The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported on Tuesday that the Sacramento Kings are among the team pursuing Damian Lillard in a trade. And not in the natural “phone calls were made” sense, but in the sense that the Kings are listed as one of the more aggressive teams in the chase.
Few team executives expect a Dame deal to happen this offseason. But multiple front-office sources say the Heat, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, and Sixers have recently been the most aggressive suitors.
But before you start ordering a custom Lillard Kings jersey, it’s worth considering whether it would make sense for the Kings to acquire Lillard. First, consider the cost. From KOC:
Front-office executives say that if the Blazers eventually move Lillard, they can expect a return rivaling or surpassing what the Nets gave up for James Harden: multiple young players, plus three first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps.
The Kings would certainly be giving up one or both of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton to acquire Lillard. The Kings would also need to include essentially their entire draft present and future, along with other pieces to make salaries match.
None of this to say that a player of Lillard’s caliber isn’t worth that price, but it’s a question of whether that would make any sense for the Kings. Lillard is unhappy in Portland because the team hasn’t been able to successfully build a true championship contender. The Kings are simply hoping the make the playoffs, and losing young talent and draft picks would hamstring the team’s ability to continue to build around Lillard.
Could a core of Lillard, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes make the playoffs? Lillard is good enough that it isn’t out of the question. But nobody is going to confuse that for a title team.
Lillard, of course, has a hefty new extension that is about to kick in, meaning whoever trades for him has him under contract for four years. And Lillard is just 31 years old, meaning he’s likely to remain productive for the majority if not all of his contract. But we also know that stars wield their influence in this league regardless of the years remaining on a contract. Like it or not, if Lillard was unhappy the Kings wouldn’t have four years to get their act together.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Kings do end up acquiring Lillard, but I appreciate that Monte McNair is aggressively pursuing trade opportunities. If a star is available, the Kings should absolutely do everything they can to explore those opportunities.
Can I be the first to say, hahahaha. There is almost nothing that we could give unless we trade the whole team and a decades worth of first rounders.
Sounds like just the situation Dame wants to be in.
Would likely result in the quickest trade demand in the history of the nba
Lol, exactly. I have to assume Monte knows that which is why I believe this has to be Vivek.
We have been interviewing those major draftees, and this news comes all in a sudden….you can’t tell Vivek is not doing something behind the scene.
Receipts, please.
For once.
excuse me…Andy
I don’t exactly get it, and what’s that mean ?
If Ranadive is doing something behind the scenes in regard to the Kings’ involvement in these highly-speculative trade discussions, what is it? Have you seen or read something to lend credence to the assertion? If so, may the rest of us see it?
I understand that the way you worded it leaves Grand Canyon-sized gaps that permit “that’s not what I said!” as a legitimate out, so there’s no sense banging away at it.
But isn’t that kind of paranoia just exhausting? If the trade happens, and the Kings give up a ton of assets, that will be Vivek’s fault. If the trade doesn’t happen with Portland, it will be because Ranadive is too in love with Buddy Hield to pull the trigger.
The man has his fingers in a lot of things, too many when it comes to basketball operations. There are plenty of examples to cite. It seems to me that McNair’s offseason shows a GM who is aggressively looking into potential opportunities to make big moves. 95% of his job is to put the organization in a place where it can be prepared to improve, whether that’s via draft, free agency, or trades, and so far, McNair appears to be laying the groundwork for the Kings to be nimble when the iron is hot.
If Ranadive hired McNair, and still has his hands in everything from office supplies to trades & drafting, then I suppose he should get the credit for the astute positioning that McNair appears to be guiding. I don’t actually believe that, but I’m also not prepared to take a big blame dump on Ranadive if we don’t land Damian Lillard for Hield and a bunch of second-rounders.
This is way more credit that McNair deserves for merely being involved in two trade rumors, one of which is completely unrealistic.
I mean, I hope they actually improve the team, and I appreciate the effort. But I’m not going to give a bunch of credit for nothing actually happening.
Have any receipts to show the astute positioning McNair is orchestrating?
What has changed?
Yeah this wreaks of a futile “win now” mentality which has led us to wade in mediocrity for the last 8 years since Vivek took over. Dame is in the heart of his prime and needs to go to a team with a championship window, not carry a decimated Kings roster (once the trade is completed it’ll just be Dame v the world) to an 8th seed. He’s the kind of superstar talent ala Kawhi, KD, etc. that I would be willing to trade the house for in a vacuum, but in the context of this team and what would be left once we acquired him, i just don’t think it makes sense. We need to develop this team properly like the Grizzlies, Pistons, Suns, etc. Take a few years of basement dwelling, stock up on some high-level prospects on the Fox-Hali timeline, and build a young, well-rounded roster that will have years of gelling together into a contender alongside the proper coaching. A Dame trade just feels like a faulty get-good-quick scheme that just doesn’t sound like it’ll be sustainable long-term, nor have any incredible short-term results. And then in a couple years we lose Dame in free agency and we’re back here at square one when instead we could be heading into regular playoff contention with a 26 and 25 year old Fox-Hali. If this is where those two universes split, I want to be in the latter.
Also, how embarrassing is it that it truly seems the highest aspirations Vivek has for this team is a flash in the pan season which gets us to the playoffs? The streak has absolutely sucked for 15 long years, but that doesn’t mean we’ll all suddenly feel better because we get a single feel good season before bottoming out for another decade. Just follow the small-market blueprint that Memphis and Phoenix has laid out and give us a vision we can all get behind for once god dammit!
Lillard is a great player. He needs a team around him to win- a very good team. Look at Portland- not a bad team at all but they have not won. The goal is to win- something, anything at this point.
Any wild trade for Lillard or even Simmonds guarantees the opposite. Suns had some players, added a few astute FA’s and then got CP3 on the relative cheap.
Kings are not in a position to “make that one big last deal” They need all the draft assets for now.
Patience. .
Agreed 100%. Dame is a last-push-over-the-top type talent. The Kings are, um…. not near the top….
Well, we should probably step back and find a little perspective here. Since Lillard’s rookie seasons the Blazers have made the playoffs 8 straight seasons and have reached the 2nd round twice and the conference finals once. They haven’t won the whole thing but overall they’ve been very successful with Lillard.
Suns, Nets, Clippers have not won as much as Blazers in the last 8 years ! What does that even mean ! Only one NBA Champion per year ! If Kings could ever reach the Blazers level of not winning it would be awesome !
Haha I also agree which is why I don’t think trading for another Webber is a good move. There is no way a true star comes here and just silently plays out his contract.
See: Hill, George, fo example.
F*ck that guy
Sooooo, the solution is to never have a true star? Literally, the only way for the Kings to solve this issue to become an attractive place for top players to play. The way you do that is by acquiring high level talent and having success. Without that there isn’t any reason to think a guy like Fox is any more likely to “just silently play out his contract” than a guy you trade for like Lillard is.
It seems like Lillard’s unhappy about Portland not being good enough. He’d almost certainly be unhappy w/the Kings, who’d have a much worse supporting cast for him. Trading for a superstar like Lillard would only make sense once the Kings have a better supporting cast.
I’ve already said I agreed Lillard isn’t a good target. But the idea of avoiding trading for a “star” at a reasonable price when you have a chance (ala Webber) because they might not want to stay is just a recipe for remaining in the gutter.
I don’t know if it’s the best hyperbole ever to say exactly that, I don’t think fox will silently collect checks here if this keeps going at this pace either.
I think we are stuck in the vortex of suck because we have been boxed in by a blind chess player. Every way we go except nuclear tear down and tanking for a few years leads us to the same thing¦31 wins.
Lillard and no one else on this team but spare parts¦31 wins and picking 9-11.
Petrie gets a lot of shit for the end of the era fire sale maloofs bullshit. But I’ll say it here now and wear it. THE MALOOFS WERE BETTER OWNERS. There i said it. They are still shitbags who I have wished death upon but honestly they let Petrie Petrie for a long ass time and we got a taste of what proper roster construction looks like. We kept the team but lost that the second ð¤ð¼-con saved the day like Thanos in endgame.
I know I’m not saying anything you don’t know and I know you empathize with we are all in this level of crap because of it.
But mark my words here and now Webber was before his time with trade demands and not showing up. We also had Iron Man aka Adelman to smooth over the bullshit and he had a rep as a great coach. Imagine Webber coming here now, unproven GM, historic losing streak almost twice in one season, a coach that will have a hard time getting an assistant coach job once he’s fired, and an overbearing owner who will kiss his ass but not give him what he really wants, wins. That star in 2021 will hear about the trade on Twitter and announce he’s not coming and sitting out with his new found knee injury a la Kawahi. And ð¤ð¼-con would let them because hey we let the players do whatever in sac.
The Kangz are royally fucked pun intended.
Also sorry about the double marvel references watched Black Widow with my son tonight and that’s all he can talk about.
I love Dame, but it makes absolutely no sense for the Kings to be pursuing him.
I’m guessing at a minimum it’d be Fox and a ton of first rounders to make the deal work.
So Dame comes here with basically nothing around him and he’s worse off than he was in Portland. I’m sure he’ll be happy under that scenario.
This reeks of Vivek. I just don’t think Monte is dumb enough to even consider this.
I’d be pretty excited to build out from a Lillard-Haliburton backcourt.
But with what though? We would have zero assets to trade for another quality piece in all likelihood.
Well, to start with – with Lillard and Haliburton. We still have future draft assets that can be used, and I think HB has more value now in trade. If McNair is competent, I would assume building a winner around Lillard-Haliburton would be somewhat easier than building it around Fox-Haliburton.
Honestly though, my preference is still to deal Fox in a trade for Simmons. Realistically, the Kings have much more of a chance to be a third-party facilitator in deals for these players than to land them directly.
WHY ?
Lillard is already 31/32…….with a huge contract left…….and you are telling me we need to give up Hali/Fox, that’s should be NO WAY……….
I mean, the FO should go after Simmons…(who fits more the timeline, and we might not necessarily give up one of Fox/Hali)
Please don’t do such silly trade……
Don’t worry. This deal ain’t going to happen. The Kings just got mentioned as one of the suitors but that is all to it.
Moving on..
This deal ain’t happening, but making Fox or Haliburton untouchable for a Lillard deal is laughable.
Why are we so frightened of elite talent?
As KOC’s article states, a trade centered around CJ and Simmons makes too much sense for both teams and players. I could see CJ taking his game to another level playing P&R with Joel. The Kings should be looking at teams like Port and Philly and trying to see how they can get in on a trade as a third team facilitator, both Port and Philly have solid, young rotational players we should be in on.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/7/20/22584360/damian-lillard-trade-portland-trail-blazers-ben-simmons
I feel like if that was going to be the deal it would have already happened. It’s obvious to everyone, so the teams have probably had that discussion.
If Lillard were 27, I think long and hard about meeting damned near any offer the Blazers put out there. He’s been healthy, but the “just 31” felt like the dreamiest bright side of bright sides.
And as you say, who is going to pass Lillard the ball if the cupboard gets emptied?
Yeah, I love Lillard, but it’s pretty hard to see how they acquire Lillard and still have enough talent or assets to build a decent team around him.
Small PG’s tend not to age well, guys like CP3 being the exception. A year or two into that four year deal and you may have a broken player on your hands.
Lillard’s last two years were his best. And you look at what Chris Paul is doing in Phoenix. I think he’s a guy to aggressively pursue.
This flat out puts Lillard in a worse spot than he wants out of, with very little chance of short term improvement.
End of story, this.
The Kings are 100% going to make a shortsighted all in move that will ultimately fail. It’s the destiny of a Vivek led team. We don’t have the assets to trade for a Simmons or Lillard so it’ll be someone less talented than Vivek is convinced will get the team into the play-in tournament.
I don’t even know why I get my hopes up with this team.
Just to add to this but it’s funny to me that the Kings are chasing all-star talent but spent the last year doing nothing but chasing the 10th seed. It would have made more sense to trade players and gain assets that you could use in future trades rather than hope that some team is going to talk itself into Buddy, Bagley, and the 10th pick.
This the 3rd straight front office that seems to be wondering around aimlessly trying to chase a 10th/8th seed. That’s clear sign that there is a failure in leadership at the top.
Good point.
Having said that, I think the FO is either looking to join a Portland-Philadelphia trade as the third team, or just making nnoise for the sake of making noise.
We don’t have the assets to trade for a Simmons or Lillard so it’ll be someone less talented than Vivek is convinced will get the team into the play-in tournament.
John Wall? he is a Kentucky guy after all. May be bring back his buddy Boogie as well.
All this tells me is that everytime a star becomes available, the kings will be calling. We just don’t have the assets to play with the big boys.
This is on the nose.
Yep, if the Kings want to pursue high level talent, they have to be looking at guys who’s value may be depressed for one reason or another.
Yup. Rather than hire a real coach and set up a real FO structure that keeps the dumbass owner out of it, and build around Hali/Fox,they continue to try to avoid reality and land a magic bullet.
Sure we do. Fox plus future first(s) gets you pretty deep in most conversations.
Not liking trading Fox unless the Kings clearly win the trade. Like two very good prospects and two unprotected firsts
“Winning” a trade is more of a fantasy basketball idea.
Congratulations Monte, the Fanbase now thinks you’re doing an awesome job. You’ve discovered the key to longevity in Sacramento.
I think the key to longevity in Sacramento is the same as it has been in national politics. Just agree and run with every crazy thing the boss says and does.
Exactly. Logic, reason and reality be damned. Ruin the team, country…shoot yourself in the foot. Idiots.
There is no deal to be made here. But when you’re 15 years into a playoff drought and the face of your franchise is a mid-tier point guard, you place the call.
Exactly right.
Mid tier now but could be top 5 in a couple of years.
How to piss off your one star (Fox) in one easy lesson. To even let this get out is franchise malpractice. Lillard would be miserable on a losing team. Bad teams don’t trade away future first rounders. This is bad news on so many levels.
Fox is the best player on a bad basketball team. He’s not a star, at least not yet. His current level of achievement puts him in Kings-era Reggie Theus or Tyreke Evans range. Love the kid, but his growth has not kept pace with the Trae Youngs or Ja Morants of the world. I doubt that he is a top 10-12 NBA PG as of 7/20/21.
Thanks Rob. It gets tiring seeing King’s fans label Fox something he is not.
The Kings record with Fox as a “star” speaks for itself that in reality Fox is not a star. You could throw Cousins in as an example as well. Always labeled a star and franchise player but we never had a winning season with him.
A true star will get you to at least around .500 even with a bad supporting cast.
Ehhh, I think he is pretty firmly in the top 10-12 PG range
Steph, Lillard, Luka, Kyrie, Trae, Paul, Holiday (maybe) are 7 clearly above him and you would trade straight up for (Not taking account age and contract)
From there you Morant (Great postseason, so so season), Westbrook, Conley, Murray, Sexton, Brogdan, Ball. Maybe 2-3 of those you would trade straight up for Fox, but not all of them. At least in my mind.
Arguing whether someone is “a Star” is such a fruitless subjective argument from person to person. Is he good enough to be the best or second best player on a very good team, is the real question. So far that answer is no, but he is 23 and on a shit team (maybe his fault?).
Under this guise, is Beal not “a star” when Wall goes down and they miss playoffs two years in a row with him as lead dog but he averages 27 and 6? They get Westbrook and make playoffs, does that make him a star again?
Devin Booker’s teams sucked for 5 years and basically people said the same type of stuff, being said about Fox on here. Now all of a sudden people are calling him a star and how he ranks amongst best shooting guards. Well their team got better…while Booker improved Chris Paul is the biggest reason for that.
As of right now I would say Fox could be the best or more likely second best player on a good team. Never had one around him, so hard to say. Whether that makes him “a star” will vary greatly by each person.
Using Westbrook as an example, I don’t trade Fox for him based on age and (hopefully) untapped potential, but as of right now Fox does not sniff Westbrook’s jock. I wouldn’t trade him for CP3, but Paul is better and by a wide margin.
There is upside there for sure, but right now Fox is looking up at a lot of PGs. And he’d have to squint pretty hard to see Lillard.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s much use in categorizing players by listed position. At the very least we should be comparing them based on common roles (ie, primary ball handler). Otherwise were splitting them up based on height rather than actual on-court impact.
Fair enough. Open it up to primary ball handler and he probably drops another couple of spots.
Bottom line, if Fox remains the player that he was last season for the next five years, the Kings are saddled with a bad contract. The hype around Fox is based on the player that we hope he becomes, not the player that he currently is.
Agreed. He definitely need to make a leap or two to be a guy that’s you going to be happy paying $30MM+.
I would say a decent number of advanced stats would counter that Westbrook example and they are more in the same jock sniffing territory…but Paul I obviously agree with.
Fox’s value as an asset diminishes a bit now that his salary is bumping to the $30 million average category this season.
De’Aaron – if you cut those nine-game losing streaks into 3-6, or hell, even 2-7, you know we’re in an entirely different position – Fox?
I think more and more that he’s fine with being the well-paid star of a small, unasuming franchise with low expectations, a friendly media atmosphere and not too critical, loyal fans.
Kinda tired of seeing this…what about the statement isn’t true?
What is the context in which he is stating this? End of the season interviews, giving synopsis of the season. Recognizing every team has highs and lows is just facts, unless your a top notch championship contender…which Fox and anyone with a brain knows the Kings aren’t. Maybe he is a reason for that…maybe not.
He is getting at the fact that they need not to have such sustained lows to go with those highs. Acknowledging this fact, isn’t the same as saying he is fine with 3-6 streaks or doesn’t want to win. Simply identifying that as a next step in the team’s maturation and development does not make him some kind of loser or loser mentality. He obviously has to go out and prove it with Tyrese and be part of that solution (defensively)…but recognizing they can’t have those extended lulls and let a streak snowball in the season isn’t a sign of weakness.
If he came out end of the year and said my goal is to win 65 games next year and never lose back to back games, we would fucking laugh our asses off at him and question him for being delusional…ala Marvin wanting to be MVP rookie year.
The statement is in my view a player who has bought into the belief that reaching the play-in would be an achievement. A player that doesn’t feel the drive and urge to say, “shit, a nine game losing streak is embarassing and unacceptable, let alone two. No excuses. We need to be an 8th seed at the very least.”
I can’t be happy with the mindset a person has to have to say this, and imply that you were close to reaching a goal instead of accepting accoutability and say that the team was just not good enough, that your defense was horrioble, that the two losing streaks were awful, instead of explaining them away with this weak shit.
He didn’t say “Hey 9 game losing streaks happen, not much you can do about that”…your argument basically pins him as saying it in this fashion, not what he actually said.
How is he not taking/identifying responsibility exactly as you described? I mean I can take one quote and say this shows he knows it’s on him and he gets the big picture. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. Oftentimes one quote doesn’t mean a ton, without a subsequent pattern of behavior.
I just think taking a single quote and twisting into projecting him as some sort of guy with no drive who is happy losing is a bit much. He’s improved each year but, if you feel the rest of his game or perceived character flaws have been exposed over 4 years beyond this one quote, then so be it. I just don’t see that yet.
I think for me it was the comment. Plus the fact that right or wrong I want the guy to have that killer instinct. If he’s gonna be a star or lift this team to new heights he almost has to.
he’s a nice guy and not advocating for him to be the vocal leader or some bullshit. That has to come naturally.
But as much as it pains me to use this comparison I want a Kobe or a Jordan or Rodman. That insane honing of their craft like a basketball samurai. As well as the complete revulsion to losing. No justifications ever. Which is what his comment sounded like. Hey we were close. Close to what? Getting blown out vs the warriors in the play in?
Agreed, it’s been way overblown. I don’t care much for what he said, but I don’t think it means that Fox is either content or not competitive.
I think Fox is a competitive guy, compared to your average human being. Compared to upper tier NBA players? Not so much
He didn’t seem upset about the season, bottom line. Nor did much of anyone in the org, from what I’ve seen.
I want to see Slamson get so upset at another losing season that he eats someone.
There are plenty of reasons not to pursue Lillard. Being worried about Fox’s feelings is not one of them.
Sort of staying in the same Fox trade vein, would a basic trade of Fox and filler to Philly for Simmons and filler work? Could a team with Hali and Simmons as the top 2 work in Sac?
Marginally better at best. Maybe that’s a 10 seed instead of a 12 seed? I think ownership would see that as basically the NBA championship, but that’s a separate issue.
We’ve talked quite a bit about that. The short story is that I think it’s easier to build a good team from a base of Haliburton/Hield/Simmons/Barnes than it is to build from a base of Fox/Haliburton/Hield/Barnes. IMO, Simmons huge advantages as a rebounder and elite multi-positional defender (arguably the two things the Kings need most) more than makes up for the Fox’s scoring advantage. If they were able to turn around and, say, use the #9+ to acquire a 3-and-D C, you have a team with the talent to be in the top 10 on both ends of the court. Adding the same guy to the Fox set, IMO, give you roughly the same level of offense, but not nearly the defense.
But really, ultimately, the question regardless of whether you focus on Fox or trade him for Simmons is, “what’s the rest of the plan?”
It’s interesting how often the “F your feelings” crowd screeches about suffering from agonizing butthurt.
Well, they never said “F MY feelings.” Just yours.
You’re assuming the Kings are the ones who let this information out, which seems unlikely. The Kings can’t control if other teams are leaking things to the media. The only way to 100% avoid a report that the Kings are looking at Lillard would be to not look at Lillard. And THAT would be malpractice.
They could say publicly that Fox is untradeable, with a wink to DMC and George Karl.
BREAKING: Kings trade Fox for DeMarcus Cousins and George Karl.
Lilard, Fox, Haliburton … the rest of the roster will fill out cause players would want to join,
At least the Kings are asking, it’s start even if it’s a pipedream. The L*kers pull this crap all the time. Offer 3 1st Rnd picks (garbage) and some overhyped role player. 2 months later the star player is demanding their team accept the trade or name the team’s owner mistresses and poof the trade happens.
Fox &/or Hali would go to Portland in a Lillard trade.
And Portland has had little success with players who want to join.
I like Monte being aggressive. Just don’t think they have the ammo to get it done.
Well, they do, but don’t think they could outbid OKC.
LOL. I never tire of this meme.
So we can just trade for whoever we want now?
This seems to me more like trying to get in as a 3rd team if Portland decides to blow it up. Lillard to 76ers, Simmons to Kings, multiple picks and young players via Kings and 76ers to Blazers.
I agree with you here. Not necessarily on the framework of the deal, but that the Kings would be a third team in a big deal.
If Portland decides to blow it up, I think it could work, Dame to Philly, Simmons to Sac, a boatload of picks and pickswaps to Portland.
I could also see RoCo going back to Philly, Harris heading to Portland along with Hield, Bags, and spare parts to make salaries match.
Roger Corman?
The Kings would probably get a scrub and ‘cash considerations’ as well as lose their second round draft picks if Vlade was still here!
Kings give up entire roster to get Lillard. Lillard forces trade.
Kings are the Kangz for another two decades.
Regardless if any of the trades happen or not, it’s great to see that we finally have a GM that is trying to make things happen. When was the last time you read an article where the Kings were pursuing a “big name” player? Probably never. So those of you who are so critical of Monte will probably never be happy of anything he does. Basically, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Wouldn’t trade Fox singularly for Lillard, and Im not his biggest fan. Wouldn’t trade Hali, certainly.
Id even prefer Simmons
32 is 32.
More than likely this is Monte peddling the Buddy/Bagley picks poo poo platter which isnt even positive given Buddy’s value and the Blazers are using the Kings name as leverage on other teams under the guise Fox and co are in the deal
Gotta tip my hat to McNair for swing for the fences and hope he has learned the lesson about accumulating assets whenever possible (for example, bogdonavic and Holmes) rather than wasting opportunities. I just don’t see how we are gonna acquire one of these superstars without crippling ourselves for years¦.
What do we think of this Fox trade rolling around the internet. https://www.inquisitr.com/6494008/nba-rumors-knicks-could-acquire-deaaron-fox-for-three-young-play
Eh. I’m not averse to trading Fox in the right deal, but if I’m trading him at this point, I’m going to need high level talent and/or elite draft assets in return. More quality over quantity.
Exactly this. The Kings are not rebuilding and will not rebuild under this GM.
RJ would need to be in any deal with the Knicks
I’m not too interested in moving Fox, but the return suggested here is intriguing. A lot of young talent who’ve shown the ability to create impact at the NBA level, two more selections in this deep draft (Take some fliers! Live a little!), and some icing on the cake for 2023.
I want to see Fox succeed, and succeed in Sacramento. He’s absolutely unique with his speed, size, and athleticism. If this was actually offered, I’d definitely consider it.
Just for the sake of accuracy, Fox is average height for a PG and, unsurprisingly, less than average weight. While his speed and athleticism are absolutely elite, his size is average to below.
In case anyone is curious average heights by position look roughly like this these days:
PG – 6’3
SG – 6’5
SF – 6’7.5
PF – 6’9
C – 6’11
So, that’s a no to the trade discussed in SN’s link?
You can see my response to the trade just above. It’s a quantity trade. I’d prefer quality.
Who cares what POR wants, they are not getting what they want, they get what we are willing to offer or NO deal. With a disgruntled star, they are not in an optimum bargaining position. Why are fans so wanting to accomodate the opposition? My mind works the opposite. How can we exploit the situation to the fullest advantage?
This thread reminds me of the HB rumors before the deadline. It was floated the Celtics wanted Barnes and so fans just started concocting wild dubious offers for unproven young players (Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith) disregarding we had NO interest in moving Barnes, the only respectable wing on the roster. And incorrectly thinking Barnes was overpaid and therefore a player with negative value, a false assessment.
Our GM is NOT trading Fox, his franchise player, his version of Damian with 10 more years of elite basketball before him. He is NOT trading Ty, his ROY pick on a sweet deal. Of course POR would want one or both. Who cares, cant have ’em too bad so sad.
Yet there is this presumption these cornerstones are on the table!? Ridiculous. Then based on a false presumption it is hencefort open season to attack and smear the owner and GM for mismanagement and negligence? Thats not fair and a based on a reality that exists only in your mind.
Our GM is trying to move Bagley and Buddy. POR can have these two guys and picks and swaps. That is the “aggresive pursuit” in my estimation. A former #2 pick they can try to rehab (good luck), a “sharpshooter”, and picks and swaps to rebuild. Our GM is NOT stupid. Hes not trading a 22 year old Fox for a 31 year old Lillard , as great as Lillard is, and he is not trading Ty who had a better rookie season than Fox and will be making peanuts for the next 3 years (4 / 6 / 8).
Lillards contract by the way is insane, set to make almost 50M per year and 200M over 4 seasons. The GM and owner should be commended for willingness to take on such an enormous financial obligation instead of getting derided and mocked. It is OPINION we would be willing to sacrifice Fox and / or Ty, and it is baseless opinion if you have been observing how this GM conducts himself.
His first move as GM was extending Fox, committing to him. Simple and quick max deal, no hemming or hawing or low balling. He established his centerpiece from Day 1. Now he is going to trade that in for a version with 10,000 more miles on him as Fox enter his prime? And after Fox took his game to 28 PPG for most of the season, Dame territory. He’s not a fool! And just like Boston rumors, just because POR wants Fox does not mean we have to cede to their demands.
It is all very simple actually. If you are giving away your future in the form of draft picks and swaps, say from this year to 2028, with picks and swap rights in alternating years for 8 years, then your team better be constructed in a way that you can go deep into the playoffs for at least the next 4-5 years knowing it is going to be hard improve significantly once you pull the trigger and give up ALL cap flexibility and ability to get a prominent player out of the draft. So what POR wants again is irrelevant because it is a question of what the team can do.
The Kings would have to be LOADED post-trade with three elite guards (Ty, Fox, Damian) and then still have pieces along the frontline that enable them to contest for best in the West, to be able beat the Suns and Warriors and Jazz and Clippers. It does not take a brain surgeon to figure this out. You would have to think Vivek and McGenius incredibly myopic and borderline mentally disabled to think they are going to trade for Lillard, give away 1 or 2 of our cornerstone players and have LESS talent than the situation Lillard is currently in, the problematic one he wants out of.
Can’t believe I am saying this Kings4ever…
Agreed. Just wish he/she would stop saying ‘McGenius’ ffs.
While I agree with the gist of the post in general, in regards to this:
I would argue that a team without any all-NBA or even All-Star players that hasn’t made the playoffs or even had .500 season in recent memory doesn’t have any “cornerstones.”
With Hali, I’d say “potential cornerstone” because of what we did see in year 1. Beyond that, absolutely agree.
Unless the idea is to pull a Simmons or Thybulle from Philly as part of a 3 team deal with Portland, then I think this all a dumb idea.
Do not give this any chance and less credibility ! Makes no sense for Dame or the Kings !
This is beyond ridiculous. Lillard will work out a trade with the Blazers through his agent. My guess is that they are already doing so, and Lillard is keeping quiet until the trade is worked out. If the Blazers broached the prospect of a trade to the Kings, one can hear the agent, after about 2 minutes of laughter, responding, you know the first thing Dame will say is that he’s not going to report there. But if you take this seriously at all, McNair would have to get an assurance from Lillard that he would play here, and he wouldn’t get it.
I agree his agent is probably working out the details of the trade. However what agents have done a lot lately is ensure the team trading for the player does not give up too many assets so the player on his new team can immediately compete, otherwise agents and the player have nixed these deals. So yes his agent is involved, he is also telling the Blazers a Kings deal won’t be accepted if Fox & Haliburton are included. He’ll be sticking it to the Blazers for all suitors.
Just Fucking Kangz!
The best time to get Damian Lillard was when he just graduated from Weber State but I digress
Badge Legend