Free Agency

K

KingsFan80

Guest
#1
Realistically, who are some guys we could get? As everyone knows we need to focus on PG and SG:

PG - Rondo, Conley, Jeremy Lin, Deron Williams, Brandon Jennings, and Ty Lawson
SG - JR Smith, Fournier, Courtney Lee, Eric Gordon, Kevin Martin, Gerald Henderson

I don't see us getting Conley so Rondo is probably the best choice at PG. SG wise, Fournier will more than likely resign with the Magic (Oladipo trade), so that leaves the rest. JR Smith would be great but I cannot see him leaving Cleveland? Assuming we did get him, what are your thoughts on this lineup:

PG - Rondo
SG - JR Smith
SF - Gay
PF - WCS
C - Cousins
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
#3
I'd rather sign Lee or Crabbe than Smith.

I think Koufos and possibly Rudy/Ben are dealt this offseason so that may change the team's targets in free agency.
I left out Crabbe, he would be a great option and perfect fit for us. I would rather have him than Lee. What type of trade value do you Koufos, Rudy and Ben would have in the league?
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
#5
The reports of Courtney lee getting 14MM per is insane and I don't care what the salary cap is going up to. That means his cap % jumps from about 8% to about 15%. There is no way at 31 he is getting 4/60 MM deal wearing up 15% of the salary cap.
For that kind of money I say let's go after Crabbe.
 
#9
I left out Crabbe, he would be a great option and perfect fit for us. I would rather have him than Lee. What type of trade value do you Koufos, Rudy and Ben would have in the league?
The only issue with Crabbe is that he's restricted. but if the rumors of the Blazers wanting to go after Howard are true they might not have the cash to match.

I can't get a feel for Rudy & Ben's trade value but Koufos is young, effective and signed to a very team friendly deal. I could seen Cleveland trying to trade for him again as well as teams that miss out on Whiteside and Ezeli.
 
#11
Pay Bazemore. The guy is trending upward. Extremely disruptive on the defensive end and is a solid shooter that's getting better offensively each year. He can also handle the ball decently. Lee is McLemore with a higher defensive IQ. We aren't going to plug Lee into this lineup and get much better. He simply does not do enough. Bazemore does many things well and we don't have very many guys on this team that you can say that about.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#12
Lee would be the best defensive SG we have had since Doug Christie. You want offense, you pay Crabbe. You want defense, you pay Lee. There is not guy we are going to get that is a complete guy on both sides and its probably going to take 12-14 mill for many of these guys. Lee fits like a glove. I'd pay him.
 
#13
I'm really not in favor of bringing back Rondo. The following offseason, there will be a plethora of good to great PGs that can be signed in FA. I'd rather try to trade for a Beverley/Ariza package sending out a combo of Gay, Koufos & McLemore. Then you have a veteran 3&D SF that can keep Casspi as a bench option and a 3&D PG who is on an excellent contract and can become our backup PG the following year if we can sign one of the better PGs.

Then you can take a stab at one of the top notch SGs (Bazemore, Fournier, Crabbe, Lee) and you can fall back on Hill (as I don't think he will be in demand as much). Then you sign Anderson and a few more vets to round out the roster.

PG - Beverley/Collison/Cousins
SG - Bazemore/Curry/Richardson
SF - Ariza/Casspi/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein/Anderson/Acy/Labissiere
C - Cousins/Papagiannis

What the team lacks in scoring/playmaking options, they make up for with defense & shooting.
 
#14
I'm really not in favor of bringing back Rondo. The following offseason, there will be a plethora of good to great PGs that can be signed in FA. I'd rather try to trade for a Beverley/Ariza package sending out a combo of Gay, Koufos & McLemore. Then you have a veteran 3&D SF that can keep Casspi as a bench option and a 3&D PG who is on an excellent contract and can become our backup PG the following year if we can sign one of the better PGs.

Then you can take a stab at one of the top notch SGs (Bazemore, Fournier, Crabbe, Lee) and you can fall back on Hill (as I don't think he will be in demand as much). Then you sign Anderson and a few more vets to round out the roster.

PG - Beverley/Collison/Cousins
SG - Bazemore/Curry/Richardson
SF - Ariza/Casspi/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein/Anderson/Acy/Labissiere
C - Cousins/Papagiannis

What the team lacks in scoring/playmaking options, they make up for with defense & shooting.

What is the appeal for Houston to send us Beverly and Ariza for Gay and Mclemore?
 
#16
I'm really not in favor of bringing back Rondo. The following offseason, there will be a plethora of good to great PGs that can be signed in FA. I'd rather try to trade for a Beverley/Ariza package sending out a combo of Gay, Koufos & McLemore. Then you have a veteran 3&D SF that can keep Casspi as a bench option and a 3&D PG who is on an excellent contract and can become our backup PG the following year if we can sign one of the better PGs.

Then you can take a stab at one of the top notch SGs (Bazemore, Fournier, Crabbe, Lee) and you can fall back on Hill (as I don't think he will be in demand as much). Then you sign Anderson and a few more vets to round out the roster.

PG - Beverley/Collison/Cousins
SG - Bazemore/Curry/Richardson
SF - Ariza/Casspi/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein/Anderson/Acy/Labissiere
C - Cousins/Papagiannis

What the team lacks in scoring/playmaking options, they make up for with defense & shooting.
I like the way you think except I'd flip flop Beverley and Collison. Then again I'm not really sure if Beverley and Ariza are worth sending away Gay, Koufos and McLemore. I feel like Gay has more value than that.
 
#17
Realistically, who are some guys we could get? As everyone knows we need to focus on PG and SG:

PG - Rondo, Conley, Jeremy Lin, Deron Williams, Brandon Jennings, and Ty Lawson
SG - JR Smith, Fournier, Courtney Lee, Eric Gordon, Kevin Martin, Gerald Henderson

I don't see us getting Conley so Rondo is probably the best choice at PG. SG wise, Fournier will more than likely resign with the Magic (Oladipo trade), so that leaves the rest. JR Smith would be great but I cannot see him leaving Cleveland? Assuming we did get him, what are your thoughts on this lineup:

PG - Rondo
SG - JR Smith
SF - Gay
PF - WCS
C - Cousins
Cleveland has no way to replace Smith, plus he's represented by Clutch Sports, so he's coming back, no matter, how much he asks. Jennings can't be relied upon as a starter, and Lawson can't be relied upon at all. Deron has injury concerns, and like it in Dallas. Unless Mavs somehow convince Conley, that they can compete, Deron is coming back.
Conley is a pipe dream no matter, how much we would like to believe, as he's either going to a contender or stays in Memphis, that can offer him by far the biggest pile of cash.
Henderson is meh, K-Mart was never a good starter even in his prime, and Fournier will be matched, now that 'Dipo is in Oklahoma. Eric Gordon is too injury prone for a starter: it's not as bad as it would seem, if you just look at his games played, and he's likely to play over 60 games, but that's not enough to be a dependable starter.
You didn't name Bazemore, and rightfully so, I believe, as he would have a lot of suitors, and each will throw enough money at him, that it might come down to personal preference, and Kings will never win a popularity contest, no matter how much each of us might like Kings current situation.
It basically comes down to a choice between Rondo (30 y.o., 10 seasons) and Lin (28 y.o., 6 seasons) for PG, and Lee (31 y.o., 8 seasons) and Solomon Hill (25.5 y.o., 3 seasons) for SG. I would definitely go for younger guys with less mileage in both cases.

Luol Deng, Marvin Williams, Bazemore, Courtney Lee, Jared Dudley, Gerald Henderson, Allen Crabbe rounds out my list of Wants.
Deng is not coming back to Miami, but he'll find at least $15m per somewhere.
Jared Dudley is a bench combo-forward at this point in his career, not sure he fills a need with Rudy and Omri on the roster.

The only issue with Crabbe is that he's restricted. but if the rumors of the Blazers wanting to go after Howard are true they might not have the cash to match.

I can't get a feel for Rudy & Ben's trade value but Koufos is young, effective and signed to a very team friendly deal. I could seen Cleveland trying to trade for him again as well as teams that miss out on Whiteside and Ezeli.
Crabbe has a very small cap hold, so Blazers can agree to a deal in principle, and then go signing other FAs first.

I'd rather have Marvin Williams than Ryan Anderson. Also just looking through free agent lists, Kevin Martin on the cheap wouldn't be bad as a backup SG.
Charlotte have his early Bird rights, so if the Hornets go the easiest route of offering 175% of his previous salary, 7.5% raises, though they can't offer 5th year, that still comes up to $54,5m over 4 years, including $15m for 33-y.o. Marvin in his 15th season, and he's already at 22.5k in minutes played. That's for Charlotte, and I'm pretty sure, Kings will have to go at least $2m per above due to California state and Kings' reputation taxes.

My play would be to bring Lin at $12-14m and Solomon Hill at $8-10m. With Collison likely suspended at the start of the season, decent third string PG is needed, and this guy will know, that after Collison comes back, he's likely to only see garbage time. After listening to Duncd'on Mock off-season, I'm pretty sure, that either Sixers or Nets are going to screw with Kings and sign Steph to a deal starting at $6-8m and then declining, which I don't think, Kings can match. Maybe Norris Cole can be had for $3-4m? Fitting him into Room exception would be ideal. Cause guys like Augustin, Jennings or E'twan Moore are not coming to this situation. If Koufos can be traded into cap space, and either Marvin or Deng were open to $16-18m over 3 years with 3rd year non-/partially guaranteed, I would go after them to start at PF, but I'm not sure, Kings can get it done not going over $20m per, if it's a non-guarantee for that 3rd year, or without offering full 4 years, if it's for $16m per. With MWilliams or Deng not coming over, I guess, Willie gets to start, and Darrell Arthur at $8-10m per over 3 years will do off the bench.
Boogie/KK/WCS/Papagiannis*
WCS/Arthur/Gay/Casspi/Labissiere*
Gay/Casspi/Hill/Butler
Hill/Mclemore/Lin/Richardson*
Lin/Collison/Cole
*Malachi, Skal and Big Georgios would hop between Reno and Sacramento.
That would be a big, long roster with solid versatility and depth. Most importantly, rather realistic.

Edit: actually I'm thinking, Arthur might be a spot starter playing 20 mpg, and then better match-up between him and Willie gets to finish the game. Arthur became a solid defender over the years, so we're basically going with JT again, only this version is much better at shooting. I believe, Denver views Faried, Jokic and Lauvergne as options at PF, so I doubt, Arthur is that attached to his current sitation.
 
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#18
I encourage everyone to listen to the Dunc'd on podcast by Nate Duncan. They do a 2 part Mock Offseason. It's about 5 hours total. I'm part way through the Part2 and so far the Kings have given Lin a 4 year 16MM per deal. There is so much available money it's insane at the contract everyone is getting. (I know its fake)
 
#19
My play would be to bring Lin at $12-14m and Solomon Hill at $8-10m. With Collison likely suspended at the start of the season, decent third string PG is needed, and this guy will know, that after Collison comes back, he's likely to only see garbage time. After listening to Duncd'on Mock off-season, I'm pretty sure, that either Sixers or Nets are going to screw with Kings and sign Steph to a deal starting at $6-8m and then declining, which I don't think, Kings can match. Maybe Norris Cole can be had for $3-4m? Fitting him into Room exception would be ideal. Cause guys like Augustin, Jennings or E'twan Moore are not coming to this situation. If Koufos can be traded into cap space, and either Marvin or Deng were open to $16-18m over 3 years with 3rd year non-/partially guaranteed, I would go after them to start at PF, but I'm not sure, Kings can get it done not going over $20m per, if it's a non-guarantee for that 3rd year, or without offering full 4 years, if it's for $16m per. With MWilliams or Deng not coming over, I guess, Willie gets to start, and Darrell Arthur at $8-10m per over 3 years will do off the bench.
Boogie/KK/WCS/Papagiannis*
WCS/Arthur/Gay/Casspi/Labissiere*
Gay/Casspi/Hill/Butler
Hill/Mclemore/Lin/Richardson*
Lin/Collison/Cole
*Malachi, Skal and Big Georgios would hop between Reno and Sacramento.
That would be a big, long roster with solid versatility and depth. Most importantly, rather realistic.

Edit: actually I'm thinking, Arthur might be a spot starter playing 20 mpg, and then better match-up between him and Willie gets to finish the game. Arthur became a solid defender over the years, so we're basically going with JT again, only this version is much better at shooting. I believe, Denver views Faried, Jokic and Lauvergne as options at PF, so I doubt, Arthur is that attached to his current sitation.
Not sure what your fascination with Lin is...

Negative RAPM
Negative RPM
Negative BPM
Negative On/Off

No way I'm giving a guy like that $12-14 mil under the new cap. If we can't get Conley (which is all but a 100% guarantee), we should be "saving" our starting PG spot for someone who is worthy. Locking up a guy like Lin doesn't give us much flexibility bringing in another starting PG.

The PG priority for me would be...
1. Sign Conley (again, not happening)
2. Trade for a PG that could be a stopgap w/ Collison & Curry while being able to take a backup role if we upgrade (Beverley, Payne)
3. Trade for a PG that comes off the books after this season (Jack, Harris, Carter-Williams)
4. Resign Rondo
5. Sign Lin

PG might not be the strong point this season (especially if Collison misses extended time), but it at least doesn't hamstring us from a salary cap perspective and gives us a shot at acquiring a good PG next offseason when more are available (Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Lowry, Holiday, Teague, Schroder, G. Hill, Collison, Evans, Mills).

Having said that, we had one of the strongest lineups in the league with Collison as our starter, so if he doesn't miss too much time, him and a solid backup PG should be able to get the job done.
 
#21
I encourage everyone to listen to the Dunc'd on podcast by Nate Duncan. They do a 2 part Mock Offseason. It's about 5 hours total. I'm part way through the Part2 and so far the Kings have given Lin a 4 year 16MM per deal. There is so much available money it's insane at the contract everyone is getting. (I know its fake)
I think Lin is a fringe starter in the NBA. I actually think he's better than DC. 16MPY is a lot... but if that's the asking price, then we'd have to pay it. He's the 2nd best PG option available in FA after Conley. However, I'd try to see if it could be a 3 year deal instead.

We need someone who can shoot the ball and play defense, is Anderson that guy ?
Anderson is a great offensive player, but his defense is literally league bottom 10. He is terrible on that end and has consistently been a liability. He's not strong nor long enough to defend opposing PFs. He's not quick enough to keep up with SFs. He's very slow laterally.

As far as point guards, if we can come away with Rondo + Lin or Conley + Lin, that would be a great situation.
Lin is going to command at least 10mpy, and Conley will get the max...which is 30mpy. We wouldn't be able to get both of them. I think it's either Rondo or Lin. No way Lin comes here to be Rondo's backup. He'd have to compete with Collison too.

Lin can be a starter on his own. Free agent PGs are extremely weak. This is why a lot of people wanted the Kings t adjust this problem with the draft.
 
#22
Not sure what your fascination with Lin is...

Negative RAPM
Negative RPM
Negative BPM
Negative On/Off

No way I'm giving a guy like that $12-14 mil under the new cap. If we can't get Conley (which is all but a 100% guarantee), we should be "saving" our starting PG spot for someone who is worthy. Locking up a guy like Lin doesn't give us much flexibility bringing in another starting PG.

The PG priority for me would be...
1. Sign Conley (again, not happening)
2. Trade for a PG that could be a stopgap w/ Collison & Curry while being able to take a backup role if we upgrade (Beverley, Payne)
3. Trade for a PG that comes off the books after this season (Jack, Harris, Carter-Williams)
4. Resign Rondo
5. Sign Lin

PG might not be the strong point this season (especially if Collison misses extended time), but it at least doesn't hamstring us from a salary cap perspective and gives us a shot at acquiring a good PG next offseason when more are available (Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Lowry, Holiday, Teague, Schroder, G. Hill, Collison, Evans, Mills).

Having said that, we had one of the strongest lineups in the league with Collison as our starter, so if he doesn't miss too much time, him and a solid backup PG should be able to get the job done.
Stats don't tell the entire story at all. Have you watched Lin? He's an extremely underrated defender who plays extremely hard on that end. He's better than both Rondo and Collison. He's average to above average. On offense, he excels on PnR with Cousins. Lin does a great job getting to the rim and attacking. There was actually a youtube vid showing all the times Lin has been hacked and nothing has been done about it. He does a great job getting there. He's also a solid shooter which would be great for floor spacing.

He's literally better than Rondo at everything except playmaking and rebounding.

Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Teague, and Schoreder are not coming here. Only realistic options are Holiday, Hill, Collison, and Mills. Holiday can't stay healthy. Hill will be 31. Mills is not a starting PG.

I think the only way we can get an elite PG was through the draft(we passed) or through trading.
 
#23
Stats don't tell the entire story at all. Have you watched Lin? He's an extremely underrated defender who plays extremely hard on that end. He's better than both Rondo and Collison. He's average to above average. On offense, he excels on PnR with Cousins. Lin does a great job getting to the rim and attacking. There was actually a youtube vid showing all the times Lin has been hacked and nothing has been done about it. He does a great job getting there. He's also a solid shooter which would be great for floor spacing.

He's literally better than Rondo at everything except playmaking and rebounding.

Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Teague, and Schoreder are not coming here. Only realistic options are Holiday, Hill, Collison, and Mills. Holiday can't stay healthy. Hill will be 31. Mills is not a starting PG.

I think the only way we can get an elite PG was through the draft(we passed) or through trading.
Stats don't tell the whole story, but all 4 stats listed above are stats geared towards a players overall contribution. Lin happens to be negative in all 4. All 4!

Lin is not a bad PG, but he's hardly the guy I would invest big money in potentially hamstringing our chances at landing a better fitting/better player at PG. It's not worth it unless you're fine with capping the team's potential and just being a middle of the pack team.

I will say that Curry, Paul, & Westbrook all have next to a 0% chance of coming here, but them being FAs in a year where there are guys like Lowry, Holiday, & Teague available gives us a much better shot at landing them. Why you may ask? Other teams that need a PG may be prioritizing those 3 guys. If we put our attention on the next tier down and really show that we want them on our team (add the best arena into the mix and hopefully a competitive team this year) and it's very possible we could snag one of them.

Might as well strike out swinging for the fences rather than playing it safe & never getting past Double A ball, but some fans are okay with just being competitive and not necessarily caring about a championship. And that's fine! Who am I to tell you how you should enjoy the Kings? But for me, I'm a championship or bust kind of guy. To me, signing Lin to a 12-14 mil a year deal moves us further away from a championship.

EDIT: And since you've watched Lin so much, you should know that his game won't mesh very well with the current starters. Cousins, Gay, & Cauley-Stein are best scoring around the paint. Add a PG who's main strength is scoring at the rim and you're spacing won't be as good as you think it is. Collison is much more perimeter oriented and was one of the reasons he complements Cousins & Gay so well.
 
#25
Kings will sign Rajon Rondo on July 1st.

$15 mil per year for 4 years ($60 mil/ 4 years), which is market rate for a PG who led the league in assist last year in this years free agency bonanza.

Then the Kings will then sign a Dave Joeger favorite, Courtney Lee to 3 years $12 mil per year ($36 mil for 3 years) to be the starting SG.

Last step is to re-sign Seth Curry for 3 years $10 mil, with player option.

The Kings rotation:

PF: WCS / Skal
SF: Gay / Casspi/ Butler
C: DMC / KK / Big Papa
SG Lee / McClemore / Richardson
PG: Rondo / DC / Curry (or I Cousins)
 
#26
Stats don't tell the whole story, but all 4 stats listed above are stats geared towards a players overall contribution. Lin happens to be negative in all 4. All 4!

Lin is not a bad PG, but he's hardly the guy I would invest big money in potentially hamstringing our chances at landing a better fitting/better player at PG. It's not worth it unless you're fine with capping the team's potential and just being a middle of the pack team.

I will say that Curry, Paul, & Westbrook all have next to a 0% chance of coming here, but them being FAs in a year where there are guys like Lowry, Holiday, & Teague available gives us a much better shot at landing them. Why you may ask? Other teams that need a PG may be prioritizing those 3 guys. If we put our attention on the next tier down and really show that we want them on our team (add the best arena into the mix and hopefully a competitive team this year) and it's very possible we could snag one of them.

Might as well strike out swinging for the fences rather than playing it safe & never getting past Double A ball, but some fans are okay with just being competitive and not necessarily caring about a championship. And that's fine! Who am I to tell you how you should enjoy the Kings? But for me, I'm a championship or bust kind of guy. To me, signing Lin to a 12-14 mil a year deal moves us further away from a championship.

EDIT: And since you've watched Lin so much, you should know that his game won't mesh very well with the current starters. Cousins, Gay, & Cauley-Stein are best scoring around the paint. Add a PG who's main strength is scoring at the rim and you're spacing won't be as good as you think it is. Collison is much more perimeter oriented and was one of the reasons he complements Cousins & Gay so well.
IT was a very good fit with Cousins/Gay. Lin has a very familiar playing style. I don't know if Lin is the future franchise PG, but I do think he's our best option if we're trying to compete this year and next. I think it's getting more realistic that we bring back Rondo. There aren't many teams out there anymore who need his services.

I think a dark horse candidate at PG is Brandon Jennings.

I think the Kings are pushing for the playoffs this year. I think we will end up adding Anderson and Lee, but I don't know if they're good enough to get us over the hump. If next season results in a failed playoff push, I think we rebuild in 2017. This is where we have to get careful with signing free agents from this year. I don't know that we could afford to sign someone like Anderson to a 4 year $80million deal, and if we fail to make the playoffs this year, Cousins is probably gone(likely he'd leave at the end of his contract). We'd be stuck with Ryan Anderson for 3 more years on 20mpy. It would damage our rebuilding process.

I think we'll have to be smart with FA, and I think Vlade and Co. knows this too. Hence why we picked up extra draft picks and extremely raw players for the future. They've repeatedly said that Papagiannis/Skal/Richardson will be for the future. Not too sure about the status of Richardson...there were a few rumors that Belinelli broke his jaw.....
 
#27
Not sure what your fascination with Lin is...

Negative RAPM
Negative RPM
Negative BPM
Negative On/Off

No way I'm giving a guy like that $12-14 mil under the new cap. If we can't get Conley (which is all but a 100% guarantee), we should be "saving" our starting PG spot for someone who is worthy. Locking up a guy like Lin doesn't give us much flexibility bringing in another starting PG.

The PG priority for me would be...
1. Sign Conley (again, not happening)
2. Trade for a PG that could be a stopgap w/ Collison & Curry while being able to take a backup role if we upgrade (Beverley, Payne)
3. Trade for a PG that comes off the books after this season (Jack, Harris, Carter-Williams)
4. Resign Rondo
5. Sign Lin

PG might not be the strong point this season (especially if Collison misses extended time), but it at least doesn't hamstring us from a salary cap perspective and gives us a shot at acquiring a good PG next offseason when more are available (Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Lowry, Holiday, Teague, Schroder, G. Hill, Collison, Evans, Mills).

Having said that, we had one of the strongest lineups in the league with Collison as our starter, so if he doesn't miss too much time, him and a solid backup PG should be able to get the job done.
Who's Payne, whom you offer to make Kings' starting PG for some games next season? If Houston doesn't get Conley (about 99% likelihood), why do they trade Beverley?
Not gonna discuss Jack, Harris, MCW as a starter, when Collison misses games
Now to Lin:
  • nbawowy has Hornets at +2.8 per 100 possessions with Lin, +0.9 without.
  • RPM is a very fluid statistic: Lin was at 0.09 2 seasons ago and at 1.66 season before last, so he was ranked at 30, 20 and 33 over the last 3 years. On average that would actually put Lin at around #20 over this period.
  • Lin is among NBA leaders in drives, since NBA started officially tracking that statistic.
  • Before this season Rajon Rondo was shooting below 33% on corner 3s. Playing on a team with Demarcus Cousins allowed him to up that by 12%. And more than third of his 3s came from that, so Rondo was actually .448 from corners and only .300 from the true arc. Lin is a career .391% shooter on corner 3s, including seasons of .462% and .450%, when he played for teams, that had playmaking from other spots (Melo and Harden), so Lin could be set-up for corner 3s. What would Lin's expectation be on a team with Demarcus Cousins?
  • Some splits for Hornets with per 100 possessions:
  • Kemba/Lin w/o Lee - 107.3-103.0
  • Kemba/Lee w/o Lin - 109.1-105.4
  • Lin w/o Kemba - 101.5-100.5 (and 2/3 of this sample were with Frank Kamisky, who turned out to be a good defensive player, but a massive offensive liability as a rookie - who would've thought?:eek:). It's not like Kings were hot putting Rondo or Collison as the lonely playmaker out there, and that's on both ends of the floor.
  • So Lin is a combo-guard, who defends well at both PG and SG, can very effectively C&S, but also provides good playmaking on top of that. Collison likes that 15-18 footer, and is very good at knocking it, but it's not really providing spacing, since he usually creates that for himself.
 
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#28
I think Lin is a fringe starter in the NBA. I actually think he's better than DC. 16MPY is a lot... but if that's the asking price, then we'd have to pay it. He's the 2nd best PG option available in FA after Conley. However, I'd try to see if it could be a 3 year deal instead.

Lin is going to command at least 10mpy, and Conley will get the max...which is 30mpy. We wouldn't be able to get both of them. I think it's either Rondo or Lin. No way Lin comes here to be Rondo's backup. He'd have to compete with Collison too.

Lin can be a starter on his own. Free agent PGs are extremely weak. This is why a lot of people wanted the Kings t adjust this problem with the draft.

I understand the salary cap is taking a huge jump this coming year and next. But wow, if Lin gets 16 MPY, thats a heck of a pay day comparing to the $2.25M he got last season was it?

But Conley max at $30MPY is insane. I mean, even with the new cap. I really don't think he can get that, but who knows what may happen if a team gets desperate. Would the Mavs or Bulls use up that much of their cap on 1 player who is really just a good player but not a star or even all star?

I agree that given the right system where Lin can find a good balance between being aggressive and creating off the dribble and playing under control to create for others, he can be a good starter. Especially if Conley's actual cost really ends up being at or close to $30MPY.
 
#29
With the retirement of Kobe, the sg position is now up for grabs to the person who steps up to take it. Right now, that player is Klay so each and every player evaluation at that position needs to be looked at regarding him. He is the new standard.
That being said, I STILL like Benny Macs chance at the position. If someone could challenge him at the very core of his manhood to step the hell up and man up he has as much of a chance as anyone (based off talent and physical tools) to challenge for the position. His problem is between the ears, the lack of a killer instinct and the size of his (obviously) marbles. A lot of it is on coaching and stability. He has the form on his shot and the physical tools to lock down on the perimeter, but he has never been coached and/or challenged to step it up.
I personally would ride with him and the enigmatic Cousins 2.0 in Richardson to see who wants the job before Bogdanovic steps in to take their thunder.
 
#30
With the retirement of Kobe, the sg position is now up for grabs to the person who steps up to take it. Right now, that player is Klay so each and every player evaluation at that position needs to be looked at regarding him. He is the new standard.
That being said, I STILL like Benny Macs chance at the position. If someone could challenge him at the very core of his manhood to step the hell up and man up he has as much of a chance as anyone (based off talent and physical tools) to challenge for the position. His problem is between the ears, the lack of a killer instinct and the size of his (obviously) marbles. A lot of it is on coaching and stability. He has the form on his shot and the physical tools to lock down on the perimeter, but he has never been coached and/or challenged to step it up.
I personally would ride with him and the enigmatic Cousins 2.0 in Richardson to see who wants the job before Bogdanovic steps in to take their thunder.
I'm sorry you CANNOT go into the season with Ben Mclemore your starter and rookie as your backup. I would be fine with giving Ben one last shot under Joerger, but not as the main SG.