Potential Free Agent/Trade/Sign Tracker, '25-'26 Season

[serbiangoat]

What do you think of Ajay Mitchell? Theres certainly some real breakout candidate material there in the vein of FVV and some of our other longtime favorites

Mix of James Harden (not saying he's in that level but In terms of style of play on offense)and Kyle Anderson really good player I think they will keep him and let go one of there higher paid role players e.g Isaiah Joe. I think the best case scenario for the Kings is OKC get bounced by SAS and they are forced into making moves (if the Kings are trying to trade).

 

[The_Jamal]

I don’t think the Thunder would trade Ajay for 7 or even 7 and Minny’s 31. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep him and move Jdubb eventually. Seems like he is the real deal.

Possibly, but Ajay really does become a cap casualty of their 3 max guys by that point. Do they really move off Dubb to keep him? I wouldnt

And they have to "Keon" him this summer to make him a RFA, otherwise he's a UFA after next season. So if they choose him, that basically guarantees they can't keep Cason, McCain, Jaylin Williams, etc. And Dort and Ihart are basically already gone.

 

[The_Jamal]

Mix of James Harden (not saying he's in that level but In terms of style of play on offense)and Kyle Anderson really good player I think they will keep him and let go one of there higher paid role players e.g Isaiah Joe. I think the best case scenario for the Kings is OKC get bounced by SAS and they are forced into making moves (if the Kings are trying to trade).

Harden as the absolute ceiling was my first thought too. Similar developmental curve with him coming off the bench to start his career, incredibly productive, then ascends into a star on a new team

 

[ESP47]

What do you see the ceiling as for a Kings team with Acuff, in competition against OKC and SA? Not sure that any scenario that is being discussed, would make them a likely 2nd round playoff team

It's impossible to say because there can be so much turnover when you project a few years out. The Kings path to success is not a good one right now. Lets say Acuff turns into Brunson in a few years. We're still going to need either lottery luck + picking the right guy or one of the young guys on our roster to miraculously turn into a legit #2.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Possibly, but Ajay really does become a cap casualty of their 3 max guys by that point. Do they really move off Dubb to keep him? I wouldnt

And they have to "Keon" him this summer to make him a RFA, otherwise he's a UFA after next season. So if they choose him, that basically guarantees they can't keep Cason, McCain, Jaylin Williams, etc. And Dort and Ihart are basically already gone.

Yeh the only reason I could see them doing it is if they think they can sign Ajay to a team friendly deal and then move off of Jdubb so that they have more team building flexibility. They could get a ton of picks for him and they don’t need him to win given their record without him. I’m sure they hope to keep the big three in tact and then build depth through rookie scale contracts but the dollars are going to catch up to them eventually.

 

[The_Jamal]

Yeh the only reason I could see them doing it is if they think they can sign Ajay to a team friendly deal and then move off of Jdubb so that they have more team building flexibility. They could get a ton of picks for him and they don’t need him to win given their record without him. I’m sure they hope to keep the big three in tact and then build depth through rookie scale contracts but the dollars are going to catch up to them eventually.

Yeah, which is why I think theyre just going to keep flipping these guys before they get expensive. Flip Ajay now into a rookie scale Acuff before you have to pay Ajay $20+ Mil/season

 

[ESP47]

Crazy you've got a team like the Kings with almost no talent and a team like OKC that has so much talent that they have to just give it away because they can't afford to keep it all.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Crazy you've got a team like the Kings with almost no talent and a team like OKC that has so much talent that they have to just give it away because they can't afford to keep it all.

Stable successful organizations like the Spurs and Thunder, tend to elevate their players. Success has a knack for breeding more success. The Kings on the other hand...

 

[midtowner]

And the Spurs and Thunder own a significant portion of league draft picks over the next 5 years.

 

[SacTownKid]

Crazy you've got a team like the Kings with almost no talent and a team like OKC that has so much talent that they have to just give it away because they can't afford to keep it all.

It's amazing what happens when you take time to develop players and have a system in place to make them shine.

 

[ESP47]

It's amazing what happens when you take time to develop players and have a system in place to make them shine.

It also helps drafting 3 hall of famers over the course of a few years and flipping all of them for an insane amount of picks and talent.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

It also helps drafting 3 hall of famers over the course of a few years and flipping all of them for an insane amount of picks and talent.

They wouldn't have passed on Doncic

 

[Hoovtrain]

It also helps drafting 3 hall of famers over the course of a few years and flipping all of them for an insane amount of picks and talent.

Presti is the best in the biz. So
Jealous

 

[ockingsfan]

Stable successful organizations like the Spurs and Thunder, tend to elevate their players. Success has a knack for breeding more success. The Kings on the other hand...

The Spurs have won the lottery 3 times and each time they got a generational big man, Hall of Famers in David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Wemby. This last time, they followed up winning the Wemby lottery and then got two top 4 picks in successive drafts.

If the Kings would have got at least one of those #1 picks in those same years, I'm sure they would had drafted Robinson, Duncan, Wemby too. If the Kings had anywhere near the lotto "luck" that the Spurs have had over the years, I'm pretty confident they would had been a perennial playoff team if they won the lotto in the Robinson, Duncan or Wemby drafts. Maybe not championships, but a perennial playoff team with any of those 3. Success breeds success, so the whole outlook of the Kings franchise could have been much different, if we actually landed one of these generational, slam dunk #1 picks.

For those that bring up the Luka draft, he was not a consensus #1 sure fire franchise player, like Robinson, Duncan, Wemby were in their drafts.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

The Spurs have won the lottery 3 times and each time they got a generational big man, Hall of Famers in David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Wemby. This last time, they followed up winning the Wemby lottery and then got two top 4 picks in successive drafts.

If the Kings would have got at least one of those #1 picks in those same years, I'm sure they would had drafted Robinson, Duncan, Wemby too. If the Kings had anywhere near the lotto "luck" that the Spurs have had over the years, I'm pretty confident they would had been a perennial playoff team if they won the lotto in the Robinson, Duncan or Wemby drafts. Maybe not championships, but a perennial playoff team with any of those 3. Success breeds success, so the whole outlook of the Kings franchise could have been much different, if we actually landed one of these generational, slam dunk #1 picks.

For those that bring up the Luka draft, he was not a consensus #1 sure fire franchise player, like Robinson, Duncan, Wemby were in their drafts.

They had a chance to turn things around and picked Marvin Bagley....and then followed it later by trading their steal draft pick in Haliburton. The ownership and management has nothing to complain about but themselves. You don't really think that if the Kings organization, with the way that it's run, was just a little more lucky, that they would be a championship team? or do you?

 

[The_Jamal]

They had a chance to turn things around and picked Marvin Bagley....and then followed it later by trading their steal draft pick in Haliburton. The ownership and management has nothing to complain about but themselves. You don't really think that if the Kings organization, with the way that it's run, was just a little more lucky, that they would be a championship team? or do you?

If they lucked into the #1 pick in the Duncan/Robinson/Wemby drafts... yes I do.

We are not a good org by any means of the imagination. But having the ability to draft the truly generational guys makes up for that in spades.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

If they lucked into the #1 pick in the Duncan/Robinson/Wemby drafts... yes I do.

We are not a good org by any means of the imagination. But having the ability to draft the truly generational guys makes up for that in spades.

So a Ranadive/Divac led organization lands a Tim Duncan and that makes them a championship team? That's quite a stretch

 

[serbiangoat]

For me the offseason targets that are not big names currently I would target this offseason

1. Payton Watson ( I would trade the 7th pick for him in a sign and trade) has amazing two way potential , arguably the best shot blocking wing in the NBA on top of it and when Jokic and Murray went down went off and led the Nuggets to a respectable record. Nuggets have to make moves to keep him and might value the 7th pick more

2 Ajay ( read above) while I don't think he will be Harden he will be so where between Harden and Kyle Anderson , excellent 2 way unselfish player

3. Asa Newell, I think this guy can be everything we wanted Bagley to be he's. A old school type 4 with 3pt shooting and shot blocking and can imo stay with wings, Packages with ATL I would try get some packages with them like a Dyson/Rishceer package or Kuminga, while Rishseer is not #1 pick worthy i don't see why eventually he can't have a Keegan Murray type arc

4. Any packages with OKC for Mcain, Wallace and Topic and throw in Andrew Wiggins

5. Jalen Suggs , injury risk are real but as a culture shift he's what you need and the fact the Magic need offense and probably want Anthony Black more imo (LaVine or Hunter or Monk for Suggs) he's basically a way overpaid younger Alex Caruso and if you get him you can freely move Devin Carter as a asset

6. Sign Isaac Bongo on the cheap to replace Ellis but as a 3/4

 

[dude12]

Trading our pick for any vet just isn’t the right move. Yes, some of the players being talked about are good but, for what, to cut corners on a rebuild and try and speed up the process? Seems this is what Sac has always tried to do.
Take your PG draft pick. If he develops into a borderline all-star or all-star like Haliburton, then you have that guy on a rookie deal and can actually build a long term sustainable winner. Whether the org can do this or not, that’s a different question but the correct move is to take the pick

 

[The_Jamal]

So a Ranadive/Divac led organization lands a Tim Duncan and that makes them a championship team? That's quite a stretch

Prime Duncan could have you me, SLAB and Tetsu as his running mates and he'd still put us in the playoffs.

Probably don't have the same level of success the Spurs did, but I think if we had Duncan his whole career, we do get a title at some point. Top 10 players of all-time tend to do that, no matter how poor your org is.

 

[hrdboild]

They had a chance to turn things around and picked Marvin Bagley....and then followed it later by trading their steal draft pick in Haliburton. The ownership and management has nothing to complain about but themselves. You don't really think that if the Kings organization, with the way that it's run, was just a little more lucky, that they would be a championship team? or do you?

If Hali were picked first overall, he wouldn't have been traded. That's what winning the lottery gets you -- the chance to cherry pick a franchise guy and sell your fans on a brighter future. It doesn't always work out that way, but lottery luck does frequently have a big impact on winning in the NBA. No arguments about Vlade blowing it with Bagley though. We had a chance to get our franchise guy then and there and didn't.

As regards the Spurs, imagine if the 2023 and 2024 drafts were reversed. Wemby goes to Atlanta and San Antonio tanks to get Zaccharie Risacher. The Spurs would still be struggling to get out of the basement and the Hawks would be knocking on the door of the NBA Finals right now. It's not just winning the lottery that matters -- it's winning it at the right time. Which, again, makes that Bagley pick look even worse.

 

[KainLear]

 

[KainLear]

 

[Warhawk]

It's not just winning the lottery that matters -- it's winning it at the right time.

I've been told that you just have to have a top pick for a couple years in a row and you're essentially guaranteed to be great again. What is this heresy you're talking?

 

[The_Jamal]

I've been told that you just have to have a top pick for a couple years in a row and you're essentially guaranteed to be great again. What is this heresy you're talking?

Not really. The "other side" argument is that you have a much greater chance at finding a franchise player with a top 5 pick than with 6+. Of course you need the right development and some luck involved, but its completly true. Also doesn't mean you cant find a franchise player at 7, its just less likely.

Or another way to put it. I give a team the 3rd overall pick for 5 straight years and I give another team the 7th pick for 5 straight years. What team would you bet on being better in year 6?

 

[serbiangoat]

Not really. The "other side" argument is that you have a much greater chance at finding a franchise player with a top 5 pick than with 6+. Of course you need the right development and some luck involved, but its completly true. Also doesn't mean you cant find a franchise player at 7, its just less likely.

Or another way to put it. I give a team the 3rd overall pick for 5 straight years and I give another team the 7th pick for 5 straight years. What team would you bet on being better in year 6?

Whichever one is not the Kings I'm betting on.

 

[SacTownKid]

Trading our pick for any vet just isn’t the right move. Yes, some of the players being talked about are good but, for what, to cut corners on a rebuild and try and speed up the process? Seems this is what Sac has always tried to do.
Take your PG draft pick. If he develops into a borderline all-star or all-star like Haliburton, then you have that guy on a rookie deal and can actually build a long term sustainable winner. Whether the org can do this or not, that’s a different question but the correct move is to take the pick

If they were on rookie contracts then it's not bad, but yeah, this is the problem trading for anyone that needs to be paid now unless they are a star. Barrett and Kuminga were in the same breath in that sense. The team wouldn't have any assessment time and could end up with another Schroder before they've even started to clean the cap where it needs cleaning.

 

[SacTownKid]

Not really. The "other side" argument is that you have a much greater chance at finding a franchise player with a top 5 pick than with 6+. Of course you need the right development and some luck involved, but its completly true. Also doesn't mean you cant find a franchise player at 7, its just less likely.

Or another way to put it. I give a team the 3rd overall pick for 5 straight years and I give another team the 7th pick for 5 straight years. What team would you bet on being better in year 6?

Yeah, especially in consensus drafts. The sole reason the Kings haven't been totally ick the last few years is the Kings have just let general opinion guide their selections rather than seeing something in someone hardly anybody else does and reaching. Yeah, might not find that diamond in the rough type but they also don't come up completely empty like they did for years.

 

[Warhawk]

Not really. The "other side" argument is that you have a much greater chance at finding a franchise player with a top 5 pick than with 6+. Of course you need the right development and some luck involved, but its completly true. Also doesn't mean you cant find a franchise player at 7, its just less likely.

Or another way to put it. I give a team the 3rd overall pick for 5 straight years and I give another team the 7th pick for 5 straight years. What team would you bet on being better in year 6?

Sure. But it also depends on the drafts, who is drafting, whether they can develop talent, and if they decide to take players like Pervis and Bagley with the best draft positions we've ever had rather than better players.

It's a numbers game, but it is also a crapshoot.

And any statements like "all you need to be great is some top 5 picks" is a bunch of hooey. The Sacramento Kings are living proof of that.

 

[The_Jamal]

Sure. But it also depends on the drafts, who is drafting, whether they can develop talent, and if they decide to take players like Pervis and Bagley with the best draft positions we've ever had rather than better players.

It's a numbers game, but it is also a crapshoot.

And any statements like "all you need to be great is some top 5 picks" is a bunch of hooey. The Sacramento Kings are living proof of that.

No one is saying that. Again, it's "Top 5 picks give you a better chance for a franchise player" Unequivocally true.