Kings reach agreement w/Bjelica 3yrs/$20.5M

[Capt. Factorial]

OK I thought the MLE could be used after you use all your cap space

I thought the MLE could be used to sign players after you reach the Total Cap , so you can exceed the cap

Stretch Davis or Ben, offer sheet to Clint 100 mil, then use MLE to sign Bjelica to 3 yrs 18mil total

There are several different "Mid-Level Exceptions". The standard (non tax-payer) MLE is $8.6M this year. There is also a tax-payer MLE (only $5.3M if you are in the tax). For teams that have cap space, if they spend up to the cap they develop a "Room MLE" of $4.4M. However, due to the size of the Room MLE and the fact it can only be used for one or two year deals (no three+ year deals) your proposal to use the MLE on Bjelica for 3/$18M is not possible.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

He can play some minutes at 3 but imo he clearly is more effective when playing the 4. Would be questionable to finally get a stretch 4 and play him as a 3.

Which makes him a curious player to pursue. Maybe Vlade really IS thinking about playing Bagley at the 3. (?!?!)

 

[AleksandarN]

Which makes him a curious player to pursue. Maybe Vlade really IS thinking about playing Bagley at the 3. (?!?!)

Well makes sense if Bagley plays a 4 on offence and a 3 on defense and vies versa for Bjelica

 

[joemama]

There are several different "Mid-Level Exceptions". The standard (non tax-payer) MLE is $8.6M this year. There is also a tax-payer MLE (only $5.3M if you are in the tax). For teams that have cap space, if they spend up to the cap they develop a "Room MLE" of $4.4M. However, due to the size of the Room MLE and the fact it can only be used for one or two year deals (no three+ year deals) your proposal to use the MLE on Bjelica for 3/$18M is not possible.

According to spotrac we have the
Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception of $8,641,000

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/cap/

I see what you're sayimg tho, that if we sped up to the cap we would only have the room exemption.

 

[jcwkings]

Seems like a player who wasn't fully utilized in Minnesota, but even then he was consistently closing games for them. Could fare better here if Vlade signs him.

 

[LPKingsFan]

According to spotrac we have the
Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception of $8,641,000

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/cap/

I see what you're sayimg tho, that if we sped up to the cap we would only have the room exemption.

Right. The team has the MLE at the moment, but my understanding is that the MLE has a cap hold of sorts, so if the team wants to use all its cap space it has to renounce the MLE to eliminate the hold. After spending all the space, you don’t get the MLE back, but you do get the smaller “room” exception.

 

[Double-K]

He is spending a lot of time on the court with BOTH Taj Gibson and KAT in this video clip.

OT for a second, but has KAT's jumpshot always look that ugly? (at around 2:15 if you didn't catch it)

 

[Nokidding]

He is a SF that ithe Timberwolves made into a PF he could play PF as well the dude would be a nice addition.

 

[Showtime]

He backed out of the philly deal because it was only a year. Offer him a 4 year, 18 mil deal with a team option on the last year.

 

[Nokidding]

I also have a feeling he backed out of the Philly deal because with Convington/Simmons/Saric/Chandler playing the 3/4 the playing time is just not there, here in Sacramento he can be the starting 3 and play some 4 plus the fact he's known Vlade cause of the Serbian connection does not hurt. The guy was a Euroleague MVP (not that it means anything in the NBA) but he wants playing time not be watching like Thibs forced him to.

 

[swisshh]

He's not fast enough to guard SFs. Nemanja doesn't run. He moves faster or lopes. He uses his overall size to get his shot off. He's not getting by anyone without a great shotfake.

He does make good plays and passes, so he may help the team passing aspect. He's actually got the skills to be a good post feeder, which is a skill that is immensely underappreciated.

 

[joemama]

James Ham @James_HamNBCS
Can confirm that the Kings are deep in discussions on a potential two-year deal with forward Nemanja Bjelica. Nothing is done yet.

 

[Livinthedream]

I mean.... what is the difference between a SF and a stretch 4. Ideally a small forward is someone who can play inside and outside. Has some lateral quickness to handle the majority of SFs in the league. Handle the ball a little bit when necessary and get rebounds. If you handle the ball a lot, your a point forward. So what's a stretch 4? Same SF skills, but a little taller.

If I'm wrong, let me know, but I don't know what the big deal is about the stretch 4 vs SF label. Play Bjelica at the 3 if you want. Who cares as long as he provides you what you want from that position. Switch him back and forth between the 2 positions as needed. SF problem solved.

 

[rhythmless]

Great this guy is solid id take him at sf over jackson

Perhaps this is part of a longer term deal coming where Bjlecia will be the backup

Why does everyone continue to think we have "long term" plans? When in the Vivek era have we ever shown that moves have been made with a larger plan in place?

 

[rhythmless]

I mean.... what is the difference between a SF and a stretch 4. Ideally a small forward is someone who can play inside and outside. Has some lateral quickness to handle the majority of SFs in the league. Handle the ball a little bit when necessary and get rebounds. If you handle the ball a lot, your a point forward. So what's a stretch 4? Same SF skills, but a little taller.

If I'm wrong, let me know, but I don't know what the big deal is about the stretch 4 vs SF label. Play Bjelica at the 3 if you want. Who cares as long as he provides you what you want from that position. Switch him back and forth between the 2 positions as needed. SF problem solved.

The big deal is that a "stretch 4" is just a term used to describe a tall guy who is unsuited to bang and grab boards but too slow to guard guys on the wing. His only redeeming quality is that he can catch the ball and shoot a 3. The big deal is that we still don't have a guy that can be a primary defender against a swingman for 35 minutes.

 

[Shaqfuey]

Why does everyone continue to think we have "long term" plans? When in the Vivek era have we ever shown that moves have been made with a larger plan in place?

Hiring Joeger, drafting Fox, adding complimentary pieces to build around Fox. Isn’t this considered a plan? Plans don’t always work “according to plan” so tweaks have to be made based on reality and options available. That doesn’t mean the plan has been abandoned.

 

[funkykingston]

Which makes him a curious player to pursue. Maybe Vlade really IS thinking about playing Bagley at the 3. (?!?!)

Or of starting Bogdan at the SF. That's the only scenario where the offer sheet to LaVine really makes sense.

Bjelica plays well with the ball in his hands so I could see a scenario where he and Bagley play together at times and MB3 takes the tougher matchup on defense.

 

[Shaqfuey]

He's not fast enough to guard SFs. Nemanja doesn't run. He moves faster or lopes. He uses his overall size to get his shot off. He's not getting by anyone without a great shotfake.

He does make good plays and passes, so he may help the team passing aspect. He's actually got the skills to be a good post feeder, which is a skill that is immensely underappreciated.

Sounds like Vlade

 

[funkykingston]

The big deal is that a "stretch 4" is just a term used to describe a tall guy who is unsuited to bang and grab boards but too slow to guard guys on the wing. His only redeeming quality is that he can catch the ball and shoot a 3.

Bjelica is actually a pretty good rebounder and an underrated playmaker. He's shown that he can be effective as the ball handler in P&R situations.

He also had a better 3P% than anyone on the Kings not named Buddy Hield at 42%. He's not a core piece, but he's a nice luxury to have.

 

[Blob]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1019699352946688001

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Or of starting Bogdan at the SF. That's the only scenario where the offer sheet to LaVine really makes sense.

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, at least as regards acquiring Bjelica. If Bjelica is to be a 4, then we have an incredible glut of big men:

Bagley, Giles, WCS, Bjelica, Koufos, Randolph, Skal, Davis (?)

That's potentially 8 guys fighting for time at two spots? I don't see that as feasible, especially if we're going to go super-small with Bogdan at SF. That would mean we'd have Fox and Hield manning the 1/2 with only an iffy Mason, the ghost of Shumpert and the ghost of McLemore backing that up. The distribution makes no sense to me if neither Bjelica/Bagley are tagged to play the 3.

 

[VF21]

Why does everyone continue to think we have "long term" plans? When in the Vivek era have we ever shown that moves have been made with a larger plan in place?

When? How about NOW? At some point some of you are going to have to accept that maybe (just maybe) there is a plan.

 

[Hallama]

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, at least as regards acquiring Bjelica. If Bjelica is to be a 4, then we have an incredible glut of big men:

Bagley, Giles, WCS, Bjelica, Koufos, Randolph, Skal, Davis (?)

That's potentially 8 guys fighting for time at two spots? I don't see that as feasible, especially if we're going to go super-small with Bogdan at SF. That would mean we'd have Fox and Hield manning the 1/2 with only an iffy Mason, the ghost of Shumpert and the ghost of McLemore backing that up. The distribution makes no sense to me if neither Bjelica/Bagley are tagged to play the 3.

Nice to have options though. And Bjelica would be a rotation player so that's always nice to move a not as good player out of the rotation. The rookies will still get their minutes, slowly at first. KK makes a good trade candidate with his expiring and experience. Randolph is dead weight literally and figuratively. Skal probably gets left out.

 

[Kingsfan23]

There are several different "Mid-Level Exceptions". The standard (non tax-payer) MLE is $8.6M this year. There is also a tax-payer MLE (only $5.3M if you are in the tax). For teams that have cap space, if they spend up to the cap they develop a "Room MLE" of $4.4M. However, due to the size of the Room MLE and the fact it can only be used for one or two year deals (no three+ year deals) your proposal to use the MLE on Bjelica for 3/$18M is not possible.

I won’t be happy if anything is used on Bjelica that precludes is from a Capela chase

I don’t like that he’s 30 already and not capable of upside on our timeline either

 

[White_Chocolate]

He’s 30 with no


I won’t be happy if anything is used on Bjelica that precludes is from a Capela chase

We are not getting capela. We can stop with that talk. The most we can offer is like 4 for 85 or something which they would just match. I would rather have something than nothing

 

[funkykingston]

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, at least as regards acquiring Bjelica. If Bjelica is to be a 4, then we have an incredible glut of big men:

Bagley, Giles, WCS, Bjelica, Koufos, Randolph, Skal, Davis (?)

That's potentially 8 guys fighting for time at two spots? I don't see that as feasible, especially if we're going to go super-small with Bogdan at SF. That would mean we'd have Fox and Hield manning the 1/2 with only an iffy Mason, the ghost of Shumpert and the ghost of McLemore backing that up. The distribution makes no sense to me if neither Bjelica/Bagley are tagged to play the 3.

I was really just reacting to the idea that Vlade is thinking of Bagley at the 3. I just think it's more likely that he thinks that the wings are largely covered by Bogdan/Buddy/Jackson.

Bjelica is a luxury as a stretch 4 though I could also see he and Bagley playing together for stretches where Bagley can guard the tougher forward matchup.

I think Davis will be waived. The cash considerations were essentially the same as his salary so that's how I'm connecting those dots.

I believe the vision is that the bigman rotation is envisioned to be WCS/Giles/Bagley with Bjelica as a stretch 4 option. Hopefully Koufos and Randolph are only getting minutes when injury forces them into action or (in Kosta's case) when there's a bruising big that the young Kings can't physically matchup with. But that's a rare instance in today's NBA.

What this move would make me wonder is if the front office has any confidence in Skal. As stands, Labissiere is the closest things the Kings have to a stretch 4 but Bjelica would take that bench role.

 

[KingsSelecao]

What's the point? Really? A 30 year old. Who will be 31 in Nov. This is a ridiculous front office.
This move would make sense if the Kings are fighting for a playoff spot. But, This guy is is a 7-9 guy off the bench. It's more stupid incompetence. Do you Kings plan to start him? Of course, He's a vet. Why not?

Vlade please fire yourself.

 

[White_Chocolate]

What's the point? Really? A 30 year old. Who will be 31 in Nov. This is a ridiculous front office.
This move would make sense if the Kings are fighting for a playoff spot. But, This guy is is a 7-9 guy off the bench. It's more stupid incompetence. Do you Kings plan to start him? Of course, He's a vet. Why not?

If it’s two years and he adds quality to the team why does it matter his age ? He makes more sense than koufus or zbo on this team

Vlade please fire yourself.

 

[Kings Faithful]

A log jam of young prospects with potential, a ton of cap space, and a roster that is all over the place..... We are primed for a massive trade. It's the only thing that makes sense. I believe that at least one of, perhaps all of, WCS, Buddy, KK, and Skal will be sent off.

 

[Blob]

I won’t be happy if anything is used on Bjelica that precludes is from a Capela chase

I don’t like that he’s 30 already and not capable of upside on our timeline either

I tend to agree. Vlade is from Serbia. Bjelica is from Serbia. Gee, way to think outside the box.

If this happens this move seems like a bit of a reach. Bjelica is an upgrade over Jackson but that's not saying much of anything. Swish made the point that "He does make good plays and passes, so he may help the team passing aspect. He's got the skills to be a good post feeder, which is immensely under-appreciated." I agree. Feeding the ball to Bagley and Giles in their sweet spots from the wing is good. Bjelica can do this at his height and vision. It doesn't seem like a big thing but relative to what we have it is!

Bjelica's game reminds me of Nikola Mirotic to a degree. But Mirotic is a capable starter and great complementary player to your star(s). Where was Bjelica to support KAT and Butler in this regard? Why did he not emerge more? Who stole his playing time? I wonder why he could not carve more of a role for himself in Minnesota? I'd rather give max dollars to Capela or wait for a better opportunity than this modest slug-like talent. This is NOT an inspired move. Its rooted in familiarity and bit of scraping from the bottom of the free agent barrel .

The Kings should be thinking bigger. Do we get better if we sign him? Yes. But what is the opportunity cost? Is it worth it as the only team in the NBA with major cap space? I don't think so.