Pascal Siakam has been a speculated, rumored, and reported trade target of the Sacramento Kings dating back to last season. Siakam is in the final year of his current contract, and the deadline for any extension was December 30th. The Toronto Raptors face a hard decision with the trade deadline approaching, with the looming possibility of losing Siakam in free agency with nothing to show for it. The Raptors just traded OG Anunoby to the Knicks on December 30th, receiving Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, but that hasn’t offered any clarity on Siakam’s future with Toronto.
The Raptors won their first two games following the trade, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, and vibes up North are good for the moment. The Raptors now travel to Sacramento to face the Kings on Friday, giving the Kings an opportunity to see the new-look Raptors in person. If the wins keep rolling in, Siakam may decide he wants to stay in Toronto, or at the very least Masai Ujiri may feel he has good odds to keep Siakam and opt not to make a trade. Even if Masai does decide to move Siakam, the Raptors GM has an earned reputation as a stubborn negotiator who wants to win every trade. It’s hard to know exactly what the asking price would be, or if the Kings could create a package that appeals to the Raptors.
All of this comes up again not just because the Raptors are visiting Sacramento, but because a Siakam-to-Sac package was proposed in an article by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor. KOC, who draws the ire of Kings fans by tweeting about Sacramento only when they lose (at this point it’s so glaring that I am convinced that KOC is trolling), is pretty fair in his overall assessment of the Kings current standing (aside from a few unwarranted slights directed at Domantas Sabonis). He suggested Siakam as a target, and includes a potential return package:
Pascal Siakam remains a potential target, as Shams Charania reported last month. Siakam isn’t an ideal fit since he’s making only 32 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s this season. But his on-ball creation would add a new element to Sacramento’s half-court offense. He can be used all over the floor: Imagine Siakam screening for Sabonis at the elbows, or Fox screening for Siakam to force a switch, or Siakam slicing through a Sabonis handoff. In Toronto, Siakam has seemingly checked out on defense, but a return to form in Sacramento would bring significant help by providing size and on-ball versatility. Siakam alone wouldn’t make the Kings favorites in the West, but for the price of Barnes and Huerter plus one-ish firsts, he would be worth it to bolster their odds (and if he walked this summer, the Kings would be an intriguing cap space team).
Barnes is a starter, a veteran presence, is cost-controlled, and is willing to defer to others. He’d be a fine fit as the Raptors continue to build around Scottie Barnes while also aiming to win now. Kevin Huerter is cost controlled on a very nice contract, and provides spacing that Toronto has desperately needed for some time now, assuming Huerter returns to form and breaks out of his current slump. In my mind, Huerter would be the primary appeal for Masai. If Huerter returns to his prior shooting prowess, Masai can point to the Kings selling low on their starting shooting guard as a key part of how Toronto won the trade. In other words, I can see a way that the Raptors could accept that package. Naturally this is all just guess work, and we have no idea how Masai would actually value any of these assets, or what other offers would be on the table from other teams.
The biggest risk from Sacramento’s side, aside from the possibility of selling low on Huerter, is that Siakam is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Kings could give up players who have been part of Sacramento’s recent success for a short-term rental who then walks. Siakam absolutely pushes this team’s ceiling higher this season, but this season might be all you get. And while the idea of cap space is always appealing, it’s hard to imagine the Kings landing a major free agent this summer. Even with the Kings being much-improved, Sacramento simply isn’t a free agent destination. Cap space would give the Kings other options though, such as trading for a big name if another team is trying to shed salary and avoid that dreaded second apron.
For our purposes here, let’s assume the Raptors would accept a package of Barnes, Huerter, and a first round pick. Personally, if the Kings made that trade, I wouldn’t be mad. There’s risk, and it could backfire, but I’d appreciate the aggression in bringing in another really talented player alongside De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis, and Keegan Murray, and I think the return cost would be fair. But what do you think? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
First of all
Second of all, let’s do it Monte!
KOC’s takes are tired and stale. Too much click bait/hot take crap now.
And we ignore clickbait around here. This article wasn’t clickbait, and gave us something worth discussing, so we linked to it and discussed.
That wasn’t a shot at the article you wrote. Just KOC in general annoys me now. He has some decent stuff, like the linked article, but it’s few and far between.
TKH is great. The content is well-informed, interesting, and provokes discussion.
KOC is a solid writer and fairly impartial. He is just like the rest of the cats that cover the NBA completely enamored by some teams (OKC, LAL, etc) over others. The Kings are overlooked by the national media. It is what it is.
Nah, at this point it’s fairly obvious that Kevin has a true dislike of the Kings and their newfound success. I’m assuming something went down between he and folks within the organization at some point, and he’s just grinding the proverbial axe.
We could get Pascal?
If we could do that deal, I would be thrilled. Best case you go deep in the playoffs and resign Siakam. Worst case he doesn’t resign and you work out some kind of sign and trade.
I know worst case is he walks, but I think that is a pretty small possibility and worth the risk.
I would do this. Even if he walks, you are getting rid of two non productive players and their contracts.
Calling Barnes non-productive is a bit silly. He’s far from perfect, lord knows I have my gripes, but he still has made an impact each of his years in Sacramento, including this one
Barnes scoring efficiency is 2nd to only Sabonis . There is that .
How much cap space are we talking about if he walks? I’m too tired to do the math.
Another thought is if he does walk the cap space is enough to sign Monk to a contract he actually deserves rather than mess around with hoping the 1 year with PO signing is enough to entice him to stay.
Cap space would be good to know, and what they could offer Monk in the off-season.
They would also need to find another guard that is effective. If Huerter gets traded, that leaves Duarte/Ellis/Mitchell/Jones at SG depth. They have all been underwhelming this season.
Terrance Davis?
To be fair, KH has been pretty underwhelming this season as well.
I would like to see Colby Jones get a few minutes in a row.
Yup. I didn’t include him in my assessment because he would be gone in the trade.
Instead Jones in the trade what about Mitchell instead. We still have Ellis as a back up and I would hate to lose Jones as I think maybe at the end of the year or next year he will be a King on the roster.
IMO, unless it’s a deal-breaker for a real needle mover that will be around for more than a few months, I would not include Jones in any trade. I think he has real starting quality 2-way play to his game and he should be ready for some real rotational mins by the time the playoffs come around.
For a second my brain translated KH=Kings Herald and I was sad
This morning, the Kings traded Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell, a first round pick in 2025, and the Kings Herald to the Raptors for Pascal Siakam and the Velociraptor, and commentators immediately pegged it as a lose-lose trade, because the Kings Herald plans to keep writing Kings content for its audience of Raptors fans, the Velociraptor as managing editor of the new Kings fan site has turned out to be illiterate, and nobody on the Kings Herald staff can play the four at an NBA level.
Ha!
Huerter is practically useless right now.
His shot isn’t falling. But he’s been decent rebounding
I think I read in another comment thread that we can go over cap to resign Monk anyway (Bird Rightss?), so the benefit of cap would be with regard to signing other players.
I saw something where there were some limits on the years of the contract, maybe? Idk, someone on this site has the details
I’d be fine with that move, assuming they can talk with Pascal and his agent beforehand.
Can the Kings do that?
The Raptors could give permission, or the Kings could unofficially discuss with him like every team does before a trade like this
let’s assume the Raptors would accept a package of Barnes, Huerter, and a first round pick is a flawed premise. Barnes and Huerter are net negative. So we’re dumping salary and getting something good back for a pick? Dream on.
What? Player’s contracts expire and lose nearly all value to the team holding it, Siakam’s trade value is at the lowest point of his career as a trade piece due to being an UFA at the end of the year. If they don’t believe he will resign there, then they NEED to move him this deadline.
The reason for TOR to do the trade is to get an FRP (from anyone), the fact that Barnes and Huerter are usually decent “rosterable” NBA players is a bonus and if they could increase their value by playing well in TOR, they themselves could be flipped for additional assets. It would be buying low for TOR while still getting a decent price in return for Siakam (4mos of Siakam for an FRP is pretty good).
PHX did this to the Kings in the IT trade where we got nearly nothing back (Alex Oriakhi) despite IT being a RFA, in the following year PHX flipped IT to BOS for a FRP. Buy low and sell high.
Also, TOR is breaking up one large expiring salary into two movable salaries could help them facilitate other trades (TOR is hard-capped). I’m not saying that its the best offer TOR will get, but its not a flawed premise or a “dream on” scenario to make the offer.
So worst case scenario in this trade, the King trade depth, long term deals, and a future first(s) for a player that improves the team this year, but who may walk.
Translation: it could become a salary dump that costs picks. The Kings build around Sabonis, Fox, and Keegan with cap space but very limited draft capital, all while hoping to bring back Monk.
It really doesn’t sound too bad to me, but I’d hope Monte has contingencies in place to address depth.
Lasely, I doubt Toronto does it. They have no use for the contracts of Barnes and Huerter, who then become expensive bench players to them.
Yes – Free Agents from ’round the globe are aching to get to play in Sacramento. The fights over which agents can their players to sign with Vivek’s Kings are legendary.
My Hot Take – Siakam earns $38M this season and turns 30 in April (2024). He sees the contracts that are being signed lately and wants to cash in. If he wasn’t looking to have a big pay day, Toronto wouldn’t be looking to trade him.
Should Sac get to the 2nd round with Siakam, or the Western Conf Finals this season, you’d better bet they’d consider giving the $160M-$200M/4 years he’d be looking for. And that is the best case scenario.
He’ll probably sign with the Lakers or Warriors however. And if that happens, or if they just don’t win with PSiakam (Play-In or 1st round exit), then they have to get Free Agents to sign in Sac. And that hasn’t ever worked out well.
There are very few teams that have the cap space or willingness to sign Pascal this summer. Without looking it up, it’s probably around 5 teams that are going nowhere fast.
IMO, whoever has his Bird Rights going into free agency is sitting in the driver’s seat and can go over the cap to retain him at below market value for a year old.
The big threat would probably be Philly.
“Free Agents from round the globe are aching to play in Sacramento”
I feel like this trope is both tired and very dated, for a few reasons.
One, how many teams are free agent destinations? The Lakers? What is their big signing from the last few years? Rui Hachiumora? 17m for 11.6pp and 3.6 rebounds? That is HB who is treated like a negative asset. Wood? Reddish? Russell? All mediocre. The Knicks? When is the last time they signed someone of significance? Brunson, whose father works for them? Dallas? Miami? Chicago? People act like Sacramento is a wasteland, but I struggle to see what team has FA’s “aching to play” for them.
Two, what good player is available in Free Agency anymore? If a player has any value, they are on extensions. Contracts are the new FA space. Has anyone looked at who are FA’s next season?
Maxey is going to get a max to stay in PHI. Old and injury prone Paul George? Kawhi? LeBron? Harden? DeMar? Harden? Klay? Hayward? Conley? Westbrook? Would anyone be excited to add any of those players to this roster and system?
Jrue will likely get extended by the Celtics, as will Quickly with the Raptors, and OG with the Knicks.
Tobias Harris? Pass.D’Angelo Russel? HARD PASS. Miles Bridges? Buddy Heild? JV? Dinwiddie? Pass on all four.
So now we are down to role players like Oubre, who was so sought after he signed for the minimum. Bruce Brown? Averaging 12-5-3 in 31 minutes a game on 29% 3pt shooting. Tyus Jones? I think he is great, but what would be attractive about Sac when Fox and Monk are going to have the ball most of the time, and a 3rd small guard is not great roster construction.
Melton is a good role player, but there will hardly be a bidding war. Wagner? Toppin? Bey? Beasley? Slo Mo? I mean, who are they to snub interest? They are going to take whoever gives the best bid and playing time.
The whole concept of FA shifted a few seasons ago. As Hollinger likes to say, you trade contracts, not players. Barnes and Keven have value as decent players and good contracts.
And yet…
good Free Agent signings in Sacramento?
Malik Monk…
.
.
is about it.
.
The Kings are getting 6th MOY production out of Monk, getting paid for two seasons barely more than Rui is making for one, and that is “good”?
Or is it one of the best FA signings of any team in the last couple of years?
I am still waiting for all of the great FA destinations you think exist, and some examples of players they signed.
You point to the Lakers and Knicks as proof that LA and NY aren’t destination markets, while ignoring that Kawhi/PG13 orchestrated their way to LA, and KD/Kyrie did the same to Brooklyn.
And the last major FA the Lakers landed was a guy named LeBron.
Yeah, but that’s just, like.. your opinion, man..
No, I never said that LA and NY are not destination markets. I never talked about markets. I said what teams were destinations and used the Lakers and Knicks as examples, as well as Dallas, Miami, and Chicago, since they are are celebrated teams with championships.
Lakers and Warriors are two teams that could end up blowing the whole thing up this offseason. Not to mention both are currently well over the cap. So assuming they decide to keep going, and given their cap situation, they’d have to acquire Siakam via a sign and trade. Which could fetch to decent returns for the team on the signing side.
If we approach this from the premise that the Kings best path to a championship is to build a roster similar to Denver’s, then Siakam is probably the closest this team can get to Aaron Gordon.
Assuming Keegan breaks from his slump (he will) and Fox’s shooting leap is for real (seems so), then having Siakam/Sabonis both as below average shooters isn’t fully a death sentence — the Warriors won a championship with Green/Looney starting and finishing most games.
The pluses Siakam brings outweigh the negatives, in my opinion. But we’ll have to see if Monte, or Masai, agree
I see no similarities betwixt Gordon and Siakim.
This would be a shortsighted trade that doesn’t address the team’s weaknesses.
Big athletic forwards who can defend 3 positions, play center, playmake, and have suspect outside shots. There’s plenty of similarities, unless you choose not to see them
If that’s all it took to get Siakim then I would do it without even thinking. It’s a no brainer. No way they do that though. An aging vet and an underwhelming shooter who is a defensive liability aren’t attractive options. Then one 1st first round pick? That’s a pipe dream. I do like the idea of a better rim protecting big and lob threat. Kings haven’t had that since C Webb was in his prime. Or a more polished backup PG. However, 3/4 wing is of the utmost importance. Kuzma, Jerami Grant, Lauri, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson would all be nice additions for the right price. Hopefully the Nets become sellers soon and Nic Claxton potentially becomes available too. Not sure what the Kings do, but an upgrade has to happen. Standing pat will allow other teams to leave the Kings behind.
Am I crazy for thinking the Kings could get Kuzma for less than Siakam and will be much better for it, because I don’t think that’s crazy.
I see Kuzma playing regularly and I am not a fan. He thinks he’s a star, takes every shot he likes (he loves most shots) and only bothers to be engaged in defense and passing a third of his games played.
Can that change radically at a different team? I have my doubts.
That’s the Wizards franchise as a whole. I 100% believe a change in culture would motivate him. He would instantly become our 2nd/3rd best scorer and alleviate pressure from Fox to have to always carry the starters. When Fox is off the floor while Sabonis is on our scoring dips dramatically. Being able to stagger Fox rest minutes with Kuzma would pay huge dividends in my opinion. Then it also allows the 3rd best defender to be on Murray instead of the 2nd best. I would be ecstatic if they got this deal done. Jan 15 is when Kuzma becomes available to be traded. Hopefully he is a target the Kings are considering.
This is a good point. No knock on Kuz, who is a good player, but I feel like he measures his happiness by how many field goal attempts he gets.
I absolutely agree. He is younger, so fits the timeline better than Siakim and is already signed to a pretty team friendly deal for the next 3 years.
I’m with you, I don’t get the Siakim love. So many other better fits that may be available that willl cost much less.
Personally, I wouldn’t do it but the temptation to add a true talent like Siakam could be hard to pass up even if the fit isn’t really all that great.
I guess I’m in the minority on this one and wouldn’t go for Siakam. Even if the Kings do trade for him, that alone will not make them good enough to compete for the championship this year. Unless they know for sure they could resign him, its just an unneccesary rental that might get us farther in the playoffs but not far enough. FA’s generally aren’t rushing to come here so the thought of having plenty of money to throw around to pay the extra “Sacramento Tax” to get them here and bring back Monk might be the route forward, but I need to see who the upcoming free agents are first.
I 100% agree!!
We need to start asking the question– is our team good enough to win a first round serious with player X? I am not sure we can with Siakam, unless we are the 2-3 seed, and this is unlikely. To make matters worse, we lose Barnes and a first (Kevin is no loss to me), and then lose Siakam to free agency. Life is about progression, as opposed to one major leap, Trying to take that leap would affect our development for the next year or two unless we can magically attract a solid 3 and D player in the summer of 2024. Monte is not a gambler and neither am I– we need guys like the ones below:
Thybulle
Caruso
Jalen Smith
Wendell Carter
Finney Smith
others that do not require a risk to our development next year (no 1st round pick,unless the player is locked up for 2 years or more).
There have been rumors that Indiana has eyes for Pascal. They are also one of the few teams that may be able to afford him in free agency. If they want his bird rights now to guarantee things, I could see them making the move to trade for him sooner.
How does this affect the Kings? They could be a third team to help the moving parts. Maybe they could walk away with Jalen Smith without giving up too much.
Great point here– we need to be a third party that throws around 2nd round picks with Kevin, Barnes (if needed), and Davion (if needed).
I would love to see the Kings do this with Portland, who won’t want to pay a crap load of money to Jerami Grant. This is where we get Thybulle. Chicago and Lavine could get us Caruso. I’m sure there are some other options that Monte could likely get his hands in.
Totally butt pulled idea from trade machine:
Indy gets: Pascal
Toronto gets: Barnes, Mitchell, Toppin, Bruce Brown
Sac gets: Jalen Smith, Porter Jr, Thad Young
Sprinkle in picks if you must, but that’s a fair haul for Toronto giving up a soon to be 30 year old hitting free agency.
Sac gets out of contracts, a pair of expiring an and Jalen Smith.
This is solid, even though we would not want Porter even though he is a good player.
He and Thad are just contract matching expirings who are not long for the league. The trade is just for Jalen Smith as a future front court pairing with Sabonis and Keegan.
I had been thinking of being a third team with OKC because of their stash of first rounders, but I like your idea as well.
I would love to get Bruce Brown though, I didn’t watch a lot of him in Denver but loved his defense during the finals. Wished we had gone for him in FA. Don’t think it’s going to happen though.
If OKC wants to add a star player who is on a significant salary, then they’ll need at a 3rd team as they don’t have the salaries for matching.
This. They really have no ability to acquire anyone making over $20M per year, unless they are making something like a 4 players for 1 trade, which rarely happens. They really need a third, or even 4th team to acquire a star. They definitely have the picks and youth to pull something off.
Jalen Smith’s 3PT shooting is something of an unknown but history says he won’t ever be a deep threat.
Smith’s 33% career from 3PT, and while he’s shooting 53% from 3PT this year, it’s on only 2.1 3PA/gm so its not much volume.
I’d do it if the point were simply to dump KH and HB salaries, but I wouldn’t do it with the intent of having Smith be the long-term partner between Domas and Murray.
The idea of acquiring Porter Jr. at any price (even as a salary throw-in) unless immediately cut is tough to stomach.
I have no problem with Siakam but I would prefer getting Kuzma and Thybulle.
Fox, Thybulle, Keegan, Kuzma and Domas.
I think they might be easier to get than Siakam.
If you are aiming for a blockbuster, I’d prefer pushing all the chips in for Markannen over Siakam. He’s younger and you have him for more time guranateed.
Markannen and Thybulle would be great.
Is there a point of getting him if he can’t shoot?
Just gives fans something to talk about haha
*whispers* KOC is definitely trolling but he also isn’t wrong. Seriously, I don’t think anything he’s said about Sabonis in the playoffs or the Kings needing a couple upgrades to be a real contender is wrong. If the goal is a championship, this team has serious deficiencies that need to be addressed. Which is fine! We can be good and those things can still be true. Anywho, if we can get Siakam for Barnes, Huerter and a first, I would do it tomorrow. I don’t think that would be the asking price but if it is, let’s get it done and figure out how to sign Siakam to an extension later.
GSWelpers
That shot by Jokic was incredibly lucky and for Kings-positional-standings reasons I was okay with GSW beating DEN, but because of the way it went down, it was worth it to see the disappointment on all of Curry/Kerr/GSW fans’ faces.
There is an article in Forbes that presents several potential destinations for TOR to trade P. Siakam to and what they think the cost/returns will be. I bring this up so that TKH posters see what the TOR based media think they should get in return for the UFA.
Forbes article (no paywall) – Toronto-based writer Esfandiar Baraheni
The ideal deal: Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov and two 2nd round-picks for Pascal Siakam
The realistic deal: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Heurter, Davion Mitchell, Colby Jones, 2028 1st round pick (unprotected), 2030 1st round pick (top 4 protected)
The articles goes on to say the “realistic deal” is probably not enough for a player destined to leave in FA next year. No way in hell should the Kings even consider such ridiculous offers. From the King’s perspective, it’s just laughable. Not only is the realistic deal a massive overpay for a partial-year rental, after 2027 the Kings would be Stepian-ruled into not being able to trade a FRP until 2031.
No thanks.
That realistic deal is indeed a “no thanks” for me. (even that ideal deal lolsir)
Besides, if they put up a package like that, and maybe add another pick and some second-rounders, why not pursue Markkanen?
A trade for Lauri, Keegan not being included, would be ideal. He can shoot and rebound, is 7’0 and 240lbs. The size is there. Maybe his defense is a bit suspect, but you gotta take a chance at high end talent when it’s available.
If Toronto is wanting something between those two deals, the actual deal will probably be closer what they got for Van Vleet.
VanVleet left in free agency, didn’t he?
without looking at money and salary cap, yes it would make sense. When considering the cost of resigning him, probably not. (I’m assuming Monk gets resigned)
Siakam would be somewhere in the 4 year, $200mil range, probably on the higher side? That’s a lot for an almost 30 year old who has had some shooting struggles. It’s a gamble, and I hope Monte does his homework and just doesn’t panic trade this season.
If that’s his price tag,I’d say no.
Currently at $38 mil in the last year of his deal. Can’t see him signing for less, unless the market is really sour on him.
Idk to me the question is what is the alternative? We aren’t likely attracting someone in FA nor do we have the room at least this summer and likely next. Go through those years FA’s and I don’t see the likely viable target anyway. Ideally yes there is the 26 year old all star 3 or 4 to pair with the core to perfectly align the timeline, but thats every teams wish and positionally the shallowest position pool. And if its a trade we are getting beat by one of OKC, NYK, CLE, UT and BRK in the future assets that can be attached for team controlled assets.
Personally I just don’t get the lack of love for Siakam from the league the same way I don’t get the lack of love for Domas. This has been an all nba talent for 4 or 5 years now. Can there be some ball stopping sure but i’d argue less so for a player of his caliber than the majority of his ilk. He can be thrown anywhere defensively, immediately helps our rim protection and perimeter defense. He gives us a proper scoring punch where he can be sole option on units. He can play in transition and in the halfcourt to equal effect crucial to our strengths. I could see some scary cutting potential and or open threes from his penetration. Ive also always thought he is a better passer than the initial impression.
Add the context of his expiring and you are paying 50 cents on the dollar for this caliber of player. If he does re-sign you’ve garnered a All NBA talent for half the price. Monte and co have to take the temperature of his viability extending, but two firsts and and contracts that arent in your top 4 in priorities has a lot going for it.
I don’t disagree with what you said. Monte just needs to weigh the options and potential cap issues with signing him. Fox/Domas/Siakam (if re-signed) would equate to roughly $120 million on the cap. Add in Monk at ~$20 million, that is 4 guys for $140 million. Luckily the Kings have some cheaper value contracts with Murray/Lyles/Ellis/Jones/Sasha, etc.
If the trade was HB/KH and a 1st (might need a filler contract to match), I wouldn’t hate it.
Could be Mitchell.
Mitchell doesn’t move the needle much for me. He has moments of solid play, and the rest is usually not that great.
Perfect for a filler contract, then.
Siakim doesn’t address the team’s weaknesses and doesn’t fit with Domas. So you’re giving up a first for this and having to sign him at 30 years old to a $200 million contract…no thanks. Monster contracts for Fox, Domas and Siakim as your core is getting you nowhere fast.
How about instead, taking flyers on undervalued players who may just need a change of scenery to pop. Players that won’t cost an arm and a leg. There’s a lot of undervalued 4’s that can theoretically fit next to Domas, go after them MM.
I hope Siakim gets traded soon elsewhere, the OG and Siakim trade scenarios to Sac have been annoying for a long time now.
which undervalued ?
It’s only year two for this core. So on paper, there’s no reason to rush things. Sabonis is only 27. Fox is 26. Murray is 23. But young playoff teams don’t always get better. Sometimes, they get surpassed. Is that already happening? The Thunder look like the better team, and they clearly have a brighter future. Could the Mavericks, Pelicans, or Rockets make the leap next?
The Kings fan base has suffered for so long. Ownership should strive for more than just a cute story and a playoff participant. They should be ambitious with their assets and pursue a championship before the opportunity is gone.
These were the most important paragraphs from KOC’s article for me. The playoffs last year after such a long drought were awesome, but the ultimate goal is to win a championship. Windows can close out of nowhere with the amount of talent in the leage and it also just takes an injury (see CWebb) for a core’s window to close.
I think the window is open right now to make the Finals with the right moves at the trade deadline. It could just be a few fringe moves to address lack of athleticism and size, doesn’t have to be a homerun move.
Two years from now the window could be closed for all we know with this core given how good and continually improving the West is.
The time is now.
Assuming the decision to trade is based on; what a player is worth on your roster vs. what a player is worth to another team, (what they’ll give up), I can’t help wonder if Malik Monk isn’t playing his way out of Sacramento much the way Tyrese did. Monk may be more desirable than Huerter at this point, certainly should be, and with every stellar performance, he becomes more expensive to re-sign. A trade centered around Siakam for MM would make sense as expiring for expiring. I know it seems unthinkable…
IMO adamsite’s idea of working something out for Jalen Smith is something to look at. He could be a really good fit next to Sabonis. Great rebounder and protects the weakside rim really well. Can score but probably as a fifth option doesn’t have to score 20. He has a good upside and motor. Already can play but has tons of time to improve at his age.
Got to keep Monk. Period.
Couldn’t the Kings trade Monk and simply try and re-sign him this summer?
Trade him in conference and he can spy and sabotage for us in the playoffs before we re-sign him this summer!
If you trade a player you can’t re-sign them for a calendar year.
I think this is a great question and some really good points made. It comes down to how you see this team and what the ultimate goal is.
For me, after seeing the losses to Portland, Charlotte, 2 to Houston, and 2 to New Orleans…changes need to be made to make a real run. The Kings are a decent team, but will never make the next milestone with this current roster. Therefore, they must take chances and risks.
I would go all out – everyone is available except Fox, Sabonis, Murray, Monk, and Lyles.
Barnes, Huerter, 1st for Siakam (or Barnes and Davion and a 2nd for Grant)
Edwards and a 2nd for Thybulle
Davion and Len for a younger useful center
Fox, Thybulle, Murray, Siakam, Sabonis with Monk, Lyles, New Big, Keon/Jones, Edwards, Vazenkov, McGee would keep most of our offense while upgrading our defense and switch-ability.
Edwards and a 2nd for Thybulle? Pretty sure Portland says not to that. Edwards is a fringe NBA player, and 2nd round picks are a dime a dozen.
How about Huerter, Davion, 1st and a swap/2nd rounders for Lauri Markkanen? Might take another piece as well. Think he is better than Siakam and Grant. The problem is Utah really has no need to trade him, so getting them to do so would be a challenge.
I would take Markkanen over Siakam any day of the week.
I would as well but so would the rest of the league. If Lauri hits the market, I can think of 4 suitors that would likely pursue him that immediately beats us in any offer. We are trying to thread a very small needle hole in regards to our aspirations. Can’t touch our three best players (maybe 4 in regards to Monk) and have little in future assets? And in the FA realm a lack of space in an historically unattractive market. All leads me to the question what is the likely better chance to acquire an All NBA player in this teams cycle than this.
Yeah, the market for Lauri would heat up quickly and the Kings are not in a prime asset position to get him.
Siakam is probably more easily attainable, the retaining him would be the gamble.
Again IMO we don’t have to go after a top prospect like Siakam or Markkanen. Theyn would cost too much if ever and would greatlly hamper in other trades ot free agents in the near future. IMO we start with 2n tier really good players especially defensive players but have offense as well. IMO 2 players would do the trick. One need is a PF. Names come to mind are Tari Eason, Jalen Smith and PJ Washington. All are young can defend, rebound and protect the weakside rim. The other is a good defensive SG. Those I think would fit are Caruso, Okoro, Thybulle or Dort. Any of these are really good defensive players who could guard multiple positions. All are also have an offense and high motor. Any of these names fit Monty’s timeline other than Caruso. I added him because he is one of the top defenders in the league. All PF’s are an upgrade over Barnes and SG’s play much better defense than Huerter which we reallt need. If possible keep Barnes out of the equation as he would be a good bachup to Murray or the PF. Thee 5 players who I would keep are Fox, Sabonis, Murray, Monk and Lyles. All others to me are tradeable.
I posted my thoughts earlier, but after thinking about it more, I don’t see the biggest risk being Siakam walking. When we drafted Sabonis, all the talking heads could focus on was how we were renting an all-star who wouldn’t stay. But as soon as he met Kings fans and the team started winning with him, he was all in. Exact same thing with Webber.
I see the same situation with Siakam. Players love the support the of the fans and winning is mostly why they are playing the game. If the Kings don’t win with him, then it means it wasn’t a good match and you move on, hopefully with a sign and trade.
The biggest risk by far is what we would have to give up to get him. Unless we really backslide over the next couple of years, draft picks are not going to be as valuable to us as they have been in the past because they are out of the lottery. So I’m okay with one or even two picks.
What players we have to give up is where it becomes dicey. Barnes is almost a no-brainer because we would be replacing him with Siakam. Yes, he is beloved. Yes, he is valuable. But ultimately, he is replaceable. Huerter is probably the biggest loss if we trade him because we either promote Monk to starter, hurting the bench, or we start one of our other wings who honestly haven’t shown a lot.
I’d probably still do the deal of Barnes, Kevin, and one of even two firsts because we would be really tough to stop at 1,3,4, and 5. But I would hope we immediately started to look for another 2 guard if we did the deal.
Hahahaha! That would be ironic and horrifyingly funny. Like, at that point, Brown just goes, okay forget playing defense just score 150 a night.
Play some 5-out with Fox, Monk, Buddy, Keegan, and Lyles!
Adding Buddy would drag our defense down to “league worst” in just 4 games.
If the Kings can bring in Siakam at a similar offensive efficiency to what he’s had with Toronto, he would equal the scoring of both Huerter and Barnes on the same or fewer shots. So any guard that replaces Huerter in the starting lineup would not need to be a scorer. Finding a good defensive wing along with the upgrade of Siakam’s defense could be a big boost. The Kings wouldn’t be a team that lives and dies by the 3 with that starting lineup.
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