Alright, how many of you thought the Sacramento Kings would be competing for a playoff spot in the ultra-tough Western Conference this season?
If you raised your hand, you're probably lying or a relative of Kings' executive Vlade Divac. Since the glory days of Vlade, Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic in the early 2000s, the Kings have been the poster child for NBA franchise dysfunction. They've made bad trades, drafted poorly and gone through too many coaching and front office changes to list here.
But all of a sudden, a few good moves have the Kings over .500 and knocking on the door for a playoff spot. Divac was criticized by many league observers for not getting enough in the trade of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins at the All-Star break in 2017. Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway are long gone, but the Kings acquired sharp-shooting wing Buddy Hield, who’s now averaging over 20 points a game and also picked up two draft picks in the deal.
The draft has been a sore spot for the Kings over the last decade with a number of misses on players like Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Thomas Robinson, Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis, most of them lottery picks. But the Kings hit big on point guard De'Aaron Fox with the 5th pick in the 2017 draft and then jumped in the 2018 lottery to land Marvin Bagley III with the 2nd overall pick.
Bagley got off to a slow start in his rookie season, but he just posted a career-high 32 point game against Phoenix last weekend, showing the athleticism and inside scoring touch that had NBA scouts so excited during his one season at Duke. Bagley only figures to get better as he adds strength and improves his shooting range.
In addition, center Willie Cauley-Stein has emerged as a solid starter in his 4th season and trade acquisition Bogdan Bogdanovic is providing instant offense off the bench, averaging just under 15 PPG. The Kings now have three dynamic young wing scorers in Fox, Hield and Bogdanovic, and they're also excited about the potential of 20 year old forward Harry Giles, who's finally healthy again after dealing with injuries to both knees at Duke.
Divac has been aggressive in trying to add depth to the roster, picking up a solid backup point guard in Yogi Ferrell and making moves to add veteran Harrison Barnes, Alec Burks and Corey Brewer in the past week. The Kings are locked in a tight battle with the Clippers, Lakers and Spurs for the final playoff spots in the West right now, but whether they make the postseason field or not, Divac and head coach Dave Joerger have the team on a positive track going forward.
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So, by now I'm sure you're asking, 'Why should we care about the Sacramento Kings?' Well, their breakout season could be a reason for Bulls' fans to find a little encouragement in what has been a painful 2nd year of the rebuild.
Don't forget, at the start of training camp the Bulls were quietly optimistic they could improve on last season's 27-55 record. Zach LaVine was completely recovered from his ACL surgery, and the front office had just added a pair of 1st round picks in Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison.
We all know what happened next as injuries to Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis led to a poor start, then a coaching change, and finally the realization that this would be another season of playing for draft lottery position.
But the foundation of a solid team is still in place, especially after last week's trade that added a quality small forward in Otto Porter Jr. to the Bulls' talent base. As John Paxson mentioned in his post-deadline news conference last week, the Bulls have now identified young starters at four positions with the evaluation process of Kris Dunn still ongoing.
Granted, lottery luck will have a big say in how much of a jump the Bulls might be able to make next season. But if they come away with the top prize in Zion Williamson or even add R.J. Barrett or Ja Morant, the Bulls will have a promising starting unit.
You can expect the front office to use their $19-20 million in cap space this summer to add a veteran point guard like Ricky Rubio, Darren Collison, Derrick Rose or Patrick Beverley and a good shooting big man to replace Portis. Plus, Denzel Valentine will be back following reconstructive ankle surgery.
All of a sudden, the 2nd unit would be much improved, hopefully allowing the Bulls to avoid those nightmare quarters that have led to so many winnable games slipping away this season.
Paxson and Gar Forman will have to make a decision on whether Jim Boylen is the right coach to lead the team into next season, and you can be sure the evaluation of the coaching staff will continue over the final 25 games, despite the public vote of confidence for Boylen to return.
Is it realistic to expect the Bulls to jump from somewhere around 20 wins this season to the low 40s total it will take to make the playoffs next season? Probably not. But the Kings have provided the blueprint for a young team turning things around in a hurry, and the competition to make the playoffs in the East isn't nearly as tough.
Winning a top 3 pick in the lottery will be the first step in trying to duplicate the Kings' success.
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Now that the dust has settled after the NBA trade deadline, it looks like we should have an entertaining battle for Eastern Conference supremacy. Three of the top four contenders improved their rosters, while Boston is still trying to figure out the best way to utilize all the talent Brad Stevens has at his disposal.
Milwaukee currently owns the East's best record, and the Bucks should really benefit from adding former Bulls' forward Niko Mirotic to their bench. Mirotic has developed into one of the league's best shooting big men. He's currently averaging 16.7 points per game on 45% shooting from the field and 38% from the 3-point line. Niko will give the Bucks another shooter to deploy late in close games when opposing teams try to pack the paint against Giannis Antetokounmpo's drives.
Toronto made a bold move at the deadline, trading three reserves for Memphis big man Marc Gasol. Pau's younger brother isn't moving as well as he used to, but he's an excellent passer and more than capable scorer. The Raptors are also in the process of adding Jeremy Lin via buyout to replace Delon Wright, who went to Memphis in the Gasol deal. A productive 2nd unit has been one of the big reasons for Toronto's success over the past few seasons, and now the Raptors can run out a reserve group of Gasol, Lin, O.J. Anunoby, Norman Powell and Rockford native Fred VanVleet.
Meanwhile, the 76ers made the biggest move of all at the deadline, acquiring 21 PPG scorer Tobias Harris from the Clippers, giving Philadelphia a "Big 4" of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Harris, plus underrated shooting guard J.J. Redick. Former Bulls' rookie of the year Elton Brand didn't take long to get the hang of being an NBA executive. The 1st year GM has already traded for free agents to be Butler and Harris, while also adding Jonathon Simmons, Mike Scott and James Ennis to improve an inexperienced reserve group.
Who's going to win the East?
It really could be any of the four top teams, depending on which team stays healthy and gets hot at playoff time. Right now, I'd give Philadelphia the slightest advantage, but like so many reporters who cover the league, I'm still waiting to see if Boston sorts out all its chemistry issues before the playoffs begin. We could be in store for some classic best of 7 series when the conference semifinals roll around in early May.
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Speaking of Elton Brand, kudos to the rookie executive for standing up to Magic Johnson and the Lakers, denying a request for Magic to work with 76ers' All-Star Ben Simmons this summer.
To be fair, the original request came from the Simmons camp. As a 6'10" point guard, Simmons wanted to tap into the experience of the 6'9" Johnson about the best ways to play the position at that size without a consistent outside shot.
It all sounds good in theory, but given the Lakers' stated mission of adding star talent to the roster and the fact Simmons is represented by LeBron James' agent Rich Paul, the potential for tampering was just too great to ignore. Simmons will be eligible for an extension to his rookie contract this summer, and the last thing the league needs is for another young star to announce he's going to abandon the team that drafted him with hopes of joining a high profile franchise like the Lakers.
The New Orleans Pelicans stood firm against the Lakers' plan to poach Anthony Davis off their roster by turning down numerous trade offers before the deadline, and will seek out the best possible deal as we get closer to the draft. Johnson told reporters the Pelicans didn't handle the trade discussions in good faith, which really came off as sour grapes after LeBron's agent started the whole process by going public with the Davis trade request two weeks before the deadline when he knew the Celtics couldn't get involved because of a collective bargaining technicality.
Ultimately, Davis still could wind up with the Lakers, but at least now the Pelicans will have the time to sift through all trade offers with the knowledge of which team is holding the top pick in this year's draft. Johnson will continue to pursue all the top free agents in the front loaded 2019 class, but it appears Magic's vision of creating another super team in L.A. might not come together as easily as he first believed.