What can we do with Tyreke?

[KM44]

I have been extremely MIA the past few years but I will say that I have done my best to keep up with the Kings despite living in LA (I hate the Lakers so effing much). Obviously, I have not watched nearly as many games as I used to and most of my knowledge is second hand via Sac Bee and box scores. That being said, I was talking with a friend recently and I had a minor revelation that I'm sure has been discussed on this board for the past several months: we do not need Tyreke.

It pains me SO MUCH to say it because I truly believe he's one of the most talented individual basketball players in the world, but his game is simply not suited for 5 v 5 basketball. The emergence of IT has made me realize just how much our game changes when Tyreke is on the floor. I feel like there has to be some way that we can make it work with him but I simply don't have the mind to figure out how.

With all of this being said, I think we need to take a long, hard look at our roster and find a way to consolidate our assets and build a team that can work as exactly that - a team.

I have been following college bball much more the past few years and I can tell you (along with anyone else with two eyes) that Anthony Davis is going to be a star. He is a part of the new breed of bigs that somehow is 7 feet tall but still has the athleticism of a 2. I feel like the Kings are going to be in a weird spot in the draft (6-9) and we obviously won't get Davis straight up. This is where I believe we will have to utilize Tyreke.

Trade our 1st (#7) and Tyreke for The #1 pick and a similar salary, preferably expiring.

Depth Chart:
PG: Thomas/Jimmer
SG: Thornton/Jimmer/Honeycutt
SF: Salmons/Garcia/Greene
PF: Cousins/Thompson
C: Davis/Thompson/Whiteside

As we look to build for the future, I truly believe that a team built around the core of Cousins, Thornton, Thomas and Davis would be an unbelievable group of young talent. Defensively, if Honeycutt can progress as a man defender, the combo of him and Davis would be a force at the rim and Cousins would be able to just guard which ever big was worse. That team could be so unbelievably athletic and really only the 3 spot would we need to find a big defensive upgrade once Salmons is gone (unless Honeycutt can step up). Offensively I dont think there would be any argument about being able to score. With a penetrator like Thomas, the scoring ability of Thornton and the versatility of Cousins and Davis they would be pretty much set. Then you look at the bench where Thompson has shown that he can be a major contributor then it would be like the good old days when Pollard would step in and we wouldn't really lose a beat. Then with Jimmer and Greene off the bench it would add some quality versatile depth.

Obviously there are some missing pieces defensively and I would like to see if anyone would actually agree with this idea in the first place. I will say again that I have NOT been able to follow the team and I really dont know the ins and outs of how they are functioning but on paper, I feel like this would be their best option giving the circumstance.

Now let the Tyreke lovers and Thompson advocates rise to debunk everything I have just said.

[Dustin5566]

Anthony Davis is not getting traded.

that being said. i would entertain trading the #1 pick for John Wall and the wizs pick.

wall
Thornton
evans
(wizs pick)
cousins

[SacTownKings4Life]

I'm not sure there even are any Tyreke lovers anymore. Most would probably trade him for a bag of chips if they had their way...

Personally, while I was never his #1 fan or anything, I think his ball dominant tendencies are due in part to the fact that management (and plenty of fans) placed the keys to the franchise in his lap from day one. He had the green light to do whatever he wanted with the ball whenever he deemed fit. The coach LITERALLY drew up plays where Tyreke would isolate and 4 other guys would just stand by and watch him take the last shot. It was fine at first when he was winning RoY, but now that he's failed to duplicate his 20, 5, 5 statline in either of these past 2 seasons, and the team hasn't made any significant strides of improvement in the same period of time, he has been officially labeled as a bust and people can't seem to ship him out fast enough.

I think Tyreke can still be an asset to this team, however, because of the simple fact that we lack consistent interior scoring. If Cousins is in foul trouble, the only thing we have left (if we traded Tyreke) would be jump shooters. And what happens when the jumpers DON'T fall? Who else (this side of Lebron James) is capable of getting so many easy baskets at the rim like Tyreke can? He was instrumental in our comeback against Utah the other night.

Also lets not forget that Paul Westphal had NO offensive gameplan whatsoever. I say give Tyreke a chance under Smart's system FOR A FULL 82 GAME SEASON before passing final judgment. They've already been showing VAST improvements in the last 4 games finally. Lets see if they can carry it over into the remainder of the season.

[pillwenney]

The problem with guys like Tyreke is that their playing style is only conducive to winning if they're a superstar. Tyreke clearly isn't at all right now, so his playing style doesn't help the team.

This makes his trade value very subjective and volatile. There are some amazing things he can that are superstar-like, but that's only one of many parts of being a superstar. Being a superstar playmaker involves seeing the floor and managing the game better than Tyreke does, and being a superstar scorer is going to mean shooting way, way better than he does now. So it's a matter of belief. Do you believe he can do either of those?

I don't know. I am at a point though where I'd trade him for an ideal big to play next to Cuz or a real PG. Both would, I think, help the team win more right now.

[SacTownKings4Life]

Well answer me this then. If we trade Tyreke because he hasn't developed into a superstar "fast enough" for everybody's liking, why on earth would we ever deserve to just "get" another guy who is already a superstar? We have no loyalty to anybody not named Webber or Bibby and it drives me crazy. Nobody gets more than 2-3 years around here before we all wanna get rid of them. "Oh, he's not a superstar, so that means he won't help us win games..." What makes people think we're even ENTITLED to a superstar with an attitude like that?

If I weren't already a longtime Kings fan (since long before 1999), I'd say this team deserves to rot in the cellar for all of time because we don't even appreciate when we DO manage to get a talented player. It's always "what have you done for me lately" with you guys. No patience whatsoever. Just cause guys like Lebron, Wade, and Rose came out the gates like gang busters, shouldn't mean that that's the new standard for every potential young star in this league. Mark my words, if we aren't in the playoffs NEXT YEAR people will be calling for Cousins' and Thornton's heads (seeing as how it will be their 3rd year with this team), AND Smart's head (in addition to Petire's head for the umteenth time) all for not building us a carbon copy of the would-be championship team of yesterdacade, overnight... Because we DESERVE to not have to wait for anything...

[ADoaN17]

Anthony Davis is not getting traded.

that being said. i would entertain trading the #1 pick for John Wall and the wizs pick.

wall
Thornton
evans
(wizs pick)
cousins

Another player who can't shoot the midrange

[KM44]

I hear what you guys are saying (specifically STK4L) about Tyreke not getting a fair shot. I really do. My thing is that I don't think it's about him taking too long to becoming a superstar, rather it's the kind of superstar he's going to become. To me, he just screams Gilbert Arenas- full of talent but doesn't quite get how to play with other people. I truly believe Tyreke will grow into a habitual all-star no matter where he is, but I'm very worried that he may never be the kind of star that you want to build a team around.

He has shown no inclination to work in an offensive system and learn how to utilize his uncanny ability to get to the rim to benefit those around him. Also he hasn't really developed a jumpshot in 3 years which is fairly concerning if he wants to reach the level of a 'superstar'.

Once again, I truly hated to write this thread because I will never lose the memory of that comeback in Chicago two years ago when he hit the jumper at the top of the key to put us up and then him pointing down and screaming "This is my house!" That was the moment when I realized he is a special player.

The only reason I would be willing to part ways would be to go after a guy like Anthony Davis who simply gets his without being the focal point of an offense based on aggressiveness and athleticism. I agree that we should hold onto Reke for one more year and, heck, maybe we actually win the lottery for once and just get Davis without having to trade Reke!!

[gold_leader64]

Keep him at SF, make him a support player. He's got a decent enough skill-set for that, and fans really needed to drop the franchise player expectations about a year ago instead of blindly defending his lack of progress.

[chyau.00]

he cant get his with IT and thornton in the line up.

Give him the 6th man (harden, ginobili) role.

[longfellow44]

Either Tyreke or Thornton needs to be coming off the bench in the 6th man role. I already admitted that I was wrong about Tyreke working well at the SF spot. It's time that one of our 2 shooting guards takes a role off the bench. EIther way they will get plenty of playing time and their stats will be nice. I hope one of the guys will sacrifice for the team as soon as we get someone competent at the SF spot.

[blind prophet]

patience patience patience.

Let's see where our draft position is, what is available, and give the youngster some time. One full year with Smart with a full training camp, and our next lottery pick at least. He is only what 21?

[Komodo]

I think Thornton should be your 6th man. You desperately need some shooting/D at the 3, and then a big who can spread the floor off the bench. I like Thompson as a bench big, but you could really use some lockdown D at the 4.

Thomas/Evans/Fredette
Evans/Thornton/Garcia
3/D/bench SF
defender-rebounder/Thompson/shooter
Cousins/Hayes

They probably won't want to trade within the division, but if the Suns rebuild a deal centered around Garcia's expiring for Frye might be a good deal for you guys. He could be the starting PF or your 3rd big/backup PF/C. He would be a good fit.

[darkadun]

I'm begining to think Reke is suited best as a Iggy or Manu style player. By that I mean he just does all the little things that help you win. He's shown flashes of this the past few weeks. By getting steals and making plays on defense, finding the open man and making the correct pass, making good cuts to the hoop, scoring when its there...etc.

He's shown he can do all those things, but the key is obviously consistency. I believe he can dominate the game without a good jumpshot by making good decisions; but having a jumpshot is what will really elevate his game to stardom.

[mobiuseinz]

If we were to merge Marcus Thornton with Tyreke Evans we would get an amazing SG in the mold of D-Wade or even Kobe.... unfortunately their BBIQ would also fuse so we would be stuck there.... shame

[Cruel_Ruin]

We can put him at SG and bring Thornton off the bench. Of course thats too obvious to happen so it won't happen.

[kevin44]

Evans is so up & down. One night he can dominate & then the next game he doesn't show up. His contract is coming up, so either were going to pay him around 10 million per or he's gone.

[City of Trees]

I like Evans as our 3rd option (Cousins 1, Thornton 2).. If he can embrace that role I think he will flourish.

Right now those 3 guys are all fighting for that #1 option. Reke just isnt that right now so it hurts his game

[ICMTM]

I think Reke needs to study other players and reinvent himself. He's every bit the athlete to do it. Mentally though he just wants to take the ball to the cup. I really think he should look at Paul Pierce and maybe a little Ron Ron for ideas as the point forward concept could work for him.

I just think the iso PG thing won't work for him.

[flipwise]

Tough decision for the management this off-season, but I would keep him.
IMO, Petrie should first amnesty Salmons, see how the draft lottery goes and then try to trade Jimmer for a slightly higher pick (for finding an SF or a PF) or for a mid 1st round pick (to try to obtain Kendall Marshall).
Sending Thornton to the Nuggets for Chandler would be my next move if we get a good PF in a draft, and even if get an SF, I'd still try to move him because he's hurting the team defensively. The Nuggets would be a great place for him because they already have Afflalo who takes care of the defense and Gallinari as a small forward, so I don't see the point of a starter material like Wilson being kept there.
The team also needs a backup PG with good size and D, if we don't get Kendall, there are still some nice PGs in the FA this summer.

But back to the point, I agree with some of the posters here who say Tyreke shouldn't be the first option. I believe he'd be a better player now had he not been made the star of the team from day one.

[VeeJay24]

When Reke comes back with a better jump shot I wonder will we have this discussion? And it shouldn't even be a discussion because he is our best perimeter defender and best finisher in the open court.

I keep saying the make up of this team is fine; they just have to grow up, let them grow together!