I’m still trying to decide how I feel about the signing, but I can certainly appreciate your views. The only thing I’m not sure I agree with is that this wouldn’t happen if we’d drafted Bayless, Augustin, Westbrook, etc. I agree that it becomes less likely, but part of me still thinks that it may have happened. Our team doesn’t have a whole lot of money for free agents, so the MLE seems far more important to us. It is a key piece of the roster puzzle for many teams. But we just used the MLE to lock up a starter. Plenty of teams use the MLE just to get some stopgap player who isn’t worth much at all (Mikki Moore anyone?).

I see your point about the whole thing with Beno. I figure most people would agree about the length of the contract, more than any single thing about it. But that was probably necessary to keep him short term, and that’s just the bitch of the whole thing.

(I’ve written much longer comments on Posts in the past. Much Much longer. It’s not that big of a deal trust me.)

If Artest and somebody else get moved before the trading deadline wouldn’t that possibly free up more cap space then what they just locked up in Beno? to me the 6 mil a year is not a huge commitment for a starter. If a top young PG gets drafted next year the contract would not be a cap killer, IMO three years would have been much better but if the market called for 5 years the Kings did what they had to do. Honestly I did not like any of the other options that were availabe in free agency.

I agree that a 2 or 3 year contract would have been perfect but it’s clear he was getting offered better than that. I also agree with the thinking that there aren’t really any better point guards available to us than Beno (but I was loving the Arenas pipe dream short as it was). I guess my point is this: So what. If another team wants to lock him up for 5 years because he fills their needs then let them. And if we dont fill the spot and our point guard position blows for the next year or two big deal. I don’t feel that Beno is a one in a million player that will make us kick ourselves years from now because he got away. A year ago I didn’t even know who Beno was – think about all the options that will be there in a year or two that we can’t see from right here.

This whole episode taps into my loathing of the NBA economy in general. Too many GM’s let the movements of other teams distract them from the goal. I honestly dont think Petrie wanted Beno for 5 years and had we landed an upper tier pg in the draft he could have justified walking away. I know that a lot of people would probably hate it if the Kings didn’t sign anyone for this year, but I think it would have put us in a much better position in the long run

Beno is a nice player and can help the team, but the Kings are years away from contention, Beno’s never going to be The Answer at point and yeah, that’s a long contract.

It particularly baffles me because for the past two years or so Petrie has been focused like a laser on clearing cap room and getting more flexible. I don’t think this necessarily blows that process out of the water, but it sure doesn’t help.

Maybe it’ll turn out to be not that big of a deal once K9 and Miller are off the books. But if this keeps Petrie from being able to sign a player who actually would be a difference maker (and I’m talking about two to four years down the road when the Kings rebuilding project is hopefully almost complete) we’re gonna regret his signing.

[from R-Man] ‘Petrie doesn’t subscribe to the "blow it all up" theory as being the best way to rebuild. He’s had numerous chances to tear this sucker completely apart and go for the top pick in the draft, but he’s passed,’

and neither do I. As I’ve said a nausous # of times. Unless you get the #1 or #2 (and even not then – look at Toronto ect..) there is no guarantee at all. They basically get paid MLE money as well.

Take a look at S Williams on our roster – a #5 pick baby.
No guarantees

Thats why its ‘usually’ better to sign young veteran players that you KNOW can play and think are about to become stars.