I agree that the young talent seems deep at shooting guard and center, so therefore the Kings free agent priorities should be addressing the small forward, point guard, and power forward.
Obviously young talent upgrades at any positions would also be wonderful, so a log jam of young talent may be helpful to let true talent rise to the top.
I'm excited not only that the Kings have versatile young talent across the board, but also that their chemistry has been very good to finish the year, as well as the camaraderie between the 4 rookies that were just added.
With 12 players under contract, they only have room for 3 more active players and one designated G-league player. Perhaps they should prioritize their free agency period as follows:
1) Obvious young talent upgrade (regardless of position)
2) Relationship between team and incoming player to maintain chemistry
3) Position of need (young as able, short term flexibility if not)
4) Take on albatross contract for young future assets/picks
5) Staying under the salary floor if none of the above is possible to compensate/incentivize their players under rookie contracts.
Obvious talent upgrades may lead to the dreaded treadmill status, but if they could get all star in their prime talent here they should do this happily, regardless of position. Both the term All-Star, and prime can be dangerous and subjective, but this usually should pass the smell test.
Coach Joeger has many lasting relationships with his former Grizzlies players, some may be more productive (Tony Allen/Zach Randolph) than others (Jeff Green/Matt Barnes
). There is also the Scott Perry and Ken Kantenella Detroit connection that may lead to a free agent or trade like the Anthony Tolliver signing last year.
I'm excited about seeing Bogdon Bogdanovich adapt to the NBA game, especially with De'Aaron Fox pushing the pace. Vlade and Peja have the Serbian connection to both Bogdon and Milos Teodesic, but Bogdon also had a lot of success in the playoffs next to the defensive efforts of Ekbe Udoh, a multifaceted rebounder, rim runner, and shot blocker. Maybe they could capitalize on these connections to optimize team chemistry and a defensively tenacious, uptempo shot making squad. If no all star wants to come here, I'd say take a flier on all 5 (Bogdon Bogdanovich, Tony Allen, Milos Teodesic, Zach Randolph, and Ekbe Udoh) and protect Harry Giles for one more year of development and rehab.
1) Milos Teodesic/De’Aaron Fox/Frank Mason
2) Bogdan Bogdanovic/Buddy Hield/Malachi Richardson
3) Tony Allen/Garrett Temple/Josh Jackson
4) Skal Labissiere/Ekbe Udoh/Zach Randolph/Harry Giles (Rehab/Designate)
5) Willie Cauley-Stein/Kousta Koufos/Georgios Papagiannis
If these connections don't excite Vlade and company then I agree a max offer to Otto Porter would be great. Jeff Teague is an UFA and nearly as fast as Fox...would he be a starting point that could mentor De'Aaron better, or would Collison and/or Lawson and their chemistry from last year be a safer bet? Paul Milsap can rebound and shoot and at 32 could give the Kings 4 years of steady leadership.
1) Darren Collison or Ty Lawson or Jeff Teague/De’Aaron Fox (starting mid season)/Frank Mason
2) Bogdan Bogdanovic/Buddy Hield/Malachi Richardson
3) Otto Porter/Garrett Temple/Josh Jackson
4) Paul Millsap/Skal Labissiere/Harry Giles
5) Willie Cauley-Stein/Kousta Koufos/Georgios Papagiannis
If the Kings are set on reaching the salary floor, but do not want/strike out with the options above could they help another team by absorbing a crap contract for a rookie level player or picks (especially 2019 due to the Philadelphia trade)
IMO, staying well under the salary floor is not the same now as nearly hitting the floor under the Maloofs because there are so many players still under their rookie contracts. The penalty for being under the floor is to distribute the funds to the roster players, and this perhaps would be great incentive for them to give constant effort, even if they are over matched for talent. Progressively, the chemistry should remain good, and the talent would improve from within. Furthermore, playing this much youth would likely insure a high 2018 pick, improving the overall talent, like option 1 of free agency. Win, win?