Should The Sacramento Kings Trade Domantas Sabonis?

Should The Sacramento Kings Trade Domantas Sabonis?

were there. Uh, all right. I want to continue a discussion that uh started well I mean it guess started a while ago but uh that Kenny brought up yesterday uh both by himself and then when you were on the program with him at 3:00 on DLO and Casey. Yeah. And that’s the whole trading Demon Sabonis thing. And I and I bring this up because I think there’s a a a bigger picture thing than um Domas just in a in a vacuum. I don’t I don’t think it’s necessarily a matter of and and Kenny said it yesterday like he’s a he’s a good player. Uh but it’s just a matter of is that is he is he on his contract somebody you can build around? And I think it it gets a little bit to the the broader topic of should the Kings tear this whole thing down? Should they rebuild? Do you tear it down to the studs and and start over? Because I think if you’re trading Demon Sabonis Mhm. given what you were likely to receive in that deal. Uh I I think it it represents a tear down of sorts because I don’t think you’re going to trade him and get anything back that makes you better immediately. Whether that’s draft compensation this year or rotational players, I don’t think there’s a version of the Kings where they’re trading Sabonis and whatever realistic package they’re going to get back involves players that make them better in in the immediate and and frankly in the in the next two or three years. Yeah. Like I think the prime example I would give is this. Um the Sacramento Kings and uh I think it’s 2004 when this happens. Um they decide to that Chris Weber’s knee is never going to be the same, right? And uh so this is um yeah, it’s 2004. It’s February 200. No, it’s 0405 season. So it’s February of of 2005, maybe January. um they they realize that that their attempt at a dynasty is over. Their uh their run as being like a superpower is probably kind of coming to an end. And they looked at Chris Weber’s contract and said, “Okay, look, like this thing isn’t working and we’re going to need to break this thing up, right?” And so they they traded Chris Weber to the Phil Philadelphia 76ers for Brian Skinner, Corus Williamson, and Kenny Thomas. Mhm. And they broke his contract up into three movable pieces. At least that’s what you thought. Um they never were able to move Kenny Thomas. They they got stuck with Kenny Thomas’ 8 million $9 million salary until uh he was no longer in the league. Um Corlo Williamson again expired. They got nothing for it. So in the end they really they realistically got nothing. And the reason I bring this up is because I don’t like I get Kenny uh like like having this this strong take that it’s time to move on from Demonus Sabonis. Like that’s that’s okay. Um but yeah, the logic tracks for me. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I get it, right? But I’m just going to be like really honest with people. Like the Kings went years without having a star level player like Sabon Sabonis. And you can say, well, they had De’arian Fox. Like, okay, Darren Fox made one all-star team and and Sabonis made two AllNBA teams since he’s been in Sacramento in three and a half years or four four years, whatever it is, like you’re not going to get back another AllNBA player. Now, you could get back a player who might develop into an AllNBA player. We can’t excuse the fact that, you know, again, Shay Gildas Alexander was acquired um as part of a gigantic package that included, you know, the Clipper sending five first round picks and Shay and other stuff to OKC to get Paul George. Um, I just don’t think number one that Sabonis has that type of market value, right? Where you’re going to get four or five first round picks and on top of four or five first round picks, you’re going to get some young players agree. One of which could develop into an AllNBA MVP superstar that’s probably going to win the NBA championship. Mhm. So, why are you doing it then? Because if you’re taking a step back, the step back is is so heavy and you’re not a team that can go sign an All-NBA player as a free agent. You’re not. That’s just it’s never happened in Sacramento. And we can talk about, you know, again, Vlad Devots, George Hill, and Demar D Rozan, the three best free agents that have ever signed here in the 45 years that Kings, 40 years the Kings have been in Sacramento. Mhm. So your step backwards isn’t a step backwards. It’s starting over and hoping that you somehow blindly trip your way into another superstar, another star level player. And that means you got to draft well. It means you got to like everything has to go right. And we’ve seen it go wrong so many times. So, I think I I like I said, this is tough for me because I know the the right radio thing to do is to is to be like, “No, you have to trade him or no, you can’t trade him. That’s insane.” I know that’s the that’s the right radio thing to do. But I I I’m on the fence. I see both sides of this. So, I’m going to step onto onto the Kenny side here. Uh and the the the trade Simon side, I should say. This is not a that Kenny Carowway is not by himself on this island, but I I think the when you say you’d be trying to back into another AllNBA player, I think that’s already what they’re trying to do with Sabonis on the roster. Okay? Because I I think if if if we’re all in agreement that hey, you know what, you probably have to find a player better than Sabonis and better than Zack Lavine if you’re going to contend in the West. which is uh should be or at least projects to be a really difficult thing to do over the next handful of five, six, seven years. Yep. And so I think what you’re saying about if you trade Sabonis because to me trading Sabonis it just is this is starting your tearown that I don’t think there’s a a realistic path to trading Sabonis and then making the playoffs this year or in 2526. I don’t think so. That’s that’s where I land anyway. Uh just because I I think like you said, what you’re getting back for him is probably a pick heavy compensation uh and and salary filler. You’re probably not getting like an awesome rotational piece where you’re like, “Oh my god, it just unlocked everything for the Kings.” I don’t think it’s there. I don’t think that deal is going to be there. So, you have to operate under the assumption that you’re trading Sabonis for the future, for the next two, three, four years or whatever span those picks are going to cover that you’re getting back. And I I I get that because if you’re going, hey, you know what, Sabonis and and Lavine, that duo, you’re going to need to find another AllNBA guy, a better a 1A to go with them to even compete. You’re in a similar spot by trading Sabonis. And now, okay, you need a you still need a 1A, but at least you’re getting yourself assets. you’re trading this player who uh you believe that you know what can’t in this window and where he’s at and where the team is at can’t really build around him so let’s get something for him and try and start building around Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis I guess or Malik Monk and Zack Leavine or who whoever who yeah yeah I I get like if that’s the direction you want to go okay but understand that that’s domino number one toward the Kings being pretty bad for for a while. Well, I I would even make this argument. It’s pretty bad for a while, but there’s there’s no guarantee of good. Yes. Like, that’s that’s the problem. You just went through 16 years of dre of of horrific basketball of of some of the worst basketball in the league. You know, we talked about this couple like I was 250 games under 500 as as a beatw writer in my first 12 years. Jesus. Like, so what exactly? I I get I get the sentiment, right? Um, but I also like my rebuttal is always going to be like you have a top 15, top 20 player in the league. Mhm. Which means that there are at least 10 teams in the league who don’t have a player as good as yours. Mhm. And we can also like when you start stacking players on, you know, the fact that LeBron and Luca play on the same team, the fact that OKC has two AllNBA players and and Jaylen Williams and and Sheay, and that the Celtics usually have two AllNBA. So, realistically, how many teams have a player that’s better than Demon Sabonis? And I know people get caught up in this, well, if Domos is your best player bit, but like I don’t I think that matters though. Well, I I think it matters to a certain degree, but like at what point do you just like throw everything out and say, “Oh, well, we we only got to this point.” Like I think outside of one team in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City Thunder, I think the West is wide open. Like I think you can make reasonable smart moves and get yourself back in the conversation. I don’t know if you’re if anyone in the next couple of years is going to find a way to get past OKC. Sure. It’s going to be a team and especially like I’ve made this point a couple of times when we talk about the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks built a team to def to defeat the Boston Celtics. That’s what they did. They they they looked at who won the Eastern Conference, who’s been the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference. They said, “We’ve got to build a team to stop the Boston Celtics.” Once you stop the Boston Celtics, but you still have another team to go through, and now that team you’re not built to beat, you have trouble. I think when you look at Oklahoma City, they are built to beat anybody and everyone on every single night. They are not a team who’s built to beat one team, right? And I’d even say the Indiana Pacers are built to be themselves. to have this free flowing crazy offense and they they’re just embracing being who they are, right? And realistically, that’s who the Kings should have been two years ago. That might have been the fatal flaw to Mike Brown is trying to convert them into something that they weren’t as opposed to just embracing the fact that they had the number one offense and how do we get even better, right? So now we get to this point where like I just feel like so many people are ready to bail and there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just you’re you’re probably going to have to be really really ruthless. Yeah. And you’re going to have to make savvy moves. But you know I don’t know like if if I’m the Kings right now, you are in in a pickle because you have nine first round picks over the next seven years. Can you get up to 12 first round or 13 first round picks over the next seven years and rebuild this thing? The problem is that we’ve seen the the horrible drafts, the you know the draft where yeah, you nail it with uh De’arren Fox at number five, but you completely botch it with Justin Jackson and and Harry Giles number 15 and 20. Like this team could have been could have had Bam Adabio and De’Arren Fox for for a decade. Mhm. And they just blew it, right? You you get the year before, they had the number nine pick in the draft. They traded to 13, pick up 28 in Bogdan Bogdanovich uh Bogdanovich’s contract. But you have 13, 22, and 28. Not one of those players is in the NBA. The 2018 draft, you completely blow, completely blow with with the number two overall pick. You come away with a guy who’s hanging on to his NBA life by a thread in Marvin Bagley. when Luca Donuch and Trey Young and Jiren Jackson Jr. and even DeAndre Aton are still, you know, at least most of them are thriving. Aiden at least, you know, is probably the worst of the group. Um, but like there is no sure thing if you have a ton of draft picks. I don’t think DeAndre Aiden’s worse than Marvin Baggley. No, no, no, he’s not. Okay. No, he’s better than Marvin Bagley. Yeah, but by what? By what measurement? Sure. like Yeah, he’s he’s going to get another contract. No, I mean they they set him to the side most of the season. Use Klingan these other guys. Yeah. So So look like my point is like the starting over or trading Domos or you know if he’s your first best player, you’re not very good. Okay. What’s the alternative? The So So the alternative is you have tradable assets. Yeah. And you so what you’re doing is you’re pulling the plug on this now instead of going, “Hey, we’re gonna try and work this out with Sabonis and maybe and and maybe we make the right moves and all of a sudden there’s this contender in the West and with with Domas in in in some order of of the hierarchy. um they’re they’re a 45 to 50 win team and they’re just kind of around and that’s just that’s where they cap out. Okay. The argument is you just pull the plug entirely and start yourself at square one so you’re not ostensibly wasting the next four years to just try and be maybe competitive because look how bad they used to be. Like at some point like we’re already seeing it. We saw it starting last year that hey 48 wins was a benchmark to move up. 46 was not good enough. 40 is certainly not good enough. Staying in this range, it it like it gets old. And at that point, you’re picking 12th, 13th every year. You’re not doing anything substantial. I I I think the argument is you’re pulling the plug. You’re rebuilding. You’re just starting over. Okay? And you want to do that ASAP. And that means when you have a good player who’s like, “Hey, you know what? this guy could be valuable to someone else and we can get something back for him and kickstart that rebuild now instead of ostensibly wasting the next few years chasing a six seed. Okay. I think that’s where just the general basketball team building and the way we’ve seen the NBA go over the last I god I don’t even know 20 years like yeah just when you hit your ceiling all right we’re done here we’re going to tear it down and start over. Mhm. And I think that’s where this conversation kind of goes. Now, the question is, will the Kings do that? Let’s go. Let’s go down that path. We’ll continue discussing this. And the thought I can’t shake about the NBA finals.

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