Marcus Thornton wants to stay here (Quotes)

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I got these from the postgame, I thought they deserved its own thread.

Marcus Thornton

On the return of Tyreke Evans
“He’s been playing great – tonight he had 24 (points) and 10 (assists). He’s still not all the way healthy so when we get him back to 100%, we’re going to be a dangerous team. So we’re just trying to bring this momentum into training camp and next season.”
When asked about the evolution of this team and what it could be
“Great – hopefully I’ll be here and have a full season with the guys. We’ll see from then. I’m looking for spectacular things next year though.”

I think this is more than "just saying the right thing". I think he really wants to stay here, which is good. He has been playing great and has fit in perfectly. We just need to get Dalembert on board and I'll be very happy.

 

[Kings Fan Gerard]

Nice to hear those words from Marcus. I hope Dally resigns as well.

 

[Spok22]

....and then the maloofs call off the move to anaheim and reveal that they were just kidding. hopefully dalembert decides to stick with the team also.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Can't we still sign him to an extension before the CBA expires?

 

[Gary]

Nice to hear those words from Marcus. I hope Dally resigns as well.

I don't think We will be able to sign them both. I would say if they had to choose then they would go with Thorton. He's the type of player that seems to play well with Evans (so far). Been really watchign them both closely since Evans has come back and I don't see the red flags I had mentioned a few days back (yet).

I still think we need to see a PG in here though in case things get rough. I still see full court pressure getting them into trouble when Thorton is starting with Evans so they do need options in case that happens in close games that are coming down to the wire.

 

[Bricklayer]

I don't think We will be able to sign them both. I would say if they had to choose then they would go with Thorton. He's the type of player that seems to play well with Evans (so far). Been really watchign them both closely since Evans has come back and I don't see the red flags I had mentioned a few days back (yet).

I still think we need to see a PG in here though in case things get rough. I still see full court pressure getting them into trouble when Thorton is starting with Evans so they do need options in case that happens in close games that are coming down to the wire.

We have the most cap room inthe entrei leageu, unless one of the deadline trades changed that. We can easily sign both guys if we want them.

 

[Section 101]

Can't we still sign him to an extension before the CBA expires?

No. His contract was too short. Plus an extension is limited to a % on the current deal.

 

[Section 101]

We have the most cap room inthe entrei leageu, unless one of the deadline trades changed that. We can easily sign both guys if we want them.

Cap room does not equal money in the bank.

 

[funkykingston]

If Dally and Thornton want to stay, the only real issue is not bidding against ourselves and overpaying drastically. I'd like to see both stay. Dalembert is a guy I've wanted in a Kings uni for a long time and I have been happy to see him really emerge of late. And Thornton was not a guy that I thought could be a building block. A bench sparkplug? Sure. But he's really impressed me and so far the early returns on a Buckets/Havoc backcourt are good. I feared a Martin/Evans-like issue but in fact Marcus has Tyreke playing MORE unselfishly than before. Beno is a perfect ship steadying guy if either of the other two is off his game and I love that 3 man rotation. Either keep Jeter or upgrade the "waterbug/speedster 3rd PG" spot and call it good.

This team has a ton of caproom, but I wouldn't be disappointed to see big chunks of it used to keep Dally and Thornton. I'm not even sure I'd outright sign any other team's FAs with the remainder. Looking at the draft prospects I love Kemba Walker and like Irving but I don't see either really being a great fit next to Tyreke and it's a waste to draft either as a backup. So Petrie could swing for the fences with a stretch 4 like Perry Jones or Donatas Motiejunas, hoping to get a great complimentary piece but that's not what I'd like to see.

What I'd like to see is the Kings win the lottery and then deal that top 3 pick for a veteran, using the additional caproom to accept a bigger salary in return. Something like what Boston did in getting Ray Allen for the pick that turned into Jeff Green.

The Kings need a veteran leader with more cache and game than Cisco. With that and resigning Dally and Thorton I'd call it a very successful offseason.

 

[rainmaker]

Money won't be an issue for either. We can simply match anything Thornton is offered. The only question with Dally is does he want to return. We're at about $33M right now, while paying Dally over $12M. Which would mean if we offerend Dally $10M per, and Thornton $6M per, we'd only cut into our capspace by about $4M, leaving ample room to sign a FA or two.

The people who think we don't have the money to sign both are looking at different numbers than I've seen for the last few years.

 

[ParniValjak]

Money won't be an issue for either. We can simply match anything Thornton is offered. The only question with Dally is does he want to return. We're at about $33M right now, while paying Dally over $12M. Which would mean if we offerend Dally $10M per, and Thornton $6M per, we'd only cut into our capspace by about $4M, leaving ample room to sign a FA or two.

The people who think we don't have the money to sign both are looking at different numbers than I've seen for the last few years.

I think what those people are dribbling about is that despite the caproom, Maloofs don't have the actual money to splash on anyone.

 

[bajaden]

Money won't be an issue for either. We can simply match anything Thornton is offered. The only question with Dally is does he want to return. We're at about $33M right now, while paying Dally over $12M. Which would mean if we offerend Dally $10M per, and Thornton $6M per, we'd only cut into our capspace by about $4M, leaving ample room to sign a FA or two.

The people who think we don't have the money to sign both are looking at different numbers than I've seen for the last few years.

I think this is about the thousandth time I've been over this. Come july 1st, not counting Dalembert, Thornton, and the non-guaranteed salaries of Jeter and Taylor, one being a team option, the Kings payroll will be at $27,652,772.00. If you want to retain both Jeter and Taylor, then it jumps up to 29.3 million. I'm assuming that the whole point of the new CBA is to lower salaries, and length of contracts. So guessing just exactly Dalembert and Thornton will be worth under the new CBA is anyone's guess. But if you use Perkins as a yardstick, he just signed an extension with the Thunder starting at 8.6 million a year.

Knee injury aside, I think Perkins, who is also younger than Dalembert is an equal comparison. They're stats are almost identical. Both are excellent defensive players. So I'm going to assume that the bidding would start somewhere around 8 to 9 mil for Dalembert. And I think somewhere around 4 mil is a good starting point for Thornton.

Lets remember. A lot of teams with money to spend shot their wad this last offseason. So the amount of teams willing to bid will be reduced. The bottom line is, that the Kings should be able to resign both Dalembert and Thornton, and still have significant money left over to either do a lopsided trade, or just plain sign a player, or two..

 

[Section 101]

I think this is about the thousandth time I've been over this. Come july 1st, not counting Dalembert, Thornton, and the non-guaranteed salaries of Jeter and Taylor, one being a team option, the Kings payroll will be at $27,652,772.00. If you want to retain both Jeter and Taylor, then it jumps up to 29.3 million. I'm assuming that the whole point of the new CBA is to lower salaries, and length of contracts. So guessing just exactly Dalembert and Thornton will be worth under the new CBA is anyone's guess. But if you use Perkins as a yardstick, he just signed an extension with the Thunder starting at 8.6 million a year.

Knee injury aside, I think Perkins, who is also younger than Dalembert is an equal comparison. They're stats are almost identical. Both are excellent defensive players. So I'm going to assume that the bidding would start somewhere around 8 to 9 mil for Dalembert. And I think somewhere around 4 mil is a good starting point for Thornton.

Lets remember. A lot of teams with money to spend shot their wad this last offseason. So the amount of teams willing to bid will be reduced. The bottom line is, that the Kings should be able to resign both Dalembert and Thornton, and still have significant money left over to either do a lopsided trade, or just plain sign a player, or two..

A couple of other points. Perkins is 3 years younger. Dalembert is hitting the 30 year old mark where you shouldnt be giving players max year (length) deals. Also, if the lockout does take out next year he will be 31 for the starting age.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think it may be unwise to be so eager to re-sign Dalembert. I think it's clear that both him and Cousins are not a good pair out on the court together, and I don't want things to end up being like the Mavs with Brendan Haywood.

 

[Jechtsphere]

Am I missing something because I thought Cousins and Dally have worked pretty well together all year.

 

[swisshh]

Cousins and Dally do work well together, but Philly showed Dally the money before and ended up regretting it. Even as useful as he has been, he hasn't been a consistent starter. I think the biggest challenge to signing him will be all the playoff teams offering him a deal. Miami and NY will give him whatever they have left.

 

[Bricklayer]

I think it may be unwise to be so eager to re-sign Dalembert. I think it's clear that both him and Cousins are not a good pair out on the court together, and I don't want things to end up being like the Mavs with Brendan Haywood.

Methinks you may need a little windex on the ole screen there.

Dalembert & Cousins have been extremely effective out there, and in fact down the stretch of the season after the Landry connundrum was cleaned up, and with Cousins of course getting stronger with experience, they have have been one of the better tandems in the whole league. That's not an exaggeration. Not Pau and Bynum perhaps, but when you start bouncing around the league there are few tandems you see out there that you just KNOW are going to win the day against ours at this point. Same basic structure as Okafor/West, Chandler/Dirk, Noah/Boozer etc., and big legs up on any of the many teams who only have one quality big (Houston, Boston, Miami, Milwaulkee etc.), or even none.

Post All Star break:

Cousins: 23gms 20strt 31.6min 14.3pts 9.3reb 4.1ast 1.4stl 1.0blk 4.2TO
Dalembt: 23gms 20strt 28.6min 11.0pts 10.4reb 0.9ast 0.5stl 1.3blk 2.4TO

Perfect? No of course not. Cousins in particular is young, sloppy, and possibly tiring down the stretch as many rookies do. But very few teams trot out side by side double double near 7 footers, and as DeMarcus matures the tandem could be as good as anybody's.

 

[captain bill]

Methinks you may need a little windex on the ole screen there.

Dalembert & Cousins have been extremely effective out there, and in fact down the stretch of the season after the Landry connundrum was cleaned up, and with Cousins of course getting stronger with experience, they have have been one of the better tandems in the whole league. That's not an exaggeration. Not Pau and Bynum perhaps, but when you start bouncing around the league there are few tandems you see out there that you just KNOW are going to win the day against ours at this point. Same basic structure as Okafor/West, Chandler/Dirk, Noah/Boozer etc., and big legs up on any of the many teams who only have one quality big (Houston, Boston, Miami, Milwaulkee etc.), or even none.

Post All Star break:

Cousins: 23gms 20strt 31.6min 14.3pts 9.3reb 4.1ast 1.4stl 1.0blk 4.2TO
Dalembt: 23gms 20strt 28.6min 11.0pts 10.4reb 0.9ast 0.5stl 1.3blk 2.4TO

Perfect? No of course not. Cousins in particular is young, sloppy, and possibly tiring down the stretch as many rookies do. But very few teams trot out side by side double double near 7 footers, and as DeMarcus matures the tandem could be as good as anybody's.

It seems to me that while the two of them haven't found great chemistry together necessarily, one always steps up when the other has an off game, so we can always count on reliable production out of our front court. Let Dally leave and DMC will become hugely exposed, and every time he has an off game, the Kings will suffer tremendously.

 

[uolj]

What I'd like to see is the Kings win the lottery and then deal that top 3 pick for a veteran, using the additional caproom to accept a bigger salary in return. Something like what Boston did in getting Ray Allen for the pick that turned into Jeff Green.

Perhaps I haven't read enough threads here lately, but I've wondered about this scenario. If you trade the pick for the veteran, who is actually out there? I've heard the names of the free agents, Kirilenko, Battier, Prince. But in the 10 seconds I've thought about it I can't think of better players that would be available via trade and worth a top draft pick.

(I'd also ask which draft picks would actually fit this team if we kept the pick, but I should probably scan the Personnel Moves forum a bit more first.)

 

[Glenn]

Perhaps I haven't read enough threads here lately, but I've wondered about this scenario. If you trade the pick for the veteran, who is actually out there? I've heard the names of the free agents, Kirilenko, Battier, Prince. But in the 10 seconds I've thought about it I can't think of better players that would be available via trade and worth a top draft pick.

(I'd also ask which draft picks would actually fit this team if we kept the pick, but I should probably scan the Personnel Moves forum a bit more first.)

Danny Granger was being shopped around. I doubt if you could get him with a draft pick.

As to other people thinking that Dally and Cuz aren't fitiing together, I'd like to read the reasons why anyone thinks that. I thought they were doing great. They certainly aren't stumbling all over each other and their games compliment each other's.

OK, a little addition. The PF/center position in the modern NBA is now being played mainly by PFs as the league seems to be getting smaller. We just happen to have gone in the other direction. Dally, no long game. Cuz can hit them. Dally can block; Cuz can't. There is more. They have two separate skill sets with Dally more valuable on the defensive end and Cuz more valuable on the offensive end. They seem to genuinely like each other beyond just normal team mate stuff. They pass to each other. Cuz a game ago or so even gave the ball to Dally to dunk it when he could have scored just as well.

I may be wrong but I kinda doubt it. I'd still like to hear evidence that two guys, both new comers to each other, aren't a good fit. Name a PF/center combo that is better. The one that comes to mind is Gasol and Bynum. Might be a coin flip next year. If you look at salaries, we are getting a bargain compared to the Lakers.

 

[mr. moustache]

Perhaps I haven't read enough threads here lately, but I've wondered about this scenario. If you trade the pick for the veteran, who is actually out there? I've heard the names of the free agents, Kirilenko, Battier, Prince. But in the 10 seconds I've thought about it I can't think of better players that would be available via trade and worth a top draft pick.

(I'd also ask which draft picks would actually fit this team if we kept the pick, but I should probably scan the Personnel Moves forum a bit more first.)

Wilson Chandler or Landry Fields come to mind as interesting young guys that might work at SF. I'm not trading a top pick for either of them, but we've got other assets.

 

[Bricklayer]

Perhaps I haven't read enough threads here lately, but I've wondered about this scenario. If you trade the pick for the veteran, who is actually out there? I've heard the names of the free agents, Kirilenko, Battier, Prince. But in the 10 seconds I've thought about it I can't think of better players that would be available via trade and worth a top draft pick.

(I'd also ask which draft picks would actually fit this team if we kept the pick, but I should probably scan the Personnel Moves forum a bit more first.)

Depends on the pick of course -- how high. But I think if you went that route you would be trying to pluck a strong player off of a team that knows it needs a new young star to halt a decline/take the next step. Wallace in Portland. Iggy in Philly. Al Horford (the pick +Jason) in Atlanta or soemthing like that.

the problem is that trading that for anybody worth it talentwise means adding a big salary, so you almost certinaly have to send some back the other way (spare $$ like Cisco or somesuch). And trading for anybody cheap enough runs the risk of your pcik turning out to be a far better player. My bigger problem with trading it right now is that I see the Reke/Thronton/Beno guard trio and the Cousins/Daly/JT big man trio as potentially very effective going forward. And with enough cap room, presumably, to go out and jsut sign one of the several nice fits for us as vet SFs, which position is it worth it to add another vet in if it costs you that pick? The pick himself will not really have a natural place to play given our rapidly solidifying rotations (and assuming a vet FA pickup at SF). But at least wiht a young guy you could brign them in with the goal of eventualy supplanting Beno, or JT, or Daly, or the vet SF or somecuh somewhere down the line. If you pick up another major vet player (wiht major vet $$) using that pick as bait however, well, you kind of need to play him immediately.

 

[funkykingston]

Depends on the pick of course -- how high. But I think if you went that route you would be trying to pluck a strong player off of a team that knows it needs a new young star to halt a decline/take the next step. Wallace in Portland. Iggy in Philly. Al Horford (the pick +Jason) in Atlanta or soemthing like that.

the problem is that trading that for anybody worth it talentwise means adding a big salary, so you almost certinaly have to send some back the other way (spare $$ like Cisco or somesuch). And trading for anybody cheap enough runs the risk of your pcik turning out to be a far better player. My bigger problem with trading it right now is that I see the Reke/Thronton/Beno guard trio and the Cousins/Daly/JT big man trio as potentially very effective going forward. And with enough cap room, presumably, to go out and jsut sign one of the several nice fits for us as vet SFs, which position is it worth it to add another vet in if it costs you that pick? The pick himself will not really have a natural place to play given our rapidly solidifying rotations (and assuming a vet FA pickup at SF). But at least wiht a young guy you could brign them in with the goal of eventualy supplanting Beno, or JT, or Daly, or the vet SF or somecuh somewhere down the line. If you pick up another major vet player (wiht major vet $$) using that pick as bait however, well, you kind of need to play him immediately.

The major reason to do a trade like this is because the Kings DON'T have to send back salary. Being under the cap they can take back money in a trade which works for teams looking to cut payroll, even at the cost of a good player.

Even if they resign Dalembert and Thorton (for say $9 mil and $6mil/year respectively) they'd still only be at a payroll of $42 million and that's including bringing back Jackson, Jeter, Taylor etc (even if they don't they'll need to sign similar guys to fill roster spots) and far below the current cap of $58 million.

In my mind dealing the pick plus either Casspi or Greene to get a guy like Danny Granger would be a coup and solidify the lineup.

But honestly I've been thinking about the trade route mostly because none of the guys available in free agency or in the draft appeal all that much to me, at least in terms of fitting with this young Kings team.

The only guys that I'd be looking at spending cash on this offseason would be short timers - vets that can help this young team grow. Shane Battier and Grant Hill would be great for that. Maybe a young swingman like Afflalo if the price was right.

But back on topic, I think the Kings should resign Thornton. And I DO think a deal like Cisco's is about what it would take. Just above MLE money. Because believe me, the rest of the league saw him put up numbers last year but what he's done since the Landry trade has upped his price considerably.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I figured he would. He's getting big minutes on a team that's on the rise and he's a big part of why they're on the rise. It's an ideal situation for a young player like him.