I think the F.O. decision was rushed, instead of waiting until the summer, was the fact that the Kings may have made the playoffs or would have come damn close to the playoffs and therefore would have lost their own 2017 draft pick this year.
I believe that Vlade had already decided that Boogie and his antics were not worth the $42 mil a year contract.
So, instead of making a push for the playoffs and hoping for a better trade in the off season, he decided it was better to get a 1st rounder from N.O. and keep our own pick in true "tank" fashion and get a young player they really liked (Hield).
So, in their minds, I think Vlade and Vivek saw this as a guaranteed 2 lottery picks (or N.O. about a 15 or 16 pick) versus waiting until the summer and still only getting one pick from the other team and also losing our own lottery pick.
I think the best we could have hoped for was 2 1st rounders and a nice young player from Team B in the summer, which is essentially what Vlade got in this trade.
Therefore, they saw this trade as an opportunity to get 2 first round picks (ours and N.O.) this year vs the chance of still only getting one pick (from team B in the summer) and then also losing their own pick.
In their minds, a sure 2 1st round picks this year and a player they liked was better than taking the risk of trying to get 2 1st round picks (from team B in the summer) and not getting a player they liked as much as Hield.
In essence, the Kings essentially got the same deal now, that we would have hoped for in the summer, which was 2 1st round picks and a nice young player for Boogie.
The part that makes Vlade and Vivek look so bad was that New Orleans got the steal of the century.