Whether they do that is a different story. Instead, the Kings should sell off all their ancillary pieces and build around draft picks and a core of De'Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and rookie Davion Mitchell.
In other words: The Kings have options, and one should not be jumping into the Ben Simmons sweepstakes. Don't forget about Harrison Barnes, a veteran wing averaging 17.5 points, drilling 38.1% on his 4.7 deep tries per game and posting the second-highest rebound and assist rates of his career to go with a career-best player efficiency rating. There's Marvin Bagley, a bust so far but still a former No. There’s Buddy Hield, a sharpshooter (40.1% career 3-point shooter on 7.5 attempts per game) who they’ve clearly decided is not part of their long-term plans. Imagine if the Kings were to hit the reset button. As always, the question with the Kings is if they’re willing to honestly assess themselves as opposed to chasing a low playoff seed. They’re not a good team (12-17 through Wednesday), but they have a talented roster stocked with players other teams would covet. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Kings are at a crossroads. Jazz fans should hope he doesn’t bring that mentality to Utah. When he was running things in Boston, Ainge wasn’t exactly keen on pushing his chips all-in. Given the state of the Western Conference - Kawhi Leonard out, Denver basically a MASH unit, the Lakers being the Lakers - the Jazz should be all-in on chasing a title this season. What should they be shopping for? Big wings! They need someone who can play alongside Gobert and not be exploited off the dribble but who also gives the Jazz some size and flexibility when Gobert sits. We also know they can be exposed in the playoffs, mostly by teams that are able to downsize and drag Rudy Gobert away from the wing.
We know the Jazz can dominate the regular season. 2 Hawks is basically the same as the difference between the No. And not only does their offense lead the league in points per possession, but also the difference between them and the No. The Jazz have the league’s top point differential and fifth-best defensive rating. The Jazz are contenders, but they could use some polishing around the edges. Utah, which this week announced that Danny Ainge is coming in as CEO, is in a similar situation as the Warriors. But if they did decide to go all-in on the present, they could quickly become overwhelming championship favorites.
My read is that they very much want to be the team to pull off the "rebuilding without rebuilding" thing. Or what about a smooth and savvy offensive player such as Domantas Sabonis? And who knows what else the Warriors could pry away from teams if they did, indeed, put Wiseman (or even lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga, who has looked good this season in limited minutes) on the table.Īgain, I don’t expect the Warriors to make that sort of deal. We know the Pacers are fielding offers imagine what someone such as Myles Turner - who’s shooting 38.1% on nearly five 3s a game and leading the league in blocks - would look like alongside the Warriors’ core. But if they want to bolster their rotation, I don’t think any other contender can top an offer featuring center James Wiseman. The Warriors don’t need to make a trade to win a title, and I understand their desire to protect their future. If we’re talking about teams that have the most to gain, how about the one that sits in first place in the Western Conference, owns the league’s second-best point differential, has two future Hall of Famers playing at the top of their games, has a third future Hall of Famer set to rejoin the group and has last year’s No. I’m putting the Warriors here, even though I’d be shocked if they made a deal. The question is whether Morey thinks doing so is worth selling low on Simmons. And there’s still time for the Sixers to salvage their season. I still think team president Daryl Morey can cobble together a three-team trade that nets the Sixers a couple of high-level starters, if not borderline All-Stars. But all indications now are that the Portland Trail Blazers intend to hold on to Lillard, and it’s tough to come up with another high-profile player who might become available. We know they want Damian Lillard and are sniffing around other stars. Right now, the Sixers are a middle-of-the-pack playoff team, one with a statistically average offense (13th in points per possession, according to Cleaning the Glass) and defense (17th).
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