Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Ah yes. A worse return than the infamous “had a better deal yesterday” Boogie trade. Ham is a genius.
Potential Free Agent/Trade/Sign Tracker, '25-'26 Season
- Thread starter twslam07
- Start date
This specific rumour could be seen on reddit before Ham said anything about it though.
I am not saying that we should trust reddit rumours now, but if ham didn't just get this from reddit, but really heard it from someone then it might be true, that there were discussions about these players.
Perry is probably doing a lot of phonecalls right now, so its normal that some of the subject matters of these get leaked, for one reason or another.
The good news is all these rumors are just that right now. We don't have to judge Perry until he pulls the trigger on a trade.
But hopefully, if these are "actual" leaks, thats its just opposing gms trying to pull a fast one on new sacramento kings regime. Because man, these are all awful trades
twslam07
All-Star
That matching contract better be the expiring McCollum. If it’s Murray, that’s really a non-starter.
I do think Sabonis has similar value to what Bane got (around 3-4 1sts), but the thing with Bane is that his game can fit on so many different teams; whereas, Sabonis it takes a more customized roster to maximize him (which artificially drives his value down).
But coming back to the trade, I do think Herb Jones is worth around 2 1sts and #7 is a pretty high 1st. That’s a pretty good start value wise. I’d probably ask for Missi to be thrown in to help makeup the value gap (and NOP probably wouldn’t be desperate to keep Missi since they’ll have Sabonis at C).
However, the main issue with the trade is that it doesn’t really fit the “win now” mandate. We’re trading a star talent for an elite role player and a pick that may or may not hit. Who’s is replacing the star role that will be left behind by Sabonis? Again, the value is close but it sort of seems like a “directionless” type of move.
On the flip side, does NOP really want to pair Zion with Sabonis? That frontcourt lacks spacing, size, length, and defense. I feel like NOP would prefer to keep Herb Jones in this scenario because that at least gives them an elite, DPOY candidate level defender who can help makeup for a Zion/Sabonis frontcourt. I feel like sending out Murphy makes more sense for NOP in this scenario (assuming they even think pairing Zion & Sabonis is a good idea which is a big question mark). Maybe a trade like this makes more sense for everyone…
Trey Murphy
Kelly Olynyk (expiring)
Yves Missi
#7
For
Domantas Sabonis
For NOP, they get their Zion/Sabonis pairing while keeping their elite defender at SF to help makeup for their lack of defense.
PG - Alvarado / Payton / Murray
SG - McCollum / Hawkins / Reeves
SF - Jones / Boston
PF - Zion / Matkovic
C - Sabonis
For SAC, they get a player who has a higher offensive ceiling than Herb in Murphy who could potentially fill that “star gap” left behind by Sabonis being sent out. Per 36 min, Murphy averaged (as a 24 year old)…
.598 TS%
21.8 PTS
4.5 FTA
3.7 AST
1.83 AST:TO
…also, #7 gives them another chance to fill the “star gap” void and Missi gives them a young C to fill out the rotation with Valanciunas.
PG - Ellis / Monk
SG - LaVine / Carter / Davis
SF - Murray / DeRozan
PF - Murphy / Olynyk
C - Valanciunas / Missi / Jones
That roster is far from complete as we’re still missing a true playmaker/passer/floor general, but maybe it’s the first step in the direction Perry wants to take.
For instance, let’s say we do the Monk for PJ Washington/Hardy deal and the DeRozan for Wiggins/#20 deal, we then would have…
PG - Ellis / Carter
SG - LaVine / Davis
SF - Murray / Wiggins
PF - Murphy / Washington / Olynyk
C - Valanciunas / Missi / Jones
Picks - #7 / #20 / #42
With LaVine becoming an expiring next offseason, we’d be in a very solid position to trade him for a big star PG (for example) to round out the rotation.
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If the Domas trade value is similar to Bane or M Bridges, Sac should deal him. Herb Jones, Keegan, Keon and Devin Carter and then a Laravia if we can retain him has the potential for an elite defensive squad. If this rumor is true or at least that is a basis for a deal, meaning Sac gets a bit more, I’d pull the trigger, but I’d want a bit more
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Im guessing New Orleans views Trey as an all star level talent so I doubt they would trade him in that deal plus they might see Missi as the perfect backup to Sabonis- a rim running athletic big. I’m not one that wants to trade Sabonis but if they did you could argue this deal gives them some options. Kings could take Maluach at 7 and all of a sudden with Devin Carter, Keon Ellis, Herb Jones, Keegan Murray and Maluach we have the potential to be a GREAT defense. Or, you package 7, a young player and a few more firsts and swing for a star type player. Again, this perspective is more what Perry could be thinking vs what I am.
twslam07
All-Star
Maybe they do view him as a “potential” all star talent, but Sabonis is already an all star/all nba talent. It really comes down to us sending out an all star/all nba talent and getting two swings at finding an all star (whether that’s Murphy being able to reach another level or us hitting on the 7th pick).
Herb and #7 only gives us one swing at an all star talent to fill the “star gap” created by sending Sabonis out, and that one swing will likely need at least a few years to even get to that all star level (which doesn’t fit Vivek’s “win now” mandate). I don’t think the direction makes a ton of sense looking at where our roster is at today and what Vivek wants to do.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Yeah, if it’s Murray’s contract coming back to us, the Pels need to be giving us the full Donovan Mitchell trade package of five picks and four swaps lol
twslam07
All-Star
The issue is how do you get the necessary star talent (in the short term) to put in between those guys to make it a formidable playoff team? The defense would obviously be fun to watch but who is scoring on the other end?
Usually it’s best to have your stars/potential stars in place before you start loading up on very impactful role players. That can easily make you a treadmill team.
And considering Vivek’s “win now” mandate, how are we going about replacing the star talent without relying on the draft? At that point, you’re likely relying on sending out heavy pick packages to get the player you want and you probably need two of those types of players (as I don’t think LaVine, DeRozan, or Monk are good enough to be a 1st or 2nd star on a top team).
Joshyjosh31
Starter
if we trade with NO and our savior Zion isn’t in the deal Perry better go into witness protection
Joshyjosh31
Starter
If CJ was the matching salary we’d be able to trade Monk for a center like Gafford or package him with Jonas to get RJ Barrett
NO wants young talent and picks for Murphy I doubt they turn around and trade him and a lottery pick for Sabonis
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Maybe Vivek would live with a team like that. Keegan next to Herb could take an offensive leap. I’m still a believer in Devin’s offensive potential. Even if that team wins 30 games for one season you now have a high draft pick with 3 potential number one pick talents in that draft. That could end up being a short overhaul. Again, Domas is one of my favorite players in the league but if he or Perry decides to move on I want defense. Haven’t had a good defensive team in Sac for nearly 20 years.
Joshyjosh31
Starter
With the 7th pick we’d have more assets to throw at Cleveland for Garland
twslam07
All-Star
That’s the thing though…I’m not sure that team is only winning 30 games. You have a lot of impactful players on that team which is why I mentioned it landing in “treadmill land.”
twslam07
All-Star
Again, the issue is finding two star level players.
LaVine is likely a 3rd option on a top tier team. I could see Garland being the 2nd best player on a top tier team but who else are we trading for to give us that 2nd guy that pairs with Garland? And how many assets did we have to send out for both Garland and this unknown star?
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Maybe but that team is not tapped out, almost everyone is young and you have all of your draft assets to still take a swing. A treadmill team imo would be full of vets and big contracts who have reached their collective ceiling.
Hopefully we have clarity on a direction by draft night
twslam07
All-Star
I mean are they young in terms of them still having ample time to develop into stars? Not really.
Towards the beginning of next season, Monk will be 27, Herb will be 27, Murray will be 25, Ellis will be 25, Laravia will be 24, and Carter will be 23. Carter’s probably the only one that could still develop into a “star.” Maybe you can throw Murray into that as well but I think the chances are very low at this point considering what we have seen thus far.
So you have a bunch of good, impactful NBA players in their prime/nearing their prime to help win games but no star talent to carry the team to the next level. That’s where treadmill comes into play.
And again, I have a hard time seeing Vivek allowing Sabonis to be traded for an elite role player and a mid lottery pick. At least if it’s Murphy & #7, you could justify it to Vivek and say that Murphy is on the upward trend and could become a star, but Jones doesn’t have that type of potential or trajectory.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
I wouldn’t be banking on one of those guys to be stars. You are building a team ready for a star and then you use one or two of them plus your draft picks to find that star. It’s going to be super hard to make the playoffs in the West. There might only be one bad team (the Jazz). The most likely scenerio is we are a lottery team next season. If you have a top ten selection in 26 plus all of your future firsts you can take a swing with an already built roster.
Joshyjosh31
Starter
Yup! If you land in the top 4 next year and the roster is Carter, Ellis, Keegan, jones and this years 7th pick you’re set up for a bright future
twslam07
All-Star
Again, you’d need to find 2 stars (not 1) in this scenario. 1 star is not going to lead us to being a top tier team. On the flip side, Sabonis + another star (I don’t consider LaVine to be at the necessary level) could be enough (depending on who that star is).
If we’re trading a star talent for a good role player and the 7th pick, we now need to find 2 stars (instead of just 1). That puts a lot of emphasis on hitting on that 7th pick and then using other assets to trade for a 2nd star. That’s why, at the very least, if you’re trading a star talent, you’d like to have multiple swings at replacing him.
Murphy + 7 at least gives you a couple swings so I can justify the move. Herb + 7 gives us only 1 swing.
And let’s keep in mind the odds of finding a star with a top 10 draft pick. It’d be one thing if we were drafting top 5, but when you have impactful players like we’d have, we’re probably closer to picking 10th which doesn’t have a very high % of yielding a star.
You'd be better off flipping Herb for assets and leaning into a rebuild at that point vs. taking him back on this roster, but then that contradicts Vivek’s “win now” mandate thus the conundrum.
Caccia
Starter
He is only 31, but played 20 and 34 games the past two seasons. He might as well be on a two-way contract for all the help he has provided Memphis and Washington. He also does not rank as a high-level passer.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Pacers don’t have two stars. The CBA is changing team building. It might end up being one big star and a bunch of pieces that fit. Star+23 point a game guy on elite efficiency (Lavine) defensive player of the year level wing (Herb ) Elite 3 and D plus guy (Keegan) and a defensive center has some potential.
I’m not arguing with you over Trey, if the Pels are willing to fork him over I’d be thrilled. I just don’t think they will
Joshyjosh31
Starter
We need to find two stars even if Sabonis is here
Padrino
All-Star
Pacers are in the East. It's significantly easier to accomplish a deep playoff run without multiple stars in the lesser conference. That said, I do agree that the CBA is going to dramatically change team-building. And I still maintain that, if you trade Domas, it's for a young player on the cusp of breaking out and multiple first rounders. I don't think the stated NOP package qualifies as value enough to justify the trade. I like Herb Jones a lot, but @The_Jamal is right; if you're acquiring Herb Jones, it should be to put him next to Domas.
twslam07
All-Star
Yes they do. They have Haliburton and Siakam. Both have made two All-NBA teams. And both are better than Lavine. Do you agree?
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