There are aren't that many players out there that you can count on to impact ball movement in a worthwhile way.
Agreed that we desperately need more passing/better ball movement. Udoka regularly talks about ball movement. Tatum and Brown are score-first players. We gotta find a player who excels at moving the ball. Here are some realistic(?) targets:
- Simmons (not sure whether we can actually get him, but he's definitely available)
- Kyle Anderson
- TJ McConnell
- Tyus Jones
- Satoransky (his efficiency has plummeted this season, although the Pels are terrible in general)
- Delon Wright (he's having a poor season too)
- Rubio (I'm a fan of his game, but he's overpaid. I wouldn't touch him on his current contract.)
My targets would have been Simmons >>> Kyle Anderson > Satoransky, Delon Wright
And here are some unrealistic targets:
- CP3
- Luka
- Haliburton
- Conley
- Ingles
- Draymond Green
Fwiw,
- We could have traded for CP3 when he was in OKC. I bet he would have transformed us into a legit contending team. Gimme Tatum + Brown over Booker + Ayton. That said, the Suns have two great role players in Mikal Bridges and Crowder.
- We could have traded up for Haliburton in last year's draft. I bet the Kings view him as a future All-Star. Imo, he will never become an All-Star. He ain't explosive enough to beat his opponent 1-on-1, hence he cannot consistently create his own shot. Hopefully, he'll become available going forward if he fails to meet Sacramento's (unrealistic?) expectations.
- "We could have traded for CP3 when he was in OKC" --> based on what provable fact and for what package or are you just passing off your speculation/opinion as fact?
- "We could have traded up for Haliburton in last year's draft." --> again, based on what provable fact and for what package or are you just passing off your speculation/opinion as fact?
genuinely curious if you actually have something to back up those statements which would be good information to know how they had an option on the table and punted on it.
It's just my opinion. Feel free to disagree. Haliburton got drafted at #12. We had #14, #26, #30 and #47. It's reasonable to assume we could have traded up for him. For instance, the Suns selected Jalen Smith at #10 which was considered a massive reach. I bet we could have traded up for #10.
CP3 was considered a negative asset at the time cause of his massive contract. I fully believe we could have acquired him on the cheap either in 2019 or in 2020. Again, just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.
my point here would be it's easy to second guess the opportunities that were available but it's just assumptions that Sac was willing to move down (or the Suns). if they wanted Halliburton, why would they move down? if the Suns wanted Smith, take him when you can get him. I hoped they'd be able to consolidate those picks to move up but that didn't come to pass for whatever reason. Hoped they would have done the same in the 2016 with all those picks that they had no room for which resulted in draft-and-stash picks that were essentially wasted assets.
CP3 as you stated required a trade and he had a massive contract. what players would have needed to be traded that not only matched salary but would be enticing enough for OKC to make a deal? We had Kemba those years so it was pointless to make that deal without including him going. no way the team trades a high-profile FA signing right after they inked the deal not to mention his health wasn't a known concern at the time of the signing so no need to move him. that's just not realistic scenario for acquiring CP3.
Agree to disagree. Kemba had plenty of issues with his left knee while playing with the Hornets. He had surgeries to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Just because he didn't want to miss games, it doesn't mean he was healthy. After all, he had plenty of time to recover. In his 8 years with the Hornets, he never made it past the first round in the playoffs. Danny should have known better.
Are you seriously questioning whether we should have traded Kemba for CP3 if/when given the chance? If I recall correctly, quite a few posters wanted us to swap Kemba + pick(s) for CP3 in 2020 prior to the Suns trade. We could have also traded for him in 2019 when he was in Houston. He was considered a negative asset at the time. Like you said, most posters were concerned about the optics of trading Kemba.
If the Kings were locked in on Haliburton, it's possible they would have kept their pick. This is why I mentioned the Suns. Jalen Smith was a massive reach at #10. Nobody expected him to be a lotto pick. Chances are he would have been available on the board at #14. For the record, there were three teams between us and the Suns. None of them selected a big man. Highly doubt they would have selected Smith.
Anyway, it is what it is. It doesn't matter anymore. It's just that CP3 is an all-time great. One of the best floor generals of all time. It bothers me to think that we could have put him alongside the Jays.