Vlade talking with Grant about our draft selections

#91
Those names you guys threw out was exactly my point. Those are the BEST you could come up with. None of them are a better pg than Rajon Rondo. Stop gap isn't the answer. McLemore is a stop gap at sg
I'm confident that Lin can hang for a full season as a starter. We're hoping for a first round appearance sometime in the near future and realistically that is our ceiling for now barring a crazy upset; I think he would be fine to that extent
 
#97
I would rather stay with Gay at that point, I think in a more traditional offense he is a key cog. Him and Cousins with the mid range shooting, driving and finishing, and pick and roll ability, would go well if we retain Rondo. All we really need is a 3 and D SG, which seems to be why we are coveting Courtney Lee. I'm still on the fence with Rondo, yes he did have a good year stat wise offensively and played very well with Cousins, but he really needs to ramp up his defense to justify what he's going to get from us. Rondo/Lee/Gay/Cousins/WCS I don't know how that wouldn't win an 8th seed though, with Curry(?) McLemore, Casspi(?), Koufos, and our rookies rounding out the bench.
 
#99
Everyone talking mike Conley needs to realise we are long shot to bring him here. Yeah DJ is a MEM link but the two hardly had the warmest of relationships. We ain't even talking early level Malone/Cousins type love, there is mutual respect and professionalism but not much more.

Conley Is not coming here. I doubt he leaves MEM and if he does its not for SAC.

I see us resigning rondo and there's nothing wrong with that. DJ will get rondos defense back up, Collisons legal issues will wash over and we will move on with our draft picks and a vet SG we sign in FA or via trade. A solid offseason
 
That's a starting five that should compete for a playoff spot this season IMO.
Wolves best defender last season was by a mile Rubio. KAT for all his stats had minimal effect on team D, as without Rubio Wolves' defense was every bit as bad as Kings' without Boogie. So if Wolves succeed in ditching Rubio, they will be a nice mid-lottery team.

I'm confident that Lin can hang for a full season as a starter. We're hoping for a first round appearance sometime in the near future and realistically that is our ceiling for now barring a crazy upset; I think he would be fine to that extent
Lin gets negative attitude after that Linsanity explosion, but he's definitely under-rated, and could be every bit a nice surprise, as when Kings got Collison: not going to be in conversation for top-10 NBA PG, but gets the job done and works his tail off.
Plus international appeal is still there. With Kings out of revenue sharing, they should look to add every bit of revenue.

What do we think about Parsons if we can offload Gay?
He now had 2 microfracture surgeries on his knee. Pass.
 
Wolves best defender last season was by a mile Rubio. KAT for all his stats had minimal effect on team D, as without Rubio Wolves' defense was every bit as bad as Kings' without Boogie. So if Wolves succeed in ditching Rubio, they will be a nice mid-lottery team.

Lin gets negative attitude after that Linsanity explosion, but he's definitely under-rated, and could be every bit a nice surprise, as when Kings got Collison: not going to be in conversation for top-10 NBA PG, but gets the job done and works his tail off.
Plus international appeal is still there. With Kings out of revenue sharing, they should look to add every bit of revenue.

He now had 2 microfracture surgeries on his knee. Pass.
I think Minny could still surprise folks and end up better than mid lottery without Rubio just because of talent; that said, I do think you're completely spot on with everything else.
 
I would try to pry Rubio from Minni before settling with Rondo. Koufos and Ben could be a package they like, fills two positions of need for their bench. The arguement for Rondo is that he has played with our core for a season and there will be less of an adjustment period, only adjusting to Joerges philosophy.

Anybody have any knowledge on Darrens case? What can we expect his punishments to be legally? Teamwise I im bearing for a 15 game suspension as best case scenario.
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
We should have taken Wade Baldwin. I love the trades but taking a project center at 13 was a terrible move. Hopefully we can get a PG in free agency. Unfortunately, even though I like Rondo, I don't feel he is a good fit for this team. We need two scorers at PG and SG. Because we took a bad pick at 13 --now we either have to trade Rudy Gay or overpay in free agency.
 
We should have taken Wade Baldwin. I love the trades but taking a project center at 13 was a terrible move. Hopefully we can get a PG in free agency. Unfortunately, even though I like Rondo, I don't feel he is a good fit for this team. We need two scorers at PG and SG. Because we took a bad pick at 13 --now we either have to trade Rudy Gay or overpay in free agency.
You don't think vlade understands our situation at pg? They brought in Baldwin for a workout. Didn't want him at eight and didn't want him at thirteen. Vlade could end up being wrong but he did what he believed to be best for the team.
 
K

KingsFan80

Guest
You don't think vlade understands our situation at pg? They brought in Baldwin for a workout. Didn't want him at eight and didn't want him at thirteen. Vlade could end up being wrong but he did what he believed to be best for the team.
Baldwin might be raw but he is better than what we drafted at 13. Have you seen Papas stats?? The guy averaged like 8 points a game last year overseas? He is a 100% project who will not contribute at all next year. Hopefully Richardson and Skal turn out to be good because our PG situation is terrible right now with no future because of a bad 13 pick
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
Vlade believes that Papa can do this year what WCS did.....I'm going to trust him on this big man pick. If Baldwin was getting 24 minutes per game for us this year, we are a lottery team.
 
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funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
We should have taken Wade Baldwin. I love the trades but taking a project center at 13 was a terrible move. Hopefully we can get a PG in free agency. Unfortunately, even though I like Rondo, I don't feel he is a good fit for this team. We need two scorers at PG and SG. Because we took a bad pick at 13 --now we either have to trade Rudy Gay or overpay in free agency.
Gotta love the post draft reaction. I was as guilty of it on draft night as anyone. But if the GM drafts for need then fans cry out that drafting for need is a terrible strategy. But if they draft whoever is at the top of their board regardless of position then fans cry out that they didn't fill a need.

I was a Wade Baldwin fan. But he projects out as a better shooting Marcus Smart who lacks Smart's toughness and ability to finish inside. Or as a poor man's George Hill. Wade Baldwin will likely be a solid backup PG/combo guard in time, IF he develops.

Baldwin might be raw but he is better than what we drafted at 13. Have you seen Papas stats?? The guy averaged like 8 points a game last year overseas? He is a 100% project who will not contribute at all next year. Hopefully Richardson and Skal turn out to be good because our PG situation is terrible right now with no future because of a bad 13 pick
Wade Baldwin won't (or at least definitely shouldn't) be a starting PG next season. He may never be a starting PG in the NBA. And he definitely wouldn't start on the Kings over Collison. My hope was that they drafted him and either re-signed Rondo or another vet PG or traded for a vet PG so that Baldwin could be the third string PG behind Collison and whoever they brought in.

This very weak draft was not how the Kings were going to find their future starting PG unless Dunn fell to them at 8 or they paid the high price (Vlade didn't say what it was only that it was more than they were willing to do) to move up and get him.

And yes, Papagiannis' numbers last season are unimpressive. Low minutes played, low PPG and low RPG. And they are also almost identical to Kristaps Porzingis' numbers in a similar league at nearly the exact same age. That's not to say they are similar players - they aren't - but that using numbers from European leagues to judge a young player doesn't work. It's a different culture where talented youngsters play limited minutes and earn their stripes instead of the NBA where top picks are usually starters and allowed to play big minutes even through mistakes and when their play doesn't help their team.

I won't pretend Papagiannis was who I was hoping the Kings would draft (or that he was even on my radar) but I'm going to wait until at least summer league before forming a judgement on his NBA potential. NOBODY drafted at 13 or later is going to be a difference maker for an NBA team next season. Contributor maybe. Difference maker? No.

The Kings level of success next season is going to be determined by what Vlade does this summer in free agency and with trades. These picks are guys to be developed for down the road and anything they provide in the near term is just gravy.
 
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I wanted us to get Baldwin too. But apparently the teams knew more about him than I did. Milwaukee at #10 didnt take him although they badly need a PG that can shoot and instead drafted Thon Maker. The Hawks at #12 didnt take him although they just traded their starting PG. The Kings at #13 didnt take him although they had him in for a workout. The Bulls at #14 didnt take him although they just traded their starting PG. It seems that something really scared teams of whether it was lack of pg skills, attitude/personality, injury concern or something else.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
Before saying a pick is terrible or rather will never succeed, we should at least take a look at Summer League. Not that SL is a definitive answer, it's not, but you sure can see red flags right away. Remember the first time we watched Jimmer and it became apparent his lack of handles and size were instantly recognizeable. TRob and his lack of size and smallish lower half were instant red flags. Ben's dribbling was grade school bad.

Papa is not a slow lumbering big but that's just looking at video highlights. Vlade is convinced the kid is an all-star someday. OK, lets see. Lets see how far away Skal is.....quite frankly he looks like he has the same skill set as Chriss. Eager to watch Richardson and Cousins as those 2 DO play positions where we need help. Lots of people feel like we got a steal at 59 in Cousins.

I'd like to see Cousins go head to head with Baldwin...lets see that.
 
Baldwin might be raw but he is better than what we drafted at 13. Have you seen Papas stats?? The guy averaged like 8 points a game last year overseas? He is a 100% project who will not contribute at all next year. Hopefully Richardson and Skal turn out to be good because our PG situation is terrible right now with no future because of a bad 13 pick
Would you have been happy if Bender had fallen to us at 8 instead of Criss? He averaged 4.5 pts & 2.6 rbs playing in a weaker league. Young kids get limited minutes over seas, which is why you can't just look at their numbers.
 
I don't think anyone has a problem with Papagiannis. The biggest problem is the fact that we already have the best C in the NBA, DeMarcus. Papagiannis is talented, no doubt about it
Boogie and Papa could potentially play together against certain lineups. Also Boogie+PAPA+WCS rotation sounds evil. Im all for this move. Get the best big man in the league surrounded by other capable bigs and you're in for some action.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I didn't know he had surgery, hence why I asked. I feel like your assumption is that we know the medical history of all potential free agents.
Both had surgery, and has an absolutely insufferable ego.

The roleplayer from years ago before he was revealed to be an egomaniac? Sure.

The guy missing large chunks of time with deteriorating injuries who remains convinced he is a superstar with draw power? Have fun whoever gets him. Because it would not be me.
 
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I don't think anyone has a problem with Papagiannis. The biggest problem is the fact that we already have the best C in the NBA, DeMarcus. Papagiannis is talented, no doubt about it.
Kayte and Dave blew that argument up friday. They read Peja's stats and then Papageorgios stats. No comparison. None.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
We can (and should, honestly) argue over who Vlade picked and if they were the right pick at each slot, but one thing I love about what Divac did was add to the roster with guys on their rookie deals. With the salary cap exploding, guys on rookie contracts that can contribute will be the biggest bargain in the NBA.

If Papagiannis, Richardson and Labissiere are capable of being end of the bench depth this year and something more in the years to come then that's great value. Should Arturas Guidatis and/or Isaiah Cousins show enough in summer league to be worthy of a roster spot then a 2 year deal with a team option for a 3rd gives even more depth for pennies on the dollar. Bogdanovic will wait until next year when he's not bound by the rookie wage scale but I'm guessing he'll come cheaper than established NBA free agent SGs.

Again, it's all contingent on these guys (at least some) becoming contributors but these could prove to be incredibly shrewd draft day moves by Vlade.
We're going to see in summer league if these guys have a chance of playing. The old rule still applies: Can't play in summer league - no chance in the NBA; if you can play in the summer league, you *might* be able to play in the NBA.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
We're going to see in summer league if these guys have a chance of playing. The old rule still applies: Can't play in summer league - no chance in the NBA; if you can play in the summer league, you *might* be able to play in the NBA.
Yep, pretty much. The only guy is make an exception for is Skal who we know is a project. He got pushed around at the NCAA level so if that happens in SL I'm not going to be overly concerned.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Isn't Anderson the key to the off-season? Sure seems like if that domino goes down that it opens up a big Gay trade that could bring in a quality point guard.