Potential Free agent/trade/sign tracker
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
- Start date
let’s assume for the sake of argument that Keon is an 8-12 point a game player who shoots 37 percent or above from 3 and plays elite level defense. How does that change what we need as an eventual upgrade at the wing? Do we just need a big wing version of Keon (low volume good shooting elite defense)? Or is our current top ten defense sustainable/good enough and instead should seek out another bucket getter who can create his own shot. A Monk departure would change the calculus for sure.
First, I think there's a good chance that Monk departs in freeagency. The most the Kings can offer is 17.4 mil. At least that's the figure I've seen bandied about. That's a lot of money, but for a player that's the 6th man of the year, not exceptional. When you have a team like the Magic who will have a ton of cap space, and the need of a good starting SG, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them offer Monk more than the Kings. But we'll see!
If Ellis can sustain what he's doing right now, I don't have a problem with him becoming our starting SG. He, along with Fox and Murray have made the Kings starting unit an above average defensive unit. The upgrade I would like to see is at the PF position. Not to replace Keegan, but to move him to the SF position while filling the PF position with someone who has more length and the ability to help defend the basket, as well as being able to space the floor.
I realize that those kind of players don't grow on trees, and not having a 1st rd pick this year, means finding one in the draft, at least one that's ready to contribute right away is unlikely! That means if it can be done, it will have to be done through free agency or trade. I also think the team needs a better backup center, and I have one in mind that I think would fit perfectly on the team. And according to the websites I've been to, he's going to be a unrestricted free agent. I'm referring to Kelly Olynyk!
His game is very similar to Sabonis, with Olynyk being a better 3pt shooter. He's a good passer, decent to good rebounder and a better rim protector than one might think. Mainly, he knows how to play the game. You could run the same system with him on the floor as when Sabonis is on the floor. It's not a dazzling move, but it's a move that could have a bigger impact than most would think. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth!!
If Ellis can sustain what he's doing right now, I don't have a problem with him becoming our starting SG. He, along with Fox and Murray have made the Kings starting unit an above average defensive unit. The upgrade I would like to see is at the PF position. Not to replace Keegan, but to move him to the SF position while filling the PF position with someone who has more length and the ability to help defend the basket, as well as being able to space the floor.
I realize that those kind of players don't grow on trees, and not having a 1st rd pick this year, means finding one in the draft, at least one that's ready to contribute right away is unlikely! That means if it can be done, it will have to be done through free agency or trade. I also think the team needs a better backup center, and I have one in mind that I think would fit perfectly on the team. And according to the websites I've been to, he's going to be a unrestricted free agent. I'm referring to Kelly Olynyk!
His game is very similar to Sabonis, with Olynyk being a better 3pt shooter. He's a good passer, decent to good rebounder and a better rim protector than one might think. Mainly, he knows how to play the game. You could run the same system with him on the floor as when Sabonis is on the floor. It's not a dazzling move, but it's a move that could have a bigger impact than most would think. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth!!
Arrrgh, I should have checked another website. Basketball reference apparently hasn't updated it's site yet. Well too bad, Olynyk would have been a nice fit. If all you're looking for is a scorer, there will be quite a few in the 2nd round of this draft. Almost all are Seniors, some 5 year Seniors. Guys like Cam Spencer from UConn, who is a willing defender. I love both Dillon Jones and Cam Jones (no relationship) but I think both will end up going in the 1st rd. I'd be willing to take a flyer on Tucker DeVries from Drake. He's a smart player who shoots around 37% from three, a lot of which are off the dribble. He's over 40% on catch and shoots. He's a solid defender averaging over 1.5 steals and is a very good passer. Anyway, he's a player that could likely be there when we pick.
If that's the case with Keon, then I'd be okay with running Cam Johnson alongside Keegan Murray as the two forwards. Both help space the floor.
- Fox, Ellis, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
My absolute preference though, since you asked [
], would be for the Kings FO to find a way to trade for Herbert Jones + Cam Johnson while keeping Fox, Sabonis, Keegan and Huerter. Then the options become a lot better. Herb is like a longer version of Keon, so Herb can be used either at SF or SG.
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Keegan, Sabonis
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Johnson, Sabonis
- Fox, Herb, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
And if they can keep Ellis and Monk in addition to these 6 guys, that would be great.
- Fox, Ellis, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
My absolute preference though, since you asked [
], would be for the Kings FO to find a way to trade for Herbert Jones + Cam Johnson while keeping Fox, Sabonis, Keegan and Huerter. Then the options become a lot better. Herb is like a longer version of Keon, so Herb can be used either at SF or SG.- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Keegan, Sabonis
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Johnson, Sabonis
- Fox, Herb, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
And if they can keep Ellis and Monk in addition to these 6 guys, that would be great.
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If that's the case with Keon, then I'd be okay with running Cam Johnson alongside Keegan Murray as the two forwards. Both help space the floor.
- Fox, Ellis, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
My absolute preference though, since you asked [], would be for the Kings FO to find a way to trade for Herbert Jones + Cam Johnson while keeping Fox, Sabonis, Keegan and Huerter. Then the options become a lot better. Herb is like a longer version of Keon, so Herb can be used either at SF or SG.
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Keegan, Sabonis
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Johnson, Sabonis
- Fox, Herb, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
And if they can keep Ellis and Monk in addition to these 6 guys, that would be great.
- Fox, Ellis, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
My absolute preference though, since you asked [
], would be for the Kings FO to find a way to trade for Herbert Jones + Cam Johnson while keeping Fox, Sabonis, Keegan and Huerter. Then the options become a lot better. Herb is like a longer version of Keon, so Herb can be used either at SF or SG.- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Keegan, Sabonis
- Fox, Huerter, Herb, Johnson, Sabonis
- Fox, Herb, Keegan, Johnson, Sabonis
And if they can keep Ellis and Monk in addition to these 6 guys, that would be great.
I think it makes more sense to target guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Jonathan Isaac, and Jerami Grant while at the same time holding onto our future 1sts. That’s important because we don’t yet know if Murray will become that 3rd star we need to ultimately become a championship contender. Having those extra picks could allow us to assemble a trade package for a star down the road (in the case that Murray plateaus).
Considering we’re flirting with missing the playoffs now, it had me thinking about trades knowing we’d have our 2024 1st. I landed on the following trade as a good option for all parties…
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POR Gets: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, & 2024 SAC 1st (#13 or # 14)
POR Gives: Jerami Grant & 2024 CHA 2nd (#33)
PG - Henderson / Brogdon / Banton
SG - Simons / Thybulle / Rupert
SF - Sharpe / Huerter / Walker
PF - Barnes / Murray / Camara
C - Ayton / Williams / Reath
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SAC Gets: Jerami Grant & 2024 CHA 2nd (#33)
SAC Gives: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, & 2024 SAC 1st (#13 or # 14)
PG - Fox / Mitchell
SG - Ellis / Monk* / Jones / Duarte
SF - Murray / Vezenkov / Edwards*
PF - Grant / Lyles
C - Sabonis / Len*
* resigned
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I think it’s pretty straight forward why POR would do this trade. They move a vet that helps them win now (thus making their own 1sts more valuable) and clear a lot of long term salary. In exchange, they get to upgrade the 33rd pick to the 13th or 14th pick to help their rebuild. Barnes could also fill that veteran mentor role for their young guys while both Barnes and Huerter can help spread the floor for guys like Henderson, Sharpe, etc.
From the Kings perspective, it’s apparent that the Kings need another go-to scorer to go along with Fox and Monk if we ever want to have a chance at becoming a contender. We’re hopeful that Murray can grow into that type of player but he’s not there yet. Grant gives the Kings that 3rd go-to scorer making it that much more difficult for teams to defend us. This also pushes Murray and Sabonis into the secondary scoring roles (which seems like a more natural fit vs. us hoping/expecting they’re going to be a guy you can dump the ball to and have them go get you a bucket).
Not only is Grant an efficient go-to option, but he’s not that ball dominant and his usage isn’t very high for a 20+ point scorer (.259 this year and .228 last year while Lillard was on the team) which still gives some space for Murray to grow offensively and still allows Sabonis to play that facilitator role (which is ideal for his skillset).
Floor spacing would still be great since Grant is an equivalent shooter to Barnes (if not a bit better). That’s crucial to prevent teams from packing the paint on Fox and Sabonis.
Defensively, Grant has much better length than Barnes (something the Kings desperately need). Grant has a 8’11” standing reach (5.5” longer than Barnes) and a 7’2.75” wingspan (3.5” longer than Barnes) which would be a breath of fresh air and allow us to better matchup with teams who have bigger PFs. Additionally, I just have Grant as the better overall defender when compared to Barnes and Grant has much more of a presence when protecting the rim/paint. And although Grant’s defensive impact has declined over time with the rise of his offense impact, I’d bet that late in the 4th quarter and/or in the playoffs, we could easily see Grant lock in even more on that end of the floor (similar to how Fox approaches defense a lot of the time). It’s similar to saying would you rather have a player that plays above average defense all season long and in the playoffs or would you rather have a player who plays average defense all season long but plays elite defense in the playoffs? I’d prefer the latter since that team’s ceiling is ultimately higher. I think Grant has that type of defensive potential where he can turn it on when the stakes are high and help us lockdown opposing teams.
In addition to Grant, we also get an early 2nd which gives McNair another swing at finding a cheap rotational player.
The other thing to consider is that this team doesn’t really hamstring our ability to trade future picks. If we miss the playoffs this year, the 2024 pick would be sent to POR and our 2025 pick would likely convey to ATL (since our roster would be improved and the protection lowers to only Top 12). That means during the 2025 off-season, we could have all of our future picks available to trade while still having the following players under contract:
PG - Fox / Monk*
SG - Ellis / Jones
SF - Murray / Edwards*
PF - Grant / Vezenkov
C - Sabonis / Len*
2024 Picks - CHA 2nd / SAC 2nd
2025 Picks - POR 2nd / SAC 2nd
*assuming we resigned them in the 2024 off-season
That’s a stronger core than we have now while at the same time having all of our future picks still freed up for future trades (if needed).
Obviously, I still want the Kings to make the playoffs but this would be a really good consolation prize in my opinion.
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POR Gets: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, & 2024 SAC 1st (#13 or # 14)
POR Gives: Jerami Grant & 2024 CHA 2nd (#33)
PG - Henderson / Brogdon / Banton
SG - Simons / Thybulle / Rupert
SF - Sharpe / Huerter / Walker
PF - Barnes / Murray / Camara
C - Ayton / Williams / Reath
---------------------------------------
SAC Gets: Jerami Grant & 2024 CHA 2nd (#33)
SAC Gives: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, & 2024 SAC 1st (#13 or # 14)
PG - Fox / Mitchell
SG - Ellis / Monk* / Jones / Duarte
SF - Murray / Vezenkov / Edwards*
PF - Grant / Lyles
C - Sabonis / Len*
* resigned
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I think it’s pretty straight forward why POR would do this trade. They move a vet that helps them win now (thus making their own 1sts more valuable) and clear a lot of long term salary. In exchange, they get to upgrade the 33rd pick to the 13th or 14th pick to help their rebuild. Barnes could also fill that veteran mentor role for their young guys while both Barnes and Huerter can help spread the floor for guys like Henderson, Sharpe, etc.
From the Kings perspective, it’s apparent that the Kings need another go-to scorer to go along with Fox and Monk if we ever want to have a chance at becoming a contender. We’re hopeful that Murray can grow into that type of player but he’s not there yet. Grant gives the Kings that 3rd go-to scorer making it that much more difficult for teams to defend us. This also pushes Murray and Sabonis into the secondary scoring roles (which seems like a more natural fit vs. us hoping/expecting they’re going to be a guy you can dump the ball to and have them go get you a bucket).
Not only is Grant an efficient go-to option, but he’s not that ball dominant and his usage isn’t very high for a 20+ point scorer (.259 this year and .228 last year while Lillard was on the team) which still gives some space for Murray to grow offensively and still allows Sabonis to play that facilitator role (which is ideal for his skillset).
Floor spacing would still be great since Grant is an equivalent shooter to Barnes (if not a bit better). That’s crucial to prevent teams from packing the paint on Fox and Sabonis.
Defensively, Grant has much better length than Barnes (something the Kings desperately need). Grant has a 8’11” standing reach (5.5” longer than Barnes) and a 7’2.75” wingspan (3.5” longer than Barnes) which would be a breath of fresh air and allow us to better matchup with teams who have bigger PFs. Additionally, I just have Grant as the better overall defender when compared to Barnes and Grant has much more of a presence when protecting the rim/paint. And although Grant’s defensive impact has declined over time with the rise of his offense impact, I’d bet that late in the 4th quarter and/or in the playoffs, we could easily see Grant lock in even more on that end of the floor (similar to how Fox approaches defense a lot of the time). It’s similar to saying would you rather have a player that plays above average defense all season long and in the playoffs or would you rather have a player who plays average defense all season long but plays elite defense in the playoffs? I’d prefer the latter since that team’s ceiling is ultimately higher. I think Grant has that type of defensive potential where he can turn it on when the stakes are high and help us lockdown opposing teams.
In addition to Grant, we also get an early 2nd which gives McNair another swing at finding a cheap rotational player.
The other thing to consider is that this team doesn’t really hamstring our ability to trade future picks. If we miss the playoffs this year, the 2024 pick would be sent to POR and our 2025 pick would likely convey to ATL (since our roster would be improved and the protection lowers to only Top 12). That means during the 2025 off-season, we could have all of our future picks available to trade while still having the following players under contract:
PG - Fox / Monk*
SG - Ellis / Jones
SF - Murray / Edwards*
PF - Grant / Vezenkov
C - Sabonis / Len*
2024 Picks - CHA 2nd / SAC 2nd
2025 Picks - POR 2nd / SAC 2nd
*assuming we resigned them in the 2024 off-season
That’s a stronger core than we have now while at the same time having all of our future picks still freed up for future trades (if needed).
Obviously, I still want the Kings to make the playoffs but this would be a really good consolation prize in my opinion.
Have you seen any tape on this guy? Right now I hope we lose to Portland and draft 13 and he is available.
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospe... 6-foot-11 with,athletes in this year's draft.
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospe... 6-foot-11 with,athletes in this year's draft.
If we end up with the 13/14 pick and this kid is there we need to keep the pick and take him
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospe... 6-foot-11 with,athletes in this year's draft.
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospe... 6-foot-11 with,athletes in this year's draft.
I have looked at all the 6'10 (occsionally 6'9" if defense called out) and above PF mocked 10 and below and the list isn't as bad as keeping the pick initially suggests. Sure the guy is probably a 2-3 year project but lets say next years draft is shaking out and teams are deliberately tanking again (I am sure the "historic" season with win % this year is at least partially there being no excitement about the top 5 picks this year), we'll make the playoffs and give ATL a pick in the 20s. The last time the top of the class was this bad there was talent to be had in the teens (Giannis year). If you also include 2020 where everything was a haze because of covid and people had limited tape/no NCAAs, that's when we got Hali at 12.
The issue I have with a draft day trade including Huerter is we can't officially re-sign Monk until after the draft. If Monk leaves Huerter needs to stay unless/until Colby takes that spot.
The issue I have with a draft day trade including Huerter is we can't officially re-sign Monk until after the draft. If Monk leaves Huerter needs to stay unless/until Colby takes that spot.
It’s definitely a fair critique of my trade (Barnes/Huerter/2024 SAC 1st for Grant/2024 CHA 2nd). No doubt. This trade would have to be done on draft day which is before we know if Monk is resigning.
I think the one saving grace is how deep we are at guard. Let’s say we to do that trade and Monk walks. We’d still have a 5 guard rotation of Fox, Ellis, Mitchell, Duarte, and Jones. It’d obviously be better if Monk was here but those aren’t incompetent players (and that rotation would be heavy on defense).
One of the pros of doing that trade is that it allows us to keep our flexibility regarding trading future picks. So if Monk walks, you’d still have a starting lineup of Fox-Ellis-Murray-Grant-Sabonis but with all of your future picks still available to trade.
I think the one saving grace is how deep we are at guard. Let’s say we to do that trade and Monk walks. We’d still have a 5 guard rotation of Fox, Ellis, Mitchell, Duarte, and Jones. It’d obviously be better if Monk was here but those aren’t incompetent players (and that rotation would be heavy on defense).
One of the pros of doing that trade is that it allows us to keep our flexibility regarding trading future picks. So if Monk walks, you’d still have a starting lineup of Fox-Ellis-Murray-Grant-Sabonis but with all of your future picks still available to trade.
Right but he can't outright tell us teams are offering something without acknowledging they're tampering and there is no doubt he wants to know what his market value is even if he'll take a short term discount so we can pay him in 2 years. No doubt Monte would like to know too what the expectation is if we give him a 2 year with a wink and a smile and it's going to take 25 plus to make him whole.
Well for starters, Grant would be the 3rd highest player on the team behind Fox and Sabonis and both will be making considerably more than Grant (~$14-17 mil more) once the 2025-26 season begins. That’s a longer winded way of saying Grant’s contract is not #2 type of money.
As for his scoring, he averaged 20.7 PTS per 36 the previous season (when Lillard was on the team and the #1 option) while posting an efficient .607 TS%. Add him to this team with a similar #1 option (Fox) while also having the added benefit of playing with a great screen setter and facilitator in Sabonis, and I’d fully expect him to be an efficient go-to scorer for us.
As for his scoring, he averaged 20.7 PTS per 36 the previous season (when Lillard was on the team and the #1 option) while posting an efficient .607 TS%. Add him to this team with a similar #1 option (Fox) while also having the added benefit of playing with a great screen setter and facilitator in Sabonis, and I’d fully expect him to be an efficient go-to scorer for us.