Yeah, but the draft is usually flooded with 6-4 to 6-9 guys who can be placeholders and who knows they might get lucky. They can overpay for one of those positions in free agency as well. They have their bench taken care of at the 4/5. All they need is guards who can shoot and Cousins/AD can just play the match up and dominate inside.
so much of a crapshoot dealing with someone as volatile as Cousins. i like it though. this was much needed so the public can stop beating the KD/WB story and start moving on
I can't remember the last time I was excited to see the Rockets play the Hornets. NOH needed to shake things up and Sac is still boring so nothing's changed. I agree. The media really wants that to be a storyline and it's gotten old. Will WB pass the ball to Durant? I think Al Sharpton told WB yesterday that he's handled it well and KD made a decision in FA and that was his right. When the Thunder traded James Harden no one said anything. I do think the NBA is now 2 or 3 teams contending and then there's the 2-3 teams that will give the contenders a run for their money and then there's the rest.
I'm not excusing Vlade because he's clearly in way over his head and has no business being an NBA GM. However, people must remember he works for Ranadive and is nothing more than a puppet. It all goes back to the pathetic owner.
Spoiler Sacramento's front office has wanted to make this move for awhile. They could not convince Vivek. What was glaring to everyone was that from the incident after the Warriors game to the continued techs & suspensions that DeMarcus is DeMarcus. They started to convince the owner this was the path to go. They started quietly over the last week to get to the deal they wanted. They didn't call around the league. They were trying to avoid the perception they put him on auction. They looked at rosters & teams and picked out what they would want. Teams last night felt like I wanted to be included & never were. We wished they called us. Kings reaction was simply, we studied rosters & knew what we wanted. Some teams didn't fit. It got down to the Lakers & Kings. By Sunday afternoon, they let the Lakers & another team or two know that their offers would not make the cut. For me, it's a tricky one to write. I was 99% sure it was New Orleans but I worried that they got a deal somewhere, probably New Orleans, but Vivek changes his mind or sees the reaction from fans or New Orleans pulls out. Also, the league didn't want this out during the all-star game. Vlade is learning on the fly. It's difficult. That Philly deal will haunt them a long time. They'll still be a bad team in 2019. ... The mistake Vlade made was coming out publicly. Their word means less now. It's one thing to get the assets. It's another thing to have this front office with Vlade - they have not made great decisions drafting. They have some good scouts. What happens in Sacramento is when...Vlade & Peja are not out scouting much. Their top people are not spending time out scouting. Then you have to rely on your scouts & what we've seen is it gets to draft night, scouting reports go out the window, Vivek decides he likes a player or Vlade decides off whatever the information is that he'll take a guy when they haven't done their homework. Vivek is not qualified as a player personnel executive. He doesn't know what he's talking about. It's great they have two potential lottery picks this year but they have to hit on them and their track record is not only not good, it's pretty bad. There's been criticism over the deal they did. That they should have gotten more. I will defend the Kings. I'm not convinced there was a better deal for Cousins. They weren't looking for veterans or big money. They want to clear the deck, get young players & picks & build that way. I know there was criticism among league execs, some coaches who felt they should have gotten more. I don't know that...you can keep saying he's first team all-NBA talent. He's tremendous talent, never been in question, but plenty of other factors that made people...people had interest in getting him on the cheap. Going back the past 2 years, they all said the same thing: we would've taken him but didn't want to give up anything. Once they got that deal from New Orleans, they were convinced [New Orleans] they were going to go do an Okafor deal with Philly. New Orleans was on/off with Brook Lopez, Philly on Okafor and Sacramento had to make a judgement. Do we push them until the end of the week or do we do the deal now we can live with? They only got one first & an okay second round pick. This is a great draft. Lottery pick this year has more value than getting two or even three future picks in the 20s or way out - 3 or 4 years from now. Did you like the package? BM: Talked to 3 teams. All 3 would not give up multiple picks. They'd give up a pick & young player & even that was up for debate. You had a week here. I would have asked for a swap in 2018 if I was Sacramento. You don't know where that [Pelicans] roster is going. That roster is not a good roster. (Woj: It's a terrible roster). Who's shooting the ball for you there? I will never give grades on trades. We don't know where Hield is going or this lottery pick is going. We don't know what Vlade will do with cap space. We don't know if Cousins will stay in New Orleans. We don't know if they'll make the playoffs. You'd like for this to play out. On paper, it looks one sided but understand the direction they were going. I applaud what they did. It's not easy pulling the trigger on trading a franchise player. When you get rid of the face of the franchise, it's not easy to sell. You have to swallow your pride, lay it out how you'll build it the right way & be transparent. Woj: Dan Fegan [and his other agent] did their job here. He said if you trade for Cousins, he may not stay. The Lakers will have cap room in a couple years. He can go to LA. He might not stay in New Orleans or Phoenix. That made it harder for the Kings. While people understand...Cousins wanted to stay. He wanted to sign that contract in Sacramento. Team told him they wanted him. They have the right to change their mind but that complicated...Cousins' agent did their job. They can't stop teams from trading for him but can give the buyer beware. That limits the market a little bit. New Orleans probably has a chance to keep him but it'll be interesting to see, teams have always asked: would Cousins be different in our organization? He deserves the criticism. Kings also do for the organization they've run & how ownership has handled everything since taking over there. He has no idea what he's talking about. He created instability for DeMarcus to grow & evolve. No one has been there to show him. Teams have asked how would he be in our environment? Would it be different? This is not a great organization or ownership in New Orleans. Dell Demps had to make this for himself. He had to get someone around Anthony Davis, to take the burden off him, to convince Holiday re-sign. He's not coming into San Antonio, Toronto, Portland or an established organizations. New Orleans has their own issues. It'll be interesting to see how DeMarcus fits. Will that atmosphere bring out something in him or help him evolve that he couldn't do in Sacramento. I'm not convinced it will. BM: We chased a lot of bad deals to put talent around Deron to get him to commit to sign. Will that be the case in New Orleans? Clock starts now. Can you put talent around Davis & Cousins? What will the price tag be for Holiday? I'd be stunned if DeMarcus extends or re-negotiates now. They won't have a first or second. Full MLE, Biannual Exception to put a team together. To be 8th & get swept by Golden State & same scenario next year? That's the no man's land teams get stuck in. ... He can go into the summer of 2018 - 5 years, $180M with New Orleans & 4 years $150M with another team. This will be his third contract. I'm sure he'll go through the FA process. No indication New Orleans is the place for him. Woj: How will he & Davis play together? Cousins will be on the left low block. Davis may move out & shoot more threes. He can do that but Davis wanted a center. He didn't want to play the five. They gotta find a way to surround him. They may have 3 max players. Holiday may command a max contract. They may have to overpay to keep him. You'll have so much tied up in those 3 & this ownership group has not shown a desire to spend. They don't want to be in the luxury tax. They gave up some depth in this deal & need shooting. As much as bringing Cousins in gives them an electric talent, that front court - everyone will watch to see how it goes but it creates another set of challenges. How will we build a winner & convince them to stay long term? Is this a championship combination? BM: Paper doesn't win you games. What looks good on paper does not indicate wins & losses. We're not at the midway point here. We have a team 3 games back with 25-26 games left. Their payroll is looking at possibly $120M next year. Summer of 2016 & teams got caught up in the wild west of spending - now the cap will flat line. The questionable deals (Solomon Hill, E'Twaun Moore, Omer Asik deal of a few years ago) will haunt this team. That's the truth here. That'll be the challenge for New Orleans. Tim MacMahon: Vivek is an idiot. He's completely in over his head. I feel sorry for Vlade & Peja because they have to deal with this complete fool. Not they're their qualified but another fault of ownership. He flipped flopped. There are character concerns & ended up taking pennies on the dollar. What do Kings thing they're getting? Curry. They'll be lucky if they get Seth. They drafted Stauskas. He was so bad his rookie year they traded him but also gave away an unprotected 2019 pick. In 2017, they swap picks. Complete head scratcher. I've watched Hield. Problem is, if he's ever gonna be a player, he'll be a complimentary guy. Who's creating shots for him in Sacramento? Darren Collison? New Orleans for the rest of this year? Denver still has a decent cushion & budding star in Jokic. Look at history of teams that make splashy trades before the deadline. It's not easy to blend a guy in seamlessly. They got Jrue Holiday, if healthy but you have to play 5 guys at a time. Their wings are...we'll see what happens there. Mavs are not pulling the plug on the fight for the 8th seed. If there is a trade that makes sense, they'll do it. Bogut you can argue is unnecessary. If Bogut is traded, it's not a reaction to Cousins landing in New Orleans. Taker for Deron Williams & willingness to be moved? Not eager to be moved whatsoever. Family man, from here, enjoys golf. It makes the Pelicans more interesting. No brainer for them. It can pay dividends down the roads if they keep him. Denver is the team that is the 8th seed.
sam_amick: Kings' Vlade Divac, on @Sports1140KHTK, asked what he learned in process: "Not to trust agents" Insinuates Cousins' reps killed another deal
"Davis wanted a Center ..." Unibrow is the most overrated player in the NBA. Him thinking he is a scorer proves he overrates himself the same.
