With Cousins and Whiteside.. Dalembert..?

[stock01234]

First of all I would like to say that we got very lucky that cousins and whiteside's slide in the draft. And we did get very good prospects..

After we chose Cousins at #5, I was excepting Petrie to get someone to compliment either Francisco or Beno, depeding on what position Tyreke plays. Because we already had a good frontcourt rotation of Landry/Thompson/Cousins/Dalembert/Brockman.

I think Petrie doesnt think Dalembert as a long time piece. So no matter how he plays (ofcourse not if he plays like Howard), Petrie will use him as expiring at the trade deadline.

Any thoughts..??

[DickVitale]

I think you guys under estimate what dally can bring to this team. I have heard a lot of "hes not long term" "he wont start" etc etc, dally has put up solid numbers for a center his whole career he is a consistent player and a veteran both of these things are what the kings need - especially since we've got so many young bigs - he can act as a mentor and a solid platform for which we can build on. My only worry is that Dally will not be ok with the minutes he will get in the up-coming season, maybe I am wrong but I think they'll be reduced and depending on how well cousins does - and if no injuries occur I could see him coming off the bench after the 2nd half of the season... Then again maybe the fierce competition will force him to step his game up to the next level and he goes from good big man to a GREAT big man, this is a stretch yet, but I just think we should see how things go with him and give him a fair shot before we send him down the river with out a paddle...

I do agree that we got very lucky getting both cousins and whiteside - especially whiteside because I thought he could have possibly gone 15-20 very easily and I was very surprised to see him slip to us. Anyways as with most drafts we wont know how well we did for another few seasons... but as it stands now I am very optimistic about our selections.

Kings needs: A guard who can play both 1/2 - good defense, can use the pick and roll/screen to create open looks for himself. Can consistently make the mid range/3point shot.

[Dustin5566]

I do not think anyone considers him a long-term piece. At least not a starter

[Wolfay]

I see him as a stopgap until Whiteside develops, or perhaps longer term if he resigns on the cheap.

[City of Trees]

i doubt we re sign him after the season after this draft, so, we need to trade him! we can get our pg or shooter

[wolfdog]

I see him as a stopgap until Whiteside develops, or perhaps longer term if he resigns on the cheap.

They were talking about using Whiteside as a 4 , so maybe we can hold onto Dalembert if we can get him for 8m a year.

[RIPskaterdude]

According to reports, we've been talking to the 76ers for a while about Dalembert, so don't get too ahead of yourselves and assume that he's a one and done type of player for this team. After all, Whiteside fell to the 2nd round for a reason, and there's no guarantee that he'll even make the team (although IMO, he has top 15 talent).

[YC42Balla]

It's funny to me Because, Whitesides game is a lot like Dallies game. I think that Dally can be a great mentor for Whiteside!! ----About the whole Dally long term/short term stuff... I think that he may be a short term player now, we have two great talented bigmen in "DMC" and Whitside. But whitside still needs to develop his game and while he's developing it, Dally is a great "C" .. and he well help us greatly at that position. I still think, as of right now.. we are going to use Dally greatly... the only reason we drafted whiteside is because he fell to us a 33 (it's a miracle).. and that's way too good to pass up on!! In my opinion he's a way better player then a 2nd rounder, so we really did get a steal at 33... Petrie chose him because he was the "BPA" and I'm sure whiteside is going to be a big part of our future for years to come!! I'm so exited about this team!!

[YC42Balla]

According to reports, we've been talking to the 76ers for a while about Dalembert, so don't get too ahead of yourselves and assume that he's a one and done type of player for this team. After all, Whiteside fell to the 2nd round for a reason, and there's no guarantee that he'll even make the team (although IMO, he has top 15 talent).

What?! are you kidding me... No guarantee?? like you said whiteside is a top 15 player.. and early 2nd round players almost always make the team!! He is way too good to let go... but I do agree with you that we haven't seen him play much.. and we shouldn't get ahead of our self's. But who are you kidding? Whiteside is a for sure King.. he just needs time to develop and I hope he turns into a great bigman!! No doubt in my mind, that hr can become a very dominate player and a key role player off the bench, when the kings are contending for a title (In the future).

[YC42Balla]

i doubt we re sign him after the season after this draft, so, we need to trade him! we can get our pg or shooter

Dally is still a valuable asset to this team... but I agree with you. It would be nice to trade him for a shooting guard!! I think with his cap-space and decent talent that we can get a good player out of him in a trade.

[RoyalCourtJestr]

Dally is great, but Whiteside isn't a player for now. He is a player for a year or two down the road, after more seasoning and experience, when Dally is most likely gone and our lines have filled out more.

[wiltchamberlain]

My god what a beautiful problem to have, an excess of 7 foot talent. Can you guys remember when are big rotation was Miller, Skinner, Thomas, and Williamson.

As far as the question goes we really ought to wait and see what happens, at least through summerleague, when hopefully we'll know just what kind of project Whiteside is going to be.

[Wiz Khalifa]

Toronto fan here, would you trade for him for Hedo?

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Toronto fan here, would you trade for him for Hedo?

yes and we'd love to throw in a next years 1st rounder. Thank you for asking Raptor fan, and thanks for stopping by, eh.

[stock01234]

Toronto fan here, would you trade for him for Hedo?

yes and we'd love to throw in a next years 1st rounder. Thank you for asking Raptor fan, and thanks for stopping by, eh.

lol.. good one..

[king125]

How about Tyreke and our 2011 first rounder for Hedu?

[stock01234]

the problem with some raptor fans is that they know hedo is one of worst contracts in league.. but they don't admit it.. and instead of raptors adding incentive to get rid of hedo.. the fans are asking for good contracts/players and incentives in return..!!

lmao..

[ICMTM]

No Hedo talk! Get back on track! That fool isn't returning to Sacramento.

[rpa]

My take on the lineup & rotations (I posted some of this on the trade board already):

First off, the starting frontcourt should be Dalembert & Cousins. Here's why:
- Dalembert isn't an offensive force (especially in terms of creating for himself). Playing him alongside Cousins gives Cousins no one to take the ball away from him. This is a win for the Kings in 2 ways: a) It'll keep Cousins happy & b) Cousins projects to be the Kings best post player.
- One thing that we don't know about Cousins is his defense--specifically his help D. Playing him alongside Dalembert completely takes the brunt of the help defense off his shoulders and allows him to work himself into the game instead of worrying about playing goalie.
- Dalembert is mobile enough to guard quicker 4s and Cousins has the size to guard bigger 5s.

That leaves the 2nd unit as Thompson & Landry--another near perfect fit:
- Closing out the year these 2 played DAMN good.
- They fill in each others' weaknesses well. Landry is a beast scoring the ball on his own but lacks size and rebounding. Thompson lacks great scoring ability but provides good size, passing, & rebounding.
- Thompson & Landry's size limitations (they'd be a little undersized for C & PF respectively) are rendered near moot since they'd be playing against a team's reserves.
- Landry is at his absolute best in a 6th man role. A consistent scorer coming off the bench is so incredibly valuable in this league. Look at guys like Crawford & Ginobili (and Bobby Jackson back in the day).


As for the backcourt:
- If the Kings don't pick up any more rotation players (via trade or free agency) then we'll just run with a guard combination of Udrih & Evans with Garcia sliding into the backup spot (and possibly Greene as well if we want to go big).
- I'd actually prefer to start Casspi over Greene at this point. I feel like he's a better shooter and ball handler than Greene is and, to me, that's more valuable (the shooting specifically) in the starting lineup than what Greene brings.

Looking at our roster I think we have room for 2 more guys to get minutes:
- A backup PG that could see as many as 15-20 minutes a night. Basically a player to fill the same role as Sergio did last year.
- A backup combo guard or wing that could see 5-10 minutes (at most) of situational minutes. Basically filling a similar role as Udoka did last year.

Need wise I think the top need is OBVIOUS:
- The Kings absolutely NEED some kind of veteran leadership or guidance. I'd love to see if the Kings could work out a deal getting an older player that's on his way out like a Shane Battier or a Grant Hill (use our cap space to initiate a 3 team trade where we take on short term salary from a 3rd term and that 3rd team sends assets to Houston or Phoenix). The almost-idea scenario would be to try and pickup a vet either in free agency or using a trade to absorb a player with an expiring contract.