How Scott Perry Can Turn The Kings Around In Free Agency

How Scott Perry Can Turn The Kings Around In Free Agency

the NBA draft has come and gone and next up is free agency but with the draft I would say that that was Scott Perry’s first test as the general manager of the Sacramento Kings and I would say he passed with flying colors this draft by Scott Perry reminds me a lot of the 2022 draft by Monty McNair where Monty McNair had been on the job for a bit by then so it’s not exactly the same as Scott Perry but in that 2022 draft class Monty McNair was able to grab Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis and he was able to grab Keon Ellis as an undrafted player and that was something that I was very excited about at that time and so that off season was was one of the peaks in terms of my and other Kings fans confidence in Monty McNair because he did such a good job in that draft and I get the same vibes from this draft and that 2022 season also was an off season where the Kings were summer league champions feels like the Kings are going to have a pretty good summer league team this year because I think Scott Perry did very well in the draft but he he absolutely cannot stop at the draft and and the real test lies ahead but I would say it’s it’s really easy when a new front office comes in or a front office that hasn’t done anything to make me not believe in them yet when they haven’t made a ton of mistakes yet and they have a draft like this one that brings in the good vibes you know I was pretty down on this team coming into this off season and then one draft and all of a sudden I’m very happy and it’s like should I be you know should I swing that much the other way just because we had the 24th pick and the 42nd pick and um you know picked up some solid undrafted players probably not but the draft is a time where we can all convince ourselves that we’re going to draft these guys and sign undrafted players and every single one of them is going to make an impact and and become part of the rotation and summer league is the time where we can convince ourselves that five to six of these players on the roster are going to have a shot at actually making the Sacramento Kings roster and actually making an impact in the rotation and I think that’s a beautiful thing even if it uh isn’t realistic but one of the big differences between the 2022 and what Monty McNair was dealing with back then and this draft for Scott Perry was Mont McNair had the fourth overall pick back then and the Kings jumped in the lottery whereas Scott Perry is dealing with a situation that he didn’t create but where he doesn’t have a first round pick and I think he navigated it really well to be able to acquire a first round pick and to come away with two guys that honestly have first round talent in Nick Clifford and in Maxim Renault and he did it without giving away too much and without having a lottery pick And also it was just nice to see him make a second round pick you know Monty McNair made a few second round picks but he traded away quite a few and we traded some for cash considerations and you saw other teams moving down in the second round for cash considerations so it was nice to see us just stay at number 42 and pick a guy who I think has very high uh upside maybe for the first time since Nimish Kada in uh 2021 and so I think we’re we’re seeing that Scott Perry has a little bit of a type um but uh of course it’s only one draft but he got guys who are a little bit older uh NBA ready guys guys who possibly can make an impact in the rotation this coming season and in an interview after the draft he mentioned that he liked guys that had a resume of work in college and who showed that season after season after season they could consistently improve and so hopefully when they come into the NBA they just keep on that trajectory and continue to improve and improve he also mentioned he liked versatility and you could definitely see that in Nick Clifford a very versatile uh player and he liked size with skill away from the basket and that’s definitely Maxim Renault a sevenfooter with a three-point shot someone who has the possibility to be a very good big in a modern NBA setting he also got guys that are good rebounders have good feel for the game and I feel like he backs up a lot of his identity talk in drafting dogs drafting guys who are going to get after it defensively especially in Nick Clifford and also in the undrafted guys that he got in Dylan Cardwell and in uh Isak Noise Gonzalez and you know there are plenty of things that you can criticize Mont McNair in that front office for but getting undrafted players was absolutely not one of them and you know he was able to get Keon Ellis Isaac Jones Isaiah Crawford all guys who are solid and who had at the time of picking them up potential of being NBA players uh with three and D guys in the case of Keon Ellis and Isaiah Crawford and you know it’s not guaranteed that Isaiah Crawford’s going to work out but still a wing with length and and just a defensive guy that can knock down threes and then a good defender as well an athlete in Isaac Jones and so I I see a lot of similarities in especially Dylan Cardwell 611 big man out of Auburn who is just a beast on the defensive end can defend around the rim can defend on the perimeter and I mean that’s just someone who the Kings have really been looking for they really need that big four i mean that’s what they’re looking for in Isaac Jones and hoping that he continues to develop that’s what they looked for in Jaylen Slawson when they drafted him a while ago it feels like we’ve gone through a million guys that just haven’t really worked out in like Juan Tusano Anderson or Chima Monki Chimez Metsu for to to some extent but the Kings just got to continue to look for that and I think Dylan Cardwell is a really good pickup and a guy who’s going to be very fun on a two-way contract i’m very excited to see him in summer league i mean I’m excited to see all these guys in summer league it’s a shame that we don’t have the California Classic this year that really sucks but then you have Isak Noay’s Gonzalez who at 21 years old was one of the youngest G-leagers uh in history to be on the alldefensive team has like uh Jose Alvarado comps and people have said that he’s one of the best defenders at his size that people have seen so I’m excited to see him and then you know I’ve already talked about Nick Clifford and Maxim Renault but I think getting Nick Clifford is super important because he’s a guy on a rookie contract who can play on the wing and who possibly is is going to come in and contribute right away which is really important because we might lose Jake Laravia in free agency and just having a a rookie that can come in right away just makes Scott Perry’s job so much easier in free agency because the Kings do not have a lot of money to work with with with some of the money that they have tied up in their top guys and so if he can come in and really make an impact that’d be a big deal same can be said for Renault it’s interesting clifford uh he’s wearing the number five so I know some people are are a little annoyed by that him taking Fox’s number me I do not care uh at all about number stuff but I know some people are a little pissed off but I mean I think it was meant to be for Nate Clifford to be on the Kings he was wearing purple uh also he had Clifford the Big Red Dog inside of his draft day jacket which is amazing and he was supposed to have a chain a Clifford the Big Red Dog chain as well that he ordered and just didn’t get there in time so that’s hilarious i I love this guy already and then you have a guy in Maxim Renault who kind of has comparisons to a Quentyn Post a Santi Dama a Myers Leonard type of player uh kind of a compare uh a combination of those guys it was said that Sacramento was his preferred destination and so I mean that’s interesting it’s like why why were we his preferred destination because we have two centers that are going to play in front of him but he is a different type of center and and he’s he’s someone who can possibly play alongside those guys play alongside Demon Sabonis maybe Yonis Valenunis is on his way out who knows is this a sign that that Scott Perry has some good influence attracting that second rounder and it it was interesting like hearing what Tim Connelly of the Minnesota Timberwolves had to say about the second round the Timberwolves had the 31st overall pick and they traded it because everyone in the second round has promises somewhere like every the agents are trying to guide all their guys in the second round to certain teams and I mean I’m sure that’s the case a lot in the first round as well but especially in the second round now it’s it’s kind of interesting i wonder if at some point the second round just gets abolished because I I mean at this point it doesn’t even feel like a real draft anymore because everyone’s just guiding their players to whatever whatever um place and situation is right for them which I think is good right the especially coming in as a second round pick as opposed to a first round pick you want to get guys who are really going to be in the right situations to succeed and I I do think that the Kings is a good situation for Maxim Renault also this guy’s out here playing chess with Victor Wanyyama i mean all I’m seeing is that he’s going to be the Kings Victor Webyama so I think the Kings got a lot of value out of this draft got good value on guys that were projected to go higher than where the Kings picked them they drafted different skill sets that the Kings needed and I mean coming in with one second round pick and leaving with two guys with first round grades in a lot of cases uh plus a guy like Dylan Cardwell who I think is a really solid guy to have on a two-way contract you know I’m I’m feeling that summer league championship coming this summer but now we have to look forward to free agency and beyond because it’s like okay you had a good draft that’s great there’s still a lot to be done for this team there are questions around this team’s top four players who’s going to be here who isn’t i think the biggest thing this season that Scott Perry this offseason that Scott Perry needs to do is he needs to try to trade two out of the four top players whoever it may be to and try to get some value back because without that it’s just going to be so hard to make any meaningful improvements with the money the limited money that is available for this team this off seasonason so I I don’t think that this team has any chance of improving in a meaningful way by just going out and using the mid-level exception and signing some guys and so that’s going to be Scott Perry’s big challenge but when you look at the point guards that are rumored with the Kings that’s a big position of need because the Kings did fill some other positions of need uh in in uh in the draft with Nick Clifford on the wing with uh Maxim Renault at the center position uh and if you want to look at Dylan Cardwell as someone who’s filling something as well he’s filling an athletic big man athletic four of course it would still be nice to have you know an actual NBA uh athletic for it not just a guy who’s on a two-way but still a good start there and so at the point guard position right now the reports are that the Kings are the front runners for Dennis Shruder uh at least if he leaves Detroit uh he had a video come out where where Shruder was pretty much just saying like he he would love to stay in Detroit but there’s there’s more to it than that right the money talks and Detroit might go a different way and he could get a you know bigger offer whatever and so the report was that the Kings could be offering the full mid-level exception which is what like a little above $14 million and so I I like Dennis Rutder and he is worth that amount of money i’m just like is he worth that amount of money to the Sacramento Kings i like that he’s a good defensive player at the point guard position that’s great but we all know like he’s better as a backup and it’s kind of like what are you trying to accomplish if you are getting a guy like Dennis Shruder or a guy like Russell Westbrook uh who was rumored for the Kings as well or a guy like Tyus Jones or a guy like Ty Jerome these are all possibilities and you know it’s just like what are you trying to accomplish because are you really going to be competitive with a point guard who is just going to be one of the worst starting point guards in the league i mean that’s just the reality of the situation these are all guys who are some of the best backups and some of the worst if they’re starting point guards and so you’d very much need to make moves uh around the team like I said trading two of the top four even if you if you are bringing in a guy like Dennis Shruder on $14 million you know he’s an older stop gap point guard and even if you get any any of these point guards like maybe Ty Drrome has a little bit of a higher ceiling but I’m not the biggest Ty Drrome fan again I think he’s better off the bench he’s a great offensive player he’s not good defensively he got played off the court in the playoffs i don’t expect him to be as bad as he was this past playoffs in future playoff scenarios but you never know and so the point guard situation is is just the the position where the Kings are in a lot of trouble because there doesn’t seem to be a path to getting a a super great player and if you are looking to trade for like a Trey Young the Kings have already been said that they don’t want Trey Young because of the contract he’s going to demand and because he can’t defend and then it’s like okay what about a guy like uh like Darius Garland and with him you’re probably having to give up too much to get him so it’s a tough spot and it’s why the Kings are just in such a tough spot overall because they don’t have a young point guard really coming up unless you see Devin Carter in that mold which I really don’t because I think Devin Carter is more of an offball player it feels like if you’re signing one of these players you’re like heading towards another season of mediocrity you’re not really going to go anywhere with these type of point guard options I don’t think but at the same time I don’t have a better answer you know I I I don’t think there is a better answer so Scott Perry is just going to have to work some magic to get the Kings out of this tough spot and so then you have the Kings being interested in Jonathan Kaminga and while I’m not totally sold on Jonathan Kaminga as a player I feel like he hasn’t shown uh enough improvement throughout his time in the NBA can’t shoot the ball has the physical tools as a defender but isn’t hasn’t been the best defender he can play you know off the ball without the ball being in his hands but he wants to be a star he wants to be paid like a star $30 million i question the fit with Damont Sabonis but at the same time if the Kings make a swing for a high upside guy in Jonathan Kaminga I would be happy because it would show me that the Kings front office understands that to make this the current iteration of this team work and to not just be stuck in mediocrity they can’t just come out maybe make one kind of not so meaningful trade and sign a Dennis Shruder in free agency and think that all of the sudden the Kings are going to turn into a playoff team you kind of have to take a high upside swing and so while again I’m not the biggest fan of Jonathan Kaminga it would show me that the Kings are are really trying to make something happen and not just sitting here and accepting mediocrity even though it could turn into mediocrity anyways and it could turn into a bad contract for Jonathan Kaminga when the King’s uh name was first thrown out with Jonathan Kaminga it felt like it was just because the Kings had a little bit of interest but like it wasn’t really going to happen but then this past day feels like the interest has maybe ramped up and maybe it has more to do with other teams like the Nets dropping out of the the race for Kaminga and so that’s just limiting the Warriors options and Kaminga’s options so I don’t know how likely it is that the Kings are actually going to go after Kaminga and get him but if they were to I mean you’re you’re possibly looking at a signing trade for Malik Monk and so the one thing I would like about that uh would be that the Kings are getting that athletic high upside forward i mean the Kings have been looking for an athletic forward they’d be getting off one of their guards and replacing him with a forward i think there are fit concerns but at least you’re getting an athletic forward and that’s what you’ve been needing the other things that the the Kings have to be concerned with in free agency is the Keon Ellis situation the deadline to pick up Keon’s team option is on Sunday and I of course do not want them to pick that up because if they don’t pick it up he becomes a restricted free agent and they can work out a long-term deal which I think they have to do uh you have to keep Kon Ellis here long term you just have to and then you have Trey L being a free agent so got to work that out if you’re keeping him or not and then you have Jake Laravia being a free agent and being limited to offer him about $5.2 million this upcoming season i am very worried about uh if the Kings will be able to retain him but I I sure hope they do and all we can do is is hope at this point with Larabia but like I said the biggest thing is can they trade Malik Monk can they trade Demard Roen and get real value for those guys or can they trade Zack Lavine or Demonos if if somehow that’s a possibility in the route they want to go but so far the reporting has made it sound like there isn’t that much of a market for either Demard Rozan or Malik Monk which I feel like teams should be more interested in Malik Monk but I understand that teams don’t want a a small guard who can’t defend at 18 million per year but if the Kings were to trade him for not a lot of value it would just it would hurt pretty badly because I mean we all love Malik Monk and he’s he’s a great player and we can just all be mad at um Monty McNair and VCron Diva and whatever for uh trading for Zack Lavine and making Malik Monk the odd man out because it it just it sucks i don’t want the Kings to have to trade Malik Monk but it’s just it’s it’s where we’re at right now so Scott Perry had you know a great draft but the the real hard work starts in for agency i mean it’s going to be it’s not a good situation for Scott Perry this off season if the Kings just do nothing and ride out this season maybe it’ll get a little easier next off seasonason or at the trade deadline but um I’m not that patient and I know other people are even less patient than me and want things to happen now i’m sure ownership wants things to happen now and I’m sure Scott Perry himself in this front office want things to happen now and want to make moves to be able to win this season so I know this is early in in Scott Perry’s tenure but um man the this is a massive test for him but hopefully he’s able to make the the right moves when he does I will be right back here to talk about him probably on Monday when things after things go down uh you know some things have already been going down throughout the day sam Merrill got his contract with the Cavs Kings Legend part of that 2022 summer league champions team I believe uh and then you had Kobby Jones getting traded so Kings Legends flying around he also got uh got waved after he got traded so unfortunate for him and then you also had DaVon Mitchell signing a 2-year $24 million deal with the Heat so uh so happy for him that he got his deal but yeah that is it for this episode of the Roll Report like I said probably be back on Monday after things go down or just whenever whenever there’s news for the Kings i will be right back here so I will see you guys then peace

Welcome to The Royal Report

In this episode of The Royal Report I discuss how Scott Perry passed his first test as Kings GM in the NBA draft, but a much bigger test awaits ahead in free agency as Kings are rumored with players like Ty Jerome, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dennis Schroder.

0:00 Draft
10:42 Free Agency

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