Plucked this from Henry Abbott from ESPN’s live draft buzz post that is being updated whenever news becomes available. Henry is in New York for the draft and is part of the huge WWL team covering the next 48 hours.
Henry Abbott: There have been rumblings and suggestions that if things get extremely complicated with Ricky Rubio’s Spanish team, DKV Joventut, he might not be able to afford to play in the NBA. Depending on where he’s drafted, it’s conceivable that his NBA salary will approximate the buyout he owes his original team. In other words, he might play in the NBA without making a penny.
Rubio says that wouldn’t bother him. “I have a dream,” he said. “I want to play in the NBA.”
The point guard, who presumably could make some money from sponsorships, could not have been clearer that it’s not about the money. If his rookie contract nets him zero, he says, “I don’t care.”
In a video that will be on TrueHoop shortly, he also was asked to react to various NBA cities. His gut reaction to the word “Minnesota” was: “Too cold.” Oklahoma City earned a “My best friend lives nearby.” And when Rubio thinks of Sacramento, the first thing that comes to mind is: “Nice weather.”
It’s nice to know that he WANTS to come here. He loves the potential of playing time with just Beno Udrih battling him for Sacramento point guard supremacy and now he loves the weather as well. It couldn’t be a better fit!
UPDATE: Here’s the video mentioned below and in Henry’s quote
I’ll post that video later on when TrueHoop makes it available but for now, how about some video of him critiquing his own game?
I wasn’t around for this last year because I was busy holding my own live blog/instant update post on Talkhoops.net but Matt Moore and the gang at Hardwood Paroxysm held down a marathon Draft live blog last year that lasted 8 hours and 4 minutes.
This year? It’s about to get bigger and better.
The ESPN TrueHoop Network is going to be holding a network-wide liveblog that you can follow from any and every site affiliated with Henry Abbott’s baby. You’ll be able to get the same great talk about the draft on Hornets247, Daily Thunder, Hardwood Paroxysm, Cowbell Kingdom, Beyond Bowie, Truth About It and more. We’ll have the CIL program embedded on every network.
You’ll get the same comments from the down-trodden fans at ClipperBlog, the hopeful small market fans at 3 Shades of Blue, and the die-hard tough fans from Knicker Blogger. You’ll get to interact with the best bloggers and best readers across the internet through this mega-LiveBlog.
So show up on this or any website on the TrueHoop Network to participate. It will start around 3:30 PST. It will be the first of its kind and the start of a great Draft night tradition.
For a little preparation of what’s to come, check out the TrueHoop Network Podcast Episode 1: Fear and Loathing in the Top 3.
Don’t worry, everybody; this isn’t another Kevin Martin trade idea article.
The #23 I’m thinking of seems to be the forgotten Kings draft pick due to all of the interest surrounding the fourth pick in the draft. The Kings have three of the first 31 picks in this year’s draft and can do a lot in adding talent to their roster by using these picks wisely. They’ve been successful in the recent past by selecting Francisco Garcia with the 23rd pick in 2005. Other notable 23rd picks of the past 10 years are Wilson Chandler, Josh Boone, Travis Outlaw, DeShawn Stevenson, Devean George, and Tayshaun Prince.
That has to be an extremely encouraging for the Kings, knowing that the odds are in your favor in not only acquiring talent but also in acquiring a player who can be a significant contributor. The 23rd pick over the past 10 years has played in dozens of big playoff games, contributed early as a key bench player, and won numerous championships as a key contributor/starter. In fact, the only guys at this draft slot over the last 10 years who haven’t been significant are Sergei Monia and Brandon Armstrong with judgment being reserved for last year’s pick, Kostas Koufos.
The key for the Kings is deciding in which direction this franchise is going. There have been rumors of the Kings selling this draft pick in a Robert Sarver type of cost-cutting move and I think that would be a huge mistake on many levels. For one, it would really hurt the morale and trust of the fans. Selling the 23rd pick in a supposedly weak draft class probably isn’t the worst thing in the world, especially when you’re getting $3 million in return. But to show your fanbase that you’re committed to fixing a situation that hit rock bottom last year (in terms of league-wide standings), it can do wonders for the city’s morale to keep a pick like this year’s #23 and try to improve the team by adding some young depth.
If they keep the pick (which I’d almost guarantee they will), they have to decide which area of the team needs the most depth. They have intriguing options at small forward on their roster. They’re likely to settle their point guard issue with the fourth pick on Thursday night but are they comfortable trusting Beno Udrih with the full-time backup point guard position? Do they feel the need to add a solid outside shooter to complement Kevin Martin off the bench? Do they want to add some frontcourt depth?
Here are some of the rumored selections from around the internets. I scoured the majority of the mock drafts from ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, Draft Express, and Real GM. I took down every mention and backup pick for the 23rd selection to come to a general consensus. And I narrowed it down to seven players who are the most likely selections on Thursday. Here they are in reverse order of whom I think should be taken by the Kings along with John Hollinger’s Draft Rater score:
7. B.J. Mullens, Ohio State (10.81, 28th)
Mullens is an intriguing prospect at center because there are next to no good center options in this draft and his measurements at the pre-draft camp solidified him as one of the bigger players to try to develop. He measured up as 7’1” and 258 lbs to go with a 7’1” wingspan. He has all of the Kwame Brown strengths and weaknesses wrapped in an unassuming image. He’s a great athlete with a lot of good power inside and an explosive jumper. But he doesn’t show a great basketball IQ, isn’t aggressive at all (we all remember what Michael Jordan thought of Kwame’s physical prowess), and daydreams more than a flashback episode of Saved By The Bell.
What this pick would do for the Kings is provide them with another project inside to complement Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson. This trio would not be as good as the LaMarcus Aldridge/Greg Oden/Joel Pryzbilla combination but it could be managed in the same way. Personally, I think Geoff Petrie selecting Mullens would be a mistake that doesn’t address the Kings’ bigger needs off the bench. Mullens is a 20-year old big man project that won’t be a consistent contributor for four years if ever. If he ends up being selected by Sacramento, Kings fans should be hoping that a trade follows shortly thereafter.
6. Austin Daye, Gonzaga (14.24, 4th)
Two years ago, Austin Daye was a good freshman year away from being a Top 5 pick in the draft and starting his NBA dream early. Instead, he had a very average freshman year for the Zags and his stock plummeted. He tried to improve upon that with a better sophomore year but his four factors categories were very lackluster and he once again was questioned coming into the summer. His True Shooting percentage was a mediocre (in the sense that he’s expected to do much better at the college level) 56% despite shooting 42% from three-point range as a sophomore. His offensive rebounding rate was really poor, along with his free throw rate and his turnover rate was a bit of a problem as well. He’s never been particularly bad at anything but at the same time, he hasn’t wowed us like everyone expected him to.
During the pre-draft workouts, his toughness and effectiveness inside have been questioned. He was famously punked by Omri Casspi with an elbow. He clocked in at a rail-thin 6’10” and 191 lbs that left everyone praying he’d be as tough as another rail-thin small forward, Tayshaun Prince. In my opinion, they already have a shorter, tougher version of this guy with Francisco Garcia. Cisco will give you all of the attitude, toughness, and skill on both sides of the ball that you could ever want from Daye. Drafting him would be duplicating something you already have and potentially stunt the growth of Donte Greene as you try to split time between DG, Daye and Andres Nocioni.
5. Derrick Brown, Xavier (9.55, 45th)
Derrick Brown is a guy in this draft that you’ll never want to be a full-time starter for your team over his career. At 6’9” and 225 lbs, he’s extremely undersized for a power forward option in this league. But he’s very athletic, very quick, and a smart perimeter defender who could allow the Kings to go small with quicker teams and have the confidence that he can stick with three-point shooting forwards. On the offensive side of the ball, he’s good finishing at the rim and can step back to hit long-range jumpers. However, he isn’t an aggressive player at all and almost waits for the game to come to him to his detriment. He’s a poor dribbler and will struggle to make solid moves to the basket against NBA forwards.
For the Kings, he would not only give them a nice backup forward but also allow them to save their money by passing on a move like re-signing Ike Diogu in free agency. He’s adequately active on the offensive boards and would complement someone like Spencer Hawes and/or Jason Thompson nicely when paired with either guy on the court. The Kings wouldn’t win any expert over with this non-sexy pick but the same thing happened with Jason Thompson last season and that seemed to workout for everybody. Brown would be a solid pick and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s near the top of Geoff Petrie’s board for the 23rd pick.
Two Warnings: 1) Audio NSFW and 2) You may feel the urge that I’m trying to recruit you to attend Xavier. I’m not.
4. Sam Young, Pittsburgh (9.34, 52nd)
Sam Young is a really intriguing prospect at the small forward position that should be able to score with ease in the NBA. He has a fantastic mid-range game and showed his worth as a top scorer over his final two years at Pittsburgh. He’s a good rebounder and a strong athlete. But he’s already 24 years old and in danger of being this year’s Al Thornton. Now, Al Thornton is not a bad player by any means. Both of these guys are good scorers and were prolific scorers in college. But at the same time, they were practically the equivalent of grown men playing against young college kids and should be able to score with relative ease.
This quote from John Hollinger is pretty alarming to me when he was explaining why he rated so poorly in his Draft Rater system:
Pitt’s Sam Young also graded out extremely poorly. He had the worst pure point rating of any wing player, and the other thing that hurt him is that he’s one of the oldest prospects in the pool. How old? He’s 19 days older than six-year vet Darko Milicic and a full half-decade older than Holiday.
With Young on the Kings, he would provide them with some solid scoring off the bench and allow the second unit to never skip a beat on offense. But there are two very important questions: 1) Can he ever be a competent defender? He is not very apt to shutting or even slowing down the guy with the ball in front of him. And 2) is he ever going to be better than he is now? It’s very possible that Sam Young is actually at his apex and will never improve. That could mean that the best that you ever get from him at an NBA level is roughly 12 points per game. Petrie will have to decide with Young whether it’s worth taking what you know you’ll get as opposed to someone with better potential.
3. Omri Casspi, Israel (N/A)
Omri Casspi is the most intriguing international prospect outside of Ricky Rubio because he could easily end up being a Top 10 guy from this draft. He has good size (6’9”, 211) and is a Matt Harpring clone in the sense that he is great at cutting towards the basket, moves well without the ball and can score a little in the post. He’s shown some toughness in his workouts so far that has kicked the typical Euroleague player stigma. He has a terrible jump shot that resembles a mix between a 12-year old girl and Shawn Marion. He’s suspect on the perimeter, both defensively and offensively. But all of his negatives could easily be fixed with some seasoning in Europe.
If the Kings decide to select him, he’s clearly a pick that you stow in Europe, Peja Stojakovic-style. He needs to figure out how to diminish his weaknesses while maximizing his strengths. He could do that here, developing in the D-League and in practice with pros here in Sacramento. But when you look at the development of guys like Rudy Fernandez and Peja, Casspi is probably the type of guy that needs to play more meaningful minutes in order to hone his craft. If he goes to the Kings at 23, it will be more of a rebuilding pick for a couple of years from now than immediate help but that might give Sacramento the best player available.
I chose this video simply because of the song choice.
2. Ty Lawson, North Carolina (16.34, 1st)
This is maybe the most interesting option for the Kings due to the simple fact that they’re probably already drafting a point guard with the fourth pick. So why draft Ty Lawson? Because having depth at the point guard is not a bad thing in this league and having two young players who can fly up and down the court for Paul Westphal could create big problems for the opposing team. Beno Udrih doesn’t appear to be a good enough option at the backup in a fast system because he’s not very good at creating on the secondary transition sequence. Lawson on the other hand is always a threat and having him coming off the bench means that you can stay with the pedal to the floor on offense and retain the confidence you have with your starter.
Lawson does everything well, despite his small stature (6’0”, 198 lbs). He proved this year that he can shoot the three with great efficiency (47%) and had a fantastic assist to turnover ratio of 3.5:1. He takes care of the ball, sets up teammates, and can score in the open court as well as anyone in this draft. He’s projected to be the top college contributor in John Hollinger’s Draft Rater because of his outstanding turnover rate (under 10, best in the draft) and his great True Shooting percentage (65%). Kings grabbing him might look redundant and turn Beno Udrih into another Kenny Thomas situation.
1. Nick Calathes, Florida (13.66, 6th)
Don’t let the fact that he looks like an offspring of Pete Chilcutt fool you; this guy is really good. This is a best of all worlds for the Kings if Calathes can fall to them at 23. He already has a pro contract to play in Greece so you can choose to either buy him out for relatively cheap or let him play in Europe to get some of that all important seasoning (like Saffron). Drafting Calathes would give the Kings the option to save a little money in this year and possibly the next while keeping one of the top talents that possesses such great versatility. Calathes has done a nice job in workouts defending bigger and quicker players while also showing everything he can do on offense. He’s a great shooter, a solid distributor, and uses his height perfectly against smaller point guards.
At 6’5”, he can play multiple positions and give the Kings a ton of options with either going big or going small. He’s one of the smarter players in the draft and does a great job at finding angles to get his shot off from all spots on the floor. He has great range that extends easily to the NBA three-point line. He’s a better athlete than he appears. He can get to the basket and is strong enough to finish after contact. Grabbing Calathes appears to be the savvy type of Geoff Petrie move that Kings fans seem to expect. They can’t risk him falling to the 31st pick and if they select him at 23 and add him to a backcourt of whomever is selected at number four and Kevin Martin, then you have a very good core at the guard rotation to build upon to get you back to the playoffs. For me, Calathes is the steal of the draft at 23.
Pretty interesting stuff by Sam as he catches Rubio at the airport to find out how he felt about his Kings workout. It seems like nothing went all that well (but not all that bad either) and the Kings could be even more confused about whether or not they’d take him if he’s available.
At the same time, it could all be posturing to keep Memphis from feeling like they have complete control with the second pick.
Mills and Douglas did a tandem interview with the media after their six-guard workout on Sunday.
Two quick notes about their comments:
- I love that Toney Douglas takes such pride in his defense. I think that’s what separates him from the Wayne Ellington’s of this draft. He’s competent on offense at wost and he’s really solid at pressuring the ball.
- I found it interesting that Mills said he thinks he can be like Tony Parker. He’s not nearly as good of a penetrator/finisher as Tony but they do attack the defense with the same mentality. But what he lacks in getting to the basket, he more than makes up for with his shooting ability. He could easily be one of those late first round success stories.
After the six-guard workout with the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Stephen Curry sat down with the media to discuss his previous workouts, what he can bring to the team, what sets him apart, and how his dad Dell Curry has helped him through this process.
Curry has probably improved his draft stock throughout the last month more than any other guard in the draft. He seems like a very viable option at point guard, can still play the shooting guard, and could easily be taken by the Kings at #4. Before Sunday, I would have never thought I’d type that previous sentence and praise him for his point guard potential. But after seeing him more than hold his own against Tyreke Evans and Jonny Flynn, I can’t see what reason there is to still doubt him.
On Sunday, I went to the Kings practice facility to check out the second big point guard workout of the month for the Kings as they figure out which direction to go with the 4th, 23rd, and 31st picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
This workout consisted of Tyreke Evans of Memphis (Top 10 projection), Stephen Curry of Davidson (Top 10 projection), Jonny Flynn of Syracuse (Lottery projection), Nick Calathes of Florida (First round projection), Patrick Mills of St. Mary’s (First round projection), and Toney Douglas of Florida State (Late first round, early second round projection).
From the 20 minutes of action that the media was allowed to see, I took something away with each of the six players. All of them stood out at different times. Jonny Flynn’s quickness with the ball is something that YouTube videos, ESPN broadcasts, and the written (typed) word cannot properly describe or show. It’s something you have to see in person. Tyreke Evans was easily the biggest player on the court and when he wanted to, he was the most imposing figure. Toney Douglas’ confidence was definitely displayed and he never seemed intimidated to go against much bigger names than his. Patrick Mills could probably wake up out of a coma and knock down his first three-point attempt. Nick Calathes is much more athletic than I assumed and could definitely be a Steve Blake type of player with a better outside shot. And Stephen Curry seems to be better than advertised with his defense and ball-handling ability.
Coming away from this workout and judging the Kings’ situation by this display of six guards, I’d say that their best bet in the draft if Ricky Rubio can’t be had is probably Stephen Curry or Jonny Flynn.
Here are two videos with a lot of what I saw from the workouts followed by my observations of each of the six players:
- I don’t think you can draft Tyreke Evans if you’re the Kings because he doesn’t seem like the type of point guard that could feed off of Kevin Martin. Evans seems like someone who has to dominate the ball and live with some bad shots as he finds a rhythm. That doesn’t mean that he will be a bad player by any means but his skill set and talents would be wasted on the Kings and Paul Westphal’s philosophy.
- Jonny Flynn’s defense was average and his ball-handling was superb. He never tried to do too much on the floor, which showed me a lot in the fact that he still played the game the right way with the pressure of a higher draft position and millions of dollars potentially on the line in this workout. It’s an attitude on the court that could go a long way in giving the Kings confidence in a decision of grabbing him with the fourth pick when most draft boards slot him a few picks lower. But that’s the same type of situation that happened with Jason Thompson last year. Everyone on draft night thought Petrie had lost his mind. Those same people claim to have always loved that pick after they watched JT with the Kings this year.
- As for Stephen Curry, he’s a lot better point guard than I ever thought I’d give him credit for. Before this workout, I thought he was a glorified, better version of Eddie House. But after watching him in person Sunday, going against other top point guard talent in this draft, I’ve done a complete 180 on him (or a 360 as Jason Kidd once described it). He’s not just competent in dribbling the ball, he very efficient and effective with his movements. He can get by defenders and create space for his jumper. His defense was also very noticeable and not in the Mike Bibby way. He was adequate guarding the much bigger Evans at times and held his own against Flynn as well. His jumper is so effortless that it makes you hate him for it. I could definitely see the Kings grabbing him with the fourth pick or trading down to still select him if someone like Minnesota wants to move up to grab Evans.
- As for Patty Mills, he’s extremely quick and another effortless shooter that incites envy. His defense was good enough but you’ll never expect him to stop somebody consistently in the NBA. He’s probably no more than a backup point guard or a starter on a bad team but he could definitely be a valuable piece in this league. He’s somewhere between D.J. Augustin and Daniel Gibson. He isn’t as physical as Augustin in driving to the basket but he’s a much better basketball player than Gibson with pretty much the same outside shooting ability.
- Nick Calathes is someone who could be a steal on draft night. He probably isn’t going in the Top 20 and may even be selected towards the end of the first round because of his deal to play overseas. But anyone who retains his draft rights on Thursday will get a really solid point guard. He can see over his defender because of his height and he doesn’t make many mistakes with the ball while dribbling. He makes some rushed passes but that can be eradicated with some more seasoning (like overseas seasoning). He’s a good shooter from outside but a weak finisher inside. I don’t think it would be out of the question for the Kings to take him and stash him in Europe with the 23rd pick if they don’t want to add all three of their picks this summer to next year’s payroll.
- As for Toney Douglas, I’m really impressed with him and think he’ll be a steal at the end of the first round. If he drops into the second round, then he’s this year’s Mario Chalmers in terms of second round gems. He’s a competent shooter and a staunch defender. He can stay in front of his man and create space on his jumper. He’s athletic enough to make up for his lack of ideal height. He can probably defend a fair number of shooting guards and give point guards fits. If he’s available at 31, the Kings need to select him. He’s the type of role player that teams will crave.
Once a week, I’ll be posting a reader email that I think is particularly interesting, funny, smart, or nefarious. There will be fake prizes that I’ll pretend to give to the winner.
Now kissing up to me is not going to get you to win this dubious and much sought-after honor by any means. If you’re ripping me or what I do in a smart or funny way, that could win you the gold. If you have an idea and share it and I think it’s hilarious, stupid or brilliant, that could also get you a win. It’s strictly up to my discretion.
So to kick off the Kings Mail of the Week, I thought I’d award reader Bruce with a copy of the movie Class Act in memoriam of Kevin Martin’s old high top fade. Bruce emailed me about him figuring out who the best draft pick in Kings history was. Here’s his email:
Here is what you can do with a Kings media guide, a computer spreadsheet, and a long plane flight. I prepared a chart showing the Sacramento era Kings draft picks, and who they got traded for, sort of like a series of “begats” out of Genesis.
What the chart shows is that Billy Owens was the best Sacramento era Kings draft pick.
Not because of what he did on the court. Owens, the 1991 pick, held out. He was the best because he got traded for Mitch Richmond, the first Sacramento King All-Star, who in turn was traded to get Chris Webber, the foundation of the great turn-of-the-millenium Kings teams.
Eighteen years later, that pick is still represented on the roster, in the form of Kenny Thomas, who was part of the 2004 Webber trade. If the Kings work a trade with a team that wants to pick up Kenny’s fat expiring contract heading into the 2010 free agent season, the Billy Owens legacy could continue for years to come.
The Kings have the same problem in the draft everybody else does—you want to make sure you don’t pick a bust (Exhibit A: Pervis Ellison), but if there is no Tim Duncan or LeBron available, you don’t know if you are getting a player who is going to be great, and you only win championships by having great players.
The Kings desperately need to get great players, and the draft doesn’t have anyone who is obviously great. Blake Griffin has skills, an NBA body and a tremendous work ethic, so he might get there, but he is not great on day one.
The good news is, Giffin is being drafted by the Clippers, so he will be available via free agency or trade in a few years, since the reason God created Donald Sterling was so that the other NBA owners could beat him up and take his lunch money.
The Kings have drafted only one player who became an All-Star, Peja Stojacovik.
Clearly, for the Kings, the important thing is not who they draft, but who they get in trade for who they draft. Here are the trades that built the quality Kings teams:
Owens for Richmond for Webber
The flashy but defensively challenged Jason Williams, chosen in 1998, was traded for the productive but defensively challenged Mike Bibby.
Corliss Williamson, chosen in 1994, was traded for Doug Christie.
Hedo Turkoglu (2000) was traded for Brad Miller, when the Kings needed a center in the post-Vlade era. That spot now is occupied by Andres Nocioni, who is probably the most hard-nosed player on the roster, so we might still see production out of that pick.
One other interesting Kings trade: Travis Mays, who was traded for fan favorite Spud Webb, who was traded for…..Billy Owens.
Now, I’m not that smart so I haven’t figured out to post this chart in a viewable manner. But it was a nice show of progression of each draft pick and what it eventually yielded. It’s really hard to argue. The only one who can possibly overturn Billy Owens is Hedo Turkoglu because Nocioni’s contract could be a part of a nice trade someday.
Last season was the first year in which Kevin Martin was allowed to have the keys to the organization. He was coming off of a 23.7 points per game scoring season (good for sixth in the league) and shot over 40% from three-point land. He had a brand new contract extension of five years and just over $50 million and seemed to be ready to be the number one scoring option for this franchise. And when he was healthy, he handled that pressure just fine. He made over two three-pointers per game, got to the free throw line 10.3 times per game, and averaged a career-high 24.6 points per game. But he only played in 51 contests. In fact, over the past two seasons he’s missed 52 games and seen his season point total, field goal percentage, and efficiency field goal percentage decline each year of the past three.
He’s the cornerstone of the organization right now but there have to be doubts whether or not he should be the number one guy. And if you start to believe that his slight build will cause injuries, which overshadows his ability to rival Carmelo Anthony as the best pure scorer in the NBA, then is there a certain point you begin to consider dealing him in order to maximize the return? The Kings did something similar (although with a much different team makeup) years ago with Peja Stojakovic. At the time, the Kings were worried about having to overpay Peja. But the Kings aren’t locked into a bad contract by any means with Martin. His $44 million left over the next four years is a bargain for someone that can average the taller side of 20 points per game. But if you can get the type of return for Kevin Martin now, like the Kings did with Peja in acquiring Ron Artest, you have to entertain the option of trading him in order to keep the rebuilding process going.
Now, I realize how ridiculous this sounds. Why deal a guy with a manageable contract who scores this easily? There are two reasons. First, outside of Beno Udrih’s signing last summer, Geoff Petrie has been pretty good at acquiring guys through free agency. Assuming the Kings don’t overpay for a free agent this summer, they’re going to have an obscene amount of cap space in the vaunted summer of 2010. Adding an $11 million cushion to that already burgeoning cap space could be invaluable for someone like Petrie. Second, very few VPs in this league maximize the draft like Petrie has. So if you can acquire another high pick for Kevin Martin to go with the eventual cap space, why not do it?
I’m not saying that they absolutely should trade Kevin Martin. He’s obviously not over the hill or a part of the team that needs to be jettisoned. But in a situation like the Kings with the team having good picks, good cap flexibility and one of the best front offices in the league, keeping their options open to anything should be a must. And Kevin Martin is probably the guy that brings in the most value.
So I’ve come up with five potential trades that the Kings could do this summer in order to a) fix their issue at point guard, b) acquire more young talent to build with, and/or c) keep the cap space growing to add the bevy of talent available in 2010. These are not rumors by any means – simply ideas. And they’re all done with the assumption that Ricky Rubio is selected before the Kings are on the clock.
First Trade Idea: Wizards trade the 5th pick and Etan Thomas to the Kings for Kevin Martin.
This trade actually wouldn’t be able to happen until after July 1st due to a trade restriction with Etan Thomas’ contract. But the Kings could get the Wizards to draft whomever they wanted to get with the 5th selection and be able to rebuild their backcourt with two young players to grow and develop together. The Kings would take a definite hit in the first year of this deal in terms of talent, scoring and production. But they would benefit in the long run.
Sacramento would be able to select Jrue Holiday with the fourth pick to be their point guard of the future and put him side by side with James Harden. Harden is probably the best shooting guard in the draft despite the drool-worthy potential of guys like Demar DeRozan and Tyreke Evans. So the Kings would go into the 2009-2010 season with a young core of Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Donte Greene, Jrue Holiday, Francisco Garcia, and James Harden. That’s not a bad core of six deep by any means and something the Kings could either let develop together like a young Portland team or trade away for veterans like Boston pulled off two years ago. Not to mention, they’d have well over $20 million in cap space next summer.
For Washington, they’d probably do it in order to jump at the chance of putting Jamison, Butler, Martin, and Arenas on the floor together.
Second Trade Idea: Bulls trade Kirk Hinrich and the 16th pick to the Kings for Kevin Martin and the 23rd pick.
This one seems a bit risky (and a bit of a stretch) but if the Kings believe that Tyreke Evans or James Harden is the best player available at 4 then they might be willing to take the steady hand at point with Kirk (along with his better contract) and moving up from 23 to 16. They’d clearly be giving up some talent by going from a good scorer like Martin to someone in Kirk Hinrich who has been one of the bigger disappointments in the past two seasons. But Hinrich’s defensive ability and solid passing could be big steps towards getting this team back towards respectability.
The trade gives the Kings one fewer year on the books and a declining cap figure, which would be easier to move in the future if Hinrich didn’t work out. Harden would probably be the smartest pick with the fourth pick then because of his scoring ability, which should make up some for the loss of Martin. Moving up from 23 to 16 could guarantee the Kings a much better player. Guys like Terrence Williams, Earl Clark, and Sam Young would definitely be in play. Or they could even load up their backup point guard option with Eric Maynor or Ty Lawson as some Kirk Hinrich buyer’s remorse insurance. That would leave this depth chart heading into free agency:
That is not a bad roster to add on a veteran or two. Or they could fill with veteran minimum contracts and wait to spend their cash next summer.
Third Trade Idea: Cavs trade Delonte West, Ben Wallace, and the 30th pick to the Kings for Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni.
This is a trade idea that is more about clearing long-term cap relief while acquiring yet another pick AND a potentially very valuable role player. This would just about decimate the Kings for next year outside of a solid draft and a free agent or two. This trade would alleviate $13 million from the Kings cap next summer and give them roughly $30 million in space, assuming that they don’t sign more than one-year filler contracts this year. It would also give them three first round picks and four picks in the first 31. They could easily package the 23rd and 30th to move up in the draft. Perhaps a deal with Phoenix (because you know how they love to safe money on draft night) or Detroit to move into the top 15 with their second pick of the night would work out.
With those moves, you could draft Jrue Holiday with the fourth pick and someone like DeJuan Blair or Gerald Henderson with the 14th or 15th pick. Throw in someone like Toney Douglas, Wayne Ellington or Patrick Mills with the 31st pick and they’d have another good core of players.
PG- Jrue Holiday, Beno Udrih
SG- Delonte West, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington
SF- Francisco Garcia, Donte Greene
PF- Jason Thompson, Kenny Thomas
C- Spencer Hawes
Having those guys with roughly $25 to $30 million dollars at their disposal the next summer could build not only a playoff team but a Top 6 team in the West.
Fourth Trade Idea: Spurs trade Manu Ginobili to the Kings for Kevin Martin and the 23rd pick.
Okay, at this point I’m kind of pulling straws here. The Spurs are concerned about Manu’s ankle injuries. They’ve allegedly been shopping him around but they’re denying those rumors. So what do the Kings get out of this? Manu is only going to want to play for a championship and the Kings won’t be that next year. Manu’s deal is up after this coming season and he’d 100% leave for a shot at another ring. Well, it gives the Kings that cap space from dealing Martin for an expiring contract. But if they’re not getting young talent for him in addition to the cap space, would it even be worth it?
The only other value that would come out of it is for the Kings to be the major player/facilitator at the trade deadline with Manu’s talent and expiring contract dangling in front of hungry GMs. They could add a lot of young assets and draft picks for Manu or deal him for a good veteran or two from a deeper contender who is looking or a homerun. They would have the league at their feet trying to pry the most valuable trade piece from their grip. It would put them in a major power position, in which a guy like Petrie could really add some positive pieces to the organization.
Again, this is probably a terrible idea and just a laughable trade thought. But it works under the CBA.
Fifth Trade Idea: Raptors trade Jose Calderon to the Kings for Kevin Martin.
This actually seems like the most fair for both sides trade to me. The Kings would end up getting a very good point guard, who’s paid a very manageable and fair salary for the next four seasons. They’d then be allowed to gamble on a shooting guard like Tyreke Evans or even Demar DeRozan and allow that player to develop with a very good distributor. The Raptors would do it because they could probably pair Kevin Martin and someone like Jonny Flynn in their backcourt. It’s kind of a win-win situation.
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So one more time to clarify, I would highly doubt that Kevin Martin is being bandied about in trade discussions right now and probably won’t be for years to come. But at a certain point, a guy becomes injury prone no matter how hard he tries to fight through it (like Kevin does). And Petrie wouldn’t be doing his job properly if he didn’t consider every player’s value.
Rick Maese of SI.com, which is believed to have a spin-off magazine as well, wrote a really interesting piece on Donte Greene and relating his early entry story to other players in this year’s draft.
It talks about him looking at a friend in Blake Griffin, the consensus number one pick, and wondering what could have been if he followed the advice and warnings of many who thought him staying at Syracuse for one more year would be more beneficial than trying to be another Carmelo Anthony for the school.
“To see him in that position, you think, what if I would’ve stayed? Where would I be?” says Greene. “I could still be with the Kings, but would I be a top-5 pick? There’ve been lots of what-ifs. Especially when you’re not playing, you got all that time to think. And I loved college so much, loved Coach [Jim] Boeheim. I just keep telling myself, this is what you wanted, you wanted to be in this spot. Keep working.”
Perhaps, he would have blossomed and developed much better with another year under Boeheim and benefited from being one of the top players in the Big East this past college season. But assuming he didn’t and knowing what we know now, can you imagine the Kings spending the number four pick on him in this year’s draft?
Kind of weird to wonder how many other guys have shared similar fates.
