Vlad and Kens Masterful Offseason (Post Draft and FA moves)

[sactownfan]

So outside a last min extremely small pick up. Its safe to conclude that the Kings free agency is over. With that now done. It appears trades are imminent. That said I wanted to take a time out from everything just to discuss the state of this teams Ownership, Front office, Coach, and new roster for the (sort lived) time being.

Lets start with everyones favorite ... the man of the hour VIVEK! RANADIVE!!! lol! j/k ... First off this guy is the only reason your reading this...MIC DROP.... The man deserves some love. Look he is crazy smart, and has been ultra successful in everything he's ever done for the most part. YES... he messed up... Honestly he had some friends in Chris Mullin and Mitch that he trusted and well ..... We all know the rest lol! I think its time to give him a break. After everything that just happened this offseason I wanna comend Vivek for being now non existent and staying the hell out of the way as far as we can see. Since he got rid of Pete the gerbil for Vlade things have been good.

Vlad... this guy... what can you say. Kept this franchise from going NUCLEAR. Walked into a mess. Karl wasn't his fault. FIRST OFF HE DIDN'T TRADE COUSINS !!! Then he drafted WCS! Adding Marco, Koufos, and Rondo were all smart and calculated moves. BTW that trade with the 76'ers...Marco got us a 1st round pick (a Vlade gem)... so factor that in when you freak out about losing picks. Again Karl wasn't his fault. Sure maybe Vlad should have let him go at the All-star break but the season was already lost and we were gonna continue to be the laughing stock. I see why he didn't do it. As a kings fan I've seen plenty of bad coaches. But the level of Karl's fail given the squad we had was of epic proportions. Karl finally started WCS and he was critical to our best 5 game winning streak. WCS is gonna be awesome. Wanna complain about Koufos contract. Look at what Mazgov just got. Tell me a team out there doesn't see value in Koufos deal. Vlade wins last off season in my book and thats with not much FO help!

Enter Ken and Peja... Realizing that he doesn't know everything. Vlad brings in Peja and Ken Catanella. Peja btw is our player development guy. Which i think is great. He's smart, classy, professional, and knows the finer points of the game. Plus the dude is still crazy fit!

Enter Dave Joerger.... ok heres a guy that Vlad clearly was interested in before he was let go. Im gonna just assume Dave and Vlad talked before he was let go. But Vlad locked this guy down ASAP. He's a winner at every level. He was in the playoffs last year with a duck tape squad. So he's a coach unlike our last that had success as of late #1 and #2 can adjust to things on the fly/get the most out of the players he HAS.. Dave's not gonna be in senile dream world. ...and he's not gonna be all mad scientist trying to reinvent the game.. he's gonna give the DAMN BALL TO COUSINS IN THE FREAKING PAINT AND LET COUSINS PITTY AND CRUSH FOOLS ... AND HES GONNA MAKE EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR TAKE SOME DAMN PRIDE IN DEFENSE....just like MEM did.

Now Ken... its too early to judge this years draft picks. But the know-how in pulling off BETTER trades and making things fit within the #'s or $'s is clearly paying off already. We had only the 8th pick that when it came time had none of the guys we wanted there at 8. So we turned it into a 1st round PROVEN EURO STUD! I SERIOUSLY CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH GUYS... A SINGLE DRAFT PICK IN THIS DRAFT CLASS WAS A SERIOUS CHANCE OF BUST. VLAD/KEN GOT A SOMEONE THATS BEEN PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BALL NOW FOR YEARS AND ON TOP OF THAT... IS ONE OF THE BEST!!! AND FITS A NEED! JEEZ... i don't care if he comes this year or next what a get. Plus Peja and Vlad are his idols.

Enter Dave Joerger.... ok heres a guy that Vlad clearly was interested in before he was let go. Im gonna just assume they talked before he was let go. But Vlad locked this guy down ASAP. He's a winner at every level. He was in the playoffs last year with a duck tape squad. So he's a coach unlike our last that had success as of late and can adjust to things on the fly.. plus he's not gonna be all mad scientist trying to reinvent the game.. he's gonna give the DAMN BALL TO COUSINS IN THE FREAKING PAINT AND LET COUSINS PITTY AND CRUSH FOOLS ... just like MEM did.

so 8th and Marco turn into a former 1st rd pick /PROVEN winner and professional SG Bogdanovic , and honestly a group of guys that could or could not turn into something. But a group of 5 guys vs just the 8th and 59th pick gives us waaaay better odds of someone turning into a Homerun! Love or hate the picks I thought it was masterful regardless of what players were even taken.... we increased our odds of hitting a winner vs busting all together like in the past.

Then the free agents. Again you can see Ken's hands in this. Love or hate the players... these contracts are awesome. While the rest of the league turned into drunk pirates we stayed calm and orchestrated some savy smart deals that fit immediate needs. All of them can shoot 3's (side note). Don't like the Aaron Afflalo deal? well its basically a 1 year deal. Don't like Tolliver? its the same thing. Barnes? again basically a 1 year deal at 6mil!!!! jeez thats nothing now.

Temple.. well ..he's literally a utility player like in baseball. He can play the 1-3 spots. We won't regret getting a glue guy like that for 2 years (player opt out 3rd). He plays with heart. He plays SOLID DEFENSE... and he a wonderful locker room guy. In fact WE ARE building a sold locker room of system guys. Barnes fyi by all accounts is a totally chill teammate unless your banging his ex wife. lol! and he harasses the other team not his own plus Cousins loves him. He was a surprise guest at Cousins youth camp.

Then the Kings stayed the hell away from Rondo... THANK GOD... anyone that thinks we should have kept him should go check out the James Ham podcast with Aaron Bruski... Rondo was hurting us almost as much as Karl, and thank the lord again Ken and Vlad have working eyes to see that. Its reassuring judgement.

Moral to the Story here .... is yes.... all these guys are movable pieces... no the the Kenny Thomas variety but the Kind that turn into 1st round picks like our old friend Marco.

Vlad and Ken aren't playing around.

They both walked into a total PR and FO nightmare. GET THIS INTO YOUR HEADS KINGS FANS... this isn't a free agent destination...YET..... We are gonna have to collect young talent (which we sure as hell just did) and we are gonna have to make trades (which we sure as hell have collected a bunch of tradable pieces).

Now even I could be on high alert depending on who we land via trade. or who we trade... BUT ON THE REAL GUYS... THIS FRONT OFFICES DESERVES WAAAAAY MORE LOVE AND CREDIT.

(MIC DROP..steps down from box)

 

[sactownfan]

anyone else catch Vlad's response to (I'm assuming) Ailene Voisin's question at the kings rookie introductory press conference. she says..."the league is getting smaller. you have a lot of centers and size on your roster. should we anticipate some moves? I mean you have 4 centers on your roster"

without blinking Vlad says "if coach needs me i'll suit up and we will have 5 centers!!!"

wow!!! just clowned her...

Vlad is a boss ! and as far as I'm aware he's been killing it since day one. PEOPLE NEED TO CHILL

 

[KingsFanGER]

I don't want to spoil your hope, but.....

this is the Grit and Grind Grizzlies without the players, that made it work.
No Conley, no Allen, no Lee, no Zbo, no Gasol, not even Jamychal Green or Lance Stephenson - just DMC and the hope, that Gay can turn into a useful player once again.
And Voisin is idiotic, but the question she asked Vlade is reasonable. Usually teams tend to play with only one true big. We have great depth at the 4/5 but our wing and guard positions are still bottom of the league in terms of talent. I like him, but nobody is afraid of Garret Temple, let alone Aaron Afflalo.
Can Joeger make it work? Maybe. He got the Grizzlies to a point, where they would barely kill themselves trying to overcome their lack of talent last year. It was beautiful to watch. But this intensity is not easily repeated and maintained over a whole season.
At least we signed one player, who may be one of the catalysts for all the scrapping and hustling of last years Grizzlies in Matt Barnes. But the dude is 36 years old and it remains to be seen if Cousins loves him or beats him bloody on first sight.

 

[sactownfan]

I don't want to spoil your hope, but.....

this is the Grit and Grind Grizzlies without the players, that made it work.
No Conley, no Allen, no Lee, no Zbo, no Gasol, not even Jamychal Green or Lance Stephenson - just DMC and the hope, that Gay can turn into a useful player once again.
And Voisin is idiotic, but the question she asked Vlade is reasonable. Usually teams tend to play with only one true big. We have great depth at the 4/5 but our wing and guard positions are still bottom of the league in terms of talent. I like him, but nobody is afraid of Garret Temple, let alone Aaron Afflalo.
Can Joeger make it work? Maybe. He got the Grizzlies to a point, where they would barely kill themselves trying to overcome their lack of talent last year. It was beautiful to watch. But this intensity is not easily repeated and maintained over a whole season.
At least we signed one player, who may be one of the catalysts for all the scrapping and hustling of last years Grizzlies in Matt Barnes. But the dude is 36 years old and it remains to be seen if Cousins loves him or beats him bloody on first sight.

Ok I think ...like everyone that actually covers the team is aware of. U can expect a trade. I'd say the odds of Koufos being on this roster at the start of the season is very very slim.

One maybe two moves before the season. Not to mention we are gonna be selling and buying at the trade deadline. I can almost guarantee that.

Also Barnes was invited by Cousins.... To be at Cousins youth camp. That was like 2 weeks ago or less. They are friends

 

[KingsFanGER]

Ok I think ...like everyone that actually covers the team is aware of. U can expect a trade. I'd say the odds of Koufos being on this roster at the start of the season is very very slim.

One maybe two moves before the season. Not to mention we are gonna be selling and buying at the trade deadline. I can almost guarantee that.

Also Barnes was invited by Cousins.... To be at Cousins youth camp. That was like 2 weeks ago or less. They are friends

Really? Now that's somewhat unexpected. I never thought Barnes had any friends.

Problem with a trade is that you have to give value to receive value. And we are not exactly a team, which has a ton of value to trade.
Kosta on a good contract and Rudy or Omri. I don't think teams will stand in line to give us their talent for that.

 

[Kingston Jamaica]

Really? Now that's somewhat unexpected. I never thought Barnes had any friends.

Problem with a trade is that you have to give value to receive value. And we are not exactly a team, which has a ton of value to trade.
Kosta on a good contract and Rudy or Omri. I don't think teams will stand in line to give us their talent for that.

I actually think they would. With the skyrocketing value of contracts all those three players are on very cheap contracts. Casspi's contract is fairly ridiculous. Now that the Kings are at the cap, the team is not able to take salary dumping contracts in exchange. However, in a trade the Kings can get excellent value (picks for instance) for these contracts that will not cripple those teams next year when the market will be even wilder.

 

[KingsFanGER]

I actually think they would. With the skyrocketing value of contracts all those three players are on very cheap contracts. Casspi's contract is fairly ridiculous. Now that the Kings are at the cap, the team is not able to take salary dumping contracts in exchange. However, in a trade the Kings can get excellent value (picks for instance) for these contracts that will not cripple those teams next year when the market will be even wilder.

Problem is, that picks don't help us to keep Cousins. Every move we made makes sense, once you realize, that we will never be able to build a good team around Cousins in the short amount of time we have left.
I like to root for underdogs and that's what we are right now. It's pretty difficult to find teams in the NBA right now with less immediate impac type of talent on their roster.
I hoped we would go after the right guys (or what I as a fan considered to be the right guys) in FA or use our cap space to trade for good value players. This hasn't happened and now we are less talented (or roughly equally talented, if you aren't high on Rondo) on paper, than we were last season.
Everyone is happy we didn't overpay for some players. Sounds strange to me, cause we did overpay for Temple, Barnes, Afflalo and Tolliver. I get it - stopgap contracts....but than we are talking about another rebuild one year from now.
And if we can't attract solid FA's this year, how do I get my hopes up for next year?
Still of course it's not always about talent in the NBA. It's about how the talent meshes. Maybe we get a good cinderella story out of this.

 

[KingsCitizen]

Well, gone are the days when any guard in the league gets career nights against the Kings. That would be a pleasant step to respectability.

 

[whozit]

I actually think they would. With the skyrocketing value of contracts all those three players are on very cheap contracts. Casspi's contract is fairly ridiculous. Now that the Kings are at the cap, the team is not able to take salary dumping contracts in exchange. However, in a trade the Kings can get excellent value (picks for instance) for these contracts that will not cripple those teams next year when the market will be even wilder.

Not necessarily true. I think maybe one of the reasons the Marco trade hasn't been finalized is if the Kings wait until the contracts are signed on the 7th they can get a trade exemption out of it. If that's the case, smart planning even if the trade exemption is never used.

 

[John Galt]

So outside a last min extremely small pick up. Its safe to conclude that the Kings free agency is over. With that now done. It appears trades are imminent. That said I wanted to take a time out from everything just to discuss the state of this teams Ownership, Front office, Coach, and new roster for the (sort lived) time being.

Lets start with everyones favorite ... the man of the hour VIVEK! RANADIVE!!! lol! j/k ... First off this guy is the only reason your reading this...MIC DROP.... The man deserves some love. Look he is crazy smart, and has been ultra successful in everything he's ever done for the most part. YES... he messed up... Honestly he had some friends in Chris Mullin and Mitch that he trusted and well ..... We all know the rest lol! I think its time to give him a break. After everything that just happened this offseason I wanna comend Vivek for being now non existent and staying the hell out of the way as far as we can see. Since he got rid of Pete the gerbil for Vlade things have been good.

Vlad... this guy... what can you say. Kept this franchise from going NUCLEAR. Walked into a mess. Karl wasn't his fault. FIRST OFF HE DIDN'T TRADE COUSINS !!! Then he drafted WCS! Adding Marco, Koufos, and Rondo were all smart and calculated moves. BTW that trade with the 76'ers...Marco got us a 1st round pick (a Vlade gem)... so factor that in when you freak out about losing picks. Again Karl wasn't his fault. Sure maybe Vlad should have let him go at the All-star break but the season was already lost and we were gonna continue to be the laughing stock. I see why he didn't do it. As a kings fan I've seen plenty of bad coaches. But the level of Karl's fail given the squad we had was of epic proportions. Karl finally started WCS and he was critical to our best 5 game winning streak. WCS is gonna be awesome. Wanna complain about Koufos contract. Look at what Mazgov just got. Tell me a team out there doesn't see value in Koufos deal. Vlade wins last off season in my book and thats with not much FO help!

Enter Ken and Peja... Realizing that he doesn't know everything. Vlad brings in Peja and Ken Catanella. Peja btw is our player development guy. Which i think is great. He's smart, classy, professional, and knows the finer points of the game. Plus the dude is still crazy fit!

Enter Dave Joerger.... ok heres a guy that Vlad clearly was interested in before he was let go. Im gonna just assume Dave and Vlad talked before he was let go. But Vlad locked this guy down ASAP. He's a winner at every level. He was in the playoffs last year with a duck tape squad. So he's a coach unlike our last that had success as of late #1 and #2 can adjust to things on the fly/get the most out of the players he HAS.. Dave's not gonna be in senile dream world. ...and he's not gonna be all mad scientist trying to reinvent the game.. he's gonna give the DAMN BALL TO COUSINS IN THE FREAKING PAINT AND LET COUSINS PITTY AND CRUSH FOOLS ... AND HES GONNA MAKE EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR TAKE SOME DAMN PRIDE IN DEFENSE....just like MEM did.

Now Ken... its too early to judge this years draft picks. But the know-how in pulling off BETTER trades and making things fit within the #'s or $'s is clearly paying off already. We had only the 8th pick that when it came time had none of the guys we wanted there at 8. So we turned it into a 1st round PROVEN EURO STUD! I SERIOUSLY CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH GUYS... A SINGLE DRAFT PICK IN THIS DRAFT CLASS WAS A SERIOUS CHANCE OF BUST. VLAD/KEN GOT A SOMEONE THATS BEEN PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BALL NOW FOR YEARS AND ON TOP OF THAT... IS ONE OF THE BEST!!! AND FITS A NEED! JEEZ... i don't care if he comes this year or next what a get. Plus Peja and Vlad are his idols.

Enter Dave Joerger.... ok heres a guy that Vlad clearly was interested in before he was let go. Im gonna just assume they talked before he was let go. But Vlad locked this guy down ASAP. He's a winner at every level. He was in the playoffs last year with a duck tape squad. So he's a coach unlike our last that had success as of late and can adjust to things on the fly.. plus he's not gonna be all mad scientist trying to reinvent the game.. he's gonna give the DAMN BALL TO COUSINS IN THE FREAKING PAINT AND LET COUSINS PITTY AND CRUSH FOOLS ... just like MEM did.

so 8th and Marco turn into a former 1st rd pick /PROVEN winner and professional SG Bogdanovic , and honestly a group of guys that could or could not turn into something. But a group of 5 guys vs just the 8th and 59th pick gives us waaaay better odds of someone turning into a Homerun! Love or hate the picks I thought it was masterful regardless of what players were even taken.... we increased our odds of hitting a winner vs busting all together like in the past.

Then the free agents. Again you can see Ken's hands in this. Love or hate the players... these contracts are awesome. While the rest of the league turned into drunk pirates we stayed calm and orchestrated some savy smart deals that fit immediate needs. All of them can shoot 3's (side note). Don't like the Aaron Afflalo deal? well its basically a 1 year deal. Don't like Tolliver? its the same thing. Barnes? again basically a 1 year deal at 6mil!!!! jeez thats nothing now.

Temple.. well ..he's literally a utility player like in baseball. He can play the 1-3 spots. We won't regret getting a glue guy like that for 2 years (player opt out 3rd). He plays with heart. He plays SOLID DEFENSE... and he a wonderful locker room guy. In fact WE ARE building a sold locker room of system guys. Barnes fyi by all accounts is a totally chill teammate unless your banging his ex wife. lol! and he harasses the other team not his own plus Cousins loves him. He was a surprise guest at Cousins youth camp.

Then the Kings stayed the hell away from Rondo... THANK GOD... anyone that thinks we should have kept him should go check out the James Ham podcast with Aaron Bruski... Rondo was hurting us almost as much as Karl, and thank the lord again Ken and Vlad have working eyes to see that. Its reassuring judgement.

Moral to the Story here .... is yes.... all these guys are movable pieces... no the the Kenny Thomas variety but the Kind that turn into 1st round picks like our old friend Marco.

Vlad and Ken aren't playing around.

They both walked into a total PR and FO nightmare. GET THIS INTO YOUR HEADS KINGS FANS... this isn't a free agent destination...YET..... We are gonna have to collect young talent (which we sure as hell just did) and we are gonna have to make trades (which we sure as hell have collected a bunch of tradable pieces).

Now even I could be on high alert depending on who we land via trade. or who we trade... BUT ON THE REAL GUYS... THIS FRONT OFFICES DESERVES WAAAAAY MORE LOVE AND CREDIT.

(MIC DROP..steps down from box)

I agree with most of this post - I think Vlade is doing a hell of a job and I think Vivek deserves a lot of credit for stepping back. And our salary cap positioning for NEXT off-season looks tremendous.

If he can pull a Rudy/Ben/KK for terrific PG (Bledsoe, Knight, Dragic, even Rubio)... will be the finishing touch on a masterful off-season.

I don't agree with the dumping on Rondo though - Bruski is hardly objective about this he was bashing Rondo before he got off the plane. Every time I see him rip Rondo I visualize this drunk guy typing - but he can't possibly drink THAT much can he? But he's got it in for Rondo and he's stubborn with his opinions.

I am really excited to see this group of players and coaches go to work. Vlade hasn't done anything in draft/FA that has made me uncomfortable. He should have bounced Karl at the all star break last year - that's his only error imo.

 

[ParniValjak]

Franchise has had a good offseason so far but let's wait to see what the roster looks like heading into the season. Even if we go into the seasons as we are currently constructed, I would be comfortable.

I am going to hold off until I see what we do with trades. I do love the grittiness of the team and the cap flexibility for next offseason. We could end up having enough room for two max free agents and that is before extending Cousins.

 

[funkykingston]

Despite all of last year's dysfunction the Kings were still in contention for the 8th spot for most of the season, actually occupying that spot at one point.

Rondo, Curry, Anderson, Belinelli, Acy, Dukan and Moreland have been replaced by Temple, Afflalo, Barnes, Richardson, Tolliver, Labissiere and Papagiannis.

I wanted to see Curry & Acy return and am still holding out a bit of hope that it happens but overall it's hard to argue that this isn't improvement. More size, more defense, more outside shooting, more potential, and almost certainly better chemistry.

I loved watching Rondo play but I completely understand the Kings not bringing him back. Joerger stresses defense and at this point Rondo plays some of the worst defense at the PG position. And Joerger wants to be able to tailor the offense the way he wants and has talked about ball movement while Rondo dominates the ball and only plays how he wants to play.

That's a big part of what makes Rondo, Rondo. He's inflexible. And he'll fight you rather than conform. He's proud of getting into it with every coach he's had. People have said that Joerger could maybe convince him to play defense again. But Rondo didn't play a lick in a contract year and in his previous contract year he completely sabotaged himself by going to war against Carlisle. Rondo is what he is and he won't capitulate to anyone. I can appreciate the stubbornness and his faith in himself and his way of doing things but it doesn't lend itself to a coach trying to change culture and habits.

Oh, and the Kings were also 1.4 points worse when Rondo was on the floor versus when he wasn't.

No, this isn't a contending team. But with the GM, the head coach and seemingly the best player all on the same page and with a roster reshaped to fit the coach's needs and to help maximize Cousin's effectiveness it coukd be a playoff team. And one that comes to play hard every night. Right now that's enough for me.

What I like about what Divac, Catananella, Bratz, Beech, Stojakovic, Joerger and the rest of the team has done is that they've shown flexibility and a willingness and ability to change direction quickly. They looked to trade up for Dunn and when the price was too high they hoped one of the guards (Murray, Hield, maybe Brown) would fall into their lap at 8. When they didn't they moved down five spots while also picking up Bogfanovic and a second first rounder.

And Belinelli for 22 is still just slightly unvelievable. I threw out the idea of the Kings trading 8 for 13 & 28 before the draft and then using Marco & 28 to trade up to #24 to get Bembry or Beasley and was told that Belinelli didn't have the value to move up those four slots. Well Vlade got a higher pick straight up for Marco. Impressive.

The Kings also clearly wanted Anderson. I think their goal was Ryno and a SG. When he turned them down they grabbed Tolliver instead and used the leftover cap on Temple and Barnes all on team friendly deals. No panicky moves. Nothing that constrains them going forward.

It remains to be seen how well these moves & draft picks pan out but these aren't the head scratching moves of previous regimes. This isn't letting Tyreke walk, offering Iguodala a deal before pulling it and then signing Landry. These moves all make sense and point to a plan. They didn't draft the guys I would have and didn't target free agents I was thinking of but I understand all of the moves.

I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm given my relatively high expectations for last season only to see the wheels completely fall off but now this feels a lot more like an organization that is all moving in the same direction. Nice.

 

[King Baller]

The thing I find interesting is how the Draft and Free Agent process was used to acquire a high number of players. 4 players drafted, 1 traded for and now 4 signed so far in Free Agency. 9 players total added to the Kings at this point is quite a haul! Every one of these guys is 6' 5" or taller!

Several of these players hang their hat on defense and just about every one can shoot the ball while having all around basketball skills.

I suspect these guys are going to get after it on defense and I really look forward to watching this team play.

 

[jcwkings]

I am neither jumping for joy nor hitting my head against a wall for the moves so far. With that said its pretty clear what what the plan is. Cousins surrounded by a bunch of scrappy role players that can hit a spot three when asked, grind it out offense. With that said this is a one year shot. Vlade has left himself the option to trade Cousins and all the older players go with him leaving us the young pieces plus whatever we fetch back in trades.

 

[dude12]

I had mentioned some time ago that when all the other teams are trying to emulate the Warriors, the one thing we could take from them is the length of their roster. Klay, Livingston, Iggy, Barnes, Green, etc all long. Our draft picks have length and these signings are the same. We should be a solid defensive team at a minimum. It's hard to believe but with the exception of Malone, we haven't had a coach who stressed defense since Adelman.

 

[Sac.1989]

In Vlade I trust

 

[kingsboi]

The most important factor I take from free agency so far is signing these players to short term deals, leaving the team with cap flexibility and being able to absorb big contracts if it comes down to that. That doesn't mean go and spend max money on two free agents that won't make the team significant playoff contenders, the vision is in place for once. From here, patience, chemistry and continuity is what is expected. I don't know of any other NBA All-star in the league that has gone through so many different teammates in his career than Boogie, so let's hope some of these players that are on the roster stick around for more than one or two seasons.

 

[gunks]

My only gripe is not resigning Seth, who I think showed promise as a solid bench contributer.

All the kids in our part of the draft were projects, so I dig Vlade trading down for more shots at a keeper.

We'd need to overpay for a meh FA, so I like that Vlade just signed a bunch of solid tough guys. No reason to blow our cap on a 3rd/4th option type like some teams *cough* Lakers *cough* are doing!

All we need for Vlade to get a solid B+ would be a trade that nets us a good PG. I think we see Rudy shipped out to get us one. Hell, the right Rudy trade might give this offseason an A grade from me!