I'm not sure we'll see a FA center signing in the offseason. I think the FO/Karl is under the assumption that we have our starting center and backup center (Cousins/Thompson). I'm really not that optimistic on any big time trades or free agent signings. For each position, this is what I could see happen:
PG - I could see us signing a serviceable, backup, veteran PG that continues to space the floor with Collison out. CJ Watson seems attainable and would fit the role well without breaking the bank (43% and 38% from catch & shoot 3s the past two years). I could see see us resigning Andre Miller to give us 4 decent PGs on our roster and to also act as a mentor to our young players/guards.
SG - I could see us sticking with McLemore and Stauskas even though we could desperately need a Collison level player at SG as well. On the bright side though, both McLemore and Stauskas would be perfect compliments for this team if they hit their potential. Both should be dynamite shooters from three. Our shooting would be very strong with two 40%+ 3pt shooters at SG. It's just a matter of them reaching that potential, but again, I'm not sure we're able to upgrade that position with what's available.
SF - I think we resign Casspi as our SF off the bench. He was obviously shooting 3s at a ridiculous rate after the all-star break, and he had a knack for scoring efficiently and making hustle plays. I also think we go after another bench wing. Turkoglu would be my guess. He's good friends with Vlade and loves the city of Sacramento. I think there's a good opportunity we bring him aboard. Both Casspi and Turkoglu would give us two more 40% 3pt shooters off the bench to help spread the floor further. With Collison, Watson, Casspi, Turkoglu, and potentially McLemore & Stauskas, you have 6 players who all can knock down 3s at a clip of 37% or better. I think our floor spacing would be much better.
PF - I think we either take Cauley-Stein or Porzingis here. I think the FO would target Cauley-Stein first to give us a player who is more NBA ready, but if he's gone, I could see them taking Porzingis. I could also see them adding another PF who they may want to try and start next to Cousins. Amir Johnson, Kyle O'Quinn, Ed Davis, & Jordan Hill might all be options. I think Amir Johnson would be a good fit with his combination of shooting, defense, & hustle.
C - At center, I don't see us targeting one of the mid level Cs with Thompson here. I think it's far more likely that we go after a 3rd string center to add depth. Wouldn't be surprised to see Hollins come back; however, I would prefer to see Aldrich fill this spot.
PG - Collison/Watson/Miller/McCallum
SG - McLemore/Stauskas
SF - Gay/Casspi/Turkoglu
PF - A. Johnson/(#6 - Cauley-Stein/Porzingis)/Moreland
C - Cousins/Thompson/Aldrich
It seems very underwhelming, but that team could actually surprise some people next year. Collison, McLemore, Gay, & Johnson can all stretch it out to the three, but we're not giving up size or interior defense to do so. The backups (Watson, Stauskas, Casspi, Turkoglu) are all good shooters as well. There really should never be a time when Cousins is on the floor and doesn't have at least 3 good 3pt shooters around him with this roster.
The thing you have to worry about is defense. You know that Cousins, Collison, and Johnson will be good defenders. Cauley-Stein/Porzingis should be a good defensive addition when it's all said and done. The real key here is McLemore. We would desperately need him to become a consistently good perimeter player to really take this team to the next level. We really lack a good wing defender right now. McLemore would need to become that for us.
If McLemore becomes that defender we need him to be, I think we could defensively matchup with any team in the west right now, and that's mainly because the top teams in the west don't have an elite SF. If Collison, McLemore, Johnson/Cauley-Stein, & Cousins are all good defenders, we should be hard to exploit. We mainly have to worry about teams with strong SFs who can go at Gay. I wouldn't say Gay is a bad defender, but he's not the type of guy you rely on defensively.
Durant, Leonard, and Wiggins (in the future) could give us fits. However, we might have a way to combat that. If we were to play a team like the Thunder or Spurs, we could play a big lineup to try and shut down these SFs. For instance, this is how we would matchup with both teams:
Westbrook/Parker - Collison
Morrow/Green - Gay
Durant/Leonard - Cauley-Stein
Ibaka/Splitter - A. Johnson
Adams/Duncan - Cousins
In this scenario, we put Gay on the weaker offensive SGs who are mainly in the lineup to spot-up. Meanwhile, we put the uber athletic and long Cauley-Stein on Durant & Leonard to try and slow them down as much as possible. This big lineup would really rely on A. Johnson becoming a consistent 3pt threat to give us enough floor spacing offensively. Not to mention, Cauley-Stein refining a midrange jumper would help a lot as well. A lot of ifs in this big lineup, but an interesting one to say the least..
