The Kings turned attention toward Memphis' Bonzi Wells.

[Bricklayer]

Starting five -
Mike Bibby
Bonzi Wells
Peja Stojakovic
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Brad Miller

Bench -
Bobby Jackson
Kenny Thomas
Maurice Evans
Kevin Martin
Francisco Garcia
Brian Skinner
Greg Ostertag

Better than what we ended with (and actual post players, woot!), but still too soft. One crazy nut does not suddenly change that. Rare has been the game in the last few years we have lost due to being undertalented, we lose because we're soft. And that lineup still is. And it has the further problem of underutilizing half the players on the roster. In fanasy ball having 5 scorers out there is great. In real life, does not work without Steve Nash. NONE of those guys is known primarily for doing the dirty work. They all like to shoot/score first and foremost. But there is only one ball. Only so many possessions. And you're far better off having people good at the other things not involving shooting mixed in with your scorers than you are just throwing scorer after scoer on the floor. That roster, talented as it may be, still gets eliminated by the beter teams under a blizzard of second chance points, lack of hustle, and 20 unimpeded drives to the hoop every night.

 

[G_M]

#5 - try and sign Bonzi Wells on the cheap (i.e. no more than $3 mil) - yes, he's a head case. But after watching him tear up the Kings time and again, I'm thinking Sactown might be the right place for him to resurrect his career. He could probably be affordable with all the shooting guards on the market and the problems he had in Memphis. Is he a good fit for Sacramento's system? Couldn't be worse than Mobley!

Bonzi Wells is NOT a free agent. This is the last year of his contract and he is making 8 million. It's no secret Memphis wants to get rid of the guy the question is how much? Who would the Kings be willing to give up? Who do the Grizz want?

The risk for Sacramento is losing him at the end of next season for nothing or having to pay him mucho!

 

[nbrans]

Better than what we ended with (and actual post players, woot!), but still too soft. One crazy nut does not suddenly change that. Rare has been the game in the last few years we have lost due to being undertalented, we lose because we're soft. And that lineup still is. And it has the further problem of underutilizing half the players on the roster. In fanasy ball having 5 scorers out there is great. In real life, does not work without Steve Nash. NONE of those guys is known primarily for doing the dirty work. They all like to shoot/score first and foremost. But there is only one ball. Only so many possessions. And you're far better off having people good at the other things not involving shooting mixed in with your scorers than you are just throwing scorer after scoer on the floor. That roster, talented as it may be, still gets eliminated by the beter teams under a blizzard of second chance points, lack of hustle, and 20 unimpeded drives to the hoop every night.

Are you saying that Steve Nash can run a team better than Bibby?? I beg to differ...

Yes, it's not the toughest lineup, but if you told me that a lineup of Bibby, Christie, Peja, Webber and Divac would be one of the toughest defending teams in the league I would have laughed. It's all about mindset. And bringing Bonzi into the mix can help change that mindset.

This is an amazingly skilled roster, very very versatile and talented. I think that with some time playing together they could contend for a championship. And I'll stand by that as everyone yelps and hollers.

 

[Diabeticwonder]

Bonzi Wells is NOT a free agent. This is the last year of his contract and he is making 8 million. It's no secret Memphis wants to get rid of the guy the question is how much? Who would the Kings be willing to give up? Who do the Grizz want?

The risk for Sacramento is losing him at the end of next season for nothing or having to pay him mucho!

The team actually has an option on him for one more year at $8 million and they agreed with Bonzi to extend the deadline to exercise the option to July 22. I'm sure they will exercise that option and then trade him to the Kings or whoever.

 

[Bricklayer]

Just for interest, per/48 last year:

Bonzi
23.2pts (.441 FG% .346 3pt% .750 FT%) 7.4rebs 2.6ast 2.8stl 0.9blk 2.9TO

Cat
22.8pts (.438 FG% .439 3pt% .820 FT%) 4.6rebs 3.8ast 1.5stl 0.6blk 2.7TO

Peja
25.2pts (.444 FG% .402 3pt% .920 FT%) 5.4rebs 2.6ast 1.5stl 0.2blk 1.9TO

 

[Kev.in]

If we trade for Bonzi, I guess that means the end of Maurice Evans as a King and that either Martin or Garcia (probably Garcia) won't see many minutes.

 

[AriesMar27]

im all for bonzi.... if it gets rid of thomas, maybe bobby and corliss.... cause bobby has been injured to much lately.... past 2 seasons have been.... it would suck to not see martin or garcia starting but damn, i'll get over it..... i wouldnt be against starting skinner at pf if we cant get a real pf, he did a good job before he jammed his thumbs..... we need some scrappy players.... if we trade thomas for bonzi we need o resign darius, no matter how soft and unathletic he is.... he has a jumper that would be nice off the bench if skinner is the starter...

 

[G_M]

If we trade for Bonzi, I guess that means the end of Maurice Evans as a King and that either Martin or Garcia (probably Garcia) won't see many minutes.

The thing with Wells is that you could probably play him a little at SF like Jimmy Jackson. I would agree that with Mo, Cisco, or Martin would be gone. Most likely Mo depending on his salary demands.

I like Martin but is he really ready to play 35+ minutes a game in the NBA. Just asking?

 

[Diabeticwonder]

Somehow it would be great to swing a trade not only for Bonzi, but to get Stromile or Battier in there as well and then use the MLE on Jaric or on SAR depending on who the Kings get in from Memphis.

 

[Bricklayer]

Are you saying that Steve Nash can run a team better than Bibby?? I beg to differ...

Yes, it's not the toughest lineup, but if you told me that a lineup of Bibby, Christie, Peja, Webber and Divac would be one of the toughest defending teams in the league I would have laughed. It's all about mindset. And bringing Bonzi into the mix can help change that mindset.

This is an amazingly skilled roster, very very versatile and talented. I think that with some time playing together they could contend for a championship. And I'll stand by that as everyone yelps and hollers.

By standing by that you ignore the entire history of NBA championship squads. There has NEVER been one thrown together in fantasy ball fashion, as Marc Cuban has been finding out. No matter how offensive minded they were, they have ALWAYS had unselfish dirty work players eating up major minutes and paving the way for the stars to be stars (and of course the stars are STARS, not borderline types). Whether it be Rambis and A.C. Green, Rodman, Grant, Horry, Bowen, Wallace, etc. etc., you always have to have players that do the dirty work. Its nice if your stars do it to. That lineup has neither. Its just Dallas north. Marc Cuban's theory = 20pt scorer + 20pt scoer + 20pt scorer + 20pt scorer + 20 pt scorer = 100 pts right? We win! But not how it works. One ball. When one of those 5 guys is shooting, the others are not doing what they are best at.

Doug and Vlade were in essence roleplayers. One defensive, one offensive. the least thing they did was score.

P.S. And yes, quite clearly Steve Nash can run a team full of scrorers better than Mike. He's much more creative, and totally unselfish. A classic pass first PG.

 

[nbrans]

By standing by that you ignore the entire history of NBA championship squads. There has NEVER been one thrown together in fantasy ball fashion, as Marc Cuban has been finding out. No matter how offensive minded they were, they have ALWAYS had unselfish dirty work players eating up major minutes and paving the way for the stars to be stars (and of course the stars are STARS, not borderline types). Whether it be Rambis and A.C. Green, Rodman, Grant, Horry, Bowen, Wallace, etc. etc., you always have to have players that do the dirty work. Its nice if your stars do it to. That lineup has neither. Its just Dallas north. Marc Cuban's theory = 20pt scorer + 20pt scoer + 20ptscorer + 20pt scoere + 20 pt scorers = 100 pts right? We win! But not how it works. One ball. When one of those 5 guys is shooting, the others are not doing what they are best at.

Before the Pistons won the championship they also said there had NEVER been a team that had won without a superstar. The only rule is that each championship team is never built like the last one. And it's up to the players we have to do the dirty work and have that dirty-work mindset.

 

[thesanityannex]

I was thinking the same evil thought.

Trade for Bonzi, trade Peja for Artest, maybe sign Eddie Griffin to cap anybody's *** who dared to come down the lane -- we could be completely 100%psychotic. Be a blast! We'd go 82-0 on the year because no team would even dare to take the court against us (although I must admit watching 82 straight forfeitures might not be terribly entertaining ).

Sounds like a plan.

Eddie Griffin and Chris Wilcox packing heat would stop anyone.

 

[Kev.in]

The thing with Wells is that you could probably play him a little at SF like Jimmy Jackson. I would agree that with Mo, Cisco, or Martin would be gone. Most likely Mo depending on his salary demands.

I like Martin but is he really ready to play 35+ minutes a game in the NBA. Just asking?

I would want Bonzi's role to be like a Jimmy Jackson type of reserve. He can play both the sg and sf spot, so I think he'd eat up all those reserve swingman minutes. Adelman would probably want to start Wells and then pick one of the young guys (Martin/Garcia) to give about 20mpg to off the bench. Martin probably isn't ready for heavy starters minutes, but if his conditioning is as good as it seems then he could probably handle it. In any scenario that has Martin starting, I'd anticipate him playing about 27-30 minutes per game.

 

[mr. moustache]

Two points.

1: Steve Nash can run a team better than Bibby. Last year, Nash=MVP. Last year without Webber, Bibby=didn't make everyone better, struggled with the load on his shoulders.

2: That defensive lineup was good in spite of the players you mention. Bobby, JJ, Pollard, and Clark are to blame for us being good defensively. The starters weren't bad, they were average. The subs were pretty good defensively.

Are you saying that Steve Nash can run a team better than Bibby?? I beg to differ...

Iyou told me that a lineup of Bibby, Christie, Peja, Webber and Divac would be one of the toughest defending teams in the league I would have laughed. It's all about mindset.

 

[6th]

Do not fear dear 6th -- we have Antoine Walker waiting in the wings.

::6th runs to the bathroom to hurl::

 

[kperica]

By standing by that you ignore the entire history of NBA championship squads. There has NEVER been one thrown together in fantasy ball fashion, as Marc Cuban has been finding out. No matter how offensive minded they were, they have ALWAYS had unselfish dirty work players eating up major minutes and paving the way for the stars to be stars (and of course the stars are STARS, not borderline types).

That assesment is right on Brick. But I do want to add one more thing...
In addition to role players, it's important to have guys who score in different ways. Last year I feel our major offensive problem was we had three perimeter guys (Mike, Cuttino, and Peja) essentially isolating and trying to hit tough jumpers.
Bonzi, meanwhile, can score inside, not just penetration but also posting up smaller guards. I think it's something we need, especially since there aren't that many double-team commanding post-up big men on the market. And the last thing we need is to throw Walker in there so we have one more guy duplicating our offensive skills.

 

[KKSloga]

Are you saying that Steve Nash can run a team better than Bibby?? I beg to differ...

Yes, it's not the toughest lineup, but if you told me that a lineup of Bibby, Christie, Peja, Webber and Divac would be one of the toughest defending teams in the league I would have laughed. It's all about mindset. And bringing Bonzi into the mix can help change that mindset.

This is an amazingly skilled roster, very very versatile and talented. I think that with some time playing together they could contend for a championship. And I'll stand by that as everyone yelps and hollers.

You just lost all credibility by saying Steve Nash cannot run a team better then Bibby. Steve Nash = League MVP, Mike Bibby = Zero All-Star appearances.

 

[thesanityannex]

Nash couldn't run the Kings
Bibby couldn't run the Suns

They both fit within their own systems. They are not comparable in my opinion.

 

[nbrans]

You just lost all credibility by saying Steve Nash cannot run a team better then Bibby. Steve Nash = League MVP, Mike Bibby = Zero All-Star appearances.

Um, you lose plenty of credibility by boiling down a player's strengths to their MVP/All Star Appearances. Steve Nash isn't even the best player on his own team. But hey, according to your logic he won the MVP so he must be the best player in the league.

As for who can run their team better, I think you need to look at the systems. Phoenix relies entirely on Steve Nash to create their offense. They rely on his penetration, passing and fast break abilities to generate offense. Without Steve Nash, they got nothing, which is why they royally sucked when he got injured.

Sacramento's system is vastly different. It's not point-guard centric. It relies on ball movement and team offense to generate shot opportunities. That's not to say that Bibby couldn't run a team on his own, that's just not his role. In Vacouver he ran the team. In Sacramento he's part of the team. And I would argue he's a perfect fit for the Kings' offense as an initiator. He could absolutely run a team himself a la Phoenix, he's just not asked to do the same things on the offensive end as Nash.

Sanity is exactly right, Bibby couldn't run Phoenix's system (he can't penetrate and dish as well), Nash couldn't run the Kings' system (he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective). I would argue that based on their head-to-head matchups and their surrounding players Bibby is the better player and controls offense better, but I understand it's a fair argument. I just wouldn't categorically say that Nash is better and that Bibby can't be the point guard on a championship team.

 

[PFFFT!!]

I like Bonzi, but what do we have for the Grizz and a hard-head like West, whos GP's equal?

 

[LPKingsFan]

Back to Wells.

I'm somewhat mad I didn't see this coming. Classic Kings move; we have a two guard spot manned right now only by youngins, so who better to go out and get than a unhappy talent who has killed us in the past?? I actually don't think this is a bad idea, but a lot depends on whether he's a free agent on the 22, or if we have to trade for him.

 

[Ryle]

I got it.

A trade that should work under the cap:

Sac Trades:

Tag
B-Jax
Corliss

Memphis Trades:

Bonzi Wells
Lorenzen Wright

Memphis can still maintain some flexibility capswise as both Bobby and Tag come off the salary cap next year and Corliss goes off the books the following year.

Sac gets 2 guys that are disgruntled in Memphis and would probably like a fresh start and both will be playing for contracts.

 

[nbrans]

I got it.

A trade that should work under the cap:

Sac Trades:

Tag
B-Jax
Corliss

Memphis Trades:

Bonzi Wells
Lorenzen Wright

I like it. I like it a lot.

But I'm not sure if Jerry West would like it.

 

[PFFFT!!]

I got it.

A trade that should work under the cap:

Sac Trades:

Tag
B-Jax
Corliss

Memphis Trades:

Bonzi Wells
Lorenzen Wright

Memphis can still maintain some flexibility capswise as both Bobby and Tag come off the salary cap next year and Corliss goes off the books the following year.

Sac gets 2 guys that are disgruntled in Memphis and would probably like a fresh start and both will be playing for contracts.

Kinda wish we could use our one time contract waiver on Tag. Does anyone know for how long we get that or if theres a deadline for this? The Mavs dropped Finley for some cap relief, I don't understand why we don't use it.

 

[Ryle]

Kinda wish we could use our one time contract waiver on Tag. Does anyone know for how long we get that or if theres a deadline for this? The Mavs dropped Finley for some cap relief, I don't understand why we don't use it.

It doesn't give you cap relief. You still have to pay the contract and it counts against the cap.....you just get the luxury tax "relief" at the end of the season. There is no gaurantee that the Kings will even pay a luxury tax next year so it wouldn't be prudent to do so.

 

[Ryle]

But I'm not sure if Jerry West would like it.

Minor details.....

 

[Bricklayer]

I got it.

A trade that should work under the cap:

Sac Trades:

Tag
B-Jax
Corliss

Memphis Trades:

Bonzi Wells
Lorenzen Wright

Memphis can still maintain some flexibility capswise as both Bobby and Tag come off the salary cap next year and Corliss goes off the books the following year.

Sac gets 2 guys that are disgruntled in Memphis and would probably like a fresh start and both will be playing for contracts.

That might help, but not sure Wright would be terribly happy coming off the bench in a contact year, and he's a very very middling starter. Just kind of out there. Of course its not up to him.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kinda wish we could use our one time contract waiver on Tag. Does anyone know for how long we get that or if theres a deadline for this? The Mavs dropped Finley for some cap relief, I don't understand why we don't use it.

That would be a waste with Tag -- he's still healthy and has a relatively small contract. Its also an ending contract, which might have trade value. Just because we have no use for a 7'2" shotblocker with an ending deal doesn't mean nobody will. I think we really need to maximize every peice we have right now.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

Like the Idea, this team needs some edge, if it could be Bobby & Corliss for Wells I'd take it, but I don't know about Skinner, he brings too much to the team we need, So I geuss they don't plan on resigning Mo Evans, which is a big dissapointment, he's a tough player that we need, Bonzi has alot of talent though, I don't know... I hope GP makes the right descision.

 

[captain bill]

2nd round and out.

miller/skinner/peja/wells/bibby can somehow make the playoffs? and ADVANCE a round?


I like picking up Wells and Wright, especially if it means getting rid of some big contracts. I think that team could do well, but if not, after next year we'll have a bunch of expiring contracts, allowing us to go after some big free agents to make a real, big impact for this team rather than plodding along in this rebuilding phase forever. Or it will give us enough room for Peja's max deal.