Kings making Rudy available for trade?

[bajaden]

Everybody seems to want to fight this, but the obvious conclusion is the playoffs THIS season are the goal. The big goal. And I can't even argue it. Making the playoffs really would be a balm that would fix a lot of problems and least begin toning up the flabby fanbase.

And if it happened, Cuz is ok, Rondo comes back, Karl is back, there's a good crowd in the new building etc., so its a bit of a self-fulfilling mid-term solution in itself.

A lot of people continue to offer up fantasy trades that THEY would do, and that's cool in the offseason, or when you don't know what a team is trying to do/where its going. But I think its been pretty obvious what we are trying to do for some time now, and people just fight it because they don't like it. But there's no point suggesting fantasy trades we will never make (or the other team will never make). If our path is to chase the playoffs with a Cuz/Rondo/3pt shooters and scrappers uptempo Karl team, then the success or failure of the team comes down to executing that plan. Its a plan that can work, worked as long ago as Hakeem in Houston, even without the Rondo factor. But it has to be executed well.

I don't disagree with what you said. I think if you were to ask Cousins the same question he would agree with you. The question then becomes, why isn't the team putting out the effort necessary to win? We didn't lost last nights game because of pace, or turnovers etc. We lost the game because we played pathetic defense for three quarters of the game. I can appreciate Karl's problem even if I disagree with his final decisions on rotations. It's hard to diminish Gay's minutes, or Collison's minutes, or to bench McLemore since he's been starting from the get go. As a coach your trying to keep everyone happy while at the same time trying to win games.

You could start Casspi at SF but then your sending Gay to the banch, a place he's very unfamiliar with, and maybe upsetting Cousins and Rondo. But Casspi is a better defender than Gay, and our problem is defense, not offense. You could start Casspi at SG and leave Gay at SF, but that puts Casspi at a huge disadvantage trying to guard quicker players out on the perimeter. At worse I think you have to come up with a defensive second unit that you can put in when the game seems to be getting out of control, or there's a lack of effort on the court. Just about any second unit will be OK if Cousins is out there with them.

 

[Bricklayer]

Rudy has not lived up to our expectations this year, but he is a better player than Ryan Anderson. Once the new caps kick in, guys half as good as Rudy will be getting close to his current salary. We signed him to a reasonable contract, lets not just get rid of him just to do so.

If we are to trade him, get a young, athletic wing player than can play the 2 and 3. Not sure if it is Karl that wants Anderson, but I would not try to build the team for Karl as we don't know if he'll even be around next year.

Vlade has made some attempt to GM for Karl, or at least for his interpretation of what Karl should be, from the beginning. He went out and got him a major ball dominant PG, which Karl has always had. Got his former starting center, got him a veteran shooter, brought back Casspi, Karl may be abusing WCS as a rookie, but WCS is absolutely a Karl type big man, if he can get them.

There really is no reason to doubt Vlade continues down that path.

And again, everybody should keep in mind who Vlade added/reaquired -- his choices -- Koufos, Bels, WCS, Rondo, Casspi, Acy (also Curry, Anderson, Moreland, but all those pieces are less important and likely to inspire less attachment) + Butler, who made his own choice.

Then consider the short list of guys he neither acquired nor brought back: Rudy, Ben, Collison

If there is going to be more reshaping of the team midstream, I'd bet on it coming at the expense of the last of the PDA/Malone guys.

 

[Bricklayer]

This is a direct result of Rudy mailing in his effort the past couple weeks - he and Cousins are clearly not on the same page on the court (with the arguments and stares at each other).
Rudy is literally standing still on the floor on defense many plays - doesn't even try to go for a rebound or box out, etc.
His bumbling lately is approaching deliberate levels - he is simply not this bad of basketball player - I think he's been playing badly on purpose to force the issue to trade him.
He's had enough of Cousins, and this is a microcosm of the entire Kings franchise:

Its amusing how you inevitably interpret everything to scheming and decisions, when 90% of all human action and interaction is subconscious.

 

[funkykingston]

This is a direct result of Rudy mailing in his effort the past couple weeks - he and Cousins are clearly not on the same page on the court (with the arguments and stares at each other).
Rudy is literally standing still on the floor on defense many plays - doesn't even try to go for a rebound or box out, etc.
His bumbling lately is approaching deliberate levels - he is simply not this bad of basketball player - I think he's been playing badly on purpose to force the issue to trade him.
He's had enough of Cousins, and this is a microcosm of the entire Kings franchise:

Look, guys, we can pretend that all it takes is just one or two more guys in here to make this team take off and become the playoff contender we want, but I'm beginning to see signs that indicate this will never happen as long as Cousins' attitude pervades the franchise.
His whiny, petulant behavior which constantly TALKS about playing hard and getting good enough to make the playoffs, yet his utter inability to see how his failings are causing the very thing he is complaining about, are at clinical levels.
Cousins played so badly in that 1st quarter, he put the Kings in a hole so deep they couldn't come out.
Rudy probably wants out before he gets blamed for this failure. (He's mostly avoided most of the blame so far)

Things behind the curtain obviously have not gone well, and they are dysfunctional and can't get past it.

But this is the story of this team, is it not?
In-fighting, and camps, and creating/breaking alliances, and two-faced-ness, and a bunch of "me" in front of "we".

Divac and Vivek have not fixed the sucking wound the Kings have in coaching/system, and they haven't managed the player's dissatisfaction with what they're doing.
The entire organization and the city and fans, can't simply wait one more year to fire Karl (or god forbid - make it work with him), and hope to become competitive next year.

They ran out of time.
Apparently not listening to "Cousins' camp" last year allegedly not wanting Karl was the last mistake the franchise could absorb.

It's clear that Cousins is tight with Rondo and Casspi.
Guess who plays Casspi's position?
Cousins can't stand losing to the 3ball. He wants a reliable player to knock down the 3. He's reactionary, so he probably made the demand after last night to management to try to get Anderson, and Rudy was notified and is sick of the poopoo so he leaked it to "league sources".

This is a last straw that this team will not survive, I fear.
They HAD to make it work with THIS group of players.
Not accomplishing it with this group highly suggests that the problem is not in the magical combination of players to make the magical brew - it's more likely pointing to Cousins as the root of the problem, now.

And to be clear - the problem is that the players for whatever reason, are not playing to their ability levels.
They lack the desire to put forth the effort on a night-to-night basis to win. They would rather point fingers and dodge personal blame for the failures on the court.
If we're being honest - What personality does that sound like?
Actually, it sounds like equal parts Cuz and Karl, ironically.

The main symptom this franchise has had for years is the inability for differing personalities to set aside their egos and work together for the benefit of the team.
That has been the overall dysfunction of the team ever since Demarcus joined it.
Maybe that's a total coincidence that ownership and management acted the exact same way when they couldn't get along with Malone and make it work, who knows?

But if Demarcus can't make it work with Rudy, then it's now clear to me this is an indictment of Demarcus as a teammate more than any of the other flaws it reveals in all involved.

There are a WHOLE lot of assumptions about goings on behind the scenes in this post. Especially since the only person I've seen pointing fingers is George Karl. Cousins gets obviously frustrated but I haven't heard him put the blame anywhere but on his own shoulders and there are no inside reports to the contrary other than his well publicized blowup at Karl a while back. He definitely handled that poorly but I understand. I yell at Karl (well the image of him on my TV screen) a few times each game usually.

But EVEN if you were right - that Cousins is trying to push Gay out the door or pointing fingers at his teammates etc and he's the root of this franchise's issues then why is it that the Kings are pretty much "Philadelphia bad" (to quote our former GM) without him in the lineup? Why are the Kings less efficient offensively, why do they score fewer points, rebound less, give up a higher opponent shooting percentage and essentially get worse across the board offensively and defensively as well as win FAR fewer games when he's not playing?

When Blake Griffin is out the Clippers roll along. Same as when Chris Paul is out. In fact they are slightly better with only one of the two. The Rockets without Dwight Howard managed just fine. Why is it just the Kings that go from mediocre/underwhelming to absolutely god awful without Boogie?

I understand though. It's frustrating to watch the Kings lose. And Cousins' behavior is often frustrating or even infuriating. He's also the only common piece of the puzzle these last few terrible years. But the reality is that for all the immaturity and lack of mental toughness that Boogie shows on the court, he's also the only thing keeping the Kings from being shockingly bad.

 

[Padrino]

If our path is to chase the playoffs with a Cuz/Rondo/3pt shooters and scrappers uptempo Karl team, then the success or failure of the team comes down to executing that plan. Its a plan that can work, worked as long ago as Hakeem in Houston, even without the Rondo factor. But it has to be executed well.

hey, i've been as much a proponent as anyone of making a push for the playoffs rather than selling off big cuz and starting over, but can you honestly say you have any faith that this "path" or "plan" will be "executed well"? the playoffs are out of the realm of possibility this season if the kings remain a bottom-three defense. and if they should miraculously squeeze into the playoffs with a bottom-three defense, then count me among those who aren't looking forward to watching the warriors drill uncontested three after uncontested three in what would undoubtedly be an all-too-brief first round appearance. i don't want this franchise suckered into believing that there's a genuinely competitive future for this iteration of the kings under george karl. and i definitely don't want this franchise suckered into giving karl what he wants for player personnel before he decides to hang it up, leaving the kings with a demarcus cousins who has squandered a healthy portion of his prime on "pace." i'd rather see the kings reload in the offseason after vlade has selected his own head coach--one who will hopefully consider defense more than just something to b*tch about after yet another disappointing loss...

 

[Peter_Gibbons]

I don't disagree with what you said. I think if you were to ask Cousins the same question he would agree with you. The question then becomes, why isn't the team putting out the effort necessary to win? We didn't lost last nights game because of pace, or turnovers etc. We lost the game because we played pathetic defense for three quarters of the game. I can appreciate Karl's problem even if I disagree with his final decisions on rotations. It's hard to diminish Gay's minutes, or Collison's minutes, or to bench McLemore since he's been starting from the get go. As a coach your trying to keep everyone happy while at the same time trying to win games.

You could start Casspi at SF but then your sending Gay to the banch, a place he's very unfamiliar with, and maybe upsetting Cousins and Rondo. But Casspi is a better defender than Gay, and our problem is defense, not offense. You could start Casspi at SG and leave Gay at SF, but that puts Casspi at a huge disadvantage trying to guard quicker players out on the perimeter. At worse I think you have to come up with a defensive second unit that you can put in when the game seems to be getting out of control, or there's a lack of effort on the court. Just about any second unit will be OK if Cousins is out there with them.

That is the question I've been asking. Is it because they don't like Karl and/or his system? Or is it because of internal discord between the players?

I'm pretty sure Vlade knows the answer to the question and if Gay being available is true, that may be part of the answer to our questions. Gay hasn't really been himself since the birth of his child early in the season. The effort has been inconsistent to say the least. Some are saying there is beef between Gay and Cousins, but they've had a decent relationship up until recently. Losing wears on everyone and Cousins is not the easiest to work with. Perhaps Vlade can mediate the issues between all the players and get everyone back on the same page.

 

[Sac.1989]

open to moving rudy but for anderson is a woeful trade. Anderson wants back in Sac. Leverage that in FA

 

[funkykingston]

That is the question I've been asking. Is it because they don't like Karl and/or his system? Or is it because of internal discord between the players?

I think it is as simple as not having enough defensive minded players.

Cousins has made a massive improvement to his defense from his rookie year to where he is now (when healthy) a legitimate defensive anchor. He's never going to be Alonzo Mourning but he is a bright spot.

McLemore still hasn't put things together and at this point he may never.

Gay is a decent to above average defender when engaged but he's rarely ever engaged.

Rondo hasn't been a good defender in years.

Belinelli lacks the attitude and the physical ability

Collison has regressed after showing improvement as a defender last year

Casspi gives effort and does decently but he's really not a defensive player by nature

Acy has improved as an on ball defender but still has size limitations as a PF and still isn't always in the right place on rotations

WCS is a defensive weapon that inexplicably doesn't get minutes

Koufos is a great interior defender but limited if he has to step far from the basket or switch on smaller/faster players

Overall I see a collection of guys without a junkyard dog in the bunch and who don't seem to be as bothered as they should be by giving up points, figuring (I suppose) that they'll just get it back on the other end. No doubt it's coaching too - a lot of these same guys looked much better and more active on defense under Malone than they do under Karl - but that's part of the deal of having a running, offensive minded coach like Karl. He's not going to drill defense like Malone or Thibodeau. Adelman was the same way - players said they rarely practiced defense, at least not in anywhere near the time spent on offense so the answer is you can't count on an offensive minded coach to whip players into shape, you have to give him fully formed defensive players. Guys like Doug Christie or Scot Pollard. Like Jim Jackson or Keon Clark.

Karl isn't going to fix the defensive issues. He's just going to complain about them. For better or worse fixing them falls on Vlade.

 

[Bricklayer]

i'd rather see the kings reload in the offseason after vlade has selected his own head coach--one who will hopefully consider defense more than just something to b*tch about after yet another disappointing loss...

See...this is where I think people are making the mistake.

I might rather too, but I'm not involved, so trying to analyze the situation through my own personal lens makes no sense. The theories that matter are Vlade's and Karl's. And hopefully it stays that way, because I don't want anymore of Vivek's, except as doggedly loyal to Cuz (but Vlade has that covered too, so I'd prefer Vivek just focuses on the new arena).

And as far as can it win? Sure it can. Can it win a title? Highly unlikely barring a serious star of some sort being found who fits the 3&D pattern (maybe we can steal Draymond or Kawhi, uhhuh). But this is not about winning a title. If George Karl's system could do no more than get us to #7-8 this year with 41 wins, and get us to 48-50 wins next year as a higher seed, we would be living in a whole different world. We'd have respect back, and fans back in the seats. Cuz would be unquestioned in his respect as a great one. FAs, although likely not stars, would consider us, a winning playoff team in a loud new building, as a viable destination. Ditto for the coach to follow Karl. We are a perennial playoff team in time for Cuz's next contract to come up. Compared to our current situation its all good. Not perfect. But its good. And Karl, given personnel in his comfort zone, has made making the playoffs and winning 50 a habit. He just can't go any further as a junkballer.

If the right moves, not involving Cousins, can get you to that stage, its nothing to completely sneeze at. Karl is stuck with our 3 bigs, I'm not moving them for anything. Nor the obvious Friends of Cuz. but if you milk a perennial playoff team out of it, peripheral guys being traded is fine. Cuz just has to stay healthy and become iron man.

 

[ockingsfan]

IF we trade Rudy, it should be for a 3 and D, defensive stopper type swingman.

Ryan Anderson would impede WCS growth and he does nothing for our defensive weaknesses.

Ryan Anderson can be had in Free Agency.

 

[ParniValjak]

Not a horrendous surprise given the last 3-4 weeks if true.

At the current moment Rudy and Ben, and maybe, maybe DC appear to me to be the most likely pieces shuffled in a midseason retool.

Agreed but for Anderson?

Gay has not been great, no doubt about it but Anderson is hardly an upgrade for us. The talent level is not similar IMHO.

There is no doubt that there are likely to be changes before the deadline but I am not sure its smart to trade when there is a raw talent downgrade.

I would not be surprised if we are somehow linked to Brewer.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

If we're thinking about a trade with New Orleans, the guy we need to get back is Holiday.

 

[The_Jamal]

IF we trade Rudy, it should be for a 3 and D, defensive stopper type swingman.

Ryan Anderson would impede WCS growth and he does nothing for our defensive weaknesses.

Ryan Anderson can be had in Free Agency.

No he can't because you have to go sign Rondo. If we want Anderson, we have to make him our 3rd fiddle, and get rid of Rudy to make it happen. And as far as 3rd fiddles go, a 3pt bomber next to a ball-dominant PG who can't shoot and a big who needs the paint clear as much as Cousins does makes so much sense it's not even funny. Anderson isn't a guy who's going to stop the ball and start ISO'ing people. He gets the ball and is either shooting or making the next pass. Getting to kick out to him and Casspi would be absolutely filthy.

Even in this new inflated market, it's hard to imagine he'll be much more than the $14mil we're going to pay Rudy. Getting him now gives us a head-start on building the Rondo-Cuz+floor spacers and we acquire his bird rights to go over the cap to sign him (I think)

 

[funkykingston]

If we're thinking about a trade with New Orleans, the guy we need to get back is Holiday.

Gay and Collison for Anderson and Holiday works under the cap.

But I'm guessing if NO said no to Rudy for Ryan that they don't even consider this trade.

 

[upinsmoke]

If true it tells us Rudy's value is at a all time low.

 

[The_Jamal]

lest anyone forget, Anderson is from Sacramento and went to college down the road at Cal. Dude could play for us and live at home. Well, I'm sure he has his own home now. Anderson is also a very underrated rebounder. He led Cal in rebounding while there. He also has a post game that he seldom uses, but is there if needed.

Right. Which is why I wouldn't worry as much if we brought him in asap and had a great stretch run the rest of the way with Rondo-Anderson-Cuz as the core. Home-town, can offer him the most money/years if it came to it. And we'd get 50 games to show that a Rondo-Anderson-Cuz core could work.

 

[funkykingston]

If true it tells us Rudy's value is at a all time low.

Yes and no.

Ryan Anderson's value is highest to a small number of teams that have a very dominant big man. Detroit, Sacramento, Houston (less so as Howard appears to have fallen off significantly) and New Orleans who has not only Anthony Davis but also Asik in the rotation.

Is Rudy Gay a better player than Anderson? In some respects, sure. But is he a better fit in New Orleans? Probably not.

 

[upinsmoke]

I'm telling you I bet Rudy would exel off the bench.

 

[funkykingston]

I'm telling you I bet Rudy would exel off the bench.

I've thought about that. The problem (at least IMO) is that Rudy isn't a "get hot" volume scorer type. And when he tries to be is when things usually go poorly. He's more of a guy who gets his points in the rhythm of the game.

At one point the Kings had a pair of very good bench scoring guards that could get hot and put up big numbers quickly. The problem was that they were using them as starters. Marcus Thornton only had a brief spark but Isaiah Thomas is still a great sixth man type.

Rudy is a different type of scorer. And beyond scoring he doesn't add much. I think the Kings might be better off starting Casspi and WCS at the forwards but Gay off the bench probably doesn't work well.

 

[Amit149]

Gay and Collison for Anderson and Holiday works under the cap.

But I'm guessing if NO said no to Rudy for Ryan that they don't even consider this trade.

I think if you really want that trade you can sweeten the deal- and add KK, Acy and Butler (both to match salaries and because he was promised a trade and NO needs depth) in return for Asik and Luke Babbitt (or Gee).

The downgrade here is from KK to Asik, but it doesn't make a big change imo since I think KK has a very small role in this kind of roster, and Asik despite having a bad year is still a very good defender (and actually has a better RPM than KK).

The worst part is that Asik has a 5 year 45 million contract, but some will say that under the new cap the hit will be smaller and for a good defensive and rebounding big (and not so long ago Asik was considered elite at that) it won't be a really bad contract.

Our roster will look like this:

PG- Rondo, Holiday
SG- Ben, Curry (Holiday)
SF- Casspi, Marco, Babbitt
PF- WCS, Anderson
C- Cousins, Asik

 

[Entity]

That is the question I've been asking. Is it because they don't like Karl and/or his system? Or is it because of internal discord between the players?

I'm pretty sure Vlade knows the answer to the question and if Gay being available is true, that may be part of the answer to our questions. Gay hasn't really been himself since the birth of his child early in the season. The effort has been inconsistent to say the least. Some are saying there is beef between Gay and Cousins, but they've had a decent relationship up until recently. Losing wears on everyone and Cousins is not the easiest to work with. Perhaps Vlade can mediate the issues between all the players and get everyone back on the same page.

It's like my daughter with her friends. As long as she has on over for the night, no problems. If she has two the fussing starts. Gay and cuz where fine until rondo came along. Rondo and cuz have hit it off leaving gay as the third wheel.

 

[Sac.Kings]

I am definitely for a Rudy trade. The amount of threes he gives up every game is insane and he really does not seem to fit with Karl's offense, more so than any of our other big names. However, I would decline just throwing Rudy in any trade scenario. Used appropriately, Rudy can be a heck of a weapon and we should value our players. I like Ryan Anderson, but that's not the type of player we need. If it were me, I would strongly petition for McCollum from Portland (send Ben or Collison and Rudy and they can throw someone in to make salaries match). McCollum IS a number two option. He can create for others and create for himself. If not him, I would definitely be talking to the Bulls. They have Snell and a couple of big guys I would love to have on the Kings (either Noah or Gibson). Cuz, KK, Noah, WCS would have to be top 3 big man rotation in the entire league, perhaps the best.

However, our biggest problem is perimeter defense. It is horrendous. I don't know if we should do a separate trade involving Collison and someone else to get a 3 and D type. Maybe the Bulls would be willing to include Snell in a trade. My heart is really after Butler though. Pipe dream!

 

[Capt. Factorial]

If true it tells us Rudy's value is at a all time low.

Well, not really. When Rudy was Toronto his contract was pretty much thought of as untradeable. We sent a pretty mediocre package to get him when you think about it. Nowadays he is making less total money in a market that has a much higher salary cap, and he has actually been quite good in Sacramento if you pretend there's no such thing as defense. He needs to go to a good defensive squad that is having trouble scoring, which is one reason why there's been quite a bit of rumor about Rudy and the Bulls. A dream trade for us, if we could do it, would be to land Gibson and Snell for Rudy. That, at least, is a win-now trade for us.

A couple of other teams that fit the bill are Detroit and Boston.

I doubt Boston would send Avery Bradley back, so we'd have to be looking at something like Lee and Turner (both expiring and Turner has decent defensive numbers this year) - that would probably not be enough for me, I'd need Boston to sweeten the pot with some picks. I don't think they'd give up Brooklyn's 2016 in that deal, but I'd ask for Brooklyn's 2018 and Dallas' protected pick and Minnesota's protected pick (which is almost certain to turn into two second rounders). But I don't think Turner is enough to turn us around, so that would be a win-later move.

Detroit is a tough case. They' don't necessarily need a SF, but Stanley Johnson is not really holding down the fort by the numbers. I kind of doubt they want to give up on him, though, so it's not clear what they've got to offer. We'd basically be taking Ilyasova by default (his contract next year is mostly unguaranteed) but what else would we get? Anthony Tolliver? Caldwell-Pope? Again it sounds like we'd need to get a draft pick to close the deal because I don't think Detroit has much they'd be willing to offer. Maybe holding out for Johnson would be the best move here. Either way, a Detroit trade would probably be a win-later trade.

 

[twslam07]

If you're going to move forward with Rondo & Cousins as your centerpieces, what is the ideal team? A SG who can knock down threes and defend, a SF who can knock down threes and defend, and a PF who can knock down threes, guard quicker PFs, and protect the rim (while hopefully either the SG or SF has some talent for scoring the ball). I'm going to go ahead and say that the PF I described is virtually impossible to find, but I think Cauley-Stein fills a lot of those characteristics so we're going to lock him in with Rondo & Cousins.

With Cauley-Stein in the rotation, you better have a SG & SF who can really spread the floor. These are some of the optimal fits to go along with a Rondo/WCS/Cousins lineup:

3 and D SGs: A. Bradley, G. Harris, R. Hood, C. Lee, Bazemore, Crabbe, D. Green, Shumpert
3 and D SGs who can score: Middleton, K. Thompson, W. Matthews, Barton
3 and D SFs: Ariza, Crowder, Carroll, H. Barnes
3 and D SFs who can score: Batum, P. George, Leonard

You're really not going to get any of the 3 and D players who can score for just Gay because that's basically what Gay can do minus the 3pt shooting and defense. However, considering Batum is expiring at the end of this season, it's possible that Charlotte doesn't want risk losing Batum in FA. They might be open to some sort of deal (although I doubt it).


This deal wouldn't give us a 3 and D wing scorer, but it would give us two 3 and D wings this year.

Memphis Gets: Ben McLemore & Terrence Jones
Memphis Gives: Courtney Lee
Why for Memphis? Memphis is tied for the 6th seed right now, but their team is on the decline. They have a lot of old players and this deal nets them two young pieces for an expiring, 3 and D SG who will be 31 at the start of next season. Even with this trade, they could remain competitive this year and make the playoffs.

PG - Conley/Chalmers
SG - Allen/McLemore/Williams/Adams
SF - Barnes/Jef. Green/Carter/Ennis
PF - Jones/Randolph/JaM. Green/Martin
C - Gasol/Wright

Houston Gets: Rudy Gay & Darren Collison
Houston Gives: Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones, & Ty Lawson
Why for Houston? Houston does this trade to acquire a 3rd scorer next to Harden & Howard as well as shedding Lawson. Collison & Beverley would give Houston 48 solid minutes at PG (both of whom compliment Harden very well being able to play off the ball, knock down threes, and defend).

PG - Beverley/Collison/Terry
SG - Harden/Thornton/McDaniels
SF - Gay/Brewer/Dekker
PF - Motiejunas/Harrell
C - Howard/Capela

Sacramento Gets: Trevor Ariza, Courtney Lee, & Ty Lawson
Sacramento Gives: Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, & Ben McLemore
Why for Sacramento? Sacramento does this to upgrade their perimeter defense and shooting. Lawson is a negative, but his contract is non-guaranteed next year and can come off the books. In the meantime, he's PG insurance in case Rondo gets hurt, and if Rondo does get hurt, lets hope Karl can resurrect Lawson somewhat.

PG - Rondo (35 min)/Lawson (13 min)/Curry
SG - Lee (28 min)/Belinelli (20 min)/Anderson
SF - Ariza (32 min)/Casspi (16 min)/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein (28 min)/Casspi (12 min)/Cousins (8 min)/Acy/Dukan
C - Cousins (28 min)/Koufos (20 min)/Moreland

Rondo, Lee, Ariza, Cauley-Stein, & Cousins would be a pretty strong defensive lineup. However, you just don't have that cut & dry 2nd option on this team. You'll have to rely on Cousins finding open teammates when doubled and Rondo setting up teammates for easy looks.

Going into next season, you'd have Belinelli, Ariza, Casspi, Cauley-Stein, Cousins, & Koufos under contract with about $42.5 mil in cap space. Perhaps you grab two of Rondo, Conley, Batum, Beal, Bazemore, & Lee and now we're talking.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

http://www.csnbayarea.com/kings/sources-gay-not-being-shopped-anderson-trade-offer-unclear

Basically, Gay isn't being actively shopped.

 

[ParniValjak]

Any way of getting Tyreke back in that deal with Pelicans? His 3P% this year is a pretty good 38% on 3 attempts per game. Improves us defensively and can play both guard positions.

Not the greatest of pairings with Rondo but improves us significantly at SG and provides more flexibility as a combo guard rather than playing two small PGs all the time.

 

[Bricklayer]

I just don't see Vlade as a mid-season nuker of teams. He might make a targeted move, but less than 40 games on the job he's going to initiate some huge blockbuster turning over a big chunk of the roster? That doesn't sound much like Vlade.

 

[KingsCitizen]

Rudy is suffering in Karl's system because he is being forced to play out of his strengths. I'd rather see Karl leave first before even trading Rudy.
DC is Karl's can't resist temptation to go small ball that sucks because Rondo is useless next to DC on offense. So trade DC or any of the bench that Karl does not give play time before any of our starters.

 

[upinsmoke]

Vlade tried to get us a starting 2 in the offseason but struck out. I would like to think that's still a priority of his.

 

[VF21]

At this point, unless it involves WCS, Cousins, Rondo or Casspi, I don't even blink if Vlade decides to pull the trigger on a trade. (I include Casspi in there because he's one of the best values in the league right now and he totally fits with the other three.)

I am so tired of having hopes dashed, of tuning in to watch a game only to wonder why within just a few minutes, or passing up on going somewhere because there's a game on. If Vlade determines there's a trade out there that will allow the team to win more games, I'm all for it. Hell, at this point if he fired Karl and put Slamson in charge for the rest of the year, I'd probably be very happy.