The Perfect Offseason would be...

Bosnian Diehard

Bosnian Diehard

Starter
#1
#1
I think since the offseason is just about to begin with only a game or two away from crowning the NBA Champions, maybe we could toss around our ideas for what we would do this offseason for the Kings. This includes the draft, free agency, trades, etc. Try to remain realistic (don't go off signing LMA, trading Rudy, drafting Okafor all in one offseason, for example :D)

The NBA Draft

Keep it simple. Draft WCS at #6. If he is not there, Mudiay and/or Porzingis may be and I'd go with one of them (preferably Porzingis). But ideally, we'd be getting WCS.

Summary:

-- draft WCS (back-up: 1. Porzingis, 2. Mudiay)

Free Agency

Now, I'm not exactly a cap genius and don't exactly know all the details, but I know we don't have much cap space at all and probably won't make a splash this season. But, I'd like to re-sign Casspi to something like a 3yr/$9mill deal, considering he may be our best bench player. May be a little low, but he'd be he;ping us out with this. Then, I'd like to re-sign Andre Miller for insurance/veteran presence in the locker room. Finally, we'd have to look for a back-up center, so I'd probably go after Kosta Koufos with ~$4-4.5 mill. deal.

Oh yeah, and please don't pick up D-Will's option!

Summary:

-- re-sign Omri Casspi
-- re-sign Andre Miller
-- sign Kosta Koufos

Trades

I am hoping we stay quiet in terms of trades this off-season. I'd really like to see this core given a chance, and the only worthwhile trades we could make would involve moving a core piece.

Summary:

-- NONE!

Enter Training Camp With...

PG: Darren Collison, Ray McCallum, Andre Miller
SG: Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas
SF: Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi
PF: Jason Thompson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Eric Moreland
C: DeMarcus Cousins, Kosta Koufos

Coach: George Karl

While the starting line-up is identical to last year, we will (hopefully) see an improved Nik, the additions of two good big men in WCS/Koufos and an entire year with Andre Miller.

------------------------------------------

Let's your thoughts/ideas!
 
G

Gilles

Starter
#2
#2
That team has very weak bench backcourt on both ends.
Kosta will be a starter somewhere next season, and he will make much more than $4-5 million.
 
Letsgokings13

Letsgokings13

Bench
#3
#3
There's nothing about the same team from last year + a couple of pieces like WCS and Koufas that lead me to believe they will make much of a difference. Maybe get in the playoffs, maybe. Then what? It just screams mediocrity to me. Still no 3 pt shooting, or improved play making
 
funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#4
#4
Gilles said:
That team has very weak bench backcourt on both ends.
Kosta will be a starter somewhere next season, and he will make much more than $4-5 million.
Click to expand...
The Kings absolutely need a sixth man. WCS will fill the role as the third big (and hopefully eventually supplant JT as a starter moving Thompson to that role) but they need a guy who can come in and score. A

Beyond that they need outside shooting and at least one more big body for emergency minutes. I'd love to trade Landry for one of those pieces but I don't see that happening.
 
Spike

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#5
#5
I like the premise. Minor tweaks are needed, not major shakeups. I'm not sure if these are the exact players that would do it for me, but, at minimum, we'd have strengthened our bench if (big if) Ben and Nik improve.
Ben taking another step towards consistency, and Nik not looking like a lost Rookie would plug a lot of holes. I know Brick isn't a fan of being dependent on the kids to grow, but, if they do, they could help this team a ton.
 
Dreadnought

Dreadnought

Bench
#6
#6
One OK signing, one OK trade, and a decent draft pick is pretty much all we need to be competitive next year with this roster. No need to swing for the fences. Unfortunately not failing on signings and draft picks isn't this franchise's strong point.
 
Bosnian Diehard

Bosnian Diehard

Starter
#7
#7
Letsgokings13 said:
There's nothing about the same team from last year + a couple of pieces like WCS and Koufas that lead me to believe they will make much of a difference. Maybe get in the playoffs, maybe. Then what? It just screams mediocrity to me. Still no 3 pt shooting, or improved play making
Click to expand...
It's kind of hard to do anything besides minor tweaks with 8 mill. in cap room.

It's not like we need to make the jump from bottom 6 team to contender in one year. If we contend for the Playoffs this year, we can take next steps offseason to get into the PO/get closer to being a contender.
 
Sac.Kings

Sac.Kings

All-Star
#11
#11
One major thing I disagree with is relying on Nik and Ben. Can't do it. I'd rather have almost any other vet in there, even Matt Barnes who is 35. Also, Kosta will certainly make more than 5 million, but if he agrees to that, then that would be an awesome deal. I like the general direction of everything else. Tweak it, not dismantle it.
 
ockingsfan

ockingsfan

Starter
#12
#12
If we draft WCS, Kosta becomes redundant.

If we draft Mudiay or Porzingis (more of a project), then signing Kosta makes a lot of sense.

If we draft WCS, better to use the rest of the FA money or trade for back court help, i.e. Lawson or Afflalo or Mathews.
 
twslam07

twslam07

Starter
#13
#13
My Perfect Off-season (version 1)

1. Draft Willie Cauley-Stein
The kid does everything that we need out of a 4 and 5. He compliments Cousins very well on defense and has the potential to compliment him well on offense. His size, athleticism, and defense should be able to transfer to the NBA right away as a rookie.

We would have $7,007,083 in cap space at this point.

2. Make a 3-Way Trade with the Bulls and Sixers

Bulls Get:
Robert Covington
Jason Thompson
Ray McCallum
Thunder's 2016 1st (Top 15 Protected)

Bulls Give:
Taj Gibson
Kings 2016 1st (Top 10 Protected)


Sixers Get:
Carl Landry
Nik Stauskas
Kings 2016 1st (Top 3 Protected)

Sixers Give:
Robert Covington
Thunder's 2016 1st (Top 15 Protected)


Kings Get:
Taj Gibson

Kings Give:
Carl Landry
Jason Thompson
Nik Stauskas
Ray McCallum
Lower the protection of their 2016 1st from Top 10 to Top 3

They give up a useful, third big in Thompson, some young pieces like Stauskas and McCallum and lower the protection of a pick that would have likely transferred over if the protection remained Top 10, but they get out of Landry's contract while obtaining a starting caliber PF that compliments Cousins very well. Meanwhile this trade gives them a lot more cap space to work with.

We would have $14,669,770 in cap space at this point.

3. Sign Wesley Matthews to 2 Years/$24 Mil with a Player Option on the Second Year
It's possible he might not be as sought after as some of the other FAs due to his injury and offering him a hefty deal that allows him to opt out for a bigger deal next year with the cap rising (if he plays well) or to opt-in (if he didn't play as well as he'd hoped) would be an attractive offer.

Matthews might not be as good as he was before his injury, but he should still be a considerable upgrade over our current SGs.

We would have $3,458,964 in cap space at this point.

4. Waive David Stockton
Nothing against him. I just think we could use the extra cap space.

We would have $3,778,930 in cap space at this point.

5. Sign Cole Aldrich to 3 years/$8.2 Mil
A lot of people like to bring up Koufos, but I think Aldrich is a similar caliber. He's underrated in my book which will mean he'll probably get a little overlooked.

He played well during his tenure with the Kings, and I was very sad to see him go. He's a big, strong center who can board and defend the paint while he's in. He's also not too bad on the offensive side either.

We would have $1,704,023 in cap space at this point.

6. Sign CJ Watson to 2 Years/$3.48 Mil
Watson is a veteran PG who's been around awhile. He can do a little scoring & playmaking while being a very potent deep threat from three. I think adding him to the roster will give us 48 minutes of consistent PG play with both PGs being able to easing operate off the ball if need be. Allowing guys like Cousins, Gay, & Matthews to have a lot of exposure to the ball.

We would have $525,093 in cap space at this point.

7. Sign Omri Casspi to the Room Exception
Casspi was very solid off the bench last year, and ended up finding his shooting stroke later in the season. His energy, hustle, scoring, and shooting will be good attributes to have come off the bench.

We would have $0 in cap space at this point.

8. Sign Andre Miller, Hedo Turkoglu, & Drew Gooden to veteran minimums
Miller would be a good third guard to have and continue to help mentor our young guys. Turkoglu would give us some more wing depth and he can still knock down 3s when he does get a chance to play. Gooden would serve as a stretch big who can see floor time in certain matchups.


PG - Collison/Watson/Miller
SG - Matthews/McLemore
SF - Gay/Casspi/Turkoglu
PF - Gibson/Cauley-Stein/Gooden/Moreland
C - Cousins/Aldrich
 
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hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#14
#14
Honestly, I think Nik and Darren should probably both be traded. Maximize their value as assets right now (Darren's is probably as big as it will ever be, and Nik shot well enough the second half of the season -- 42% on threes after the All Star break -- that you can still sell his potential as an elite shooter with 3 years of rookie contract left) and get in some veteran help in the backcourt. With the #6 pick, Darren, Nik, and potentially Ray or JT to work with we need to find a couple of playmakers in the backcourt, a veteran shooter, young legs in the frontcourt at either position to bring energy off the bench, and a defensive starting PF. Eric Moreland, Andre Miller, and Omri Casspi should all be brought back as extra roster depth but I don't think we should pencil them into regular roles if we can help it.

So I guess that means I like the part of this plan that involves keeping Ben, Rudy, DeMarcus, and Eric plus re-signing Omri and Andre. The rest of it would not be ideal for me. I don't think we find a starter in the draft for next year and I'm done counting on JT for anything but more disappointment. Draft for long-term potential (Mudiay, Johnson, Turner) and target a few key players who fit our needs. Probably we need 2 new guards, a wing player, and 2 new big guys. So if we don't trade the pick, we're looking for 4 players with Darren, Nik, and JT as trade bait and a little bit of cap space. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we also get to spend up to our salary cap limit, then spend over to re-sign our own free agents, then use the MLE to sign another 4 year deal capped at about 5M per year so long as we don't crack the luxury tax threshhold?
 
twslam07

twslam07

Starter
#15
#15
hrdboild said:
Honestly, I think Nik and Darren should probably both be traded. Maximize their value as assets right now (Darren's is probably as big as it will ever be, and Nik shot well enough the second half of the season -- 42% on threes after the All Star break -- that you can still sell his potential as an elite shooter with 3 years of rookie contract left) and get in some veteran help in the backcourt. With the #6 pick, Darren, Nik, and potentially Ray or JT to work with we need to find a couple of playmakers in the backcourt, a veteran shooter, young legs in the frontcourt at either position to bring energy off the bench, and a defensive starting PF. Eric Moreland, Andre Miller, and Omri Casspi should all be brought back as extra roster depth but I don't think we should pencil them into regular roles if we can help it.

So I guess that means I like the part of this plan that involves keeping Ben, Rudy, DeMarcus, and Eric plus re-signing Omri and Andre. The rest of it would not be ideal for me. I don't think we find a starter in the draft for next year and I'm done counting on JT for anything but more disappointment. Draft for long-term potential (Mudiay, Johnson, Turner) and target a few key players who fit our needs. Probably we need 2 new guards, a wing player, and 2 new big guys. So if we don't trade the pick, we're looking for 4 players with Darren, Nik, and JT as trade bait and a little bit of cap space. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we also get to spend up to our salary cap limit, then spend over to re-sign our own free agents, then use the MLE to sign another 4 year deal capped at about 5M per year so long as we don't crack the luxury tax threshhold?
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We can sign our own FAs after we sign other FAs. However, our FAs usually have a cap hold which takes away from our cap space. I'm assuming we're renouncing D. Williams meaning his cap hold will no longer be factored into our cap space, but other than that, I don't believe we have any FAs who would have cap holds because they haven't been with the team long enough to earn Bird rights.

For example, if we wanted to resign Casspi, we would have to use our existing cap space to do it. We could not sign other FAs with all of our cap space and then go over the cap to sign Casspi.

There is one caveat. We have a Room Exception (we don't have a MLE). That exception is 2.8 mil. So after we have used all of our cap space, we can use that room exception and veteran minimum deals to go over the cap.
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#18
#18
Perfect offseason for me would be drafting Cauley Stein or Stanley Johnson and then either clearing cap space for Wes Matthews or do a sign and trade for him. After that, I'd like to acquire one second round draft pick to help add some bench play and resign Casspi.
 
hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#20
#20
twslam07 said:
We can sign our own FAs after we sign other FAs. However, our FAs usually have a cap hold which takes away from our cap space. I'm assuming we're renouncing D. Williams meaning his cap hold will no longer be factored into our cap space, but other than that, I don't believe we have any FAs who would have cap holds because they haven't been with the team long enough to earn Bird rights.

For example, if we wanted to resign Casspi, we would have to use our existing cap space to do it. We could not sign other FAs with all of our cap space and then go over the cap to sign Casspi.

There is one caveat. We have a Room Exception (we don't have a MLE). That exception is 2.8 mil. So after we have used all of our cap space, we can use that room exception and veteran minimum deals to go over the cap.
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What about the Jason Terry Trade Exception? We traded Terry on Sept. 17th of last year creating a 5.85 million dollar trade exception which I don't think we've used yet. Doesn't that mean we can trade for 1 player who's salary doesn't exceed $5.85 million before Sept. 17th of this year even if that contract puts us over the salary cap (but still below the luxury tax threshold)? If so, here are some possible candidates:

SG Courtney Lee MEM (5.675 million expiring)
SG Ben Gordon ORL (4.5 million expiring)
C Chris Kaman POR (5 million expiring)
C Zaza Pachulia MIL (5.2 million expiring)
PF JJ Hickson DEN (5.6 million expiring)
PF Trevor Booker UTA (4.775 million expiring)
SF Chase Budinger MIN (5 million expiring -- if he opts into his player option)

If any of those teams want to dump those players for salary cap relief late in the off-season we should be able to scoop them up and have one more veteran of (varying) value to fill out the roster and possibly help match salaries if an opportunity for a deadline deal opens up.
 
L

Larry David

Starter
#24
#24
1. Our ownership group gets on the same page and minority owners stop talking to the media
2. Team gets a local and personable PR person
3. Vivek is kept far away from any microphones and basketball operations person except to approve trades, salary above previously set budget and be advised who the team intends to pick.
4. Atlanta decides it just can't bring Danny Ferry back. We sign him to a 3 year deal, with Vlade being groomed to replace him and having a big role, but Ferry is calling the shots.
5. We draft whoever is left between Portzingis or Winslow
6. We wait to see who isn't getting enough love from the Robin Lopez, Asik, and Koufos group in the first few days of free agency and jump in at 115% of market to get one of those guys OR should that fail, I wait for the cap space to get eaten up (because teams are going to go crazy on 3 and 4 year deals overpaying early and getting value after the cap goes up) and sign 3 players for good value on one year contracts to rebuild or bench with vets looking to prove something and then probably move on when the cap goes up.

Hey, you said ideal.
 
hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#25
#25
Here's what I would do...

1) Draft Emmanuel Mudiay at #6 if he's there. If not, my pick is Stanley Johnson.

2) Regardless of the #6 pick, I want to trade Collison and Stauskas (7.9 mill combined) to Charlotte for Marvin Williams (7 mill expiring) and their #9 pick.

Charlotte needs to get a shooter with their pick, this gets them a great backup PG and a shooter for a guy they don't really need anymore. We'd be leveraging Collison's value to swap out Stuaskas for another elite prospect: Stanley Johnson or Myles Turner. Both of these players have as much upside as anyone else in the draft and fill big needs for us (wing defender/bench scorer or defensive big with stretch 4 potential).

3) Sign and Trade Jason Thompson and Ray McCallum to Philadelphia for Thomas Robinson.

An athletic young PF who can come in off the bench with energy and effort and do a little bit of everything. He's one of the best rebounding bigs in the league, his steal and block rates are both above average, and he can utilize his athleticism to find opportunities to score. Playmakers like Rondo and Mudiay (not to mention Cousins and Rudy) could work wonders for an athletically gifted big like Robinson.

Philly needs depth at both of these positions and Robinson is an unrestricted free agent so they have no leverage. I don't see the added salary being a problem for them either since they need to meet the salary floor anyway and they're basically getting Ray McCallum for free. We're getting younger in the frontcourt here and adding a player who produced nearly as many defensive win shares last season (1.4 for TRob vs 1.5 for JT) while playing only 40% as much (798 min vs 1991 min).

4) Sign Rajon Rondo to 2 year deal with player option on year 2.

The defense has regressed and he's never been a good shooter but he's still one of the best playmakers in the league, a terrific rebounder at the PG position, and a natural leader who studies playbooks and game tape obsessively. His playoff experience and competitive fire should mesh well with Rudy and DeMarcus.

5) Sign Kyle O'Quinn to a 3 year deal

He's been one of the more underrated defensive players in the league since being drafted in the 2nd round in 2012. This season he was slowed by injury and regressed a bit, but he has the potential to fill a lot of holes for us. His rebounding rate is rather poor, but that's not a huge problem if we have two of the league's best on the roster. On the plus side, his assist rate is very high for a big man. He's got some range on his jumper. While not an elite shotblocker, his block rate of 4.6% over the last three seasons is tied with Gorgui Dieng and Derrick Favors and just a tick below Andre Drummond. He'll have an impact as a rim protector.

An ideal draft scenario would produce this roster:

Rondo/Mudiay
McLemore (Mudiay)
Gay/M. Williams/S. Johnson (Casspi?)
O'Quinn/T. Robinson/Landry
Cousins/E. Moreland (O'Quinn)

A little thin at guard, but both Mudiay and Johnson can play minutes there. We still need to find a veteran shooter. We could waive and stretch Landry's contract to add a veteran shooter to the roster. Marvin Williams can also be flipped for a veteran guard if we're comfortable with Casspi/Johnson as the backup SFs.

The alternative draft scenario would produce this lineup:

Rondo (Miller?)
McLemore
Gay/M. Williams/S. Johnson (Casspi?)
O'Quinn/T. Robinson/Landry
Cousins/M. Turner/E. Moreland (O'Quinn)

Obviously more work to be done here. The starting lineup is still an improvement from this season and while the guard depth will need to be addressed with further trades/signings, the front court depth is already a huge improvement. Turner will take some time to develop, but he should eventually push O'Quinn to the bench.
 
hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#27
#27
macadocious said:
That would be the worst shooting team in the NBA
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I assume you're talking about jump shooting, which is one aspect of the game. Other important aspects of the game are rebounding (offensive and defensive), team defense, backdoor cuts and layups, post-offense, forcing turnovers, assist/TO ratio, post defense, shotblocking, creating mismatches, drawing fouls, etc. While I agree that shooting is a priority (and I clearly wrote that we still need to make another deal for a veteran shooter with both of these lineups) I don't agree that it should be the priority. My goal here was to improve the interior defense, improve the perimeter defense, and ensure that we can control the boards. I also got two elite prospects who could develop into two-way starters at their positions. I don't see much point in bringing in a bunch of mediocre veterans who are on the decline of their career. I want to see a team with a lot of potential to grow and improve. I also don't see the point in blowing substantial capspace (or draft picks) on players who do nothing but catch and shoot. Take care of the important parts of the game and then add a free agent shooter or two.
 
ElRey

ElRey

Starter
#28
#28
Perfect offseason would be to sign a qualify veteran SG, ie Matthews and get a qualify shot blocking big such as a Willie caulie Stein. Another veteran center would also be nice.
 
Nikolizzle

Nikolizzle

G-League
#29
#29
Perfect Offseason:

1. DON'T TRADE FOR TY LAWSON OR TAJ GIBSON.

Underrated players by some, but totally overrated and overvalued by most. Collison is just as good as Lawson and we've got him for a steal of a price, and Gibson is past his prime for what we'd have to give up for him.

2. Leave SG to Ben and Nik.

Ben's improvement over the past season was brilliant, and I really don't see where all the hate and "Trade him!" talk is coming from. Nik's had one season, and very limited minutes. If they want to bring in a vet backup should there be an injury or they fall off a cliff, then okay.

3. Keep David Stockton, trade Ray McCallum

Stockton showed me a bit to impress me late last season, and bring in Andre Miller as a mentor/coach, I really believe he could become a force in the league. With Collison and Stockton on the books, Ray Mac becomes surplus. If we could move him, and Landry for a second round pick and someone with expiring deals, then i'd be ecstatic.

4. Get a second round pick to draft Rakeem Christmas.

I watched him quite a bit through March Madness, and I knew he'd be quality. His stock is going up due to his workouts, but I still think we could get him with a 2nd-rounder. He's essentially Faried 2.0, but bigger.
 
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