Is it possible for the Kings to rent Dwight Howard ( Yeah, I know he'll leave )

[Anthony1]

Ok, first off, let me explain my thinking. Before we get into whether or not such a scenario would even be possible. The idea behind renting Dwight Howard for one year, is the fact that we aren't going to end up totally empty handed when the one year is up.

Howard will command a MAX deal wherever he goes, so you're virtually guaranteed a sign and trade deal next summer.


Still, why rent him, when you know the draft picks and players that you get back won't really be worth jack squat ?

That's a good question, and I can answer it a couple of ways. I think the experience that Isaiah, MT, T-Rob and Cuz gets from it, will be absolutely invaluable. The Kings would be guaranteed playoff bound, which would do a lot for the overall health of the franchise. Sure, Dwight would leave, but that one year of going into the playoffs, perhaps shaking things up a bit in the Western Conference, would be invaluable to 4 future (and present) cornerstones of our franchise.

You might have noticed that Tyreke, Jason and Jimmer were left out of the picture. Well, obviously, we would have to send Tyreke and Jason, along with a bevy of "unprotected" No.1 picks. And Jimmer. The downside, we never get Reke and Jason back, and the draft picks that we are giving away would be WAY more valuable than the draft picks we get from the Nets. Plus, we would most likely end up with just some journeymen type role players from the Nets in the sign and trade next summer. Nothing equaling Reke and JT. I could pretty much care less about Jimmer leaving.


So, we offer up:

Tyreke Evans
Jason Thompson
Jimmer Fredette
Future 1st round pick
Future 1st round pick


we receive:

Dwight Howard
whatever contracts that Orlando wants to dump on us

 

[Nighthawk1]

any dwight to sac starts with dmc not reke. we would be silly to think different

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Sorry, I'm going to have to run away from something like that kicking and screaming. I have no interest in giving up 5 potential long-term assets for one year of The Incredible Sulk.

 

[Fear the Putin]

why?
we get rid of assets for a year rental

 

[Anthony1]

1. If Orlando requires DMC, then forget about it. It's a non-starter.

2. Orlando WOULD want our draft picks.

3. The new GM could think that Tyreke could be his Westbrook.

4. The new GM probably would like Jason Thompson as an up and coming 4 with potential.

5. The new GM probably doesn't want Jimmer Fredette but he might think that there is always a chance Fredette could eventually morph into a decent NBA player. Plus, they might sell a few more tickets with the Great White hope on their team.



Why get rid of assets for a one year rental ?


1. Invaluable experience for Demarcus, Isaiah, T-Rob and Marcus Thornton. Kings would make the playoffs, and could even win a first round series. The sky's the limit beyond that.

2. Changes the league wide perception of the Sacramento Kings. Free Agents will know that the Kings are just one megastar away from being a factor. A mega star could be willing to step into the void that Howard would create when he leaves.

3. Whatever team that ultimately ends up with Howard is going to be forced to give him a Max contract. This will require a sign and trade. Kings will get some pieces and draft picks in return.


Now, I will freely admit that the players that come back to us won't be as good as Tyreke and Jason. However, nobody should even think for a second that the Kings will end up with nothing. Howard will have a sign and trade wherever he is going, and for the math to work, value has to come back to the Kings. We are guaranteed draft picks and players. Maybe we can force some Salmons or Outlaw or whatever else on the other team next summer as well.

We still keep 4 key starters:

PG = Isaiah
SG = Marcus
SF - Unknown
PF - T. Rob
C - DMC


DMC plays some PF for one year, but he goes back to Center when Dwight is gone. T. Rob plays a bit of SF for one year (and backs up DMC at PF). Robinson moves to PF full time. Whiteside plays behind Howard for a year. Hopefully he learns something in the process. Isaiah gets another year under his belt, with even more confidence following a run in the playoffs. Yeah, we still need a SF, but maybe in the sign and trade we get a nice SF, or another big we can trade for a SF. Is Tyreke a huge loss ? Yes, but he wasn't going to work on our team anyways. Is Jason a huge loss, not as much as people would think. T-Rob would get valuable experience of playing in the playoffs during his rookie year, and playing with a front line including Superman and DMC. With one year under his belt, he will be that much more ready to be our full time PF with Cuz moving back to center. Yes, JT would be a great big to use off the bench, but other than that, I don't think we really feel too much of a sting from his departure.

Ultimately, the draft pick swap will hurt us the most. The Magic would get much better picks from us, then we will get from the Nets a year later. Still, if GP was smart about it, he would try to delay the picks we receive maybe 8 years in the future, when the Nets could be a wasteland. We don't need more young players anyways. Plus, GP can still pluck some gems in the 2nd round as roster filler. The Kings would significantly improve their overall league-wide image. Imagine the kind of run a guy like DeMarcus and Isaiah will get league-wide, when they are on a National stage for one year ? It will help our recruiting. We will show all the free agents out there, that we have a young, exciting nucleus, that just needs one more all-star quality player. I think it would help us in the short and long run as a franchise.

 

[Agent23]

You play way too much NBA 2K. This only way this remotely happens is if Demarcus Cousins name is involved.

 

[Bricklayer]

Its just a pointless exercise. Dwight ain't coming here.

 

[Anthony1]

You play way too much NBA 2K. This only way this remotely happens is if Demarcus Cousins name is involved.

Yeah, it's pretty much a pipe dream. The Magic would turn down any deal that didn't include DMC or T-Rob. I think those are the two guys that you DON'T want to trade. We can't give away Isaiah or Marcus either, which means a trade is null and void. Tyreke, plus Jason and Jimmer and 2 future No.1 picks just wouldn't be enough.



One last question though.... How much additional garbage contracts could we absorb from them ? Tyreke's, Jason's and Jimmers salaries would all be going bye-bye. We'd take on Dwight's salary, and could we absorb some of their junk with cap space ?

 

[Uncia03]

Yeah, it's pretty much a pipe dream. The Magic would turn down any deal that didn't include DMC or T-Rob. I think those are the two guys that you DON'T want to trade. We can't give away Isaiah or Marcus either, which means a trade is null and void. Tyreke, plus Jason and Jimmer and 2 future No.1 picks just wouldn't be enough.

First, blowing up your whole team for a one-year rental (especially when you're talking about a young team that needs to grow into its talent) is never a sound strategy.

Second, starting next season only teams under the Salary Apron will be allowed to perform S&Ts. This is going to take a lot of teams out of the picture, so you might not get as many assets in a S&T (if there is even one performed) as you'd think.

Finally, why do you think that Tyreke and JT are expendable while IT & Marcus are deal-breakers? That doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah, it's pretty much a pipe dream. The Magic would turn down any deal that didn't include DMC or T-Rob. I think those are the two guys that you DON'T want to trade. We can't give away Isaiah or Marcus either, which means a trade is null and void. Tyreke, plus Jason and Jimmer and 2 future No.1 picks just wouldn't be enough.



One last question though.... How much additional garbage contracts could we absorb from them ? Tyreke's, Jason's and Jimmers salaries would all be going bye-bye. We'd take on Dwight's salary, and could we absorb some of their junk with cap space ?

Why would we do that?

 

[Anthony1]

First, blowing up your whole team for a one-year rental (especially when you're talking about a young team that needs to grow into its talent) is never a sound strategy.

1. We wouldn't be blowing up our whole team. It's only 3 players. The core of our most logical starting lineup remains (sans SF which we don't have either way)

2. As for a young team that needs to grow into it's talent, what better way than a trip to the playoffs, and possibly even a 2nd round matchup ? National TV exposure ?

Second, starting next season only teams under the Salary Apron will be allowed to perform S&Ts. This is going to take a lot of teams out of the picture, so you might not get as many assets in a S&T (if there is even one performed) as you'd think.

Ok, I'll flat out admit that I know nothing about what your talking about, so if we can't get anything good back in a S&T for Howard, then yeah, that would change things dramatically. The draft picks aren't really what I'm interested in, in terms of getting assets back either, cause they aren't going to be worth much, unless they are delayed into 2022 or something.

Finally, why do you think that Tyreke and JT are expendable while IT & Marcus are deal-breakers? That doesn't make much sense to me.

I just think that if we can put IT at point guard, have Marcus at the 2 guard. Cuz can play Power Forward next to Howard at Center, and the rook plays "small" forward. Of course, the rook would also get minutes at PF, and Cuz would get minutes at Center, etc, etc. Then, after Howard is gone, Cuz moves back to center, T-Rob to full-time PF and we still need a SF, but again, we are going to get "something" back in the S&T (assuming we could still do a S&T), so we might be able to parlay that into a legit SF.

I might be way overvaluing the fact that a one year Howard rental would totally change the culture of our franchise. The perception of our franchise. It would put the Kings back on the map. If you guys think we can get to the Finals purely through sucking over and over and over and just drafting lottery picks, I'm not so sure about that. At some point, we are going to need to add some really key free agents. I think if we get our team on National TV a bunch of times, into the playoffs. do some damage in the playoffs, then guys like DMC start playing in all-star games with regularity. Thomas Robinson becomes a household name. Marcus Thornton get's his league-wide due. And a little guy named IT, might continue to make his own mark in the NBA. It would do wonders for our ability to attract future free agents. Also, remember, we should get "something" back if we do a S&T, so even after Howard is gone, I just think we need a legit SF and some depth at key positions.

 

[Uncia03]

I might be way overvaluing the fact that a one year Howard rental would totally change the culture of our franchise. The perception of our franchise. It would put the Kings back on the map. If you guys think we can get to the Finals purely through sucking over and over and over and just drafting lottery picks, I'm not so sure about that. At some point, we are going to need to add some really key free agents. I think if we get our team on National TV a bunch of times, into the playoffs. do some damage in the playoffs, then guys like DMC start playing in all-star games with regularity. Thomas Robinson becomes a household name. Marcus Thornton get's his league-wide due. And a little guy named IT, might continue to make his own mark in the NBA. It would do wonders for our ability to attract future free agents. Also, remember, we should get "something" back if we do a S&T, so even after Howard is gone, I just think we need a legit SF and some depth at key positions.

You are correct that if we traded good young assets to land Dwight Howard knowing that there is basically no way that we can keep him, it would put the Kings back on the map.

Unfortunately it would put the Kings on the map for all the wrong reasons.

We would be the laughing stock of the league and people would point to that trade as one of the worst in NBA history.

You don't trade a young dominant guard who will probably be commanding close to a max contract next year, along with a great valued 3rd big, a 1st round PG, & 2 future 1st round picks all for a one-year rental, especially when the best you can hope for is that you might win 1 play-off series before seeing that player walk.

You know what you do?

You collect young assets.

Then either you develop those assets yourself, like what OCK is doing, or what Portland was doing before all the injuries. Or you package them in a trade for veterans who are committed to long-term deals, like what Boston did with KG and Allen

Now the Nets did something similar to what you're proposing for Deron Williams, but they felt that they had a year and a half to convince Williams to sign with them. So it was a much riskier move on their part, when you compare it to what Boston did.

I can guarantee you that if Deron Williams had decided not to re-sign with the Nets, the Nets would have looked like fools for trading away the pieces they did for Deron Williams. If the Kings made the trade your suggesting, while knowing that they can't re-sign the player...it would be roundly criticized by everyone, and deservedly so.

Losing Tyreke in such a deal is bad enough, but once Dwight leaves, the team isn't making the playoffs because we won't have enough talent, and we'd have given up what will probably be 2 1st round lottery picks in the deal which will deprive us from getting the talent we need to make it back to the play-offs.

 

[Anthony1]

You are correct that if we traded good young assets to land Dwight Howard knowing that there is basically no way that we can keep him, it would put the Kings back on the map.

Unfortunately it would put the Kings on the map for all the wrong reasons.

We would be the laughing stock of the league and people would point to that trade as one of the worst in NBA history.

Why would it be horrible for us, but not Houston or the Lakers ? If he's going to the Nets at some point anyways then why would the Lakers or Rockets just throw away assets for a one year rental ? You know why they will take the chance ? Because Dwight is guaranteed to get a max deal, and the only way he can get a max deal is via a sign and trade. Dwight is not walking for NOTHING. How many times must I repeat that ?

You don't trade a young dominant guard who will probably be commanding close to a max contract next year, along with a great valued 3rd big, a 1st round PG, & 2 future 1st round picks all for a one-year rental, especially when the best you can hope for is that you might win 1 play-off series before seeing that player walk.

Yeah, because Tyreke is so dominant, that we can't even find a legitimate starting position for him, because he's so dominant. Reke just doesn't fit with our team, period. Might as well flip him while the flippin's good. As for Jimmer being a 1st round PG, well, we all know that we'd be lucky to get a super late 1st rounder back for him. We'd be much more likely to get a 2nd round pick for Jimmer at this point. PG's that can't dribble aren't the hottest commodity.

The other thing that's funny, is that you're complaining that we are giving away too much, yet you know damn well Orlando would laugh at this offer that includes your young dominant guard, and your first round PG and your greal valued 3rd big, and your two draft picks. No way on God's green Earth Orlando would accept that, and you think we are giving away far too much ?

You know what you do?

You collect young assets.

Then either you develop those assets yourself, like what OCK is doing, or what Portland was doing before all the injuries.

We have our young assets. We have a PG of the future, we have a rock solid SG, we have a PF of the future. We have a Center of the future. Only thing we are missing is SF (something we could get in the eventual S&T)

If the Kings made the trade your suggesting, while knowing that they can't re-sign the player...it would be roundly criticized by everyone, and deservedly so.

Losing Tyreke in such a deal is bad enough, but once Dwight leaves, the team isn't making the playoffs because we won't have enough talent, and we'd have given up what will probably be 2 1st round lottery picks in the deal which will deprive us from getting the talent we need to make it back to the play-offs.

Again, the idea is to change the culture of the franchise, and to make it more appealing to free agents. You talking about Sacramento being a laughing stock, but that's what we already are. So, we have no where to go but up. Kings are probably scheduled to be on National TV only a single time, which I think is a requirement withing the TV contracts, and if ESPN or TNT could get away with it, they would probably have zero Kings games on TV. We'd go from our single game on TV, to possibly 7 or 8 appearances, if not more. The rivalry with LA would be reignited, and the Kings would make the playoffs for the first time in how many years ? I don't even know how many years it's been already.

We would make the playoffs, and quite possibly move onto the second round. Beyond that, who knows ? Maybe everything really jells and we go even farther.

Now, do we announce nationally that we have no chance of signing Howard to a long term deal ? No. We simply say that we are happy to have such a talented player to play in the frontcourt with DMC and T-Rob, and that we are open to all possibilities when his contract is up. We'd love to resign him, but if he chooses to go elsewhere, we hope to facilitate a trade.

Obviously there is no chance Dwight stays, but that's fine, because again..... We are going to get assets in return. Our 4 young starters are going to get an amazing one year experience, and I can guarantee you, that even with Dwight gone, they are going to try to keep the feeling alive. All we need to add is a legit SF and another backup big, and anything can happen. I just think that if you're in the position that the Kings are in, you have to gamble. It's your only way out of the hole that you're in.

 

[twslam07]

You put a lot of faith into a backcourt who showed us last year were terribly defensively together. They are too small and not talented enough on that side of the court. Evans is significantly more talented than both of them. You're thinking shouldn't be "he doesn't fit with our team so we should get rid of him." It should be "our team doesn't fit with him we should get a new team around him." He is a special talent that doesn't come around too often and you act like he is expendable? That's almost offensive to me. How many Thornton like players are out there? Undersized player who is a good shooter and poor defender. There are plenty of guys who can do what Thomas can do in the league as well. Both of these players are by no means "special."

Evans might have some of the dirtiest handles I have seen in quite some time. His ability to beat his man continously off the dribble is astonishing. He is a tremendous finisher at the rim. He has excellent size and excellent length at the SG position and his athleticism is great for his position as well and did I mention how strong he is? He is also capable of being an elite defender. Something Thomas and Thornton have no shot at. For God sake, the guy averaged 20-5-5 his rookie year joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. That is a supreme group to be in. After his rookie season he struggled because teams adjusted to his play and he had a bad case of the injury bug. Last season was the lockout season where he underwent a coaching change and was constantly yanked around in the lineup. Put him in his rightful position at SG and give him a sense that we are molding the team around him, not molding him to fit with the current assets we have.

He knows his only weakness and is working on it diligently this offseason. Imagine him a couple of seasons in the future after he gets to have 2 or 3 offseasons to improve his jumper. He is going to pretty beastily. He will join the group of unguardable players. I would hope that when that time comes he still is wearing a Kings uniform, don't you?

Mark my words, he will be a great player in this league

 

[Big Cuz 15]

it'll only cost us cousins, trob & reke with a few future 1st rounders. not to mention they will get to dump all their bad contracts on us. where do we sign?

 

[Anthony1]

You put a lot of faith into a backcourt who showed us last year were terribly defensively together. They are too small and not talented enough on that side of the court. Evans is significantly more talented than both of them. You're thinking shouldn't be "he doesn't fit with our team so we should get rid of him." It should be "our team doesn't fit with him we should get a new team around him." He is a special talent that doesn't come around too often and you act like he is expendable? That's almost offensive to me. How many Thornton like players are out there? Undersized player who is a good shooter and poor defender. There are plenty of guys who can do what Thomas can do in the league as well. Both of these players are by no means "special."

Evans might have some of the dirtiest handles I have seen in quite some time. His ability to beat his man continously off the dribble is astonishing. He is a tremendous finisher at the rim. He has excellent size and excellent length at the SG position and his athleticism is great for his position as well and did I mention how strong he is? He is also capable of being an elite defender. Something Thomas and Thornton have no shot at. For God sake, the guy averaged 20-5-5 his rookie year joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. That is a supreme group to be in. After his rookie season he struggled because teams adjusted to his play and he had a bad case of the injury bug. Last season was the lockout season where he underwent a coaching change and was constantly yanked around in the lineup. Put him in his rightful position at SG and give him a sense that we are molding the team around him, not molding him to fit with the current assets we have.

He knows his only weakness and is working on it diligently this offseason. Imagine him a couple of seasons in the future after he gets to have 2 or 3 offseasons to improve his jumper. He is going to pretty beastily. He will join the group of unguardable players. I would hope that when that time comes he still is wearing a Kings uniform, don't you?

Mark my words, he will be a great player in this league

If all of that is true, then how come he can't find a starting position on one of the worst teams in the league? If we are moving him to SF because we don't know what the hell to do with him, then why is he so amazing ? Tyreke does have talents. I'm not going to pretend that the guy is a Buster or anything. But one thing you need to consider, is that the average general manager wouldn't even have Tyreke among the 25 best players in the NBA. If he can't even crack the top 25 in the league, then is he as good as you're saying he is ? To me, Tyreke is a player that doesn't fit perfectly at either PG or SG, but he DEFINITELY doesn't fit at SF. So where do you put him? If it's up to me, you put him at PG, but he's not a true PG, so you're kinda handicapping yourself in a way by playing him there. Ok, then put him at SG right ? Well, he really needs the ball in his hands to make things happen. He doesn't have much of any outside shot. He doesn't even have a mid-range shot (at least not successfully). His No.1 talent is to drive to the rack, so playing him at SG is kinda wasting his talents. You have to play him at PG, but the problem there is that he doesn't posses the court awareness and Bball IQ that you need from a floor general.

The bottom line is that the whole 20/5/5 thing was FOOL's GOLD. How many years is it going to take to realize that ? It took one year for the NBA to figure out how to stop Tyreke, and since then, he's been a shadow of his former self.

 

[rainmaker]

Evans might have some of the dirtiest handles I have seen in quite some time. His ability to beat his man continously off the dribble is astonishing. He is a tremendous finisher at the rim. He has excellent size and excellent length at the SG position and his athleticism is great for his position as well and did I mention how strong he is? He is also capable of being an elite defender. Something Thomas and Thornton have no shot at. For God sake, the guy averaged 20-5-5 his rookie year joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. That is a supreme group to be in. After his rookie season he struggled because teams adjusted to his play and he had a bad case of the injury bug. Last season was the lockout season where he underwent a coaching change and was constantly yanked around in the lineup. Put him in his rightful position at SG and give him a sense that we are molding the team around him, not molding him to fit with the current assets we have.

That's a good point, not as an excuse for Reke, but as it pertains to IT. Last year he somewhat caught teams by surprise. Team weren't gameplanning for the 60th pick, and even after he started to turn it up it was Reke and Cuz who commanded by far the most attention.

The question is, how does IT handle increased attention from other teams next year? We don't know yet, which is among the laundry list of reasons I say hell no to trading Reke for an 7-8 months rental of D12. We don't know exactly what we have with IT as he hasn't had to face teams who've game planned for him. There's a history of this throughout the league where sophmore seasons are very, very tough and production goes down, especially in backcourt players. Reke, Wall, Curry, Jennings all went through it recently. Most backcourt players do.

Eventhough I think this trade idea is asinine, for the sake of conversation I'd at least say lets wait and see how IT handles increased attention before just giving up on Reke and turning everything over to IT/MT. But this is also Anthony who simply doesn't like Reke and has stated numerous times all he wants to Reke back at PG, just to inflate his stats to trade him in Feb. WOuldn't even matter if Reke went on a tear, as it would just mean we'll get more back in return. He doesn't want him on the team, so what can you do?

 

[rainmaker]

The bottom line is that the whole 20/5/5 thing was FOOL's GOLD. How many years is it going to take to realize that ? It took one year for the NBA to figure out how to stop Tyreke, and since then, he's been a shadow of his former self.

Lol. That's called being a hypocrite. It took one year for the league to figure out Reke and since then he hasn't been the same. Yet, you want to turn the team over to IT, who we haven't seen what his response will be in year two when the attention increases. For all we know the league does figure out IT, as they do most 5'9" players, and the IT ROY campaign was fools gold. Not saying at all that'll happen, just pointing out your onesided hypocrisy.

How many years will it take to realize it? Go ahead and put together your extensive list of all the players who were fully developed and didn't add to their games after age 22.

 

[KingsCitizen]

it'll only cost us cousins, trob & reke with a few future 1st rounders. not to mention they will get to dump all their bad contracts on us. where do we sign?

You people are overpricing D12. He'll only cost us Hassan Whiteside... straight up!

 

[mac]

Why would it be horrible for us, but not Houston or the Lakers ? If he's going to the Nets at some point anyways then why would the Lakers or Rockets just throw away assets for a one year rental ? You know why they will take the chance ? Because Dwight is guaranteed to get a max deal, and the only way he can get a max deal is via a sign and trade. Dwight is not walking for NOTHING. How many times must I repeat that ?



Yeah, because Tyreke is so dominant, that we can't even find a legitimate starting position for him, because he's so dominant. Reke just doesn't fit with our team, period. Might as well flip him while the flippin's good. As for Jimmer being a 1st round PG, well, we all know that we'd be lucky to get a super late 1st rounder back for him. We'd be much more likely to get a 2nd round pick for Jimmer at this point. PG's that can't dribble aren't the hottest commodity.

The other thing that's funny, is that you're complaining that we are giving away too much, yet you know damn well Orlando would laugh at this offer that includes your young dominant guard, and your first round PG and your greal valued 3rd big, and your two draft picks. No way on God's green Earth Orlando would accept that, and you think we are giving away far too much ?



We have our young assets. We have a PG of the future, we have a rock solid SG, we have a PF of the future. We have a Center of the future. Only thing we are missing is SF (something we could get in the eventual S&T)



Again, the idea is to change the culture of the franchise, and to make it more appealing to free agents. You talking about Sacramento being a laughing stock, but that's what we already are. So, we have no where to go but up. Kings are probably scheduled to be on National TV only a single time, which I think is a requirement withing the TV contracts, and if ESPN or TNT could get away with it, they would probably have zero Kings games on TV. We'd go from our single game on TV, to possibly 7 or 8 appearances, if not more. The rivalry with LA would be reignited, and the Kings would make the playoffs for the first time in how many years ? I don't even know how many years it's been already.

We would make the playoffs, and quite possibly move onto the second round. Beyond that, who knows ? Maybe everything really jells and we go even farther.

Now, do we announce nationally that we have no chance of signing Howard to a long term deal ? No. We simply say that we are happy to have such a talented player to play in the frontcourt with DMC and T-Rob, and that we are open to all possibilities when his contract is up. We'd love to resign him, but if he chooses to go elsewhere, we hope to facilitate a trade.

Obviously there is no chance Dwight stays, but that's fine, because again..... We are going to get assets in return. Our 4 young starters are going to get an amazing one year experience, and I can guarantee you, that even with Dwight gone, they are going to try to keep the feeling alive. All we need to add is a legit SF and another backup big, and anything can happen. I just think that if you're in the position that the Kings are in, you have to gamble. It's your only way out of the hole that you're in.

How in the world would we become more appealing to free agents by renting Dwight Howard for 1 year, who will then leave? You said it yourslef that it's likely that we will end up with less valuable assets than we started off with once Dwight leaves, but somehow FAs will suddenly want to come to SAC? Watch me here, say I'm Free Agent X.

Player X - 2012 offseason: Eeyuck I would never want to go to SAC, though they have some good asset. They haven't made the playoffs for 5 years.
Kings trade away assets for Dwight. Make the 1st or 2nd round and get eliminated. Dwight leaves in a S&T and we end up with less assets than we would have had otherwise.

2013 offseason - Free Agent X: OMG OMG the player that helped the Kings get into the playoffs has left the Kings, and now they have poorer assests than before. I want to go there now!

Seriously?

 

[twslam07]

If all of that is true, then how come he can't find a starting position on one of the worst teams in the league? If we are moving him to SF because we don't know what the hell to do with him, then why is he so amazing ? Tyreke does have talents. I'm not going to pretend that the guy is a Buster or anything. But one thing you need to consider, is that the average general manager wouldn't even have Tyreke among the 25 best players in the NBA. If he can't even crack the top 25 in the league, then is he as good as you're saying he is ? To me, Tyreke is a player that doesn't fit perfectly at either PG or SG, but he DEFINITELY doesn't fit at SF. So where do you put him? If it's up to me, you put him at PG, but he's not a true PG, so you're kinda handicapping yourself in a way by playing him there. Ok, then put him at SG right ? Well, he really needs the ball in his hands to make things happen. He doesn't have much of any outside shot. He doesn't even have a mid-range shot (at least not successfully). His No.1 talent is to drive to the rack, so playing him at SG is kinda wasting his talents. You have to play him at PG, but the problem there is that he doesn't posses the court awareness and Bball IQ that you need from a floor general.

The bottom line is that the whole 20/5/5 thing was FOOL's GOLD. How many years is it going to take to realize that ? It took one year for the NBA to figure out how to stop Tyreke, and since then, he's been a shadow of his former self.

Considering this is one of the worst teams in the league, we have many holes to fill. Evans happens to be one of our most talented and versatile players who is capable of playing multiple positions. This is the reason why he has been shifted around so much. It's as simple as that. It's not that we don't know what to do with him. In the beginning of the season, we were under the impression that we had 2 solid SFs (Salmons and Outlaw). Unfortunately, these two players had argubably their worst seasons last year. Well lets possibly try Garcia at SF. To our dismay, he shot horribly last year from three and that is one of his few contributions to the team. So that leaves who? Evans. He is the only one left who is capable of filling the SF position adequately. It's confusing to me how you don't seem to comprehend that.

I don't think Evans is in the top 25 as of now, and I'm not sure why the top 25 is such a significant measurement of talent. He is 22. Keep that in mind. How many 22 year olds crack the top 25? Not many. If Evans gets a jumpshot, like Rose or Westbrook did, I see no reason why he can't be included in that list. Once his defenders have to respect his jumpshot, it will make it even easier for him to get by his man (as if it wasn't easy enough for him already). Now getting by his man more easily and hitting his open jumpshot is great, but it is not the entire story. We need to have good shooters around him to punish help defenders. If one of the main reasons for Evans dissapointing seasons was the opposing team stacking the paint, that blame doesn't all fall on Evans. His teammates need to make shots and make their competitors respect them as shooters, and if we don't have the right type of players around him that can't make shots, then Evans will be the one to suffer. By no means does that mean they can stop him, but teams would be able to contain him and our offense to a degree.

Evans is a SG who can play PG. I don't see why playing him in his natural position means we are "handicapping ourselves" or "wasting his talents." There are plenty of ball dominant SGs and non-ball dominant PGs. Again it is true that he doesn't have a jumpshot, but that is the major thing he is working on in the offseason. From what I have read, it sounds like he is taking it seriously and putting in the effort that it will take. So if he is able to develop some sort of jumpshot that automatically helps him as an off the ball player because it increases his chances at hitting a spot up jumper or a jumper off a screen. In addition, the one positive thing Evans gained from his experience by playing SF was learning how to play off the ball. Towards the end of the season, I liked the improvement I saw out of Evans in that department. He made numerous cuts through the paint or backdoor. If he does add that jumpshot, then you might see some off the ball screens set for him to get him a nice little mid range shot. He obviously was out of his element, but he seemed to improve as the experiment went on. By no means do I want him to continue to play SF, but it was just something I noticed.

You also question his basketball IQ and court awareness in terms of him playing PG. If we were to have him play PG, I think it would be best if we had another player who was a good playmaker such as Iguodala (I would say Williams, but he isn't a good 3pt shooter) next to him. I agree we can't rely on him entirely to run and facilitate our offense, but he is more than capable of sharing that duty with another player. Compared to many of the SGs in the league, his court vision and awareness are certainly above average (much better than Thornton).

I don't see how you can call his rookie campaign "fools gold." The next season, when he was plagued with injuries and teams had an entire season to figure him out, his stats were not too far off from his rookie season (-2.3 pts, -.5 reb, -.2 ast, 0 stl). He was essentially 18-5-5 his injured season. I know stats don't tell the entire story, but it shows there wasn't a significant dropoff. Then last season he began tweaking his shot. He didn't spend too much time on it, but he began the process. Then this year he returned to his 18-5-5 self and then was shifted to SF where his production dropped. Having to change coaches in the middle of the season is one thing. Having to learn a new position in the middle of the season is another. He was not set up for success by his organization.

It's obvious why his production dropped this season, and probalby explains why he is not in your "top 25" this season. Now Evans is fully focused on improving his jumpshot the entire offseason to help push him into that "unguardable" status and you say he is expendable? It just doesn't make sense.

 

[twslam07]

That's a good point, not as an excuse for Reke, but as it pertains to IT. Last year he somewhat caught teams by surprise. Team weren't gameplanning for the 60th pick, and even after he started to turn it up it was Reke and Cuz who commanded by far the most attention.

The question is, how does IT handle increased attention from other teams next year? We don't know yet, which is among the laundry list of reasons I say hell no to trading Reke for an 7-8 months rental of D12. We don't know exactly what we have with IT as he hasn't had to face teams who've game planned for him. There's a history of this throughout the league where sophmore seasons are very, very tough and production goes down, especially in backcourt players. Reke, Wall, Curry, Jennings all went through it recently. Most backcourt players do.

Eventhough I think this trade idea is asinine, for the sake of conversation I'd at least say lets wait and see how IT handles increased attention before just giving up on Reke and turning everything over to IT/MT. But this is also Anthony who simply doesn't like Reke and has stated numerous times all he wants to Reke back at PG, just to inflate his stats to trade him in Feb. WOuldn't even matter if Reke went on a tear, as it would just mean we'll get more back in return. He doesn't want him on the team, so what can you do?

If he comes off the bench behind a legitimate PG next to Evans, I think Thomas will not have to worry about teams gameplanning against him too much.

 

[butteredbiscuit]

Why would we do that?

Well it is simple. If you didn't like the makeup of the team, you could do the deal. But when trade deadline came along, you would get a lot back that is for sure. You would lose Tyreke Evans, Demarcus Cousins, Thompson 2 first round picks. But you would get a lot back in return. You see what Brooklyn wanted to give up? Brook Lopez, 3 first round picks, Gerald Wallace, probably Humphries. That is a pretty good return back

PG-Isiah Thomas
SG-Marcus Thornton
SF-Wallace
PF-T-Robinson
C- Lopez

 

[Mass]

PG-Isiah Thomas
SG-Marcus Thornton
SF-Wallace
PF-T-Robinson
C- Lopez

And you really think this team is better than what we have right now?!? Really? You take Lopez and Wallace over Cousins and Evans?!? I don't care about the 3 first round picks at all. They would have Deron, Johnson and Dwight. Those will be 3 late first round picks, and we just traded Demarcus and Tyreke for them...

We're lucky you're not the GM. Just to be clear, I believe DMC will be the best center in the league in his prime, I would not trade him straight up for Howard.

 

[mac]

Well it is simple. If you didn't like the makeup of the team, you could do the deal. But when trade deadline came along, you would get a lot back that is for sure. You would lose Tyreke Evans, Demarcus Cousins, Thompson 2 first round picks. But you would get a lot back in return. You see what Brooklyn wanted to give up? Brook Lopez, 3 first round picks, Gerald Wallace, probably Humphries. That is a pretty good return back

PG-Isiah Thomas
SG-Marcus Thornton
SF-Wallace
PF-T-Robinson
C- Lopez

Then why wouldn't that Nets or whichever other team just make the deal with Orlando in the first place? Because if (according to your example) Lopez, 3 first round picks, Wallace and Humphries are worth more than Evans, Cuz, Thompson and our 2 first round picks wouldn't Orlando just do a deal straight with the Nets? And if Evans Cuz Thompson etc are worth more than Lopez and company then why should we trade them away for Howard, when there's no guarantee that we can even flip him for Lopez and co., who in the first place are supposedly not even as good as Evans and co.?

Also I think you need to remember that Howard's contract situation this year is very different from last year. Last year they were hoping they could get him to sign a long term extension, and if I'm not wrong he can't do that this year.

 

[Anthony1]

How in the world would we become more appealing to free agents by renting Dwight Howard for 1 year, who will then leave? You said it yourself that it's likely that we will end up with less valuable assets than we started off with once Dwight leaves, but somehow FAs will suddenly want to come to SAC?

You underestimate the value of being on National TV, getting tons of attention (yes, because of Dwight), and making a run in the playoffs. Free Agents will notice that the Kings have talent...... EVEN without Dwight. Average Joe Basketball fan nationwide has no idea that DeMarcus is probably one of the 3 or 4 best Centers in the NBA. A year with the Kings on National TV, and in the playoffs, and people will come to the conclusion that we already have. DMC is an elite talent. Could be one of the top few players in the league in a few years. Free Agents would notice this as well. They will also notice the young point guard that plays like a wily veteran. They will notice the aggressiveness of Marcus Thornton, relentlessly attacking the basket. They will notice the athleticism and raw talent of a potential ROY in Thomas Robinson. In fact, speaking of ROY, how much more likely would T-Rob be to get ROY if he was on a team with Dwight, basking in some of Dwight's spotlight ?

So many good things would happen in just that one brief year, that it would change (to a degree), the league-wide opinion on Sacramento. Certianly, everyone would clearly recognize that Dwight will leave a HUGE hole, but at the same time, they will also realize that Sac is just an all-star SF away from respectability any ways.

 

[kingjatt]

looks like houstons going all in for the 1 yr rental of howard, they just amnestied scola in order to take back a few of the magics bad contracts.

 

[Glenn]

We didn't have FAs lining up to come here after the Webber/Vlade era.

 

[Anthony1]

We didn't have FAs lining up to come here after the Webber/Vlade era.

I never said anything about FAa lining up to come here. I'm saying that one year in the playoffs, even if most will think it was all Dwight Howard that got us there, would still do wonders for what the average NBA player thinks of potentially joining the Kings. It's not going to make hundreds of them getting in line, but all we need is one all-star small forward with defensive skills and a great 3 point shot.

 

[Glenn]

I never said anything about FAa lining up to come here. I'm saying that one year in the playoffs, even if most will think it was all Dwight Howard that got us there, would still do wonders for what the average NBA player thinks of potentially joining the Kings. It's not going to make hundreds of them getting in line, but all we need is one all-star small forward with defensive skills and a great 3 point shot.

We got no one and I would expect to get less after ar one year novelty act of having Dwight Howard. One year of him will not repair the awful reputation this franchise has no matter what the cause. The sad thing is that our reputation now seems to be because of our series of putrid coaches and awful owners. That will not change simply by having Dwight. I understand your point but I think it is naive.