I reckon Vlade Divac's new contract is a sign that Sacramento will trade Cousins this summer and will allow Vlade to rebuild the team in his own way.
Some of Vlade's comments recently have been non-committal about Cousins' future with the Kings. That Sacramento gave him a new deal .... I think shows they are moving forward with Vlade and his vision of the team rather than continuing to trust and build around Cousins.
Man I hope so.
Vlade getting a multi year extension as a GM has to be one of the dumbest moves I've seen an organization make in professional sports.
It's almost comical. He didn't know how a trade call with the league worked. He didn't know about D-League eligibility rules. He wasn't responsive to other GMs. He wildly overpaid to gain cap space, when he could have just used the stretch provision. He didn't have control over the team or coaching staff, nor did he hold sway over ownership.
I like Vlade on a personal basis, but as a GM he was terrible. Worse, he didn't have anybody on staff to help him, which is just mind boggling.
Half of that is anti-Kings narrative. Mike Bratz, a seasoned executive, assists Vlade. Stretching want going to allow for the Kings to pursue their first choices in FA, the Sixers swaps likely won't come into play. He wasn't allowed to hire his coach, that's true. I don't see it as a fault he's had Boogie's back over Karl's
It's not hard to have an anti-Kings narrative. They're the most mismanaged team in the NBA.
The Sixers trade was a disaster. Giving up a chance at the top pick to create space without anybody to use it on is idiotic. The Belinelli signing was terrible.
Only vindictive/vitriolic segments of other fanbases like to carry the narrative without respect or trying to understand the position of other franchises.
They did have someone to spend it on, and he could have been the rock that transformed the team like many credited he did with the Blazers, Wes Matthews. If he were healthy, and replacing McLemore, the Kings weak link, things may have worked out different. The Kings were offering him more than any other team at the time, and he was coming in for a face to face visit the following day. Sometimes it logistically doesn't work that you can come to an agreement without clearing the cap for many reasons. Maybe Matthews didn't believe they had the loot, maybe the Sixers were going to do something else. Who knows.
Thanks for the hindsight on Belinelli genius.
As of now, its two swaps that won't likely happen and a pick that can vary.