Kings big man Domantas Sabonis admits he expected sixth man Malik Monk to sign elsewhere in free agency. Monk stayed put on a four-year, $78MM contract.
“I was actually very surprised,” Sabonis said, per James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link). “I was talking to him a lot during the year and I thought we really lost him, but I’m happy he stayed.”
Sabonis believes the addition of DeMar DeRozan, acquired in a sign-and-trade, will diversify the offense, according to Logan Struck of Sports Illustrated.
“I think it’s going to be good for us,” Sabonis said. “It’s going to make us think differently on the court, move differently, and really read each other. We are used to playing one style but he does something at a Hall of Fame level that we’re going to have to play around and it’s going to make it so much harder for teams to guard us because we can basically score from anywhere.”
We have more Western Conference news:
- Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard said the addition of former UConn guard Cam Spencer, who was drafted in the second round and signed on a two-way deal, gives the club another offensive option. “He can shoot, man,” Kennard said, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “He really can. I think he’ll be really close in our shooting competitions. Well let him get in a couple and see how he can hang.”
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper spent most of last season in the G League after the Mavericks drafted him in the first round. He’ll have a tough time cracking the rotation in his second year with the additions of Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes. However, the club is still optimistic about his future and the wing’s development remains an intriguing element to monitor, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal.
- The Lakers re-signed LeBron James on a two-year deal this summer but the franchise seems poised to waste the future Hall of Famer’s remaining years, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. The team needs another star to compete with the other Western Conference contenders and the front office has done very little to upgrade the roster this offseason, Plaschke adds.
Yep, the best thing the Lakers could do here is a full tear down starting midseason by trading LeBron and Bronny to GSW for Wiggins and Podziemski, with picks and $ being added in to balance it.
So suddenly Anthony Davis isn’t a star lmao. Bill plaschke has been terrible since that horrible espn show he was on hosted by max Kellerman. He lost every argument on there as well
The point is the team sucks besides Bron and AD ever since they traded for Russ and let Caruso walk. The ringer just wrote about it too
@ Davey why? 60 win team according to you, now all of a sudden you need help. Lakers should just trade Bron to Warriors for a drink bottle or washing machine. Absolutely dreaming. Lakers and Warriors are both done, enjoy.
Lakers really did make zero moves. Pelinka isn’t the GM everyone thinks he is. There is a problem in the front office too because they said no to a lot of trades that would’ve helped them over the past few seasons. Lakers aren’t about winning anymore. I honestly think LeBron is done, too. They wasted a great season by AD and let Ham coach them into a chasm. This was the summer to make some changes, not much needed really, but they got cheap and old LeBron would’ve been out of town, so for him to stick around speaks volumes. D’Lo is still gonna disappear in the playoffs, they still have no center, no defensive players, no shooters, no playmakers. It’s like they simulated the off-season.
Lakers have no players that can generate a star in the trade. They refuse to play their young guys like Christie and Hood Scifino. Why the heck would another team trade a good player when you don’t even play those guys. You need to show the potential to entice a team. D’Lo & Rui are role players.
Lakers need winning role players, not a tear down.
Somehow turn guys like rui and reeves into guys like Kcp and Jakub poeltl etc…
Kcp type Russell Lbj ad Jakub type
That’s easily one of the ten best teams in the league.
You geniuses need to read the collective bargaining agreement. LeBron cannot be traded in the first year of his extension. He’s not getting traded this year.
There’s some hope with roleplayer development from guys like Rui, who shot much better from 3 with the Lakers last year and has proven he can play tough defense. Reaves, if he gets back to what he was in 22-23, is also very valuable. Vanderbilt actually playing will help boost the defense, obviously.
The main problem is D-Lo. It’s always been D-Lo. He’s not a great fit with the roster. Yes, he can shoot and hit 3s, which is helpful. But his offensive bag is shallow, he cannot play defense, and he’s a mid-af playmaker. Every single player on the team shoots better when Reaves or LeBron is handing out the assists than with D-Lo, and that includes Davis, who Russel is given credit for “unlocking” in the P&R, when he’s better off without him. The Lakers had every incentive in the world to move on from him even if they didn’t get much of anything back, and Jeannie commanded Pelinka to sit on his hands, which he only too happily did.
The lack of any true backup Centers is also unhelpful, but it pales in comparison to D-Lo’s existence on the roster.
DeM DeR is going to bring Kings to West Finals.