[SportsNinjaParticipant]

Grantland showed a piece on the Kings War Room, and apparently the 76ers offered the 10 and 2 (I’m not sure which 2) of their 2nd round picks. It was rumored the Kings were interested in picking up a 2nd rounder. The Kings obviously declined the deal. The risk would be Charlotte taking Stauskas who was obviously the Kings’ guy at that point, or them trading the pick to someone who would take Stauskas. 

Of course this assumes the 76ers wouldn’t have taken Stauskas at 8, which if you make the trade they have to assure you they aren’t. I would guess they wanted to move up to get Vonleh. That would have left Charlotte to take Stauskas or Payton, the other player the Kings were debating taking, but Charlotte is all guards, so it’s hard to imagine them taking either player there. I think they might have been better off trading back, making the gamble. 

Strategy is such a big aspect of drafting. I don’t know if Stauskas was a guy other teams would think of trading up for at 9. Also if you are considering trading up to get a player, you do it to get in front of teams you think might draft him. I’m not sure many people would put the Kings on Stauskas after taking McLemore at 8 the year before.

The Kings FO seems to beat to its own drum, telling the world they want to be a defensive minded team, then staying away from defensive minded players. Or being the only team that wanted Rudy Gay at 19M/yr. Or pulling an offer to Iguodala. Or trading Mbah Moute and Vasquez within months of getting them. Or signing Landry to a stupid deal and trying to trade him. . .they really seem to be lacking direction and identity. 

 

 

 

 

[UnbiasedObserverParticipant]

 The Kings know what they are doing. You, do not. The new ownership is doing a fantastic job. And yet you conveniently leave out that most likely the Kings are letting IT walk and replaced with him with Darren Collision. Granted, he’s not the scorer that IT is. But he’s a way better floor general, passer and gasp! DEFENDER. Plus the new owners have been in charge for 1 year. Not even close to enough time to establish a defensive identity. Sorry buddy, but your post makes zero sense.

[celtics1982Participant]

You can’t defend the Kings new owners and then say they’ll let Thomas walk and replace him with Collision.  If the new owners are good owners, Collision was signed as a back up and insurance policy.  I like the new Kings owners and think they plan on Thomas or Rondo being the starting PG.  I just don’t see Thomas getting a huge offer, not when Lowry got 4 years and 48 million.  High end I’m thinking is 4 years and 32 million.  Some people might think he deserves more, some even less.  Due to his size and the problem it causes, he might not get better then 3 years and 18 million.  I know you are hard capped, but you can trade some players to free some room.  Thomas was a big part of your improved second half play!  Collision will improve your D, but kill your offence. 

[celtics1982Participant]

You can’t defend the Kings new owners and then say they’ll let Thomas walk and replace him with Collision.  If the new owners are good owners, Collision was signed as a back up and insurance policy.  I like the new Kings owners and think they plan on Thomas or Rondo being the starting PG.  I just don’t see Thomas getting a huge offer, not when Lowry got 4 years and 48 million.  High end I’m thinking is 4 years and 32 million.  Some people might think he deserves more, some even less.  Due to his size and the problem it causes, he might not get better then 3 years and 18 million.  I know you are hard capped, but you can trade some players to free some room.  Thomas was a big part of your improved second half play!  Collision will improve your D, but kill your offence. 

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

You’re one of the few that thinks Collison is an improvement over IT. I’m not sure how many games you watched last year, but IT was more important to the Kings than any other player IMO. Yes, Cousins is better and more important overall, but in many games, the Kings would have been lost without IT. 

Identities are established right away, because they are GASP! identities. You make a decision on the route you’re going to go, and you do it, otherwise it’s easy to get lost.

 

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

You’re one of the few that thinks Collison is an improvement over IT. I’m not sure how many games you watched last year, but IT was more important to the Kings than any other player IMO. Yes, Cousins is better and more important overall, but in many games, the Kings would have been lost without IT. 

Identities are established right away, because they are GASP! identities. You make a decision on the route you’re going to go, and you do it, otherwise it’s easy to get lost.

 

[UnbiasedObserverParticipant]

 The Kings know what they are doing. You, do not. The new ownership is doing a fantastic job. And yet you conveniently leave out that most likely the Kings are letting IT walk and replaced with him with Darren Collision. Granted, he’s not the scorer that IT is. But he’s a way better floor general, passer and gasp! DEFENDER. Plus the new owners have been in charge for 1 year. Not even close to enough time to establish a defensive identity. Sorry buddy, but your post makes zero sense.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

I made a post around the time that the Draft ended about why I thought the Kings took Stauskas over Vonleh. You should check it out sometime. I think I entitled it "An attempt to explain the Kings questionable pick." I didn’t mention this trade because I didn’t know about it, but I don’t think it took too much consideration in the end. Yeah, Kings drafted McLemore last year, but they have a complete team. If the trades for Gay & Williams happened earlier, they would have won more games. Next season should be interesting, because it will be the first full year for this new kings roster. They will most likely be much better than the 8th pick. They had the 8th pick because the trades they made were made too late to really have any success with them. Chemistry became a factor, but next season the chemistry should be much better. I think they drafted Stauskas as a bench scorer, not as a potential starter over McLemore. I think the Kings still have faith in McLemore and want to use Stauskas as their 6th man. 

Unbiased Observer, while I do agree that Collison will be bring better defense, passing, and floor general than Thomas would have, was that really the right decision? Remember when Collison was in Indy, and we all thought he would be great there as their starting PG? Boy, were we wrong. Then this year we saw he was much better as a backup. So is it really the best idea to have Colliison start again?

 

[mixtape2003Participant]

 Collison struggled as a starter with mavs too, maybe 3rd time is a charm

 

 

[mixtape2003Participant]

 Collison struggled as a starter with mavs too, maybe 3rd time is a charm

 

 

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

You say they have a complete team, but they had the 7th worst record. Williams did all but disappear after they got Gay. I’m not saying the talent isn’t there, I just don’t know how it blends. That can be a coaching issue, or a new regime issue, or a player character issue, we just don’t know.

But if you have a good team, you know what pieces you need to win. The Kings obviously need someone at the 4, and the rumors are they are trying, or at least have tried, to get Josh Smith. That’s a move I support, the 4 is a real weakness. Even then, though, when you look at the team, it just feels like a bunch of players, it doesn’t feel like a team. It’s the same vibe I got from the Knicks with Carmelo. It’s talent without cohesiveness or coordination or an identity. . .something is missing beyond talent. Something statistics aren’t going to be able to express. 

If you have a complete team that struggles you don’t know where to start replacing guys, you’re constantly trying to upgrade positions. IMO you’re better of having a defined weakness so you can attempt to address it. How do you address the Kings problems? A change at the 4 isn’t going to fix them.

 

 

 

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

You say they have a complete team, but they had the 7th worst record. Williams did all but disappear after they got Gay. I’m not saying the talent isn’t there, I just don’t know how it blends. That can be a coaching issue, or a new regime issue, or a player character issue, we just don’t know.

But if you have a good team, you know what pieces you need to win. The Kings obviously need someone at the 4, and the rumors are they are trying, or at least have tried, to get Josh Smith. That’s a move I support, the 4 is a real weakness. Even then, though, when you look at the team, it just feels like a bunch of players, it doesn’t feel like a team. It’s the same vibe I got from the Knicks with Carmelo. It’s talent without cohesiveness or coordination or an identity. . .something is missing beyond talent. Something statistics aren’t going to be able to express. 

If you have a complete team that struggles you don’t know where to start replacing guys, you’re constantly trying to upgrade positions. IMO you’re better of having a defined weakness so you can attempt to address it. How do you address the Kings problems? A change at the 4 isn’t going to fix them.

 

 

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

I made a post around the time that the Draft ended about why I thought the Kings took Stauskas over Vonleh. You should check it out sometime. I think I entitled it "An attempt to explain the Kings questionable pick." I didn’t mention this trade because I didn’t know about it, but I don’t think it took too much consideration in the end. Yeah, Kings drafted McLemore last year, but they have a complete team. If the trades for Gay & Williams happened earlier, they would have won more games. Next season should be interesting, because it will be the first full year for this new kings roster. They will most likely be much better than the 8th pick. They had the 8th pick because the trades they made were made too late to really have any success with them. Chemistry became a factor, but next season the chemistry should be much better. I think they drafted Stauskas as a bench scorer, not as a potential starter over McLemore. I think the Kings still have faith in McLemore and want to use Stauskas as their 6th man. 

Unbiased Observer, while I do agree that Collison will be bring better defense, passing, and floor general than Thomas would have, was that really the right decision? Remember when Collison was in Indy, and we all thought he would be great there as their starting PG? Boy, were we wrong. Then this year we saw he was much better as a backup. So is it really the best idea to have Colliison start again?

 

[SFGiantsParticipant]

 Big risk in trading back if you believe there is a chance Stauskas get picked at #9.  Would you rather have your first choice or your second choice plus 2nd round picks that will most likely be out of the league in two years?

If the Kings hate defense so much, why did they bring in luc mbah a moute in the first place?  They needed a more productive SF and luc wasn’t going to cut it.

vasquez was pretty awful during his short stint and is a worse defender than IT!!!  So there you go.  They got rid of a bad defender which nullifies the whole they hate defense arguement.

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

My point is the Kings’ moves are as contradictory as your comment.

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

My point is the Kings’ moves are as contradictory as your comment.

[SFGiantsParticipant]

 Big risk in trading back if you believe there is a chance Stauskas get picked at #9.  Would you rather have your first choice or your second choice plus 2nd round picks that will most likely be out of the league in two years?

If the Kings hate defense so much, why did they bring in luc mbah a moute in the first place?  They needed a more productive SF and luc wasn’t going to cut it.

vasquez was pretty awful during his short stint and is a worse defender than IT!!!  So there you go.  They got rid of a bad defender which nullifies the whole they hate defense arguement.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

I’d turn that offer down as well. They obviously wanted Stauskas at 8.  If that’s the guy they want, why take the risk of missing out on him at 10?  The 2nd round picks are basically worthless.  It’s such a crap shoot in the 2nd round that staying at 8 obviously outweighs picking up two 2nd’s and moving down to 10.

 

I will say this.  Didn’t really understand the pick after drafting McLemore last year.  Same position, and essentially the same role.  Neither of them can run point, so they won’t be on the court at the same time. 

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

The choice wasn’t really obvious. In that Grantland video you can see they were undecided between Stauskas and Payton until the last second. If we consider Stauskas wouldn’t have been picked 8th or 9th by other teams or in the worst case, then the trade could have made sense, except… they actually didn’t want to grab 2nd rounders.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

The choice wasn’t really obvious. In that Grantland video you can see they were undecided between Stauskas and Payton until the last second. If we consider Stauskas wouldn’t have been picked 8th or 9th by other teams or in the worst case, then the trade could have made sense, except… they actually didn’t want to grab 2nd rounders.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

I’d turn that offer down as well. They obviously wanted Stauskas at 8.  If that’s the guy they want, why take the risk of missing out on him at 10?  The 2nd round picks are basically worthless.  It’s such a crap shoot in the 2nd round that staying at 8 obviously outweighs picking up two 2nd’s and moving down to 10.

 

I will say this.  Didn’t really understand the pick after drafting McLemore last year.  Same position, and essentially the same role.  Neither of them can run point, so they won’t be on the court at the same time. 

 

 

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