Trade: SAC & NYK

[fauxcreative]

Kings trade

Myles Turner (21.0, 21.0, 21.0, 21.0 - 2.1M in 2021 covered from previous trade)
Furkan Korkmaz (1.0, 1.0)
Rudy Gay (4.0, 4.0)

Salary Coverage

- Kings cover 6.0M on Myles Turner in 2021 (difference between Turner's 18.9 and Maxi+Juancho's 12.9)
- Kings cover 11.0M on Myles Turner in 2022, 2023, 2024
- Kings cover 4.0M on Rudy Gay in 2022

Knicks trade

- RD1-2021 (New Orleans)
- RD1-2021 (Houston)
- RD1-2021 (Philadelphia)
- Maxi Kleber (8.4, 8.4, 8.4)
- Juancho Hernangomez (4.5, 4.5, 4.5)

------------------------------------------------

Right off the bat, yeah, it's a lot of money to cover and I'll get to that in a minute. I know a similar deal on KPJ/Beal ruffled some feathers, and I want to cover my bases analytically, which I will after the basics.

Initially though, a few days ago the Kings have nothing other than Jrue and Myles as trade assets, and now, outside of covering 72M in cash over 2-4 years I've turned them into:

- 5 RD1 draft picks in 2021 (two of which look like Top 10's)
- Juancho, PJ Dozier
- Cap space enough to accelerate Maxi's and Thad's contracts off my books

Combined with the Kings own pick, which I hope will end up in the Top 5, that's six draft picks in what's supposed to be a really good draft for 2021. Plus, I looked back over the transaction history and the League Office got Myles for Joe Harris, and while Joe's certainly a very fine player for what he is, I don't think anyone would argue if I traded Joe Harris for (1) Maxi + Juancho, (2) Massive Bad Contract for Player X that costs 6M-10M-10M-10M, and (3) 3 RD1 draft picks.

So yeah, the money's rough but here's what I've projected:

- The Knicks taking on Rudy's 2021 money gives me enough space to accelerate Maxi's money off my books post-trade deadline (similar to what I did in the previous deal with Kanter/Thad)

- For argument's sake, assuming the NOR+UTA picks are Top 5-8, and the PHI+HOU picks are in the Top 20, and the CHI pick is in the Top 25, that's about 20M in salary for 2022 for just the picks. Even with the cash I'm covering on Jrue+Myles, I'll still have about 9-10M in cap next year after paying the rookies. Not that there's much out there in FA, but I can take on bad deals if I want, and I'll already have 9 players (6 picks, Juancho, Nnaji, Dozier, plus G-League if needed).

- For the next few years, even with the Jrue+Turner cash and giving the Kings the salary of a Top 5 pick for both years, in 2023, I'll have about 28M in space and for 2024, I'll have about 29M in space. Depending on how my picks hit, I'll have enough cap to change strategies if things are on the upswing. By the 2024 season, I'll have 8 RD1 picks, half of which are likely Top 5-10 selections, and 30M in cap, plus whatever I can churn up using that cap space to absorb deals in 2023, etc. However, we all know free agency is a crapshoot anyway, and most people end up overpaying (though we'll see how the new contract structures/rules alter this), so who knows if that cap space will be needed in the first place.

- So yes, lots of money and lots of years into the future. That being said, I have a plan and thought through all the financials. However, if it's still an issue for people, as it was in KTR with some people, I don't have any issue paying future league dues for all of Turner's contract if people would like me to do so. This isn't a situation where we can adjust the 11M I'm covering on Turner's deal like we did in KTR, as it's a big issue with NYK given their RFA deals they have coming up in future seasons. If you want to adjust the money, NYK and I will have to redo the deal on our own.

Overall, look, I like Myles Turner. He's a fine player and of course he put up 8 BLK tonight to remind me how much he doesn't suck. Despite that skillset, which again, is very good/solid, he's crazy overpaid to me at 21M given that he's largely a Top 60-75 player with a single elite trait and solid but average stats across the other scoring categories. He's solid, but he's not going to help this team get where it needs to go at 26% of my cap.

I hope everyone can see this for what it is, namely me paying an extra 2-4M per-year, per-pick for 2022-2024. That's cash well spent to me given this team's dearth of talent and long-term producers.

Knicks to confirm.

[Heisenberg]

Knicks accept - really didn’t want to move those three picks for turner but discounted salary plus the blocks pulled me in. Might be a massive overpay given how good the draft is next year but meh I have draft picks in other leagues and happy that sac can have a fresh start

Thanks Faux for easy talks and good luck with the rebuild

[Laimbeer40]

So is Rudy part of the deal? He is not listed in the original post under what the Kings are trading.

As for the deal itself I can see the future cap being a sticking point for some but this deal is VERY different than the one with salary concerns in KTR. A lot of that was tied into KPJ being viewed as the far inferior player in the deal.

Here SAC is picking up valuable cheap cost-controlled assets whose contracts will outlast the cap being paid. Still it’s a ton being paid down with a tighter cap than KTR. So as commish my vote is always going to lay with whether this trade makes the team more attractive to a prospective buyer if faux were to go AWOL. For me it’s a no-brainer. I tried for months to get an owner for this team. People LOVE draft picks and I can find someone who wants to play with those picks in a heartbeat even if they do have the cap constraints that come with this team.

So I am hoping other owners will view this from that standpoint and let this deal pass. Other owners who have taken on so much future cap have done so to try to make the playoffs and a little coin, then leave these squads with no assets. This team is going to be flush with assets now and be a drafter’s delight.

[fauxcreative]

Fixed Rudy Laim. That's my fault.

[Laimbeer40]

Got it. I am going to leave this one out here for votes. Will be out of town until Sunday. Will process deal then if it passes.

Thanks everyone.

[thepetis]

Approve... as a fellow rebuilding team, I'm jealous of the haul Faux just pulled in.

[pricker98]

Approve. I understand the concern w future salary paid but Faux seems to be an owner who enjoys the challenge of a rebuild and doesn’t bail on leagues so I have no issue with it. 

Good deal guys.

[TMurphy3]

Approve.

My qualm with future money paid is when the return doesn’t warrant a team handicapping their cap for so many years; Heiz paid the piper and Faux was able to maximize the return. Solid deal IMO.

[tomviolence]

approve

[Andrewmott]

Approve