Sacramento Free Agency <crickets chirping>

kennadog said:
Stern has never said they won't be allowed to move anywhere. I've kept close tabs on the arena issue and you'll have to prove to me that Stern ever said that.

He only said that the owners would not approve a move to Anaheim. I know that's where the Maloofs really want to go, but they could decide on another destination.

I do believe Stern is sending a strong message that the league wants the team to stay in Sacramento. However, I'm not positive that the other owners would turn down a move to some other viable city, if that's the direction the Maloofs go now.
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Stern never speaks in absolutes, but he did imply that it was doubtful that the league would approve a move by the Kings anytime soon. And he did make that comment about the arena. Of course, Stern isn't the one doing the voting, but he does have considerable influence. You tell me, do you think he would be on board with the Kings packing up and moving after this season? He basicly praised the city, Kevin Johnson and everyone involved in the deal for doing everything possible to get the deal done. While at the same time being critical of the Maloofs.

To me one key phrase by Stern came when someone mentioned that the new attorney the Maloofs hired was an antitrust attorney. Stern replied that most of his close friends were antitrust attorneys. To my mind, that was a shot across the bow of the Maloof's ship, as in, if thats what you want to do, bring it on.

Now I admit that I'm biased, and I'm trying to read between the tea leaves as much as I can. But thats all you can do in a situation where you have to be careful what you say, so as not to give the other side ammunition. Now I know your probably more in tune with this thing than I'am sitting down here in baja, so I'll bend to your overall expertise. This is just my opinion.
 
Larry David said:
If you had real owners, you never would have had Salmons. Petrie was forced to take Jimmer, because the owners wanted Jimmer in part to sell tickets. Petrie didn't want to take him as high as the Kings pick and moved back to get more value. He made the call that putting Salmons for Beno in the deal was good value. Fail fail.

Any GM in a small market has to be smart and creative. Patching up a roster with players making 5-6 million is like payday loans. Doesn't fix the problem now, hurts later. Soon the Kings will be out of cap space and the roster is still going to be a mess.
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You're preachin' to the choir brother!^^^^
 
Larry David said:
If you had real owners, you never would have had Salmons. Petrie was forced to take Jimmer, because the owners wanted Jimmer in part to sell tickets. Petrie didn't want to take him as high as the Kings pick and moved back to get more value. He made the call that putting Salmons for Beno in the deal was good value. Fail fail.

Any GM in a small market has to be smart and creative. Patching up a roster with players making 5-6 million is like payday loans. Doesn't fix the problem now, hurts later. Soon the Kings will be out of cap space and the roster is still going to be a mess.
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Well I can't go back and rewrite history. Thats woulda, coulda, shoulda, and whats done is done. Someone once said, " He who lives in the past, has no future". However, I get your point. As for the roster being a mess, I guess we'll see, but I'm not going to criticize until I have something to criticize. It would be nice if one of us was a mind reader, or had a crystal ball. It would be nice if we knew of the deals that were attempted and never came to fruition.

This I do know. When Petrie had owners that were willing to open their wallets and spend, he was very creative, both in landing important parts, and in adding good support parts. Now I'm not going to go back and list every deal he made that backs my statement. Its been done before, and frankly, I'm tired of doing it. But you've been here long enough to know what I'm talking about. So I guess what I'm saying, is that I'm agreeing with you. New owners would make a huge difference.
 
bajaden said:
Stern never speaks in absolutes, but he did imply that it was doubtful that the league would approve a move by the Kings anytime soon. And he did make that comment about the arena. Of course, Stern isn't the one doing the voting, but he does have considerable influence. You tell me, do you think he would be on board with the Kings packing up and moving after this season? He basicly praised the city, Kevin Johnson and everyone involved in the deal for doing everything possible to get the deal done. While at the same time being critical of the Maloofs.

To me one key phrase by Stern came when someone mentioned that the new attorney the Maloofs hired was an antitrust attorney. Stern replied that most of his close friends were antitrust attorneys. To my mind, that was a shot across the bow of the Maloof's ship, as in, if thats what you want to do, bring it on.

Now I admit that I'm biased, and I'm trying to read between the tea leaves as much as I can. But thats all you can do in a situation where you have to be careful what you say, so as not to give the other side ammunition. Now I know your probably more in tune with this thing than I'am sitting down here in baja, so I'll bend to your overall expertise. This is just my opinion.
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I agree that Stern is on the side of Sacramento and I believe their is pressure on the Maloofs to sell. I think it will be hard for the Maloofs to say they need to move, because they can't survive in Sacramento with the ancient PBP. Why? Becasue they have had more than one offer from buyers willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento. KJ said he'd keep presenting buyers to the Maloof. I also believe Stern was daring the Maloofs to file an anti-trust lawsuit. Must mean Stern thinks the league is on pretty solid ground. Or maybe he thinks the Maloofs can''t afford a long-drawn out lawsuit.

He absolutely said the owners would not approve a move to Anaheim. And by now, the other owners must be more than a little mad over the image of the NBA that the Maloofs are projecting. But that's all we can know for sure right now.

Stern has been and continues to be a huge friend to Sacramento.
 
I am as upset with the Maloofs as anyone and I wish they would sell the team. But I think this free agency criticism is unwarranted at this point. We have talent in Cousins, TRob, Thornton, Thomas and Evans. Really, these guys are young and coaching is going to be key to thier success. I really hope Smart can step up soon. If not I would spend on coaching. Last season we made a lot of moves and they where all disasters.

Now if the team doesn't resign Cousins to a long term deal then we can really say they have sabotaged the future of the team. They would be cutting off thier nose to spite thier face because they need a team to sell tickets either here or elsewhere. In recent years the Niners where criticized for these same issues. Now the players have matured, a new coach comes in and walah. The focus should be developing and resigning our young stars. I would like to see a SF brought in. I think we are ok at guard for now. I think IT has won the PG starting role or at the very least see a lot of minutes. I want to see what he can do this year.
 
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Siranthony said:
But I think this free agency criticism is unwarranted at this point.
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How do you figure? All of the top free agents are now paired up with teams... teams like Minnesota, not just the regular big markets team. The Kings have not been apart of any of these discussions. And it is not for lack of need... the Kings need these guys like a gunfighter needs bullets... think about Steve Nash in Sacramento! Instant playoffs, just add Nash! Or Gerald Wallace or Batum or even Brandon Roy! the Kings just are not going to pay-up and aren't even bothering to get in the mix. So, the Kings strategy is to look for bargain-basement-type deals... that's great, welcome to the basement of the league standings for how many years in a row? Until the Kings start to pony up the dough, the basement is where they will stay... I wonder if Mikki Moore is available?
 
bajaden said:
I don't think Bricky can actually say where he lives. I believe he's in a witness protection safehouse somewhere. :D
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I hadn't thought of that. It sounds right to me.

As dumb and poor at managing we credit the Maloofs with I can't see how they can miss the obvious way of drumming up a little more attendance this coming year. Their PR stock is down. They no that. Petrie has publicly stated the need to get a shooter, long ranged, most likely at the 3. Getting a quality player would jack things up pretty darn good and would pay off befores season's end. They need to pay for the PR. OK guys, you know what to do, give Petrie a briefcase heavy with cash even if you have to sell Wlls Fargo stock before its time. Now go do it!!!!!!!!
 
NoBonus said:
How do you figure? All of the top free agents are now paired up with teams... teams like Minnesota, not just the regular big markets team. The Kings have not been apart of any of these discussions. And it is not for lack of need... the Kings need these guys like a gunfighter needs bullets... think about Steve Nash in Sacramento! Instant playoffs, just add Nash! Or Gerald Wallace or Batum or even Brandon Roy! the Kings just are not going to pay-up and aren't even bothering to get in the mix. So, the Kings strategy is to look for bargain-basement-type deals... that's great, welcome to the basement of the league standings for how many years in a row? Until the Kings start to pony up the dough, the basement is where they will stay... I wonder if Mikki Moore is available?
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We'll come out of the basement on maturing talent alone. But we have certainly been in need of some good glue vets to accelerate the process.
 
Bricklayer said:
We'll come out of the basement on maturing talent alone. But we have certainly been in need of some good glue vets to accelerate the process.
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if we wait too long, these draft picks that are used to winning will get tired of losing all the time and leave as soon as they mature and free agency arrives
 
captain bill said:
Voice of optimism here: petrie has done a b+ job building thru the draft (if tyreke gets a shot or jimmer shows a pulse as a 3 point specialist make it an a- to an a+). this is the year that the kings finally show huge improvement behind dmc emerging as the next great nba center and all our other guys feel comfortable about their roles. it makes sense to save money now to extend our stars later while testing the waters with guys like anderson (fills a need, hometown guy, might have a reasonable price tag).

honestly theres not much the team can do this summer other than what they have- and the summer camps and workouts are a big plus. dont let maloof hatred cloud your judgment of what is a reasonable plan moving forward
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Id like to second this. While all of the criticism of our management is valid, i dont think it really applies to this offseason. From what ive heard and seen there have been some disgusting contracts handed out this offseason.
 
Tetsujin said:
If we wanted a 6'11" SF/PF who had pysical gifts but absolutely nothing to back them up, we'd have kept Donte
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No, even he is what you said, his performance is better than Donte, and I don't understand what do you mean nothing to back them up
 
It might be about the money, but it's not about the money from the FA's perspective.

It's not that they don't want to play in a "small market". It's that no free agent in their right mind would want to play for George freaking Maloof.

Players dictate where they want to go, just all the big stars. For any free agent worth signing, there's at least two to three teams interested.

No player has followed the Kings situation closely enough to know that the Maloofs are likely on their way out soon. All they see is insane owners that might try to pick up and move any time, who are hated by the whole league and their own fan base.

Just for the public image/reputation damage alone, no free agent at this point is going to want to sign for the "brothers". You would look pretty stupid.

Unless it's a hometown boy like Ryan Anderson.
 
I have accepted the fact that Maloofs cannot afford to put a winner on the court and quite frankly, seeing the sort of contracts getting thrown around, I wouldn't want them doing the same because it will absolutely mean that when the time comes, Tyreke and Cousins will go elsewhere because the Maloofs cannot afford them.

I would rather they save the money and re-sign Tyreke and Cousins when the time comes. The Maloofs will not be owners of the NBA team for long so I just hope that they minimize the damage to the roster while they are still in charge.

That way, when the team gets bought by someone capable of spending and putting the winning product on the floor, then at least we have the foundation in place and we can add the pieces to the team either via free agency, sign and trade or just trades.

As it is, its almost time to put the head down, bum up and get to work to keep the core together and if you can pick up a good young player on a cheap contract before they "blow up" (Peja and B-Jax style) then all the better but I would rather we do nothing at this stage, then blow $8-10 million on Ryan Anderson, or $10-12 million on Batum and the like.

I think one player that might fall into the "about to blow up" category is T-Will so if we can sign him on the cheap for the longish term deal, I would be all for it.
 
The Hammer said:
It might be about the money, but it's not about the money from the FA's perspective.

It's not that they don't want to play in a "small market". It's that no free agent in their right mind would want to play for George freaking Maloof.

Players dictate where they want to go, just all the big stars. For any free agent worth signing, there's at least two to three teams interested.

No player has followed the Kings situation closely enough to know that the Maloofs are likely on their way out soon. All they see is insane owners that might try to pick up and move any time, who are hated by the whole league and their own fan base.

Just for the public image/reputation damage alone, no free agent at this point is going to want to sign for the "brothers". You would look pretty stupid.

Unless it's a hometown boy like Ryan Anderson.
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No kidding. Even some of the lesser free agents are likely going to avoid playing for the Maloofs like the plague. Would you want to work for them? I'd probably choose less cash for a decent boss than work for a bad boss.
 
Why we can't attract a good free agent is due to a number of things but the biggest in my opinion is the ownership. Simply because that is the key element in all this.

They look at the team and they see outdated facilities and a team that is a laughing stock in the NBA. They see great young talent but then the rest of the things just don't add up.

However, if we had owner say like Mikhail Prokhorov who has the means and will to spend, we would become a lot more attractive to free agents. In that scenario you know that there will be a new arena for the team in a couple of years. You know that the obvious young talent will be surrounded by good players and you get a winner on the court. Once you get a winner and an owner who can spend to get better, you are practically fighting off free agent and you can pick whomever you want. Small market or not. It all comes down to the money. If you have it, you get get better and get the free agents. If you don't there is a stench around the place.

All roads lead to Maloofs. They are the core problem in all this. Not that it is a small market team or anything like that. It all starts at the top.
 
kupman said:
I hope that I am proved wrong. Until then however, I believe that we are not included in any free agency talks because the owners/organization cannot afford it despite having a payroll at the bottom of the league.

This must be how we advertise ourselves to prospective FAs:

Come play for a team with one of the worst records in the league the past few seasons. Play your home games in the worst arena in the league in a city without a night life. We will only be able pay you well below your market value because we have little to no money.
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Where do i sign!!! :D

i think its somthing like this ;)

Our team sucks... our coach sucks.... We wont sign our second best player.... our arena sucks... we want to move the team to a worse area with less nightlife then here..... and we have no money but you are the player for us :o
 
Come into my kitchen right now and help me make burgundy beef in the slo-cooker and ignore free agency and the Maloofs, etc. Bye bye.
 
The more I think about our situation, the more I am convinced there will be a trade of sorts. We just have not addressed single need in the off-season so far.

I would like us to keep T-Will but if we do, he needs to be a rotation guy for us and get his 20 odd minutes on nightly basis. Our biggest mess by far is the backcourt and the SF position and we need to clean that mess up.

Having said that, outside of Reke, MT and possibly IT, there is a whole bunch of "meh" meaning limited trade opportunities. We also can't trade our 1st round pick for the time being so opportunities to shed a bad contract and clear up that log jam is further minimized.

We really only have 3 bad contracts on the team even though Garcia's deal is an expiring but still these contracts seem to limit us significantly (Hayes and Salmons). If we somehow manage to move one of these contracts for a productive player or an expiring deal and we are in great shape again in terms of salary cap flexibility.

With T-Rob's signing and JT's re-signing I think we are already at or close to the 85% of salary cap which probably means out job is done for this year.
 
Nelson999 said:
crickets chirping is right! cheap asses year after year
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God, I hate defending the Maloof's, but your statement just isn't true. Before their financial kingdom fell apart, the Maloofs were willing to spend all the money needed, and they did. Now if you want to restrict you statement to the last few years, then yes, I agree. But you can't spend what you don't have. Unless your the United Stats Goverment of course.
 
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