Kings put the #8 pick on the trading block

[celticsfan8591]

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/20/kings-put-pick-on-trade-block/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night, league sources told NBA.com, clearly looking to add at least one impact veteran in an attempt to push into the playoff conversation next season rather than wait for another rookie prospect to develop.

The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.

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A S&T'd AB would give them the perimeter D they need so badly and a decent 3 pt shooter.

AB for McLemore and #8, I'd do.

Lol. Of course you would.  That's grand larceny.

Why wouldn't the Kings just trade for Afflalo instead?

Any conversation involving the #8 pick starts and ends with Rondo.

  Rondo's a 4 time all-star in his 20s. If any conversation involving the #8 pick starts with a player like that, one would assume that any conversation involving the #6 pick starts out with players above that level. I guess we're looking good on the rebuild...

You forgot to mention that he just had a major knee injury, hasn't yet regained his pre-injury form, and is going to be unrestricted free agent in a year with no good reason to re-sign. 

[knuckleballer]

I'd be very happy if we could get the 8 and come out of this draft with Dario Saric and Marcus Smart

PG Rondo
SG Smart
SF Saric
PF Sully
Center to be named later

I think we would have to give up the #17 and two future 1st rounders to do it though.

I don't think there is enough shooting on that team.  Both Rondo and Smart are poor three point shooters.  Plus, I think we'd be in danger of losing Rondo to free agency.

[#1P4P]

The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night, league sources told NBA.com, clearly looking to add at least one impact veteran in an attempt to push into the playoff conversation next season rather than wait for another rookie prospect to develop.

The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.

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The logic of a few posters on here is dumbfounding...

You read "The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night" and the first option to pop into your head is to deal the most valuable piece on the team?

They reportedly offered more than that during the season.

"Most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting" sounds like Jeff Green or Avery Bradley. If one and the LAC 1st or a 2nd or a combination of them can get it done, why would you want to give up a more valuable piece?

The #8 (Saric, if he can defend NBA SFs reasonably well) for Green or Bradley (although I like both players) sounds good and it might be the better option long term, but it definitely puts the team on a slower track to contending. If last year's roster adds an Asik or Sanders, this team is going to contend for the 7-8 spot in the East (as an example look at the 20 win difference the addition of Robin Lopez added to Portland). Subtracting Green or Bradley and adding 2 rookies to the lineup will set the team back at least another year or 2 (i.e. sub .500).

[Lucky17]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/we-went-there-god-loves-cleveland-and-24-more-notes-from-inside-the-nba-draft-lottery/

D?Alessandro said the Kings are open to trading up, trading down, or moving out of the first round entirely. The team is overloaded with big men, but the initial draft discussion has focused on finding the best player available regardless of position, he said. ?That?s what we?ve been talking about. But at the moment of truth, you do wonder, ?Should we tear all that reasoning down and get a player who fits our team now???

I would not be surprised if the Kings trade the #8 to either Boston or Utah to move up.

[PhoSita]

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/20/kings-put-pick-on-trade-block/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night, league sources told NBA.com, clearly looking to add at least one impact veteran in an attempt to push into the playoff conversation next season rather than wait for another rookie prospect to develop.

The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.

.

A S&T'd AB would give them the perimeter D they need so badly and a decent 3 pt shooter.

AB for McLemore and #8, I'd do.

Lol. Of course you would.  That's grand larceny.

Why wouldn't the Kings just trade for Afflalo instead?

Any conversation involving the #8 pick starts and ends with Rondo.

  Rondo's a 4 time all-star in his 20s. If any conversation involving the #8 pick starts with a player like that, one would assume that any conversation involving the #6 pick starts out with players above that level. I guess we're looking good on the rebuild...

The 6 is the most valuable asset the Celtics have at the moment.  The next most valuable is Rondo.  The gulf between Rondo and the next most valuable asset is pretty large.  So the conversation starts and ends with Rondo for that reason.

Nobody is trading a top 10 pick -- in any draft, let alone this one -- for Avery Bradley.

  Go check out the #8 picks in the last 10 or so drafts, then come back and tell me you'd trade Sully for an average or so player out of that group in a heartbeat. I dare ya.

I can't see how this is responsive to anything that I said.

As for the "dare," I think it's a poorly formulated one.  In the last 10 drafts, there are plenty of very good players selected in the general vicinity of the 8th pick, players I'd definitely trade Sullinger for. 

When you look at drafts in retrospect, you have to look at the talent available in that part of the draft.  It's asinine to just look at the draft history at one specific slot, except for perhaps the #1 overall pick.

[colincb]

Sactownroyalty.com's (our sister blog) year in review for McLemore:

"Needs to work on:

    Everything"

And...

"His shooting, excellent at Kansas, dipped dramatically in the NBA.  He looked relatively lost on the court even in summer league, showcasing an inability to dribble, create his own shot or defend.

And...

"In March, he shot 42.7% from the field in 16 games and averaged 10.6 points.  That's not a great FG% but it's a lot better than the abysmal 30.1% he shot in February.  He shot 39.1% [in April]..."

And...

"It's not just shooting that Ben has to work on offensively though.  He particularly needs to work on his ballhandling skills, a known weakness coming out of college.  Right now he's not much use dribbling aside from straight line dribbling, and he gets in trouble when he's put under much pressure at all."

And...

"Defensively, Ben's got a lot of potential thanks to his size and athleticism, and he puts in the effort, but there's no denying he was awful on this end last year.  His instincts were often not great either, as he consistently got punished by leaving great outside shooters to help on drives."


In another Sactown article:

"Ben McLemore's rookie season has definitely been a struggle, and in fact, historically bad. Of players who have played at least 1400 minutes, only 7 have had a PER of less than 8 and a True Shooting Percentage of less than .470 in their rookie season: Gene Wiley, Mike Farmer, Ben McLemore, Larry Demic, Junior Harrington, Austin Rivers and Adam Morrison. That's not good company to be with."


Not exacly a dagger through the heart. More like a Bowie knife.

[Moranis]

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/20/kings-put-pick-on-trade-block/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

The Kings put the No. 8 pick in the draft on the trade block immediately after the lottery Tuesday night, league sources told NBA.com, clearly looking to add at least one impact veteran in an attempt to push into the playoff conversation next season rather than wait for another rookie prospect to develop.

The Kings have several needs in the aftermath of the 28-54 finish, most notably an upgrade on defense, adding dependable perimeter shooting and finding a playmaker point guard, whether or not Isaiah Thomas returns as a restricted free agent. Those could be addressed at No. 8 in the draft, but with the possibility of the kind of test of patience they just went through with Ben McLemore, the seventh pick in 2013.

.

A S&T'd AB would give them the perimeter D they need so badly and a decent 3 pt shooter.

AB for McLemore and #8, I'd do.

Lol. Of course you would.  That's grand larceny.

Why wouldn't the Kings just trade for Afflalo instead?

Any conversation involving the #8 pick starts and ends with Rondo.

  Rondo's a 4 time all-star in his 20s. If any conversation involving the #8 pick starts with a player like that, one would assume that any conversation involving the #6 pick starts out with players above that level. I guess we're looking good on the rebuild...

The 6 is the most valuable asset the Celtics have at the moment.  The next most valuable is Rondo.  The gulf between Rondo and the next most valuable asset is pretty large.  So the conversation starts and ends with Rondo for that reason.

Nobody is trading a top 10 pick -- in any draft, let alone this one -- for Avery Bradley.

  Go check out the #8 picks in the last 10 or so drafts, then come back and tell me you'd trade Sully for an average or so player out of that group in a heartbeat. I dare ya.

I can't see how this is responsive to anything that I said.

As for the "dare," I think it's a poorly formulated one.  In the last 10 drafts, there are plenty of very good players selected in the general vicinity of the 8th pick, players I'd definitely trade Sullinger for. 

When you look at drafts in retrospect, you have to look at the talent available in that part of the draft.  It's asinine to just look at the draft history at one specific slot, except for perhaps the #1 overall pick.

I agree, I believe anyone picked from 8-14 would be a reasonable selection if you had the 8th pick.  Thus, you should be looking at all players from 8-14 when figuring out what value the 8th pick has.  That said, there are very few drafts from like 2003 on with more than 1 player worth drafting with as much value as a guy like Sullinger in the 8-14 range. 

[Moranis]

I still think the best option for Boston to explore is a Sacramento salary dump including #8.

As I posted on page 3 something like Bass, Bogans, Green for Landry, Thompson, Williams, #8 makes a good deal of sense for both teams.

[Lucky17]

I still think the best option for Boston to explore is a Sacramento salary dump including #8.

As I posted on page 3 something like Bass, Bogans, Green for Landry, Thompson, Williams, #8 makes a good deal of sense for both teams.

Yikes. Do not want. Would rather swap picks and send them Wallace for shorter term contracts.

[Moranis]

I still think the best option for Boston to explore is a Sacramento salary dump including #8.

As I posted on page 3 something like Bass, Bogans, Green for Landry, Thompson, Williams, #8 makes a good deal of sense for both teams.

Yikes. Do not want. Would rather swap picks and send them Wallace for shorter term contracts.

Williams is expiring next year and sure Thompson and Landry are on the books for awhile, but adding another top 8 pick this year gives Boston a lot more flexibility to acquire a real piece and neither the Thompson or Landry deal are crippling.  I mean Boston could get rid of 6 and 17 in a trade for Love and still have 8.  There are real advantages in that sort of flexibility.  Even if Boston kept both of them, that could mean Vonleh and Gordon plus Hood (or whomever at 17).  That is a real nice base to pair with Rondo, Sullinger, and Bradley (if they want to keep him).

[PhoSita]

That said, there are very few drafts from like 2003 on with more than 1 player worth drafting with as much value as a guy like Sullinger in the 8-14 range.

I'm not sure how highly to value Sullinger, honestly.  He's had some nice games, and he's been pretty productive so far in his young career.  He's also had health and weight issues, and he's still figuring it out on the defensive end.  He scored pretty well for stretches this year, but I'm not sure how much of that is the old principle -- "somebody has to score on a bad team."

Is Sullinger really so much better than Taj Gibson? Terrence Jones? Kenneth Faried? Markieff Morris? Jordan Hill?

Sometimes I think, yes, definitely.  I want to believe he can have a career like Carlos Boozer or David West.  Other times I'm not sure he isn't destined to be a productive bench big.

[PhoSita]

I still think the best option for Boston to explore is a Sacramento salary dump including #8.

As I posted on page 3 something like Bass, Bogans, Green for Landry, Thompson, Williams, #8 makes a good deal of sense for both teams.

Getting a top 10 pick for salary filler and Jeff Green would be awesome, even if it means taking on those other contracts.

[jaketwice]

Can somebody here explain something to me - what is the fascination with McLemore?

I haven't watched him play at all, but looking at his statistics he looks absolutely horrendous...like serious D-league material.

Is there something I'm missing?  Does he have certain aspects to his game that give him major upside, that you don't see in the stats (elite defense, elite athleticism, inconsistent flashes of dominance, etc)? 

Just curious because on statistics alone he makes Marshon Brooks look like a superstar, so given how many people are obsessed with trading for him I just figured there must be more to him than meets the eye.

Elite athleticism and shooting. Obviously his shooting wasn't much to write home about after his rookie season, but he has a lot of Beal to his game. Plus, he just turned 21. It's odd that you said "more than meets the eye" when you also said "I haven't watched him play at all" a few sentences above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL_3Hd42gQM

37.6% shooting is HORRIBLE!!!  He also average ONLY 1 assist and more turnovers than assists.  7.8 Efficiency Rating.

I really do NOT understand the preoccupation with him at all either!!

Smitty77

Smitty - I was with you until I watched those highlights. McLemore plays a truly beautiful brand of basketball.

[Rondo9]

That said, there are very few drafts from like 2003 on with more than 1 player worth drafting with as much value as a guy like Sullinger in the 8-14 range.

I'm not sure how highly to value Sullinger, honestly.  He's had some nice games, and he's been pretty productive so far in his young career.  He's also had health and weight issues, and he's still figuring it out on the defensive end.  He scored pretty well for stretches this year, but I'm not sure how much of that is the old principle -- "somebody has to score on a bad team."

Is Sullinger really so much better than Taj Gibson? Terrence Jones? Kenneth Faried? Markieff Morris? Jordan Hill?

Sometimes I think, yes, definitely.  I want to believe he can have a career like Carlos Boozer or David West.  Other times I'm not sure he isn't destined to be a productive bench big.

Sullinger is way better than Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hill, Morris and Jones. Taj is the only person better the Sullinger.

[Rondo9]

Can somebody here explain something to me - what is the fascination with McLemore?

I haven't watched him play at all, but looking at his statistics he looks absolutely horrendous...like serious D-league material.

Is there something I'm missing?  Does he have certain aspects to his game that give him major upside, that you don't see in the stats (elite defense, elite athleticism, inconsistent flashes of dominance, etc)? 

Just curious because on statistics alone he makes Marshon Brooks look like a superstar, so given how many people are obsessed with trading for him I just figured there must be more to him than meets the eye.

Elite athleticism and shooting. Obviously his shooting wasn't much to write home about after his rookie season, but he has a lot of Beal to his game. Plus, he just turned 21. It's odd that you said "more than meets the eye" when you also said "I haven't watched him play at all" a few sentences above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL_3Hd42gQM

37.6% shooting is HORRIBLE!!!  He also average ONLY 1 assist and more turnovers than assists.  7.8 Efficiency Rating.

I really do NOT understand the preoccupation with him at all either!!

Smitty77

Smitty - I was with you until I watched those highlights. McLemore plays a truly beautiful brand of basketball.

Too bad he's not efficient.....