Should the Sacramento Kings Trade For Jerami Grant?

Should the Sacramento Kings Trade For Jerami Grant?

Jeremy Grant is who we’re talking about and The Whispers have turned to murmurs on a potential Jeremy Grant to the Sacramento Kings deal now you were mentioning this before the show the there’s the the date matters here January 15th is the date that we should be circling for when like the

Trade deadline is February 8th but January 15th is a maybe a more key date than that yeah January 15th is a date that players that I it’s it’s like a weird rule so players that were signed uh because they they resign using bird rights with 20% raises in salary

Right and if their team is over the cap they cannot be traded until January 15 and there’s a handful of players like this around the league um including Jeremy Grant including D’Angelo Russell which uh you know there there may or may not be some some rumors heating up with

The uh Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers um we’ll have to wait and see how that all pans out but uh I there are a group of players so December 15th is a day that players who in the offseason signed with new teams can be traded but

Then there are other dates like where Harrison Barnes couldn’t be traded until uh December 29th because that was six months from the date that he signed his extension with the Kings he signed it before quote unquote before fre agents he started right um because he still had

They still had his rights to do so uh but then there’s this other group of players that are signed use and who make a 20% get a 20% pay increase they can’t be traded until January 15 and so Jeremy Grant falls into that because he’s on his new extension so does dejonte Murray

Who’s another player we’ve talked about for the Kings yeah I haven’t seen Al I’m out on that de if I have a choice between those two I think I’m gonna go Jeremy gra although it feels very similar like all the reasons that I I thought that Deonte Murray makes sense

For the Kings I think Jeremy Grant also makes sense I think he’s probably a little bit better in the I I I think if you’re Sacramento adding a player who can play the three four instead of the two and a little bit of one is preferable so I I lean Jeremy Grant on

That especially if you’re getting if you’re G to get plus defense and hustle from him you’re going to get a 40% if they can replace Harrison Barnes with without losing like his shooting because he’s shooting the heck out of the ball this year yeah if you can get a equivalent shooter who’s going

To maybe create a little more off the dribble be a little more of a playmaker off the bounce and be a better Defender I I I think that that that makes the Kings pretty significantly better right away yeah I mean I think he is a better

Player uh I don’t again I don’t love the contract yeah because he’s expensive he’s in his 29 year season right now so you’re basically going to have to pay for his 30 31 32 33 years I guess that’s not bad as long as he he maintains he’s

Also a player who didn’t play a ton when he was young so maybe the mileage on his body isn’t as much uh you know he’s a guy that again comes into the league at 20 um but doesn’t play real substantial minutes until he’s like 24 and that’s it

Does matter you know that fully does matter i’ also say oh he turns 30 this year yeah he turns 30 this year yeah so um but like look most NBA players continue to be really really good for quite some time after that yeah yeah yeah yeah so and the other thing I know

This is kind of like a a weird sneaky thing I’ll throw in there he also played uh during the 201920 season with the Denver Nuggets that lost in the Western Conference finals and the reason I bring this up is because that’s sort of the one of the first years at yic is

Joic and so he’s played with a big man like sabonis he knows how to play off of a big man like sabonis um and you know again he’s he’s a good Defender he’s long he’s athletic he does a lot of cool things um now whether or not this ever

Materializes who knows like these are names that we hear just like you know how many times have we heard Kyle kusma in coordination with the Sacramento Kings but this is something that like I think it’s worth noting that you should probably keep your eyes out for uh it

Especially with Portland you know what happened with Portland last night where they lost by 62 bro real quick 62 points 62 62 points yes if if Oklahoma City scored zero points in the second half the Blazers would have won by two huh 62 that’s being down

50 yeah which is like a that gets tweeted about right a team is down 50 yeah kings were down 50 at home the other day right okay now now go there okay let’s go back to that okay team goes up puts goes up by a 50

Burger that is like Rock Bottom 49 okay 50 Rock Bottom yeah okay it’s like you’re not a Bonafide scorer unless you hit 50 if you hit 49 like dang pretty good game pretty good game pretty good same thing same thing like Daman talked about yesterday that 30 29 Point score versus 30 point

Score the 20 points for sabonis sabonis going over the 20 point mark 19.8 vers 20.0 is like so anyways 50 40 is like dang you got merked 30 you got 20 ah you’re a couple buckets from being back in this yeah right 50 though imagine being down

50 and then the other team goes on a 12 nothing run and then the game ends you know what happens in those games 62 points Kyle I when in those games that’s where I like I don’t know if people enjoy that I tweeted or not like I know

The other night I I tweeted Kevin herder three ball Kings within 40 yeah that’s funny no that’s good that’s the only way you can get through that yeah it is like if I have to sit there and watch it I’m gonna get snarky right Kings Kings get a

Layup slash the lead to whatever yeah yeah it’s dry humor but I’m getting snarky on you yeah of course yeah so I i’ also add the one other thing about um jemy Grant which I I did not think about before is that hiding on that 201920 Denver Nuggets roster was a coach named

Jordi Fernandez oh who was part of Michael Malone staff so again these are sort of like the ties of bind you you want a like six degrees of separation type stuff where you’re looking for like little connections MH and again if you’re if you’re Jeremy if you’re Jordi

Fernandez and you’re looking for a defensive upgrade you know if he’s a defensive upgrade or not you know what you’re getting with him he he was there for a year with him but he knows he played a lot of games a lot of minutes and uh I I think even the Kings don’t

Even care about the offense they don’t at least not that like realistically you need to be concerned with how do you improve your defense how do you defend yes how do you how do you stop the one team that you can’t stop and it’s very it’s a the Pelicans you can’t stop them

You have to find somebody to to go to match up with them because the last thing you want to be is a 4 five matchup with them or a 36 like and that is very much on the table yeah it’s all it’s sitting right there and you could see

New Orleans saying oh we’ll take this last game so we can play the Kings in the first round right that sounds good to us because they’ve Molly whopped you like four times already they’ve just crushed you I think one time they lost by five but but the rest of them like

Not really all that competitive MH so you got to find somebody that can defend Brandon Ingram I I don’t think there’s anyone out there that you just go hey he’s the Zion Williamson stopper dude seriously the only way to do that is a bank vault on a Roomba yeah exactly just

You build a wall and you hope that he doesn’t still sneak around the wall and do a left-handed layup yeah yeah how much does Net rating matter to you individual net rating well depends like okay so most stats like net rating and most stats like plus minus they’re not

Good in a small sample size so I could imagine that you know his net rating could be like so off the charts bad but it’s because they just lost a game by 62 points and he was part of that and so you’re gonna have this issue with that

I’d like to see his net rating for his career uh I’d like to see the net rating for him over a four-year period or a threeyear period but you know it’s one thing if if again Alex Len this season he’s like almost every game he plays in

He’s a positive and there I think there are three games that he’s played in where he’s a negative and he’s a combined like negative four in those three games the positive that he brings on the plus minus box is crazy so you start to understand that a trend uh he

Sort of defies a trend it doesn’t matter if he goes in a game when it’s a blowout it doesn’t matter if he goes in the game um you know when it’s closer you’re you’re up to it does his impact is felt in almost every single game yeah but you

Usually want a much larger sample size than just one season to to rate a player um he has now granted he has been on a lot of really bad teams he has two seasons with a positive net rating yeah oh it’s tough and those were and those

Were two seasons where he had two of his lowest usage rates yeah I mean I’ve always looked at him as a player that number one the Kings liked him when he was in Detroit and were interested in making a trade for him then but okay I’m in on I’m I’m

I’m in here and let me tell you why I’m just looking at this from a numbers perspective so he had a positive net rating in in 20178 he was a POS he was a 1.7 and then in 201819 he was a 5.4 positive okay with with OKC yep since

Then uh it has gone downhill pretty dramatically okay but all of the years where his net rating is the worst so uh 16 oh no he only played two games in 1617 161 17 total okay um this year a 25.3 usage rate and a minus 12 and a half net rating in

2122 he was 25.3 usage rate and a minus 7.8 so the years where his usage rates are the highest is when his net rating is the lowest yeah and I think you’re going to see that usage rate of 25.3 plummet if he comes to Sacramento no

Totally and that’s that I think is a positive for Jeremy Grant because it’s going to allow him to maximize what he’s doing they’re not going to ask him to create a ton off the dribble there’s going to be times that they do there’s going to be times where they like a

Match up for him and they’re going to get in the ball and they’re going to say you go cook but it’s going to be a lot of hanging out in the corner it’s going to be a lot of um leaking out and and fast break and open Corner threes that we see

Harrison Barnes get a lot of and I think you see that usage R dip and I think you see his production climb because of it yeah I mean I hope that there are players we get so we had the discussion yesterday about the Hall of Fame right like whether deonis sabonis and dearn

Fox can be Hall of Famers right I hope that there comes a point with a player like Jeremy Grant where you look at the fact that you’re not that’s not who you are you’re not going to to be a Hall of Famer you don’t all of a sudden at age 29 string

Together five years that weren’t there before and become a Hall of Famer right right that’s not the way this thing works and so at that point in your career you just got paid right you got a bunch of money and that’s good like you’re you’re set for life you just got

Like what 150 million over three over five years yeah give maybe it’s yeah I think it’s right around there right if you can accept that in order for you to be a for 160 go ahead yeah five for 160 if you can fit in and be a great role

Player a great role player on a very good to great team okay like that’s where you want the Buy in and that is acknowledging that like look whatever it is that I thought I could have been at one point I’m not g to get there and

That’s okay but this is who I want to be and this is how I can get to I got my my money I I got the contracted I’m I’m safe I I’m like my next five years is going to be a lot of money coming in

Right I’ve set myself up for the rest of my life maybe two generations maybe three but you hope that a player goes I’m willing to accept whatever it is that I need to be for a team now and that’s good because I like that’s what you’re hoping and if that’s not who he

Is it’s like okay that that to me as you say that that almost to me if you’re the Kings has to be a bigger part of any calculus they’re doing on who they want to acquire like that fit and knowing that that role whatever role if you’re

Going to go get a player like Jeremy Grant or Deonte Murray’s another another player that that we brought up earlier or kle Kyle kosma or Zack LaVine or pick pick the biggest name that we’ve talked about it is every the the Common Thread to all of those is well would they

Accept this role yeah would they accept this role as a fourth option maybe third option with the with the starting lineup and again this is where this this is where my questions come in because like Keegan Murray if he’s going to offensively be as aggressive as he’s

Been the last couple of nights against against Detroit and and Charlotte and that’s one of the things I’m watching for tonight against a good team like Philly I know it’s Noah Joel embiid but if if Keegan Murray is gonna go out and on the road on national TV against a

Really good Philly team go out and be that aggressive offensively now I’m changing my mind about like okay what do I need from that player so Jeremy Grant you’re looking at third maybe fourth option depending on keeg Murray depending on if he’s on the floor with

Malik Monk Is He fine with that is he okay with that is he going to say hey I don’t have the ball in my hands at ton I’m gonna go impact the game in other ways you know Kyle I I think it’s like this is really interesting basketball

Discussion right because you named four players and of the four players I I would take Jeremy Grant because I think Jeremy Grant is closer to the understanding of what a role player is I think kma uh LaVine dejonte Murray like I think that he is closer to like

Okay I know who I am and what I am and this is it also it’s because he’s 29 right so I think that that’s part of it but it also like I think for everyone out there it should probably help you understand why it is the kings were

Looking at Pascal seum so hard because Pascal zakum instantly comes in he’s your number two scorer right and he will demand that and he will he will act accordingly and that means the demonus sabonis becomes your third best scorer and if heaven forbid kigan Murray decides he’s going to be a really good

Scorer as well now Damon sabonis might become your fourth best scorer and and you start seeing how this thing becomes a really really really high-end team like very quickly like again if Malik Monk Is your fifth best scorer on a team and everyone knows what Malik mon can do

Now you’re you’re starting to go okay right and it’s not just like oh they’re gonna score 150 a night it’s not that it’s said on each and every night you have three or four players that can bust somebody up for 30 yeah and that’s just really tough to defend and so it makes

Sense why the Kings would be looking at and willing to like really you know go all in maybe on a guy like pasel SE yakum if he was GNA stay if he’s not going to stay it’s a waste of your time get get get away from it but if not if

You think that there’s a way that you could land a player like that he’s much a much better player than Kyle kumman he’s a much better player than uh than Jeremy Grant the the problem is you’re going to have to pay for that and and that’s I I think one of the problems

That you have fear of the Kings it’s like how do you fit all these guys in together but also like it’s why you also look at players who are locked in three year year deals four year deals and can’t say no I don’t want to resign with

Sacramento yeah like okay you got traded there like great stay this is your life now like make the best of it like Kyle kzo like it would be three and a half seasons in Sacramento barring the Kings trading him you know again Jeremy Grant just signed a five-year deal so he’s in

The first six months of a five-year deal he’s got four and a half years right so you hope that he’s going to be good that whole time and that he’s going to be willing to accept that role but you know a championship teams have players like

Jeremy Grant on them yeah you know in in and this is the key this is what you’re saying they have players like Jeremy Grant in roles that they’re probably overqualified for yeah like we we talk about the Nuggets a lot because a they’re the defending

Champs and B I think they’re kind of the gold standard for team building I think it’s a perfect discussion right now it’s the Denver Nuggets Aaron Gordon is vastly overqualified for what Aaron Gordon is doing for the Denver Nuggets yeah but from a from a let me from a

Like hey on a on a team what’s the most he can do production wise he is way way over qualified to be the a Defender Scrappy diving on the floor for loose balls playing playing really good defense he is he could he was a number

One in Orlando he was the the dude in Orlando and then he goes and he takes this backseat to Nica jic and Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr and now he’s like the fourth option sometimes the fifth depending on what kcp is doing he was certainly the fifth when Bruce

Brown was on the floor that’s that’s what a Jeremy Grant type of player would need to be for the Kings where you’re looking and going wow Jeremy Grant is the the defense and hustle guy he is what he could be scoring 20 a night but he’s getting you 13 or 14 a

Night and playing really good defense and getting rebounds which I know he hasn’t done a ton of blocking a few shots altering shots at the room you know being being that that type of player that’s where he becomes a piece of a championship team is when he is to

Me overqualified for the role that he’s going to be in and I think when you bring that up closing lineup let’s talk this dearen fox Malik monk Keegan Murray Jeremy Grant domas yeah right he is the fifth scoring option in an Ideal World and that’s not to disparage Jeremy Grant

That’s to say hey if Jeremy Grant in that lineup is the fifth option because everybody else is playing that well now that’s a really really dangerous team well I think so and also like if you just look at the pure matchups against a team like Denver Denver is the cream of

The crop they are the best team in the Western Conference I don’t care what league I don’t care what the stat say right now yeah maybe in the league because hey they won the championship last year right and your point with Aaron Gordon like Aaron Gordon’s doing

Whatever he’s having to do because he just got a ring and because he saw the pathway to the ring the pathway to ring is to make sure that yic is protected is to save joic and allow him to do what he does because you’re an incredible team

When you allow him to do what he does right and that’s where the Kings have to figure out how to how to protect sabonis so he can be the same thing but all of a sudden if I’m looking at this team I can see Keegan Murray matching up with uh

Michael Porter Jr I can see Jeremy Grant matching up with uh Aaron Gordon I can see dearen Fox is a better player than Jamal Murray you’re still gonna have to figure out that shooting guard spot but I think Denver’s still figuring out their shooting urge spot as well

Especially long term and then you have the center match like you’re designing a team almost exactly like the Denver Nuggets like are some pieces better than other pieces like if we’re rating them on each position but you’re much closer and that’s where I think the Kings have been

Lacking that forward to get them to that point and it’s not a knock on Harrison Barnes as much as it is like look Harrison Barnes does not have a seven foot three wingspan and every other team has a guy with a 7 fo three wingspan and Harrison’s Harrison barns is not that

Guy it’s not that he does anything wrong is that he can’t do some of the things that you need him to do like defend an Ingram like defend uh Michael Porter Jr when he gets on fire like those are things that you need and until the Kings

Find that guy that’s why I don’t think that they’re still they’re considered championship contenting team because they don’t have that guy that they can do that I am in lock step with you on that it is not it’s not to disparage Harrison Barnes or say Harrison Barnes

Stinks but like yo the Kings have just kind of outgrown what he does for them they looking to go Beyond Harrison Barnes was great ushering in a new culture and knocking down some threes for them and being a switchable player that Mike Brown can kind of move around

And allowing him to to integrate Keegan Murray without putting too much on his plate like Harrison Barnes was an integral piece last year he has taken this season so that’s why they resigned him this season he has taken a little bit of a step back and it’s clear the

Kings are trying to move forward and they’re hitting a little bit of a ceiling not solely because of Harrison Barnes but when you look at reasons they’re hitting that ceiling to me a little bit of it is because of number 40 and so if you can get or EXC the role

That he plays and what they need out of that position he’s not able to give it to them it’s because he’s miscast but yes I I I agree with you and and like I always go back to this point real quickly before we go to a break yeah

Like it there was a point where the Kings traded Jason Williams one of the most electric players in the league for Mike bbby and it’s just because they were different the need for the team was a player like Mike Bibby who was stable in his position it was not the

Flamboyant passing and craziness of Jason Williams and like if you still who would you rather choose to be on your team at that point in time it’ probably be Jason Williams but if you want to take the next step sometimes it’s just a different player it’s it’s not a player

That’s better or worse it’s a player that’s different yeah and that’s where I think think you know we’ve kind of run into it with Harrison Barnes they need something different and he can’t provide that and it’s not on him as much as it is just the the way this team is organically grown

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