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

The_Jamal said:
The only interesting thing about this is we simply cannot go into the season looking like

Dennis || Russ || Monk
LaVine || Keon || Carter

in the back-court. SOME shoe has to drop there if we do sign Russ.

But we are the Kings so probably shouldn't rule out that being the plan
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Gonna be monk and if Carter is still here he’s gonna be in the Mateen Cleaves role as a second year lottery pick on a team winning 36 games… Kangz
 
The_Jamal said:
The only interesting thing about this is we simply cannot go into the season looking like

Dennis || Russ || Monk
LaVine || Keon || Carter

in the back-court. SOME shoe has to drop there if we do sign Russ.

But we are the Kings so probably shouldn't rule out that being the plan
Click to expand...

There is a shoe dropping, and it's going to happen whether the Kings like it or not considering the age of some of the Kings pieces.
 
Starting to sound like Westbrook to the Kings is happening.
I sure didn’t expect that but it will be interesting to see how that effects the rest of this offseason.
 
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jiimbob said:
Starting to sound like Westbrook to the Kings is happening.
I sure didn’t expect that but it will be interesting to see how that effects the rest of this offseason.
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If so we may have a core rotation that features Dennis Schroeder/Russell Westbrook/Zach Lavine/ Malik Monk/DeMar DeRozan. It's almost impossible to believe that one team would willingly have all these players on it at the same time.
 
The_Jamal said:
The only interesting thing about this is we simply cannot go into the season looking like

Dennis || Russ || Monk
LaVine || Keon || Carter

in the back-court. SOME shoe has to drop there if we do sign Russ.

But we are the Kings so probably shouldn't rule out that being the plan
Click to expand...

That's what's kind of scary. They're going to have to either not play or get rid of younger or better players for pennies on the dollar. It's completely nonsensical. Perry is really losing me here unless he pulls out some miraculous trade to alleviate the problem.
 
ESP47 said:
That's what's kind of scary. They're going to have to either not play or get rid of younger or better players for pennies on the dollar. It's completely nonsensical. Perry is really losing me here unless he pulls out some miraculous trade to alleviate the problem.
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Roster construction wise this only makes sense if Carter/Monk/DDR are heading out in some sort of Kuminga deal.

Dennis || Russ
LaVine || Keon
Keegan || Nique
Kuminga || IJ
Domas || Eubanks || Raynaud

That at least makes sense on paper.

In terms of judging Perry, the early signs are a pretty clear mixed bag. Nique/Raynaud/Cardwell are all excellent prospect bets for the capital used to get them, but going out and prioritizing Dennis Schroeder WITHOUT a clear plan to clear the current guards on the team is incredibly foolish. I don't buy the "cool market" excuse either; then don't make the problem 10x worse by adding a guy we clearly want to play 28+ MPG. And then further doubling down by adding another on-ball dominator like Russ. That also blocks 2 of our prospects from getting on the floor that we really need to pop (Keon and Carter).
 
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I don't think the team is interested in Russ until after it gets rid of Monk or Carter. If both wind up going out for Kuminga it makes some sense though not a lot.

I wish they weren't interested in him at all since we signed Schröder already.
 
The_Jamal said:
Roster construction wise this only makes sense if Carter/Monk/DDR are heading out in some sort of Kuminga deal.

Dennis || Russ
LaVine || Keon
Keegan || Nique
Kuminga || IJ
Domas || Eubanks || Raynaud

That at least makes sense on paper.

In terms of judging Perry, the early signs are a pretty clear mixed bag. Nique/Raynaud/Cardwell are all excellent prospect bets for the capital used to get them, but going out and prioritizing Dennis Schroeder WITHOUT a clear plan to clear the current guards on the team is incredibly foolish. I don't buy the "cool market" excuse either; then don't make the problem 10x worse by adding a guy we clearly want to play 28+ MPG. And then further doubling down by adding another on-ball dominator like Russ. That also blocks 2 of our prospects from getting on the floor that we really need to pop (Keon and Carter).
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Just... wtf is even going on here? Russ? WHY?! For what purpose? If Perry can move a couple of the Kings' bigger rotation pieces (like, say, DDR and Monk), then it makes a certain amount of sense in a squint-really-hard-to-see-the-logic sorta way, but what the hell is he giving Christie and co. to work with if he doesn't move anyone else in the Kings' current rotation? In what world, and on what team, will it ever make sense to roster all of LaVine/DeRozan/Westbrook/Monk/Schroder, especially with Keon and Carter needing (and deserving) minutes in the backcourt. It's just... madness, is what it is.
 
I see all the dennis Schroeder and Russ talk as Vivek being vivek trying to get the spent toy everyone had 2 have, just 3 years too late to still be worth it. These arent move you make if you want to A) win or B) develop your prospects.

Keon, carter, Nique and Raynaud need court time with Keegs and Sabonis. You need to get rid of Demar and Lavine even if you're only gonna win 25 games. Keep monk and if Sabonis cant be patient for a year or 2, move him too. Gotta flip the script by getting these guys court time.
 
Padrino said:
Just... wtf is even going on here? Russ? WHY?! For what purpose? If Perry can move a couple of the Kings' bigger rotation pieces (like, say, DDR and Monk), then it makes a certain amount of sense in a squint-really-hard-to-see-the-logic sorta way, but what the hell is he giving Christie and co. to work with if he doesn't move anyone else in the Kings' current rotation? In what world, and on what team, will it ever make sense to roster all of LaVine/DeRozan/Westbrook/Monk/Schroder, especially with Keon and Carter needing (and deserving) minutes in the backcourt. It's just... madness, is what it is.
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Russ sort of seems like a "Let's add Russ to make the fans happy!" and then they announce us signing him as a "former MVP, 13 time all-star" and whatever is career accolades are.

The only way to save this is if Kuminga comes back and that balances the roster build. Because I can't fathom someone being so stupid to add 2 ball-dominant PG's to a roster that was already fully stacked at the guard position and as you said, with 2 young guys that SHOULD be getting a significant role.
 
The_Jamal said:
Russ sort of seems like a "Let's add Russ to make the fans happy!" and then they announce us signing him as a "former MVP, 13 time all-star" and whatever is career accolades are.

The only way to save this is if Kuminga comes back and that balances the roster build. Because I can't fathom someone being so stupid to add 2 ball-dominant PG's to a roster that was already fully stacked at the guard position and as you said, with 2 young guys that SHOULD be getting a significant role.
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If that's the case, man, it's such a cynical thing to do, as if even the average fan won't see straight through it. Westbrook would instantly be the oldest player on the roster at 36. He won MVP eight years ago, which is an eternity in this league, and he hasn't made an All-NBA or All-Star team since 2020. He's still modestly productive, not especially efficient, and nobody's idea of a player that vaults you from lottery team to contender at this stage of his career.

Schroder and Westbrook are the kinds of guys you angle to sign if you're already a playoff team that needs a little extra help from veterans who've been there before. Signing one would be laudable if you thought it might give you the barest edge in a guaranteed 7-game first round series appearance. Signing both in the same off-season when you're nothing close to a playoff lock suggests a front office that is truly nowhere. And Perry just got here! Without a strong follow-up move that balances the roster even a little, it represents an absolutely muffed punt of this coming season and a stall tactic for a proper rebuild, because I can't imagine Domantas Sabonis has any interest in remaining on the Kings in his prime if this is how the new front office goes about "building a winning culture".
 
Padrino said:
If that's the case, man, it's such a cynical thing to do, as if even the average fan won't see straight through it. Westbrook would instantly be the oldest player on the roster at 36. He won MVP eight years ago, which is an eternity in this league, and he hasn't made an All-NBA or All-Star team since 2020. He's still modestly productive, not especially efficient, and nobody's idea of a player that vaults you from lottery team to contender at this stage of his career.

Schroder and Westbrook are the kinds of guys you angle to sign if you're already a playoff team that needs a little extra help from veterans who've been there before. Signing one would be laudable if you thought it might give you the barest edge in a guaranteed 7-game first round series appearance. Signing both in the same off-season when you're nothing close to a playoff lock suggests a front office that is truly nowhere. And Perry just got here! Without a strong follow-up move that balances the roster even a little, it represents an absolutely muffed punt of this coming season and a stall tactic for a proper rebuild, because I can't imagine Domantas Sabonis has any interest in remaining on the Kings in his prime if this is how the new front office goes about "building a winning culture".
Click to expand...

Perry just seems like that kind of guy though. "Let's bring in the WINNING ATTITUDE AND MOXY" of a guy like Russ. Regardless of what he actually is on the basketball floor right now.

And Sacramento media continues to let him off the hook because they want access. They ALL would frying Monte day in and day out if he followed this exact off-season to a T
 
The_Jamal said:
Perry just seems like that kind of guy though. "Let's bring in the WINNING ATTITUDE AND MOXY" of a guy like Russ. Regardless of what he actually is on the basketball floor right now.

And Sacramento media continues to let him off the hook because they want access. They ALL would frying Monte day in and day out if he followed this exact off-season to a T
Click to expand...

The Kings could literally have built one of the oldest teams in the league with these back to back offseasons. Insanity. Man, this is starting to look like it might indeed be a 8-10 year dig back out process. 2-3 to finally just give up and 3-4 to restock, then 3-4 to build. This has to be scripted and the Kings are the Sideshow Bob of the story.
 
The_Jamal said:
Perry just seems like that kind of guy though. "Let's bring in the WINNING ATTITUDE AND MOXY" of a guy like Russ. Regardless of what he actually is on the basketball floor right now.

And Sacramento media continues to let him off the hook because they want access. They ALL would frying Monte day in and day out if he followed this exact off-season to a T
Click to expand...

It's just one of those "be careful what you wish for" cliches, isn't it? Monte's gone, like many wanted, and now everybody's going to convince themselves that Perry is an improvement and these moves are more than they appear to be on the surface. And when they're followed up by further moves that position middling vets into the rotation that first-time head coach Doug Christie feels pressured to play due to the egos involved, we'll all convince ourselves of the team's "possible ceiling" and say, "Well, maybe they can pull it off!" We'll root for it to happen, knowing full well that it's a fool's errand in the West to place your faith in over the hill talent that depresses the growth of younger, more compelling talent further "down" the depth chart.

The worst part is, we've been here before. Many times before. And even I'm over here desperately hoping that the measure I've taken of Scott Perry is incorrect, and that he's biding his time or executing a stealth tank, and that he's not just another front office retread, hired without a proper GM search, for reasons that have nothing to do with basketball acumen, and that he's not as vapid as the motivational pablum he constantly spouts suggests, and that he doesn't look at a guy like Westbrook and see "the answer" to the Kings' culture issues. But I've been burned by Vivek's decision-making so many times before, and I'm just not inclined to give anybody involved the benefit of the doubt. So out go my hopes. I'll just wait on the disaster that's likely coming, and if I should be proven wrong, that will feel awfully nice, but for reasons far beyond my comprehension, some NBA fan bases just don't get to have nice things for very long.
 
Padrino said:
It's just one of those "be careful what you wish for" cliches, isn't it? Monte's gone, like many wanted, and now everybody's going to convince themselves that Perry is an improvement and these moves are more than they appear to be on the surface. And when they're followed up by further moves that position middling vets into the rotation that first-time head coach Doug Christie feels pressured to play due to the egos involved, we'll all convince ourselves of the team's "possible ceiling" and say, "Well, maybe they can pull it off!" We'll root for it to happen, knowing full well that it's a fool's errand in the West to place your faith in over the hill talent that depresses the growth of younger, more compelling talent further "down" the depth chart.

The worst part is, we've been here before. Many times before. And even I'm over here desperately hoping that the measure I've taken of Scott Perry is incorrect, and that he's biding his time or executing a stealth tank, and that he's not just another front office retread, hired without a proper GM search, for reasons that have nothing to do with basketball acumen, and that he's not as vapid as the motivational pablum he constantly spouts suggests, and that he doesn't look at a guy like Westbrook and see "the answer" to the Kings' culture issues. But I've been burned by Vivek's decision-making so many times before, and I'm just not inclined to give anybody involved the benefit of the doubt. So out go my hopes. I'll just wait on the disaster that's likely coming, and if I should be proven wrong, that will feel awfully nice, but for reasons far beyond my comprehension, some NBA fan bases just don't get to have nice things for very long.
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Yep. 100%.

Without the Nique and Maxime draft moves, I'd be fully down in the dumps. And I'm one that preaches long-term sample, so Perry does deserve time to put his stamp on this team.

I just don't have any sort of inkling he'll build any sort of sustained winner. We're far more likely to have another coach/GM combo in 2 years than Perry and Christie being here for a 2nd contract
 
The_Jamal said:
Yep. 100%.

Without the Nique and Maxime draft moves, I'd be fully down in the dumps. And I'm one that preaches long-term sample, so Perry does deserve time to put his stamp on this team.

I just don't have any sort of inkling he'll build any sort of sustained winner. We're far more likely to have another coach/GM combo in 2 years than Perry and Christie being here for a 2nd contract
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If this is with the idea of giving the young guys someone to look up to? Fine. I get it. Trading Carter to make room for a soon to be 37 year old is honestly so far below Vlade level it's not even funny. Dude came in chirping about defense and is about to roll out.... whatever the heck this would even be.
 
The_Jamal said:
Yep. 100%.

Without the Nique and Maxime draft moves, I'd be fully down in the dumps. And I'm one that preaches long-term sample, so Perry does deserve time to put his stamp on this team.

I just don't have any sort of inkling he'll build any sort of sustained winner. We're far more likely to have another coach/GM combo in 2 years than Perry and Christie being here for a 2nd contract
Click to expand...

Indeed. I've just seen or heard nothing at all from Scott Perry that suggests he possesses a clear vision for this team. It's the same old song and dance about defense and winning culture and guys that are bought in, but that's not a plan, that's not a vision, and we've been sold this bill of goods before. I mean, the Kings have been an unstable franchise that's allergic to defense for almost 20 years now, spanning two different ownership groups, two different arenas, numerous GMs and even more numerous head coaches, several star talents, wasted draft picks galore, 16 straight losing seasons, 1 purple laser beam, and enough buzz words and empty slogans to make every single TED Talk presenter of the last two decades cringe in second-hand embarrasment.

Truthfully, I admire the hell out of so many of the posters here at KF.com, but nobody has convinced me that Scott Perry is going to be the guy to break the cycle. His resume doesn't at all scream "Hire this man without engaging in a proper GM search!" He's got "relationships" around the league and he can schmooze with player agents? Great. Wonderful. But does he know anything at all about what impacts winning on the court in the modern NBA? That remains to be seen.

I'll give him time to develop a "long-term sample" if he wants to put an actual stamp on this team instead of cycling through a bunch of aging retreads, but I'm honestly just so sick of this:

SacTownKid said:
The Kings could literally have built one of the oldest teams in the league with these back to back offseasons. Insanity. Man, this is starting to look like it might indeed be a 8-10 year dig back out process. 2-3 to finally just give up and 3-4 to restock, then 3-4 to build. This has to be scripted and the Kings are the Sideshow Bob of the story.
Click to expand...

I'd like to skip the first five years of this bullsh*t, personally, so part of me is almost hoping that Domas demands a trade this season and Perry is forced to reset the whole damn thing. I don't know if I can stomach another 2-3 years of watching the Kings stumble along, refusing to do the obvious. It'd be different if I was confident in the front office's ability to construct a complementary roster around Domas and elevate the young, defensively-oriented talent already on the roster, but I do not have that confidence, at present.
 
Padrino said:
Indeed. I've just seen or heard nothing at all from Scott Perry that suggests he possesses a clear vision for this team. It's the same old song and dance about defense and winning culture and guys that are bought in, but that's not a plan, that's not a vision, and we've been sold this bill of goods before. I mean, the Kings have been an unstable franchise that's allergic to defense for almost 20 years now, spanning two different ownership groups, two different arenas, numerous GMs and even more numerous head coaches, several star talents, wasted draft picks galore, 16 straight losing seasons, 1 purple laser beam, and enough buzz words and empty slogans to make every single TED Talk presenter of the last two decades cringe in second-hand embarrasment.

Truthfully, I admire the hell out of so many of the posters here at KF.com, but nobody has convinced me that Scott Perry is going to be the guy to break the cycle. His resume doesn't at all scream "Hire this man without engaging in a proper GM search!" He's got "relationships" around the league and he can schmooze with player agents? Great. Wonderful. But does he know anything at all about what impacts winning on the court in the modern NBA? That remains to be seen.

I'll give him time to develop a "long-term sample" if he wants to put an actual stamp on this team instead of cycling through a bunch of aging retreads, but I'm honestly just so sick of this:



I'd like to skip the first five years of this bullsh*t, personally, so part of me is almost hoping that Domas demands a trade this season and Perry is forced to reset the whole damn thing. I don't know if I can stomach another 2-3 years of watching the Kings stumble along, refusing to do the obvious. It'd be different if I was confident in the front office's ability to construct a complementary roster around Domas and elevate the young, defensively-oriented talent already on the roster, but I do not have that confidence, at present.
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If the market was "truly cold" on all our vets, I actually would have just run the team back and put a priority on big roles for Keon/Keegan with Carter/IJ/Nique/Maxime getting real rotation minutes off the bench. If we "need a REAL PG", whatever that means, then just swap Monk for Dennis in the S&T. It's silly value, but a lack of a plan is just worse imo.

Keon
LaVine
DDR
Keegan
Domas

Monk
Carter
Nique
IJ
Maxime

If things go badly by the deadline, DDR likely becomes one of the most highly sought after "playoff push" guys for a contender that they can dump in the off-season. LaVine becomes a massive expiring. We probably You have 1000+ minutes for guys like Carter/IJ/Nique/Maxime and have a decently clear understanding of what trajectory is going forward. And you have a likely top 10 pick.
 
The_Jamal said:
If the market was "truly cold" on all our vets, I actually would have just run the team back and put a priority on big roles for Keon/Keegan with Carter/IJ/Nique/Maxime getting real rotation minutes off the bench. If we "need a REAL PG", whatever that means, then just swap Monk for Dennis in the S&T. It's silly value, but a lack of a plan is just worse imo.

Keon
LaVine
DDR
Keegan
Domas

Monk
Carter
Nique
IJ
Maxime

If things go badly by the deadline, DDR likely becomes one of the most highly sought after "playoff push" guys for a contender that they can dump in the off-season. LaVine becomes a massive expiring. We probably You have 1000+ minutes for guys like Carter/IJ/Nique/Maxime and have a decently clear understanding of what trajectory is going forward. And you have a likely top 10 pick.
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I definitely would have preferred "running it back" sans Schroder (at the full MLE) and Westbrook (if this becomes an actual signing), and with Jonas back in the fold (because he's productive and genuinely good for a laugh, if nothing else). But adding aging on-ball players to this roster is just silliness, especially while shedding size. It was already a tall order for Doug Christie to prioritize impact over ego in his rotations; now Perry is asking him to marginalize his best backcourt defenders even further? It's a bad joke.
 
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