1. Release James Johnson: I think everyone knows this is coming. James just never seemed to find his place with this team, and it makes sense to cut him to free up more cap space to go after a more solid SF.

2. Release Toney Douglas: This is hard for me because I love what he brings to the table. His defense was refreshing to say the least. I could definitely see him as a long term fit next to Evans, but the fact that I would like to see Evans moved back to PG under a competent coach along with Thomas being on the books for so cheap is the reason why I give him the axe here. Similar to Johnson, cutting Douglas will free up more cap space to go after free agents.

3. Release Cole Aldrich: He performed in limited minutes for us, but I think we can do better either through free agency or the draft. For that reason, I would cut him.

4. Amnesty John Salmons: Let us rid ourselves of his salary. We can acquire a very solid player with the amount of cash we are paying him. He is an overpaid player and we have the opportunity to shed his salary, why not?

5. Resign Tyreke Evans for $44 million over 4 years: Evans is a key piece to this team. He is a very special talent, and you don’t let special talents walkout the door without knowing for sure they aren’t going to reach their potential. He has shown flashes of what he is capable of doing when he is being used correctly by his coach. Unfortunately, Evans has suffered under a strand of incompetent coaches. Hire a decent coach who knows how to utilize his abilities, and we will most likely see an all-star blossoming right in front of our eyes.

6. Offer a 5 year extension to Demarcus Cousins: This is a no brainer in my mind. We either live or die by Cousins. If we trade him, we will most likely be able to produce a playoff team in the next few years, but it is almost certain that team will not have a chance at winning an NBA title. If we keep Cousins, I absolutely think our chances at bringing an NBA title to Sacramento are that much greater. He is just that type of player. You don’t find them often, but when you do, you lock them up for as long as you can.

7. Trade Jason Thompson and the 7^th pick to the Bobcats for the 4^th pick: I feel horrible about trading Thompson away. I’ve always considered him to be the perfect big man off the bench. If we could pull off Patterson in Thompson’s place, I would be thrilled, but I think it will take Thompson to pry the pick away from Charlotte. Charlottes’ big man situation is a bit of a mess. They have T. Thomas, Biyombo, Haywood, and Mullens (if they resign him). None of these players jump off the page to me. Thomas has been a disappointment throughout his career but can still provide shot blocking. Biyombo doesn’t have many aspects to his game as well. Haywood is a decent 4^th or 5^th big off the bench, but you don’t want a guy like that seeing heavy minutes. Mullens is probably the most skilled out of the four, but he shot 38.5% from the floor last season which is downright awful for a C. He’s also not a very effective rebounder which can only hurt his stock as a starting C.

I think Thompson would bring a very well rounded game to Charlotte and give them solid and consistent minutes at PF. They get a solid player on an inexpensive, long term deal just for dropping back two spots. That’s a hell of a deal. With the 7^th pick they could go big again and take Len, Zeller, Adams, etc. and be on their way to a formidable big man rotation (Len, Thompson, Biyombo, Thomas, Haywood – Mullens would be relased)

Although Thompson is a significant loss for us, it is slightly negated by having Patterson on the team. He can fill Thompson’s shoes and give us decent minutes at PF. With the 4^th pick, we will take McLemore, Porter, or Oladipo. I’m guessing the first two players won’t fall to us which leaves us with Oladipo. The more I watch this kid and read about him, the more I like him. His motor and defensive abilities would be greatly welcomed to our team atmosphere. Evans and Oladipo would make a very solid backcourt. Oladipo can even guard PGs if we prefer to put Evans on an easier matchup in order to conserve his energy for the offensive end. I think he would be a very good compliment to Evans and we would give a lot of teams headaches with the size, strength, athleticism, and defense of those two players.

8. Trade Marcus Thornton to the Jazz for the 21^st pick: Thornton will need to be moved. With Evans, Oladipo, and Thomas on the team, there will be no minutes for him. His salary also limits our cap space. The Jazz are in need of a SG. They have Burks, but he is still a question mark at this point in time. I personally like Burks though and think he will be good SG in this league. He showed promise this year putting up good stats across the board, but the Jazz still need another SG. Thornton would be good fit for them. They could either have him start or come off the bench and play that 6^th man role. He fills a need for them either way, and it only cost them their later 1^st round pick.

With the 21^st pick, we target a big man. Hopefully we draft someone we could realistically see playing next to Cousins down the road. Gobert, Adams, and Dieng would be my first choice if they are still available. All could potentially be a nice fit next to Cousins. I think Dieng has the greatest chance of still being available at 21 out of these three players though. Dieng has size, athleticism, shotblockng abilities, and a nice jumpshot. I would be very satisfied if we could take Dieng with this pick.

9. Trade Jimmer Fredette and the 36^th pick to the Thunder for the 32^nd pick: This trade is mostly to get Fredette off of our books, but it is also to give us a better shot at one of the valuable wing players that are projected to be going in the late 1^st-early 2^nd part of the draft. Crabbe, Rice, Bullock, and Hardaway are 4 players I would target all are excellent shooters which would be nice to have coming off the bench. I personally like Bullock due to his size, defense, and 3pt shooting. I would be ecstatic if he fell to us at 32.

The Thunder do this to pick up a great long range shooter to provide scoring and floor spacing for their star players that attract so much attention. The price to get Fredette is to move down 4 spots. That seems pretty reasonable.

10. Draft Victor Oladipo with the 4^th pick: See #7

11. Draft Gobert, Len, Adams, Dieng, Withey, T. Mitchell, Nogueira, or Jaiteh with the 21^st pick: See #8

12. Draft Crabbe, Rice, Bullock, or Hardaway with the 32^nd pick: See #9