We're less than a month away from the NBA's trade deadline, so Aykis16 of Sactown Royalty sent us a request. Given that the Kings are likely sellers at this deadline, and should be looking to make useful trades with any other team, what might we be able to offer them in trade? I'll post Aykis16's specific questions below, and I'd appreciate your reactions to them, specific to the Kings, but we can also use them as a springboard to talk about what we think the Bobcats should do at this deadline, and feel free to answer in reference to players on any other teams, too.
What are your team's needs?
First, you're not getting Gerald Wallace back. Sorry, but I had to get that out of the way.
Part of determining the "most correct" answer to this question involves modeling the Cats' revenue flow should they make the playoffs and their revenue should they miss the playoffs, and then putting a value on attempting to make the playoffs, but missing out. I don't know where to start with that, but my default answer to this sort of question is "anyone decent and cheap", because the Cats do not have a championship-caliber star to build around.
Which two players on the Kings (excluding Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins) would you most like to see the Bobcats acquire if they were available? Why?
It's pretty clear that Omri Casspi is the next most valuable player on Sacramento for a team like Charlotte. Even though his position(s) is filled by guys key to the Cats's present and future -- Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Henderson -- and he hasn't exactly lit the league on fire in a year and a half, Casspi has the kind of athleticism and all-around skills that could, conceivably, bloom into something special, so if the Cats were to ask after anyone on the Kings other than their two crown jewels, he would be the one.
Following much of that same logic, Jason Thompson is the other one. Sheer athleticism, plus reasonably solid skills, plus youth amounts to a player that a non-championship team should definitely seek out and give a chance to succeed.
What do you think a reasonable and realistic trade involving both sides could look like?
Again, this depends on modeling the Bobcats' revenue -- and the CBA negotiations put a damper on all this trade talk -- but I think something like this is reasonable for both sides, though I'd have a really hard time accepting that a true contender couldn't give us something better.
SAC gets: Boris Diaw, Dominic McGuire (Heeee's baaaaaaaaaack!), Derrick Brown
CHA gets: Jason Thompson, Francisco Garcia
We don't need Beno Udrih because D.J. Augustin is emerging nicely, and Shaun Livingston is a perfectly good backup PG. But we'll take Sacramento's "worst" contract back to be our first man off the bench and wing insurance. Jason Thompson is our big prize, because I'd start him at center alongside Tyrus Thomas at forward, and then shift Thompson to forward when Kwame Brown or Nazr Mohammed entered the game.
For the Kings, they get McGuire's contract, which expires after this season, and Brown, a 2nd round pick who I'd peg as having a 50% chance of being a bench stalwart soon, and about a 5% chance of being a legit starter someday. But their prize is switching out Garcia for Diaw, who would be the kind of pass-first dude the Kings could use alongside 'Reke Havoc and Boogie, and whose contract is one year shorter than Garcia's. If Cousins is going to be the primary big man for the future, Diaw might be a better complementary player for him than Thompson.
RoFers, do you see an opportunity to work with the Kings on a deal? Any other team?