02-04-2022, 01:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-04-2022, 01:14 PM by DanSchwartzgan.)
(02-04-2022, 12:43 PM)Tyler Wrote: I get the feeling that Sacramento is looking for a complete overhaul. Combine that Fox/Randle deal with Barnes going elsewhere, and I can see it. Or maybe send Randle to a 3rd team.
Fox and Randle are back to back in The Athletic's TDL Big Board piece. They are 4th and 5th:
De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings: Once again, the Kings are at a crossroads. While intriguing, the current core of the team just doesn’t appear to be good enough. De’Aaron Fox is emblematic of these “should be better” shortcomings. After his third season, he looked to be on an All-Star trajectory, to the point where Kings’ management rewarded him with the full five-year max rookie extension prior to last season, where while Fox did not progress as hoped, he at least held steady. Partially due to injuries, the straight-line speed and explosiveness that made him so intriguing have only been seen intermittently this year, resulting in a career-low rim attempt rate, the lowest free-throw attempts rate since his rookie year and career highs in midrange attempts. At the same time, his shooting has cratered to the tune of sub 25 percent from 3. And he’s owed around $135 million over the next four seasons, a big meal for any team to eat. But Fox just turned 24 and wouldn’t be the first player to just need a change of scenery from a perennially losing situation to turn his career around, so another team could accommodate Sacramento’s desire to reset (again) and take a chance on that sort of rebirth occurring.
Julius Randle, New York Knicks: The New York Post has been reporting for a couple of weeks now that the Knicks are open to moving everyone, including Julius Randle. And if we’re just being completely honest with ourselves, the Randle situation with the Knicks just seems … off, doesn’t it? Since Jan. 10, he’s averaging 15 points and shooting under 40 percent from the field. He had bizarre interaction with the fans in early January and hasn’t spoken to the media in New York in nearly a month. He just signed a four-year, $117 million extension in the offseason, so this would be a pretty stunning reversal. In that vein, it would be surprising to see him on the move. But is there enough that has gone wrong here already to push things in that direction, given that the Knicks have disappointed?
And, Jalen is 10th:
Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks: A discussion of Jalen Brunson's trade value could well be academic given the reportedly sky-high ask from Dallas. That said, he does represent an often repeated decision point facing teams when they have success drafting late into the first or in the second round. Brunson is a hugely valuable contributor for the Mavs in part because he is playing out the final season of what is essentially a four-year league-minimum deal. This means the acquiring team can’t send out much matching salary and has to be ready to pay Brunson market rate, at which point the value attaching to a non-lottery success story largely vanishes. This situation makes both sides of any prospective trade more complicated than many scenarios. For his part, Brunson is having a career season in Dallas, averaging 16 points and six assists on outstanding efficiency next to Luka Doncic.