go now.

Oh well I'm still a fan. I hope others will look to the positive and support all these young guys who could still be really good eventually.
Click to expand...

I respect your personal view, but for most fans who have invested so much time and money into this team, "better than nothing" doesn't cut it when you give away an All NBA superstar who is just entering his prime. To top it off, he loves the city. I repeat, a superstar that wants to stay in Sac and win in Sac. When you put all those things together, the FO should know that to get all that, you have to put up with some "immature" behavior.

The Kings will likely NEVER get another player as good as Cousins who actually is loyal to the team and city. Some people will say you've got to judge Cousins by more than just his basketball talents and points to his technicals and anger issues. But if you do that, make sure you factor in his loyalty for the team/city, how he could've asked for a trade after the Malone firing but didn't, how he donates to schools, charities and doesn't want the media to report it.

Let's face it, superstars never wanted to come to Sactown and we had one but shipped him out for scraps. Don't forget the way it was done also, telling Boogie and his agents face to face that he'll be offered an extension. The one and only loyal superstar who wanted to play his entire career with the team and Vlade/Vivek blew it.
 
Double-K

Double-K

Starter
#28
#28
206Fan said:
A few snippets. They asked McHale if he thinks we'll see change in Cousins' personality and game:
" No I don't think you'll see any change, and I don't think he'll fit in very well. He doesn't fit very well yet in the NBA. You can talk about numbers, you can talk about a lot of stuff."

He follows that directly by talking about Cousins' trade value. This is what McHale said:

"I hear people saying 'Oh Vlade got screwed in this deal', Vlade talked to every team in the league. Now from the outside looking in, you might say oh that's a... You know what, I always say this. If you have a house and everyone tells you that it's a 2 million dollar house, but the best offer you get is $1million, then you have a 1million dollar house. Because that's what other people are willing to pay for it."

The reason why I linked McHale is because we receive insight from a former player and coach. His thinking is probably what goes on in the minds of coaches and FOs. It's a different perspective. I think everyone over-estimated Cousins' value. His talent is worth 2 Nets pick, Jaylen Brown, and Avery Bradley. However, Cousins as a player? It's only worth 1 Pelican pick and Buddy Hield.
Click to expand...
This would have been a perfect scenario to keep your house, since the market only see it being worth $1 million, and improve it to a point where they come knock on your door and ask to buy it for $10 million. So you can reject it outright again.

Unless you really need that $1 million.
 
Krunker

Krunker

Northernmost Kings Fan
#29
#29
glassman said:
“Why the Kings Had to Take the Pelicans’ Offer” by The Ringer NBA Show

The Kings for reasons known or unknown decided that we NEEDED to RIGHT NOW move on.
Click to expand...
Right, although even then why not at least wait until the trade deadline for potentially better offers? It's not like Cousins would be causing damage those extra couple days with no games? I guess there is always behind the scenes stuff we may not be privy to, but it's hard to fathom.
 
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