Beno, Martin, Howard, Noah, Hawes sounds like a decent start to the rebuilding process to me. Even better if you replace Beno with Ford.

I’d like to clarify that I’m in the “if players X, Y , & Z are off the board, make the trade” camp. There are a couple of guys that I think could be better for the Kings than Noah, but he’d still be a good pick at 12 taking into consideration what the board looks like, so it might be worth looking into depending on who’s there.

If the Bulls draft Beasley, the word is that one of Thomas/Noah will likely be shopped, and because of the bad publicity Noah’s gotten, he’s the one most people figure to be traded of the two.

I know you’re in the “Rose” camp for the #1 pick, but out of curiosity what would you want the Bulls to do with the roster if they did draft Beasley?

Did you have similar feelings when C-Webb came here? Jason Williams? Ron Artest? Vernon Maxwell?
Keon Clark? I’m not asking to be a smart aleck, I’m honestly asking, because the “character” issue has crossed my mind in each of those instances. For me, I wound up taking a wait and see attitude. But I wonder how many folks were turned off by those acquisitions due to the various and spotted pasts of those individuals.

One thing it would definitely be is entertaining.

Just want to note that everything I post is done with the hope that Artest will be playing (or not playing) for some other team next season.

Note that I said that I hope Artest will be gone. I expect that Rip Van Petrie will briefly wake from his two year nap, draft a guy and then go back to sleep.

that two seasons ago experts were talking about Joakim Noah being the #1 overall player off the board if he’d entered the draft after being named MVP of the NCAA tournament. Instead he stayed in school to win back-to-back titles and refine his skills.

My point is twofold: 1) we’re talking about a kid with a lot of physical talent, much of it exactly what we need in Sacramento, which of course is why Geoff Petrie was reportedly ready to grab him before the Bulls beat him to the punch. Noah is long and athletic; he can run the court, rebound, defend and block shots; he’s a good passer, a smart, team-oriented player; and he’s somebody who takes pride in working harder than anybody else. He brings high intensity and energy every second he’s on the court; nnd he’s just a lot of fun to watch.

2) If he’s a bad guy or a head case that’s one thing, but there’s no real evidence of that based on his career at Florida. This run-in with the authorities involving weed doesn’t really concern me, but to be honest the incident where he got into it with a Bulls assistant coach and later Ben Wallace does a bit. It sounds like he spouted off about his teammates not busting ass, not playing like it mattered. My instincts are that we’re looking at a case of someone who’s still immature and has a boisterous, slightly against-the-grain personality. He needs to figure out how it works in the NBA and maybe how to grow up in general.

All that said, he’s not a slacker or a thug, he’s only 23 years old, and frankly, I’d take a chance on the kid in a heartbeat for that #12 pick, unless we need it as part of that deal to get the #2 pick :>) because there’s nobody who’s gonna be there who’s a sure thing either, and at least Noah has demonstrated that he can play in the league, and even shown flashes that he can be a very good player.

If he were four inches taller I might love him. I like Westbrook better only because of his length and his seeming desire to play defense.

I’m not mad at him, though I’m unclear as to whether, at his point, he can reliably hit threes in the NBA. Fellow shortie Chris Paul shot 48% from three his final college season, and 28% his NBA rookie season. (He’s up to almost 34% for his NBA career now.) Augustin’s around 38% in college.

By anecdote, taller guards don’t have the same translation problems. Deron Williams was 36% his final college season, now 37% in his NBA career. He’s 6’3, Paul’s 6’, Augustin’s about 5’11.

I’d like him. Paired with Kevin, not so much.

Well, slightly. A 15.5 PER and 109 ORtg is a good place to start for a guy with no jumpshot, and a he’s an excellent runner/dribbler/passer for a big who’s actually big. JoNo obviously isn’t a 19 year old with a lot of development left in him, but the future is brighter than average. He even plays defense, though it would be nice to see Noah be less Marcus Camby, and more Peej Brown.

He never has been, either. If he turns out to be nothing more than a long-time NBA starting 4 (i.e. never a star) then I won’t be surprised.

That said, I really do like his energy and passion, and he would be an instant fan favorite here in Sac for both of those traits. I also think he would be a good piece of the puzzle, just not necessarily the missing link to the rebuilding process (like a Rose or Beasley might be).

With a resigned Beno, and Noah for the #12, the Kings would have a core starting 5 of Beno, Martin, Salmons/Garcia, Noah, Hawes (Artest & Miller are probably not part of the future core), and that’s a decent place to start. I think that’s a team that Kings fans could really get behind.

To expand into past ideas, you could replace Beno with Ford (traded for Artest or Salmons & Moore), Salmons/Garcia with Howard (traded for Artest), or some other piece could be upgraded using a combination of parts we don’t need for the future (Artest, Miller, Moore, even Salmons).

Speaking of Toronto, I don’t know how they feel about Radoslav Nesterovic, but if they have any interest in Brad Miller, I wonder if something like this would fly:

Miller, Artest/Salmons, 2nd Round Pick(s)
for
Ford, Nesterovic, #17

For the Raps they have 3 quality bigs (Bosh, Bargnani, & Miller) plus the 3 they’re missing. They relieve themselves of their PG glut, and drop from #17 to #42/43 (perhaps picking up both for an extra pick). The salary risk is minimal, as Miller has one more year than Nesterovic, and Artest is an ending deal while Salmons is very reasonably paid (they’d save $3M per year from Ford’s contract).

For the Kings, Nesterovic is a C as well as an ending contract, and if the Kings include Salmons instead of Artest the post-2010 impact is only $3M total. This would also allow the Kings to still shop Artest for another piece (Howard, a 1st rounder’s draft rights/future 1st round pick, etc.) The #17 pick gives the Kings another good pick (or back into the 1st, if the #12 is traded for Noah) in a fairly deep draft.

As has been mentioned before in the Ford thread, if not for their glut at the point, and Ford’s “health” concerns, this deal probably wouldn’t even be close. All things considered, it might actually be possible, and can anyone imagine how happy Pookey would be if Miller and Artest were traded for rebuilding pieces?

I think that the Kings need to do something to shake up this roster, and get value for the pieces that they do not need for the future (Artest, Miller, & Moore specifically) . . . even at the cost of a worse W-L record (which would actually help the rebuilding process as it would give the Kings a better draft pick anyway).

That’s my $0.34 anyway (at this length, it’s definitely more than two).

First off Noah is what he is. Do the Kings need that? Yes, but Noah needs to play in a system that emphasizes defense. The Kings don’t do that. What they need is individual defenders who can augment the team defense designed to maximize the offensive potential. That’s why I say no.

What does being effective in Florida have to do with this conversation? We know the guy was great in College. The NBA is not College.

You don’t see a better prospect than Noah because that’s your opinion. That isn’t a fact by any stretch. (Neither are any of my opinions for that matter.)

Who said anything about Noah getting a team to the NBA finals? He isn’t that type of player period, and no one around here is confusing him as such. What I’m saying he is that he’s a role player, and that’s what he is. The Kings need more than that, and that’s my opinion.

Btw, what kick ass point guard are the Kings going to acquire?

Why are you emphasizing that Noah could have been taken first. Not only are LaMarcus Aldridge and Tyrus Thomas better prospects, chances are they would have shot above him on the draft board. And a few opinions that he would have gone first overall doesn’t mean jack. That’s just opinion. I highly doubt he would have been a top 3 pick, and that’s not necessarily a personal opinion.

Last but not least, who the hell is Westwood? Are you talking about the place in LA? Are you talking about Russell WestBROOK. You want me to take you seriously? At least get the last name of a prospect right.

That was an entertaining clip.

Top four.