Well that is now strike two for the Sacramento Kings, as they have now been rejected by both Monta Ellis and now Wesley Matthews; two out of the three players they wanted after the trade the team made just last night. Before the meeting with Matthews earlier today; the Kings said they were going to “make an offer you can’t refuse,” and honestly the team kept their word and threw out a godfather offer, unfortunately it just wasn’t enough.
Wes Matthews Update: Sacramento offer to free-agent swingman is actually four-year deal at $16 million annually for total of $64 million
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2015
Wes Matthews has agreed in principle with the Mavericks on a four-year deal, per source. Turned down huge offer from Sacramento.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 3, 2015
Contract amount with Dallas is not yet finalized, but Kings have been told Matthews is not taking their offer.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 3, 2015
Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
The team offered a four-year/$64 million offer, to a player who is on the backside of 29 and is coming off of an Achilles rupture.
After the news that Wesley Matthews will decline the Kings offer and take his talents to Dallas, a few people didn’t hold back on why the Kings were not able to sign a player, even after offering an outrageous amount of money.
Gee, I wonder why players don't want to come to #Sacramento? I'm looking at you, @Vivek #nbakings
— Marcos Breton (@MarcosBreton) July 3, 2015
It took #nbakings forever to admit the Maloofs were THE problem. How long will it take before they admit @Vivek is THE problem now?
— Marcos Breton (@MarcosBreton) July 3, 2015
OPEN YOUR EYES #NBAKINGS
— Marcos Breton (@MarcosBreton) July 3, 2015
Do you think owner Vivek Ranadive is the problem?
Jays Journal
Don’t Just Spend, Build!
I will be the first to admit that I was a full supporter of the Kings signing Matthews and was also probably the most disappointed to hear that he was taking his talents else where, but I sucked it up and reminded myself, there are more players in this free agency pool.
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Many see the Kings and Rondo situation as a done deal; James Ham from CowbellKingdom.com, was on an ESPN radio show earlier today and stated (and I’m paraphrasing) “a Rondo deal is in the bag.” However, it can’t just be Rondo, the team will need to add help.
Here are just a few names: Lou Williams, Tobias Harris, Marco Belinelli, Reggie Jackson, Corey Brewer, Patrick Beverley, Rodney Stuckey, Marco Belinelli, and Kosta Koufos.
Now let’s assume the Kings do sign Rajon Rondo and are now they are looking to add more depth to their roster, there are guys on this list that can help this team.
My personal favorite scenario (and for those who follow me on twitter, you have seen this already 12 times) would be the Kings sign reigning sixth-man of the year Lou Williams, Kostas Koufos, and re-sign Omri Casspi. The team now has depth from the top of their roster to the bottom.
Picture it:
Rajon Rondo / Darren Collison / Ray McCallum
Ben McLemore / Marco Belinelli / James Anderson
Willie Cauley-Stein / Eric Moreland
DeMarcus Cousins / Kosta Koufos
Now that is just an initial rough draft and in no way am I implying this is the direction the Kings are looking to move in, but this is a direction the team should consider.
Having a guy like Belinelli off your bench as your spark off the bench, while letting Ben McLemore continue to develop as a starter would be a huge plus for the Kings. The team would also have a nice one-two punch combo out of their point guard position, and a terrific big off the bench in Kosta Koufos.
The team would still have three open roster spots and could add help to their front court, now that there is no more Jason Thompson or Carl Landry, and Eric Moreland and Willie Cauley-Stein are not enough.
Like I said in a previous piece, the team just needs to address their needs and if they do that with let’s say “specialty players,” then the team still have addressed their issues. People complain when they hear this, but the team needs ROLE PLAYERS, not just a big name.
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Fans love to look back on their teams history and point out the great times from their team. Kings fans if you look back on the team that got you to the NBA western conference finals, that team was full of role players, including the teams now VP of basketball/franchise operations, Vlade Divac.
All you can do is hope that he can do his job and bring in players that will make that difference. There are moves to be made by the Kings, they just need to establish a direction they are going in and find players that help get this team to the next step of their rebuilding journey.
The biggest worry I have now is are they going to have to over pay for every player they now want to target and now do a “panic purchase” now that their first two options went undone.
That sound you hear is agents furiously dialing the Kings to get clients to the front of the line for massive overpay. Panic purchase ahead.
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) July 3, 2015
The team could do something outside the box and see if maybe the New Orleans Pelicans want to move on from Jrue Holiday, or maybe the team can offer restricted free agent Reggie Jackson so much money the Detroit Pistons don’t want to match.
So many possibilities and sadly it just seems the Sacramento Kings just do not have an idea of what they are going to do. It’s crazy to think that this is only day two of free agency.
*NOTE: The Kings and Rajon Rondo are expected to meet today (Friday, July 4th) as the team is now attempting to sign their third option on their list of free agent targets.