2023 Off-season Thread

[LightTheBeam]

I struggle scouting how euro players translate, so feel free to ignore my take, but Im sceptical Sasha's athleticism translates. At times his off ball movement looks like I'm watching my Uncle at the YMCA.

I think it's definitely something that people should think about so everyone is right to be sceptical.

His offensive game will definitely translate though. He isn't going to dominate by any stretch of the imagination, but his IQ will get him easy buckets (and that's what he is going to need to rely on because he won't have that many plays ran for him). He might not be quick, but due to IQ and when you see him, he uses his body quite well and that will hold him in good stead. His footwork inside is pretty good, but his post ups tend to be against smaller players so he doesn't really try and post up "everyone" if that makes sense.
His quick release from the outside will also ensure defenders need to stay attached to him and that helps the spacing even more.

The sceptical thing is certainly his D. He simply won't have the foot speed to keep up with the offensive players.

This has been my concern with him. Less so on the offensive end, more so on defense.

The majority of euro guys aren't very fast. Luka isn't beating you by going around, he's great at absorbing the contact and getting his shot off. But even the lesser guys like Bojan who is probably a better comparison was never fast, he uses his smarts and averaged 20ppg. And again, the majority of these guys are awful defenders.

The big thing for me is we are already one of the best offenses in basketball. So adding a guy who we expect to play 20+mpg but doesn't address any of our real needs (perimeter defense, interior defense, rebounding, ball handling) makes me a bit suspect about him. It's why I've steady maintained that it will be him or Lyles realistically getting time. Not a bad thing to have both, and its possibly Lyles gets time as a backup 5. But we definitely need to address some of the main issues this off-season, and Sasha feels more like a luxury than an answer to our problems.

[LightTheBeam]

Betonline has the Kings favored to land Draymond if he leaves Golden State. I think it comes down to Coach Brown giving his approval and Draymond taking a big pay cut. My take is Draymond is a wild personality to let in the Kings locker room that had immaculate vibes all season. His knowledge and defense would be welcomed tho.

I've been a huge supporter of bringing him in.

I understand the personality/shooting issues, and obviously Sabonis would have to be on board.. But he fixes so many of our problems over night. I think a guy like him alone takes our defense from bottom 3-4 to top 12.

Also at this stage of his career I think you give him about 28mpg. He plays 14 with Sabonis, 14 when Sabonis goes to the bench. While none of Fox/Draymond/Sabonis are great 3pt shooters, they can all make you pay. And then when you add in Huerter/Murray shooting 40+%, I think it works fine.

You are never going to find the perfect fit next to Sabonis, guys like JJJ don't grow on trees. But I lean more towards improving the defense rather than making sure we add another 40% 3pt shooter.

[KF10]

I agree. Draymond would be an excellent addition for the Kings.

[BoogieTime]

Betonline has the Kings favored to land Draymond if he leaves Golden State. I think it comes down to Coach Brown giving his approval and Draymond taking a big pay cut. My take is Draymond is a wild personality to let in the Kings locker room that had immaculate vibes all season. His knowledge and defense would be welcomed tho.

Don’t know about at taking a big pay cut. I think he’d possibly take one for the Warriors, but I think we would need a solid offer to beat the comp. If we are improving as a FA destination we aren’t at the level of asking established higher tier vets to take a pay cut imo

[BoogieTime]

Kerr openly pleading to re-sign Draymond, as the Warriors should do. Not sure I see that

[City of Trees]

Kerr openly pleading to re-sign Draymond, as the Warriors should do. Not sure I see that

Draymond has a player option of $27.6M. Odds favor the Kings if Draymond opts out.

[BoogieTime]

Kerr openly pleading to re-sign Draymond, as the Warriors should do. Not sure I see that

Draymond has a player option of $27.6M. Odds favor the Kings if Draymond opts out.

Why? I would think the Warriors would be looking to re-sign him to a long term deal. You can say what you want about his antics and aging, the Warriors shouldn't be looking at downgrading talent and Green is still a big part of what they do.

[City of Trees]

Kerr openly pleading to re-sign Draymond, as the Warriors should do. Not sure I see that

Draymond has a player option of $27.6M. Odds favor the Kings if Draymond opts out.

Why? I would think the Warriors would be looking to re-sign him to a long term deal. You can say what you want about his antics and aging, the Warriors shouldn't be looking at downgrading talent and Green is still a big part of what they do.

All valid points. The new CBA will limit what GSW can do being over the lux tax. Green opting out followed up by moving on from Poole can do a lot for them. I'm not arguing one way or another for the dubs. I would love to see them stay over the lux tax with their hands tied.

[BoogieTime]

Draymond has a player option of $27.6M. Odds favor the Kings if Draymond opts out.

Why? I would think the Warriors would be looking to re-sign him to a long term deal. You can say what you want about his antics and aging, the Warriors shouldn't be looking at downgrading talent and Green is still a big part of what they do.

All valid points. The new CBA will limit what GSW can do being over the lux tax. Green opting out followed up by moving on from Poole can do a lot for them. I'm not arguing one way or another for the dubs. I would love to see them stay over the lux tax with their hands tied.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/draymond-green-free-agency-contract-warriors-lakers/mzqubmbwn5sorrhoqtizg3ol

its a good read.

Green is still such a big part of what they do that I think they would look to unload some contracts with assets if necessary, then I think someone in free agency will give him a solid contract. Coming to the Kings for a dip in salary would be surprising to me, but I dont mind

[OxAndFox]

Initially, I was a no for Dray. Now, yeah I wouldn't mind if Sabonis was on board.
If Dray came here with good intentions he would absolutely turn this team into a decent defensive team.

[OxAndFox]

Not sure how many of you watched the EuroLeague final. It was a heartbreaking loss for Vezenkov.
They led almost the entire game until Sergio Llull hit his one and only basket with a few seconds left. Olympiakos missed 3 key FTs down the stretch to open the door for Real Madrid.

Anyway, Sasha led all scorers with 29 points, a team high 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Played all but a few seconds of the game as the coach took him out for defensive purposes.
Vezenkov shot poorly from the outside (2/8) except for a clutch 3 from between the 3 point line and mid court.
Was 9/13 from inside the arc and had an huge performance index rating of 34. He has the highest rating in EuroLeague with 21.5. The next best is 19.1.

[City of Trees]

I know Tatum and Brown will get most of the attention if Boston blows it up but I'm wondering what Smart's value would be and can the Kings put together a package to get him?

[LightTheBeam]

I know Tatum and Brown will get most of the attention if Boston blows it up but I'm wondering what Smart's value would be and can the Kings put together a package to get him?

Always wanted him.

I noticed last year watching them, none of their guys were really fast enough or good enough handling to beat teams off the dribble. They added Brogdon as the big piece, but he likes the score the same way.

Boston would never go for it but I think trading Davion/Holmes (optional)/37 for Smart makes a ton of sense for both teams. Davion is quick, and when given the opportunity he was able to be a solid playmaker. He bring a whole new skill set to that team. They also struggle with Williams often being injured, so Holmes while expensive could work for them.

We get a guy who can share the court with Fox and play up a few positions defensively. The one challenge I see is that if we started Fox-Smart-Huerter-Murray-Sabonis we would be even more undersized. And I don't see Smart being thrilled taking a bench role in Sac. Ideally we would have to add a big in free agency and move Huerter to the bench.

Fox - Smart - Murray - FA - Sabonis
Monk - Huerter - Sasha - Lyles

One of Fox/Smart are always in the game to run the point.

[codydaze]

I know Tatum and Brown will get most of the attention if Boston blows it up but I'm wondering what Smart's value would be and can the Kings put together a package to get him?

Always wanted him.

I noticed last year watching them, none of their guys were really fast enough or good enough handling to beat teams off the dribble. They added Brogdon as the big piece, but he likes the score the same way.

Boston would never go for it but I think trading Davion/Holmes (optional)/37 for Smart makes a ton of sense for both teams. Davion is quick, and when given the opportunity he was able to be a solid playmaker. He bring a whole new skill set to that team. They also struggle with Williams often being injured, so Holmes while expensive could work for them.

We get a guy who can share the court with Fox and play up a few positions defensively. The one challenge I see is that if we started Fox-Smart-Huerter-Murray-Sabonis we would be even more undersized. And I don't see Smart being thrilled taking a bench role in Sac. Ideally we would have to add a big in free agency and move Huerter to the bench.

Fox - Smart - Murray - FA - Sabonis
Monk - Huerter - Sasha - Lyles

One of Fox/Smart are always in the game to run the point.

I'd do that in a heart beat but I feel like the offer for Smart would have to start around Davion/24. I feel like Smart would have some pretty good trade value around the league.

[LightTheBeam]

I know Tatum and Brown will get most of the attention if Boston blows it up but I'm wondering what Smart's value would be and can the Kings put together a package to get him?

Always wanted him.

I noticed last year watching them, none of their guys were really fast enough or good enough handling to beat teams off the dribble. They added Brogdon as the big piece, but he likes the score the same way.

Boston would never go for it but I think trading Davion/Holmes (optional)/37 for Smart makes a ton of sense for both teams. Davion is quick, and when given the opportunity he was able to be a solid playmaker. He bring a whole new skill set to that team. They also struggle with Williams often being injured, so Holmes while expensive could work for them.

We get a guy who can share the court with Fox and play up a few positions defensively. The one challenge I see is that if we started Fox-Smart-Huerter-Murray-Sabonis we would be even more undersized. And I don't see Smart being thrilled taking a bench role in Sac. Ideally we would have to add a big in free agency and move Huerter to the bench.

Fox - Smart - Murray - FA - Sabonis
Monk - Huerter - Sasha - Lyles

One of Fox/Smart are always in the game to run the point.

I'd do that in a heart beat but I feel like the offer for Smart would have to start around Davion/24. I feel like Smart would have some pretty good trade value around the league.

More than likely from a value standpoint that is true, and I'd still probably do it with 24 instead of 37. I think Boston won't move Smart but just trading him for Davion opens up so much more for that team. And they seem to always prioritize defense, so it's going to be hard to find a cheap defensive pg if they were to move him.

Logistics make it kinda hard involving double sign and trade, but both teams could benefit from

Holmes/Mitchell/Barnes for White/Grant Williams

[Sacramento_King]

Does anyone think that Keon Ellis or Neemias Queta have any value as end of bench players or see them carving out any type of role with big squad?

[OxAndFox]

Does anyone think that Keon Ellis or Neemias Queta have any value as end of bench players or see them carving out any type of role with big squad?

I definitely think Keon could be at the end of the bench this season. A defensive version of TD. With Queta it all depends on Holmes. There are 2 scenarios, the Kings use Holmes as the BU and Q could be the 3rd center. If the Kings don't want to use Holmes as the BU then Queta shouldn't be on the squad. At this point I'm not even entertaining the idea that Monte can trade Holmes.

Currently under contract
Fox/Mitchell/Dozier
Huerter/Monk/Ellis*
Keegan/Edwards
??/??
Sabonis/Holmes

[OxAndFox]

I found it interesting the report on Sasha recently. From the wiretap.

"I'm only thinking about how to become the champions of Greece and what will be the right decision for me at this moment," Vezenkov said.

To me this is a quote prior to the championship game and they have produced an article after to make it look like he won't come over.
Don't get me wrong, I immediately thought it makes it a harder decision for him going down by 1 point in the circumstances it did, but it's such a huge part of the Kings' off season.

[Lost in LA]

I found it interesting the report on Sasha recently. From the wiretap.

"I'm only thinking about how to become the champions of Greece and what will be the right decision for me at this moment," Vezenkov said.

To me this is a quote prior to the championship game and they have produced an article after to make it look like he won't come over.
Don't get me wrong, I immediately thought it makes it a harder decision for him going down by 1 point in the circumstances it did, but it's such a huge part of the Kings' off season.

It could be part of trying to get more from the Kings also?

[OxAndFox]

I found it interesting the report on Sasha recently. From the wiretap.

"I'm only thinking about how to become the champions of Greece and what will be the right decision for me at this moment," Vezenkov said.

To me this is a quote prior to the championship game and they have produced an article after to make it look like he won't come over.
Don't get me wrong, I immediately thought it makes it a harder decision for him going down by 1 point in the circumstances it did, but it's such a huge part of the Kings' off season.

It could be part of trying to get more from the Kings also?

Yeah absolutely. I doubt the Kings go much over $6m though.
I couldn't see them going $8-10m unless they view him as a starter, which he isn't good enough defensively.