One scenario: No major trades soon

[CruzDude]

The one situation nobody is touching on is the possibility that GP may not pull the strings on any major trades relating to Martin. I think that is very real (but don't mortgage the house to make that bet!!) as I think we are finally starting to see what we have that maybe can take us to the next level next year.

GP has done fantastic so far, considering the economic climate. The Maloofs need to reduce costs and expenses just like everyone but they are not going to go "salary dumping" for the sake of expiring contracts. Big men who can play every day and defend better than average are a truly rare commodity. And there are no bigs in the draft who could start for any team right away.

So IMHO no big deal trades this month. Maybe some in summer but not in February.

 

[Merdiesel]

There is no reason to make a big trade right now.
We're not at all in contention and there is no chance we're landing a big time player this off season. We landed Vlade because we had something big brewing, that is not the case right now. Sure we got the baddest rookies on the planet right now but thats not enough to persuade an All-Star to sign with us just yet. Let these kids gel, give Martin a real shot, and lets see what happens. Hell each loss is a step closer to J Wall. Who knows.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I understand giving Martin the rest of the season to see how things sort out with Evans. Nocioni, on the other hand, I worry about. Yeah, he played well tonight, but when Cisco comes back and if we ever start Hawes and Thompson together again (pushing Donte or Omri to the bench), the minutes just aren't going to be there.

 

[ParniValjak]

While I would love to trade Martin for a star big, that might not be possible now so I might see some merit in keeping him until summer.

However, if we don't move Nocioni as like right now, he becomes another Kenny Thomas, aka Flexible Piece!

We need to get rid of Nocioni while he still has some value (though it is low). If we wait until summer he will become unmoveable.

 

[Sac.1989]

Very true, we need to get rid of a SF. There will be a huge log jam when cisco gets back

 

[Arkitect]

There is absolutely no reason why we should not trade both Noc and Martin right now. Both have as much value now as they are ever going to have going into the future, particularly Noc. When this team starts turning the corner towards playoffs/contention, those guys bring nothing to the table looking at the team as constructed. We have a starting PG/SG in Reke and a starting SF in either Omri or Donte. Noc and Martin are too good and make too much to be coming off the bench behind those guys. I think Beno is a good compliment to Reke and Cisco will be a good bench guy. Right there we have 6 guys to play the one thru three which compliment each other. More than enough. Martin and Noc should be traded as soon as possible because they are impeding the players that are our future. That said, with all of the movement and expiring contracts happening this summer, having those guys as trading pieces might not be so bad. Neither is probably going to drop in value much and may still land us that interior defender and post presence. Needless to say if we can get either picks,cap space, or a decent big man that fills one of our needs, GP should do it if possible. Frankly, I think picks might be the best thing for GP.

 

[Sptsjunkie]

Makes sense and the nice thing with Martin is that for all the "perceived trade value" talk, he is not an expiring contract. Not to mention we are not trying to win this year. Between those facts and the lack of quality bigs available, there is no reason for us to force a trade right now that does not make sense. I would LOVE to see us trade someone from our glut of swingmen (Noc in particular), but would not be disapointed if we don't trade K-Mart before the deadline.

 

[CruzDude]

Read every rumor from ESPN and half dozen other sites late sunday night and nuttin! nada! nope! nary a serious trade tidbit related to Kings. In fact, 80% seemed to be around Amare and 15% about Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls.

I think GP stays pat except for maybe a minor move/swap/2nd rounder stuff. Even then, just don't see anything. random thoughts:

K9 can help someone rest of year and is nice size expiring;

KMart isn't going anywhere this year;

Can Sean May step up and be consistently productive all the bench as a 4/5?

Can JT learn to use quick feet instead of hands/arms on defense?

Watch out for a very sneaky move by GP on Tuesday.

 

[Gary]

GP has done fantastic so far

eeehhhh.. In my eyes he's actually done kinda crappy all things considered (I am talking the last 4 years). Arguably we still lack a PG, defensive big, and a cohesive team that all play well together. It's basically like what we had last year at the end of the season plus Evans and Casspi...

 

[mac]

Can Sean May step up and be consistently productive all the bench as a 4/5?

At the buffet table yes. I think he can consistently hit long shots and rebound once in a while, but not a good enough post presence

Can JT learn to use quick feet instead of hands/arms on defense?

Probably not

 

[SacTownKid]

He needs to at least try and cut some salary this deadline, we're really close to having some significant room this summer, just need to move Nocioni! Otherwise, Kenny's off the books but it basically does nothing moving forward.

 

[ParniValjak]

He needs to at least try and cut some salary this deadline, we're really close to having some significant room this summer, just need to move Nocioni! Otherwise, Kenny's off the books but it basically does nothing moving forward.

Even if we can create enough room to offer a max contract to someone (in a sign and trade too), I don't think we will commit to anyone because of the uncertainty of the new CBA.

A lot of owners would be reluctant to commit long term $$ to FAs because of the uncertainty of the CBA. This is the reason I predict this summer being a bit of a fizzer as far as FA signings go for many teams.

 

[Kingster]

Read every rumor from ESPN and half dozen other sites late sunday night and nuttin! nada! nope! nary a serious trade tidbit related to Kings. In fact, 80% seemed to be around Amare and 15% about Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls.

I think GP stays pat except for maybe a minor move/swap/2nd rounder stuff. Even then, just don't see anything. random thoughts:

K9 can help someone rest of year and is nice size expiring;

KMart isn't going anywhere this year;

Can Sean May step up and be consistently productive all the bench as a 4/5?

Can JT learn to use quick feet instead of hands/arms on defense?

Watch out for a very sneaky move by GP on Tuesday.

It seems that with Garcia coming back Petrie is going to be forced into moving someone. Otherwise, he's really putting Westphal into a very tough situation with too many good wings sitting on the bench.

Regarding JT, he's really starting to look like a guy who no matter how long he practices the waltz will always step on his partner's foot. He's gone through four years of college and 1.5 years of pro ball and he still brings the ball down to his knees when he's in the lane. It seems that he doesn't have the body awareness or the coordination to become a consistently good player. You really wonder what he's thinking when he's out on the basketball floor. Maybe hypno-therapy would work.

 

[bajaden]

It seems that with Garcia coming back Petrie is going to be forced into moving someone. Otherwise, he's really putting Westphal into a very tough situation with too many good wings sitting on the bench.

Regarding JT, he's really starting to look like a guy who no matter how long he practices the waltz will always step on his partner's foot. He's gone through four years of college and 1.5 years of pro ball and he still brings the ball down to his knees when he's in the lane. It seems that he doesn't have the body awareness or the coordination to become a consistently good player. You really wonder what he's thinking when he's out on the basketball floor. Maybe hypno-therapy would work.

I think someone has to go. The team is just too cluttered right now. Westphal, for better or worse has to settle on something that resembles a starting lineup. Not reading anything about possible trades for the Kings means nothing. Petrie does his best to keep those things under wraps. I think something will happen. How big is anyone's guess.

 

[Smills91]

Nocioni needs to be the one gone. He's redundant, he's expensive and he's not necessary AT ALL.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I am absolutely fine with keeping Martin here past the deadline. Really give him enough time to settle in, evaluate that spot in the offseason and figure it out from there.

I do hope we do something though. Big or small, either one is fine with me .. We just need to make room for the Kids. Thats all I care about at this point. Give them minutes here in the second half of the season and I'll be happy.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I think someone has to go. The team is just too cluttered right now. Westphal, for better or worse has to settle on something that resembles a starting lineup. Not reading anything about possible trades for the Kings means nothing. Petrie does his best to keep those things under wraps. I think something will happen. How big is anyone's guess.

I imagine that even if there are teams looking at picking up Nocioni/KT/Beno, that we'll have to wait for the dust to settle on Amare and Iguodala and Jamison (and maybe even Murphy and Tyrus Thomas) before the Kings get any deals done. Once the big names either get moved or taken off the block, that's when the smaller-potatoes deals will start to go down.

My guess is that Nocioni will go to a contender for peanuts (Boston?) but that's just a hunch. Actually Boston would be tough because of cap issues and the fact that we don't have an empty roster slot...it appears that Noc/Hilton/May for Big Baby/Scalabrine/Tony Allen would work. If we waived Hilton Armstrong instead of trading him, it would allow Boston to change the names on their outgoing list to a small extent, but they'd still have to send 3 guys. (A Ray Allen deal would be a different beast, but I kind of doubt that.)

 

[Elektrik]

Read every rumor from ESPN and half dozen other sites late sunday night and nuttin! nada! nope! nary a serious trade tidbit related to Kings. In fact, 80% seemed to be around Amare and 15% about Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls.

It seems a little too quiet out there in Kingsland. Which is exactly why I think Petrie will make a substantial move. We should find out soon enough.

 

[rexb_kings]

I'm hoping something like Cwebb (Amare) for Richmond/Thorpe (Martin/K9) trade back in the day when we just drafted a young promising point guard Jason Williams (Evans). We also had a young sf back then Peja (Casspi)...that pretty much put the Kings into serious contention. Not sure who is Vlade's ( ____ ) equivalent right now though..

 

[Tetsujin]

I'm hoping something like Cwebb (Amare) for Richmond/Thorpe (Martin/K9) trade back in the day when we just drafted a young promising point guard Jason Williams (Evans). We also had a young sf back then Peja (Casspi)...that pretty much put the Kings into serious contention. Not sure who is Vlade's ( ____ ) equivalent right now though..

Spence has his Vlade passing moments

But since Reke is much much better than J-Will, if a trade like the C-Webb one happened, we'd suddenly rocket up the ranks quite a bit

 

[SacTownKid]

Even if we can create enough room to offer a max contract to someone (in a sign and trade too), I don't think we will commit to anyone because of the uncertainty of the new CBA.

A lot of owners would be reluctant to commit long term $$ to FAs because of the uncertainty of the CBA. This is the reason I predict this summer being a bit of a fizzer as far as FA signings go for many teams.

It's not about just signing someone outright. You could literally become a 3rd wheel to another deal and pick up a nice asset, or you could trade for someone else giving that team the chance to sign someone outright. More importantly you're not sitting on more aging vets with big contracts that are going to play behind a bunch of younger guys. Been there, done that.

 

[Superman]

I never expect to see a deadline deal by Petrie. Always prepared to see February come and go without any significant roster change ups. I think historically, he's always done his big deals in the summer. Had a couple of big midseason trades, like the Webber trade, Christie for Mobley, and maybe a couple others. But Hedo for Miller, Williams for Bibby, those were summertime deals.

 

[Sptsjunkie]

It seems a little too quiet out there in Kingsland. Which is exactly why I think Petrie will make a substantial move. We should find out soon enough.

I'm not sure this is true anymore. In the early stages of the internet, Petrie had a lot of deals come out of leftfield, because he was very good at keeping them quiet. However, I am not sure this is true anymore. When is the last deal for any team, Kings included, that we did not have some inkling about in advance. There are too many rumor sites now and these things get leaked. Maybe a small trade can slip through (e.g. Shelden and Bobby Brown for McCants), but I think the days of big trades happening out of nowhere are over. Unless we start hearing rumors soon, my guess is that nothing big happens, maybe a small deal sending Noc somewhere if we are lucky.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

I dont think anything will happen this week...I mean, one never knows what Geoff is doing when we see the light on in his office at 2am the night before the deadline, but I dont see anything serious happening. However, I could see him releasing someone or maybe a minor deal to create roster space.

 

[ParniValjak]

It's not about just signing someone outright. You could literally become a 3rd wheel to another deal and pick up a nice asset, or you could trade for someone else giving that team the chance to sign someone outright. More importantly you're not sitting on more aging vets with big contracts that are going to play behind a bunch of younger guys. Been there, done that.

But either way you are commiting to long term money which is something I cannot see the team doing until the new CBA is sorted. Thats why there has been interest in Murphy and Dalembert who are both expiring at the end of next year.

With the new CBA up in the air and no one has a remote idea of what it will look like when its said and done, I don't see many clubs committing to anyone long term either via FA or by trading for them. Thats why a lot of teams are looking for expirings or cheap talent unless they are gunning for the championship. Whether you sign someone or trade for them, they are still on your books which is why I think the teams would look to have the smallest payroll possible at the end of 2010-2011 season.

 

[bajaden]

But either way you are commiting to long term money which is something I cannot see the team doing until the new CBA is sorted. Thats why there has been interest in Murphy and Dalembert who are both expiring at the end of next year.

With the new CBA up in the air and no one has a remote idea of what it will look like when its said and done, I don't see many clubs committing to anyone long term either via FA or by trading for them. Thats why a lot of teams are looking for expirings or cheap talent unless they are gunning for the championship. Whether you sign someone or trade for them, they are still on your books which is why I think the teams would look to have the smallest payroll possible at the end of 2010-2011 season.

I agree with you to a certain extent. They do have to be careful about possibly putting themselves into a hole that doesn't even exist right now. Uncertainty always brings a certain amount of stagnation, whether it be basketball or the whole economy in general. On the other hand, you can't just stop the rebuild if you want to put fans in the seats. It would be foolish to pass up a good deal for a good young player. Especially if the players are economicaly equitable.

For instance, if you were to trade Martin for Okafor, there's not that much more risk involved. Okafor's contract runs for one more year than martin and he makes about 1.5 mil more than Martin in his last year. Both contracts will be affected by whatever changes that occur with the new agreement. We essentially wouldn't be taking on that much new salary. Now if you were to do that deal with KT involved, then the risk goes up because you are taking on new salary.

Almost all sucessful business men that make it big, have been risk takers to a certain extent. You just have to pick the risk...