Uncia03
Starter
So in my opinion the three major needs for this team are:
1.) A defensive/rebounding big man. (Preferably a star, though not realistic)
2.) A full-sized Shooting Guard who can force opposing teams to put their PG on Tyreke. This SG will also need to play defense, spread the floor, and handle the ball.
3.) Another star to pair with Tyreke if at all possible, which means getting cap space/good draft picks.
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As I was going through shooting guards trying to find one who I thought would fit, it just seemed to me that Francisco really is one of the best (non-star) fits out there to play SG next to Tyreke. He's always had that defensive tenacity and good handles for a SG, and last year he showed to be very good a spreading the floor and knocking down 3s.
I believe that Kevin is a better player, and I like him quite a bit, but I actually think that Garcia would compliment Tyreke (and these new Kings) far more than Kevin, because in addition to the things I listed above, we also don't have to tailor the offense around Garcia.
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So if the idea is to trade Kevin and move Garcia to the two (thereby opening up room for Donte and Omri), I was trying to see if there were any young, good defensive Centers that we could get for Kevin.
The problem is that teams don't trade away good young defensive centers unless the trade is blatantly in their favor. So since we won't be able to get a star big man for Kevin, I'm settling for just a young defensive center, who will most likely be a far better fit for this team.
Trade idea #1
Sacramento Out:
Kevin Martin
Sacramento In:
Joakim Noah (I don't really like him, but you can't ignore what he's doing this year)
Jerome James ($6.6m Expiring) You cut him immediately as we don't want a repeat of the trash bag incident.
Future 1st or 2nd round pick (Whatever we might be able to get)
Chicago Out:
Joakim Noah
Jerome James
Future 1st or 2nd round pick
Chicago In:
Kevin Martin
Why Sacramento does this:
We trade our best asset to bring to the team what it needs most. A young, hustling, defensive, rebounding big man. We also save an enormous amount of money in this trade, and as mentioned earlier, Cisco moves permanently to the 2 guard, and therefore frees up space for Donte and Omri.
Why Sacramento doesn't do this:
Joakim Noah is a knucklehead, and we have no idea if he's going to be able to consistantly play at this high of a level. Jerome James and the Kings don't mix.
Why Chicago does this:
They by far get the best player in this trade. They have really missed Ben Gordan as a pure scoring threat, and Salmons has not at all been cutting it at the 2-guard. Kevin will really help with the explosiveness of this team.
Why Chicago doesn't do this:
They may be too high on Joakim considering his recent play, and perhaps they think they can bring in someone better than Martin with Jerome Jame's 6.6m expiring.
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Ok, let's say the first trade actually goes down. We've traded Kevin for a big man, and obtained a nice expiring in Jerome James. This second trade would be to clear up a ton of cap space to actually make a push for a star player in the upcoming free-agency. And if we don't actually get a star player in 2010, then our payroll would be incredibly low, allowing us to be major players as a 3rd team, while setting our sites for 2011.
Trade Idea #2
Sacramento Out:
Beno Udrih
Andres Nocioni
Kenny Thomas ($8.7m Expiring)
(Maybe throw in a future pick if that is what was needed to get this done)
Sacramento In:
Tracy McGrady ($22.8m Expiring)
Jermaine Taylor
Houston Out:
Tracy McGrady
Jermaine Taylor
Houston In:
Beno Udrih
Andres Nocioni
Kenny Thomas
Why the Kings do this:
Basically we do this to get two of our three largest/longest contracts off the books in Beno and Nocioni. Beno's play has been good, so if we can move his contract for expirings then we should do so.
This would obviously clear up the logjam and allow Donte/Casspi to have almost all of the minutes at the 3 spot.
Making this move in conjunction with the 1st trade would basically turn our $8.7m expiring of KT into a $29.4m expiring of McGrady/Jerome. Obviously we could bring in a major star in 2010, or if things don't work out, be a great 3rd team to make deals work, while being a major player in 2011.
Now, obviously we lose a lot of talent in this trade, but I'd rather clear up space for the young guys, and spend our money on filling in the pieces we need while giving us a shot at being a major player in free-agency.
As far as McGrady goes, we can either play him or cut him. I'm not certain he will ever be the player he used to be. Obviously with his size, handles, and shooting ability he would be fantastic as a partner with Tyreke if he has any game left at all.
Why the Kings don't do this:
If the intention is to just use McGrady as an expiring, it's a lot of talent to give up.
Beno has been playing superb basketball, and Nocioni really does make a difference for this team. So losing Beno, and some of the hustle/toughness intangibles of Nocioni might be a bit much for the Kings to swallow.
Why the Rockets do this:
Both Beno and Nocioni would fit in perfectly with the Rockets, and they'd definately be a playoff team this year. The Rockets need a point-guard with size who can shoot and either be the lead guard, or play the 2-guard next to Brooks.
Nocioni just fits perfectly with the type of team that Adelman has assembled this year.
So if their goal is to make the playoffs this year, this trade would certainly do that for them by giving them two pieces which would fit very well with their current team.
With KT in the trade, they still get to take advantage of his $8.9mil expiring to bring in a good player in the offseason.
There was also that little incident a week or two ago regarding Rick and Tracy, so the Rockets might be thinking of trying to get some value for McGrady.
Why the Rockets don't do this:
The either think that McGrady can be a positive force for them this year, or they have other plans with McGrady's Expiring.
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After the two above trades the Kings Roster would look like:
PG: Tyreke/Sergio/Jermain Taylor
SG: Francisco/McGrady/Casspi/Udoka
SF: Donte/Casspi/McGrady
PF: JT/Hawes/Brockman/May
C: Joakim/Hawes
Payroll for next year: Approx. $23.5m with Francisco being our highest paid player at $5.5m.
With a Salary cap projected between $51m - $55m, we'd easily have enough room to bring in one star player, if not two. We'd obviously need to sign some players in order to get above the minimum salary cap, but with that much free money, we'd at least have the opportunity to shoot for something big.
Next, if you look at the above line-up, we have a good defensive team at all spots except the PF. And not only is that a defensive team, they are all hustle players, so we'll win games due to sheer scrappiness. If Joakim can keep his play at the level it's been thus far, I'd say we'd have a good chance of squeaking into the playoffs this year, and that is such a young team, that you could be developing chemistry for years to come.
Finally, as far as free-agents go, the number 1 player I'd be looking to bring over would be Joe Johnson, he's a bit old, but he would be the perfect player to pair up with Tyreke Evans.
So if we can't land a LBJ/DWade/Bosh (which we won't be able to do), then bringing in Joe Johnson would give us a dominating guard line-up, and if Donte can play into the player he's capable of, then I think we'd be pretty set. If we can't get Joe Johnson, or if Francisco flourishes in a role next to Tyreke, we could see about bringing in Amare. He'd also work out pretty well in that line-up.
Also, because we'd be so far below the cap, we'd have the money to bring in support bench players to fill in whatever needs we might see, and if this team flourishes, we might even be able to bring in role-players on the cheap.
Youth, potential stars, defense/hustle, and financial flexibility = Potential Championship success.
I'd rather land LBJ/DWade/Bosh, but if we can't make that happen, then I'd love to pull off something of this nature.
1.) A defensive/rebounding big man. (Preferably a star, though not realistic)
2.) A full-sized Shooting Guard who can force opposing teams to put their PG on Tyreke. This SG will also need to play defense, spread the floor, and handle the ball.
3.) Another star to pair with Tyreke if at all possible, which means getting cap space/good draft picks.
---------------
As I was going through shooting guards trying to find one who I thought would fit, it just seemed to me that Francisco really is one of the best (non-star) fits out there to play SG next to Tyreke. He's always had that defensive tenacity and good handles for a SG, and last year he showed to be very good a spreading the floor and knocking down 3s.
I believe that Kevin is a better player, and I like him quite a bit, but I actually think that Garcia would compliment Tyreke (and these new Kings) far more than Kevin, because in addition to the things I listed above, we also don't have to tailor the offense around Garcia.
-------------
So if the idea is to trade Kevin and move Garcia to the two (thereby opening up room for Donte and Omri), I was trying to see if there were any young, good defensive Centers that we could get for Kevin.
The problem is that teams don't trade away good young defensive centers unless the trade is blatantly in their favor. So since we won't be able to get a star big man for Kevin, I'm settling for just a young defensive center, who will most likely be a far better fit for this team.
Trade idea #1
Sacramento Out:
Kevin Martin
Sacramento In:
Joakim Noah (I don't really like him, but you can't ignore what he's doing this year)
Jerome James ($6.6m Expiring) You cut him immediately as we don't want a repeat of the trash bag incident.
Future 1st or 2nd round pick (Whatever we might be able to get)
Chicago Out:
Joakim Noah
Jerome James
Future 1st or 2nd round pick
Chicago In:
Kevin Martin
Why Sacramento does this:
We trade our best asset to bring to the team what it needs most. A young, hustling, defensive, rebounding big man. We also save an enormous amount of money in this trade, and as mentioned earlier, Cisco moves permanently to the 2 guard, and therefore frees up space for Donte and Omri.
Why Sacramento doesn't do this:
Joakim Noah is a knucklehead, and we have no idea if he's going to be able to consistantly play at this high of a level. Jerome James and the Kings don't mix.
Why Chicago does this:
They by far get the best player in this trade. They have really missed Ben Gordan as a pure scoring threat, and Salmons has not at all been cutting it at the 2-guard. Kevin will really help with the explosiveness of this team.
Why Chicago doesn't do this:
They may be too high on Joakim considering his recent play, and perhaps they think they can bring in someone better than Martin with Jerome Jame's 6.6m expiring.
------------------------------
Ok, let's say the first trade actually goes down. We've traded Kevin for a big man, and obtained a nice expiring in Jerome James. This second trade would be to clear up a ton of cap space to actually make a push for a star player in the upcoming free-agency. And if we don't actually get a star player in 2010, then our payroll would be incredibly low, allowing us to be major players as a 3rd team, while setting our sites for 2011.
Trade Idea #2
Sacramento Out:
Beno Udrih
Andres Nocioni
Kenny Thomas ($8.7m Expiring)
(Maybe throw in a future pick if that is what was needed to get this done)
Sacramento In:
Tracy McGrady ($22.8m Expiring)
Jermaine Taylor
Houston Out:
Tracy McGrady
Jermaine Taylor
Houston In:
Beno Udrih
Andres Nocioni
Kenny Thomas
Why the Kings do this:
Basically we do this to get two of our three largest/longest contracts off the books in Beno and Nocioni. Beno's play has been good, so if we can move his contract for expirings then we should do so.
This would obviously clear up the logjam and allow Donte/Casspi to have almost all of the minutes at the 3 spot.
Making this move in conjunction with the 1st trade would basically turn our $8.7m expiring of KT into a $29.4m expiring of McGrady/Jerome. Obviously we could bring in a major star in 2010, or if things don't work out, be a great 3rd team to make deals work, while being a major player in 2011.
Now, obviously we lose a lot of talent in this trade, but I'd rather clear up space for the young guys, and spend our money on filling in the pieces we need while giving us a shot at being a major player in free-agency.
As far as McGrady goes, we can either play him or cut him. I'm not certain he will ever be the player he used to be. Obviously with his size, handles, and shooting ability he would be fantastic as a partner with Tyreke if he has any game left at all.
Why the Kings don't do this:
If the intention is to just use McGrady as an expiring, it's a lot of talent to give up.
Beno has been playing superb basketball, and Nocioni really does make a difference for this team. So losing Beno, and some of the hustle/toughness intangibles of Nocioni might be a bit much for the Kings to swallow.
Why the Rockets do this:
Both Beno and Nocioni would fit in perfectly with the Rockets, and they'd definately be a playoff team this year. The Rockets need a point-guard with size who can shoot and either be the lead guard, or play the 2-guard next to Brooks.
Nocioni just fits perfectly with the type of team that Adelman has assembled this year.
So if their goal is to make the playoffs this year, this trade would certainly do that for them by giving them two pieces which would fit very well with their current team.
With KT in the trade, they still get to take advantage of his $8.9mil expiring to bring in a good player in the offseason.
There was also that little incident a week or two ago regarding Rick and Tracy, so the Rockets might be thinking of trying to get some value for McGrady.
Why the Rockets don't do this:
The either think that McGrady can be a positive force for them this year, or they have other plans with McGrady's Expiring.
----------
After the two above trades the Kings Roster would look like:
PG: Tyreke/Sergio/Jermain Taylor
SG: Francisco/McGrady/Casspi/Udoka
SF: Donte/Casspi/McGrady
PF: JT/Hawes/Brockman/May
C: Joakim/Hawes
Payroll for next year: Approx. $23.5m with Francisco being our highest paid player at $5.5m.
With a Salary cap projected between $51m - $55m, we'd easily have enough room to bring in one star player, if not two. We'd obviously need to sign some players in order to get above the minimum salary cap, but with that much free money, we'd at least have the opportunity to shoot for something big.
Next, if you look at the above line-up, we have a good defensive team at all spots except the PF. And not only is that a defensive team, they are all hustle players, so we'll win games due to sheer scrappiness. If Joakim can keep his play at the level it's been thus far, I'd say we'd have a good chance of squeaking into the playoffs this year, and that is such a young team, that you could be developing chemistry for years to come.
Finally, as far as free-agents go, the number 1 player I'd be looking to bring over would be Joe Johnson, he's a bit old, but he would be the perfect player to pair up with Tyreke Evans.
So if we can't land a LBJ/DWade/Bosh (which we won't be able to do), then bringing in Joe Johnson would give us a dominating guard line-up, and if Donte can play into the player he's capable of, then I think we'd be pretty set. If we can't get Joe Johnson, or if Francisco flourishes in a role next to Tyreke, we could see about bringing in Amare. He'd also work out pretty well in that line-up.
Also, because we'd be so far below the cap, we'd have the money to bring in support bench players to fill in whatever needs we might see, and if this team flourishes, we might even be able to bring in role-players on the cheap.
Youth, potential stars, defense/hustle, and financial flexibility = Potential Championship success.
I'd rather land LBJ/DWade/Bosh, but if we can't make that happen, then I'd love to pull off something of this nature.
