Fantasy Trade: Kings and Clippers
Image via WikipediaIn the wake of Baron Davis‘ agreement to head over to the Clippers and Ron Artest being upset with himself that he didn’t opt out of his Kings contract, I thought of this trade. If this were to go down, next year’s Clippers starting five would look like this:
Baron Davis
Corey Maggette
Ron Artest
Elton Brand
Brad Miller
Tell me that wouldn’t be an awesome starting line up. Their defense would be fun to watch considering that Baron Davis and Ron Artest lead the league in steals — I’m sure Maggette would get all kinds of fast break points that way. The Clippers would also be great in half court. The opposing team’s center would have to guard Brad Miller out by the elbow, leaving Elton Brand or Ron Artest room to work down in the low post. If Brand gets doubled, he could pass the ball out to RonRon, Magette, or Baron for the open long range shot or a cut to the hoop. The Clippers would also have a decent bench consisting of: Brevin Knight, Eric Gordon, Francisco Garcia, Shaun Livingston and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. They’d have to shop around for another veteran big man, but with a team like that — it should be fairly easy to snatch one up at the veteran’s minimum. This team would easily be the most entertaining team in LA and has enough experience to be a major contender right now.
The Kings starting line up for next year would look like this:
Beno Udrih
Kevin Martin
John Salmons
Al Thornton
Chris Kaman
The Kings would get some great young talent to develop while they go into rebuilding mode. They would have a decent starting five, but should prove to be inconsistent due to their youth. They might make the playoffs, might not. The next two years is all about getting playing time for the young guys.
The Kings would inherit some bad contracts from the Clippers, but that’s not such a bad thing since the Kings aren’t looking to compete for the championship right now (rebuilding mode, remember?). In 2010, all those bad contracts would expire. Goodbye Kenny Thomas, Mikki Moore, Shelden Williams, Quincy Douby, Cuttino Mobley, Tim Thomas, and Josh Powell. And guess what? All that room under the salary cap means the Kings could go after a big time free agent. Lebron James comes to mind…
Imagine this Kings team after 2 seasons:
Beno Udrih (age: 28)
Kevin Martin (age: 27)
Lebron James (age: 26)
Al Thornton (age: 27)
Chris Kaman (age: 28)
What if King James actually became a King? Sacramento ain’t his hometown or New York, but at least its in California. He’d get his max deal. Most importantly for Lebron though, he’d finally get a chance to play for a good team. Kaman and Thornton would be monsters on the boards and would protect the rim (something the Kings have never had). Finally, Lebron would be able to play with a solid pass-first point guard with a good outside shot. And last but not least Lebron wouldn’t need to score 30-40 points for the Kings to win since he’ll have Kevin Martin to pass the ball to. The Kings bench would be comprised of: Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson, and John Salmons. They’d have to add another guard, but I’m sure they’d be able to net someone in the draft or get a free agent signing to fill in the gaps. How would any team be able to guard the Kings?
And if Lebron doesn’t go with the Kings? They’d still have all kinds of money to throw at someone else. How about Amare Stoudemire?
Beno Udrih (age: 28)
Kevin Martin (age: 27)
Al Thornton (age: 27)
Amare Stoudemire (age: 28)
Chris Kaman (age: 28)
That’s also a young prime-time starting unit. Damn, I should be a general manager.
