Garcia/Miller/Thomas

[KM44]

So the big artest trade went down and now we have a roster that really only has one piece left to trade (miller). Because of the fact that we got Greene, it allows us to have a choice on what to do with garcia. I really like the guy as a player, but he seems like he has no real place on our team in the future. AKA really good trade bait.

The artest trade leaves us with salmons to start and it was supposed have garcia as the back up developer. Now that we got Greene as the most important piece of the trade, I think that Garcia is going to have to take a hike. Some people will say douby, but he has no trade value, so Garcia will be the one to go. My question is now to find a team that wants miller, is willing to take on thomas' contract and get Garcia in the process for some kind of young talent/expiring/picks (same as artest trade). I really don't know which team would be interested, so that is why I'm introducing this package to find a mate.

Our lineup would look like:

Beno/(Young developing future point)/Singletary
Martin/Douby/Brown
Salmons/Greene
Shelden/Thompson
Moore/Hawes

I think that could be a superb team that could make the playoffs this year, and improve in later years to possibly contend, thoughts?

[Ballings7]

I'd keep Garcia because of his shooting ability... now I basically doubt he'll be the long-term SF, but he'll be a nice short-term solution at SF, if we deal Salmons, and ultimately a very good bench player. Garcia also improved significantly last year, getting better chances helped in that, and now he'll be able to have a consistent oppurtunity to play, and an increased one.

Salmons will stay around as a good veteran player for a little while and as a looming trade piece.

I think out of the two, Garcia stays.

I don't know if Greene will primarily be a three, I have to see him more, and it depends how he matures body-wise. I think he's going to be a combo foward, but may not be able to start at the three, if he isn't going to be quick enough to defend small fowards. How he is defensively will determine if he can be a starting three. We also don't know well he'll complement Kevin (good defense, play-making (not so much a requirement, but it would be ideal, at least some balance in his offense) ).

Right now, I'm still sticking to Greene being a big athletic foward off the bench.

Right now, for the long-term, I don't know who our SF will be. I think he's elsewhere. Just have to see how various things develop over the next few years.

[KM44]

What you say about garcia is dead on. The guy is talented, but I really don't see the kings trading salmons. It is going to be way to difficult to keep salmons as a starter and rotate between greene and garcia. If you move some of greene's minutes to the 4, then thompson and shelden's development will be hindered. Garcia is an expendable piece at this moment in time, and I think that he is prime trade bait.

I do understand what you say about Greene guarding the 3, so let Thompson do that and have Greene guard the 4. Offensively, they will switch to their regular positions. Plus, Garcia isn't a god at defense, so we wouldn't be losing that much at the 3 if Greene was there.

Overall, I am basically saying that the kings pulled the trigger on the artest trade to give salmons a chance, and I think that he will show up and play his heart out. The guy averaged something like 18 points as a starter, which is amazing given the fact that he took about 2/3 the shots as artest. Plus salmons is still young, he can shoot, AND I think that he is a spectacular defender. There are many times that we played quick SFs and Artest had problems guarding them. Salmons stepped in and got the job done.

[SacKingZZZ]

Hey if we can be a top defensive team with Peja gaurding the 3, I think we'll be just fine with Donte and Jason. Besides the other team has to gaurd them on the other side too. I know the Lakers are going to boast a similar sized frontline next year, but they can't shoot like these kids can. All 3 have range out to the 3 point line and should be able to live in that 15-20 foot range.

[KM44]

Hey if we can be a top defensive team with Peja gaurding the 3, I think we'll be just fine with Donte and Jason. Besides the other team has to gaurd them on the other side too. I know the Lakers are going to boast a similar sized frontline next year, but they can't shoot like these kids can. All 3 have range out to the 3 point line and should be able to live in that 15-20 foot range.

Great point about the defense, but what does that mean on your opinion toward getting rid of garcia

[King Baller]

Garcia is really good coming off the bench. His 3 point shooting is starting to make Kings fans forget Peja. Garcia hustles, defends, rebounds and is making fewer mistakes. he's a good kid and a keeper IMO. He can backup the 2 or 3 and play the 1 in a pinch.

KB

[rpa]

The Artest trade proved that either:
a) The Kings aren't as dead set on including Thomas with Artest as the media thought/said
b) The Kings realized that Thomas' value league-wise is so negative that trying to get a team to take him would set back their rebuilding process in a big way

Either way, I think it's safe to say that the Kings aren't going to use Garcia (or Miller) just to dump Thomas' contract.

As for the whole thing with Garcia, my feelings on him have changed almost yearly but my current take on him (with respect to our team) is the following:
1) Greene is still a very raw player so it's probably not a great assumption to think the Kings are going to want to throw him right into the fire. Having Garcia & Salmons around negate the need for Greene to play significant minutes early on
2) One thing people underestimate about Garcia is his ability to play WELL coming off the bench. After watching Salmons & Udrih both tank off the bench (whether they were pouting or just aren't good bench players is a whole other debate) I've come to the conclusion that having a guy who's going to give you consistent production off the bench is very valuable. Plus he proved last year that he can fill in as a starter when needed (he averaged 16/5/3 w/ solid percentages as a starter).

With those 2 things said though, it's hard to overlook Garcia's age (27 in December) and his contract status.

What I think is going to decide his fate with this team will be what he and his agent demand. I have little doubt that Petrie has already or will talk to Garcia's agent about an extension this summer. If he can keep Garcia around for cheap (or for a fair price) then I don't see any reason for the Kings to trade Garcia. However, if Garcia and his agent are demanding much more than Garcia's actually worth (like if they were demanding $7-8mil a year) then I think the Kings dump him instead of letting him walk next summer

[SacKingZZZ]

Hey if we can be a top defensive team with Peja gaurding the 3, I think we'll be just fine with Donte and Jason. Besides the other team has to gaurd them on the other side too. I know the Lakers are going to boast a similar sized frontline next year, but they can't shoot like these kids can. All 3 have range out to the 3 point line and should be able to live in that 15-20 foot range.

Great point about the defense, but what does that mean on your opinion toward getting rid of garcia

Nothing, I didn't say I wanted to get rid of Garcia. The talk was about Donte being able to defend the 3. Garcia can defend 2's and 3's, both he and John are very capable wing defenders.

[OhioKingsFan]

Garcia is not a star, but he is a very valuable player.

Great job pointing out the value of a player who can produce off the bench. Why is everyone so excited to get Bobby Jackson back? Because he was a fan favorite for his performances coming off the bench and contributing. Garcia contributes a lot off the bench.

He IS a solid defender, and adds up a good number of steals when given the minutes. He is an excellent 3 point shooter. While he is is almost 27, he should be just getting into his prime, he is NOT old. He'll be able to contribute for years to come. He is our best back-up SG and SF. I don't think Greene will not be ready to contribute for a while, he needs to develop better shot selection. Garcia had the same problem his rookie year. He just needed time to develop. Greene needs the same time.

[chriswebb86]

I agree mostly whatever one has said. However I really hope we keep Garica around. I think the best teams have players who come off the bench and give energy, rebound, and hit big time shots. Also, the best teams out there have bench players who can step in and produce if they are asked to start. I think if Garica wanted 8 million or so It would be a little hard to give it to him, but if he is viewed as our 6th man then I would be fine with it.

[KM44]

rpa said it best. Greene might not fully be ready to play solid minutes in the NBA. That was something that I assumed and was wrong on. I think that we should definately keep him until greene shows that he can be a future star, or garcia proves to good to get rid of. As for the thomas thing, I was just hoping for that addition. I wasn't really expecting anyone to actually take his contract, but I was hoping garcia would sweeten the pot.