Greg Swartz on where the Sacramento Kings need to make improvements this offseason
12:00 on the dot and as promised we are joined by Greg Schwarz of Bleacher Report. Greg, thank you so much for joining us. Happy Monday. Yeah, thanks for having me on today. Let’s start here. Greg, I was, you know, kind of looking at everything that you’ve put out for Bleach Report lately and just great stuff. By the way, be sure to follow Greg on social media and check out his work on Bleach Report. you posted at the end or you wrote at the end of April, bold offseason NBA trades that need to happen. You mentioned Zion Lillard and John the Kaminga. Obviously out here in Sacramento, we’re trying to see what that next move is going to be. How bold do you think this summer is going to get with some of these big names? I think this is probably going to be one of the most exciting summers we’ve seen at least in trade activity in a long time because you know after that Luca Donic trade went down in February I think everybody kind of looked around the league and was like whoa well if that can happen anything can happen and you know you look at a free agency class that isn’t particularly strong you look at there’s not a lot of teams that have a lot of cap space uh it’s just going to be mostly a lot of teams with the mid-level exception to spend you know where is where’s the player activity going to come from. I think it’s going to come from the trade market and uh you’re going to see a lot of teams, you know, trying to make that counter move. Okay, Luca’s over here now, AD’s over here now. Um obviously the Giannis situation, Milwaukee is going to be something everybody’s monitoring. So I think yeah, in terms of um potential blockbuster trades, I think this summer really stands out as as a hotbed for activity. talking to Greg Schwarz of Bleach Report. Greg, I I know that you have a connection to to Cleveland. What do you think happened out there? Obviously, there were injuries and we were talking about Darius Garland all-star season, but you know, and very similar the Kings not having Malik Monk these last couple years been really tough towards the end of the season. And on a obviously a higher level, Daryus Garland not being available. There was a game where I think three of the Cavs rotation players uh did didn’t play. Where do the Cavs go from here? I I think it’s interesting that even though they had the injury situation, people still believe Yeah, they don’t have enough. They don’t have enough. Yeah, injuries were the number one thing. Uh if you watch to me, the biggest player affected was Darius Garland. I mean, Darius was just so good during the regular season. and he was an all-star, averaged 20 points, shot over 40% from three, almost seven assists a game, and he was just that kind of that electric uh second second scorer and and and primary facilitator for Cleveland after Donovan Mitchell. And you know, he was just completely hobbled. Missed the last two games of the Miami series, goes into the Indiana series, misses the first two games there. Cleveland’s offense just does not look the same. It’s just completely stuck in the mud. DeAndre Hunter, your big your big inseason trade acquisition coming over from the Atlanta Hawks, uh, gets hurt in game one and really averaged eight points per game on 30% shooting the rest of the series with the a right wrist injury on his shooting wrist. So, he just wasn’t the same. And then Evan Moy, I know the raw numbers look pretty good, uh, even though he sprained his ankle in game one, but it was just like, oh my gosh, like how many injuries are they going to have to deal with, right? Um, and then that completely affected the offense. They stopped moving the ball. Um, Indiana passed the ball over 70 times more per game in that series leading to open shots and the Cavs just tried to do too much hero ball with Donovan Mitchell who who was really good but wasn’t good enough to do it himself. So, in the end, Indiana’s depth uh overcame Cleveland’s injuries and the Cavs certainly have a long off season ahead of them and a disappointing one especially because Boston got knocked out and that was that was a team you were worried about in the East. Talking to Greg Schwarz of Bleacher Report. Greg, it is well known on this show that I really love DeAndre Hunter and you talked about him being a big acquisition for the Cavs. Do you believe that I mean, you know, we have the kind of touchable and untouchable conversation. Do you believe that he’ll be somebody that the Cavs will will see? It’s a pretty decent contract at 20, you know, 20 million that goes up these next couple next couple seasons. Do you think that he’ll be on the Cavs next season? And if you do, I you know, I’m curious too as far as the the rotations are concerned. He still seems like he could be a starter in this league to me, but he dealt with injuries in Atlanta and then started to come off the bench and he’s coming off the bench with the Cavs. Well, what do you think happens with DeAndre Hunter? Well, I I think whatever happens to DeAndre Hunter is going to be affected by whatever happens to Jared Allen because if the Cavs break up their big four, I think Allen’s going to be the one that goes. And I I think if he gets traded and you look for maybe a little bit more wing depth or if you’re looking for a backup point guard if Taur doesn’t resign. Um if you’re looking to shake things up in Cleveland, I don’t think you do it by trading a Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell and Evan Moley. I think it’s with a Jared Allen. Um and there’s a lot and Jared Allen’s a really good player. I I don’t want to trade Jared Allen, but if that’s who you trade, um then I would foresee Evan Mobley moving to a full-time center role. Uh DeAndre Hunter then presumably would take the starting power forward job. But there’s a lot that has to play out. I don’t think the Cavs view DeAndre Hunter as an untouchable piece. Um but that trade to get him was designed with Boston in in mind and they wanted to get under the luxury tax and they did both by getting him. So, I don’t think he’s untouchable, but he’s certainly not a player that the Cavs are going to be shopping to to begin the offseason. Greg, we’re talking to Greg Schwarz of Bleach Report. Greg, from the outside looking in, you know, obviously there have been reports that the Kings right now or ever feel like rebuilding fully, what would you do? And I know, you know, taking a look at uh some of the articles that you’ve written, you’ve had a couple other blockbuster trades, but as far as the Kings are concerned, what’s the approach that you would take? And what direction do you think that they should go in? Yeah. Well, the Kings have a lot of talent. It’s just, you know, where who are our core pieces? Who do you identify as a core piece? Because I’m sure like a lot of teams are going to call about Donna Sabonis and say, “Well, we’d love to have him.” And I’m sure Sacramento is going to be like, “Yeah, well, we love him, too.” Um, if if I’m Sacramento, I’m I’m keeping Zabonis unless I’m just blown away by an offer because I just I I’m a huge Sabonis fan. I have been for a long time back to his Indiana days. So, I’m I’m definitely keeping him um if I can. Keegan Murray is a guy that I think you’re you know, you’re going to extend him this summer presumably if you can get him on a good number. I would identify him as a core piece. Devin Carter, I I really like Malik Monk. Um and then after that, I assume Zack Lavine’s going to stay because you you went out and got him. He’s only got two years on his contract left now. I played pretty well. Um I think for me, it’s Demar De Rozan is the piece that, you know, does he fit anymore? especially if you’re trying to get a little bit younger. You’re not rebuilding like you’re still trying to win. You still have a lot of guys in the prime of their career like a Sabonis, like a Lavine. Um, but me, D Rozan is a guy that maybe just doesn’t fit anymore. And if you could flip him either for, you know, if you don’t view Malik Monk as a starting point guard, if you’d rather have him as a two, maybe you try to get D Rozan for a starting one, maybe you try to get better defensively, I think definitely is something that the Sacramento Kings should try to do. So, um, D Rozan’s probably the only guy I would actively shop and then after that I would take calls pretty much on anybody else on the roster and just say, “Okay, like we’re not we’re not shopping demon bonus, but you know, we’ll certainly take offers on them. Uh, if you want to come with some godfather offer and blow us away.” So, I think they should be open to a lot of different things, but certainly improving the defensive side of the ball is is the number one thing I’d look to doing this off season. As far as Damonte Sabonis is concerned, I I think it’s interesting because he’s a bit unique, right? Somebody, you know, people will call him a a diet yic at times and we take calls all the time and texts as far as, well, can he play the four, can he not play the four? You you say you’re a fan of Damonte Sabonis. What do you think he needs as a a front court partner in order to get the most out of him? cuz personally, Greg, I don’t think he can play the four. You need somebody that can stretch the floor uh to play with him. Yeah. I mean, that’s what we saw in Indiana with the Miles Turner. Like, that’s if you’re going to put another front court piece in there or a true center with him, you got to have somebody that can shoot. Like, you know, in a vacuum, like for example, Jared Allen, Jared Allen would do wonders for your defense. Like, he protects the rim. He can guard on the perimeter, but I don’t like that fit at all. I don’t like the fit between Jared Allen and a Deammanus Sabonis just because Jared Allen’s can’t shoot from three. He’s not going to spread the floor. Um, you’re going to have some real spacing issues there. So, if you want to play Sabonis at the four, which I’m not a big fan of, uh, I don’t think that’s where you’re going to maximize your team, especially on offense, uh, yeah, you got to bring in a center that can shoot. Um, now I’d be intrigued. you know, Sacramento has uh their full mid-level exception, $14 million about, you know, would a guy like Brook Lopez sign with you if you could get him on a one-year deal and just be like, well, this is a guy we can start next to him or we can bring him off the bench, we can play big, we can play small, and we know Brook can shoot. So, maybe somebody like that is who I would look into if you’re looking to compliment a guy like Sabonis in the front court. Talking to Greg Schwarz of Bleach Report. Greg, one of the more intriguing situations in the NBA, their season recently ended uh with the Golden State Warriors, Jonathan Kaminga, and a lot of people, yourself included, you know, the sign and trade conversation has happened uh and I I believe you had a deal where the Warriors would get Anthony Simons and Kaminga would go to Portland. I I have no clue what Kaminga’s value is. What do you think Kaminga’s value is? Yeah. So, the rumors were that he turned down or he wanted north of $30 million last off season, $30 million per year. The Warriors obviously were were hesitant to offer him that. Uh, which I do not blame them. That’s a lot of money for a guy who is extremely talented, but, you know, hasn’t really proven a whole lot. And obviously, there’s been a lot of, uh, disagreements between him and Steve Kerr out in Golden State. So, I think Kaminga needs to go to a team that is not expected to win right away. Uh, he’s been in the league for four years, but he’s still quite young. Like, he came in the league uh very young, and he’s super athletic, and I think you need to go to a team where he can play through his mistakes. And, uh, Portland was a a destination I thought definitely could serve as a fit. Um, the Brooklyn Nets are a team that’s going to continually come up for Kaminga because they have the cap space to outright sight him. And I think there’s a deal where Cam Johnson going back to Golden State in a deal like that could make sense. Um, one thing you have to keep in mind is, you know, when you do a signing trade, if you sign Jonathan and Kaminga for $30 million, that’s not a $30 million swap between teams. Like the money coming back would be half of that. So, it’s kind of makes potential trades a little wonky. Um, but I like Kaminga. I think he’ll be a good player in the right situation, but uh his future is not in Golden State. I would be absolutely shocked if he went back to the Warriors. Um, and I don’t think the Warriors particularly want him back. Not at 30 million. Not at $30 million a season at least. Yeah, I saw during the Valkyrie home opener, he was chuming it up with Joe Lacob and everybody said Joe Lacob’s not going to trade this guy as Joe Lacob has been a huge advocate. But yeah, the the money’s got to make sense. And honestly, the fit the the Steve Kerr thing that’s just been a bit confusing. He’s just not. You watch him and you watch the rest of the team and you think, “Yeah, that just doesn’t work.” Very very similar, like you said, to bring it back to the Kings to watching Demar De Rozan and just the the collection of players that the Kings had this season. A lot of talent, but but didn’t really work. Before we get you out of here, Greg, you mentioned Demard Roen is the only guy you’d actively shop, and you brought up centers and and point guards. Do you have a a a name off the top of your head for a a a potential point guard target? We’ve talked about the big names like the Jaws or the or the Trey Youngs and you can go in that direction as well. Or is there maybe somebody in that second tier that you think could could maybe help the Kings more than a lot of us realize. Yeah, like you said, John Moran, Trey Young, those names are going to come up. LaMelo Ball is obviously a guy whose name is going to come up. I mean, if you want to excite the fan base, you can excite the fan base for at least 30 games when he’s healthy when he plays. Uh, I don’t know if long term that’s the best solution, but I I I don’t know what their asking price would be. It’s tough, right? Like John Mar, you know, a couple years ago looked untouchable. LaMelo Ball a couple years ago looked untouchable. And now you look at their teams and it’s like, well, you know, the there’s injury issues, there’s offc court issues, there’s there’s just a lot of different things that go into it now that you have to to take into consideration. Maybe a fresh start would help those guys, too. Um, if you get Trey Young, that’s that’s not going to help your defense. I can tell you that right now. Uh, so that that would not be my primary target for that. And I think you want guys that are on multi-year deals that you could say like, you know, we don’t want this to be a rental situation. We want you to come in here and be a a core piece of this foundation moving forward. Like, we we have a lot of talent here. We want to win now. Uh, we don’t want this to just be like, okay, this guy’s on an expiring deal, and bring him in. So, I think you call about everybody and you say, “All right, what’s the asking price for this guy?” Okay, that’s what you want. All right, no, thank you. Because, you know, you got to be open to everything. Like you said, Demar is the one guy that I don’t think fits. Um, but if you can bring in maybe a pass first point guard, somebody who can defend, uh, and and really I’d like to see a bigger offensive role open up for Keegan Murray, too. I I I feel like we haven’t seen what he’s capable of yet now three plus or three full years into his career. um especially if you’re going to extend them this offseason, you got to give them room to grow, too. So, I think it’s going to be a very busy offseason in Sacramento and certainly a team that should be active in trade talks. Greg, I got a name and I’ve been pushing this agenda. I know he’s coming off that Achilles, but I think Deonte Murray is a guy who, you know, shooting the three ball not his forte, but he defends, he’s got good length, he can distribute the basketball. I don’t know what the Pelicans are ever doing. So, you know, if that’s a the Rosen conversation, I’m not sure. I think he’s kind of a a second tier guy that can give, like you said, that runway to Keegan, see him get more shots, and he’s a dog. So, that that’s what I’ve been pushing out here. Greg, look, I pushed for DeJonte Murray trade for the Cavs for year before they got Donovan Mitchell. Like, that’s who I wanted. Like, that I I’m a huge DeJonte Murray fan, but like you said, it’s the Achilles. like if he come when he comes back, he’s probably not going to come back till January. Like so you’re not going to have him at the start of the season. So it can you be patient with him? Um and if you trade for him, can you afford to like, you know, go a couple months when he’s hurt and still, you know, be in in that playoff conversation in a really tough Western Conference. So if he’s healthy, I’d 100% say yes because that’s the point guard. That’s the guy that makes you better defensively. But yeah, that Achilles injury would scare me a little bit and and he was not good uh in New Orleans after they traded him. His shooting numbers were terrible. So, if he was healthy, I’d say yes. But it would have to be a really really cheap discount for the Kings to to trade for him given that injury right now. Greg Schwarz, be sure to follow him on social media and check out all of his work on Bleach Report. Greg, thank you so much. We got to do this again. Might be a long summer out here in Sacramento and in in Cleveland as well. So definitely got to do this again, Greg. Thanks so much. Yeah, thanks for having me on. That was Greg Schwarz of Bleacher Report. Outstanding stuff there when we return breaking down what we heard from Greg. Do we think the Kings have what it takes to get in the conversation with some of these big names? Sound styles sports. Hey, it’s Mike Rone. If I have a choice, I like to do business with companies that actually stand for
On this Monday edition of The Allen Stiles Show, the guys were joined by Bleacher Report NBA writer Greg Swartz to discuss the NBA postseason and who would become available this offseason.
From the Sacramento Kings perspective, what should they do? What names should be monitored?
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