Kings & Eric Moreland Reach Deal

#91
Now we need to clear up the pf logjam so he can get minutes. Gotta move jt, Evans and prob let Acy go
You left out the only PF we should really be looking to move...Landry

If Landry gets dealt, suddenly our big man rotation is more balanced regardless of if we bring a starting caliber PF back or no big at all.

If we bring back a starting caliber PF in a trade:
PF - ??? (28 min)/Thompson (11 min)/Evans (9 min)/Acy
C - Cousins (35 min)/Thompson (13 mn)
D-League - Moreland (30 min)

Cousins - 35 mpg
??? - 28 mpg
Thompson - 24 mpg
Evans - 9 mpg
Acy - spot minutes/foul trouble minutes/injury minutes
Moreland - 30 mpg (D-League)


If we don't bring back a starting caliber PF in a trade:
PF - Thompson (15 min)/Evans (20 min)/Acy (13 min)/Moreland
C - Cousins (35 min)/Thompson (13 min)

Cousins - 35 mpg
Thompson - 28 mpg
Evans - 20 mpg
Acy - 13 mpg
Moreland - spot minutes/foul trouble minutes/injury minutes


You can move Thompson instead of Landry, but it limits our options because we would have to find someone who can play 13 minutes a game at center. With our cap situation, you'll be hard pressed to find a center who can give you decent minutes for the veteran minimum. That means we would have to bring back a center in the trade (either it be the starting caliber PF who can swing between PF & C) or another player who is a center.

On our roster, Thompson is the best PF complement to Cousins. We should be looking to move Landry (if at all possible) who happens to be the worst PF complement to Cousins. That's what building around your franchise center is all about.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#92
As much as I love this signing, I think it would be prudent to temper our excitement a bit. He is still a rookie, and personally I think he's going to be fine. But he will have his bumps in the road along the way. He has very little in the way of offense, at least that I know about. And as pointed out, he does need to get stronger, which I don't think will be a problem. One of the first things I noticed up close and personal, is that he has wide shoulders and looks like he could add 15 pounds of muscle without much noticable physical change. As for as the speed of the game, I doubt that will be a problem. Speed and athleticism are his strengths. The dude can jump out of the building, and is very quick end to end and laterally. What amazed me the most was his ability to rebound in a crowd, which I can only attribute to his determination and his huge hands and wingspan.

Bottom line is, he could end up being something special, and if so, a huge steal for us. And its about time. Just don't expect it to happen overnight.
Now, explain again why we should temper our enthusiasm.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#93
As much as I love this signing, I think it would be prudent to temper our excitement a bit. He is still a rookie, and personally I think he's going to be fine. But he will have his bumps in the road along the way. He has very little in the way of offense, at least that I know about. And as pointed out, he does need to get stronger, which I don't think will be a problem. One of the first things I noticed up close and personal, is that he has wide shoulders and looks like he could add 15 pounds of muscle without much noticable physical change. As for as the speed of the game, I doubt that will be a problem. Speed and athleticism are his strengths. The dude can jump out of the building, and is very quick end to end and laterally. What amazed me the most was his ability to rebound in a crowd, which I can only attribute to his determination and his huge hands and wingspan.

Bottom line is, he could end up being something special, and if so, a huge steal for us. And its about time. Just don't expect it to happen overnight.
Temper our excitement? Nope, not gonna do it.

We can be excited to see a young player who just might end up being something truly special. It already seems as though he truly appreciates the reception Kings fans have given him and is going to be even more motivated to earn our praise. Encouragement is NEVER a bad thing. I think you're wrong in wanting to put a damper on fans showing genuine enthusiasm and excitement for a change. We had years and years of having very little to look forward to or be hopeful about. That doesn't mean we don't realize he's probably not going to solve all our problems.

:)
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#94
Temper our excitement? Nope, not gonna do it.

We can be excited to see a young player who just might end up being something truly special. It already seems as though he truly appreciates the reception Kings fans have given him and is going to be even more motivated to earn our praise. Encouragement is NEVER a bad thing. I think you're wrong in wanting to put a damper on fans showing genuine enthusiasm and excitement for a change. We had years and years of having very little to look forward to or be hopeful about. That doesn't mean we don't realize he's probably not going to solve all our problems.

:)
Even if he don't pan out its a nice gesture non the less that even loaded at PF the front office see the need and the are addressing it
 
#95
Bottom line is, he could end up being something special, and if so, a huge steal for us. And its about time. Just don't expect it to happen overnight.
Thanks for the early warning/reminder Mr. Bajaden.

I think Moreland on his rookie year will play irrelevant minutes, especially that he probably will be playing only 5-10 garbage time minutes. which is not really long enough exposure for him to develop faster. This is very important to remember to avoid getting disappointed/frustrated.

Even if he don't pan out its a nice gesture non the less that even loaded at PF the front office see the need and they are addressing it
Now, the quote above is the main reason why I will do the same as VF21. For the 2nd time this past several weeks the FO showed signs they know what the problems are. They addressed our defensive back court problem and lack of ball movement by eliminating the biggest defensive liability and ballhog Isaiah Thomas. And now, they also addressed the lack of defensive shot blocker problem.
Temper our excitement? Nope, not gonna do it.
Go Kings!!!
 
#97
The Kings announced they have signed forward Eric Moreland to a three-year contract.

The deal is not fully guaranteed, but it allows the Kings to take a look at Moreland through training camp and, if he continues to impress, the team can keep him in Sacramento beyond the 2014-15 season.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/30/6594509/kings-sign-shot-block-specialist.html#storylink=cpy

I just saw contract is not guaranteed in todays Bee

So I guess it is not 100% for sure until after Camp?

I thought that was unusual to have 3 yr contract but non-guaranteed
 
#98
Temper our excitement? Nope, not gonna do it.

We can be excited to see a young player who just might end up being something truly special. It already seems as though he truly appreciates the reception Kings fans have given him and is going to be even more motivated to earn our praise. Encouragement is NEVER a bad thing. I think you're wrong in wanting to put a damper on fans showing genuine enthusiasm and excitement for a change. We had years and years of having very little to look forward to or be hopeful about. That doesn't mean we don't realize he's probably not going to solve all our problems.

:)
I think he's talking to those who give up on players, who don't meet whatever preconceived expectations they have for them, in whatever timeline they've decided is reasonable
 
#99
The Kings announced they have signed forward Eric Moreland to a three-year contract.

The deal is not fully guaranteed, but it allows the Kings to take a look at Moreland through training camp and, if he continues to impress, the team can keep him in Sacramento beyond the 2014-15 season.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/30/6594509/kings-sign-shot-block-specialist.html#storylink=cpy

I just saw contract is not guaranteed in todays Bee

So I guess it is not 100% for sure until after Camp?

I thought that was unusual to have 3 yr contract but non-guaranteed
A lot of the 2nd round picks are like that.
 
The Kings have needed a player in the mold of a mobile, long armed, athletic 4 that pursues every shot in his area as though he's playing volleyball for some time now. Moreland used to play guard in HS and AAU until he shot up 9 inches by his senior year. His college coach said that he was the only player on the team that could do everything. There are 3 things that he needs, one of which he may already have: midrange spot up shot, more muscle, and experience. If he attains these qualities and is able to play significant minutes then I'd say he's our answer at the 4.

It's one thing to have shot blocking ability and provide that quality. It's another thing to have shot blocking ability and pursue the shot attempt to the point where there is no plan after the shot is blocked. What excites me about Moreland is his relentless pursuit of the shot attempt and his disregard for his own personal safety. He doesn't care if blocking a shot might be inconvenient for him. Another very telling detail is that there were multiple teams that tried to sign him. Other teams also think that he's valuable.
 
Moreland really does compare pretty favorably to Sanders on the defensive end at least. Could be an epic signing, we'll see!
I think if he can at least have some basic skills on offense to be able to at least fit in: set picks, know where to be, competent catching the ball/passing, range out to 10-12 feet, hit a bank shot or two, decent ft %... just so that he's not a total black hole on offense... if he can do that, and fulfill his obvious defensive potential, he'll be a killer find. And frankly, at this point I don't see much in the way of that happening.
 
Actually having watched the whole video, He appears to have more GUARD skills than post offensive skills... His post skills are not very developed. He used to play guard until he grew 9 inches, so I think he still has a lot of potential to grow in terms of being a post player.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Eric's got more offensive skills than you guys think. Check out the dribbling skills in this video. Also check out how fast he gets up. Of course you want him to be our Serge Ibaka and not think he's Kevin Durant...

Well to be fair anyone can look amazing on YouTube. I mean Jon Brockman looked like an airborne trick shot dunkmaster thanks to viral videos
 
After watching that video, just a few quick assments... a) He appears to be stronger and in better shape now. b) There's no way he was signed to do anything we saw in that video. c) Defenses will force him to go left and he will struggle mightily, as his inability to dribble with his left hand (even when being guarded by an overweight 5'8" guy who intentionally didn't even put a hand up) was obvious.

All that said, I'm happy we were able to sign him for the skills he showed in Vegas (blocking/ contesting shots, rebounding and hustle). I just hope that he (and Cousins) leave the ball handling to the guards!
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Eric's got more offensive skills than you guys think. Check out the dribbling skills in this video. Also check out how fast he gets up. Of course you want him to be our Serge Ibaka and not think he's Kevin Durant...

never understood why guys under 5'10" wanted to wear shorts halfway to their ankles. All it does is make them look like dumpy dwarves.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I think Moreland's success is going to be determined largely by whether he can guard NBA bigs one-on-one in the post (or stretch 4s outside for that matter). If he can come from the weak side in the summer league, he can come from the weak side in the NBA. But guarding legit NBA power forwards is another thing entirely. The summer league primarily consists of slashers, not polished big guys, so that's going to be an eye opener for him. His first test is going to be guarding Landry in practice. If he can be moderately successful against him, that would be a positive first step.
 
Eric's got more offensive skills than you guys think. Check out the dribbling skills in this video. Also check out how fast he gets up. Of course you want him to be our Serge Ibaka and not think he's Kevin Durant...

Nah we play positionless basketball now. He can be whoever he wants! [sarcasm]