Every single trade last year was a failure

#1
1) Iman Shumpert for Burks and a 2nd:

I think we can all agree this was low-key one of the worst trades we could've made. Shumpert was the heart of the team, nicknaming the team "the scores". He was absolutely beloved by his teammates. Dumping him destroyed team chemistry and was the beginning of our downfall. Also, on the court he was a decent player. Meanwhile Burks played limited minutes, showed nothing and then mostly sat on the bench the rest of the year. And now he's not even on the team. This trade never made any sense.

2) Skal Labissiere for Caleb Swanigan:

This looked like a neutral swap on paper, but now it looks like a loss. Skal is providing decent bench minutes for the Blazers while Caleb has done quite literally nothing. He rides the pine nearly every game and appears to have some issues with his weight. It's not a crushing trade but still a loss nonetheless.

3) Justin Jackson & ZBo for Harrison Barnes:

This is the only trade that's up for debate. Barnes has been a solid contributor, but he's not making anywhere near a big enough impact to justify his brutal $85M contract. He's a useful player, but you can see why Dallas was fine with giving him away. He doesn't really elevate a team. Meanwhile Justin Jackson is starting to look like the player we thought he could be. He's been an efficient role player off the bench. His shooting percentages have been higher ever since he left the Kings.

When I look at this and then also take into account the FA signings which to date haven't panned out, I really question Vlade. Where I was once sure the team was trending upward, I'm now not so sure.
 
Last edited:
#4
The Kings essentially swapped JJ for a short term upgrade at SF, a good move in a playoff run.
But now looking at the contract they gave Barnes, I wish they never made the trade. I won't let his recent heroics cloud the fact that he's an average offensive player who never sets up others, and plays average defense but never gets blocks or steals.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#6
the Barnes trade was not a bad trade. The Kings didn't give up anything of value for his rental. The problem was when they extended him in the off season to a four year deal.
 
#10
Aside from our last game?
Fox/Bjelica were way bigger factors in that one, yeah Barnes was great on that play and showed a good nose for offensive putbacks this year but has not been better than Holmes or Bjelica this season so far who combined make less than half of what he makes.

I give Barnes props he's been ok and has not hurt us like Buddy/Bogi/Dedmon/CoJo/Ariza but at 85-90million (non-expiring) it's not good enough thus far.
 
#15
This thread might as well be titled, "Harrison Barnes, yes or no?"

IMO HB is the best SF the Kings have had since Ron Ron. And that is a long dry spell.

I think I will give the young man more than 34 games with the Kings and 6 under his new contract before I pass judgement.
 
#17
During the period he was on the team last season, Barnes had a better net rating than Fox, Hield, Bogdan, and Bagley, among others. Guess they don’t help teams win, either?

He may be overpaid now, but assigning him blame for last seasons flame out is unwarranted. Everyone was worse down the stretch last year.
 
#18
Not one team was interested in getting into a bidding war for Barnes. Please! 21 mil a year. Sure, he would have signed on somewhere else .
More like the tune of 10-12 mil. Kings had no choice. No one else was coming here and the Kings desperately needed a 3. Beggars can’t be choosers.
 
#19
Alright the initial trade for Barnes wasn't a bad trade. The swap was a major talent upgrade. The reason I labeled it a failure is because it ultimately led to our current situation with his giant contract. Like I said, he's a good player but not good enough to warrant his pay. If we had traded for him and signed him for less I wouldn't have even put it in this thread. But we didn't, and we're now on the hook for a ton of money. He will never live up to that contract.

Also mind you, I said "up for debate" in the content next to his name.
 
#20
Who were we going to get in free agency better than Barnes? The caliber of SF we get in FA are Ariza, Corey Brewer, old Vince Carter.
Maintain flexibility and use cap space for future assets until you really are ready to make win now signings (spoiler alert: we werent in that position)
 
#21
The amateur Sam Hinkies are a hammer in search of a nail. We should never sign anybody, flip cap space for mid-to-late 1sts in perpetuity, and wait for a draftee to turn into a “real” superstar like Harden, Durant or Curry. You know, an MVP. Real superstar. Maybe Kawhi, but we can’t really be sure because Pop is the greatest coach EVAR, and how much of Kawhi being good can we really attribute to Kawhi?

Hint: if Zion is healthy, New Orleans is going to flip their picks in about 2 years for a vet or two. The Sam Hinkies will hate the trade—Pelicans fans will enjoy chasing the playoffs, because chasing the playoffs is fun.
 
#22
The amateur Sam Hinkies are a hammer in search of a nail. We should never sign anybody, flip cap space for mid-to-late 1sts in perpetuity, and wait for a draftee to turn into a “real” superstar like Harden, Durant or Curry. You know, an MVP. Real superstar. Maybe Kawhi, but we can’t really be sure because Pop is the greatest coach EVAR, and how much of Kawhi being good can we really attribute to Kawhi?

Hint: if Zion is healthy, New Orleans is going to flip their picks in about 2 years for a vet or two. The Sam Hinkies will hate the trade—Pelicans fans will enjoy chasing the playoffs, because chasing the playoffs is fun.
When a team is ready to compete, then you can trade your 1st for a player that will really help your team. When you are rebuilding, spending a huge amount of money on vets like Dedmond, Zbo, Ariza, Ghill, Barnes is just stupid. When you rebuild, do it correctly. If you try to take shortcuts like we did, you end up on a situation where we are right now. Capped out, zero extra firsts, not enough cheap contributors on rookie contracts, not enough valuable trade pieces and not enough talent to be a serious competitor in the playoffs.
 
#27
I think it is worth noting that he's at best supposed to be our 4th best player. His contract does not interfere with 3 of 5 players that are projected to be our long term starters nor whatever decision we make with Bogi. The big wild card that was just introduced is passing on Giles's option, if we had him slotted in as a future starter and now we don't have his Bird rights we've got to get creative unless we are sold on Holmes in that role.
 
#28
I think it is worth noting that he's at best supposed to be our 4th best player. His contract does not interfere with 3 of 5 players that are projected to be our long term starters nor whatever decision we make with Bogi. The big wild card that was just introduced is passing on Giles's option, if we had him slotted in as a future starter and now we don't have his Bird rights we've got to get creative unless we are sold on Holmes in that role.
The problem is, you devoted 20+ million to your maybe 4th best player, with a whole roster to fill. The Kings aren't building around a Lebron or KD superteam, the role players need to be very good. If you replace the bench with a bunch of minimum players... the Kings will have to be very lucky in the draft.
 
#30
The problem is, you devoted 20+ million to your maybe 4th best player, with a whole roster to fill. The Kings aren't building around a Lebron or KD superteam, the role players need to be very good. If you replace the bench with a bunch of minimum players... the Kings will have to be very lucky in the draft.
We have 6-7 players under firm control. That leaves 2-3 slots that have honest expectations of seeing the floor in a mostly limited capacity. It's not like Sacramento was going to sign a 30 million per year free agent. I think it's lost sometimes that we actually decreased his annual salary with this deal (which is also declining).