I would kill for a 5-seed!
Grade the deadline (2025 edition)
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
I would kill for a 5-seed!
So would I!
sactowndog
All-Star
B-/C+
on the Fox trade Monte should have traded him this summer to move up in the draft knowing he was leaving or the moment he signed with Klutch. He had to get a starter caliber forward for Fox and he failed to do so.
on the Val trade we shall see what he has left. He is 32 and at career lows in most categories. My bb industry contact thinks he is cooked and it was a horrible trade. On the other hand Domas can’t play the whole game.
Laravia was either a great trade or a lot for a very short term rental. We need the extra length and I think he is a longer Huerter who was a better player than many give him credit for on defense.
I think the parts are there for a good team especially if we can get Simmons in the buy out market but a really good chance also exists we are a 9/10 playin team and made just enough poor moves to lose our draft pick.
tough being a Kings fan.
on the Fox trade Monte should have traded him this summer to move up in the draft knowing he was leaving or the moment he signed with Klutch. He had to get a starter caliber forward for Fox and he failed to do so.
on the Val trade we shall see what he has left. He is 32 and at career lows in most categories. My bb industry contact thinks he is cooked and it was a horrible trade. On the other hand Domas can’t play the whole game.
Laravia was either a great trade or a lot for a very short term rental. We need the extra length and I think he is a longer Huerter who was a better player than many give him credit for on defense.
I think the parts are there for a good team especially if we can get Simmons in the buy out market but a really good chance also exists we are a 9/10 playin team and made just enough poor moves to lose our draft pick.
tough being a Kings fan.
TaxMan
Starter
Seems like a fairly extreme view by your bb industry contract on JV. Given is having basically exactly the same season as he always has. Even if you don't adjust for per 36, he's the epitome of a consistent performer. Obviously you aren't getting a defensive savant, but you're getting the same scoring and rebounding as always with him this year. Any particular observation on his game your insider has?
bball_nomad
Bench
I graded A+. The house was on fire and it was an emergency situation.
Zach is reborn.
JV was a starter for many good teams until this season. JV is consistent and available unless somebody breaks too many bones in different parts of his body.
LaRavia is an unknown, but we had NOBODY from the bench before him.
Once again - it's A+ cause it was an emergency and all the new acquisitions were made to salvage the season.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
We have some flexibility in the off season to totally change the team make up if we so choose. For example, no one wants Ben Simmons at 40 mil but at 12? Maybe. Lavine could be moved to a team like Orlando which would be a perfect fit for him, some length and size could maybe be had there. Or packsge Deebo and some picks for a bigger swing. Plenty of opportunities to raise the ceiling of this team moving forward.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
OK, after seeing some of Fox's recent comments/tweets, maybe giving this deadline a B-/C+ was me being way too strict of a grader/assessor.
Monte, AT LEAST deserves a B+/A- just for being able to get rid of the idiot.
Monte, AT LEAST deserves a B+/A- just for being able to get rid of the idiot.
While I get this thought process, Luka just netted an oft-broken center likely past his prime and one pick. Not a whole lot of good firsts being bandied about, either. Fox (as inconsistent of a star as he was and with an injured hand) has us over a barrel and it was either lose him for what we got now or lose him for even less this summer, possibly with him shutting it down the rest of the year to heal. Just because the return wasn't what you wanted doesn't mean it wasn't objectively good overall.
I like JV as a backup center overall. While he and Sabonis aren't rim protectors, they are strong rebounding machines and tend to do OK offensively on their own. They certainly won't get bullied.
LaRavia seems like a decent backup 3/4 (I'm not really familiar with him, but that's what I'm gathering). We had a short term need and filled it at relatively low cost. If he pans out this year, hopefully we can get him to sign on for another contract.
While I would have liked "more" (and who wouldn't, in any trade!), I think we got a decent return for the hand we were dealt. I'm not going to hold it against someone for factors outside their control.
But Dallas's GM targeted that broken center. And then took LA's weaker offer. Many teams would have given up more for Luka even with all the fitness/injury concern Dallas apparently has.
May have possibly been the same thing as Kings FO targeting Buddy Hield.
Maybe so. But every year we see trades where we wonder "what the heck is going on" and "why didn't we get in on that" when good players get traded for a lot less (or a lot more!) than we thought they would get. Sometimes we've made offers that others spurned that we actually think is better, but that doesn't mean that the other team sees similar value for whatever reason (players offered, which years the picks are, etc.). I'm not going to get so obsessed with minutiae over it. I have more important things to do.
Of course but the Luka deal is widely being panned as one of the worst deals ever (I think like the Joe Barry Carroll trade is still probably the worst all time) and it has been stated in full open clarity that Nico wanted one player and one player only for Luka. And not one GM around the league has admitted to being contacted if that is untrue.
There's a lot of weird deals every deadline but this one is pretty special and I don't think you can compare it to even our trade, or the ones involving past their prime guys like Butler.
Insomniacal Fan
Starter
Gets a meh from me.
I understand if the franchise wasn't ready to immediately scrap the team, and if we want to have a short term goal of making the playoffs this year; ok. I hope we make progress in the off season with cleaning up the roster; win-now guys need to go. Players with potential, and good leaders may still have a role.
I understand if the franchise wasn't ready to immediately scrap the team, and if we want to have a short term goal of making the playoffs this year; ok. I hope we make progress in the off season with cleaning up the roster; win-now guys need to go. Players with potential, and good leaders may still have a role.
sactowndog
All-Star
guard for forward trades are hard to pull off.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
DLo and KC are having Ed Gonzalez on tomorrow. I think there is a good chance they are going to tell us the Kings tried to get Durant based on his Insta post. Will be interesting to hear more
Caccia
Starter
And I give the FO an A for sterling performance under enemy fire.
Caccia
Starter
Jake LaRavia is a wing. He is on contract for this season, at least.
sono
Starter
I was hoping for a starting type of caliber wing.
Monte planted a Starting Caliber Wing Tree a few months ago, but those things don't usually fruit out for three to four years.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
he was playing 20 minutes a game for a team that is almost 20 games over 500. I would say he is a flex starter level wing.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Kings can only start five players at the same time.
I like the Valanciunas and LaRavia pickups, I'd say maybe a B+ for those moves. But I hate going out and getting Zach LaVine for this team so much that it averages out to a D for me. That's not an option so I picked F.
Obviously Fox needed to be traded but even without him we had guard depth with Monk, Ellis, McLaughlin, and Carter. Bringing in Zach effectively kills any chance that Keon Ellis gets his starting SG role back, that's strike one. He also shoots too much for Keegan Murray to develop into a third option, that's strike two. And he makes too much money to move him in the future without also sending out draft picks to sweeten the pot. Monte was behind the 8 ball, that's not his fault. Choosing maybe the worst option imaginable certainly is his fault.
Obviously Fox needed to be traded but even without him we had guard depth with Monk, Ellis, McLaughlin, and Carter. Bringing in Zach effectively kills any chance that Keon Ellis gets his starting SG role back, that's strike one. He also shoots too much for Keegan Murray to develop into a third option, that's strike two. And he makes too much money to move him in the future without also sending out draft picks to sweeten the pot. Monte was behind the 8 ball, that's not his fault. Choosing maybe the worst option imaginable certainly is his fault.
Deadline moves were great!
Fox is no where near Lavine plus firsts. Now, consider the fractured hand. Fox is not a good passer and is not a good 3pt shooter. Lavine at least improves the shooting (over 44% before trade). Monk isnthe pg, so we needed a sg. While Lavine like all players has warts, he adds much needed height and athleticism.
Colby makes some of the worst plays and has been terri le this year. We didn't need him playing at all, at all because those are Carter's mins who is much better.
We do need a ballhandler, but McLaughlin never showed too much and couldn't handle a press. We have 3 roster spots and pg isn't a pressing need for many teams. Today Charolette.signed Elfrid Payton to a 10 day. I could see Reggie Jackson or other options working from the buyout market.
The greatest impact is moving Huerter. I couldn't wait for the day he was gone and I never had to watch another brick. LaRavia is shooting 44%. Huerter was bad at just about everything. We whine and complain about getting a wing and now we got one, yet it doesn't matter even if he is a better rebounder, passer, defender, scorer, etc.. We added height, versatility, and more importantly toughness.
Hrdboild says shots will be taken away from Keegan. Keegs had plenty of opportunities last night and it is on the coach to make sure he gets looks. Keegan's shot is coming back to form, but what is pissing everyone off about Keegs and was said repeatedly is him playing soft, lacking toughness, and aggression.
Val is much better for this team than Len. Val has experience with DDR, and we finally got a capable big that can score and provide relief for Sabonis as shown last night. It would have hurt my eyes to see Len play when Sabonis fouled out. Coach wouldn't even trust him and would have likely played Lyles. While Val played for Wash so his stats are padded (collecting Poole and Kuzma's bricks). We again added strength, rebounding, and length and toughness.
As a team we NEEDED height, athleticism, toughness, rebounding, bench scoring, and improved shooting and these were all improved.
Fox is no where near Lavine plus firsts. Now, consider the fractured hand. Fox is not a good passer and is not a good 3pt shooter. Lavine at least improves the shooting (over 44% before trade). Monk isnthe pg, so we needed a sg. While Lavine like all players has warts, he adds much needed height and athleticism.
Colby makes some of the worst plays and has been terri le this year. We didn't need him playing at all, at all because those are Carter's mins who is much better.
We do need a ballhandler, but McLaughlin never showed too much and couldn't handle a press. We have 3 roster spots and pg isn't a pressing need for many teams. Today Charolette.signed Elfrid Payton to a 10 day. I could see Reggie Jackson or other options working from the buyout market.
The greatest impact is moving Huerter. I couldn't wait for the day he was gone and I never had to watch another brick. LaRavia is shooting 44%. Huerter was bad at just about everything. We whine and complain about getting a wing and now we got one, yet it doesn't matter even if he is a better rebounder, passer, defender, scorer, etc.. We added height, versatility, and more importantly toughness.
Hrdboild says shots will be taken away from Keegan. Keegs had plenty of opportunities last night and it is on the coach to make sure he gets looks. Keegan's shot is coming back to form, but what is pissing everyone off about Keegs and was said repeatedly is him playing soft, lacking toughness, and aggression.
Val is much better for this team than Len. Val has experience with DDR, and we finally got a capable big that can score and provide relief for Sabonis as shown last night. It would have hurt my eyes to see Len play when Sabonis fouled out. Coach wouldn't even trust him and would have likely played Lyles. While Val played for Wash so his stats are padded (collecting Poole and Kuzma's bricks). We again added strength, rebounding, and length and toughness.
As a team we NEEDED height, athleticism, toughness, rebounding, bench scoring, and improved shooting and these were all improved.
Who on the team is a pg?
Monk is the primary ball-handler, but do you consider him a pg?
Do you want Carter or Ellis bringing the ball up?
I've seen them turn the duties over to Derozan, so yes it seems fairly obvious and the GM said we needed to address it.
sono
Starter
Even as a bench player, LaRavia was the best asset Monte pulled out from this trade.
Who knows he might earn his minutes as a starter soon, I'll be happy; till then I'll stand by it.