Kings aggressively trying to move up in the draft. Hoping to get McLemore

[RIP CITY]

So pissed that the Kings nabbed him right before us, he's the guy I wanted all along on the Pistons. UGH. Great pick for Sacramento, still believe he will be the 2nd best player in this Draft after Noel.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

I like that line up. Kings really lucked out big time.

no shoot. They've got steals in the last few drafts, on a talent level at least (though even before they drafted Cousins, I wanted them to get Favors or Monroe...I didn't like Cousins' attitude. Now look at him...). Now if they can make it all fit!

Move Tyreke to SF (basically run the point a bit) to play a similar role to LBJ, resign Tony Douglas to play D and shoot 3's like Chalmers and get Ben Mclemore to play SG like Ray Ray, Kings don't have to let Reke go. Start Patterson to spread the floor with Mc, Tony D and Reke and Cousins get heaps of room to operate.

That teams perimeter athletic ability would be crazy,

PG: Toney D
SG: Ben Mac
SF: Reke
PF: Patterson
C: Cousins

Imo that line up would work Toney D, Mac & Patterson are players who play well without the ball, Cousins and Reke play well with it no need to give up on Reke just yet.

Just trade Jimmer and something else for a decent back up SF and Kings are good. Isaiah Thomas + JT both make excellent back ups as well giving us mad depth for once. Kings MUST trade Thornton now.

Starting Pat Pat and Cousins is too redundant. Neither are bangers inside. JT needs to start just to add some versatility to the starting lineup.

I would keep Thornton and get rid of Tyreke. Since Thornton's arrival, Sac has played so much better when Tyreke is out or comes off the bench.

But what matters is how players fit with Malone's defensive system. I think in that case, they'll keep Tyreke since he's a great off-ball defender. Douglas and Isaiah should both be safe at the point. Meaning yeah, Thornton will probably have to go, unfortunately.

Unless Malone is a fan of moving Tyreke to the 3, then Thornton can stay. But if Malone is smart, he brings Tyreke off the bench to bring energy/tempo and starts McLemore right away to develop into the god he can be. I think w/ Douglas, Salmons, Tyreke, and Isaiah, the perimeter D for the Kings is pretty well set. McLemore can be the designated scorer.

So sick of ppl overlooking Isaiah. Dude's PER was 16th best among PGs, higher than Jrue's and Lillard's (yeah, **** me, I value PER). He can slash with the best of them, create his own shot, is a solid defender both on- and off-ball, and got a personal handshake+praise from Jerry West after he helped the Kings beat GSW. Is he a great passer and can offenses run through him? No. Not at the moment at least. But he just completed his 2nd year. Give him time. Plus he plays w/ ball hogs all day. The system and roster didn't exactly fit him either. Though I honestly think a lot of it was Keith Smart. Smart had a good relationship w/ him and knew how to motivate him. Not sure how it'll be w/ Malone.

Anyway, I think their priorities in FA should be interior defense (Chuck is a beast at post D and boxing out, but just can't shot block...I'd love for them to keep Aldrich, which they may - seems like a poorman's Bogut, right up Malone's alley) and a shooter at the SF (really crossing fingers for Korver or Dorrell Wright), especially if they lose Thornton.

If I'm building around Malone's system, trade Thornton, and get Korver, I'm going:

Cousins
JT
Salmons
McLemore
Isaiah
-------
Aldrich
Chuck
Pat Pat
Korver
Tyreke
Toney Douglas

The bench's D is way better than the starters. Aldrich and Chuck can satisfy different needs in the middle, Tyreke can play passing lanes, and Douglas can shut down almost any PG or small SG. Would have to rotate to have Aldrich/Chuck and Tyreke/Douglas come in late 2nd qtr and/or mid 4th qtr to help defend opponent starters during key stretches.

The key really is Tyreke's mentality. He's shown he's willing to come off the bench before. But is he willing to not force so many low % shots?

[andremiller07]

Starting Pat Pat and Cousins is too redundant. Neither are bangers inside. JT needs to start just to add some versatility to the starting lineup.

I would keep Thornton and get rid of Tyreke. Since Thornton's arrival, Sac has played so much better when Tyreke is out or comes off the bench.

JT is soft imo he's no banger plus JT seems to always rip it up when Cousins is not in the game he seemed to thrive when Cuz was in foul trouble or suspended. Patterson gives us more spacing on offense and is a higher IQ player which is what we need out there with Cousins. I do agree with you about BMc we need to start him right away get him confidence early.

As far as IT in the long term Ray McCallum will probably be better for the Kings, I'm just not a fan of his game he's a good sparkplug but he's not a starter in the NBA.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

JT is soft imo he's no banger plus JT seems to always rip it up when Cousins is not in the game he seemed to thrive when Cuz was in foul trouble or suspended. Patterson gives us more spacing on offense and is a higher IQ player which is what we need out there with Cousins.

yeah, in all honesty, as deep and talented as the bigs are (I'm a big Pat Pat fan as well), they just don't complement each other very well on the court, at least not at the point they're at now in their development. You're right, even JT sometimes resorts to shooting J's and definitely isn't a dominant presence inside consistently. All 4 (or 5 if Aldrich stays) bigs are really good at something, multiple things, but none are the prototypical big man, even by today's more perimeter-oriented game w/ stretch bigs and smaller lineups. *sigh* if only Chuck Hayes was like 5" taller...

Cousins has the post moves, hell, he's got all the moves. But he needs to build some more muscle mass and maybe somehow jump an inch or 2 higher or something to become more of an inside presence on both ends of the floor. But at his point now, a Bogut/Gortat/Lopez type would be the perfect complementary piece, imo, for Cousins. I think Aldrich as the potential to be that type. But w/ JT and Pat Pat ahead of him, it'd be too hard for him to develop.

[andremiller07]

. I think Aldrich as the potential to be that type. But w/ JT and Pat Pat ahead of him, it'd be too hard for him to develop.

I really liked what I seen from Aldrich last season, but if the coaches put PPat out there with Cousins that might force Cousins to play inside and go battle for offensive rebounds (which he's elite at), all I want Is for DMC to play near the bucket and he's far more likely to do that with Patterson who shoots 90% of the time on his bucket attempts, where as JT is like 50/50 and clogs the paint a bit more.

Problem with JT is he's a horrible passer and can't really play up high while Cousins can meaning he's further away from the rim constantly. Patterson has excellent passing/IQ he always makes the right play. Patterson when he came into games last season the ball movement was WAY more fluid.

But yeah your right its strange we are fairly deep on the frontline and yet we don't have a perfect match. I really hope we can package one of the bigs and one of the smalls (Jimmer/Thornton) for something nice.

Chuck Hayes was like 5" taller...

Marc Gasol 2.0