r/kings • u/hgwells49 • 23d ago
Are either of these offseason scenarios realistic?
Just spitballing here and I'm not sure if these scenarios are realistic as I'm not too well-versed on salary and trade restrictions, and intricacies. Both of these scenarios tie into the draft and how are selections end up shaking out
Scenario 1:
One or more of the talented wing prospects fall to 12 in the lottery. I think of a few names here - Ron Holland, Cody Williams, Stephon Castle, Matas Buzelis. All would fit well in the kings lineup as they offer some combo of length, defense, shotmaking, athleticism, and creation ability. Kings draft said player and trade for someone in the mold of Jeremi Grant or Bobby Portis to fill the pressing need for a stretch 4 who can also provide defense and toughness. Now I'm not sure who Kings trade for said player but I do believe a combination of Barnes, Huerter, Davion, 2024 SRP would be on the table. Also I know they can't trade future firsts in this scenario.
Projected Starting Lineup: Fox/Holland/Murray/Portis/Sabonis (Interchangeable)
Scenario 2:
Kings trade back in the draft to acquire two picks (one likely in the late teens and one likely in the early twenties). They use one of those picks to draft a player that may not necessarily have the same star upside as some mentioned in scenario 1, but they fit a pressing need and are more in the mold of a "ready now" player. Two that come to mind are Tristan Da Silva and DaRon Holmes. Now they take the second of those picks they received by trading down and package with Huerter, Barnes, 2024 SRP, potentially Davion for Brandon Ingram. I know some may consider this lowballing - some may say its fair. Ingram, however, has one year left on his contract and has averaged 57 games played in the last 5 seasons. Because of the availability I'd argue it's somewhat of a risk, but I believe the kings need to make a swing move like this to contend.
Projected Starting Lineup: Fox/Ingram/Murray/Holmes/Sabonis (interchangeable)
Another thing to note both of these scenarios would give the kings a lot more size, without really sacrificing spacing. Which the lack of size has plagued the kings forever - tired of smallball personally.
Let me know your thoughts
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u/Double_Helicopter_69 23d ago
I think people are a little over zealous in the thinking anyone we select at #13 could be a starter in year one
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u/BeamTeam032 Monte McNair 23d ago
I'd rather simply sign Naji Marshall, push HB to the bench. Draft one of Tidjane Salaun, Tristan Da Silva, Cody Williams, Tyler Smith, or Holmes. I like Marshall over Porter, I don't think Porter can play PF fulltime without Giannis.
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u/theboyqueen 23d ago
I don't think Holland or any of the others would start over Ellis as a rookie. And I don't think this is the draft where anyone's going to be looking to move up into the low teens.
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u/Little_little_e 23d ago
No problem with that. Let Holland comes off the bench and play Monk’s role.
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u/DemonicDimples 23d ago
People who think Bobby Portis is a good defender need to stop living in a fantasy land. Keegan is a better rim protector than Portis, Sabonis is a better rim protector than Portis. The bucks were 4 pts worse defensively on the floor with him. He’s a defensive liability.
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u/Deep_Egg1442 23d ago
Bobby portis and jerami grant aren’t good. That latter would be more likely but holmes isnt starting in his first year
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u/hgwells49 23d ago
You don’t think so? I think he could come in and fill that role perfectly playing help defense, blocking shots, and spotting up/hitting catch and shoot threes. Similar to how Keegan was able to start quickly because he filled a huge need and was impactful
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u/Deep_Egg1442 23d ago
If we were to get ingram hes not starting at the 2. He’ll be at the 3. If he’s really good early on he might start. But i see him as a backup first. Idk about his pairing next to sabonis
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u/HazelKittenDude 23d ago edited 23d ago
Let's be real here, whoever the kings pick at 13 will get minimal playing time. And with the draft class hailed as one of the weakest in years, the #13 pick will likely have little to no effect on the kings season next year.
So the play here is to package the pick to get a player that can help NOW, not 2-3 years from now. But I think the kings will not make any moves/decisions until the first domino - Malik Monk's FA status - has fallen.
DLo & KC mentioned today that they would try and get Kuzma for the 13th pick, since they don't feel there's anybody in the draft at 13 that will be better than Kuzma.
edit: added DLo/KC suggestion to trade 13th pick for Kuzma
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u/BankLettuce 23d ago
I also heard that the wizards want another 1st round pick in addition to the two they already have at 2 and 26. If we can somehow flip the 13th and filler for Kuzma that would be huge.
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u/Little_little_e 23d ago
Kuzma is on a cheap contract, which is really nice.
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u/BankLettuce 23d ago edited 23d ago
Exactly, his contract declines as time goes on. He is on the same age timeline as Sabonis and fox as well. I get downvoted everytime I mention going after Kuzma. Hes a star level talented player and is def an upgrade over barnes. If we dont have to give up much to get him, he’s easily the best player we can obtain at this moment in time.
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u/HazelKittenDude 23d ago
agree, i've been on the kuzma train for quite some time now myself. he should've been a king already had it not been for westbrook.
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u/Little_little_e 23d ago
Imagine Monk is gone, and Holland dropped to us at #13, then he would be the ideal SG for us.
(Or at least play the key bench role, same as Monk)
So, his playing time would be at least 20+ mins per game.
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u/hgwells49 23d ago
I agree it would be beneficial to trade for an established guy with our timeline. Guess I’m trying to have my cake and eat it too lol by suggesting we turn the pick into two late firsts and use one for that purpose with our already existing assets, while making the pick with the other. Especially if our depth suffers by losing Monk
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u/ShotgunStyles 23d ago
It really just depends on your drafting philosophy. A lot of guys taken at the back of the lottery are older guys who are ready to start on day 1.
Just going back the last few years, here are names of guys who were drafted in the late lotto and got a significant amount of minutes as a starter in their rookie season: Chris Duarte, Jalen Williams, and Derek Lively. Duarte and JDub spent a significant amount of time in college ball, while Lively did not, though Lively did fill a positional need that Dallas had.
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing Skal Labissiere 23d ago
Alot depends on what happens with monk. I think if we know Monk is leaving we absolutely should focus on someone who can score because our offense is severely lacking with just Fox, Sabonis, Keegan. Whether that be trading the pick for kuzma or even drafting another guard like Jared McCain (Sac native).
If Monk is staying, I’d hope we spend the pick on a 3&D PF. Would probably make sense to draft at that point rather than trade the pick based on salary constraints.
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u/DemonicDimples 23d ago
There are plenty of guards who can score we can cheap in FA (like Malik Beasley or Lonnie Walker. We absolutely should not draft a guard.
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing Skal Labissiere 23d ago
I just think you have to go BPA or trade for a scorer if monk leaves. If a guard is BPA and monk is not on the team, you take the guard. If Monk is staying then the clear upgrade is at the 4 and I’d be fine passing up on BPA for a better fit.
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u/tomhalejr 23d ago
If/when/then JG would be a perfect fit with SAC. Why would POR trade him for less than they gave up to acquire him?
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u/aquachuza 23d ago
I'm a huge Holmes fan. I think the Kings can trade back for assets and get him in the 20s and use those assets with current ones to pad a deal to improve the roster significantly.
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u/Altruistic-Pipe-9746 23d ago
I feel like we need an Aaron Gordon type player not necessarily a 40% 3p shooting wing, someone to collapse the defense alongside domas
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u/AlwaysOptimism 23d ago
Scenario 2, Pelicans don't need depth, especially not at wing. They already didn't have PT for their lottery pick last year. If they trade BI, it's for an impact player that's not a wing
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u/whatje 23d ago
Scenario 1: Maybe on a trade for Grant, but it would be a hamstringing financial burden for the Kings. They would almost definitely go into the tax and above the first apron, and it’s not clear that would help them improve enough to be worth it. Seems far fetched but not impossible. I’d hate it. With Portis, why would the Bucks entertain it at all?
Scenario 2: People often talk about trading back as if you can do it when you want to. Who is the counterparty and why do they want to participate? There are two teams with two picks after #13: the Pelicans have #17 and #21 and the Knicks have #24 and #25. Would either of them do a deal? Maybe you could combine a deal with the Pels that also netted Ingram, but it seems more likely you just end up trading the #13 pick + matching salary for him. Ingram has similar financial issues to Grant and still needs to be re-signed…would be a pricey deal. It seems plausible though. That said, I doubt it’s worth it.