The Sacramento Kings are nearing a deal to sign veteran forward Jae Crowder, according to reports. Shams Charania first reported the news, and James Ham confirmed. The Kings worked out Crowder back in September, but decided not to sign the veteran forward at that time, instead adding Doug McDermott and leaving a roster spot open. Now, at 8-10 and desperate for something to help the get back on track, the Kings will hope Crowder still has something left in the tank.
Akis summarized Crowder well in September:
Last season he played 50 games for the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 23.1 minutes a game. Crowder has been a journeyman for most of his career but has earned a reputation as a gritty 3-and-D player, although his best years are behind him.
The best case scenario here is that Crowder can still provide meaningful minutes, and can add size and toughness to the bench unit. Last season Crowder shot 34.9% from deep, in line with his career average of 34.8%. While it’s not a great percentage, it would currently rank 5th among Kings taking over 1 three pointer per game. Although Crowder had an up and down year with the Bucks last season, the optimistic view is that he was clashing with Doc Rivers and might have had good reason to.
The worst case scenario is that Crowder is at the tail end of his career and can’t contribute in a meaningful way, and the Kings continue on the same course they’ve been on. Crowder could also become a negative presence in the locker room if he’s unhappy in his role.
Given the low acquisition cost and Sacramento’s desperate need for help, it’s a perfectly reasonable risk to take. Here’s hoping it works.
I don’t think it’s going to improve much.
Kings 24-25 season slogan: “It can’t be worse than this!”
Crowder stinks and this stinks of desperation.
That’s all.
The player that we all wanted…four years ago.
Desperation is a stinky cologne.
He’s no Dewayne Dedmon
(Question: Can I resist? Answer: clearly I can not)
Len and Lyles or Crowder?
What could go wrong?
They won’t let Robinson play so there is that as well.
I would rather play Issac Jones. He’s young won”t cost us anymore and I thought he looked good out there. Takes a little time to get adjusted to the game. Monty forget Crowder. Brown play Issac Jones.
Why is it not ok for this team to spend money?
Look at teams that win. They pay. The idea that the Kings must always save money or remain below the cap is sad.
Kings fans are like rats that get electrocuted every time they eat.
To me spending money for a worth while player ok. IMO give the nod to Issac Jones and save the money. 2 million just doesn’t cut it.
So keep the trash because Vivek’s money is what matters.
They are hard capped under the new CBA because of the DeMar S&T. Vet minimums are about all they can do.
They can go over the cap. Many teams have done it. It is not the end of their organization.
They are already over the cap. With Crowder they will be approaching the tax threshold.
Ok, go further over the cap.
Do you care about Vivek’s wallet or having real basketball players in G1?
Monte right now.
They passed on him in the offseason. Yeah, getting desperate now. Maybe Monte can find a good backup head coach too.
And there’s the rub. They tried him out before camp and passed. Now that shit has gone sideways and injuries are a guarantee with the minutes the core is playing, they decide to sign him.
It’s damn near an admission of misjudgment.
He was still available for a reason.
As was Doug McDermott. 😉
True, but at least he’s more well rounded compared to McD, a one trick pony. Jae is a good defender, and rebounder. Or at least was.
Jae has played very good basketball for many years. 50% Jae is better than McDermott and all of the Jones’s combined.
From what I understand, the Kings are currently just over $3.5M below the tax line. The vet minimum for Crowder is just over $2M. I think this means that apart form cutting and stretching anyone else, the Kings cannot sign anyone else this season, even if they opened up another roster spot. Maybe someone with better cap understanding can clarify?
I thought you were our cap expert.
I’m just my cap expert.
Everything I’ve seen talking heads say about sign-and-trades is that the team is then hardcapped at the first apron ($178.1M this season). That is also what cbafaq.com says, but it appears to be not updated anymore.
If they pay a tax they can sign anyone they want to sign.
He is probably done or pissed at people. I like the idea of adding a pissed off personality to this team.
Perhaps, but it could also ruin the locker room.
If someone telling them they suck ruins the locker room that is step one.
Play Issac Jones.
Why?
They can still play him and have Crowder.
Jones is looking better slowly, game by game. Maybe will have to play both Jones as the small ball C, and Crowder gets the PF/SF minutes while both Lyles and Derozan are out. I think it’d be better having Jones play the backup big man, compared to Len. Len isn’t looking too good so far this year, getting burned a lot on D.
We are getting further behind the rest of the NBA. Time to hang on to the guys that have not ever produced in the NBA. We need them. Give them a year or two.
Crowder has been a role player for most of his career and done well with it. His role is not shooting threes and it is not why the Kings need a big.
I welcome a big with open arms and an open mind.
more than half of his shot attempts are threes, so that is part of his role.
When did he play for the Kings?
What is his role as a King?
Any big?
Who is Ant? If it is the Ant the world sees playing basketball yes please. The guy in the picture is hurt. He cannot do anything now.
Hmm…the Wizards’ box score for their game last night shows Marvin playing about 3 minutes. Does that change your thinking or do you mean anybody but Bagley?
You wrote Ant then you edited it. Who is Ant?
There is an Ant that is pretty damn good. I don’t follow the Wizards last I saw he was hurt. You generally speak in lyrics so I honestly asked the question.
Wtf is any body but bagley?
We talking basketball or are you writing poems?
Ah, almost immediately editing an obvious typo is not allowed (Ant vs Any).
My question about “anybody but Bagley” is in reference to your comment “…I welcome a big with open arms and an open mind.” Were you not “talking basketball”?
I was talking about basketball. Glad you changed it but at the time it made no sense unless you were talking about Ant. My comment you replied to was definitely about basketball. I welcome a big here with open arms and an open mind. We need a big so with open arms I accept one. We need any big, so with an open mind instead of a narrow view of what that player is.
How does “anybody but Bagley” relate to anything I have said?
You have a poem buried in there somewhere?
??? And somehow we agree about so much ????
There must be an attempt at a joke in there somewhere. Next time I guess?
By my rough calculations the proposed signing of Crowder would put the Kings close to top 5 oldest team in the league. They were already the 9th oldest in the league.
To quote Vlade, “Superteam just,
youngold.”Losing veterans,
IMO if you are going to spend money get an up and coming young player with potential. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure that one out.
Always an unknown up and coming young player for cheap.
Why not a known veteran that is cheap as well?
Should we get a young player that needs three years to win now?
When would you prefer we win?
How have the best teams done it?
What do the worst teams have in common?
Fun fact: Crowder is a year younger than DeMar DeRozan
Wow this feels like the old Kangz, signing washed up vets and giving them a bunch of minutes to watch them suck.
Where’s our player development ever been, teams like Golden State or Miami turn G-league studs into solid role players or better.
Who has Miami and Golden State pulled out of the G leagues as “studs”?
When the Kings played the Jazz a few weeks back, I thought about how well John Collins would have fit on the team. Shoots the three, rebounds and has the size that’s needed at the four. Start him, Keegan at the 3, DDR at the two, Fox at guard, with Sabonis in the middle. If that’s your starting five, you have pretty good size all around. DDR would be a tough guard for a typical 2 and Keegan is better at the 3. So the big question has to be, why didn’t they go after him harder? He was available and for not much more than Barnes, Huerter and doing something about the pick. There are a good half dozen of these scenarios where players fit a position of need for the Kings, and then they watched them get traded or sign elsewhere.
The Hawks were giving Collins away. Kings could have had him and didn’t. Looks really bad now because he’s playing great and is exactly what this roster is missing.
And many people here were clamoring for Collins for a long time.
Yup. The running idea was Huerter and Lyles for Collins. Works perfectly salary wise. I was hesitant on giving up that much then, but could rationalize it. Now, I’d do that deal in a heartbeat.
LOL.
Just LOL.
Monte is in way over his head and has nobody to blame but himself.
Wouldn’t it be nice not to be dumpster diving for the 3/4 that EVERYONE knew they needed for the last 2 years?
It’s really amazing.
Are we so smart or are they so stupid?
I try to operate under the assumption that I’m mostly an idiot. Fans as a whole should not be smarter than the front office.
And yet, here we are discussing issues that we have been identifying collectively for quite some time and the FO apparently hasn’t …
I thought the leftovers came after Thanksgiving.
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