Kings trade Richaun Holmes and 24th overall pick to Mavericks for ????

I will reserve judgement until a couple of weeks into Free Agency, but Monte better have a better plan than to just "run it back" with essentially the same team. He could have "run it back" without trading away our 1st round pick for nothing.
Obviously he didn't create all of that cap room to "run it back" and certainly not to waste 80 million dollars on John freaking Collins that wouldn't at all move the needle for us. I don't think we need another 4 that doesn't defend.
 
Please, no Kuzma. I rather have Cam Johnson than Kuzma. If the Kings is unable to address their issue, which is length, rebounding and defend...that could spell trouble come next year. DO NOT forget that the Kings team defense is a huge problem due to lack of size and they constantly have to play hard to defend well. This is because they have players that aren't good at defending like Huerter and Keegan. Barnes and Sabonis aint' that much better either as far team defense. There is no question they need length for rebounding, shot blocking and the ability to help defense and the ONLY position to be able to upgrade is to replace Barnes. At this point, I have no idea who in the free agency that can help them. I see some players that ain't that much better if we do sign them...such as Jeremi. The one player that I like is Siakum or OG Anunuby but do the Raptors want to trade him? Would trading Mitchell + 1st round entice them? Would that be enough? Then we can use the money to sign a backup PG like Bruce Brown but Kolby Jones ain't that bad from what I seen so far.
 
I was talking about at the time of this trade and relative to his value based on position and role..
And so am I.

He’s nowhere close to being a worse contract than the two examples I provided (and several others I didn’t cite).

I mean, just consider the most basic of math. Holmes is due less than 25M the next 2 seasons. The two examples I cited made almost TWICE as much as that in just ONE season.

Even if you include what Holmes made last season, the 36M on that contract over 3 seasons is 11M LESS than Wall’s salary last season and still less than what Simmons will make this season.

C’mon bro. Be real. Holmes contract isn’t even close to as bad.
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
Many days later… still no word on what the Kings got back. I guess it’s safe to assume that we used a 1st round pick to straight up dump Holmes’ salary.

That’s a very poor management of assets.. how many times have teams used a 1st round pick to dump a contract in recent years?

We don’t even have anyone who’s guaranteed to sign with us. It’s different than the time the Warriors traded Bogut away to the Mavs to sign KD… they knew he was coming. What’s wrong with drafting OMax and then trading him with Holmes later if we do sign someone? I know not all teams may be high on OMax like the Mavs, but the move didn’t feel necessary.

Drafting a player and then trading him in the same offseason isn’t completely unheard of. The Cavs did it with Wiggins to get KLove
We obviously can't know anyone who's guaranteed to sign with us. At least, not until Friday, at which point more of this should make sense.
 
Obviously he didn't create all of that cap room to "run it back" and certainly not to waste 80 million dollars on John freaking Collins that wouldn't at all move the needle for us. I don't think we need another 4 that doesn't defend.
he’s generally considered a decent to good defender these days. I think he returns to form this year and Ainge looks like the hamburglar again for getting him for basically nothing.
 


I’m really curious what all the national guys are hearing that has all of them on the edge of their seats.
The Kings are media darlings right now, just like in times passed. People see us making moves after a successful (per our terms) and exciting season and they wanna be the first to break it and say I told you so.

There's smoke, but only because Monte is sending out smoke signals. They don't know what those say any more than we do. Which is why I love Monte.

On another note, it shows why Fox and Haliburton wanted to be in Sac so bad. They knew that when it got turned around it was going to be epic. Imagine the wave Fox is riding right now because of it. All Star, All NBA, broke the drought. Had his kid. Got his partner (Sabonis) and wingman (Monk) and understudy (Keegan).

Now imagine you are Haliburton watching all this. Ouch.
 
And so am I.

He’s nowhere close to being a worse contract than the two examples I provided (and several others I didn’t cite).

I mean, just consider the most basic of math. Holmes is due less than 25M the next 2 seasons. The two examples I cited made almost TWICE as much as that in just ONE season.

Even if you include what Holmes made last season, the 36M on that contract over 3 seasons is 11M LESS than Wall’s salary last season and still less than what Simmons will make this season.

C’mon bro. Be real. Holmes contract isn’t even close to as bad.
Wall was already waived prior to last season, he's not under that contract any longer.
 
The Kings are media darlings right now, just like in times passed. People see us making moves after a successful (per our terms) and exciting season and they wanna be the first to break it and say I told you so.

There's smoke, but only because Monte is sending out smoke signals. They don't know what those say any more than we do. Which is why I love Monte.

On another note, it shows why Fox and Haliburton wanted to be in Sac so bad. They knew that when it got turned around it was going to be epic. Imagine the wave Fox is riding right now because of it. All Star, All NBA, broke the drought. Had his kid. Got his partner (Sabonis) and wingman (Monk) and understudy (Keegan).

Now imagine you are Haliburton watching all this. Ouch.
And the Kings appear to be the only team that can change a conference right now with a big splash since the teams with space aren't as close to contending.
 
And the Kings appear to be the only team that can change a conference right now with a big splash since the teams with space aren't as close to contending.
They are pretty much 1 or 2 pieces away from perennial contender status (barring no major injuries). And we over here arguing about the 1 or 2 pieces like it's not what is going to put us toward the top, it's just gonna get us back to competing.
 
The Kings are media darlings right now, just like in times passed. People see us making moves after a successful (per our terms) and exciting season and they wanna be the first to break it and say I told you so.

There's smoke, but only because Monte is sending out smoke signals. They don't know what those say any more than we do. Which is why I love Monte.

On another note, it shows why Fox and Haliburton wanted to be in Sac so bad. They knew that when it got turned around it was going to be epic. Imagine the wave Fox is riding right now because of it. All Star, All NBA, broke the drought. Had his kid. Got his partner (Sabonis) and wingman (Monk) and understudy (Keegan).

Now imagine you are Haliburton watching all this. Ouch.
I wouldn't be so sad for Hali. He's from the midwest, so, closer to home, and he's got a team of his own to run now, and has room to spread his wings. I don't see him being an All-Star in Sac. As I've said before, one of the rare trades that was good for all players and teams involved.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
I'm low key prepared to be initially underwhelmed, perhaps even outraged at whatever Monte does....

... only to be like "I dunno how, but that rascal has done it again!" with a mouth full of crow by week two of the season.
The only thing that has me reacting like that is running it back. Ya’ll know me, I’ll eat all the crow in the world if I’m wrong … but I don’t think running it back gets near the same results next year and I’ll yell it until I’m proven otherwise.
 
The only thing that has me reacting like that is running it back. Ya’ll know me, I’ll eat all the crow in the world if I’m wrong … but I don’t think running it back gets near the same results next year and I’ll yell it until I’m proven otherwise.
They won't run it back, no way.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
The only thing that has me reacting like that is running it back. Ya’ll know me, I’ll eat all the crow in the world if I’m wrong … but I don’t think running it back gets near the same results next year and I’ll yell it until I’m proven otherwise.
I'm in the "they haven't even seen our true form yet" camp!

Healthy Domas, healthy Fox and year two Keegan is gonna be NASTY... Not to mention another offseason learning from the CoTY.

I reckon the truth lies between my reawakened Homerism and your steady SLABian pessimism... but probably a moot point anyways. One doesn't free up this much cap just to run it back.
 
I'm in the "they haven't even seen our true form yet" camp!

Healthy Domas, healthy Fox and year two Keegan is gonna be NASTY... Not to mention another offseason learning from the CoTY.

I reckon the truth lies between my reawakened Homerism and your steady SLABian pessimism... but probably a moot point anyways. One doesn't free up this much cap just to run it back.
I could see us being a better team and still have fewer wins. The NBA is so full of talent right now that nearly every team could be competitive next year. There won’t be 4 easy wins in Houston next year. San Antonio will actually be trying to win. Okc could really improve. The Jazz got better. Blazers might suck but maybe they make a big trade, they seem to think they can. It’s awesome for the NBA. Luck, health and chemistry might end up having more impact than in the past going forward
 
I was talking about at the time of this trade and relative to his value based on position and role. Worst value gets no worse than being healthy, and STILL not playing at a position where you are vastly overpaid compared to your backup counterparts. In Dallas if he starts he'll balance back out probably to being a net zero at least. But even Collins didn't have to have a first rounder stapled to his butt to get sent off. I will say, overall though that yes, as of now, Simmons is probably the worst contract in the league but he'll be a huge expirif he does? He likely won't be a backup though. Holmes would have been.
Admit it Sactown, you got a little too far out on your skis and you got called on it.
 
One of the players that McNair must be targeting for a trade is Bobby Portis. He is PERFECT for the Kings. He's got the length (6'11"), the rebounding (9.6/game), and the outside shooting, all of which perfectly complement Sabonis and Fox. Also, unlike Brook Lopez, who is on the downhill slide, Portis is just entering his prime (age 28), so again he fits perfectly with the age of this team. And he's an enforcer. No one fools around with Bug Eyes. If Middleton is going to cost the Bucks a fortune, and they can't see themselves without Lopez, something has got to give and maybe, just maybe they will part ways with Portis for salary cap reasons.
Could not agree more. However, can't see Bucks trading him as he is a perfect fit next to Giannis the same way he would be a perfect fit next to Sabonis
 
I wouldn't be so sad for Hali. He's from the midwest, so, closer to home, and he's got a team of his own to run now, and has room to spread his wings. I don't see him being an All-Star in Sac. As I've said before, one of the rare trades that was good for all players and teams involved.
It was a good trade for us no doubt. Hali was hurt. He wanted to be the dude who was here to turn things around.
 
These are the same guys who gave up on fox, said Hali was getting DNPs in Sac, and shat the bed on the sabonis trade as well as the murray pick. I doubt they know anything more than us BUT it does look like the Kings are ready to make a huge move.

What I would NOT be ok with is throwing $20M+ at Kuzma. Im not as down on him as some and do think he fits, just not defensively (hopefully mike brown changes that), but i think $20M is his max level. Id be ok with him at 18-20M

I would be happy with Grant signing along with Bringing back Barnes and either lyles or Sasha (ideally Lyles).

Id be ok with Cam Johnson for around Kuzma price (i think he has more growth potential than Kuzma) along with a Bruce Brown/Seth Curry/PJW/Grant Williams addition along with bringing back Barnes.

Id be very ok with trade to absorb OG or Siakam (but i dont know why Toronto would give them to us for Cap relief and 2 distant firsts...

I just am worried we get just Kuz at a stupid price but again, if you keep it reasonable AND bring back barne and lyles/sasha, i think you made progress... Just not as much as we were hoping for.
The problem with all that is that in free agency, teams generally need to offer more than any other team out there. So setting a reasonable salary on any of those free agents, especially the restricted ones rules you our of the running before you even take the next step.

Nets are said to be comfortable in matching anything up to $100m on Johnson which is essentially $25m per season. Sure there is a lot of posturing happening at this time of the year but generally speaking, free agents are signed to inflated salaries if they are moving away from their current teams. Its the price that teams pay for not losing any other trade capital except cap space.

Kuzma will get more than $20m so will Barnes, so will Johnson etc. Kuzma may actually be ccloser to $25+m per season than $20m.
 
The problem with all that is that in free agency, teams generally need to offer more than any other team out there. So setting a reasonable salary on any of those free agents, especially the restricted ones rules you our of the running before you even take the next step.

Nets are said to be comfortable in matching anything up to $100m on Johnson which is essentially $25m per season. Sure there is a lot of posturing happening at this time of the year but generally speaking, free agents are signed to inflated salaries if they are moving away from their current teams. Its the price that teams pay for not losing any other trade capital except cap space.

Kuzma will get more than $20m so will Barnes, so will Johnson etc. Kuzma may actually be ccloser to $25+m per season than $20m.
I was listening to a guy from Spotrac and he said they are now listing the percentage of the cap that each players contract uses. He was saying a 25 mil dollar a year salary might be 1/8 of the cap or something like that in a couple years
 
I'm in the "they haven't even seen our true form yet" camp!

Healthy Domas, healthy Fox and year two Keegan is gonna be NASTY... Not to mention another offseason learning from the CoTY.

I reckon the truth lies between my reawakened Homerism and your steady SLABian pessimism... but probably a moot point anyways. One doesn't free up this much cap just to run it back.
Yes and no.

Can only imagine the pressure on Monte. The league is built on the principle of "what have you done for me lately". There is a slew of COTYs who get fired within a couple of seasons of winning the awards and GMs who turn from darlings to nemesis. We had our Cinderella story. Now we need to take the next step. If we don't, or worse, fare worse than last year, the media and fans might turn pretty soon. We will also have a target on our back next year.

The risk of course is that Monte is forced to overpay for some player(s) to use the cap space. After trading the FRP, there is lots of pressure and expectation to not run it back. He also knows that this is the last chance to get a FA for the current version of the Kings. If he is unable to get the guy he has targeted, does he overpay other players in order to use the cap, and hope for trades later? Using the cap would be a smart move, overpaying, obviously not.

Easy for us armchair GMs to list our preferences, and the worth we assign to players. Let's see what we can land, particularly if the plan is to use part of the space to up Domas' salary, and bring back Lyles. We will need to get at least one more center (even if Neemias is ready to contribute), one starting PF/SF, and hopefully bring back Lyles. Given the requirements, the available space doesn't seem much (once we add up Domas' raise, Lyles' cap hold, and Neemias' QO, I guess we will have something like 20M to get a backup center, and a starting quality SF/PF). Sounds less in fact.
 
I could see us being a better team and still have fewer wins. The NBA is so full of talent right now that nearly every team could be competitive next year. There won’t be 4 easy wins in Houston next year.
There wasn’t 4 easy wins last year. Remember the controversial finish in Houston?

But there were 4 wins. And barring injuries I would expect the KINGS to win 3/4 this upcoming season if not all 4. Houston ain’t very good.

There’s a draft and FA period every single offseason. Yet not every team improves. And there will absolutely positively be 7 teams from the West in the lottery at the end of the season.

That said, I argued last season that the West was much deeper than the East and has been for a long while. Part of what made the West seem “down” in terms of teams not winning 50+ or 60+ games were all the games missed by the top stars of various teams. Between injuries and load management, it brought a bit more parity to the conference.
 
There wasn’t 4 easy wins last year. Remember the controversial finish in Houston?

But there were 4 wins. And barring injuries I would expect the KINGS to win 3/4 this upcoming season if not all 4. Houston ain’t very good.

There’s a draft and FA period every single offseason. Yet not every team improves. And there will absolutely positively be 7 teams from the West in the lottery at the end of the season.

That said, I argued last season that the West was much deeper than the East and has been for a long while. Part of what made the West seem “down” in terms of teams not winning 50+ or 60+ games were all the games missed by the top stars of various teams. Between injuries and load management, it brought a bit more parity to the conference.
Sure injuries and aging stars played a role but I still think the NBA is more talented and teams are better informed than ever before. Houston will be better this year we just don’t know how much. They have 50 mil they have to spend and their young talent should get better. Coaching appears to be upgraded as well.
 
I was listening to a guy from Spotrac and he said they are now listing the percentage of the cap that each players contract uses. He was saying a 25 mil dollar a year salary might be 1/8 of the cap or something like that in a couple years
I agree. I think people will have to start getting used to these new figures. People keep comparing numbers to players' 2nd contracts that they signed years ago, but it's because they were limited to how much they can get. With the cap continually going up every year, max figures start to look different. Just looking at Fox's current contract, it seems like a steal. He was paid around 30.3million last year, and was only the 47th highest paid player in the league.

Other NBA players who currently make between $23million to $28million include: Terry Rozier, Anfernee Simons, John Collins, Julius Randle, and Jalen Brunson.

$25mpy is a lot, and probably the max for Cam, but I think it might just end up as the going rate for high level role players who are quality starters that can shoot and play defense.
 
No Kuzma, No Jeremi Grant.
I rather Kings sign Barnes than Grant...Barnes is the better player overall imo.

Right now, I prefer Kings sign Cam Johnson if not Barnes...just to make the offense even more potent. I think maybe the Kings draft picks can help out with deficiency in defense. Cam Johnson for $25-30millions to pry away the NETS and HEAT offer. Yes, he's THAT GOOD!!!
 
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Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
I was listening to a guy from Spotrac and he said they are now listing the percentage of the cap that each players contract uses. He was saying a 25 mil dollar a year salary might be 1/8 of the cap or something like that in a couple years
Well, if $25M was 1/8 of the cap, then the cap would be $200M. Since the new CBA apparently has a smoothing mechanism to cap salary cap increases at 10% per year, the earliest the cap can possibly reach $200M (OK, $199M) is the '27-'28 season, 4 seasons away. And that's with max growth. The same percentage growth in cap that would be necessary to get to $200M has taken 7 years going backwards from today.

(BTW Sportrac has really quickly taken over as THE resource for salary/cap numbers, they're just killing it)