Should The Kings Be Going After Jonathan Kuminga?

Should The Kings Be Going After Jonathan Kuminga?

We are a few days into free agency now and the rumors are still absolutely flying around the Sacramento Kings. There are kind of four unresolved situations right now because nothing can become official until July 6th. So nothing’s really done yet. And so there are four kind of interesting situations going on with the Kings right now. One revolving around Jonathan Kaminga and that’s kind of the big one right now. But then you still have the unresolved situations of Dennis Shruder, Malik Monk right now, and Yionis Valenunis. And so to me, this is like the most fun part of pre Agency where there’s just so many rumors, so many possibilities, especially with this whole Jonathan Kaminga situation where we’re getting like a million different reports and none of them necessarily contradict each other, but you can definitely see where the information is coming from. to to certain reporters. It’s like you can tell that’s being leaked by the Kings and then this is being leaked by the Warriors. This is being leaked by Kaminga’s agents. There’s just a lot of information going around right now. And so let’s first look at a quick a quick recap of how the Kings free agency is going so far. So, the players that the Kings are bringing in, Dennis Shruder, of course that’s not official yet, but Dennis Shruder is coming to the Sacramento Kings and it’s going to be a sign and trade and we don’t necessarily know the details of that sign and trade because things could expand. And and that’s the thing about this period before things become official is everything can expand and be connected. And we already know that there apparently is going to be a seven team trade involving Kevin Durant. That doesn’t include the Kings, but everything can be connected during this period. And so this Dennis Shruder deal, it’s going to be a sign and trade where most likely Dennis Shruder gets traded to the Kings into the Kevin Herder trade exception. And so that creates a trade exception for Detroit, which is why they would do it. And it allows the Kings to retain their mid-level exception, which could allow the Kings to sign more players in free agency, but that would only happen if they offload other salary. And so really I feel like preserving that that mid-level exception is maybe more so so the kings can use it as a trade exception and it doesn’t expire whereas the herder trade exception would expire before the trade deadline of this coming season. But if they do the deal this way then they would still have that mid-level exception and they could use it as a trade exception at the trade deadline for this upcoming season. So that’s possibly why the Kings are looking to turn that into a sign in trade. It kind of benefits both teams and doesn’t really cost anything. And so then the other players that the Kings have brought in Daario Sar and that’s kind of an interesting situation because there’s stuff going on with Yonas Valenunis which I’ll get to. But then the Kings have signed Drew Eubanks or are going to. And then in terms of rookies they brought in Nick Clifford, Maxim Renault and Dylan Cardwell. And then they exercise the team options for Keon Ellis and Isaac Jones. The players that are confirmed leaving the Kings, Jonas Valenunis and Jake Laravia. And then there are current free agents Isaiah Crawford will most likely be retained but technically still a free agent. And you have Mason Jones, Doug McDermott, Markel Folultz, Jay Crowder, and the big one, Trey Lyles. And so before we get into the Jonathan Kaminga situation, which is the main thing that I do want to talk about here, I do want to talk about what’s going on with Yonas Valenunis and Malik Monk a little bit. So starting off with Yonas Valenunis, there was a report that Valenunis could possibly be going to Europe. And so that was kind of a shock really came out of nowhere. And we’ve seen reports like this just end up not being true at all. Just because a European team is trying to lure a player doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. But Jake Fischer did report that that will not affect the trade between the Kings and the Nuggets because that trade is not official yet. And so either team could back out of it. But it’s very similar to the Sasha Vazenov situation last season where the Kings I mean they they paid to trade Sasha Vazenov with DaVon Mitchell to the Raptors for them to take that salary and then the Raptors just bought Sasha Vazenov out so he could go to uh Europe and they didn’t have to buy him out for anything. He just gave up his contract. But the Kings are in a a better position here where like I said again, Jake Fischer reporting that it won’t affect the Kings current trade. But it is kind of weird to me that Jonas Valinis like he he got traded to the Nuggets. Like that’s a that’s a team that’s going to be contending for a championship. So it’d be a little weird for him to to leave right now. But when I first saw that report, I was a little worried that the trade could fall through. But then also, would that even be that bad if the kings would then just buy out Valenunis for maybe not that much if he did want to go to Europe? Then it wouldn’t allow the kings to have the Daariosarge contract, which maybe they would want to use in some sort of trade. And we know the Kings are trying to use this Daario Sarge contract in the Jonathan Kaminga signin trade. So that’s a weird situation, but we know that trade is still going through at least as of now. And so with Valenunis leaving, you’re bringing in Sar. You’re also bringing in Drew Eubanks, which I haven’t talked about yet. And Drew Eubanks, he’s like, he’s a fine player to just be a depth guy on this team. Obviously, nothing too exciting there. Like, he can block some shots. He’s got okay touch around the rim. And I think he really is hopefully just coming in to be more of a depth guy so that that backup five role isn’t solely on our rookie Maxim Renault. So it’s a fine depth signing but obviously nothing too special there. We also got confirmation that Nick Clifford and Maxim Renault will both be playing in summer league. Devin Carter as well if he’s still on the Kings by then. Then we had the the rookie press conference with Clifford with Renault. Clifford had his Clifford the big red red dog chain that he was supposed to wear for the draft and he was able to get it here for the the press conference. But then the other thing that’s going on with the Kings is the Malik Monk Monk situation because the Kings clearly are trying to trade Malik Monk. And so you never really want to be the team that’s like desperate to move a guy. And now that like Malik Monk clearly knows they’re trying to move him with all of these rumors. There’s no hiding that anymore. And so if they aren’t able to move Malik Monk, well then that creates an awkward situation that you never want to be in where a guy is still on a team where he knows that that team tried to trade him and could trade him at any point now. And so it does seem like Detroit was very interested in getting Malik Monk as part of that sign and trade with Dennis Shruder, but then the Kings ended up not needing to do that because of the Jonas Valenunis trade. But now that you have the Jonathan Kaminga situation, the Kings may need to get off the Malik Monk salary to be able to stay under the luxury tax and bring in Jonathan Kaminga. And also just in general, we’ve known that Malik Monk was probably the odd man out of the Kings top four guys and of the guards on this team. And the Kings supposedly wanted to trade Malik Monk. So then and then they would bring in Russell Westbrook as the backup point guard. And so people hear that and people hear that the Kings are just really trying to offload Malik Monk and I think it’s just hard for people to kind of wrap their their brains around because it’s like Malik Monk is a good player. He’s a guy who’s constantly in the conversation for six man of the year. He’s not on some crazy contract or anything like that. And so the question is why are the Kings trying so desperately to trade Malik Monk? And the answer there there’s probably a few answers to this. One of them being that the Kings have probably figured out that nobody wants the other three guys on this team. Deonus Sabonis, Zack Lavine, Demar De Rozan. It’s going to be extremely hard to get off of those guys contracts. And so Malik Monk is just the guy that possibly can be moved because Detroit apparently wants him even though they got Caris Levert, which is a little interesting for them. But Detroit has been interested before. Apparently, they were the really only team that was bidding against the Kings when Malik Monk became a free agent. And so, the Kings just need to find some way to get off salary. And Malik Monk is the guy that can actually be traded. But then we keep hearing that Malik Monk doesn’t actually have that much value. And I think that is shocking to some people. I thought he would have a little bit more value than he seemingly does. I think what we’re used to is the salary cap going up year after year after year. And so with that, that that hasn’t necessarily stopped, but with that, teams in the past 10 years have just been constantly handing out big contracts to players and being like, it’ll be fine because it’ll age well with the salary cap constantly going up. But I just think with this new CBA, what you’re seeing is teams being a lot more careful about who they are actually giving money to and valuing versatility and two-way players with that money. Making sure that they’re not giving out max money to as many players as they were in the past because they’re very wary of these aprons. And really, it more has to do with the top teams being wary of the aprons because there are teams like the Kings who they’re not going over the luxury tax anyways. So, the Kings have never they don’t have to worry about aprons if they’re not going over the luxury tax. But the thing is, they can’t hand out these contracts and then just assume some other team that is willing to go into the luxury tax will pay for them because now those teams like Boston is now worried about being a second apron team or a first apron team. And so you look at a guy like Anthony Simons who Anthony Simons was an expiring deal and Portland still had to attach two second round picks to him to get off of his contract which I mean they weren’t really trying to get off his contract because obviously they brought in an even worse contract in Drew Holiday but you can just see how those players were valued. Anthony Simon’s younger expiring deal making less money and yet the Portland was still the team that had to attach draft capital. Malik Monk and Anthony Simons fairly similar players. I mean I think that was a horrible deal for Portland anyways but you can just see where teams heads are at in terms of evaluating players. So Malik Monk just doesn’t have as much value as maybe he previously did or as much as we thought. And so then the question becomes, is it better to give Malik Monk away for free and just get off that contract or is it better to just hold on to him? And I think that’s where the Kaminga deal comes into play. If if you are able to figure out a deal to get Jonathan Kaminga to come to Sacramento, then I think it is worth just offloading Monk to to get rid of that salary because at that point, if you’re bringing in Jonathan Kaminga, I mean, you’re not playing to really win this season or next season. So, he would be the upside swing. And so at that point, maybe you do want to, you know, just get off the Malik Monk money so that you can have that upside swing in Jonathan Kaminga. But if you aren’t able to get that deal done, then should you get rid of Malik Monk anyways or should you hold on to him? And I think that’s a tough question because I think overall the Kings need to get off of long-term money as much as possible. But also, if they aren’t going to do anything with the money that they would be obtaining by getting off the Monk contract this season, then maybe there’s just no point. And maybe some team at the trade deadline will actually want Malik Monk because they’re like, “We need a little extra offensive firepower off of our bench.” And we think we’re a championship team and he could, you know, put us over the edge because he can win us a quarter in a finals game that, you know, puts us over the edge. So, I think giving Malik Monk away for free doesn’t really make sense unless that’s opening up money for someone else who does make sense and not just like a Dennis Shruder who you can already obtain anyways. But it has to be a guy like Jonathan Kamingo who has upside, who is a younger player, and who could be part of the future. But you could be in a bad spot if Malik Monk plays poorly and then now you’re on the hook for his contract and really can’t get off of it. But I just don’t think his contract is is that bad. You know, nowhere near the level of a Zack Lavine or a Demon Sabonis. So, I just don’t think that’s something that you should really worry about, at least not this season, unless you are going after Kaminga. And so, right now, the reporting is that the Kings are in the lead for Kaminga because the Miami Heat are not willing to offer as much money apparently and you know, the Bulls are in the race as well and he could just go back to the Warriors on a one-year deal. Well, I mean, right now, those are the possibilities. And so, it is very clear that the Warriors do not want to pay him. I mean, if they wanted to pay him, it would have been done by now. The Warriors clearly don’t want to pay him. Jonathan Kuminga clearly does not want to be a Warrior anymore. And so, he’s probably looking at a salary in the 20 to $25 million range. And so, the offer that we’ve been told has been put out there by the Kings involves Dario Sarge, Devin Carter, and two second round picks. that would be going to the Warriors and the Kings would be getting Jonathan Kaminga. And so if that’s if that’s the offer, then yeah, I’m I’m down for that. But obviously the Warriors are are not down for that right now or else again it would have been done. But I think in going after a guy like Jonathan Kaminga, the Kings really have nothing to lose because they’re already in such a bad spot for the next two years that it’s just like why not take a high upside swing unless you are giving up excessive draft capital in first round picks or giving up a young player that is valuable like a Keegan Murray or Keon Ellis which I mean the King you know I know Warriors fans want Keegan Murray but that’s not going to happen because Again, the Kings have no reason to do that cuz the Warriors clearly do not want Jonathan Kaminga. He’s a restricted free agent. But there is the possibility that Jonathan Kaminga just goes back to the Warriors for one year. And so I I just love all the reporting. You know, one side saying, “Oh, the Warriors are under no pressure.” But then the other side saying, “Oh, the Kings are under no pressure here.” And it’s just like all this uh this jockeying is is really funny. But I think if you’re looking at it from the Warriors perspective, the Warriors are trying to capitalize on Steph Curry and and Jimmy Butler. And so retaining Jonathan Kaminga for one year would just be awkward for them. Like they really don’t want to do that. Keeping a disgruntled player with your aging stars in a season that you’re trying to capitalize on would just not be a good look. And so that’s why the Kings are trying to come in with these low ball offers. But then in any trade like this, you’re probably also looking at a third team like Detroit being involved for Monk to go there to get off that salary. But if the Kings are able to pull this off and if Scott Perry is able to pull off a move like this without giving up too much, that will be Scott Perry will have done more than I expected for this off seasonason. I just I did not expect much at all coming into this off season. And so if the Kings are actually able to obtain a young exciting player that would be a big win. Now actually looking at Jonathan Kaminga as a player it’s like okay how does he fit with this team? And the thing is in some ways he fits and in other ways he doesn’t fit. I think he fits well next to a guy like Sabonis because I think with Jonathan Kaminga’s athletic ability with his cutting ability uh he can fit well with Deon Sabonis. The Kings also need an athletic wing player, so that checks another box. I think he’d be great next to Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, the other young players on the Kings. I think where the fit looks a little more sketchy is with the older players on the team. Like, how does he fit with D Rozan? I I don’t really think he does. I don’t think he fits with a a ball dominant player who really wants to slow things down and where there’s going to be a lot less movement to the offense. with Zack Lavine. I mean, Zack Lavine, I feel like Zack Lavine’s a player where he should fit with more players and like he should fit with Jonathan Kaminga because Lavine provides spacing and because Lavine has the ability to play in a fast-paced offense, but then in reality when the game is actually played, Lavine just kind of becomes a ball stopper and doesn’t move super well off the ball and and you know, the reality is just a lot worse than the potential that is there. And so when you’re looking at it, it’s like, okay, he fits with the young players, but doesn’t fit with the older players. Well, that doesn’t really seem like a problem to me. So then you just get him and you don’t worry about the fit with the older players because that’s not the direction the Kings should be going anyways. If he really doesn’t fit with a guy like Demar Rozan, send D Rozan to the bench. Send him home for all I care. Like this coming season should not be about trying to win a whole bunch of games and maximizing that. If you get a guy like Jonathan Kaminga, your goal should be development. If you’re going to take the risk of bringing in a guy like Jonathan Kaminga, then you need to fully commit. You can’t do what the Warriors have been doing. You can’t go with these, you know, the the two the two timelines is what they called it, right? And that totally failed Jonathan Kaminga. He wasn’t able to develop. You’ve seen the flashes when he was able to be the focal point of the offense when Steph Curry was out. It never made sense for the Warriors to draft Kaminga in the first place. A raw prospect in a team that’s trying to win a championship. And so if the Kings were to acquire him, you can’t make the same mistake. Especially, I mean, it kind of still worked out for the Warriors cuz they won a championship in 2022. The Kings are not going to win a championship just because you’re playing Demar De Rozan and Zack Lavine in the older players. So, there would be no upside to prioritizing the older players over a guy like Kaminga. The Kings should be looking, no matter what, no matter whether they get Kaminga or not, they should be looking to play a much faster style of basketball. Lots of movement, transition, fast break, and that’s what Kaminga fits into offensively. Kaminga is a a very good cutter using his athleticism to get to the rim. He’s a guy who you want to feed the ball to, but he’s not the guy who’s going to be the ball handler. And then on the defensive side, he’s got all the tools. He just needs to have a little bit more focus on that end, I think. And so I I’m all in on taking this type of risk because I just don’t think it’s super high risk for the Kings. I mean, say you give him $25 million. What if he doesn’t live up to his potential? Well, how much is that really going to hurt in the first year, in the second year? Probably not that much because you’re already stuck with bad contracts since you already weren’t going to be really good. And by the time those contracts are up, you’re probably heading towards a rebuild if it if this doesn’t work out. And then at that point, a couple more years of a bad contract isn’t really going to matter. It still is a a crazy thing that he would be the youngest player on this Sacramento Kings team. I mean, this Kings team is one of the oldest teams in the league right now. How did that happen? I mean, it’s just it’s it’s a it’s a shame. Jonathan Kaminga is younger than Devin Carter even. But there’s a lot of moving parts right now. And so while James Ham was on record saying you’d be shocked if Kaminga didn’t go to the kings by uh by I think Sunday the end of the uh the moratorum and you should definitely listen to him more than me because he’s the guy with sources and I have no sources. But I definitely am more skeptical. I’m hesitant whether this will actually happen. I feel like I feel like he will just end up staying with the words just cuz I don’t know that’s always what happens. You know, I’ve seen a lot of people coming out with their their grades of the off seasonason, their winners and losers, and every one of them has the Kings being a loser or a really bad grade or making fun of the Kings for going after Kaminga and Trudder and trading Valenunis and and all that. And it’s like, I get it, right? But none of that really has to do with the decisions that the Kings are making this off season. I don’t think that the decisions that this front office is making this off season so far are bad decisions. I I don’t think they are. This all has to do with what the previous front office did and the pre what the position the previous front office left this current front office with. And so you’re just seeing those residual effects and that’s what’s making people say that the Kings are the loser of this offseason. So, I think it just depends on how you view it. But like, yeah, the Kings can be the losers of this off seasonason, but it has to do with the position they were in coming to this off seasonason. I think with the Jonathan Kaminga rumors, that gives me a little bit of faith that Scott Perry is trying to push us in the right direction, trying to take an upside swing on a younger player. So, anyways, that is it for this episode of the Roll Report. I’ll be coming out with a summer league preview relatively soon, and also if anything else happens, I will be right back here to talk about it. So I will see you guys then.

Welcome to The Royal Report

In this episode of The Royal Report I discuss what the Kings have done so far this offseason including all of the rumors surrounding the Kings going after Jonathan Kuminga.

0:00 Offseason Recap So Far
3:45 Jonas Valanciunas Situation
5:33 Drew Eubanks Signing
6:32 Malik Monk Situation
13:17 Jonathan Kuminga Situation

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