Kings interested in Hezonja? (merged)

I think some people around here haven't watched very much of Okafor based on the comments. He has one skill (low post scoring). He is terrible on defense, a poor ball-handler and passer. He is a below average rebounder as well. Why would you want him on the team?

Well, to answer your question, he has one really good skill the kings lack, he can score in the low post.

I think okafor could develop into an acceptable defensive player. It's funny how getting traded wakes up some players.

But he offers a player that can potentially give you 15-18ppg every night. Which none of the bigs we currently have on the roster can give us.

The name of the game is still to out score your opponents and our team is grossly undermanned to do that.

I said it in the other thread but no one answered me. Who do you play next to Okafor? You need a stretch 4 next to him that can defend big men in the post and rebound at an above average level.

If you play Okafor and Skal (our closest thing to a stretch 4), the defense is going to be as bad as any in history.

Okafor next to WCS or Koufos, the paint is going to be completely clogged or you're relying on WCS's elbow jumper all game, which is a losing proposition.

So how does this guy fit? His post scoring is nice but you can't really play him next to nearly anyone in the league because he has so many other short comings.

Is okaford another greg monroe? Worse?

This could be said the same for all our big men though. Who do you play next to Skal? He's a minus defensively and offers almost nothing on that end. He's not instinctive enough to be a weakside shot blocker. He gets beat off the dribble by slashing 4s. He's not strong enough to defend the post. He doesn't know how to box out. He can't grab rebounds.
Koufos would be the only player, but even then, he's not an ideal fit next to Skal.
How about Willie? He needs another strong rebounder next to him. Koufos would be the only player, but neither can stretch the floor enough in today's game.

So it's not just Okafor who would have a trouble fitting in. None of our bigs compliment eachother. Willie should be the ideal C, but...........nothing else to say about that guy.

I wouldn't mind taking a risk on Okafor..

I'd give him a run if we didn't sign Randolph. Think we are better off developing what we have right now than causing any more clutter.

Exactly, so what's the point in getting Okafor? Him and Skal are somewhat similar because they have similar weaknesses. They both don't defend very well and they both don't rebound very well either. Both are young. The main difference is Skal is a beanpole while Okafor came into the league with a grown mans body. Okafor also has a ton of question marks around not only his ability to defend, but his willingness to defend. Skal might have a lot of question marks as well but his desire has yet to be questioned.

The main difference is Skal can shoot from outside the paint while Okafor cannot. That allows him to mesh better with anyone regardless of who the other big is.

Yeah don't get me started on Willie either. I think we both feel about the same as far as he goes.

Right now I'm a little frustrated with Willie. Not because of what he can't do, but because of what he won't do. He's shown that he can hit that 18 foot jump shot, yet he continues to play the role of the unselfish player, constantly passing up open shots for a pass instead. On a night like last night, when no one could make a shot, he needs to start taking open shots. Also, Willie is quicker than almost anyone that's guarding him. He needs to take his new found dribbling skills and attack the basket more. Either finish, or get to the line. Or both! It's also a great way to pad your rebounding stats in case you miss.

I'm not as critical of Skal as your are. To me he's still a rookie and this is like his first year in the league. He's athletic enough to defend the position, but not strong enough depending on who he has to guard. Is he making mistakes? Yes, no doubt, but that's to be expected. There's a difference between pointing out mistakes, and condemning a player as incapable of playing the position. Isn't that what this season is all about? To see who will rise and who will fall. What frustrates me with Skal, is his inconsistency on offense. He'll look like a future all star one minute, and look like a player that should be sitting at the end of the bench the next. I can live with his defensive liabilities if he can consistently look like the future all star.

My biggest concern is with Buddy Buckets. He'll have to change his moniker to BudAir if he continues to miss shots the way he has. I think it's gotten into his head, because he's missing badly. Maybe they should give him a rest for a couple of games and let him watch. Or, bring him off the bench. He appears to think he has to go out and get 20 pts every night, so he's trying too hard to make something happen. Pressing never works! Not in any sport. I don't question his desire, but he needs to relax and just take what's there.

The bright spots have been Bogdanovic and Fox. Both have been a bit inconsistent, but both do the little things that help you win games. On one play last night, Bog's came around the top of the 3 pt line with the ball. Koufos was setting a pick. He handed the ball off to Koufos, and then cut in behind the man guarding Koufos and set a beautiful back screen, allowing Koufos to go unimpeded to the basket for a dunk. This is the kind of effort both Bog's and Fox bring that makes them valuable even when their missing their shots. Both players need to be more aggressive offensively. Fox waited till the 4th quarter to go into his attack mode. He needs to do that the minute he enters the game.

I'm having a hard time figuring out Hill. At times he seems to disappear, and then suddenly, like in the last game, it's as though he woke up and realized he was in a game and started to attack. The dude is a good shooter! How about he takes some shots instead of deferring to Buddy all the time. I'm also convinced that it's time for Randolph to hang up his spurs. He's really struggling defensively, and it's like we have to stop what were doing so Randolph can get in his post up shot on occasion. That's probably unfair, but that's what it looks like to me at times. Joerger says he wants to play uptempo, but how in the hell do you do that with Randolph in the lineup.Inquiring minds want to know.

For me, it's just more about the Kings not having enough good players. Having potential doesn't make someone a good NBA player. PapaG may or may not be good, but he's completely unproven and rides on the bench. Giles is a complete basketball unknown who didn't impress in his 1 year of college. Jackson is already older and is destined to be a NBA role player. Mason is also older, he could turn into IT 2.0, but it's much more likely that his ceiling is a backup PG or 6th man. Malachi is another unproven inconsistent player. Then we have Skal who's also inconsistent with extremely questionable IQ. Fox could become a special player, but it'll take a while before we see it at full display. Then there's Bogdanovic who could be solid starting SG, but his age is kinda wonky since he's our oldest "young" player at 25.
There's no one on this roster who looks good enough for me to even remotely consider how they all fit. If Skal showed me enough to be our franchise PF, then I wouldn't even consider Okafor. But so far, Skal has shown me nothing to make me believe that he's nothing but a raw basketball player.

I don't think it's one or the other. Would you rather have 2 lotto tickets or 1? At this point, I wouldn't even be opposed to bringing in another young SG. Buddy, Bogdan, Richardson, and Jackson have shown me nothing at SG to make me think they're our answer for the future. It's extremely short in the season but up until this point, I'm not impressed. I hope we have enough money in the offseason. I'd be ok with giving max offers to Parker, Gordon, and LaVine.

The only way I would want Okafor on this team would be if we got rid of ZBo and let him take his place. I would not give up any of our pieces for him. You guys were talking about giving up Hield for him in the other thread which is crazy talk to me. I agree completely on gathering up as many prospects as possible but I wouldn't give up a prospect for him because there's a reason why the 76ers, who are the kings of gathering prospects, are giving up on him so early in his career. I'm not saying he will never turn into a good player but the odds are fairly low for him because it seems like it's a mental thing with him, not a physical thing.

I think you're a bit quick to say that those guys can't be the answer for the future at SG. Lets let Buddy work through his yips that he seems to have developed so he can get back to last years Buddy. Lets let Bogdan play more than 4 games on a crappy team before calling a verdict on him. Lets give Malachi a couple more years, whether it's on the bench or in the D League where he was our best player last year. Jackson is a SF and I don't have many gripes with his offense but I don't even know if he can be a roleplayer in this league unless he toughens up and starts gathering more than 1 rebound a game.

That's so weird. I was just thinking about Hezonja and I thought of this exact same trade - Malachi and a 2nd rounder for Hezonja.

I want Hezonja!

Regarding Willie: DITTO! If the guy has the speed then why don't we see it on the floor? This team is 26th in the league in fast breaks and they have Fox and WCS, maybe the two fastest players at their position in the entire league. What's up with that?

Regarding Buddy, I agree, bring him off the bench. There is a different psychology in a guy like Buddy trying to hold onto a starting position and being scared he's going to lose it versus a guy coming off the bench and being angry about it and going out there to prove to the coach that he deserves to be the starter. Buddy needs to lose the fear and gain the anger. Have him come off the bench.

They could play uptempto with Randolph, just like with Papa. Four guys can run like hell while the center doesn't. Just run through the lane if nothing is available and by the time you're out of it one of the bigger slower guys will have caught up with the rest. It's not that big of a deal. The big deal would be having two slow guys in the lineup at the same time.

We really lack an interior threat, at least with Randolph playing like the shell of his former self. I wouldn't mind taking a stab at Okafor. People are saying our defense would be bad but as it stands right now, it can't get much worse. We might as well add another young prospect. If it does make us even worse then we get a better draft spot. Its a win-win imo.

Since Orlando did not exercise the 4th year option for Hezonja, I would not offer Orlando anything of value in a trade, maybe a 2nd rounder.

I think that once Hezonja is a free agent this summer, the Kings with Vlade and Peja has a good of a chance or better chance than any other team to sign him as a free agent.

Just be patient, and if Vlade really wants him, I think we can sign him in the summer for free.