ESPN Insider has Kings interested in Pryzbilla, lots of teams going after Bonzi

[Kings113]

Kevin's a good rebounder himself... usually got 5-8 per game. Obviously Bonzi's a beast, but still, Kevin can board.

 

[Kings113]

^^^^ Thank you. I would rather develop our young guys than sign Wells. All signing Wells would do is screw up K-Marts minutes and move Garcia further down the bench. sheesh! I know it's Monday but come on!!

I think if we were to let Bonzi walk, and develop what we have (we have a decent core of guys so we will not be a 30 win team) a lot of people will be pleasantly suprised.

Signing a guy like Wells is what teams that are contending for a championship that very year do. Not teams that are trying to develop thair talent.

Hey, you're gonna find people you disagree with on some things, and one of these things and one of those people is me on signing Bonzi.

I already said agree to disagree on the subject anyways.

Really though, I can go either way. If we lose Bonzi, that sucks, I would of liked to keep him, But, we have Kevin to fall back on to start and is promising. Only thing with that, is we'd have to get a veteran wingman to replace Bonzi's experience as a 2nd/3rd man off the bench. Since we can't just have Artest and 3 young guys, need some more experience in there, somewhere on the roster. Especially since we'll likely make the playoffs.

 

[reyes13]

We can't let Bonzi walk away. Sign him and worry about trading him later. Our biggest need is the frontcourt. I like the Pryzbilla idea but how'd that work...both financially and in our starting lineup. At least they're finally addressing our weakness.

 

[bench_blob]

Thats about the max I would have given bonzi.. If they offer 7mil/yr let them have him.

You are underrating him....based on the going market rate anyways. Would you not agree Bonzi is the superior player to Cutino Mobley??? Cutino got something like 5 years at 42 million from LA....now you can argue the Clips overpaid....but the fact is the Bonzi performed when it counted most....

The Kings will have to shell out AT LEAST 8.5 million per year to keep him around....

Look at what the Hornets gave Peja....when he has he ever had a playoff series like Bonzi did?

If I were the Kings I would offer 4 years with a TEAM option for the 5th year @ about 9 million per year. Bonzi probably wants 5 years @ 10-11 million a year....hopefully the can split the difference and get it done.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

The Kings will have to shell out AT LEAST 8.5 million per year to keep him around....

I think you're right. He made somewhere around 8 mil last season, he probably wants a raise but a pay cut would be an insult unless he took it for a sure shot at a ring - but on most of those teams he'd be a backup guy which is something he wouldn't like either. Even at 9-10 mil he's a bargain compared to what we would have had to pay to keep Peja.

 

[reyes13]

Pacers must be pissed about giving away Ron for nothing. JO wanted Bonzi and now they're trying to get us back. Please don't let Bonzi slip away for nothing...this team was rolling toward the end of last season. With Bonzi and a addition for defense in the paint we CAN contend this season.

 

[Kings113]

40-45 million over 5 years, at the most, I think is fair.

 

[reyes13]

The sooner this gets done the better. I really want to sign him but I get a bad feeling- especially since many "mediocre" FA's are being snatched up already and former kings (Peja/BJax) were drastically overpaid. I just hope while watching ESPN I don't see the memo on the corner of the screen saying Bonzi agrees to terms with another team.

 

[BMiller52]

The sooner this gets done the better. I really want to sign him but I get a bad feeling- especially since many "mediocre" FA's are being snatched up already and former kings (Peja/BJax) were drastically overpaid. I just hope while watching ESPN I don't see the memo on the corner of the screen saying Bonzi agrees to terms with another team.

I agree with you man. I just want Bonzi to be re-signed so we can shift our attention to a free agent like Pryz before another team gets him. Then again overpaying Bonzi could turn out really bad, but losing him would be even worse. I dunno...

 

[Kings113]

I'd rather Nazr than Pryz, but if we can get Pryz that'd be quite good and be a prescence.

Only problem getting them there is maybe money, but mainly Brad Miller already here. Will they be back-ups? Or are they looking to start. I think you can go either way.

 

[Rome]

Ok i lets let Bonzi go and lets have no bench. I really like the idea of me watching up to the 2nd quarter until our bench comes in and loses the lead...

 

[walker60]

No bench because we lose Bonzi? Huh? If we lose Bonzi I think we will have a better bench because we will be able to spend more or trade Bonzi for a backup big.

 

[Gary]

Hey, you're gonna find people you disagree with on some things, and one of these things and one of those people is me on signing Bonzi.

I already said agree to disagree on the subject anyways.

Really though, I can go either way. If we lose Bonzi, that sucks, I would of liked to keep him, But, we have Kevin to fall back on to start and is promising. Only thing with that, is we'd have to get a veteran wingman to replace Bonzi's experience as a 2nd/3rd man off the bench. Since we can't just have Artest and 3 young guys, need some more experience in there, somewhere on the roster. Especially since we'll likely make the playoffs.

True, I am not saying losing Bonzi for nothing would be a good thing. It's always tough to lose a talented guy, but if that lets K-Mart, and Garcia develop into guys that could bring something more to the team than as tough as it is I say we let the guy walk.

I don't see how letting talent walk away for nothing can be a good thing. If we want to develop the young players, we can always make room and use bonzi as a piece to trade for a useful big guy or something.

There are only so many minutes a game. If we start Bonzi than there goes about 15-20 minutes a game that would have been K-Marts. And about 10 minutes from Garcia.

Basically I am worried about a whole Gerald Wallace thing happening again. Take a look at his development. His first season in Charlotte was an OK one. He did show some signs of greatness. Than look at this year. WHOA! Some games he was getting 25 points 15 rebounds 5 blocks 5 steals! Just think is we developed this talent a few years back. It could have been the difference between a championship, and a second round exit imo. (ok I might be going a bit overboard)

I don't think we are ready for a championship run this year. Bonzi, or no Bonzi. 2-3 years down the road when I believe we will be making another run. I would rather for that team have a developed Martin/Garcia combo than an aged Bonzi and an undeveloped Garcia/Martin.

 

[Rome]

No bench because we lose Bonzi? Huh?

You don't understand do you? Bonzi is a proven starter + a big time playoff performer. We don't really know how ready Kevin Martin is to be a starter or to perform at the type of level we need him to perform in the playoffs. Then you basically have Douby, SAR, and Garcia off the bench. The only one that we know can play effectively off the bench is SAR.

So Bonzi has a huge impact on our team next year and the future. Signing him is very important. Plus he was like our only rebounder we had on the team. If Joel goes to SA and Brad stays on this team then who's gonna rebound for us? I'm pretty sure its not gonna be Brad or Kevin Martin...

 

[walker60]

You don't understand do you? Bonzi is a proven starter + a big time playoff performer. We don't really know how ready Kevin Martin is to be a starter or to perform at the type of level we need him to perform in the playoffs. Then you basically have Douby, SAR, and Garcia off the bench. The only one that we know can play effectively off the bench is SAR.

So Bonzi has a huge impact on our team next year and the future. Signing him is very important. Plus he was like our only rebounder we had on the team. If Joel goes to SA and Brad stays on this team then who's gonna rebound for us? I'm pretty sure its not gonna be Brad or Kevin Martin...

All I said was that I questioned how losing Bonzi would mean that we have no bench and I said that I think we may actually improve our bench with the extra money we would have. You said nothing to refute that. So no, I do not understand your reasoning...

 

[ParniValjak]

^^^^ Thank you. I would rather develop our young guys than sign Wells. All signing Wells would do is screw up K-Marts minutes and move Garcia further down the bench. sheesh! I know it's Monday but come on!!

I think if we were to let Bonzi walk, and develop what we have (we have a decent core of guys so we will not be a 30 win team) a lot of people will be pleasantly suprised.

Signing a guy like Wells is what teams that are contending for a championship that very year do. Not teams that are trying to develop thair talent.

If we were to let Bonzi walk we would be losing a lot of talent for nothing in return. Haven't we learnt anything from the last few years. There comes a time when you simply can't afford to bleed more talent. Martin is good BUT Bonzi is still an integral part of our side. Without Bonzi we are 10 wins worse off for the season.

 

[reyes13]

I am all for developing the youngsters. Problem is we need veterans with "heart" to show them the way. Ron and Bonzi are the guys that will carry this team; it showed in the playoffs. Let's sign Bonzi to a 5 year deal if necessary...use him for 2-3 years, first starting then subbing for KMart. When the wheels start falling off we still can trade him like the Christie situation.

 

[Gary]

You don't understand do you? Bonzi is a proven starter + a big time playoff performer. We don't really know how ready Kevin Martin is to be a starter or to perform at the type of level we need him to perform in the playoffs. Then you basically have Douby, SAR, and Garcia off the bench. The only one that we know can play effectively off the bench is SAR.

So Bonzi has a huge impact on our team next year and the future. Signing him is very important. Plus he was like our only rebounder we had on the team. If Joel goes to SA and Brad stays on this team then who's gonna rebound for us? I'm pretty sure its not gonna be Brad or Kevin Martin...

1. How will Martin ever get the chance if everyone doubts him?

2. We sould never never ever ever rely on a SG to solve our rebounding woes.

We need to develop our young guys. Bottom line is that we aren't ready to contend this year for a title. Probally not next year either. Well would be a nice player to have, but we shouldn't mess with the growth of our other players or show we don't trust them by adding a 30+ year old SG to start over them.

 

[Gary]

If we were to let Bonzi walk we would be losing a lot of talent for nothing in return. Haven't we learnt anything from the last few years. There comes a time when you simply can't afford to bleed more talent. Martin is good BUT Bonzi is still an integral part of our side. Without Bonzi we are 10 wins worse off for the season.

Which type of talent are we talking about? The talent of Gerald Wallace who was never given a change or the aging talent of a Jim Jackson?

 

[VF21]

How many different threads are we going to have about this?

Someone needs to index them...

 

[DaMan]

I don't know if this was posted yet but Det just offered Pryzbilla a deal and it looks like its between Portland and Det. He said that he will make his decison tuesday.

http://www.oregonlive.com/weblogs/b...live_blazersbeat/archives/2006_07.html#157748

 

[Padrino]

1. How will Martin ever get the chance if everyone doubts him?

2. We sould never never ever ever rely on a SG to solve our rebounding woes.

We need to develop our young guys. Bottom line is that we aren't ready to contend this year for a title. Probally not next year either. Well would be a nice player to have, but we shouldn't mess with the growth of our other players or show we don't trust them by adding a 30+ year old SG to start over them.

i don't think anybody doubts martin or his talents, and i don't think that there's anything wrong with signing a 30 year old guard to start over him. bonzi wells is a good player, and proved he belongs in a starting unit last year, contract year or not. i don't see bonzi wells stunting any of the young guy's growth. fact is that you've got a very young guard rotation if you let him walk. i'm all for youth, but its nice to spread it around the court as opposed to log jamming it at a single position. martin may or may not be ready to start in the nba full time. if bonzi does indeed walk, then i still like our chances with martin as the starter. however, i'll take my chances with depth every day of the week and twice on sunday. give me the incredibly versatile wells/martin SG rotation. you're right, the kings are not going to contend for a title this year, but who gives a ****? you play to win.

the kings have stockpiled a lot of youth in the last few years, and now its time to develop what you have behind veteran leadership so you can groom this team into a contender. otherwise, you end up like the clippers or the hawks or the raptors or the warriors--teams who have historically been lottery teams year after year. those teams have had very little veteran leadership, and where has it gotten them? the kings have artest for 2 more seasons before he becomes a free agent, and is this really competitve guy gonna wanna stick around if the kings don't seem willing to bite the buck to win? don't worry about stunting martin's or garcia's growth. they're gonna be fine. there's minutes for them. gerald wallace was caught in the middle of a title contender. he couldn't get minutes no matter how much he begged because the kings weren't concerned with developing young talent when they were in the process of running towards a title. he was far too raw, much moreso than either martin or garcia--or even douby for that matter. those guys will continue to develop, and they will do so under guys who have much to offer in the way of experience. ron artest is a great mentor. if bonzi has indeed matured, he's another tough-minded dude who can mentor the young bucks. and i'm certain he'll be willing to slide over when and if the young bucks surpass him as he continues to age. he's not gonna bust the cap's balls with a little over $8 million a year. i see no reason to hold out for something else, unless the kings decide to swing into full rebuild mode, but geoff has been so set on rebuilding on the fly that this is how its gonna be. hopefully he and the maloofs elect to extend a fair contract to wells as the market dictates.

 

[ParniValjak]

1. How will Martin ever get the chance if everyone doubts him?

No one here doubts Martin's talent. Everyone here sees a bright future for him.

You are making it sound like Martin will not see any court time if Bonzi comes back and thats just pure crap. Martin averaged 26.6mpg this season. Its not like he was rotting away on the bench waving towels and learning cheerleading dances. He was a contributor and will continue to be a contributor regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench. He will get his minutes regardless.

Now if you are so worried about Martin not getting his minutes, just for the record, Martin averaged 32.8mpg in the play-offs.

Bringing Bonzi back doesn't stagnate Martin's development one little bit. In fact it would most likely be helpful to have Bonzi around.

 

[ParniValjak]

Which type of talent are we talking about? The talent of Gerald Wallace who was never given a change or the aging talent of a Jim Jackson?

Well lets see, Wallace, Songaila, Mobley, Evans, J. Jackson are just some names off the top of my head that we have lost without getting anything in return. Not even a half eaten burnt pie.

If we continue losing talent for nothing, we will FOREVER be mediocre.

 

[Gary]

If we continue losing talent for nothing, we will FOREVER be mediocre.

The way I see it is that we will be forever mediocore if we do not give the young guys a chance to play. I am all for signing Wells (although I don't think we will) but I am not for starting him.

Let's just hope that Musselman is not like an Adelman rotation wise.

 

[Gary]

i don't think anybody doubts martin or his talents, and i don't think that there's anything wrong with signing a 30 year old guard to start over him. bonzi wells is a good player, and proved he belongs in a starting unit last year, contract year or not. i don't see bonzi wells stunting any of the young guy's growth. fact is that you've got a very young guard rotation if you let him walk. i'm all for youth, but its nice to spread it around the court as opposed to log jamming it at a single position. martin may or may not be ready to start in the nba full time. if bonzi does indeed walk, then i still like our chances with martin as the starter. however, i'll take my chances with depth every day of the week and twice on sunday. give me the incredibly versatile wells/martin SG rotation. you're right, the kings are not going to contend for a title this year, but who gives a ****? you play to win.

the kings have stockpiled a lot of youth in the last few years, and now its time to develop what you have behind veteran leadership so you can groom this team into a contender. otherwise, you end up like the clippers or the hawks or the raptors or the warriors--teams who have historically been lottery teams year after year. those teams have had very little veteran leadership, and where has it gotten them? the kings have artest for 2 more seasons before he becomes a free agent, and is this really competitve guy gonna wanna stick around if the kings don't seem willing to bite the buck to win? don't worry about stunting martin's or garcia's growth. they're gonna be fine. there's minutes for them. gerald wallace was caught in the middle of a title contender. he couldn't get minutes no matter how much he begged because the kings weren't concerned with developing young talent when they were in the process of running towards a title. he was far too raw, much moreso than either martin or garcia--or even douby for that matter. those guys will continue to develop, and they will do so under guys who have much to offer in the way of experience. ron artest is a great mentor. if bonzi has indeed matured, he's another tough-minded dude who can mentor the young bucks. and i'm certain he'll be willing to slide over when and if the young bucks surpass him as he continues to age. he's not gonna bust the cap's balls with a little over $8 million a year. i see no reason to hold out for something else, unless the kings decide to swing into full rebuild mode, but geoff has been so set on rebuilding on the fly that this is how its gonna be. hopefully he and the maloofs elect to extend a fair contract to wells as the market dictates.

I still think I am a bit paranoid because of Adelman's rotations and his ability to waste talented youth.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Honestly folks by reading this thread somome who did not know any better would get the impression that last season Kevin Martin wasted his tallent away sitting on the bench all last season and that by starting Bonzi Wells in 06-07 the Kings would be wasting his tallent.

Before taking any of this tripe seriously a rationalreader might ask how many games did Kevin Martin START last season? Then they might ask how many min did he average for the season. Is there any reason to expect that these numbers would DROP next year?

 

[Rome]

Kevin Martin will be fine playing behind Bonzi for 1-2 more years. It will give him some time to gain more experience. I don't know why some people think that Kevin Martin will sit in the bench the whole time while Bonzi plays 40 minutes...

 

[Kings113]

Absolutely agree 10,000 percent ^.

Also, Bonzi won't be backing up anyone here unless it's 2-3 years down the road.

 

[bibbinator]

Given Bibb/Wells/Artest average 36 minutes a night, that leaves 36 minutes to distribute between Martin and Garcia.

If our Bibby/Wells/Artest average 32 minutes then we have 48 minutes to distribute between Martin and Garcia.

Sure, not every combo of those 5 makes sense, but there is enough flexibility there to give Martin plenty of minutes.

We could then go on to discuss the probability that all 5 of those guys are going to be available to play every game this season, but we don't need to go there. The point being: there is no reason Bonzi's presence need stunt Martin.