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What seemed to be the longest of longshots weeks ago now seems slightly more possible. With report after report coming out that the Lakers aren't very high on Lonzo what would your reactions be if Lonzo falls to the Kings at #5? Take him or pass? And if we take him is there uproar or glee from kings fans?

Obviously all this will probably end up a moot point. If the Lakers don't like Lonzo the likely scenario is someone trades up to 2,3 or 4 to draft him (or the 6ers or Suns take him). But if teams start to sour on him, Lonzo slipping to 5 is conceivable. imagine the drama...the most important draft in years for the Kings, only to pick the most divisive player in the entire draft. How could management possibly sell kings fans on the Lonzo/Lavar tandem after mentioning character matters when getting rid of Cuz?

To me, all these reports of people talking up Fox and reports of the Lakers' dissatisfaction with Lonzo seem to be aimed at getting the Kings to give up #10 in order to move up. Who knows if they take the bait. Also it may be the Lakers pushing back at Lonzo's camp saying 'you don't decide who we draft/we do' ...only to end up drafting him.

I'm not sure if it's all geared at the Kings giving up 10, however I think it is all four teams, possibly even Boston as the 5th team trying to get information, and I think Vlade is at least playing the game as well as the others by saying we are keeping 5/10.
He showed last year he won't hesitate to do a draft deal, but the good thing for us is he seems to not only have a good grasp on the young talent, but he values selections so he won't just give picks away, and sitting at 10 in this draft is a better position than last years draft let alone the 5/34.
Now in regards to Lonzo, if he falls I don't go with him due to reasons I have explained previously.
It's tempting for me, like crazy, because I really do love his game, I just believe it's not going to end well for the Kings with him here and at this stage, for the organisation, the current players etc we need to keep away from the type of drama that will come with him.


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kingjawn100 wrote:What seemed to be the longest of longshots weeks ago now seems slightly more possible. With report after report coming out that the Lakers aren't very high on Lonzo what would your reactions be if Lonzo falls to the Kings at #5? Take him or pass? And if we take him is there uproar or glee from kings fans?

Obviously all this will probably end up a moot point. If the Lakers don't like Lonzo the likely scenario is someone trades up to 2,3 or 4 to draft him (or the 6ers or Suns take him). But if teams start to sour on him, Lonzo slipping to 5 is conceivable. imagine the drama...the most important draft in years for the Kings, only to pick the most divisive player in the entire draft. How could management possibly sell kings fans on the Lonzo/Lavar tandem after mentioning character matters when getting rid of Cuz?

To me, all these reports of people talking up Fox and reports of the Lakers' dissatisfaction with Lonzo seem to be aimed at getting the Kings to give up #10 in order to move up. Who knows if they take the bait. Also it may be the Lakers pushing back at Lonzo's camp saying 'you don't decide who we draft/we do' ...only to end up drafting him.

I'm thinking the same. There seems to be a lot of gaming and posturing going on. It's one of the drawbacks of emphatically stating your interest in any individual player. People in a better position might try to leverage you in order to benefit. It's no secret that we're high on Fox, but how serious are these other teams on him? At this stage Lonzo is a much more serious threat as a shooter than Fox, while Fox demonstrates a ton of potential as a two way player. It comes down to what these teams really need in their draft pick.

So, what do the Lakers, Sixers, and Suns want out of their draft pick? Are they willing to give up on the talent of Ball, Jackson, and Tatum to take Fox? I find this questionable.
•I don't see why Lakers would pick Fox over Ball given Fox's lack of shooting from range. I believe the Lakers are always going to be shopping for superstar potential talent and up to this point that's been Ball more than it has been Fox. While the Lakers have a lot of young talent, they need someone who can both score and facilitate the offense. Fox can do this, but to a much lesser degree than Ball. Ball just seems to fit. While I've also found the news around LaVar to be distracting too, I sort of agree with other people's assessment that this has been overplayed by the media, and possibly other teams hoping to take advantage of the Kings. For us, it's more an issue about Lonzo's character and locker room fit. There has been little to suggest that his attitude is as bad as DMCs was projected back when we drafted him. I've changed my tune and would be willing to take Ball at the 5 if he was still available and Fox wasn't. I found the Sports Illustrated article on Ball to be somewhat enlightening.
•The Sixer's want talent to balance Embid and Simmons. Neither are floor spreaders so they want someone who can shoot. Also, the strength of Simmons is his ball handling ability so they don't necessarily draft a ball handler. For both these reasons, Fox isn't a priority target for the Sixers.
•As for the Suns, they already have their backcourt established. Bledsoe, Booker, Barbosa, Knight, Price, Milsap, Ulis, etc, all slotted to play point or shooting guard. Who do they have as small forward? TJ Warren and Derrick Jones? They've already experimented with overloading their backcourt with the Bledsoe, Dragic, and Isaiah Thomas to disastrous consequences, and the current glut of backcourt players hasn't been doing them any favors. Why would they continue to go that route with Fox when they could have someone like Jackson or Tatum?

enderwilson wrote:

kingjawn100 wrote:What seemed to be the longest of longshots weeks ago now seems slightly more possible. With report after report coming out that the Lakers aren't very high on Lonzo what would your reactions be if Lonzo falls to the Kings at #5? Take him or pass? And if we take him is there uproar or glee from kings fans?

Obviously all this will probably end up a moot point. If the Lakers don't like Lonzo the likely scenario is someone trades up to 2,3 or 4 to draft him (or the 6ers or Suns take him). But if teams start to sour on him, Lonzo slipping to 5 is conceivable. imagine the drama...the most important draft in years for the Kings, only to pick the most divisive player in the entire draft. How could management possibly sell kings fans on the Lonzo/Lavar tandem after mentioning character matters when getting rid of Cuz?

To me, all these reports of people talking up Fox and reports of the Lakers' dissatisfaction with Lonzo seem to be aimed at getting the Kings to give up #10 in order to move up. Who knows if they take the bait. Also it may be the Lakers pushing back at Lonzo's camp saying 'you don't decide who we draft/we do' ...only to end up drafting him.

I'm thinking the same. There seems to be a lot of gaming and posturing going on. It's one of the drawbacks of emphatically stating your interest in any individual player. People in a better position might try to leverage you in order to benefit. It's no secret that we're high on Fox, but how serious are these other teams on him? At this stage Lonzo is a much more serious threat as a shooter than Fox, while Fox demonstrates a ton of potential as a two way player. It comes down to what these teams really need in their draft pick.

So, what do the Lakers, Sixers, and Suns want out of their draft pick? Are they willing to give up on the talent of Ball, Jackson, and Tatum to take Fox? I find this questionable.
•I don't see why Lakers would pick Fox over Ball given Fox's lack of shooting from range. I believe the Lakers are always going to be shopping for superstar potential talent and up to this point that's been Ball more than it has been Fox. While the Lakers have a lot of young talent, they need someone who can both score and facilitate the offense. Fox can do this, but to a much lesser degree than Ball. Ball just seems to fit. While I've also found the news around LaVar to be distracting too, I sort of agree with other people's assessment that this has been overplayed by the media, and possibly other teams hoping to take advantage of the Kings. For us, it's more an issue about Lonzo's character and locker room fit. There has been little to suggest that his attitude is as bad as DMCs was projected back when we drafted him. I've changed my tune and would be willing to take Ball at the 5 if he was still available and Fox wasn't. I found the Sports Illustrated article on Ball to be somewhat enlightening.
•The Sixer's want talent to balance Embid and Simmons. Neither are floor spreaders so they want someone who can shoot. Also, the strength of Simmons is his ball handling ability so they don't necessarily draft a ball handler. For both these reasons, Fox isn't a priority target for the Sixers.
•As for the Suns, they already have their backcourt established. Bledsoe, Booker, Barbosa, Knight, Price, Milsap, Ulis, etc, all slotted to play point or shooting guard. Who do they have as small forward? TJ Warren and Derrick Jones? They've already experimented with overloading their backcourt with the Bledsoe, Dragic, and Isaiah Thomas to disastrous consequences, and the current glut of backcourt players hasn't been doing them any favors. Why would they continue to go that route with Fox when they could have someone like Jackson or Tatum?

Yeah i could definitely see Philly and Phoenix passing on Lonzo but have a much harder time envisioning the Lakers saying no. Magic is a guy that embraces 'star power' and there's no bigger name in this draft than Lonzo Ball. Just to sheerly create a buzz for the team Magic just took over i think Lonzo and the Lakers make too much sense for more than just basketball reasons.

i could see Philly passing on Ball because they actually do want Simmons to run point. I could see Phoenix passing because Bledsoe is under contract and they also like Ulis a lot (and they just tried the 3 point guard thing out with IT, Dragic & Bledsoe and it failed miserably).

As for the Kings, to be fair i haven't seen anyone from the actual organization come out and say they love Fox. This love affair that it appears we have with him is really just kings fans buying into the hype that they keep hearing about how good Fox is.

If he's at 5 you take him. No questions asked.

Come in peace.

Most Sixer fans want to drop to 5 because the value is better for drafting Monk. Or we want to use our assets to go to 1 and get Fultz. Ball is actually a decent fit with BS because his usage rate at UCLA was 18%. He doesn't need the ball in his hands to make a huge impact. Id would be willing to add a high 2nd rounder for the kings trade. Insanely good 2nd round talent this year on a non guaranteed contract.

I think you have to take him at 5 because he'd be far and away the best player available AND a fit positionally. That said, this is all moot because there's little to no chance he drops to 5. If LA passes then Philly takes him as a great pairing to Simmons since he can play off the ball. If Philly does something dumb and passes I don't see how the Suns pass on him. Trade Bledsoe for something and you've got your backcourt setup for the next 10 years.

Also, I've got him below Fox on my big board. I think Fox's physical tools and motor are too good to pass up.

rpa wrote:I think you have to take him at 5 because he'd be far and away the best player available AND a fit positionally. That said, this is all moot because there's little to no chance he drops to 5. If LA passes then Philly takes him as a great pairing to Simmons since he can play off the ball. If Philly does something dumb and passes I don't see how the Suns pass on him. Trade Bledsoe for something and you've got your backcourt setup for the next 10 years.

Also, I've got him below Fox on my big board. I think Fox's physical tools and motor are too good to pass up.

I'd be absolutely thrilled if he slipped and we grabbed him at 5. IMO he's the best fit in the entire draft for the Kings. Buddy could average 23ppg with Lonzo on the roster and it would be a really fun brand of basketball.

That being said, i think there's 99% chance the Lakers take him at 2. If they somehow do pass i COULD see a scenario where LAL/PHI/PHX take Jackson/Tatum/Fox in some order before we pick.

Id pass on him. Better yet id definitely trade down. I think Orlando would have to offer us some incentive to grab him. Assuming Fox/Tatum/Jackson/Fultz are off the board, id ask Orlando to give us some sort of asset then grab Issac at 6. Don't want Balls drama on our team. Seems like his dad will be itching to get him to a bigger market in the next few years.

You take him and run


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Drafting Lonzo would be a huge mistake, his dad will drive everyone nuts, not worth it.

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RipPizzaGuy wrote:Id pass on him. Better yet id definitely trade down. I think Orlando would have to offer us some incentive to grab him. Assuming Fox/Tatum/Jackson/Fultz are off the board, id ask Orlando to give us some sort of asset then grab Issac at 6. Don't want Balls drama on our team. Seems like his dad will be itching to get him to a bigger market in the next few years.

This.

Laker fans think they can trade the 2nd pick for 5 and 10. Would the kings do that? Personally I think you are better off keeping 2 top 10 picks.

mg wrote:Laker fans think they can trade the 2nd pick for 5 and 10. Would the kings do that? Personally I think you are better off keeping 2 top 10 picks.

No I wouldn't do that. However I would do 10/Afflalo/Galloway for 2/Deng/Mozgov

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City of Trees wrote:

mg wrote:Laker fans think they can trade the 2nd pick for 5 and 10. Would the kings do that? Personally I think you are better off keeping 2 top 10 picks.

No I wouldn't do that. However I would do 10/Afflalo/Galloway for 2/Deng/Mozgov

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Ha! Now wouldn't that be amazing:
#2 - Josh Jackson
#5 - De'Aaron Fox/Lonzo Ball

BUT...the Lakers wouldn't make that trade. They are keeping the #2. They are trying to trade for another 1st rounder.