The Kings sign Ryan Hollins

[The Hammer]

This is a bittersweet reality for me as well. Moreland is the exact type of player that we need to pair with Cousins however there is no way he sees more than 10 or so mpg next season. There is no way to have a starting lineup that features both Stauskas and Moreland and yet those are the guys that we need significant production from this coming season if we're goi to have any kind of a chance.

Ya never know.

 

[randymoss1881]

Do you guys think this would mean JT starts at PF with Hollins playing the 13mpg behind Boogie at center. I'd like to give JT another chance.

 

[Gilles]

Kings need good backup center, so last season experiment with Evans as 20-25 min starter will carry over to this one.

 

[KingMilz]

Do you guys think this would mean JT starts at PF with Hollins playing the 13mpg behind Boogie at center. I'd like to give JT another chance.

I'd prefer for Cuz/JT/Reggie to split the time along with Landry (hopefully traded), Hollins should only be used if we are in serious foul trouble.

 

[The Hammer]

I'd prefer for Cuz/JT/Reggie to split the time along with Landry (hopefully traded), Hollins should only be used if we are in serious foul trouble.

I would be shocked if he was used any other way. He's got 5th big written all over him.

 

[hrdboild]

And that would be an enormous mistake. Cuz was able to do what he did defensively in Spain in large part due to not being an offensive focus. It was a guard oriented team. Here, he's without a doubt our top offensive option and should be the focal point of our system, just as Webber was previously.

If our FO doesn't understand the Team USA roles don't equate to roles on specific teams, we've got quite a problem.

Bigger question regarding Landry is how is it that just one year after signing him to that idiotic contract did PDA decide he doesn't fit our plans? He didn't show it on the court. He's not a different player than he was 2, 3 or 5 years ago. Cuz doesn't have a different skillset than he did a year or two ago. Tells me they knew little about Cuz when they made that offer to Carl, which of course not only added to our problems at PF but also helped to severely limit our flexibility this offseason.

PDA should have stopped by kingsfans before offering Carl that contract. We'd have offered him some much needed guidance that apparently no one in our FO was capable of doing.

I wasn't so much implying that we don't need defense at that other forward position. But there has been a lot of energy spent the past few years on the idea that Cousins is a better fit as a PF or an offensive minded C and the team won't be successful until we find a defensive specialist who can cover for Cousins' shortcomings. What I saw from the team USA games, and really it was just an extension of what I already saw last season, is that Cousins is not a liability defensively at the C position. It's not unprecedented for a star bigman to lead his team in scoring and also impact the game defensively. Those types of players are few and far between, but I don't think it's out of the question that Cousins finds himself in that category and it might be sooner than we expect. You can always get better defensively of course, but it takes a little pressure off the front office if they start thinking about an all-around capable player to fill that gap rather than just a dedicated shot blocker. I'm thinking a guy like Josh Smith at PF might not be such a bad idea after all if used appropriately.

That being said, I still think a dedicated defensive whiz is the best way for us to fill out our front court. You can make an argument for a floor spacing stretch 4 I suppose, but a truly good one of those guys is probably even harder to find. And as the team is currently constructed, we already have scorers at SG and SF anyway -- McLemore wasn't effective in that role last year, but he'll get another chance this year as will Stauskas. Williams and Casspi are role-players who lean more toward scoring as well.

 

[TonyTouch21]

Do you guys think this would mean JT starts at PF with Hollins playing the 13mpg behind Boogie at center. I'd like to give JT another chance.

I think Malone could "showcase" JT starting him at the four. Giving him the lion's share of the minutes, and could make him some more serious trade bait. It would be nice if a trade goes down soon, but I think it could be a good plan between now and the trade deadline.