Speaking to the media on Friday, Kings general manager Scott Perry said he’s not anticipating to reach any buyout agreements with the veteran players on the team’s roster, as James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com relays (via Twitter).
“I expect the veterans to be here through the end of the season,” said Perry, who added that he wants to see the vets play hard when they’re in the game and serve as mentors when they’re not.
Sacramento was said to be open to trading veterans like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk leading up to the deadline, but all of those players are on multiyear contracts and none are likely to be bought out.
That said, there are a few players on the roster who make some sense as buyout candidates, starting with former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook. While Westbrook’s game has long been polarizing, he remains productive at age 37, averaging 15.3 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals on .430/.348/.703 shooting in 49 games (29.6 minutes per contest).
John Hollinger of The Athletic recently ranked 54 potential buyout candidates, and Westbrook is No. 1 in Hollinger’s top tier, which he titled “rotation-caliber additions.” Backup big man Drew Eubanks is No. 27 on Hollinger’s list, falling under the category of “maybe there’s something left in the tank?”
At 12-40, the Kings currently hold the worst record in the league, though they’re within four games of five other teams (New Orleans, Indiana, Brooklyn, Washington, Utah) in the reverse standings.
Would be silly to buyout any of them. Just figure out deals to blow it up in off season.
All these veteran players they held onto and still have the worst record in the league. It’s like a tank, but even if you add a top prospect, the surrounding players are old and keep you towards the bottom of the standings. I don’t see why they haven’t shifted to a youth movement.
Kings should hire Taylor Jenkins to be the next head coach