Building a better Team

[LongLiveIverson]

Before the deadline try and swing a deal for an expiring contract such as Kirk Hinrich or Boris Diaw.

-Jason Thompson, Francisco Garcia to Atlanta for Kirk Hinrich
Hawks get much needed front court depth for a their playoff run, Kings get the floor general they desperately need as well as a 8million dollar expiring contract

The season is pretty much lost at this point so your looking at this for your lineup to finish the year..
Nothing scary just a bunch of random pieces that don't fit together
C. Cousins/Hayes/Whiteside
F. Hickson/D.Greene
F. Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
G. Thornton/Fredette
G. Evans/Thomas

Offseason..First relieve Geoff Petrie of his duties immediately. The clock is up, for all the good hes done he has driven this team into the ground the past 5 years

Let JJ Hickson, Donte Greene walk..while they are athletic talented players they do not fit into this team. Hickson has no hands, plays no defense and is good for one put back dunk a game, while Donte Greene hustles and puts in effort on D, he epitomizes are shooting woes and we can live without him

Kirk Hinrich - if you can sign him for cheap such as a veteran minimum then go for it, he can be a great tutor for Jimmer, if not your only losing 5ppg and a veteren leader well past his prime.

Use the Amnesty Clause on John Salmons, get him as far away from the team as possible. Siberia would be my first choice.

Free Agency..Nic Batum has already stated that he intends to test the market first and find the best offer before negotiating with the Blazers this offseason after not getting an extension this season. We have the lowest payroll in the league. Throw the money his way. In Batum you are getting a versital small forward who excells on defense, can hit the outside shot and doesn't demand the ball or need to it be effective.

Brandon Rush - Shooting lights out this year for the Golden State, has always been a reliable defender and solid outside shooter. Warriors will probably let him test the market considering their crowded backcourt featuring Monta, Steph Curry and 10th pick Klay Thompson.

Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton are both Shooting guards with a very similar game. While both talented scorers, I don't see the team succeeding with both of them on the roster, time for one of them to go. Tyreke still has ridiculous upside, hes just coming off a year playing on virtually one foot and hes still only 22. While he may never be Kobe Bryant, he can definitely improve and be a potential 23, 5, 5 player easily. I'm from the Philly area, I've seen him play for years..he has a crazy handle but he IS NOT a Point Guard. He still needs the ball to be dominant but don't most go to players..Kobe, LeBron, Joe Johnson, ect.. With Thornton what you see is what you get, he can score in bunches but will probably be a solid 15-16 ppg Jamal Crawford type player his whole career. Trade him while his value is decent.

Best bet
Marcus Thornton to Minnesota for Nikola Pekovic and their draft pick which is the Utah Jazz's Lottery protected, so your looking at a 15-16 range.
The Timberwolves are stacked with young talent and virutally have no need for that pick as it is unlikely that it will yield them a starting center or quality 2 guard. Pekovic has actually punched in some pretty decent numbers when he gets the minutes when Love gets hurt, he could be a great backup to Cousins.

Our Draft Board should look like this 1. Anthony Davis, Kentucky Top 3 pick
(Assuming Andre Drummond Stays) 2. Harrison Barnes, UNC Top 3 pick
3. Michael Gilchrist, Kentucky Top 5 pick
4. Thomas Robinson, Kansas Top 8 pick

With Batum on board, small forward isn't a pressing need. In a perfect world we win the lottery and select Davis, but I can settle for potential College POY Thomas Robinson 18ppg, 12 rebs.
He provides a blue collar approach and a high motor and can start instantly to form a formidable rebounding duo with Cousins down low. Hes never going to be a superstar but you know what your getting with him.

With the other pick target Kendall Marshall out of North Carolina. Hes not known for creating his own shot, and isn't a jaw dropping athlete in the mold of Wall, Rose or even Kyrie Irving, but is a pure floor general comparable to a Mark Jackson. He averages a ridiculous 9.9 assists per game..exactly what the Kings need. Look at how the Twolves play with Rubio..when players know there is a player that will find them open and get them the ball they will play 10 x harder.
You are essentially getting two quality players who do not need to score or shoot the ball to make an impact. This leaves the bulk of the shooting for Tyreke, Demarcus and Gulp..Jimmer..to do. Instead of what we have now a bunch of talented 22 year olds chucking up garbage to pad stats.

C. DeMarcus Cousins (Star post presence)
F. Ant Davis OR Thomas Robinson (High motor/energy, Shotblocking, Rebounding)
F. Nic Batum (Versatile Defender, Outside shot)
G. Tyreke Evans (Go to scorer, slasher)
G. Kendall Marshall (Floor General, Distributor)

C. Nikola Pekovic (Physical post player, decent scorer)
F. Chuck Hayes (Leadership, Toughness, Rebounding)
F. Tyler Honeycutt (Versatile Defender)
G. Brandon Rush (Outside shot, Defends, can spell Tyreke)
G. Jimmer Fredette (6th Man, 3 point threat)

G. Isiah Thomas (Crafty scorer, sparkplug)
C. Hassan Whiteside (Shotblocking, projeect
F. Travis Outlaw (Veteran benchwarmer, Can jump pretty high..)

The one glaring concern is point guard. Kendall can get people the ball, Jimmer can shoot, but neither is a strong defender. The way this team is built though, their are plenty of quality perimiter defenders to hide their weaknesses. Batum, Tyreke could potentially be lockdown. Honeycutt is compared to a poor mans Tayshawn Prince and can get his share of blocks, and Brandon Rush is no slouch either.
This team might not be contending for a title but keep this core together and you could be looking at a squad like the Thunder, where everyone knows there role..well besides Westbrook..and contributes to Wins

[SacSanity]

I have to disagree with you and some certain points. First off at this point trading Jason Thompson or getting rid of him is incorrect. Especially if we are getting the players you mentioned to replace him. So far after the fire of Westphal he has shown great improvement offensively, defensively and rebounding. For you to says Isiah Thomas would be 3rd string pg is very odd. Tyreke and Thorton can play together they just need to find their groove. The games they do well you wont see posts like these, after a game against the Suns you cant just wanna rebuild the youngest team in the NBA again. Getting Batum and Rush would be great dont get me wrong. But moving Thorton to the bench is an option that needs to be considered if we getting a better starter. We do need to make changes but it mainly has to come from a Starter SF and a stronger bench play. If we can get a backup swingman that can shoot and hope Isiah and Whiteside become consistent down the line we are in good shape. All in all I have to disagree with you.

[LongLiveIverson]

Im a fan of Thompson myself I live 15 mins from Rider and saw him play alot in college. I'd swap Hickson instead in a trade to the Hawks, which they would still probably do. Batum is extremely realistic. I agree Thornton is a great option off the bench but at the end of the day there is still no point guard to distribute. Isiah is a nice story but hes nothing more than a backup. Jimmer is a white Eddie House.

C. Cousins/Thompson/Whiteside
F. Robinson/Hayes
F. Batum/Honeycutt/Outlaw
G. Tyreke/Thornton
G. Jimmer?/I.Thomas

I get what your saying, rome wasn't built in a day, maybe target a pg in next years draft. Kendall could wind up staying anyway

[SacKingZZZ]

Would love Hinrich, but would it cost that much? I really think this team can't afford to lose Garcia despite what his contract pays him. Although if he's going to lose time to guys who can't shoot when you need shooting, probably have to take the chance to dump that deal. Don't know why Atlanta takes it on really although I think JT would be great for them as a Horford stop gap.

Rest of it are some ideas already floated around and as for getting rid of Petrie? Yeah, that boat sailed and got shoved right up the behinds of the doubters.

[LongLiveIverson]

At this point I feel Atlanta would want Hickson or Thompson just to provide solid minutes at the 4. Id personally give away Hickson. Garcias shooting awful this season and is barley averaging 4ppg were not losing much.

[bibby1023]

At this point I feel Atlanta would want Hickson or Thompson just to provide solid minutes at the 4. Id personally give away Hickson. Garcias shooting awful this season and is barley averaging 4ppg were not losing much.

It's not about Garcia's production on the court, but more so off the court and what he can do to teach our young group of guards how to play the right way. At least that's how most fans feel about him.

[SacSanity]

I dont understand why people think Garcia is some amazing mentor for young players. The best this guy has ever been is a inconsistent inbetween sg/sf. Sure he can shoot a corner 3 here and there but its never consistent. I dont get how he can be considered a good off court teacher. Just because Grant and Jerry say it or Omri says how helpful he is doesnt mean anything. Its not like they are gonna bash Garcia. Trading Thomspson and/or Hickson without getting another bigman that can play is pointless. We have a lot of depth at the 3 and/or 2 to be able to trade and get a shooter.

[LongLiveIverson]

Regardless if we trade them or not it would be wise to Retain Thompson, let Hickson, Greene, Francisco walk. And aim at securing some role players (who can actually have game and talent) to compliment Reke, Demarcus, and Thornton. Batum + Thomas Robinson and Kendall Marshall would be a perfect scenario.

[RekeHavoc]

Not horrible but it's kind of radical. I like JT a lot, he's a great fit next to Cousins IMO. I'd rather deal Hickson. I have higher hopes for Jimmer than you do and I like Thornton as a 6th man in the future. Batum would be a nice add for sure though.

[OhioKingsFan]

First of all we would need to "win" the lottery with a top 3 pick in order to land either Davis or Robinson, because Robinson will not be there at pick 6-8.

Second, are we all agreed that the entire Kingdom would be thrilled if we amnestied Salmons? Can we also agree that it is depressingly unlikely to happen? I think it would be great to amnesty him and overpay a player like Batum (we will have to overpay to bring him here or Portland will simply match our offer).

Third, there will be a number of teams we'll be competing with on the SF market (including Golden State and Houston) which makes us unlikely to be at the top of anyone's "wishlist". After last summer's "successful" free agent additions I can't help but be cautious. We probably need to focus on trades, not Free Agents.

[OhioKingsFan]

If the Maloofs feel Salmons' salary is too much to pay him to leave via amnesty, then they SHOULD amnesty Garcia. He's only guaranteed for one year after this (at that point it's a team option), and they'd just be paying him to sit on the bench. Might as well pay him as an amnestied player and clear $6m of cap space to go after someone like Batum.

[LongLiveIverson]

Good point can't argue with any of that. I feel like the Hickson, Cisco deal for Hinrich is a realistic possibility to work to get his contract off the books. Batum would be a Christmas gift, these are all clearly best case scenarios. As for the draft were probably looking at a 6-7 pick. Anthony Davis, Drummond, Barnes are a lock for top 3. Guys like Lamb possibly Sullinger if he tests better than scouts predict are likely top 5 Theres a strong possibility either Thomas Robinson or Gilchrist would be available which would both be ideal guys to compliment this ball hogging team. I know im thinking ahead, but I can't help it haha.