Kings, Jason Thompson agree on new multi-year contract

[bajaden]

7.2 million a year for 5 years is way too much for JT, IMO.
Remember guys, back when he didn't get his contract extended last season, he was in the $3 to $4 million range. KF's said it was a good idea not to extend him, so that they wouldn't have to overpay to extend him and they could wait and see what other teams would offer, then match/exceed.
Well, we're right back to the same old thing here in Kings land.
What significantly changed this season with JT that warrants doubling his salary? Did he really do THAT well this season, or are people irrationally valuing him and/or getting freaked out by "the market"?
I fear JT played for his contract, and will revert to his boneheaded style of play and again be another albatross contract that gives this team an excuse not to spend bigger bucks for real game-changing starters.

We know what we're going to get with JT, and he seems a really nice guy, but the Kings simply can't afford to pay a backup 7+ million a year.

This is one of the reasons why they will not be competitive AGAIN this season - because they pay their backups WAY too much money, and don't pay for proven clutch vets or a proven coach.
It is mind-boggling to me that they will pay backup players so much, yet try to save money on the COACH, who gets those guys to perform or under-perform.

The deal is for 5 years and 34 million dollars. At least thats what is being reported at the moment. So that adds up to 6.8 million a year, not 7.2 million. Just trying to be clear.

 

[bajaden]

He might have nailed it if you are certain that JT wanted to discuss extension. It might have been a great time for the Kings to make an offer but there are 2 sides here. Put yourself in JT's shoes, would you start talking extension knowing full well that you are averaging career lows?! I know that I sure as hell would not! I would rather roll the dice and go into restricted free agency knowing full well that the worst I can do is get MLE offer from another team.

I am always staggered that in negotiations, the fans always look at things from team's perspective when in actual fact there are 2 sides here looking after their own best interest. It was in JT's best interest to not sign a contract extension. Classic example if Batum. Blazers offered him $30 million over 4 years and he told them to stick it. Now they are most likely going to match a 4 year $45-50 million deal.

I don't think the Kings could have given JT an extension for five years. Well, they could, but I believe under the new CBA, you can only give one player on the team an extension for five years, and they're probably saving it for Cuz. At least thats what I'd do.

 

[bajaden]

Read my post again. If he did get a contract offer that was near or more than what he received, it would be news. This isn't a situation where JT wants to keep things on the downlow. As an RFA, every good offer should be publicized to drive up value. Can we agree on that?

Assuming that's ok, then where are rumors of teams interested to put an offer to him like every other RFA that's garnered interest? Teams may want to keep it quiet, but agents want to pit teams against. Each other. So the possible options are that he has no real interest from other teams, he did get offers that were too low to use as leverage, or he got competitive offers and his agent was too stupid to let anyone know about them. Arguing about what happened is a little silly, but can we at least move forward as rational thinkers with the most likely scenario?

My point is, there are never any rumors with Petrie. A large majority of his trades have been surprises. If this were any other franchise, I'd agree with you, but not with Petrie. No one knew that Peja was going to be traded until it happened. Same thing with Walt Williams. Almost all of his trades come out of nowhere. So saying that because there are no rumors of another offer, doesn't mean there was or wasn't one. I'm sure we'll find out down the road one way or the other. Frankly, I don't care one way or the other, so if it will make you happy, I'll concede the point to you..

 

[Section 101]

It is highly possible that this is the first offer that the Kings made. No one knows! If so, it was a fair offer and I'm glad he accepted. JT was the first order of business, and I think the Kings wanted to expedite it as quickly as possible, so they could move on to other possible deals. It's also possible that JT preferred staying with the Kings, and wished to work out a deal if possible before accepting offers with other teams. Once again, we don't know. And the point is, you never know anything with Petire. Thats been his MO ever since he's been the GM.

So, he proved nothing by saying that there's no evidence of another offer, because there's no edvidence that there hasn't been a offer. Both are abstract arguments which neither side can prove. But thank you for calling me Sir and giving me the respect I deserve. Look, I know you hate Petrie. I'm not sure why, because he has made a lot of good moves in the past. And I know we live in a world of "What have you done lately", but in judging someone's job record, you can't just cherry pick the deals that support your argument. I'm not all that happy with whats been going on either. I scratch my head and wonder how Dorell Wright, a good SF, a position of need for us, is traded for next to nothing without a peep from us.

The only two conclusions I can make, is that either the Warriors didn't want to deal with us because were right down the road from them, or we already have another deal for a SF worked out. If neither of those scenario's are true, then I question what the thinking of the front office is. I guess a third scenario is that they already have a deal worked out with T. Will, which is actually the second scenario.

So what I'm saying is that on some issues regarding Petrie, I agree with you. I've even said that it may be time for some new blood at that position. My problem is I'm not sure I trust the Maloofs to make a good decision on hiring a new GM. My point is, I try to do my best to be fair to anyone I criticize, by looking at the entire picture, and not just what irritates me. I try and do the same with you. I wouldn't be making this post otherwise. What I don't like is when posters go only to the extreme. Because nothing is that black and white. Well, almost nothing. I tried real hard to find something I liked about Westphal, and the harder I looked, the more I disliked the man. Frankly, I don't like negativism. I find it destructive, because no one ever accomplished anything by thinking they couldn't. One negative person in a room full of optimistic people, will bring the room down to his or her level of thinking. Thats how distructive it is. Its like sharing a foxhole with someone thats screaming, were all going to die.

And let me qualify my statement by saying that being critical isn't necessarily being a negative person. Its the manner in which a person is critical. Constructive criticism is fine. but destructive criticism is exactly that. Destructive! I try to speak to, and about people on this fourm the same way I would if I were speaking to them face to face. I think if we all did that, it would be lot more civil. Anyone that would make a vicious degrading remark about a player on this fourm, that wouldn't make the same remark to their face, is nothing more than a coward. And I'm not pointing my finger at you, but just making a general statement. If the shoe fits, wear it.

Teams with cap space had already come to terms with other players. They would have to wait to see if teams matched. We would then be hearing JT's name mentioned.

You have to remember teams rarely go after RFA unless they think the team won't match. We haven't heard anything about McGee/Lopez's and other players yet either.

 

[SacTownKid]

Drew gooden 6.6 mil Andre blatche 7.3 mil Charlie vilinuava 8.2 mil I am sure I could go on with more but no need I hope

And those are indeed some of the more terrible contracts in the league and all reasons why you don't make this move.

 

[Double-K]

JT can defend NBA starters at C and PF. He is an honest 6' 11" and runs the floor well. He is a good citizen and works/plays hard. He has a nice little mid-range J and his scoring in the paint has improved. He has developed his left hand and can now score with either hand.

He has earned the contract the Kings just awarded him with.

KB

Can't agree more.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

The deal is for 5 years and 34 million dollars. At least thats what is being reported at the moment. So that adds up to 6.8 million a year, not 7.2 million. Just trying to be clear.

Indeed...and I definitely DONT see Jason regressing, he's a bit older and tenacious, I see more grit, hard work and progression from him.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Read my post again. If he did get a contract offer that was near or more than what he received, it would be news. This isn't a situation where JT wants to keep things on the downlow. As an RFA, every good offer should be publicized to drive up value. Can we agree on that?

No, we actually can't. Contrary to what you've decided to believe, that's actually not how it works. Free agents, whether restricted or unrestricted, do not necessarily have any (let alone all) of their contract offers publicized, with the exception of the team they actually signed with. In fact, offer sheets generally only make news if the player actually signs them.

For most, non-superstar players, teams and agents don't publicize/leak contract offers independent of any contact between the organization and the agent. Furthermore, and I'll grant you that I am neither an NBA executive nor a player agent, but I'll go to the bank with the claim that any contract offer you've ever heard reported means that there was, at an absolute minimum, a non-zero level of interest on both ends of the conversation. I'll again go on record, my lack of qualifications notwithstanding, and say that, if Rich Cho called Deron Williams' agent, and said, "We're willing to offer D-Will the max," and Williams' agent replied, "Not only no, but hell no," I guarantee that that contract offer would never have made the news, no matter how good it was.

And that's the point: it's certainly possible that no other teams were interested in offering Thompson a contract, but it's equally plausible that Thompson wasn't interested in listening to contract offers from other teams. When we get right down to it, all we really know, for sure, is that:

1. The Kings organization had said, publicly, that re-signing Thompson was a priority.
2. Thompson had said, publicly, that he'd like to return to the Kings.
3. The Kings made Thompson an offer, and
4. Thompson took it.

And that's it. Everything else is speculation. Everything. We don't know that no other teams made Thompson a contract offer, we only know that there was no contract offer that was leaked to the public. But that's a pretty poor standard of "proof" that there was no offer, IYAM.

Maybe the Kings were the only team interested, and they were bidding against themselves. Or, maybe Thompson told his agent something like, "Look, I want to stay in Sacramento, and I'm not really interested in going somewhere else, so barring a complete lack of interest on their part, or a total lowball offer, don't even talk to anybody else." We don't know, either way, and are unlikely to find out.

 

[kennadog]

That's much too logical and reasoned, Slim. Not to mention true.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I love your signature.

 

[Glenn]

That's much too logical and reasoned, Slim. Not too mention true.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I love your signature.

I was going to comment on it. Not sure if I should be worried or not.

 

[funkykingston]

I view the Thompson deal pretty much exactly as I did the Thornton deal. We got back a good player that we wanted to keep at a fair market value. Yes, in both cases I didn't hear anything about other teams bidding so you have to question if they could have been retained for less, but that doesn't really concern me. Both contracts are in line with their production and their role on the team and I'll take a little doubt over whether the team could have shaved 10-15% off their deals vs losing them or having to match a ridiculous offer from another team as the Bulls may be forced to do with their less than 15 mpg backup center Omer Asik.

In any event, I think this is an interesting way to look at things. Here's a statistical comparison of Thompson and Kendrick Perkins for the 2011-2012 season:

http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=thompja02&y1=2012&p2=perkike01&y2=2012

Even though Perkins was OKC's starting center and JT came off the bench a fair amount, their mpg and total minutes for the season are pretty close with Perkins playing about a minute more per game.

Other than blocking less than half a shot more per game and (somewhat surprisingly) being a 5% better free throw shooter Jason Thompson put up better stats. In EVERY area.

He shot a higher percentage, rebounded more, fouled less and had slightly higher assist and steals numbers. Even his advanced numbers are better across the board including both his offensive AND defensive ratings.

Yes, the argument can be made that Perkin's main value is from his role as an enforcer and that his nasty (borderline dirty) play helps sets a tone and that the 30 lbs he has on JT helps him bang down low more. But based on production, JT had a better season and filled HIS role (as a versatile and efficient PF/C who runs the floor, rebounds and picks his spots on offense and who is capable of starting or willing to be a 3rd big off the bench) very well too.

Perkins is slated to make $7.8 million next season, $8.5 million the season after that and $9.2 million in the last year of his deal.

Assuming he can maintain or improve upon last year's production I think JT's contract is fair to both him and the team.

 

[IfAt1st]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

 

[Tetsujin]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

While you've got your completely crystal ball out, can you tell me whether or not I ever win the lotto?

 

[mac]

If you were joking, I apologize. Do me a favor. In the future, put a little smily face at the end, so old cranky guys like me have some clues to go on. Anyway, sorry!

No worries. I realise that it wasn't a blaringly obvious one so I made it a point to continue and say that I was happy we had him. Thought that would have cleared it up, because it's kinda silly to bash a player over a stupid thing like chewing gum and then go on to say that you're happy to have him and the contract is good. I'll try to make it clearer in the future.

If it's a joke, put a smiley face on it. Sarcasm and some jokes do not translate well with the written word. I read your note and it ticked me off but it was so outrageous that I figured it must have been some attempt at humor. The ultimate problem has to do with the judgment that there was something funny to be said about JT. I actually think he is pretty coordinated so I was puzzled. The guy can dribble in the open court which separates him from most bigs. He can rebound. What do you want?

I don't know about you Glenn, but from what I remember even as recently as a season ago we were always complaining about how JT was very clumsy on the court, fumbling the ball lots of times and all, and it has been pointed out that his back down hook while effective looks very awkward. Hasn't that always been JT's biggest criticism - that he played the game too fast and as a result seemed very clumsy/uncontrolled on the floor?

Anyway, it was just a joke so lets move on.

 

[DesertFox]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

All those predictions mean nothing. You're saying it like Hayes and Whiteside playing well is a bad thing, and even if they play as good as they can, they still are no better than JT, so I don't see the point.

 

[mac]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

I disagree. What makes him so good for us a 3rd big is the same reason why we he'll be a good 3rd big for any team. His contract is really a fair deal, perhaps bordering on a little high for a 3rd big on a championship team. My crystal ball tells me that in the rare event that Hassan Whiteside of all people steals JT's minutes we'll still be able to shop JT for pretty good value.

 

[Entity]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

since when is a salary ending around 8mil an albatross. you need references. See Rashard Lewis or Elton Brand. Thats an albatross. Iggy is an albatross. 9pts 7reb in 25 min shooting 53% I am fine with the contract

 

[rhythmless]

No, we actually can't. Contrary to what you've decided to believe, that's actually not how it works. Free agents, whether restricted or unrestricted, do not necessarily have any (let alone all) of their contract offers publicized, with the exception of the team they actually signed with. In fact, offer sheets generally only make news if the player actually signs them.

For most, non-superstar players, teams and agents don't publicize/leak contract offers independent of any contact between the organization and the agent. Furthermore, and I'll grant you that I am neither an NBA executive nor a player agent, but I'll go to the bank with the claim that any contract offer you've ever heard reported means that there was, at an absolute minimum, a non-zero level of interest on both ends of the conversation. I'll again go on record, my lack of qualifications notwithstanding, and say that, if Rich Cho called Deron Williams' agent, and said, "We're willing to offer D-Will the max," and Williams' agent replied, "Not only no, but hell no," I guarantee that that contract offer would never have made the news, no matter how good it was.

And that's the point: it's certainly possible that no other teams were interested in offering Thompson a contract, but it's equally plausible that Thompson wasn't interested in listening to contract offers from other teams. When we get right down to it, all we really know, for sure, is that:

1. The Kings organization had said, publicly, that re-signing Thompson was a priority.
2. Thompson had said, publicly, that he'd like to return to the Kings.
3. The Kings made Thompson an offer, and
4. Thompson took it.

And that's it. Everything else is speculation. Everything. We don't know that no other teams made Thompson a contract offer, we only know that there was no contract offer that was leaked to the public. But that's a pretty poor standard of "proof" that there was no offer, IYAM.

Maybe the Kings were the only team interested, and they were bidding against themselves. Or, maybe Thompson told his agent something like, "Look, I want to stay in Sacramento, and I'm not really interested in going somewhere else, so barring a complete lack of interest on their part, or a total lowball offer, don't even talk to anybody else." We don't know, either way, and are unlikely to find out.

Nice. I'll give you the additional scenarios, but I still will purport that even if JT has no real interest in playing anywhere else, an offer somewhere else should be reported in order to attain more leverage from Kings. Let's say the crazy keeps going in this FA class and JT is offered 40M 4 years. Why would the agent tell the Bobcats (purely a placeholder example) to shove it? JT can say it, but the agent shouldn't go through with that. Not a prudent agent. Even if JT says no emphatically, it's still the agent's job to get a large sum of money for his client. So he would at least throw it to the Maloofs that JT is worth 10M/yr to someone. And my extension of that is to put it out int he open to pressure the Maloofs to match the salary. IMO, assuming rational individuals are acting rationally and to benefit themselves as much as possible (agent to get as much money as he can get, JT to get as much money where he wants to play). I omit the Kings front office because they haven't acted rationally in lord knows how long.

I know I'm debating a topic that cannot be proven one way or the other, but it's still a good exercise in game theory. I feel as if we are beating a dead horse though, so if you want to continue, I'll be glad to take it to PM. Otherwise, at the end of the day, I'm glad JT is still a King and by all accounts, WANTS to be a King (those guys are rare in the NBA).

 

[Chupacabra]

Thank god. I really feel that Thompson is a very important player on this team. He allows for alot of flexibility with front court lineups as he can legitimately play the 4 and 5 spots. He got MUCH better at staying away from commiting stupid fouls and i love the way he runs the floor. I feel like hes become very similar to udonis haslem.

 

[ParniValjak]

I am not going to argue directly with anyone who disagrees with you. It is the kind of deal I thought was fair going into the free agency period and I feared we would have to pay more. Heck, a lot of people wrote notes that they feared what other teams would offer and that our broke arse owners wouldn't match the salary. Go back and read the pessimistic notes.

The interesting argument now would be to have us all say what a decent contract would be for TWill. Let's predict in advance and try to be reasonable. Then we can come back and argue if it appears that we bid against ourselves. Retrospective pot shots don't impress me.

If we can sign T-Will for 3-4 years on $2.5-3 million per season I am ecstatic! More realistically its in the $4-5 million per season range.

 

[ParniValjak]

Here's my predictions -
JT is not going to improve upon his numbers from last year.

Not with Chuck Hayes inevitably playing better this year, and with T-Rob now in the mix striving to establish himself (and the inevitable ROY push from aloof Sports & Entertainment biting into JT's minutes), and quite likely Whiteside seeing more minutes than last year.

JT got those numbers last year partially because there was a huge hole that needed filled in the lineup. JJ Hickson was no competition whatsoever, since he was obviously playing "down" so as to get waived asap.

If T-Rob and Hayes play better, and god forbid Whiteside actually becomes an asset to the team for his play, this contract is going to be a huge albatross.... AGAIN.

For FIVE MORE YEARS.....

That's your opinion but I am not convinced that either of Hayes or Whiteside will be on the roster come the opening game of the season. JT is consistently a career 10/7 guy and that is despite of getting jerked around a lot from starter at PF to starter at C, to SF, to Back up PF to DNP-CD to back up C and back to starting PF again. His numbers do not have to improve at all. His numbers can remain the same and he is worth every penny. He is a much better player than Hayes and its obvious that the coaching staff and the front office staff feel that he is better than Chuck

a) Because he played more than Chuck and was a starter ahead of Chuck
b) Because he got offered a bigger deal than Chuck

If Chuck stays on the team, he will get some minutes in specialised role. That is the sort of role a great number of us said Chuck is good for on a big team. The 4th or 5th big on the roster. We have been proven correct on that call. We also said that he is vastly overpaid as a 4th or 5th big and that is also proving to be correct. Its still not too late to move him as there is still a glimmer of hope that someone might be interested BUT the bad contract amongst our bigs won't be JT's, it will be Chuck's. Just like Salmons is the albatross contract of our SF (not that Garcia is virtually in the last year of his deal)

 

[funkykingston]

Jason Thompson played 25 mpg this last season. And he looked good starting next to Cousins. I think in most people's minds JT is already relegated to the bench behind Robinson but I think he'll keep his starting spot to begin the season and I think he'll hold on to it longer than expected. But if he doesn't, it's a good thing because it means Robinson is playing really well.

So even if JT does become the 3rd big, the fact is that DMC played 30.5 mpg last season. If he's in somewhat better condition that might bump up to 34 mpg. For the sake of argument let's say Robinson does eventually start and plays 32 mpg. That still leaves 30 mpg for the backup PF and Cs on the roster. Not to mention the spot starts if DMC or TR are injured JT would almost certainly get the start. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think that Thompson will get the same minutes and put up very similar numbers next year.

Chuck Hayes is not a better player than JT and shouldn't get minutes over him. And the only reason Whiteside would is if he makes a quantum leap forward which again would be a boon for this team and would allow (as mac correctly points out) allow the Kings to move JT (a solid, versatile big on a fair contract) to shore up other areas if need be. But I don't see that happening. I think he'll simply get similar minutes and show why he was a good resigning.

As a side note, I think it's funny that people simultaneously hammer the team for not spending money in free agency and then hammer the team for resigning a solid contributor like Thompson.

I have a feeling that if another team offered Thompson this same deal and the Kings declined to match that some of the people against the signing now would be up in arms about losing JT rather than matching the offer. It also makes me wonder who people would like to see the team throw money at in free agency.

 

[Glenn]

As a side note, I think it's funny that people simultaneously hammer the team for not spending money in free agency and then hammer the team for resigning a solid contributor like Thompson.I have a feeling that if another team offered Thompson this same deal and the Kings declined to match that some of the people against the signing now would be up in arms about losing JT rather than matching the offer. It also makes me wonder who people would like to see the team throw money at in free agency.

It's different people. Unlike what some think, there is not a forum point of view dictated by a few posters. Anyway, I think the big guy positions are well manned and we can turn our eyes to other positions as this position of PF/C has been solved for a long, long time. I would add that now we have some protection from Cousins' propensity to foul. It no longer is an absolute disaster as we have backups. As cruddy as this team may be, I think many NBA teams would be jealous of the depth and skill we have in the bigs.

Now we need to turn our heads elsewhere and one good trade could take care of the SF position and my tea leaves tell me that this position will be sorted before the guards. I got some indication from the Voison chat that something signifigant may be done there. As to the guards, I'm still not sure we know exactly what we have. We don't know how IT will perform now that the NBA knows who he is, we don't know what to expect from Tyreke or Jimmer, etc. Other than resigning TWill, I don't think I would make any moves until we know some answers.

 

[bajaden]

Here's a quote from JT, in regard to those wondering if anyone else made him an offer.

I was fortunate to have other options to look at," Thompson said. "… I felt this was the best situation."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/12/4625466/kings-whiteside-enters-big-season.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Uncia03]

Jason Thompson played 25 mpg this last season. And he looked good starting next to Cousins. I think in most people's minds JT is already relegated to the bench behind Robinson but I think he'll keep his starting spot to begin the season and I think he'll hold on to it longer than expected. But if he doesn't, it's a good thing because it means Robinson is playing really well.

So even if JT does become the 3rd big, the fact is that DMC played 30.5 mpg last season. If he's in somewhat better condition that might bump up to 34 mpg. For the sake of argument let's say Robinson does eventually start and plays 32 mpg. That still leaves 30 mpg for the backup PF and Cs on the roster. Not to mention the spot starts if DMC or TR are injured JT would almost certainly get the start. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think that Thompson will get the same minutes and put up very similar numbers next year.

I agree.

I expect JT to start the season and if TRob starts the season instead, that's great, because it means that TRob significantly outplayed him to the point that he took the job away from JT.

But I do expect TRob to be starting maybe by the middle of the season unless JT comes out and consistently plays like a monster PF. (Which would also be a good thing for this team)

 

[IfAt1st]

If we can sign T-Will for 3-4 years on $2.5-3 million per season I am ecstatic! More realistically its in the $4-5 million per season range.

$4-$5 million for T-Will?!?

Looking at his career history, it seems absurd that anyone would pay a bench guy anywhere NEAR to that money.
He was unsuccessful at 2 previous teams, and was waived by Houston.
We picked him up on a 10-day contract, and he played OK for us, but $4-$5 million is insane just because he produced 9 PPG and 4 RPG for us. The Kings had an uptempo style, that we all know pads statistics, and he was playing against backups much of the time.

Hell, if T-Will of all people can float in here on a 10-day contract, and in 18 games parlay that into a $-$5 million a year contract, than we SERIOUSLY should be touting Sacramento as THE place to resurrect marginal players and create careers here.

 

[bajaden]

$4-$5 million for T-Will?!?

Looking at his career history, it seems absurd that anyone would pay a bench guy anywhere NEAR to that money.
He was unsuccessful at 2 previous teams, and was waived by Houston.
We picked him up on a 10-day contract, and he played OK for us, but $4-$5 million is insane just because he produced 9 PPG and 4 RPG for us. The Kings had an uptempo style, that we all know pads statistics, and he was playing against backups much of the time.

Hell, if T-Will of all people can float in here on a 10-day contract, and in 18 games parlay that into a $-$5 million a year contract, than we SERIOUSLY should be touting Sacramento as THE place to resurrect marginal players and create careers here.

I agree, and 2.5 mil would be a substantial increase over what he was paid last season. He came, and he impressed everyone, but he still has a lot to prove before getting paid 4 or 5 mil a year. Right now the Kings are around 6 to 7 mil under the cap. If they either trade, or sign another player, and stay just under the cap, they'll be eligible for the 2.5 mil exception for teams under the cap. It would be my guess that's how they'll sign him, if they do. I hope they do, because I think he still has a lot of potential, and seem to fit well with the team.

The Kings need to build some continuity. consistency! You don't do that by constantly changing out one part for another part. You do it by keeping the good parts and replacing the bad parts. Thats why bringing back JT was important. If you want good team chemistry, then you have to have familiarity. Of course you have to have quality as well. But I think JT is a quality player. The more your core guys play together (with the right coaching) the better they'll get. At some point, all you'll need is some minor tweeking. Of course were not there yet. But you have to start sometime, and JT is a start, and a message, that the Kings are intent on keeping their best players.

 

[rhythmless]

I agree, and 2.5 mil would be a substantial increase over what he was paid last season. He came, and he impressed everyone, but he still has a lot to prove before getting paid 4 or 5 mil a year. Right now the Kings are around 6 to 7 mil under the cap. If they either trade, or sign another player, and stay just under the cap, they'll be eligible for the 2.5 mil exception for teams under the cap. It would be my guess that's how they'll sign him, if they do. I hope they do, because I think he still has a lot of potential, and seem to fit well with the team.

The Kings need to build some continuity. consistency! You don't do that by constantly changing out one part for another part. You do it by keeping the good parts and replacing the bad parts. Thats why bringing back JT was important. If you want good team chemistry, then you have to have familiarity. Of course you have to have quality as well. But I think JT is a quality player. The more your core guys play together (with the right coaching) the better they'll get. At some point, all you'll need is some minor tweeking. Of course were not there yet. But you have to start sometime, and JT is a start, and a message, that the Kings are intent on keeping their best players.

I agree with this. It also reminds me of a retort I had to the DJ being overpaid business. DJ was paid more because he is Blake's best friend on the team. Blake, through fan draw, tv, marketing, is worth far more than max. So to keep him, u overpay in other places to come out ahead. Fortunately for DJ, one of those other places is DJs bank account. If overpaying DJ by 3 mil nets u Blake for 5 years, it's money we'll spent, from a business perspective at least. If JTs game or himself as a person benefits another more important teammate, you need to price that in as well, even of it doesn't show up in any account ledger.

 

[bajaden]

I agree with this. It also reminds me of a retort I had to the DJ being overpaid business. DJ was paid more because he is Blake's best friend on the team. Blake, through fan draw, tv, marketing, is worth far more than max. So to keep him, u overpay in other places to come out ahead. Fortunately for DJ, one of those other places is DJs bank account. If overpaying DJ by 3 mil nets u Blake for 5 years, it's money we'll spent, from a business perspective at least. If JTs game or himself as a person benefits another more important teammate, you need to price that in as well, even of it doesn't show up in any account ledger.

So I guess the burning question is, Is T. Will Cousins best friend? And if not, then it might behove him to buddy up.

 

[bajaden]

By the way, J. Jones tweeted that JT's first year salary was around 5.25 mil. I wish they'd make up their minds. Hopefully the Kings will disclose the total terms of the new contract.