Bring the Sacramento Kings to SeattleBringing the Kings to Seattle would be great, but we would have to turn them into Sonics (By that I mean make a roster that suits Seattle). Seattle needs a team, but not just any team, we need a team of Seattle Sonics! A smash-mouth, reckless defending, three point shooting, play-making Sonics, and here is our opinion on how to get that team.
The Kings roster so far looks like this:
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Birth Date | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | DeMarcus Cousins | F | 6-11 | 270 | August 13, 1990 | 1 | University of Kentucky |
| 13 | Tyreke Evans | G | 6-6 | 220 | September 19, 1989 | 2 | University of Memphis |
| 7 | Jimmer Fredette | G | 6-2 | 195 | February 25, 1989 | R | Brigham Young University |
| 32 | Francisco Garcia | F-G | 6-7 | 195 | December 31, 1981 | 6 | University of Louisville |
| 20 | Donte Greene | F | 6-11 | 226 | February 21, 1988 | 3 | Syracuse University |
| 42 | Chuck Hayes | F | 6-6 | 240 | June 11, 1983 | 6 | University of Kentucky |
| 31 | J.J. Hickson | F | 6-9 | 242 | September 4, 1988 | 3 | North Carolina State University |
| 3 | Tyler Honeycutt | F | 6-8 | 188 | July 15, 1990 | R | University of California, Los Angeles |
| 25 | Travis Outlaw | F | 6-9 | 210 | September 18, 1984 | 8 | |
| 5 | John Salmons | G | 6-7 | 210 | December 12, 1979 | 9 | University of Miami |
| 22 | Isaiah Thomas | G | 5-9 | 185 | February 7, 1989 | R | University of Washington |
| 34 | Jason Thompson | F | 6-11 | 250 | July 21, 1986 | 3 | Rider University |
| 23 | Marcus Thornton | G | 6-4 | 205 | June 5, 1987 | 2 | Louisiana State University |
| 33 | Hassan Whiteside | C | 7-0 | 235 | June 13, 1989 | 1 | Marshall University |
At PG they have Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas, none of which I feel are going to be successful point guards at this point. At the 2 they have Marcus Thornton, they need more depth but he may be a good starting point. The Kings have many small forwards but are not necessarily deep there, Honeycutt, Salmons and Outlaw are the only 3's I feel they should keep, which means getting rid of Francisco Garcia and Donte Greene. The Kings also have solid PF's in J.J. Hickson, Chuck Hayes and Jason Thompson, which can be very helpful in building a winner. The 5 features the super talented but needs-to-screw-his-head-on DeMarcus Cousins as well as the liability Hassan Whiteside, so they definitely need some work but hey, we built and gift-wrapped the Oklahoma Thunder did we not?
Now let me tell you what in my opinion will get the Kings (and soon to be Seattle SuperSonics) on track as soon as possible:
The PG:
Don't get me wrong people, Tyreke Evans is a great player and will be good for somebody, but he's a player that needs to dominate the ball and score, while Marcus Thornton and DeMarcus Cousins would benefit from having a more pure point who can pass and see them when they are ready. So getting rid of Tyreke seems to be the best idea to someone like me, especially since they could get great value for him. The Sonics would be better off trading 'Reke and grabbing a pure point in the draft or free agency (Hmmmm Scott Machado or Tony Wroten Jr anyone?).
Trading 'Reke for Ed Davis and a first round pick could help the Sonics grab that PG as well as a good big prospect.
Jimmer too, Jimmer Fredette is another ball dominating PG (who for some reason cannot pass or take anyone off the dribble), either Jimmer needs to gain more than his one dimension he has so far or we should trade him and the great defending Chuck Hayes for someone like George Hill. Yup that's what we'll do.
Isaiah Thomas on the other hand can distribute but I don't see him being the point of the Sonics future so what they should do is keep him as a great weapon off the bench who can pass, shoot, and get to the rim, but not start.
The SG:
Marcus Thornton is a solid 2 who can average over 20 points per if he get's the right system and point so the future Sonics should definitely keep him and maybe even give him the keys to their scoring load one day.
The SF:
Donte Greene and Francisco Garcia need to go, in fact the first thing I would do is offer a package of them two plus a 2013 second round draft pick for Jose Calderon (A solid distributing PG) and James Johnson (An above average defender and distributor for his position who can also dribble pretty well, not to mention his unbelievable potential), Jose could start this year once they get a taker for Tyreke and James Johnson could be a great role player so far.
John Salmons has a nice game, he shoot very well, and defend pretty well so we'd move him over to a 2 and have him back Marcus Thornton up giving good depth at the wing,
Travis Outlaw had a great game in his Portland Blazers days but since leaving he hasn't found his groove, so I'd let him start during the beginning of the season but if he couldn't get it together the first month he would back up either James Johnson or...
Tyler Honeycutt, He has immense potential due to his body and if he gained weight he could be a dominant defensive presence, not to mention he will drill open three's and he can dunk on people almost at will, plus if he get's that massive wingspan rebounding he will be a force to reckon with.
The PF:
J.J. Hickson would man our first unit using his athleticism and post moves to be a paint presence while grabbing any board he can get his hands on, in other words, we're keeping him.
Jason Thompson would be a solid starting PF for many teams but on the Seattle Sonics he would be our dominant 6th man, boarding and drop-stepping like we have never seen before.
Ed Davis could learn what to do as well as be another great boarding big in the Sonics future.
The C:
In my opinion every team needs one excellent ball-handling guard and big to be a championship, so if the Kings grabbed Scott Machado or Tony Wroten (or both) plus the soon-to-be-great DeMarcus Cousin, they would be on track, especially if DeMarcus was fed the ball in his natural habitat (the post) and boarded the way he is supposed to, DeMarcus can be a beast, and he will with a good PG.
Hassan Whiteside should be cut and replaced with a better free agent backup such as Joel Przybilla who can defend and rebound like few others, plus he knows his place.
Trotting a lineup of:
Jose Calderon - 31 minutes
Marcus Thornton - 35 minutes
James Johnson - 31 minutes
J.J. Hickson - 32 minutes
DeMarcus Cousins - 35 minutes
Jason Thompson - 19 minutes
John Salmons - 13 minutes
Tyler Honeycutt - 10 minutes
Isaiah Thomas - 10 minutes
George Hill - 10 minutes
Ed Davis - 10 minutes
Travis Outlaw - 4 minutes
and Joel Przybilla incase of an injury.
The Sonics would be a solid team that could be a fringe playoff team by the looks of it and in a couple of years reach contender status, and if they picked up Scott Machado this year in the draft even better (as he reminds me of a poor man's Mark Jackson, plus he's gonna be a steal as many have him seen as a late second rounder), he can take you off the dribble, defend better than Calderon and plain pass the ball!
Draft picks:
Trade the 7th pick for the 15th and 18th and grab
15: Kris Joseph (Seems like a poor man's Paul Pierce)
18: Tony Wroten Jr. (Going to be an NBA great)
37: Scott Machado (If his ranking doesn't higher by the end of the season, like I said Mark Jackson lite)
Then I would play Machado and Wroten against each other for the starting job, by fighting for it they would be forced to play better pushing each other to new standards and train Kris Joseph to most likely take over the SF position in a couple years. With that happening they could be a playoff contender in no time.
Players to go after:
Terrence Williams
Josh Smith
Raymond Felton
O.J. Mayo
Nicolas Batum
And that is how TheSportsBoys hope and want the Seattle Sonics first year to happen!
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