Trade Shareef?
by Tom Ziller on Feb 13, 2007 8:35 AM PST
in Free Agency/Trades
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PrintWhen discussing the Kings' power forward situation, certain assumptions need to be made. The first? Kenny Thomas is damn near impossible to trade for the next few years. Moving that contract isn't impossible, considering some of the other craptastic deals floating around (such as Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle, Brian Cardinal, Larry Hughes, Nene, Eric Snow, Steve Francis). But it would be a stroke of genius or the return of a painful contract to get rid of Thomas. So he probably sticks around a couple more years.
Corliss Williamson will probably get a one- or two-year deal this offseason, but I can almost guarantee it will not be with the Kings. In rebuilding with youth, a 34-year-old undersized power forward doesn't exactly jump off the page.
The Kings obviously need to get younger and more athletic at the four. Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been a fantastic low-post scorer since birth. But his growing lack of rebounding presence (especially on the defensive end), as well as his oil-vinegar relationship with a speedy fast-break offense adds up to a murky future for the guy.
(Disclaimer: I love Shareef. I've never heard one bad word about him - and I get emailed a lot of bad words about a lot of players. I was so excited when he landed in Sacramento, and the Reef Era - all two months of it pre-ZBo - was great.)
Should the Kings seek to trade Shareef? He's not... what's the word? Young? Yeah. He's 30, and he's signed up til he's 34. He's a damn bargain, and he's a reliable post scorer (which this team lacks in the youth corps). But again: The Poodle isn't going anywhere, and this team can't find a young PF and then split the minutes three ways for four years.
Would you trade Shareef for cap room, basically cutting your losses on the Reef Era? Would you require a draft pick, or a young prospect? Would you include him only in a larger deal that cuts more salary, or would you consider dealing Shareef to be your only move of the trading season?
I don't think I'd trade him for less than a draft pick or prospect. As I said, he's a bargain at the midlevel. He should be making at least Artest-money. If you trade him for cap space and nothing else, are you going to be able to find a top-flight replacement cheaper? Very doubtful. The best you could hope to do is collect a power forward in the late lottery (which is where the Kings will end up) and hope he goes superstar on you.
By collecting a pick or a young prospect, you not only increase your chances to slide into homerun territory in the draft, but you build your assets. To land one of these power forwards better than Reef, you'll need assets. All your current assets are wing players - and I could see the Kings moving one in the near future (Garcia, likely). There are no real frontcourt "assets" to speak of on the team. And big has a way of drawing more interest on the market than small.
A couple threads down, commenter bballblog suggests Reef and Vitaly Potapenko for P.J. Brown - straight cap relief. (He also suggests this as a domino following the trades of Bibby and Artest.) Would the Bulls give up one of their lower wing prospects (Thabo Sefolosha?) to get the post scorer they need for the next few years? Remember: They seem to be looking at losing two higher-level assets and their high draft pick in a trade for Pau Gasol. Shareef isn't as young as Gasol, and he isn't as big or powerful. But they need a post scorer, an effective body down there. If they can get that at a lower qaulity but at a much lower price, why wouldn't they? Don't forget that Gasol makes more than twice as much as Shareef over the next four years, and Chicago is going to flirt with the luxury tax when these young players start asking for their extensions (as Kirk Hinrich did last summer).
Of course, the Kings are loaded on the wing. What about that draft pick, the one which belongs to the Knicks? Would that pick (projected around #10) plus P.J. Brown for a cheap Shareef and Potapenko's expiring contract do the trick? As bballblog has mentioned, the Kings could cut Brown after the deadline, allowing a playoff team to pick him up off waivers. Or, since Brad Miller remains gimpy, they could keep him on board for the next few months.
In either case, it opens up the power forward position in the future. Kenny Thomas can start, and it's obvious Eric Musselman agrees with that sentiment. But it would allow the team - with that added asset - to find a youngster, and it would allow plenty of room for development as The Poodle doesn't have it in him to play more than 30 min a night. Once that hypothetical youngster gets good, shift Thomas back to the bench.
Thoughts?
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Re: Trade Shareef?
Re: Trade Shareef?
That's going in The Poodle's Christmas newsletter.
Re: Trade Shareef?
I think Reef has two downsides.
- He's old and his knees are going bad like Webber. So don't expect his shot blocking or rebounding to improve, likely will get worse.
- He has a flat shot so he's not much of a threat from outside.
Re: Trade Shareef?
Shareef is a perhaps a good fit with New Orleans because they need the low post scoring.
Shareef perhaps fit with Chicago, Miami or Houston.
I was absolutely ecstatic when Shareef signed with the Kings hoping he'd be able to bring 18 points and 8 boards to our team along the explosive attack of Bonzi, Bibby and Peja along with the pinpoint playmaking of Brad. But the worst case scenario played out and the Kings played lifeless basketball until Artest came over in the Stojakovic deal, which was a short term deal.
Re: Trade Shareef?
- Trade Bibby/Artest/Shareef/Miller + Thomas if possible (not likely) to get cap space for the next two years. It doesn't matter if the contract doesn't expire THIS YEAR as this year's free agent crop isn't too exciting; but as long as it's in the next two years.
- Get a few draft picks when you make the trades.
- Keep Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia and John Salmons.
MIKE BIBBY
Bibby to Boston for Theo Ratliff, Delonte West and the Celtics first round pick in 2008.
Mike Bibby & Ron Artest to the Miami Heat for Jason Williams, James Posey, Michael Doleac, Dorell Wright and the Heat's first round pick this year.
Mike Bibby to Cleveland, Ron Artest/Scot Pollard/Damon Jones to Miami, Jason Williams/James Posey/Drew Gooden/Miami's first round pick to Sacramento
RON ARTEST
Mike Bibby & Ron Artest to the Miami Heat for Jason Williams, James Posey, Michael Doleac, Dorell Wright and the Heat's first round pick this year.
Mike Bibby to Cleveland, Ron Artest/Scot Pollard/Damon Jones to Miami, Jason Williams/James Posey/Drew Gooden/Miami's first round pick to Sacramento
See any of the deals TZ proposed in his Artest to Miami post
SHAREEF ABDUR RAHIM
Shareef Abdur Rahim and Vitaly Potapenko to Chicago for PJ Brown and a future first round pick
BRAD MILLER
Brad Miller to the San Antonio Spurs for Jackie Butler, Eric Williams and Matt Bonner. Bonner and Williams are cap relief. Butler is an intriguing prospect at center who got some minutes in NY last year and performed well. There's no draft pick here, but there is cap relief. Why would the Spurs do it? Brad's weaknesses would easily be masked in the Spurs offense. Defensively the Spurs would lose a step - but offensively the Spurs would thrive. Miller would free up a lot for Duncan and actually might make Duncan better than he is with his passing. Remember, Brad is at his best when his weaknesses are masked. There's only a handful of rosters right now in the league where I think Brad's weaknesses would be masked. Will this deal happen? If Brad wasn't sitting out the next few weeks, maybe. Now... it's unlikely.
So out of all of those scenarios I can see most of them happening and they bring cap relief and a young prospect or two. If Sacramento can swing the Boston trade and walk away from a deal with Miami with Wright they will have two more prospects to build around Martin/Garcia/Salmons, and plenty of cap relief, mixed in with a few first round picks.
There's no way Boston gives up this year's pick, but if the Kings can convince the Celtics that they need another veteran (Bibby) to go with Wally and Pierce, combined with the fact they already have Al Jefferson/Tony Allen and a host of other young good players and they're pretty much guaranteed to walk away from the draft this year with Oden, Durant or Noah (Big Three), and I think Ainge takes that deal in a heartbeat. You know Bibby's not going to opt out, if the Celtics keep West and continue to build around West/Telfair/Rondo they're still going to be a few years away so they're going to need a point guard at some point.
You don't want to sign Pierce for another 5 years and trade for Wally, have a prospect like one of the Big Three this year, to go along with all of your other young guys in waiting, only to keep rebuilding with an eye for 3-5 years from now.
I think most of these deals are feasible, I think Thomas is going to be the hardest to move unless we throw in Garcia, though. But I think acquiring some cap room for the next two years and some draft picks would be the smartest direction to go in. With as deep as the West is, the Kings are still a legit big man away from contending again. It's that simple. And at that point Artest will be able to walk, Bibby will be able to walk completely as well, they'll both be a year or two older... do we really want to wait that long to rebuild when we clearly aren't that good right now?
My answer is no. The time to rebuild is now.
by bballblog on Feb 13, 2007 11:45 AM PST reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
But will the Maloofs and Petrie be willing to do that? This is a touchy time for the franchise, with the arena issues and the general dissatisfaction with the ownership and team from the public. Will the fans hang with them through a rebuilding?
Re: Trade Shareef?
Re: Trade Shareef?
Meaning - I don't care if we're losing 40-50 games the next two years as long as we're doing it in an entertaining fashion. Which is why I'm fine with bringing Jason back and letting him and the "kids" score 110+ points a game. Even if K-Mart has to lead the league in scoring... I don't care.
Seriously. If Webber wins a championship with Detroit and wants to return to Sacramento to have some fun, I'd be all for it. Open up the court and let Jason and Webber find exciting ways to get Martin and Garcia the ball. TELL Jason to do the off the elbow pass in a game (which isn't all that high risk - I've done it four times successfully in an organized game), and whatever tricks he can. If they lose 40-50 games, so be it. But at least it'll be fun to watch them.
Which is a lot more than I can say for this current Kings squad. They have moments, but they are rare.
by bballblog on Feb 14, 2007 2:56 AM PST up reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
Re: Trade Shareef?
by bballblog on Feb 14, 2007 2:37 AM PST up reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
Re: Trade Shareef?
by DB on Feb 13, 2007 5:15 PM PST reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
Re: Trade Shareef?
I still think Shareef can help a team out... just not the Kings.
by bballblog on Feb 14, 2007 2:36 AM PST up reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
Shareef is a bit overpaid for a backup, but still a bargain for a starter.
Re: Trade Shareef?
by DB on Feb 15, 2007 12:04 AM PST reply actions
Re: Trade Shareef?
by bballblog on Feb 15, 2007 10:11 AM PST up reply actions
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