Consider the Kings, for instance. They had a coveted star in Kevin Martin, $13 million in expiring contracts belonging to Kenny Thomas, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong, Ime Udoka and Sean May, and $1.6 million in cap room to do an unbalanced trade. They should have been controlling the entire game on deadline day.
Unfortunately, they didn’t choose to play. Sacramento didn’t let teams know Martin was available, and in fact insisted he wasn’t available; unlike Phoenix with Stoudemire, the Kings have no idea if Houston’s offer was the best one they could have had. In fact, there’s considerable evidence they could have done much better — possibly by bypassing the Rockets entirely.
Consider, for starters, what would have been the perfect home for Martin: Boston. The Kings could have sent Martin and little-used Andres Nocioni to the Celtics for Ray Allen and a first-round pick, and cleared $18 million in cap room (the Celtics, given their current time horizon, would have blurted out yes to this offer in a nanosecond).
They then could have used Allen and Kenny Thomas in a deal with the Knicks and walked away with the exact same trove of assets that the Rockets did. If so, Sacramento wouldn’t have Landry, but look at what they’d have instead: Jordan Hill, New York’s 2012 first-rounder, Boston’s 2011 first-rounder, the right to swap picks with New York in 2011 (admittedly, an item of more value to Houston given the two clubs’ likely records next season), and the same cap room they cleared with the Martin trade.
The only reason they don’t have those assets, it would appear, is that they didn’t ask. While the Kings fiddled, Houston forced the action and squeezed all it could from New York. When the Knicks wouldn’t flinch, the Rockets scrambled to get alternate deals in place: first an all-smoke, no-fire rumor with Chicago, and then a late deal with Sacramento that both pried Martin free and thrust the Knicks into action.
That story echoes a fairly constant background noise that’s been heard about Sacramento in recent years. The Kings have a small front office and nearly everybody in it has been there forever; one gets the impression not that they’ve lost their basketball acumen, but that they aren’t putting in the legwork anymore.
That Martin/Nocioni-for-Allen swap and subsequent trade with the Knicks is an interesting angle on this year’s trade deadline. By not making it known that Martin was available, the Kings didn’t get everyone’s best offer. Conversely, the Suns did hear everyone’s best offer or Stoudemire, and chose not to pull the trigger.
The Knicks will acquire McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez from Sacramento, sources said.
The Rockets get Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from New York and will have the right to swap first-round picks with New York in 2011 as well as take on New York’s 2012 first-round pick.
Sacramento obtains Houston’s Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey and New York’s Larry Hughes.
This differs from the Rockets/Kings deal I wrote about earlier in that Houston will take on Jeffries’ contract next season and in return get a prospect (Jordan Hill) the right to move up in the 2011 draft. In addition, the Rockets get the Knicks’ pick in 2012. I love this trade from Houston’s perspective.
The Knicks get to see if T-Mac has anything left in the tank and a decent young point guard in Sergio Rodriguez (6 points/3 assists in 13 minutes of PT for the Kings). More importantly, they free up enough cap space (~$30 million) two sign two big-name free agents this summer.
I’m not sure why the Kings wanted to get the Knicks involved. They’re taking on Hughes contract for this season, so I guess it will save them the trouble of buying T-Mac out.
…the Kings and Rockets have agreed in principle to a deal that would send Kevin Martin and three other players to Houston in return for McGrady and forwards Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey.
But that might just be the start.
As the teams hammer out the details today, there are reports the Knicks are still involved, intent on landing McGrady and unloading Jared Jeffries.
If no deal with the Knicks is made, the Rockets and Kings are still expected to go through with the swap.
The Rockets couldn’t come to terms with the Knicks because they were reluctant to take on Jared Jeffries’ contract without owning the Knicks’ future first rounders. They’ve reportedly coveted Martin all along, so when he became available, they went out and struck a deal with the Kings.
If it stays simply a Sacramento-Houston deal, the Rockets will have essentially landed Martin at the cost of Carl Landry and the undead body of Tracy McGrady. While Houston fans will be sad to see Landry go, they’ll be getting a dynamic shooting guard and one of the best scorers in the game. Alongside Aaron Brooks, the Rockets will have one of the great young backcourts in the league.
And the amazing thing is that it doesn’t appear that the Rockets will take on any long-term contracts other than Martin’s.
As for the Kings, they wanted a big man for Martin and they got a pretty good one in Landry, who is averaging 16-6 with 55% shooting. I’m not sure how he fits in with Jason Thompson and Omri Casspi, but he’s probably better than Thompson and Casspi can play small forward, so there should be room for all three. If the Kings are able to move T-Mac to New York, they’ll likely have to take on Jared Jeffries’ contract — he’s owed $6.9 million for next season — and will probably get a draft pick as well.
If the Knicks can clear Jeffries from the payroll, they’ll have enough cap space to sign two big name free agents this summer.
The trade deadline is just a week away, so I thought it would be fun to play puppet master and propose a few blockbuster trades that should happen, but probably won’t. Let’s start with the least likely and work our way to the most credible. (Honestly, I had this idea before I hit the ESPN NBA page this morning and saw Chad Ford’s similar piece. Don’t worry, we don’t suggest any of the same trades.) Click on the link to see each trade in the ESPN Trade Machine.
1. Amare Stoudemire for David Lee
To make the salaries work, the Knicks would also include Jared Jeffries and Chris Duhon in the deal. Why the Knicks should do it: Stoudemire had his best years under Mike D’Antoni and would welcome a reunion. He’s also a big name that would encourage another superstar to join the franchise this summer, and he’s more likely to re-sign with the Knicks because New York is the media capital of the world. They’d also benefit from clearing Jeffries’ salary from the books, leaving around $13 million in cap space to sign a big name (assuming Stoudemire does NOT opt out of the final year of his deal). Why the Suns should do it: David Lee is a great fit for the Suns’ up-tempo system and he’s almost as good as Stoudemire (PER: 22.1 vs. Amare’s 20.2) at about 60% of the cost. Phoenix would pay a little more this season and have to take on Jeffries’ contract, but they’d have a young All-Star caliber power forward to build around. If they stand pat and Amare opts out, they stand to lose him with nothing to show for it, as they only would have around $4 million in cap space if Amare bolts. Why it won’t happen: Phoenix won’t want to take on Jeffries’ contract for next season without a commitment from Lee to re-sign for a reasonable salary. He was asking for $10 million per season last summer, but his price is probably going up after making a push for the All-Star Game in 2010.
For starters, the Kings lack a great incentive to rush into anything before the trade deadline. Martin and Evans have played only nine games as a tandem, and the Kings would like to get a much longer look at the duo before rushing into any landscape-shifting moves. Second, Sacramento is enjoying its first small taste of success after an awful 2008-09 campaign and is hesitant to make any moves that would upset its momentum.
But mostly, the Kings don’t seem anxious to do anything because both the players and the organization think the pairing can work.
“Kevin isn’t himself yet,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “He just needs his timing to get a little better and get some of the rust off, and it’s going to be a really tough backcourt to deal with.”
Both players recognize that they’re going to have to make changes in their games to make the partnership flourish.
“I don’t have a mind frame to go out there and score 30 anymore,” said Martin, who seemed notably more active defensively after basically being a one-man offense last season. “[I'm] just trying to do other things, have more assists and get other teammates involved. While I was out, guys developed, and they’re good players. I show my respect by getting them involved, and [I'll] attack when it’s there.”
Less than a month ago, I wondered aloud about the possibility of Evans playing small forward, and I still think that’s a viable idea. Evans’ length makes up for his relative lack of height and there’s no reason that the Kings should stick with the mindset that their best penetrator also has to bring the ball up and initiate the offense. Think a smaller LeBron.
So, maybe the Kings should try a lineup of Beno Udrih-Martin-Evans-Omri Casspi and Spencer Hawes or Jon Brockman and see how it goes. With Evans, Martin and Casspi, the Kings have a nice (albeit perimeter) core to build around. If they could find a true back-to-the-basket center (like Chris Kaman, Pau Gasol or Al Jefferson) and a bigger point guard who can hit the three and take on some of the perimeter defensive duties (like Kirk Hinrich or Rodney Stuckey), they’d really be in business.
Much has been made of the emergence of Tyreke Evans (22-5-5 in December) and how things are going to work once Kevin Martin comes back from injury. The Kings have three options: 1) try to play Evans at point guard when that’s not his natural position, 2) play Evans at off guard, even though he’s not a pure shooter, or 3) play Evans at small forward, even though he’s undersized.
Evans is great at creating for himself, but he’s not a natural playmaker at the point guard position. Kevin Martin is an underrated scorer and should not be dismissed at off guard. He’s 40%+ from long range and can get to the line at will. He’d be great as a court-spacer/sidekick if the Kings can find a way to play him alongside Evans.
What about small forward? Is Evans really undersized? Looking at the draft measurables, Evans is a tad short for SF (6′5″ in shoes), but his wingspan (6′11″) and standing reach (8′8″) are longer/taller than DeMar DeRozan, Chase Budinger, Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams, and no one has a problem with the idea of playing any of those guys at small forward. He’s not a prototypical small forward, but the league is getting smaller and he definitely has a swingman-type game.
The downside? Evans won’t have a strength advantage over most small forwards, which is one of the reasons he’s currently so effective getting to the rim. However, he will have a quickness advantage over most taller SFs, so that should help. Another issue is defensively with Evans and Martin, the Kings wouldn’t really have a stopper on the wing.
Oddly enough, the solution would be at point guard. To complement Evans and Martin on the wing, the Kings would need to find a defensive-minded, pass-first point guard who is tall and strong enough to cover the other team’s best perimeter player. And it would help if he was a 40%+ shooter from long range. Think 2006-07 era Kirk Hinrich. He doesn’t need to handle the ball a lot, just get it up the court, initiate the offense, and share the ball on the perimeter.
The Sacramento Kings were down by 35 POINTS in the middle of the third quarter and rallied to beat the Bulls, 102-98, in the biggest comeback in team history. Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 23 points and eight boards, and also dished out three assists. He’s definitely making a push for ROY — right now, it’s neck and neck with the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings.
The surprising Kings are 13-14, and have won four of their last six, including back-to-back road games against the Bucks and Bulls. Oddly enough, they’ve kept their head above water without Kevin Martin. It will be interesting to see how he fits in the lineup now that Evans is thriving at off guard.
When it comes to the rookie class, Brandon Jennings has dominated the headlines, and for good reason. His 55-point outburst against Golden State was quite the coming out party and his 22.1 ppg average in November was far and away tops amongst rookies, right?
Not so fast.
Rather quietly, Tyreke Evans has put together a nice month and a half. Here’s a comparison:
Aside from Jennings’ superior accuracy from long range, those numbers are pretty similar. Evans has been playing more off guard since Kevin Martin has been sidelined, but the Kings are still starting him at the point. In December, he’s averaging 24-5-6 and is shooting 51% from the field. After his hot start, Jennings has cooled off, averaging 19-3-6 this month, while shooting just 39% from the field. He has only hit 9 of 31 threes in December (29%).
The Kings are a surprising 9-12, while the Bucks are a less surprising 10-11. Evans is much stronger and is probably better suited to the rigors of an NBA season (though it should be noted that he has missed a game this season, while Jennings has not). Meanwhile, Jennings attacks the defense with quickness using more of a finesse game (pull up jumpers, crafty layups, teardrops) to score. It’s going to be interesting to see these two guards battle for status as the ROY frontrunner, and what happens when Blake Griffin returns. Also, can Evans keep up this pace with Kevin Martin back in the lineup?
“The people I have talked to in the NBA have told me that the Kings are going to be forced to move. They are not, especially in that political climate, going to get a new arena. No matter what the mayor says, no matter what the Maloofs say. Most of the people close to the team have told me they will try everything humanly possible to stay in Sacramento but that it’s not in the cards.
“I don’t know if Anaheim would happen, that would put three teams within 50 miles of each other, highly unlikely. But Kansas City has a new Anschutz (managed) arena, that’s a very likely possibility … and Seattle would like to get the Sonics back. You’re looking at maybe 3-5 more seasons in Sacramento and then after they’re going to have to find a place to play.”
It’s funny what winning will do for your attendance. Remember how Sacramento had one of the most rocking arenas in the NBA? Back when Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic had the Kings in the title hunt, the Kings sold out every game. In fact, as recently as the 2006-07 season (when the Kings were 33-49), attendance figures show 100 percent of seats sold. Sure, they were probably sold out from the previous season, when the Kings had 44 wins, but that’s pretty good fan loyalty.
Last season, the Kings averaged 12,571 fans, or 72.6 percent of capacity. It’s pretty clear that the city of Sacramento can support a NBA team if that team is decent. Since the team isn’t going to suddenly get better in a different city, I’m not sure that moving is the answer. It will probably come down to getting a new arena, which looks like a long shot in Sacramento. If the Kings move and are still terrible, they’ll be running into the same problem in five or ten more years, in Anaheim, Kansas City, Seattle, or wherever they land.
The Sacramento Kings were down by 35 POINTS in the middle of the third quarter and rallied to beat the Bulls, 102-98, in the biggest comeback in team history. Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 23 points and eight boards, and also dished out three assists. He’s definitely making a push for ROY — right now, it’s neck and neck with the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings. 
