Salmons to Portland?

[.GR]

The Kings May Have A Deal: The Sacramento Kings may be closing in a trade, but it does not look like it's the long-rumored Brad Miller deal that's going to get done first. The Kings are rumored to have had some conversations that would send John Salmons to Portland in a deal that will likely return Raef LaFrentz and a future draft pick, according to sources close to the discussions. It's possible the Kings could send Mikki Moore in the deal, although the Kings would surely want to include Kenny Thomas. The additional players needed for the deal to work under the cap could not be confirmed by either side. The Blazers have been shopping out the ending $12 million contract of Raef LaFrentz that is now covered by insurance, making Raef an absolutely free player that clears a ton of cap space in July. The Kings are still evaluating their options, and the LaFrentz deal is said to be one of several that they are looking at before the deadline. King's GM Geoff Petrie told reporters that he was looking at a lot of options and was trying to keep an open mind, hinting that nothing has been decided yet.
"You have to be open to just about anything at this point," King's GM Geoff Petrie said to Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee. "What form that might take, I don't know yet, but certainly I think you have to have a very, very open mind about what type of things you might consider and what immediate impact it might have – at least in some facet of what you're trying to do."

"The magnitude of our decline is troubling on a lot of fronts," Petrie said. "And for nobody more than me. We didn't show much in exhibition. We didn't see much in the first 25 games, and I think a big part of the rest of the year is going to be, 'Do (the players) want to persevere and try and play together so the whole team plays better?'

"You have to look for some motivation to play, obviously, other than a playoff spot. So that has to be some individual improvement that fits into a team concept."

The Kings' goal is to get some significant breathing room under the NBA salary cap this summer, and go after a couple of upper tier free agents. The Kings have been shopping Brad Miller and John Salmons fairly aggressively. They have also put Kenny Thomas and Mikki Moore on the table as well. The Kings are looking for the right combination of ending contracts and future assets, preferably young players still on their rookie deals.

 

[.GR]

Eh. I guess I wouldn't mind it, as long as we get Brad Miller out in another deal so we can be major players this upcoming offseason. I'd rather the first be next years than this years since we already have 2 this year and it's not a very deep class.

 

[Pugz]

Why move Reaf's 12mill?
I don't think this will happen.

 

[.GR]

Why move Reaf's 12mill?
I don't think this will happen.

According to Hoopshype, the Blazers have offered this with Mikke Moore, but the Kings want to involve Kenny Thomas.

 

[Pugz]

I just can't believe that, they could get more for a 12mill expring.. By saving it.

 

[.GR]

I just can't believe that, they could get more for a 12mill expring.. By saving it.

I don't think they would have cap either way with Miles on the books now.
On the Kings side of this, I think they should accept it with Moore in the deal, then accept the Heat's offer of Marion for Miller/Thomas leaving us with about 32M in spending money.

 

[Pugz]

imo, none will happen.

 

[.GR]

Ok. You already said that.

 

[Pugz]

Well the Marion deal looks fine, I can see that happening.

 

[.GR]

With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, rumors are starting to fly about who is going where ... and the Blazers are definitely in the mix. According to a report via 1080 The Fan and the Sacramento Bee, the Blazers have offered a draft pick and Raef LaFrentz's expiring contract for John Salmons. Salmons contract goes through the 2010-11 season before he would be a free agent.

The Oregonian