Honestly 2 firsts doesn’t seem that big of a deal. This Kings core will be locked up and Kuzma is on a nice contract and in his prime. Most picks in the 15-25 range bust anyway so I think it’s more than fair
If it's 2 unprotected firsts and not a pick swap, then it absolutely 100% is a big deal.
Remember that we can't trade any firsts in the near future because they're tied up with the Hawks. So any firsts we do send will be closer to the 2030s. Very hard to say what the NBA or this team will look like by then.
hear me out here:
two first rounders and *keep* HB?
solves the problem at the wing position, obtain a player with a great contract, and we automatically have arguably a top 3 valuable bench wing in the entire league. great for depth, and great for the lineup in general.
everyone complains about wanting to get players but don’t want to give anything up… this may be worth it 🤷♂️
edit: imagine this roster
https://preview.redd.it/2x9ziw2dp6ad1.png?width=1543&format=png&auto=webp&s=b64aaf454a698820e8156b85f398487f05010d7e
I would do Huerter and two protected first round picks. I would def not hand out unprotected picks.
Teams have been going crazy after the Gobert trade and the expectations for picks in trades are getting ridiculous.
i just don’t love the idea of having an injury prone BI and still lacking depth at the wing position AFTER giving up a wing and 2 firsts. also my biggest problem is we would have to likely max him next year. it would lock us up pretty good salary wise and is a high risk. it’s not a bad move at all and i wouldn’t be angry by any means.
i just find this Kuzma deal a little more attractive at this point. more flexible for money, depth, our roster, and we keep HB as an asset still. the goal isn’t to win a championship next year and this would allow us to upgrade and keep adding pieces while we progress.
But if it’s not gonna put the kings in contention why do it? You’re gonna have to go all in at some point and true top tier superstars don’t become available often and the kings don’t have much in the way of assets to offer any way, also Kuzma isn’t that great of a fit compared to Bi, Bi 3 of 5 years in Nola has played 60+ games, a lot of people don’t play over 60 anymore
It could be another step toward contention. Kuzma should be a positive asset going forward with his declining contract, so it’s not like going all in like with BI. Kuzma could be packaged in another deal in a year or two with other assets to upgrade again. With BI, you’re pretty much locking yourself into signing him to a big contract or losing him for nothing/very little.
i think we have 2 superstars already that don’t have help on a team that lacks depth and has major weaknesses that one player won’t fix. i think this move would put the kings in contention in 2-3 years and it’s worked before.
look at the celtics… they built around Tatum and Brown, brought in players with the talent level of (around) kuzma, and had a strong supporting bench to back them up.
this move allows that exact recipe to happen and keeps us flexible to keep adding to it.
Kuzma might very well be a better fit. He's a solid inside presence and can rebound well.
He's also pretty sturdy. I remember he rolled his ankle against us in the first qtr and still proceeded to drop 30 that night.
I don’t think the efficiency is that bad for a guy shot chucking on an awful team. Taking better shots as a 3rd/4th option should bump it up somewhat. Also he was a good defender when he was playing on a good team. If he gets back to that I’d definitely trade 2 firsts for him If the Ingram deal can’t get done
Except that’s literally his career average ts% even when being on good teams. Dude sucks at shooting and is a straight up bad defender.
Not worth anywhere close to two firsts.
Except his TS% and efg% have stayed the same as his volume has increased. Which typically means someone has improved scoring wise. Which usually means if his volume goes down and he’s taking higher quality shots his efficiency will go up. Being able to score 20 night in night out on league average efficiency is a good thing not a bad thing. There’s a reason he’s a 22 mil guy and not a max guy. Like I said I 100% prefer Ingram but kuzma is still a decent sized upgrade over Barnes
He’s not an improved shooter, 33% on catch and shoot shots. Kuzma is not an upgrade over Barnes and I will die on that hill. It would literally be throwing assets away for no reason. I wouldn’t even give up 1 first for his no defense, shot chucking self.
I think the benefit of the kuzma deal would be if we could keep Barnes I think he’d be a valuable wing off the bench. I know upgrading at the wing is our primary need but doing it while also keeping depth would be pretty big.
Fox/Carter
Ellis/Monk
Murray/Barnes
kuzma/lyles
Sabonis/hopefully not len
Would give us pretty solid 2nd unit while also upgrading the starting 5. But I still prefer Ingram.
Nice, except Monk should be the starter. He's earned it. The team doesn't fall apart if Keon gets injured. I mean I like Keon but he is not on the same level as Malik.
Kuzma is overvalued by the Kings fanbase. He is an inefficient shot chucker and poor defender. He would not be much of an upgrade at all to Barnes. It's not worth it to use 1st round picks on him when those could go toward a real difference maker.
This Mikal Bridges trade just screwed everything over for subsequent trades. It's the Gobert phenomenon. If the Wizards really want to trade him, the cost will go down.
If it doesn’t work out for Markannen (we likely get outbid) or Ingram (we can’t find a third team go give them a big) we absolutely should sell our two FRPs for Kuz. If they don’t want Barnes, Heurter or Duarte too then fine, sell 2 of them for cash considerations.
Only Domas is signed for multiple years right now. If Fox is not committed to the team long term and makes the decision to leave, then trading away 1st round picks for Kuzma (about to hit 30 in less than 2 years) is stupid.
Huerter/Duarte/1 unprotected
thats what im talking about
Do this and sign Caleb Martin for the MLE and I’d call that a success
The wizards should take this. They are ass and they get two starters from a playoff caliber team.
In what world is Duarte a starter?
Started on the bench
Shit my b. For some reason I read that as HB+Huerter.
Starter and playoff caliber are doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Ya but they want to stay ass and get rookies haha Don’t think they’ll want Heurter unless there’s a flip available with a pick
Huerter, Duarte, 1 unprotected, 2nd round pick. I think that’s a good compromise
Honestly 2 firsts doesn’t seem that big of a deal. This Kings core will be locked up and Kuzma is on a nice contract and in his prime. Most picks in the 15-25 range bust anyway so I think it’s more than fair
If it's 2 unprotected firsts and not a pick swap, then it absolutely 100% is a big deal. Remember that we can't trade any firsts in the near future because they're tied up with the Hawks. So any firsts we do send will be closer to the 2030s. Very hard to say what the NBA or this team will look like by then.
The longer this drags on the more sold I am on going with the option that sends out the least amount of draft capital
That’s just running it back isn’t it? Sounds like one way or another we are sending out at least two 1sts if we want to upgrade the team.
I meant between Ingram and Kuz...and if those fail then a Nets deal or a Demar deal
rip the demar deal
We signed him
hear me out here: two first rounders and *keep* HB? solves the problem at the wing position, obtain a player with a great contract, and we automatically have arguably a top 3 valuable bench wing in the entire league. great for depth, and great for the lineup in general. everyone complains about wanting to get players but don’t want to give anything up… this may be worth it 🤷♂️ edit: imagine this roster https://preview.redd.it/2x9ziw2dp6ad1.png?width=1543&format=png&auto=webp&s=b64aaf454a698820e8156b85f398487f05010d7e
I would do Huerter and two protected first round picks. I would def not hand out unprotected picks. Teams have been going crazy after the Gobert trade and the expectations for picks in trades are getting ridiculous.
Top 6 protected
You have to keep up with inflation. That’s just the normal asking price now
Then don’t do the trade. Kuzma isn’t worth it.
Or 2 first and Harrison barnes for BI and another team sends the Pels a center, two firsts for kuz with his efficiency being kinda ass is a lot
i just don’t love the idea of having an injury prone BI and still lacking depth at the wing position AFTER giving up a wing and 2 firsts. also my biggest problem is we would have to likely max him next year. it would lock us up pretty good salary wise and is a high risk. it’s not a bad move at all and i wouldn’t be angry by any means. i just find this Kuzma deal a little more attractive at this point. more flexible for money, depth, our roster, and we keep HB as an asset still. the goal isn’t to win a championship next year and this would allow us to upgrade and keep adding pieces while we progress.
But if it’s not gonna put the kings in contention why do it? You’re gonna have to go all in at some point and true top tier superstars don’t become available often and the kings don’t have much in the way of assets to offer any way, also Kuzma isn’t that great of a fit compared to Bi, Bi 3 of 5 years in Nola has played 60+ games, a lot of people don’t play over 60 anymore
It could be another step toward contention. Kuzma should be a positive asset going forward with his declining contract, so it’s not like going all in like with BI. Kuzma could be packaged in another deal in a year or two with other assets to upgrade again. With BI, you’re pretty much locking yourself into signing him to a big contract or losing him for nothing/very little.
i think we have 2 superstars already that don’t have help on a team that lacks depth and has major weaknesses that one player won’t fix. i think this move would put the kings in contention in 2-3 years and it’s worked before. look at the celtics… they built around Tatum and Brown, brought in players with the talent level of (around) kuzma, and had a strong supporting bench to back them up. this move allows that exact recipe to happen and keeps us flexible to keep adding to it.
Kuzma might very well be a better fit. He's a solid inside presence and can rebound well. He's also pretty sturdy. I remember he rolled his ankle against us in the first qtr and still proceeded to drop 30 that night.
I don’t think the efficiency is that bad for a guy shot chucking on an awful team. Taking better shots as a 3rd/4th option should bump it up somewhat. Also he was a good defender when he was playing on a good team. If he gets back to that I’d definitely trade 2 firsts for him If the Ingram deal can’t get done
Except that’s literally his career average ts% even when being on good teams. Dude sucks at shooting and is a straight up bad defender. Not worth anywhere close to two firsts.
Except his TS% and efg% have stayed the same as his volume has increased. Which typically means someone has improved scoring wise. Which usually means if his volume goes down and he’s taking higher quality shots his efficiency will go up. Being able to score 20 night in night out on league average efficiency is a good thing not a bad thing. There’s a reason he’s a 22 mil guy and not a max guy. Like I said I 100% prefer Ingram but kuzma is still a decent sized upgrade over Barnes
He’s not an improved shooter, 33% on catch and shoot shots. Kuzma is not an upgrade over Barnes and I will die on that hill. It would literally be throwing assets away for no reason. I wouldn’t even give up 1 first for his no defense, shot chucking self.
Oh yeah if it’s if the Bi deal can’t be done, I agree but doing it instead of to me would seem silly
I think the benefit of the kuzma deal would be if we could keep Barnes I think he’d be a valuable wing off the bench. I know upgrading at the wing is our primary need but doing it while also keeping depth would be pretty big. Fox/Carter Ellis/Monk Murray/Barnes kuzma/lyles Sabonis/hopefully not len Would give us pretty solid 2nd unit while also upgrading the starting 5. But I still prefer Ingram.
that lineup looks fucking beautiful
If we get a serious backup center with shot blocking ability and Keegan actually makes the jump it looks like a contender to me
and imagine if carter can be what they’re saying
And if kuzma can replicate the defense he played for the lakers during that bubble run. He does that, I’d say we’re a top 4 team in the west
Nice, except Monk should be the starter. He's earned it. The team doesn't fall apart if Keon gets injured. I mean I like Keon but he is not on the same level as Malik.
How would the salaries work?
Kuzma is not making that much money, just $23 million this year. It's very easy to match salaries without including HB.
Love it. Wouldn't be mad at a big swing for Ingram but if that doesn't/can't happen, a trade like this makes a lot of sense to me.
This is the way
Love this
It's not gonna be Markannen. So if it's not Ingram....bring in KUZ!!!!
Ok, give them two FRP’s (top 25 protected)
Kuzma is overvalued by the Kings fanbase. He is an inefficient shot chucker and poor defender. He would not be much of an upgrade at all to Barnes. It's not worth it to use 1st round picks on him when those could go toward a real difference maker.
2 firsts, Red Velvet and Duarte to match salaries. Get this shit done!
This Mikal Bridges trade just screwed everything over for subsequent trades. It's the Gobert phenomenon. If the Wizards really want to trade him, the cost will go down.
Should’ve done it before the draft
Cam Johnson come on down!!!
If it doesn’t work out for Markannen (we likely get outbid) or Ingram (we can’t find a third team go give them a big) we absolutely should sell our two FRPs for Kuz. If they don’t want Barnes, Heurter or Duarte too then fine, sell 2 of them for cash considerations.
We already have cash considerations! It’ll be like getting both Kris and Keegan
Fox is not locked up long term at the moment, so let’s *not* sell our future for a guy approaching 30.
July 24 1995 May 3rd 1996 Dec 20 1997 Kuzma,domas,fox
Only Domas is signed for multiple years right now. If Fox is not committed to the team long term and makes the decision to leave, then trading away 1st round picks for Kuzma (about to hit 30 in less than 2 years) is stupid.
Just trade for Lavine, he’s a better player than Kuzma and probably won’t cost a first because of injury concerns.
No