Jabari Parker?

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#32
Jabari would provide much needed scoring that the Kings consistently lack but I wouldn't be a happy camper if they threw the max his way considering his injury history up to this point in his career, it's taking a risk, question is...would it be worth it? not for me.
 
#34
At this point I'm just kinda thinking screw it. Have to take a chance at some point. Our money is usually tied up in garbage players anyway. Even if Parker gets hurt, that money is just going to be spent on bench player veterans and old retreads anyway so why not just take a chance?
When you’re a small market team that’s how it works. Take your chance man what if he plays like last year and is a 20-7-3 guy for us that’s like another top 5 pick considering his age
 
#35
I would like to address something—there is a lot of “woe is us, we’re just a small market” talk on here. That mattered through most of the Stern years vis a vis lottery outcomes, but the paradigm has shifted somewhat. Or, put another way, the “big” market advantage in FA really only applies to the Lakers and Heat. Players will always take meetings with those teams, mostly cause the WAGS want to live there full time. However, even those teams got skunked last summer. Today’s top free agent is looking to parachute into a situation where they are the last key piece to becoming a contender. The NBA is ubiquitous, being in LA makes a marginal difference in exposure, today. Now, the Lakers may still end up with Kawhi and Paul George this offseason, but those are also LA natives so don’t freak out.

The point is, there is no reason we can’t land a top FA in 2019, and we need to stop the Eeyore routine about our city. If Sacramento were in any other state it would be on all the “hottest” lists and that kind of thing. So, we don’t need to have the 2018 cap space burning a hole in our pocket out of some misplaced anxiety about FA. We still need to sign guys that fit the program.
 
#36
I would like to address something—there is a lot of “woe is us, we’re just a small market” talk on here. That mattered through most of the Stern years vis a vis lottery outcomes, but the paradigm has shifted somewhat. Or, put another way, the “big” market advantage in FA really only applies to the Lakers and Heat. Players will always take meetings with those teams, mostly cause the WAGS want to live there full time. However, even those teams got skunked last summer. Today’s top free agent is looking to parachute into a situation where they are the last key piece to becoming a contender. The NBA is ubiquitous, being in LA makes a marginal difference in exposure, today. Now, the Lakers may still end up with Kawhi and Paul George this offseason, but those are also LA natives so don’t freak out.

The point is, there is no reason we can’t land a top FA in 2019, and we need to stop the Eeyore routine about our city. If Sacramento were in any other state it would be on all the “hottest” lists and that kind of thing. So, we don’t need to have the 2018 cap space burning a hole in our pocket out of some misplaced anxiety about FA. We still need to sign guys that fit the program.
We have over 30 years of data that says top free agents don't come to Sacramento. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Love the Eeyore reference by the way.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#37
I would like to address something—there is a lot of “woe is us, we’re just a small market” talk on here. That mattered through most of the Stern years vis a vis lottery outcomes, but the paradigm has shifted somewhat. Or, put another way, the “big” market advantage in FA really only applies to the Lakers and Heat. Players will always take meetings with those teams, mostly cause the WAGS want to live there full time. However, even those teams got skunked last summer. Today’s top free agent is looking to parachute into a situation where they are the last key piece to becoming a contender. The NBA is ubiquitous, being in LA makes a marginal difference in exposure, today. Now, the Lakers may still end up with Kawhi and Paul George this offseason, but those are also LA natives so don’t freak out.

The point is, there is no reason we can’t land a top FA in 2019, and we need to stop the Eeyore routine about our city. If Sacramento were in any other state it would be on all the “hottest” lists and that kind of thing. So, we don’t need to have the 2018 cap space burning a hole in our pocket out of some misplaced anxiety about FA. We still need to sign guys that fit the program.
I tend to agree with you to some extent that the freeagent market has changed from what it was 20 years ago. You no longer have to live in a big market city to enjoy the media perks. So your right! I think three things drive the freeagent market now. Money of course, the ability of the team to win, and do I want to live in a place where it's 20 below zero in the winter. I think any two of those can outweigh one of the others depending on the individual player.

There are retired NBA players that still have homes in the Sacramento area. Rudy Gay loved it in Sacramento because his wife loved it. Point being, that most NBA players wouldn't have a problem playing for the Kings because the city is a small market team. Most love the city, and they all love the fans. So if we have the city and the money, what's the problem? Winning of course. To attract a top freeagent, we either need to look like a team on the way up, or look like a team that looks like it needs just that one piece to get over the hump. AKA the Timberwolves.

If you can convince a Paul George or a Kawhi Leonard that he's the difference maker we need, then I think you can get their name on a contract. Speaking as an ex-player, there's no greater satisfaction than knowing your the guy that got his team over the top. That's what drove Cousins. He wanted desperately to be that guy for Sacramento. That's the reason Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland. He was tired, rightly or wrongly, of Lebron getting all the credit. You have to convince a player that your not begging him to save you, but that your offering him an opportunity.
 
#38
At this point I'm just kinda thinking screw it. Have to take a chance at some point. Our money is usually tied up in garbage players anyway. Even if Parker gets hurt, that money is just going to be spent on bench player veterans and old retreads anyway so why not just take a chance?
That's the spirit!

Think of it this way. If Jabari had 0 injury concerns, would you think we would even be in the conversation to sign someone with his talent? Of course not.
 
#39
I tend to agree with you to some extent that the freeagent market has changed from what it was 20 years ago. You no longer have to live in a big market city to enjoy the media perks. So your right! I think three things drive the freeagent market now. Money of course, the ability of the team to win, and do I want to live in a place where it's 20 below zero in the winter. I think any two of those can outweigh one of the others depending on the individual player.

There are retired NBA players that still have homes in the Sacramento area. Rudy Gay loved it in Sacramento because his wife loved it. Point being, that most NBA players wouldn't have a problem playing for the Kings because the city is a small market team. Most love the city, and they all love the fans. So if we have the city and the money, what's the problem? Winning of course. To attract a top freeagent, we either need to look like a team on the way up, or look like a team that looks like it needs just that one piece to get over the hump. AKA the Timberwolves.

If you can convince a Paul George or a Kawhi Leonard that he's the difference maker we need, then I think you can get their name on a contract. Speaking as an ex-player, there's no greater satisfaction than knowing your the guy that got his team over the top. That's what drove Cousins. He wanted desperately to be that guy for Sacramento. That's the reason Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland. He was tired, rightly or wrongly, of Lebron getting all the credit. You have to convince a player that your not begging him to save you, but that your offering him an opportunity.
Some of it is are you married or single. Let’s face it, Sacramento is a great place to raise a family and not so great to find a life partner. This fact has been true regardless of profession.
 
#40
Y’all are crazy. Players used to flock solely to big cities, but they want the combo of a a title being in play now, the most money, and a place they enjoy living.

If you are between the 5th and 50th best player in the world, being in a big market does impact your endorsement dollars but not nearly as much as they did 20 years ago. Still this is a factor pushing on Leonard’s inner circle right now. It’s still a thing

It’s not a big markets don’t matter as much as New York isn’t attractive and the Lakers weren’t either when Jimmy Buss ran the show. The players want to win now and won’t trust a bad ownership group unless it’s last chance at the mega bucks. That’s a bad factor for us

Kings don’t present a chance to win now and many players don’t trust the owner and GM. Those disqualify us before the players get anywhere but nightlife. Unless we are prepared to be the top bidder by 30%, it’s going to be very hard to sign an impact free agent
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#41
Y’all are crazy. Players used to flock solely to big cities, but they want the combo of a a title being in play now, the most money, and a place they enjoy living.

If you are between the 5th and 50th best player in the world, being in a big market does impact your endorsement dollars but not nearly as much as they did 20 years ago. Still this is a factor pushing on Leonard’s inner circle right now. It’s still a thing

It’s not a big markets don’t matter as much as New York isn’t attractive and the Lakers weren’t either when Jimmy Buss ran the show. The players want to win now and won’t trust a bad ownership group unless it’s last chance at the mega bucks. That’s a bad factor for us

Kings don’t present a chance to win now and many players don’t trust the owner and GM. Those disqualify us before the players get anywhere but nightlife. Unless we are prepared to be the top bidder by 30%, it’s going to be very hard to sign an impact free agent
If everything is equal, and of course it's not at the moment, it then comes down to the individual. Some players are attracted to the night life and the perks of living in a big city, and some aren't. Cousins for instance is a player that likes the small town atmosphere. From what I've heard, Kawhi Leonard is similar. First and foremost when it comes to the top players, winning, or at least the chance of winning is what comes first, followed closely by money. If the big city attraction was the main thing, then the top freeagents would have been flocking to New York, Chicago, and L.A. for the last 5 or 6 years.

But they haven't. They've been going where they think they can win. All that said, the Kings aren't a particularly attractive team at the moment as far as winning goes . If that can change next season when the Kings will have a boatload of capspace, maybe we can convince a top player to come here. But we have to look like a team on the way up and the only way to do that is to start putting win's on the ledger. To be clear, that means we need to make a dramatic jump. Going from 26 wins to 36 wins might sound good, but that won't be enough. The team will need to get into the mid 40 win area to get a look from a top freeagent.

Is that possible? I have no clue. I don't even know who will be on the team next season. Ask me that question on the 1st of Oct. and maybe I'll have an answer.
 
#42
New York, Chicago, and L.A. (Lakers)
Over the past 7 years, players have come to understand how important good ownership is for their success. It matters a lot to the players and they listen to their agents regarding this point more than ever. The Knicks and Bulls have sub-par owners and it impacts who goes there. Players did not trust Jim Buss. We'll see where they stand with his sister. I think they'll be ok.

If top players won't go to those teams because they don't trust the owner, the Vivek factor counts as well as the bad team, small market, and Sacramento factors.