Kings free agency, part 3

More completely confused reporting from a so-called "national writer"... these guys' incompetence is getting humorous.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-free-agency-winners-and-losers/

Everyone is busy applauding Sacramento for not barfing all over itself with its weekend signings, but three ho-hum deals for Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, and Kosta Koufos do not justify theghastly trade that opened up the cap room for them.
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And...

None of it justifies dealing Nik Stauskas, a future first-round pick, and swap rights — lottery balls, basically — when two-thirds of this spending would have been possible using only the stretch provision. Omri Casspi is a bargain on a two-year, $6 million deal, but the Kings had the means to sign him at that amount before Philly robbed them blind.

Sacramento already had the cap room for one of these offers before gifting the Sixers a pile of draft assets.

Sacramento outbid precisely no one to overpay Rondo on a one-year deal
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Thing is... does Omri even take that deal without all the other pieces signing, proving that we're serious about winning, same with Rondo.

In any case, the sudden complete undervaluing of Belinelli and Koufos is mystifying, as well as the overvaluing of the "pile of draft assets"... really? I get we're the punching bag, but this is getting ridiculous. There is no mention of Koufos fantastic defense. Instead he's a "starting quality center" and "back-up should they trade DMC".

And... 9.5 mil is overpaying for a one year deal for Rondo? Seriously? Did it occur to the writer that there was a handshake deal in place long ago and that Rondo was not taking offers from other teams anyway? If it was an overpay, by how much, 1 mil? On a one year contract?
 
The Hammer said:
More completely confused reporting from a so-called "national writer"... these guys' incompetence is getting humorous.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-free-agency-winners-and-losers/



And...



Thing is... does Omri even take that deal without all the other pieces signing, proving that we're serious about winning, same with Rondo.

In any case, the sudden complete undervaluing of Belinelli and Koufos is mystifying, as well as the overvaluing of the "pile of draft assets"... really? I get we're the punching bag, but this is getting ridiculous. There is no mention of Koufos fantastic defense. Instead he's a "starting quality center" and "back-up should they trade DMC".

And... 9.5 mil is overpaying for a one year deal for Rondo? Seriously? Did it occur to the writer that there was a handshake deal in place long ago and that Rondo was not taking offers from other teams anyway? If it was an overpay, by how much, 1 mil? On a one year contract?
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Yes and no. I think lowe's constant bashing of the kings is tiresome but he makes some valid points. I really like the signings (rondo is still a ?) but I too wonder if the Philly deal was an overpay. Based on some of the other cap clearing deals the last couple years, I would say probably.

Feels like there may have been a way to accomplish the same without giving up as much. But it's done so we'll have to hope for the best. If we win, they can all eat their words. If not, yikes.
 
sdballer said:
Yes and no. I think lowe's constant bashing of the kings is tiresome but he makes some valid points. I really like the signings (rondo is still a ?) but I too wonder if the Philly deal was an overpay. Based on some of the other cap clearing deals the last couple years, I would say probably.

Feels like there may have been a way to accomplish the same without giving up as much. But it's done so we'll have to hope for the best. If we win, they can all eat their words. If not, yikes.
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The Philly deal may have been an overpay... but look at the deal in total from only our perspective:

Consider the Rondo signing aside (although it's questionable he would have come without us making the trade)

We trade JT, Stauskas, Landry, and a first rounder in 2018 (the pick swaps will likely be irrelevant, does anyone think we're going to finish with a worse record than them in the next two years? They'll be openly tanking again next year.)

Koufos > JT, especially defensively
Belinelli >> Stauskas

AND they take Landry's crippling contract off our hands.

And all we have to give up (essentially) is a first rounder in 2018, when, with this roster, we will very likely be a playoff team. So somewhere in the 20 ish range.

So if you look closely, the deal ends up being a huge win for us, both in terms of talent, and in terms of fit.

I get there are questions about Rondo, it's not zero risk, but I'm going to assume Vlade has a feel for Rondo that we don't.

He uses a few questionable points to try to make it seem like this was some kind of blundering sideways move made by a historically inept franchise, not at all acknowledging Vlade as the brand new leader that had nothing to do with previous FO decisions, and that the move itself was done in a style that is a complete departure from 95% of moves made in the last ten years.
 
The Hammer said:
The Philly deal may have been an overpay... but look at the deal in total from only our perspective:

Consider the Rondo signing aside (although it's questionable he would have come without us making the trade)

We trade JT, Stauskas, Landry, and a first rounder in 2018 (the pick swaps will likely be irrelevant, does anyone think we're going to finish with a worse record than them in the next two years? They'll be openly tanking again next year.)

Koufos > JT, especially defensively
Belinelli >> Stauskas

AND they take Landry's crippling contract off our hands.

And all we have to give up (essentially) is a first rounder in 2018, when, with this roster, we will very likely be a playoff team. So somewhere in the 20 ish range.

So if you look closely, the deal ends up being a huge win for us, both in terms of talent, and in terms of fit.

I get there are questions about Rondo, it's not zero risk, but I'm going to assume Vlade has a feel for Rondo that we don't.

He uses a few questionable points to try to make it seem like this was some kind of blundering sideways move made by a historically inept franchise, not at all acknowledging Vlade as the brand new leader that had nothing to do with previous FO decisions, and that the move itself was done in a style that is a complete departure from 95% of moves made in the last ten years.
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Ya it's also interesting that some writers seem to be acting like Stauskas was some guy w/ serious upside and value. Sure, he could put the pieces together and become a stud, but based on what we saw last season, that seemed VERY unlikely. He looked more likely to have a future in the D-League than in the NBA. It's just funny how people act like we were trading all of these awesome usable assets, when in reality, we've been trying to trade JT for a while now, Landry was barely even playing, and Stauskas looked like a scared puppy out there. The only asset i feel like we actually gave up was the first rounder. Those players meant little to us, and i assume they will also do little in Philly. We shall see though...
 
How is Jae Crowder still on the market? I could see him running the floor well and playing good defense on our bench unit, definitely if Casspi is getting more minutes at the 3 with Gay at the 4. I trust him more than Derrick Williams at the same role as what Williams did for us- attacking the rim in transition, back cutting, defense. 7/4 a game from your 3rd SF wouldn't be so bad. Even Gerald Green would be sick.
 
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notoriousBEN3 said:
Ya it's also interesting that some writers seem to be acting like Stauskas was some guy w/ serious upside and value. Sure, he could put the pieces together and become a stud, but based on what we saw last season, that seemed VERY unlikely. He looked more likely to have a future in the D-League than in the NBA. It's just funny how people act like we were trading all of these awesome usable assets, when in reality, we've been trying to trade JT for a while now, Landry was barely even playing, and Stauskas looked like a scared puppy out there. The only asset i feel like we actually gave up was the first rounder. Those players meant little to us, and i assume they will also do little in Philly. We shall see though...
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Exactly.

So you can line it up like this.

Would you trade JT for Koufos? In a heartbeat.

Would you trade Stauskas for Belinelli? Are you kidding? In half a heartbeat.

Would you have someone take Landry's contract from you for a first rounder in 2018? For us? Absolutely.

Swap rights blah blah blah...

And since he's getting particular about the swap rights, he fails to even mention that we get to take a flier on a couple second round picks, Euros that likely were hand picked and scouted by Vlade himself. One of them is even Serbian. Vlade's probably known that kid since he was in 8th grade.

My point is that the bias has reached new levels of comical.

We completely killed that deal. If you want to say we "overpaid" on the trade (by what, a future first rounder I suppose), then you are essentially saying we didn't absolutely completely completely kill kill kill murder murder dominate and humiliate in that deal. Well, guess you have a point. We won by 35 points, when we should have won by 50.
 
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The main fault in all of the articles bashing the Kings is the human aspect of basketball. Our chemistry and spirit was shot following the firing of Malone. We proceeded over the next half year to muck it up much worse. First by putting Corbin in as interim coach, hiring Karl midseason, mismanaging PR, letting go of our GM, the DMC debacle, etc. Internally and externally it looked like a mess. It had to stop and it took my favorite King of all time to do it. My man Vlade Divac. He had to restore a bit of sanity, spirit and hope to the franchise. You don't do so by twiddling your thumbs or standing for BS of Karl or Fegan. You do so by having faith in the process. You do so by standing by your very talented and volatile core. You do so by showing a commitment to attempting to win again. It is early on but I am extremely anxious to see what the seeds Vlade has sewn grow into. Thank you Vlade. Long live the Kings!
 
I think it's funny that we were scrutinized for the pick and now we are scrutinized for not having him. It's never good enough for national media. I'm sorry but I'm not sorry. Give me Rondo/Belinelli/Koufas over Nik/Landry/Thompson 11/10 times and 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. We shipped dead weight out. Nik was labeled a shooter, something that instantly translates to the NBA - and he was too scared to shoot and couldn't do it consistently.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

it's funny how they think the Lakers had a good off season but we don't. Who on that roster is better than our best player? Kobe sure isn't now.
That team will finish much worse than us next year.
 
notoriousBEN3 said:
Ya it's also interesting that some writers seem to be acting like Stauskas was some guy w/ serious upside and value. Sure, he could put the pieces together and become a stud, but based on what we saw last season, that seemed VERY unlikely. He looked more likely to have a future in the D-League than in the NBA. It's just funny how people act like we were trading all of these awesome usable assets, when in reality, we've been trying to trade JT for a while now, Landry was barely even playing, and Stauskas looked like a scared puppy out there. The only asset i feel like we actually gave up was the first rounder. Those players meant little to us, and i assume they will also do little in Philly. We shall see though...
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I want to see Stauskas grow and succeed and I do think the Kings once again sold low on an asset but Bellinelli will give the Kings next year what Stuaskas might be ready to give in 3 or 4, if ever. But the bigger issue for me is the same national writers that hammered the Kings and especially Vivek for the Stauskas pick (Stauskas? Stauskas?) are the same ones hammering the Kings for trading him away. JT needed a change of scenery as bad as any player I've ever seen and Landry was never going to play much for Karl even if he could stay healthy.

Unless this squad massively disappoints, the Kings will send this year's pick to Chicago and all they have to do is be better than Philly the next year to have the pick swaps be irrelevant. And if they are in the playoffs in three years then we're talking about a pick between 15-30 (more likely 18-25 unless the East gets better in that span). A mid round draft pick in exchange for my Kings finally making the playoffs? Yes please.

As Fireplug mentioned on Twitter, this is very similar to the media bashing the Kings back in 98. Trading the best player of the Sacramento era for a disgruntled talent that didn't want to be here, drafting an overly flashy PG who was kicked off his college team for drug violations 7th when most mock drafts had him 14th to Orlando or so, and overpaying for a 12 & 8 center who wasn't a defensive anchor. I actually remember my college professor seeing my Kings hat at Berkeley right after the lockout ended and commenting, "what a terrible basketball team" and me responding that they were about to have a surprising year. Because we saw it in training camp. That spark.

And I think we'll know one way or another with this squad when camp gets underway. And if this team comes together like I think it can then I'm going to be saving some of these quotes from national writers to throw back at them. I'm old enough that I shouldn't bother but if Boogie can hold onto a tweet for five years to make a point I think I'm allowed to have a bit of fun too.
 
funkykingston said:
So who is still left as options for the Kings to round out their roster?

I think the Kings need three players - one more SF, one more big and then either another wing or another big depending on how much time Gay is really going to spend at the PF spot

The flashiest name is Josh Smith. He's still a horribly inefficient chucker on a team that lacks outside shooting but he's a good passer, a decent rebounder and can still be a good weakside defender who can thrive in transition. Does he want to join his buddies Rondo and Rudy? We'll see.

Available Bigs
  1. Josh Smith - I'm not sure he fits, but then I'm not sure Rondo fits. The most talent of anyone left on the market though.
  2. Jordan Hill - a bit redundant with Cauley-Stein and Moreland but obviously he has a lot more experience
  3. Mirza Teletovic - a solid stretch four but he's restricted and the Nets will likely match
  4. Kevin Seraphin - similar to Hill but younger with more potential and cheaper. Might be a good idea.
  5. Darrell Arthur - Athletic but inconsistent. Offense consists primarily of long 2's that he hits at an only decent clip something that may not fly with George Karl.
  6. Glen Davis - Championship Experience and familiarity with Rondo but definitely on the decline and inconsistent
  7. Tyler Hansbrough - Not very skilled but a good energy guy for 12-15 mpg
  8. Reggie Evans - Terrible offensive player and poor defender but a great rebounder who Boogie likes. Could do worse for the minimum
  9. Quincy Acy - Not all that effective in Sacramento but tons of fun to watch. Could be somewhat better in Karl's offense.
  10. Andrea Bargnani - Was vastly overpaid on his last deal but not a bad player on a cheap contract. Shooting and skill, not much defense or toughness
  11. Cole Aldrich - A guy I'd really like as a minimum contract third C
  12. Amare Stoudamire - A veteran presence who can still play a bit. I'm not sure he'd come and I'm not sure we'd want him to
  13. Luis Scola - Not sure why I didn't think of him before. Crafty defender and decent (if inefficient) scorer, good rebounder and not a bad passer
  14. Drew Gooden - Learned to shoot the three. Forgot how to score inside the arc. Wouldn't be awful as a stopgap for the vet minimum
  15. Carlos Boozer - Better than most people believe. Another stopgap vet but I don't know if he's suited for a George Karl team
  16. Ryan Hollins - Meh. Not terrible as an emergency C
  17. Chuck Hayes - NO MORE TWIN DUPLEXES
  18. Charlie Villanueva - Signed a minimum deal with Dallas
  19. Matt Bonner - Also doesn't do much else but shoot 3's. But he's done it on championship teams
  20. Ekpe Udoh - I really liked him coming out of college. But he's redundant with this roster. Might not even beat out Moreland for PT
  21. Jeff Withey - Another guy I like if Vlade/Karl want an emergency 3rd C for the minimum.
  22. Joel Anthony - A guy I liked before Cuz became a good defender and before Koufos, WCS and Moreland

Available Wings
  1. Dorell Wright - A guy I've wanted for a while. Really solid shooter that got lost in Portland
  2. K.J. McDaniels - Really like him as a bench defender but Rockets say they'll match all offers
  3. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - James Ham put him on blast as not wanting to play but he looked good in a Kings uni to me. I think we need a wing defender
  4. James Jones - For the minimum I think he'd be a great signing. Career 40% 3Pt shooter. Championship experience.
  5. Gerald Green - Athletic but not really good at anything. Poor rebounder, low Bball IQ
  6. Jeff Taylor - Liked him as a 3&D wing coming out but offcourt stuff tells me to pass. Plus he's restricted
  7. Richard Jefferson - Not much left and almost certain to resign in Dallas. Still, would be a nice vet presence
  8. Chase Budinger - Decent shooter and energy guy but terrible defender. Meh
  9. Rasual Butler - Is he going to play another season? 20 mpg in WAS last year was too much but a decent emergency option
  10. Gigi Datome - One dimensional shooter who hasn't shown he can shoot consistently
  11. Landry Fields - Welcome to the land of meh. Not excited by Fields or anybody below him on this list
  12. Wesley Johnson - Doesn't really do anything well but Cuz could razz him incessantly about the draft. Signed with the Clippers
  13. Alonzo Gee - Meh. I think Wesley Johnson is a better option and that's saying something.
  14. Hedo Turkoglu - Would be a nostalgia signing only at this point.

Guys on our Summer League Team
  • DeAndre Liggins - Could be a very good wing defender and not much else. Offcourt allegations trouble me.
  • Sim Bhullar - I'm not sure he'll ever be an NBA quality big, but you can't teach height
  • Corey Hawkins - Could be a poor man's Eddie House in time - will likely need seasoning.
  • David Wear - Not bad in SL/training camp but if he didn't crack last year's roster why would he this year?
  • Julyan Stone - Karl coached him before so there's that.
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Hey I don't see Salmons in there.
 
notoriousBEN3 said:
Ya it's also interesting that some writers seem to be acting like Stauskas was some guy w/ serious upside and value. Sure, he could put the pieces together and become a stud, but based on what we saw last season, that seemed VERY unlikely. He looked more likely to have a future in the D-League than in the NBA. It's just funny how people act like we were trading all of these awesome usable assets, when in reality, we've been trying to trade JT for a while now, Landry was barely even playing, and Stauskas looked like a scared puppy out there. The only asset i feel like we actually gave up was the first rounder. Those players meant little to us, and i assume they will also do little in Philly. We shall see though...
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Those same writers would have listed Stauskas as a bust and another example of Vivek's goofy incompetence only a few weeks ago. Nik is the true "flexible piece" of 'sports journalism", coming or going he can be used equally as evidence of Kings incompetence.
 
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Until the Kings win the narrative won't change and writers will continue to pile on. It's the same reason why the Spurs always get the benefit of the doubt in those worthless "draft grades" a day after the draft. Because they are the Spurs and they've done so many things right that writers (most of whom don't really know the prospects as well as they claim to) hedge their bets since the Spurs have done well in the draft more often than not. If the Kings were to take the same player in the same draft slot the pick would generally be viewed with more criticism. Because the Kings (at least the last decade or so) have made a mess of things more often than not.

In part it's just playing the odds. And in part it's lazy journalism. How many writers and fans still think Cousins is a subpar defender? Way too many. How many still think Sam Presti is a good GM despite only really being successful with the draft and having a poor track record with trades and signings? Too many.

Same thing with Hinkie. Everyone is marveling at how he's stockpiled picks and caproom but two years in and Embiid has yet to see the floor, their ROY was traded with nothing really to show for it and with the Lakers taking Russell I'm guessing they hope Okafor is good enough at scoring in the post to flip for other assets next offseason. They have Noel and what else? Stauskas will likely start for them. And while they'll likely have four draft picks next year (theirs, the Lakers (top 3 protected), the Heat's (top 10 protected) and the Thunder's.

Guess what - the Kings had four first rounders once too. Lionel Simmons, Travis Mays, Anthony Bonner, and Duane Causewell.

Maybe the Sixers will do better. But despite two tanktacular seasons they haven't drafted higher than #3. And while they have a bunch of 2nd rounders owed, the 1st from the Kings is the only other 1st rounder they've accumulated. Hinkie's entire plan revolves around drafting one or more star players. If that doesn't happen next year, then what?

I was a big proponent of Sam Hinkie as a GM and have at times (especially the post Malone firing times) thought we'd be better off being where the Sixers are. But I think the Kings have a shot at the playoffs. The sixers are still gambling on drafting players good enough to take them to the playoffs in four years.

Time for the Kings to win some games and have people change their narrative regarding our team.
 
Re: Zach Lowe's latest piece. I don't see how you can write an essay on how the Blazers blew it and then say the Kings are screwing everything up. Clearly we are doing exactly what they failed to do with LaMarcus and Cousins is frankly a completely different level player than Aldridge. Although Zach obviously seems to feel otherwise.
 
Bricklayer said:
Those same writers would have listed Stauskas as a bust and another example of Vivek's goofy incompetence only a few weeks ago. Nik is the true "flexible piece" of 'sports journalism", coming or going he can be used equally as evidence of Kings incompetence.
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Come on, if I'm buying a car that's worth 5,000 dollars in 10,000 dollars and I already got the exact same car (that would be Ben) than I'm stupid.
The fact that I made a bad deal doesn't mean that me setting the same car on fire is a smart move...
Making a bad deal and than covering it up by making another bad deal doesn't make it a good deal (and that is ignoring that most of the backlash on the Nik pick was on the way it was decided and the ridiculous clip rather than on Nik as a prospect).

And about the Zach Lowe article, aside from the first few lines which are unnecessarily harsh on us, the rest of his claims are good/fair points:

"Sacramento outbid precisely no one to overpay Rondo on a one-year deal; by the time he accepted Sacramento’s handout, there were no teams left with cap room and interest in Rondo. Rondo is betting on himself, and if he wins, Sacramento might end up a pit stop for him."- how is that wrong? was there anyone left on the market that wanted him with cap space? did anyone wanted him period?
For me the price isn't the issue, I don't get why we went for a 1 year deal- the whole reasoning on "buy low" is that you get to keep what you bought, we rented low- if Rondo will have a good season we either lose him or pay him his premium price... we had all the leverage in the world and you tell me we couldn't sign him to, let's say, 2 years with a team option?

"Sacramento already had the cap room for one of these offers before gifting the Sixers a pile of draft assets. Clearing room for two of the three would have required just a little creativity"- and he continues to explain alternatives.

"I get all the explanations: The Kings need to win back DeMarcus Cousins’s fragile loyalty and field a competitive team when their new arena opens next season. They are sick of losing, and if a half-dozen huge things break right for them, they could chase the no. 8 seed. Belinelli provides spacing and a dash of playmaking, and Koufos is a starting-quality center. I get all that."- Wasn't that your major argument against the media? that they are not taking it into account? isn't that why you called them confused?

"Omri Casspi is a bargain on a two-year, $6 million deal, but the Kings had the means to sign him at that amount before Philly robbed them blind."- again how is that wrong?

Some of you will say: "Omri wouldn't have come here if we wouldn't shown we are serious about winning"- but is that even a real argument? dude said he was coming back midway through last season when we weren't very serious about winning and I'm sorry to break it to you but there are better targets to go to if you are "all about winning". Omri is here because he likes it here and he feels comfortable here.


You can disagree with the opinions in this articles, but saying stuff like "completely confused reporting from a so-called "national writer"... these guys' incompetence is getting humorous."- is just flat out wrong.
 
funkykingston said:
Until the Kings win the narrative won't change and writers will continue to pile on. It's the same reason why the Spurs always get the benefit of the doubt in those worthless "draft grades" a day after the draft. Because they are the Spurs and they've done so many things right that writers (most of whom don't really know the prospects as well as they claim to) hedge their bets since the Spurs have done well in the draft more often than not. If the Kings were to take the same player in the same draft slot the pick would generally be viewed with more criticism. Because the Kings (at least the last decade or so) have made a mess of things more often than not.

In part it's just playing the odds. And in part it's lazy journalism. How many writers and fans still think Cousins is a subpar defender? Way too many. How many still think Sam Presti is a good GM despite only really being successful with the draft and having a poor track record with trades and signings? Too many.

Same thing with Hinkie. Everyone is marveling at how he's stockpiled picks and caproom but two years in and Embiid has yet to see the floor, their ROY was traded with nothing really to show for it and with the Lakers taking Russell I'm guessing they hope Okafor is good enough at scoring in the post to flip for other assets next offseason. They have Noel and what else? Stauskas will likely start for them. And while they'll likely have four draft picks next year (theirs, the Lakers (top 3 protected), the Heat's (top 10 protected) and the Thunder's.

Guess what - the Kings had four first rounders once too. Lionel Simmons, Travis Mays, Anthony Bonner, and Duane Causewell.

Maybe the Sixers will do better. But despite two tanktacular seasons they haven't drafted higher than #3. And while they have a bunch of 2nd rounders owed, the 1st from the Kings is the only other 1st rounder they've accumulated. Hinkie's entire plan revolves around drafting one or more star players. If that doesn't happen next year, then what?

I was a big proponent of Sam Hinkie as a GM and have at times (especially the post Malone firing times) thought we'd be better off being where the Sixers are. But I think the Kings have a shot at the playoffs. The sixers are still gambling on drafting players good enough to take them to the playoffs in four years.

Time for the Kings to win some games and have people change their narrative regarding our team.
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indeed. the national media have been falling over themselves to rah-rah sam hinkie's perpetual tanking strategy at every turn, despite the fact that his particular strategy has yet to yield a true superstar, a cohesive roster, positive morale, stability, or anything resembling a vision of what a winning season will look like for philadelphia before the year 2020. meanwhile, teams like the kings who are attempting to deliver a winning product to their fans are the object of endless ridicule. it's insane. i certainly appreciate the criticism of this team since vivek and co. took over; it's been a sh**storm of incompetence and instability for the better part of two years. but for every national outlet to hammer vlade divac's good faith attempt this offseason to bring a winning culture back to sacramento? it's embarrassingly shoddy sports journalism, in my estimation, and it reflects poorly on the state of the current nba, where fanbases across the league are consistently sold hope-and-prayer "rebuilding strategies" instead of meaningful on-court products to root for...

it's tremendously difficult to win a championship in the nba, and while that should be the end goal for any franchise, perhaps it's enough to engage the fans with something more than talk of "cap flexibility" and "potential" and "assets." those are all amorphous terms that don't mean a damn thing unless they're eventually converted into productive players on the court. i would absolutely love to have the memphis grizzlies' track record of success across the last five seasons, each spent above .500 and each ending in a playoff appearance. they were ousted in the first round twice, ousted in the second round twice, and ousted in the conference finals once. but what i love the most about the grizzlies is that they simply prepare themselves to get back to work the following season. they don't "blow it up" just because they're not likely to get over the hump in the tough-as-nails western conference. they've got an established identity that they reinforce every single year, and they give their fans something to root for every single year...
 
They just don't get it. This is a "follow the in-crowd" line of thinking which makes no sense in our current situation. Picks and young talent are generally a good thing for rebuilding teams right up until the point where they're ready to not be a rebuilding team anymore and actually grow into a playoff team. People seem to have forgotten now, but the Lakers were a floundering mess before they traded their starting center, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, two future first round picks, and a couple more young players for Pau Gasol and catapulted themselves into the Finals the next year. Daryl Morey stockpiled picks and youngsters and then shipped them out to pair James Harden with Dwight Howard. The Clippers were a young team with potential and they gave up Eric Gordon (signed a max deal in New Orleans), another lottery pick (Aminu) and a future first round pick to add Chris Paul to Blake and DeAndre and reach the playoffs. Cousins is ready for the playoffs. Rudy Gay is ready for the playoffs. Maybe Rondo, Belinelli, and Koufos aren't on the same level as Gasol, Howard, or Paul but the assets we gave up to get them will be equally irrelevant if the team chemistry works and we make a big jump from 30 win team to competing for a playoff spot all year.

And it absolutely had to happen now. Our choices this off-season were: (1) Keep our future picks and youngsters and suffer through another rebuilding year while Cousins grows even more frustrated with our inability to put together a winning team or (2) Cash out every movable asset we have in a bid to add the right type of star talent (Rondo) and role-players (Belinelli, Koufos, Casspi) to contend for a playoff spot this year and win back DeMarcus' trust in the franchise. If you have no affiliation with Sacramento other than to chuckle a little bit to yourself when you see them mentioned in trade rumors than you have no context for understanding the urgency of the situation we created this year. Vivek made some huge mistakes, but hiring Vlade and giving him permission to restructure the team as he saw fit might be the one decision that saves his skin. We'll see whether these moves work out or not, but standing pat and hoping for the best was not an option. Without the salary dump trade with Philly, we can't get Belinelli and Rondo which means we probably get neither and another chance to improve the team passes us right by.
 
Don't ever read national sports columnists. Don't care about those folks' opinions on who won and who lost. Only see tidbits about it on here and don't care. Based on my on questionable judgement I determined after the trade and before we got anyone that we had made a shrewd move and put ourselves in a great position and, sure enough, it has proved to be true whether or not we win a game next year. We have scored masterfully in free agency. Now it's time to move on to SL and the pleasant rest we all get befor preseason begins in October. Of course it's not quite that peaceful because each day between now and then I will be reading kings fans.com and experiencing the normal ups and downs that go along with that - and enjoying all 92.5 % of it. Things are really looking up.
 
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