Wesley Matthews NOT going to the Sacramento Kings

[scott0326]

I thought the Marlins had the worst ownership in American pro sports, but the Kings have a case.

At least the Marlins have won a few championships recently.. Sacramento is just a huge mess

[DMAVS41]

I dunno D... They're a nice crop of young players but with the exception of Lillard and maybe Voneleh, there's nobody on that list that really excites me. They're gunna be bad for a while me thinks...

Depends on your definition of a while. What if they go back to back in the lottery and then add an all star....which is hardly a reach...I'd think they'd have a really nice team.

[DaSeba5]

At least the Marlins have won a few championships recently.. Sacramento is just a huge mess

True.

[JerrySeinfeld]

man, they've gone full retard.

cousins is gone whenever his contract is up. might as well trade his ass too, since the coach don't even want him

[SwishSquared]

man, they've gone full retard.

cousins is gone whenever his contract is up. might as well trade his ass too, since the coach don't even want him

Philly would like to have another conversation with Vlade. They have more overseas big men to trade lol

[NugzFan]

Of course it's an immediate step back...that is the point.

They didn't have a legit title contender with what they had. LMA is a bit over-rated in my opinion....he's not efficient enough in his role on the Blazers to win a title.

But think about where the Blazers are now.

Lillard
Meyers Leonard
Vonleh
Aminu
McCollum
Plumlee
Davis

Am I forgetting anyone? That is a really good young core on all good contracts for the most part.

You get a lottery pick this year...and then you have loads of cap next year with guys coming off the books and the increases coming. This is a rock solid, super young, team.

And that's my point. After all of that, best case if thy draft well and get a free agent, still won't be as good as they just were.

[Sarcastic]

I agree. At least if the league doesn't consider removing teams, relocate them to a better city and ownership/management.

Yea, it's not that simple.

[RightTwoCensor]

And that's my point. After all of that, best case if thy draft well and get a free agent, still won't be as good as they just were.

But the fact of the matter is the window for that team was short. The entire starting lineup (excluding Lillard) of that team are all in their prime and are looking for top dollar payday. That Blazers franchise already had problems with finding an affordable bench unit to pair with the starters, so it was apparent that the window for this team was closing fast.

Even if they draft well or get a free agent, this team won't be as balanced as it was before. They need to find the next superstar out of the draft and build around him.

[DMAVS41]

And that's my point. After all of that, best case if thy draft well and get a free agent, still won't be as good as they just were.

Well, no shit.

But you'd have a team that could grow and get better for 10 years...which is a lot better than trying to win with LMA shooting sub 50% in the playoffs and being unwilling to put in the work at center to give that team the versatility it would need to actually contend.

The whole point is talking about what happens after LMA leaves....we all know you are going to be worse losing 4 legit NBA starters and an all-star.

But my contention is that the Blazers wouldn't have won anything with that roster over the next 3 years....and in 3 years...the Blazers doing it this way will have a much better roster/future than the Blazers would have bringing all those guys back.

[NugzFan]

Are they making the best of a bad situation? Yes

Are they in deep trouble for the next couple years without a guarantee of success? Yup.

Their "young core" isn't that great when compared to many others in the west.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

The saddest thing is, is I believe his heart is in the right place, but he's just such a novice at running a professional sports team and his ego/hubris is so high and misguided, it's made the Kings a bigger joke than when the Maloofs were running them.

Another sad thing is his tenure started off so well- hired Malone, GM (now gone) built a decent team that last like 80% of their first 1/3 of the season games by 4 pts or less (they were losing, but competitive at least), etc. Then for whatever reason, they decided to blow it up before the mid-season point. Then started off real good the next season, then struggled w/ a bad star-less team, then blew it up again, etc etc.

Now there's all this upper mgmt turmoil, who sold out who, who made decisions, etc. It's awful. Vivek needs to be hands-fugging-off for once.

Of course it's an immediate step back...that is the point.

They didn't have a legit title contender with what they had. LMA is a bit over-rated in my opinion....he's not efficient enough in his role on the Blazers to win a title.

But think about where the Blazers are now.

Lillard
Meyers Leonard
Vonleh
Aminu
McCollum
Plumlee
Davis

Am I forgetting anyone? That is a really good young core on all good contracts for the most part.

You get a lottery pick this year...and then you have loads of cap next year with guys coming off the books and the increases coming. This is a rock solid, super young, team.

I don't think LMA is underrated at all, especially in person (though dominating the Kings isn't hard ), but I kinda agree w/ the rest of your post. They do got a dang nice core of young players, especially bigs. After losing Wes + Afflalo + Batum and just getting back Aminu + Henderson, they need some more immediate-impact wings. I wonder if McCollum starts at 2G now? But overall, a nice young core.

Will get wrecked in the West, though... maybe hover around .500, imo. I think OKC wins division and Blazers finish 3rd behind the Jazz.

[imnew09]

Did Portland even TRY to bring him back? Jesus.

I think Portland medical staff knows his health condition the most. He hasnt stepped into the court after achille injury, its risky to offer him big money with long contracts

[StephHamann]

I think Portland medical staff knows his health condition the most. He hasnt stepped into the court after achille injury, its risky to offer him big money with long contracts

https://instagram.com/p/3c0TA7PiOl/?taken-by=wessywes2

this video is 4 weeks old.

[DMAVS41]

The saddest thing is, is I believe his heart is in the right place, but he's just such a novice at running a professional sports team and his ego/hubris is so high and misguided, it's made the Kings a bigger joke than when the Maloofs were running them.

Another said thing is his tenure started off so good - hired Malone, GM (now gone) built a decent team that last like 80% of their first 1/3 of the season games by 4 pts or less, etc. Then for whatever reason, they decided to blow it up before the mid-season point. Then started off real good the next season, then struggled w/ a bad star-less team, then blew it up again, etc etc.

Now there's all this upper mgmt turmoil, who sold out who, who made decisions, etc. It's awful. Vivek needs to be hands-fugging-off for once.


I don't think LMA is underrated at all, especially in person (though dominating the Kings isn't hard ), but I kinda agree w/ the rest of your post. They do got a dang nice core of young players, especially bigs. After losing Wes + Afflalo + Batum and just getting back Aminu + Henderson, they need some more immediate-impact wings. I wonder if McCollum starts at 2G now? But overall, a nice young core.

Will get wrecked in the West, though... sub-500 team, imo. I think OKC wins division and Blazers finish 3rd behind the Jazz.

I think most people would be shocked to see LMA is shooting so poorly over the last few years.

52.1% TS in the regular season over the last 3 years

49% TS in the playoffs dating back to 2010

Some of that is circumstances, but I think people don't really pay attention to this...and it really matters a lot.

Also, the whole point of the Blazers will be to not be a playoff team the next 2 years or so. Develop all the young players...get two more lottery picks...sign some guys. Be good....they are in a good place to do that...most likely.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Also, the whole point of the Blazers will be to not be a playoff team the next 2 years or so. Develop all the young players...get two more lottery picks...sign some guys. Be good....they are in a good place to do that...most likely.

Yeah, I think the real interesting thing is how they got Lillard to buy into that. I mean, clearly he has to realize that, if it was explicitly stated to him already. I get elite players like him and proud franchises like Portland always think they have a shot, but...they have to be realistic and humble for the next couple years.

If Vonleh turns out to be anything, and McCollum continues to develop, Mason Plumlee puts up bigger #'s w/ more mins, etc. They can be real good in a couple years w/ some additional moves.

Now is the time for fringe West teams to plan for 2017+ after Dirk, Duncan, Kobe all retire, Durant+Westbrook leave OKC, etc. I honestly love the position that some of those young, talented West teams like Portland, Utah, Phoenix, NOLA are in. Just gotta be patient...