Let Me Help You Out There Pete...

twslam07

All-Star
This thread isn’t intended to bash PDA for his moves thus far. This post is simply to give my thoughts on how I would proceed from here on out. Let’s get into it.


2013 Free Agency
Amnesty John Salmons
Sign Dorell Wright for 12 mil over 3 years
Sign Cole Aldrich for 3 mil over 3 years
Extend Demarcus Cousins to the max over 5 years

2013 Trade Period

Trade #1
Jason Thompson
Travis Outlaw

For

Shawn Marion

Why for the Mavericks?
Marion trade talks surfaced as they were trying to make room for Howard and/or Paul. Since Paul and Howard have chosen to go elsewhere it remains to be seen what plans Dallas has in store for Marion. They could simply let his contract expire next year or try and move him for a valuable piece. Thompson would be a nice piece to have for a rebuilding team. He comes with the price of Outlaw, but he only has two years left on his deal which isn’t too devastating. Thompson can be their young big off the bench and carve out a nice role with this rebuilding team.

Why for the Kings?
At this point the Kings have many PFs (Thompson, Patterson, Landry, and Hayes). We need to move at least one to help clear up the log jam. Marion would be our temporary SF for the year. He would bring defense, strength, and toughness. He’s not the shooter we’re looking for at SF, but again he is only temporary and will be providing cap relief next offseason. Plus we shed Outlaw’s contract!

Trade #2
Isaiah Thomas
Chuck Hayes
Two 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round picks

For

Charlie Villanueva

Why for the Pistons?
Pistons get a quality backup PG who can come off the bench and provide scoring. Knight and Thomas will be a good rotation at PG for years to come. They also get two 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round picks which they can use to add depth and youth to this rebuilding team. They do have to take on Hayes’ contract, but like Outlaw’s contract, he only has 2 years left on his deal.

Why for the Kings
This trade is simply to rid ourselves of Hayes’ contract and to have more cap room next offseason. We lose Thomas, but we have Vasquez, Fredette, and McCallum at PG to pick up the slack.

2013 Opening Day Roster
PG – Vasquez/Fredette/McCallum
SG – Thornton/McLemore
SF – Marion/Wright
PF – Patterson/Landry/Villanueva
C – Cousins/Aldrich

2014 Trade Deadline

Trade #3
Carl Landry
Jimmer Fredette

For

Marvin Williams

Why for the Jazz?
Marvin Williams is an expiring contract for the Jazz. He will be out the majority of the season recovering from his surgery. Although his expiring contract would be helpful in terms of signing free agents next year, they already have around 25 mil coming off the books because of trade they made with the Warriors. Landry would be a nice big off the bench for them considering the Jazz have bigs who are good at defending and rebounding (Favors and Kanter with Gobert in development). Landry would be able to come in and provide them with post scoring off the bench. With Kanter or Favors always next to him, it should help hide his weakness on the glass and defensive side of the ball. Fredette provides them with a young backup to Burke. He would also bring a large fan base to the Jazz considering he was loved while at BYU.

Why for the Kings?
The Kings lose Fredette, but they have Vasquez and McCallum to pick up any minutes he has left behind. Landry is not a good fit for this team because we don’t have any defensive bigs to pair him up with. The Kings rid themselves of these two guys for a decent SF who is coming off surgery. His contract expires next offseason which will give us more capspace for next offseason.

Trade #4
Marcus Thornton

For

Ben Gordon

Why for the Bobcats?
Gordon is an ending contract who is most likely not in the future plans of the Bobcats. By this time, Thornton would have had a little over a half season starting for the Kings and reestablishing himself as a good SG in the NBA by then. A guy like Vasquez should be able to get him some easy looks that should make him look better. Thornton would be a good piece for the Bobcats. He could eventually settle into a sixth man role behind Walker, Henderson, and Gilcrhist.

Why for the Kings?
The Kings cut ties with Thornton’s contract in order to have cap space next offseason. Also, with McLemore on the roster it makes losing Thornton a little more easier to swallow.

2014 Roster After the Trade Deadline
PG – Vasquez/McCallum
SG – McLemore/Wright
SF – Marion/Wright/Williams
PF – Patterson/Villanueva
C – Cousins/Aldrich

2014 NBA Draft
Now with this team, I’m fully expecting us to be in the lottery once again. That’s not necessarily a bad thing considering how strong this draft is. We could net a very good player that could play a crucial role for this team in the future.

2014 Free Agency
If we do not extend qualifying offers to Vasquez and Patterson, we will have a total payroll of 22.38 mil (Cousins, Wright, McLemore, & McCallum). That gives us about 36 mil in cap space! Let’s go to work!

PG
If PG is not addressed in the draft (Marcus Smart would be my first choice, but there are a few others that should be good PGs in this league), then we can look to free agency. There are a couple of
good free agent PGs available in 2014. John Wall and Kyle Lowry could be targets. I know Wall has come out and say that he thinks he is max contract talent, it’s likely if we offered him the max that Washington would match. I would be much more interested in going after Lowry who is a good shooter, defender, rebounder, passer, and ballhandler. I’m guessing he could be had for 6-8 mil a year.

SG
McLemore would most likely be our starting SG, but we should look to get a backup who can defend and hit threes. Thabo Sefolosha, Brandon Rush, and Jodie Meeks will all be unrestricted free agents in 2014.

SF
This is where we should look to go big with our money if we did not land one of the SF phenoms in the draft. There are plenty of good SFs available in 2014. George, Deng, Granger (if he proves he is good to go in the 13-14 season), and Turner would be on my shortlist. I would be very happy if we landed one of those guys. George is very unlikely considering the Pacers will probably give him the max. Turner is also a restricted free agent, but he isn’t thought of too highly by the Sixers. Deng and Granger would be unrestricted free agents so they might be easier to deal with. Some other SFs that I should note are Pierce, C. Butler, Ariza, M. Williams, World Peace, & Marion. They’re not as ideal as the first 4, but they would be able to contribute to our team.

PF
If we don’t get a shotblocking big in the draft, now is the time where we need to sign one. Favors, L. Sanders, E. Davis, and Udoh are all restricted free agents that year. We could make a run at a few of them and hope we land one of them. Favors and Sanders are highly thought of by the Jazz and Bucks so Udoh and Davis might be the way to go. Jordan Hill is an unrestricted free agent who I really like. He is big, long, athletic and can shoot, defend, rebound, and block shots. He’s everything we’re looking for next to Cousins yet he often gets overlooked. Okafor and Biderins will be unrestricted free agent as well so we can pursue them if some of the negotiations with the younger shotblockers don’t work out. As far as backup bigs go, we can look to sign Humphries who would be a good third big off the bench or resign Patterson who can stretch the floor for Cousins when he’s in.

C
I think we’re set here with Cousins and Aldrich. Maybe we can take a project center with our 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round pick and stow him away for a couple of years.

So that’s how I would go about fixing our situation. We could end up with a team like this:

PG – Lowry/McCallum
SG – McLemore/Meeks
SF – Deng/Wright
PF – Udoh/Hill
C – Cousins/Aldrich
*Include a 2014 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round pick

I think this a team that has the potential to go all the way. Lowry and Deng are good defenders and McLemore has the potential to be a good defender. Udoh, Hill, and Aldrich will protect the rim when they are in the game, and Lowry, McCallum, McLemore, Meeks, Deng, and Wright can all knock down threes which helps spread the floor for Cousins not to mention Udoh and Hill are both good jump shooters as well. There’s a lot to like about this team. Hopefully this is “the plan” our FO had in mind. :p
 
I dunno how much it affects your whole plan but dorell wright has already agreed to sign with the blazers for 2 yr/6mil
 
I dunno how much it affects your whole plan but dorell wright has already agreed to sign with the blazers for 2 yr/6mil

I checked yesterday morning and he wasn't signed, but thanks for the update. It doesn't affect it too much. In regards to my plan, we would still need to amnesty Salmons and sign a SF to 5 mil max, in order to allow enough cap room for the Thornton for Gordon trade. C. Brewer is still available. Can he be had for 5 mil a year? Possibly. Pietrus could be another stop gap SF for a year (obviously for much less than 5 mil). Not the rebounder you want at SF, but he has a decent game.
 
You put a lot of thought into your proposal and it looks really good. One other problem, though? We don't have any second round draft picks:

2014 first round draft pick to Cleveland
Sacramento's 1st round pick to Cleveland protected for selections 1-12 in 2014, 1-10 in 2015, 1-10 in 2016 or 1-10 in 2017; if Sacramento has not conveyed a 1st round pick to Cleveland by 2017, then Sacramento's 2017 2nd round pick to Cleveland protected for selections 56-60 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Cleveland will be extinguished) [Cleveland-Sacramento, 6/30/2011]

2014 second round draft pick to New York
Sacramento's 2014 2nd round pick to New York (via Boston) protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to New York will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento-Toronto, 2/19/2009 and then Boston-New York, 2/18/2010]

2014 second round draft pick to Toronto
Sacramento's 2014 2nd round pick to Toronto protected for selections 56-60 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Toronto will be extinguished) [Sacramento-Toronto, 7/16/2012]; Toronto may convey this pick to Phoenix (see Toronto Debits)

2015 second round draft pick to Boston
Sacramento's 2015 2nd round pick to Boston protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Boston will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento, 2/17/2009]

2016 second round draft pick to New Orleans
Sacramento's 2016 2nd round pick to New Orleans protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to New Orleans will be extinguished) [New Orleans-Sacramento, 1/11/2010]

2017 second round draft pick to Boston
Sacramento's 2017 2nd round pick to Boston protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Boston will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento, 2/24/2011]

From RealGM
 
Interesting take. I know you put a lot of work into it, but I got to say I share a somewhat different philosophy. I'll share my thoughts. I only agree with offering Aldrich a minimal deal. Cuz has not proved to be maxed yet. Why amnesty someone who is looking as your starting sf when we are not trying to add salary or win this offseason? IT and JT are two of the most underrated, likeable, hard working players on the team. Why would the Kings be looking to move a contract they just signed (although I wish the contract didn't exist)? Moving Thornton at the trade deadline might make sense after he has re-established value, but he might be your starting 2 guard if Ben isn't ready. Just my opinions from what I read, and I didn't bother to read to deep. Nevertheless, I don't pretend to know more than you and good analysis.
 
You put a lot of thought into your proposal and it looks really good. One other problem, though? We don't have any second round draft picks:

2014 first round draft pick to Cleveland
Sacramento's 1st round pick to Cleveland protected for selections 1-12 in 2014, 1-10 in 2015, 1-10 in 2016 or 1-10 in 2017; if Sacramento has not conveyed a 1st round pick to Cleveland by 2017, then Sacramento's 2017 2nd round pick to Cleveland protected for selections 56-60 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Cleveland will be extinguished) [Cleveland-Sacramento, 6/30/2011]

2014 second round draft pick to New York
Sacramento's 2014 2nd round pick to New York (via Boston) protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to New York will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento-Toronto, 2/19/2009 and then Boston-New York, 2/18/2010]

2014 second round draft pick to Toronto
Sacramento's 2014 2nd round pick to Toronto protected for selections 56-60 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Toronto will be extinguished) [Sacramento-Toronto, 7/16/2012]; Toronto may convey this pick to Phoenix (see Toronto Debits)

2015 second round draft pick to Boston
Sacramento's 2015 2nd round pick to Boston protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Boston will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento, 2/17/2009]

2016 second round draft pick to New Orleans
Sacramento's 2016 2nd round pick to New Orleans protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to New Orleans will be extinguished) [New Orleans-Sacramento, 1/11/2010]

2017 second round draft pick to Boston
Sacramento's 2017 2nd round pick to Boston protected for selections 31-55 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Sacramento's obligation to Boston will be extinguished) [Boston-Sacramento, 2/24/2011]

From RealGM

I was under the impression we received two 2nd round draft picks in the trade that brought Vasquez here.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9...s-pelicans-three-team-trade-according-sources
 
Cuz has not proved to be maxed yet.

The way I see it is that Cousins is a max level talent. At this point, he wants to sign a contract extension with us. I don't want to wait a year after another lottery season to see if he still feels the same way. I've always believed that this team will live or die by Cousins.

Why amnesty someone who is looking as your starting sf when we are not trying to add salary or win this offseason?

As I stated in my earlier reply, Salmons is amnestied to make room for Gordon's contract. He makes around 5 mil more than Thornton. If we keep Salmons, this trade is not possible.

IT and JT are two of the most underrated, likeable, hard working players on the team. Why would the Kings be looking to move a contract they just signed (although I wish the contract didn't exist)?

I like both Thomas and Thompson as bench options. I think they both can carve out nice roles on contending teams in the future. However, I use their value to shed some of the unwanted contracts we have (Outlaw and Thompson). I agree that the Kings will most likely not want to move a player they just signed for 4 years, but I'm banking on the fact that they will see what a dreadful fit he is by the time the trade deadline rolls around. Again, this scenario is not something I would expect them to do, but something I would do if I was making the calls.

Moving Thornton at the trade deadline might make sense after he has re-established value, but he might be your starting 2 guard if Ben isn't ready.

I agree with this. That is why I have Thornton in the starting role to begin the year. After/If we move Thornton, it's time for McLemore to step up and claim the starting spot. Their shouldn't be too much on his shoulders. We're only going to need him to hit open jumpers and play defense. We shouldn't rely on him as a go-to option just yet.
 
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