Who Should We Sign? (2023 Off-Season)

[iowamcnabb]

What is Barnes better at than Grant? I find myself asking this question and I struggle to come up with much of a list.

id say leadership, availability and getting to the line. Plus I’d lean towards Barnes beyond the arc.

I find myself leaning further and further into the idea that we already have our big three in place and likely need some lower usage role players to fill in the rest. Having said that, I can’t say I’ve pinpointed exactly who those players are

 

[Capt. Factorial]

What is Barnes better at than Grant? I find myself asking this question and I struggle to come up with much of a list.

Over the past three years? From a statistical point of view Barnes has been better in just about everything. He's a better shooter (both from 2 and from 3) and has a lot fewer shot attempts and a way lower usage rate, which is consistent with what the Kings need. On offense Grant is a volume scorer. We have plenty of scoring and can easily get more in Vezenkov, we don't need volume scoring, we need a seamless-fit team-oriented role player.

In the same time frame the advanced stats are mixed - WS loves Barnes, VORP/BPM/PER kind of like Grant. But TS% loves Barnes, and FTr loves Barnes, and those are stats that speak to me when a guy is playing 2000+ minutes a year.

Speaking of that, from an availability point of view, in the past three years Grant has only played 75% of the games Barnes has and has come up about 1800 minutes short of Barnes' total minutes, so there's that.

Really, from a statistical point of view just about the only thing that Grant does consistently better than Barnes is to block shots - coming up to a bit less than one more block per game. But to get that one block per game, you're giving up shooting efficiency, you're giving up an acknowledged great locker room presence and replacing that with a guy who has in the past made noises like he deserves to be the top dog on a team, you're getting a guy who is probably going to act like a volume scorer and cause additional chemistry issues, and you're paying probably an extra $5-10M a year for the privilege - while having to clear cap room to do it instead of being able to just use Bird Rights.

So...count me 100% in the Bring Back Barnes Rather Than Make A Play For Grant faction.

 

[The_Jamal]

Over the past three years? From a statistical point of view Barnes has been better in just about everything. He's a better shooter (both from 2 and from 3) and has a lot fewer shot attempts and a way lower usage rate, which is consistent with what the Kings need. On offense Grant is a volume scorer. We have plenty of scoring and can easily get more in Vezenkov, we don't need volume scoring, we need a seamless-fit team-oriented role player.

In the same time frame the advanced stats are mixed - WS loves Barnes, VORP/BPM/PER kind of like Grant. But TS% loves Barnes, and FTr loves Barnes, and those are stats that speak to me when a guy is playing 2000+ minutes a year.

Speaking of that, from an availability point of view, in the past three years Grant has only played 75% of the games Barnes has and has come up about 1800 minutes short of Barnes' total minutes, so there's that.

Really, from a statistical point of view just about the only thing that Grant does consistently better than Barnes is to block shots - coming up to a bit less than one more block per game. But to get that one block per game, you're giving up shooting efficiency, you're giving up an acknowledged great locker room presence and replacing that with a guy who has in the past made noises like he deserves to be the top dog on a team, you're getting a guy who is probably going to act like a volume scorer and cause additional chemistry issues, and you're paying probably an extra $5-10M a year for the privilege - while having to clear cap room to do it instead of being able to just use Bird Rights.

So...count me 100% in the Bring Back Barnes Rather Than Make A Play For Grant faction.

Yeah, pretty much all this.

It'd be different to say if we were going to ADD Grant to our core from last year. Now something like that could be a move to put us over the top into a WCF type team. But paying Grant $10+mil more/season over Barnes just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. That's a move a bad FO makes

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Yeah, pretty much all this.

After I wrote this I scrolled back and saw that you made a bunch of the same points a few posts up. Didn't mean to plagiarize!

 

[KingsFanSince85]

I just wanna know, IF Boston ends up losing this series to Philly tonight or even in game 7 will anybody from that team be available?

I’m not talking so much about Jaylen Brown, but rather Marcus Smart.

I’d love to see that guy in a KINGS uni sporting purple highlighted hair.

Any chance to work a trade to get him? Could BOS possibly be interested in Kevin Huerter and another asset?

 

[ockingsfan]

As far as I'm concerned, the choice in the summer should be either re-sign HB to a team friendly contract (i.e. $15 mil per (preferred) to $18 mil per (max)) OR we go after a younger, longer, and cheaper (than HB) player with upside (i.e. Naz Reid, PJ Washington, types) that can grow with our core (Fox, Ox, Keegan, Monk).

I think breaking the bank to sign a high priced gunner like Kuzma or Jerami Grant would be a huge mistake. They are not going to put us over the top and they will impede Keegan's development.

I think the smartest thing to do is to allow Keegan the usage to grow into that 3rd star role. The Kings are 2 years away from serious title contention and that is when Keegan should be hitting his stride.

 

[twslam07]

As being good at basketball lol.

I think we can agree his DEN role playing days are a thing of the past. That's not who he's going to be if we go sign him. But he was not good in DET and was very close to full blown chucker status. 55.6% TS on 28.5 and 25.7% USG is atrocious.

I'll concede he looked much better in a 2nd/3rd option role with POR and a much more palatable 22.8% USG. But what are we really paying for here? Is a slightly better on-ball scorer than Barnes worth a 4/100 type contract? And he's fine on defense, but he's nowhere close to the same defender he was as a younger player that got him into a larger role. He's nowhere close to a stopper anymore.

To add on to that, played 54, 47 and 63 games the last 3 years. If I'm making a $100 mil bet on someone, there should be no question he'd step in right away and help get this team into a WCF. I don't see that with Grant.

I think saying he was bad in DET is a bit disingenuous. He was essentially asked to be THE guy in DET surrounded by a bunch of inexperienced players. I would just say he was in the wrong role. He’s not a #1 scorer but he’s proven to be a very solid & efficient secondary option.

I guess we disagree that Grant is only a slightly better scorer than Barnes but let’s be clear. You’re not just paying for a better scorer. You’re paying for a better & more versatile defender, a better rim protector, a better shooter, a better matchup when opposing teams have a lot of length at PF, and a younger player.

The games played the last few seasons is concerning but I’m wondering how many of these missed games are due to tanking/shutting him down. After all, he has been on 3 bottom dwelling teams the past few seasons while he’s missed few games in the seasons prior. I’m sure some in depth research would confirm if that theory is true but I’m too lazy to look.

Defensively, he’s still a good defender today, and I have faith he’d flourish here defensively considering the reports of how coachable he is and the fact that we’d have Mike Brown in his ears. Also, I think come playoff time when defense is a little less about effort and more about defensive skill (since everyone is typically trying really hard on defense in the playoffs), I think Grant’s defense translates really well to the playoff game.

I guess the last thing I’ll say is that $100 mil/4 years is likely not going to land you some star talent who’s a tier above Grant. I think you’ll come up empty searching for a FA signing who will agree to that amount of money while also giving you absolute confidence that he’d step in right away and help get this team into a WCF. Hell I could easily see Cam Johnson costing that much this off-season. Does he constitute a player that will catapult this team into the WCF? I don’t think so. The first year salary of max contracts this year are going to be $33.5 mil/$40.2 mil/$46.9 mil. Next year, it will be $35.75 mil/$42.9 mil/$50.05 mil. And if the salary cap takes a big jump to $171 mil for the 2025-26 season (due to the new TV deal), you’re looking at $42.75 mil/$51.3 mil/$59.85 mil. I don’t think signing a guy like Grant to $25-30 mil is going to hamstring as much as people think. Players are going to be getting some ridiculous contracts here pretty soon.

 

[twslam07]

Over the past three years? From a statistical point of view Barnes has been better in just about everything. He's a better shooter (both from 2 and from 3) and has a lot fewer shot attempts and a way lower usage rate, which is consistent with what the Kings need. On offense Grant is a volume scorer. We have plenty of scoring and can easily get more in Vezenkov, we don't need volume scoring, we need a seamless-fit team-oriented role player.

In the same time frame the advanced stats are mixed - WS loves Barnes, VORP/BPM/PER kind of like Grant. But TS% loves Barnes, and FTr loves Barnes, and those are stats that speak to me when a guy is playing 2000+ minutes a year.

Speaking of that, from an availability point of view, in the past three years Grant has only played 75% of the games Barnes has and has come up about 1800 minutes short of Barnes' total minutes, so there's that.

Really, from a statistical point of view just about the only thing that Grant does consistently better than Barnes is to block shots - coming up to a bit less than one more block per game. But to get that one block per game, you're giving up shooting efficiency, you're giving up an acknowledged great locker room presence and replacing that with a guy who has in the past made noises like he deserves to be the top dog on a team, you're getting a guy who is probably going to act like a volume scorer and cause additional chemistry issues, and you're paying probably an extra $5-10M a year for the privilege - while having to clear cap room to do it instead of being able to just use Bird Rights.

So...count me 100% in the Bring Back Barnes Rather Than Make A Play For Grant faction.

I think these are some fair observations when you take into account the past 3 seasons (2 of which Grant was asked to be THE guy). I was more referencing last season as they both were in roles that better suited their skills.


Grant vs. Barnes
Height w/o Shoes: 6’6.5” vs. 6’7”
Standing Reach: 8’11” vs. 8’5.5”
Wingspan: 7’2.75” vs. 6’11.25”
USG%: .228 vs. .171
TS%: .606 vs. .632
FG%: .475 vs. .473
2P%: .523 vs. .553
3P%: .401 vs. .374
FT%: .813 vs. .847
FGA: 14.6 vs. 10.7
2PA: 8.9 vs. 5.9
3PA: 5.8 vs. 4.8
FTA: 5.5 vs. 5.6
PTS: 20.7 vs. 16.6
REB: 4.5 vs. 4.9
AST: 2.4 vs. 1.7
STL: 0.8 vs. 0.8
BLK: 0.8 vs. 0.1
TO: 1.9 vs. 1.2
PF: 2.4 vs. 1.4


Grant

• Much longer
• More athletic
• Younger
• Better volume/go-to scorer (20 PTS on 60% TS%)
• Better 3PT shooter
• Better defender
• Better rim protector

Barnes

• Stronger
• More available
• Better leadership (don’t know if we really know this?)
• Better FT shooter (although Grant is solid at 81%)
• Getting to the FT line

 

[twslam07]

As far as I'm concerned, the choice in the summer should be either re-sign HB to a team friendly contract (i.e. $15 mil per (preferred) to $18 mil per (max)) OR we go after a younger, longer, and cheaper (than HB) player with upside (i.e. Naz Reid, PJ Washington, types) that can grow with our core (Fox, Ox, Keegan, Monk).

I think breaking the bank to sign a high priced gunner like Kuzma or Jerami Grant would be a huge mistake. They are not going to put us over the top and they will impede Keegan's development.

I think the smartest thing to do is to allow Keegan the usage to grow into that 3rd star role. The Kings are 2 years away from serious title contention and that is when Keegan should be hitting his stride.

I’d certainly be very happy if we signed PJ Washington as well. I’m not really going to fight many people on this considering he could likely be had for less than Grant (assuming CHA doesn’t match) and we’d be able to keep Mitchell or #24 (whatever we would have to use in a trade to dump Holmes).

He has virtually the same length as Grant and he’s got very good strength at PF too. He’s certainly a guy I’d feel better about throwing him on some of the bigger, elite PFs in the league and not feel completely hopeless.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

As far as I'm concerned, the choice in the summer should be either re-sign HB to a team friendly contract (i.e. $15 mil per (preferred) to $18 mil per (max)) OR we go after a younger, longer, and cheaper (than HB) player with upside (i.e. Naz Reid, PJ Washington, types) that can grow with our core (Fox, Ox, Keegan, Monk).

I think breaking the bank to sign a high priced gunner like Kuzma or Jerami Grant would be a huge mistake. They are not going to put us over the top and they will impede Keegan's development.

I think the smartest thing to do is to allow Keegan the usage to grow into that 3rd star role. The Kings are 2 years away from serious title contention and that is when Keegan should be hitting his stride.

Please never mention KK again. ;j

Not directed at you, but I’ve never understood his name being brought up so much over the past couple years. He’s a garbage player whose game and personality isn’t conducive to winning.

I wish certain people here would stop bringing up his name. He’s far from the type of player and personality this team should be looking to add.

If Monte McNair has really had serious interest in that douche, then I’ve lost respect for the guy. Furthermore, if that douche ends up on this team it’ll really place my fandom into jeopardy. I just can’t enjoy rooting for a team with jackholes like that on the team, that aren’t remotely close to good enough to counterbalance the negatives.

I’m not necessarily a Jerami Grant super fan, but I’d take that guy over KK everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. Same goes for the villain Draymond Green.

 

[SacTownKid]

What is Barnes better at than Grant? I find myself asking this question and I struggle to come up with much of a list.

Barnes is still top 5 (I think?) in iso play. He's like in the 96th percentile. That's elite status. The issue is he doesn't do it enough. His frequency is pretty average. It's probably why players like Domas and Barnes are as efficient but seem to lack that take over ability. They simply don't take bad shots and that limits the shots they will take.

 

[SacTownKid]

I’d certainly be very happy if we signed PJ Washington as well. I’m not really going to fight many people on this considering he could likely be had for less than Grant (assuming CHA doesn’t match) and we’d be able to keep Mitchell or #24 (whatever we would have to use in a trade to dump Holmes).

He has virtually the same length as Grant and he’s got very good strength at PF too. He’s certainly a guy I’d feel better about throwing him on some of the bigger, elite PFs in the league and not feel completely hopeless.

Grant is more athletic than PJ though. The question with PJ is what the Hornets are going to do. Sounds like Bridges is coming back so they might want to reload with their own guys and shoot for the playoffs next year. If so, PJ probably stays.

 

[Stan.Helsing]

I think saying he was bad in DET is a bit disingenuous. He was essentially asked to be THE guy in DET surrounded by a bunch of inexperienced players. I would just say he was in the wrong role. He’s not a #1 scorer but he’s proven to be a very solid & efficient secondary option.

I guess we disagree that Grant is only a slightly better scorer than Barnes but let’s be clear. You’re not just paying for a better scorer. You’re paying for a better & more versatile defender, a better rim protector, a better shooter, a better matchup when opposing teams have a lot of length at PF, and a younger player.

The games played the last few seasons is concerning but I’m wondering how many of these missed games are due to tanking/shutting him down. After all, he has been on 3 bottom dwelling teams the past few seasons while he’s missed few games in the seasons prior. I’m sure some in depth research would confirm if that theory is true but I’m too lazy to look.

Defensively, he’s still a good defender today, and I have faith he’d flourish here defensively considering the reports of how coachable he is and the fact that we’d have Mike Brown in his ears. Also, I think come playoff time when defense is a little less about effort and more about defensive skill (since everyone is typically trying really hard on defense in the playoffs), I think Grant’s defense translates really well to the playoff game.

I guess the last thing I’ll say is that $100 mil/4 years is likely not going to land you some star talent who’s a tier above Grant. I think you’ll come up empty searching for a FA signing who will agree to that amount of money while also giving you absolute confidence that he’d step in right away and help get this team into a WCF. Hell I could easily see Cam Johnson costing that much this off-season. Does he constitute a player that will catapult this team into the WCF? I don’t think so. The first year salary of max contracts this year are going to be $33.5 mil/$40.2 mil/$46.9 mil. Next year, it will be $35.75 mil/$42.9 mil/$50.05 mil. And if the salary cap takes a big jump to $171 mil for the 2025-26 season (due to the new TV deal), you’re looking at $42.75 mil/$51.3 mil/$59.85 mil. I don’t think signing a guy like Grant to $25-30 mil is going to hamstring as much as people think. Players are going to be getting some ridiculous contracts here pretty soon.

Agreed that Jerami Grant is a better player than Barnes, on both offense and defense. $25M (or $100M/4) would be perfect for Jerami but probably not more. I wouldn't want to pay him $30M cause then it would mean you have to pay Sabonis $35M or more. All those savings add up. I can't see the Kings paying luxury tax like GSW has. Truthfully, nobody should have to pay that sort of luxury tax either, and GSW are an anomaly because of their commercial revenue.

In an ideal world...

Fox: 35M
Sabonis: 30M
Grant: 25M
Murray: 15-20M? (when it is time)
Huerter: 14M
Monk: 9M
------------------------
Already totals 134M

 

[The_Jamal]

I think these are some fair observations when you take into account the past 3 seasons (2 of which Grant was asked to be THE guy). I was more referencing last season as they both were in roles that better suited their skills.


Grant vs. Barnes
Height w/o Shoes: 6’6.5” vs. 6’7”
Standing Reach: 8’11” vs. 8’5.5”
Wingspan: 7’2.75” vs. 6’11.25”
USG%: .228 vs. .171
TS%: .606 vs. .632
FG%: .475 vs. .473
2P%: .523 vs. .553
3P%: .401 vs. .374
FT%: .813 vs. .847
FGA: 14.6 vs. 10.7
2PA: 8.9 vs. 5.9
3PA: 5.8 vs. 4.8
FTA: 5.5 vs. 5.6
PTS: 20.7 vs. 16.6
REB: 4.5 vs. 4.9
AST: 2.4 vs. 1.7
STL: 0.8 vs. 0.8
BLK: 0.8 vs. 0.1
TO: 1.9 vs. 1.2
PF: 2.4 vs. 1.4


Grant

• Much longer
• More athletic
• Younger
• Better volume/go-to scorer (20 PTS on 60% TS%)
• Better 3PT shooter
• Better defender
• Better rim protector

Barnes

• Stronger
• More available
• Better leadership (don’t know if we really know this?)
• Better FT shooter (although Grant is solid at 81%)
• Getting to the FT line

I mean... come on. Grant is not a better 3pt shooter than Barnes. That's ridiculous. You can keep posting wingspan all you want, but wingspan doesn't play on the NBA floor. HB has been better the last 3 seasons than Grant and I think you could make an argument was even better last year than Grant was in his "Career" year.

You're severely overrating one outlier efficiency season from Grant. You're too smart to just think that's who Grant is going to be going forward after 9 seasons in the NBA. And it wasn't even that good! It's not like Grant was some super impact star last year, outside of the efficient scoring.

Grant is good. But overspending for veterans that are capped out like Grant and HB, who really aren't super impactful towards winning, are how good teams get stuck and hit a ceiling. And it's how bad teams stay bad by misusing their cap resources.

 

[hrdboild]

I mean... come on. Grant is not a better 3pt shooter than Barnes. That's ridiculous. You can keep posting wingspan all you want, but wingspan doesn't play on the NBA floor. HB has been better the last 3 seasons than Grant and I think you could make an argument was even better last year than Grant was in his "Career" year.

You're severely overrating one outlier efficiency season from Grant. You're too smart to just think that's who Grant is going to be going forward after 9 seasons in the NBA. And it wasn't even that good! It's not like Grant was some super impact star last year, outside of the efficient scoring.

Grant is good. But overspending for veterans that are capped out like Grant and HB, who really aren't super impactful towards winning, are how good teams get stuck and hit a ceiling. And it's how bad teams stay bad by misusing their cap resources.

The irony of comparing Jerami Grant and Harrison Barnes is that both of them had a similar mid-career turn where they suddenly became a #1 option on a bad team and went from being a complimentary piece averaging around 12-13 ppg consistently with solid defense and great shooting splits to averaging around 20ppg but with poor efficiency and mediocre defense.

Jerami Grant had a bit of a bounce back year with his shooting and would probably rediscover a better version of himself if he went to a team with more structure and a winning core to play off of. He's a solid NBA starter who could find a role on most teams but I agree with you that I don't think he's a guy you break the bank for in our situation. Like Barnes he doesn't rebound the ball well for a PF and other than a small uptick in shot-blocking, I don't think he's enough of a defender to make the investment pay off.

I think Keegan will play a bigger role in the offense which will counteract losing Barnes. I know some would argue that the team will fall apart if we lose the floor spacing afforded by having three shooters around Fox and Sabonis but I expect Fox will continue to improve as a shooter to the point where we'll be able to play a more traditional PF in the starting lineup then shift Keegan to that spot for stretches as matchups allow. I'd only be looking at defenders in free agency right now. Using our cap space to find someone like a Matisse Thybulle type and/or a Kevon Looney type who is only on the court to defend or rebound is going to be more impactful for us in the playoffs than overpaying for a second tier veteran do-it-all forward.

 

[SacTownKid]

The irony of comparing Jerami Grant and Harrison Barnes is that both of them had a similar mid-career turn where they suddenly became a #1 option on a bad team and went from being a complimentary piece averaging around 12-13 ppg consistently with solid defense and great shooting splits to averaging around 20ppg but with poor efficiency and mediocre defense.

Jerami Grant had a bit of a bounce back year with his shooting and would probably rediscover a better version of himself if he went to a team with more structure and a winning core to play off of. He's a solid NBA starter who could find a role on most teams but I agree with you that I don't think he's a guy you break the bank for in our situation. Like Barnes he doesn't rebound the ball well for a PF and other than a small uptick in shot-blocking, I don't think he's enough of a defender to make the investment pay off.

I think Keegan will play a bigger role in the offense which will counteract losing Barnes. I know some would argue that the team will fall apart if we lose the floor spacing afforded by having three shooters around Fox and Sabonis but I expect Fox will continue to improve as a shooter to the point where we'll be able to play a more traditional PF in the starting lineup then shift Keegan to that spot for stretches as matchups allow. I'd only be looking at defenders in free agency right now. Using our cap space to find someone like a Matisse Thybulle type and/or a Kevon Looney type who is only on the court to defend or rebound is going to be more impactful for us in the playoffs than overpaying for a second tier veteran do-it-all forward.

I still don't think the shooting isn't the issue, I think if you lose anything that Barnes brings when it comes to that iso play and ability to draw contact, and someone like Keegan or someone else doesn't step up into that role then this team will only get farther and farther from what playoff ball is governed by and that's physical play where player can get their own shots. I brought the stats up, the only players that averaged anything over 1 FT per game come playoff time for Sacramento were Fox, Domas, Monk, and Barnes. Between Barnes and Grant, I think Grant has more of a scorers mentality at times and this team is missing that for sure. Keegan could be that guy, but now it's going to be a big test if they are relying on that because in his first season he hovered around spot shooter territory as for those very same iso stats and FT's per game. In fact as the season went along he dipped from his whopping 1.1 FT's per game pre all star to 0.7.

 

[serbiangoat]

A sneaky trade option could be Kendrich Williams he's got that Jimmy Butler type dog and game in him (WAY LESS TALENTED) and really helped OKC I wonder what it would take for a Poku/Kenrich package.

 

[hrdboild]

I still don't think the shooting isn't the issue, I think if you lose anything that Barnes brings when it comes to that iso play and ability to draw contact, and someone like Keegan or someone else doesn't step up into that role then this team will only get farther and farther from what playoff ball is governed by and that's physical play where player can get their own shots. I brought the stats up, the only players that averaged anything over 1 FT per game come playoff time for Sacramento were Fox, Domas, Monk, and Barnes. Between Barnes and Grant, I think Grant has more of a scorers mentality at times and this team is missing that for sure. Keegan could be that guy, but now it's going to be a big test if they are relying on that because in his first season he hovered around spot shooter territory as for those very same iso stats and FT's per game. In fact as the season went along he dipped from his whopping 1.1 FT's per game pre all star to 0.7.

Keegan needs to get to the line more, no question, but it doesn't necessarily need to come from self-creation. Domas and Fox are both elite at drawing attention and then finding open cutters. I see Keegan getting most of his FTA attempts in the future by cutting to the basket and receiving the pass in a position where the defense is going to have to foul him or give him the layup. That's mostly about him playing more aggressive and seeking contact. We started to see more of that toward the end of the season. He still wasn't getting to the line but he was cutting more and pulling up from mid-range more which are plays where he should be able to draw contact in the future.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Jerami Grant is a much more valuable playoff type player than Barnes. A true 4 with his length, who can also guard elite 3's. He showed a lot of value with Denver, under coach Malone who demands defense....and he's the kind of player that would give the Kings a more realistic outlook for a deep playoff run and possibly a contender. Would be really interesting to see what Brown could do with him.

 

[SacTownKid]

Keegan needs to get to the line more, no question, but it doesn't necessarily need to come from self-creation. Domas and Fox are both elite at drawing attention and then finding open cutters. I see Keegan getting most of his FTA attempts in the future by cutting to the basket and receiving the pass in a position where the defense is going to have to foul him or give him the layup. That's mostly about him playing more aggressive and seeking contact. We started to see more of that toward the end of the season. He still wasn't getting to the line but he was cutting more and pulling up from mid-range more which are plays where he should be able to draw contact in the future.

In the playoffs that's what takes teams over the top. Tatum is getting to that line with no help. Jokic. Booker. LeBron and so on. I can see Keegan getting to the line plenty if they give him his drop step and he learns to sell the contact.

 

[sactowndog]

Jonathan Isaac would be an intriguing trade target. I wonder if a Holmes/Dozier/#24 or Holmes/Mitchell is enough of an incentive for ORL to cut ties.

Isaac is a tremendous fit on paper…

• 25 years old
• Great size, length, & athleticism at PF
• Excellent defender who could easily make some all defensive teams
• Excellent rebounder
• Excellent rim protector
• Excellent motor/hustle
• Can space the floor
• Has some offensive scoring potential

Obviously, it just comes down to his ability to stay healthy and on the floor but is the risk of shedding a minor asset to potentially find a near perfect complement to Sabonis worth it? There are not many players out there the cover Sabonis’ weaknesses and complement his strengths.

Since we wouldn’t have to use cap space to make this trade, we could still go over the cap to resign Barnes, Lyles, Davis, etc. Resigning Barnes & Lyles would give us very good injury security with Isaac as we’d still have Murray, Barnes, Lyles, and Edwards who could play SF and PF in the case that Isaac does get injured.

Depending on which trade we do above, we could have this rotation:

PG - Fox / Mitchell
SG - Huerter / Monk
SF - Murray / Barnes / Edwards
PF - Isaac / Lyles
C - Sabonis
Picks - #38 / #54

or

PG - Fox / Monk
SG - Huerter / Davis / Dozier
SF - Murray / Barnes / Edwards
PF - Isaac / Lyles
C - Sabonis
Picks - #24 / #38 / #54

no one is paying Isaac 19M a year to miss another season. The only trade that makes sense is Holmes and 2 seconds. Otherwise you let Orlando cut him and you sign him for significantly less than 19M a year that is commensurate with his substantial injury history.

 

[sactowndog]

I think Vet min is close to the right price for someone with Isaac's injury history. What are the chances Orlando waives him? (Seems like he has $34 million left on his contract)

his contract in non guaranteed so the chances are high

 

[iowamcnabb]

I can see Keegan getting to the line plenty if they give him his drop step and he learns to sell the contact.

im trying to imagine what a Keegan sell job or flop would look like

 

[SacTownKid]

im trying to imagine what a Keegan sell job or flop would look like

I think the lack of facial expression would help his cause with the refs. Even they have to cringe at some of these players, lol.

 

[Stan.Helsing]

So how about Rui Hachimura? He has looked like a proper NBA player since being traded from WAS to LAL.

Does he fit the rest of the team and what would you all pay to get him?

Fox / Davion
Huerter / Monk
Murray / (Kessler, Troy Brown Jr, KBD?)
Hachimura / Lyles
Sabonis / (Naz Reid, Jericho Sims, Holmes, Len?)

 

[206Fan]

Give me Austin Reaves. He's a RFA and I wouldn't mind signing him to be our starting SG and 3rd/4th scorer. I'm fine trading Huerter.

Reaves is the same age as Huerter, but he's better than him.

• Good scorer (arguably better than Kevin)
• Good playmaker (better than Kevin)
• Good passer
• Good FT shooter (better than Kevin)
• Solid defender (better than Kevin)

Reaves can score at all 3 levels and knows how to get to the line. I think his ability to create his own shot helps fill in the gap for the Kings if we let Barnes walk. Kevin had his best regular season career, but he was extremely disappointing in the playoffs and I haven't been able to shake it off. On the contrary, Reaves has lit it up in 2 consecutive playoff series showing to be the Lakers' 3rd most important player.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Give me Austin Reaves. He's a RFA and I wouldn't mind signing him to be our starting SG and 3rd/4th scorer. I'm fine trading Huerter.

Reaves is the same age as Huerter, but he's better than him.

• Good scorer (arguably better than Kevin)
• Good playmaker (better than Kevin)
• Good passer
• Good FT shooter (better than Kevin)
• Solid defender (better than Kevin)

Reaves can score at all 3 levels and knows how to get to the line. I think his ability to create his own shot helps fill in the gap for the Kings if we let Barnes walk. Kevin had his best regular season career, but he was extremely disappointing in the playoffs and I haven't been able to shake it off. On the contrary, Reaves has lit it up in 2 consecutive playoff series showing to be the Lakers' 3rd most important player.

He is really good but why do you think the Lakers would let him go?

 

[ockingsfan]

He is really good but why do you think the Lakers would let him go?

The Lakers definitely won't let Reaves go. They wouldn't include him on a trade for Kyrie, they are not going to lose him in Free Agency. The Lakers FA that may be attainable is Hachimura, if the Kings wanted to throw a big contract his way.

I can't see the Lakers matching a big contract offer for him, since they will need to re-sign D. Russel and Reaves to big contracts and he is coming off the bench.

 

[Telemachus]

He is really good but why do you think the Lakers would let him go?

They might not have a choice. The new CBA puts restrictions on teams that get too far over the luxury tax. They have to re-sign Russell, which will put them very close to that mark. They would then be severely limited in how much they could offer FAs (even their own.)

 

[iowamcnabb]

They might not have a choice. The new CBA puts restrictions on teams that get too far over the luxury tax. They have to re-sign Russell, which will put them very close to that mark. They would then be severely limited in how much they could offer FAs (even their own.)

I’d imagine if it comes down to Russell or Reaves it’s a no brainer in favor of Austin.