Latest from Bill Simmons

[jay]

Not saying Exum or Smart at 8.  You go ahead and take one of them at 6, then take Gordon at 8.


The news about Saric makes this work even better.  Take him at 17.  Then, summer 2016, he should be able to come and there might be cap room too with Green/Wallace (or MKG/Wallace if Green traded to Charlotte) coming off the books. 


Getting Thompson in a trade with Kings gives you a 6-10 big off the bench for a couple of years while you wait on Saric. 

[vinnie]

I had to come back for one more look, against my best judgment. I can't do this anymore. The inmates are running the asylum. Rondo stinks, love stinks, Olynyk is going into the hall of fame, Thomas is better than Rondo and Mclemore is an excellent player. Can't wait for next year's 20-win season with a first round draft pick with screws in his foot who can't play, a second, first-round draft pick who we won't see for three years, and no Rondo. 20 games might be a stretch. But, we do have the most upbeat, Mr. Rogers coach in the NBA. 

[jay]

On McLemore:

http://cowbellkingdom.com/2014/06/draft-retrospective-dont-lose-faith-in-ben-mclemore-suggests-long-time-nba-scout/

"McLemore averaged 11.9 points per 36 minutes in his first season in the league. However, he struggled mightily with his stroke, shooting just 37.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point distance. He also posted a poor true-shooting percentage of 48.5 percent.

Blake, however, believes that McLemore can make major strides moving forward, so long as he puts in the work. The 21-year-old guard showed progress following the All-Star Break, averaging more points per game (10.9 to 7.6) and posting a higher true-shooting percentage (50.6 to 47.4) than the season?s first half."


Compare McLemore to Waiters, Carter-Williams, and Caldwell-Pope:

McLemore  .376 FG, .320 3pt%

Waiters  .433 FG,  .368  3pt%   (His rookie year was .412 and .310 so a big improvement from 3)

Caldwell-Pope    .396 FG, .319 3pt%

Carter-Williams  .405 FG, .264 3pt%



So McLemore shot a better 3 pt % than any of these other guys in the rookie seasons that have a better reputation on this board.  If he makes a similar jump to that of Waiters, he should be able to get his FG% up over .400 and get that 3 pt % up over .350.

[Eddie20]

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/11125620/sacramento-kings-fielding-offers-no-8-pick

Andy Katz

The Sacramento Kings are fielding offers from three teams for the No. 8 pick in Thursday's NBA draft, sources with direct knowledge told ESPN on Monday.

Sources said the Kings have two deals that could be done prior to Thursday's 2 p.m. ET trade deadline to change the draft order and one would be a draft night deal, depending on which players are available when the Kings select.

The three deals would return multiple draft picks and a veteran player to the Kings for the No. 8 pick.

Sources wouldn't reveal the three teams involved in the negotiations yet, but a source said the discussions are more than talk now and the Kings are weighing the offers against the potential four players the Kings think will be available at No. 8, depending on what occurs in front of them in the lottery.

The Kings have had multiple offers for the No. 8 pick but have settled on these three possible deals.