Jason Thompson has been here six years. There's been a lot of losing. He is trying to get the love of the game back - and that probably needs to happen on a different team.

It's been part of the territory since really 2006 to watch the losses pile up when it comes to the Sacramento Kings. Though things will likely turn around over the next few seasons, it's been a tough pill to swallow for fans and players; especially players who have been a part of those teams for extended periods of time.

There is no better example than Jason Thompson right now, who has been with the franchise for six seasons. We pointed out last season how Thompson's frustrations with the situation are warranted and the fact that he has had some 60 different teammates and five different coaches in Sacramento. So it will be a good thing when the 6'11'' power forward moves on to another team, which, in my opinion, is only a matter of time.

It would be nice if the longest-tenured King had at least a few fond memories of winning since he got here, but he doesn't. All of the losing (the Kings have a 144-332 record over Thompson's six seasons) sounds like it has made him lose his love for the game. News 10 interviewed the big man at his JT Elite Basketball Skills Camp in Rocklin this week.

"It's tough, in every level I have been in, you win, you're successful and not to have that same type of feeling after year six, it's tough. So when I get back to just having love for the game man and just love doing what I do, then everything else will come into place," Thompson said.

While he could maybe be more professional about not airing his grievances with the situation through the media, it is somewhat refreshing that he his honest about it.

"It's one thing to smile and kind of fib about enjoying it. Obviously, this is great man, and when I was a little kid growing up I wanted to be in the NBA and that's all great and dandy, but then eventually, when you are getting paid to do something you love man, and it's intense, you want to win," Thompson told News 10.

Now, let's not throw too big of a pity party for Thompson because he has his faults: the lapses on defense, the inconsistency on offense and the complaining to the refs (something he is pretty unapologetic about when asked). Those are all things that he can't blame on losing, but they are things that can make a team lose.

A few years back, I spoke to Thompson's college coach at Rider University, Tommy Dempsey. Dempsey said that Thompson needed to add more consistency as a shooter and in his face-up game. On a nightly basis, he needed something to hang his hat on, the coach said. But that still hasn't really happened and it may have impacted how high Thompson's ceiling is. Playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins hasn't exactly been beneficial for him though, considering Cousins needs space to create down low and Thompson isn't, by any means, what you would call a stretch four.

Thompson visited the Sacramento Sports Annex Podcast on Wednesday and said he was a "good force in this league" early in his career, but after all of the player and coaching changes started happening with the team, it made it difficult for the Kings and him as a player to succeed. But he is ready to take his game to the next level and believes he has a lot left.

"I still think the sky is the limit for me, I still have more potential in me and years in my prime, so if it's still going to be with Sac or if it's going to be with someone else, people will be able to see it," Thompson told the guys at the Sports Annex.

He does hustle and he can rebound, which is always valuable around the league. Much like Isaiah Thomas, Thompson also has repeatedly been able to beat out players who have tried to run off with his starting position. He admits that his heart is in Sacramento and to his credit, he has been active in the community with things such as his skills camp.

So while this is a call for the Kings to trade Thompson (we pretty much already know they plan to if they can - they tried last season, after all), it is more of a hope that he lands in a good spot and is part of a deal that makes him and the Kings better in the long run. His contract, which is worth around $19 million over the next three seasons, will make things a little difficult, but there are teams with title aspirations that could use the services of a rotation power forward like Thompson. The Los Angeles Clippers, for example, could be one of those teams considering they are in need of someone to back up Blake Griffin, especially if Glen Davis doesn't re-sign.

With so many power forwards currently on the Kings roster, Thompson knows something has to give.

"Not unless one of us is going to play the three and I'm not trying to do that," Thompson jokingly told News 10. "If I was a betting man, I'd say that there's only a few people on less than one hand that probably is on the Kings next year."

Thompson is hosting another basketball camp for kids from first to 12th grade in August. More information can be found here.

The Kings are reportedly in negotiations with Darren Collison, which does not bode well for the Kings keeping Isaiah Thomas.

The Sacramento Kings are in negotiations with Darren Collison, according to Hoopshype and confirmed by Jason Jones. This obviously does not bode well for the Kings keeping Isaiah Thomas.

Does it makes sense?

Collison isn't a top tier point guard by any means, but he's a serviceable point guard who can be signed for significantly less than what Isaiah is expected to retrieve in free agency. Having Collison locked up also allows the Kings to work on sign-and-trade deals with Isaiah's suitors without needing a point guard in return.

Why it doesn't make sense

Simply put, Isaiah is a better point guard than Collison. A lot better. The Kings can match any offer, and we don't even know what kind of offer Isaiah will actually get.

Likelihood this happens?

I'd personally expect this rumor to come to fruition. We've long expected that the Kings don't want to exceed a certain unknown dollar figure for Isaiah. Locking up a replacement ensures that the Kings don't lose out on replacement options while waiting to see what Isaiah gets offered.

The Los Angeles Clippers' backup point guard will move north to join DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.

The Sacramento Kings have agreed with Darren Collison on a fully guaranteed, three-year, $16 million deal, according to LA Times beat reporter Brad Turner.

Free agent guard Darren Collison agrees to 3 year, $16 milion deal with Sacramento, sources, leaving the Clippers.

— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 3, 2014

Collison finished last season on the Clippers averaging 11.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. With Chris Paul battling a shoulder injury, head coach Doc Rivers relied on Collison not only to spell his All-Star point guard but to replace him in the lineup for the month of January and into the first week of February.

Kings intend to create room for Collison's non-taxpayer mid-level deal by waiving and stretching a player, source says.

— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 3, 2014

Sacramento, who is over the cap after Rudy Gay opted into the final year of his contract, will need to make room for Collison's deal. According to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, the Kings will waive one player to clear space for Collison.

How Collison fits in with the Kings is still a bit of a mystery. The deal is for him to come in and be the starting point guard, according to USA Today's Sam Amick. Collison is known more as a defender than anything, and it's unsure what the Kings plan to do with restricted free agent and second-leading scorer Isaiah Thomas. After Collison's deal, Sacramento can use the stretch provision, which allows teams to waive a player and extend his salary out over three seasons for cap purposes, to clear space to match an offer for Thomas.

Thomas is likely to garner serious attention from teams in need of a starting guard, and signing Collison is nothing if insurance against a hefty offer sheet.

We're as baffled as you are.

The Kings have reportedly signed Darren Collison to a three-year deal for $16 million, using their Mid-Level Exception. What this means for Isaiah Thomas remains to be seen, but it doesn't indicate the Kings are planning to retain Thomas.

Free agent guard Darren Collison agrees to 3 year, $16 milion deal with Sacramento, sources, leaving the Clippers.

— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 3, 2014

Collison's contract is fully guaranteed, per source. He got midlevel exception for Kings. Was tough for him to leave Clippers.

— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 3, 2014

If Collison is meant to be a back-up, I love the signing. There's a chance this is part of a bigger plan that has yet to play out. But if this is meant to replace Isaiah, I'm dismayed. Collison is a significant drop off in talent. Yes, he's cheaper, but there is a reason for that.

We'll continue to monitor Isaiah Thomas' restricted free agency, and any other rumors that come from this.

Welcome to Sacramento, Darren Collison. It's nothing personal. I promise we're nice folks. It's not you, it's us. We're just dealing with a potentially painful breakup, and it meant a lot, and we're not ready to jump into a new point guard relationship yet.

The Sacramento Kings have come to terms on a 3-year, $16 million contract with Clippers point guard Darren Collison, all but assuring Isaiah Thomas' departure.

LA Times Clippers beat writer Brad Turner reports that free agent Darren Collison has left the team to accept a 3-year, $16 million offer from the Sacramento Kings. Collison stated "The Kings were the most aggressive team by far in the [sic] free agency, and I respected that on all levels." Collison went on to state that he felt the Kings made him their first priority in free agency and that swayed his decision to move on.

Collison was originally signed as a backup to Chris Paul but ended up playing a substantial role for the Clippers last year, averaging 11.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals and logging 35 starts. His loss is a significant one to the Clippers backcourt, considering that guard Jamal Crawford is also rumored to be on the move.

As we reported here on Sonicsrising on Tuesday, Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas has been the focus of substantial free agent interest. Sacramento's signing of Collison all but assures that the former Washington Husky will be playing elsewhere next season. Unlike Collison, Thomas will receive offers of more than the mid-level exception, an indication that the Kings felt that Collison was a more affordable option moving forward.

Along with Crawford, Rajon Rondo's final landing spot now becomes an interesting story to watch, as there are several teams needing depth at point guard, and several options available.

You can read more on this signing from our friends at Sactown Royalty and Greg Wissinger.

With all these rumors swirling, could the best option be for the Kings to work with what they already have?

[Editor's note: This was written before today's Darren Collison news, but there's still a lot of valid points being made.]

Rajon Rondo. Kevin Love. Josh Smith.

These are just a few of the names that will probably never put on a Sacramento Kings uniform. Let's just say for a minute that one of those guys does get traded here. Is the short term gain worth the long term loss? It is funny to say for a 28- win team, but if there is one thing the Kings aren't lacking, it's talent. Instead, we seem to have many talented players that just need to "get it". Looking at a lot of rosters of teams that are in our basic win window, I would reckon that we have more talent than most of them, including many that have 6-7 wins on us. Many of these guys were thrown around roles as the Kings made moves all of last season. Many never had an off-season and a training camp to get properly acquainted with the system. Many of these guys had to adapt into three different overhauls of our roster. Sure, gambling on Kevin Love may help us out long term, but what if it doesn't? What if we trade all of our young talent and have one great season followed by a new rebuilding project? If that is the case, I would much rather grow what we have.

For the first time in probably 8 years, the Kings seem to have a real game plan of what they want to do.  Gone are the days where we skate down toward the minimum salary cap, and do a bevy of money saving trades. If anything, we have done the opposite. When was the last time we thought we might lose someone because we legitimately could not afford him? This Isaiah Thomas situation is the first time it has even been an issue in probably a decade. The last real fan favorite I remember leaving via free agency was Bonzi Wells, and that was due to his misdoings, not ours. Before that, it would probably be an aging Vlade Divac. Since then, we have constantly traded our players for a bunch of smaller contracts, stayed at the minumum, and repeated that process. Not too many of those helped in the long run. For the first time in years, we have a core that we can actually see a future with. Why sacrifice that for one or two years?

On paper, if you look at our possible depth chart, we actually look like a good basketball team. If we can keep Isaiah, this rings especially true...

PG: Isaiah Thomas (?), Ray McCallum, Jason Terry, Darren Collison

SG: Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, MarShon Brooks (?)

SF: Rudy Gay, Derrick Williams, Travis Outlaw

PF: Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Reggie Evans, Quincy Acy

C: DeMarcus Cousins

(Note: I am aware there are 14 names here. The guys at the end of the bench are being written about for when they play. Not under the assumption they are playing every game)

Center:

The first thing that sticks out on that depth chart is the logjam at the 4. We can attempt to fix this in a variety of different ways. The first way, should he choose to accept it is moving JT to the backup center role. I admit, even to me, this is not the best option. Talent wise, he should be able to do it, but I do not see him accepting the role, as he has been known to slip into a coma when he comes off the bench. To me, the better option is to attempt to unload that deal for ANYTHING, be it a pick, cash, a trip to the Bahamas, whatever. This empties a roster spot to try to get a young up and comer (like fan favorite Cole Aldrich, or maybe even Sim Bhullar), who will cost a fraction of the money, and embrace the role as a backup big man. While those are not exactly marquee names, a starting caliber big man is hard enough to come by, let alone a backup. This method also frees up the log jam at the 4.

Power Forward:

Reggie Evans actually performed quite well when he got to start next to Cuz. He will tip and grab rebounds practically in his sleep, and can actually play some decent defense. Sure, a legit lock down guy is ideal, but there are about 25-27 teams that need one of those. Carl Landry has proven to be a great 6th man to have when healthy. I think some fans were too quick to throw him under the bus after this last season. He literally did not play a healthy game with us last year, and probably should have sat the whole year out. This does not mean it is going to be a bad deal, though. Landry came off a great season with the Warriors, and actually was sought after by many other teams. The guy will give his all when he comes off the bench, and can provide an excellent spark down low. Rebounding and defense are an issue (which is a sentence that could be posted on about 90% of our players), but off the bench, it can work.

This leaves Acy. While Acy is undersized, the guy has proven to be able to hit the occasional shot outside (actually hit one or two corner threes even), has some very underrated athleticism, and a motor that every player in the league should have. I think in 2-3 years he is going to start making waves. Reggie Evans, whom we often compared him to before he got here, is probably the perfect guy for Acy to work under in the lineup. With the (easier said than done) dumping of JT, the crowded 4 spot is suddenly much easier to deal with.

Small Forward:

Obviously we have Rudy Gay for at least another year, hopefully many more after it. He is easily the best SF we have had since the artist formerly known as Ron Artest, (not that that is anything to brag about). He is obviously our starting 3 for the immediate future, should he choose to stay here.

Behind him, in my opinion, is the biggest piece of the puzzle for my idea; Derrick Williams. We saw a few different faces of Derrick Williams. One that could take over games, one that could provide a spark, and one that was non existent. I do not blame him for his inconsistencies, however. Throughout his first three years, he has struggled to find a consistent role. Talent has never been his issue. The guy can leap out of the building, get to the line, and even hit the occasional jumper. To me, Derrick Williams biggest weakness is in his confidence. This year, if he can come into the season knowing that he is one of the first 2 guys off the bench, and accept that role, it would be huge for the team. It could be the first year that he has known exactly what his role will be night in, night out. And with the others on the court, he can be free to become a huge piece off the bench if he can accept the role, and adapt his game accordingly.

Behind him we the one and only Travis Outlaw. As much guff as I have gotten for my sarcastic praise of this gentleman, I actually legitimately like this guy. Whether he is asked to start, or comes in with 2 minutes left, he will come in with the same mindset, and work his butt off the whole time he is out there. In this lineup, he will probably do much more of the coming in with 2 minutes left, but considering his role at the end of the bench, Outlaw is an ideal candidate.

Shooting Guard

Many were perplexed by the fact that we have drafted a shooting guard two years in a row now. That would be a valid argument if we had more than one shooting guard already. Ben McLemore will more than likely be our starting 2, barring a big deal, or an insane start from Stauskas. Hopefully, with a long off season to work on his game, McLemore can be the starting 2 that we know he can be. His mechanics were there all last year, but the shots could not drop. Going to a game live, it is not ridiculous to say that McLemore has a very Ray Allen like form on that shot. His next step is to get the Ray Allen like results, and while that is a tall order, if he can just become a reliable shooter, that opens up our offense in some major ways. If it doesn't then the next guy down the line should be able pick up where he leaves off.

Stauskas, despite many rumors to the contrary, is not Jimmer Fredette. Stauskas is a 6'6 shooting guard, who can shoot the lights out, take it inside, and create his own shot. He also has one more year of college experience on Ben McLemore, which could prove huge. While many think that these two can not coexist, I tend to disagree. They are both young players who happen to play the same spot. Having two great players in the same position does not have to be a bad thing. The Kings had Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson both running the point for a few years, and I remember they did a pretty good job doing it in the process. If we give these guys time to develop. We may be taking about a top shooting guard in Ben McLemore, and a 6th man candidate in Stauskas.

Outside of these two, there is a possibility of MarShon Brooks, whom I have to assume has a spot on the roster if he shows us anything. He has proven to be an NBA talent, but has never fully realized this talent, much like Derrick Williams. While is a good acquisition for us, I see him spending many games in street clothes, or riding the 12th man role. He could, however, prove to be a good pickup in the event of an injury at the 2.

Point Guard:

This whole plan, obviously, is working under us getting Isaiah back. The jury is still out on how much is too much in the eyes of the management. In my opinion, unless we have a backup plan, which we may very well have, we aren't going to let Isaiah go unless we have a viable option in our back pocket. At the current rate guys are being paid, however, I see the Kings realizing that a year in the luxury tax may be a risk that is worth taking in the long run. Isaiah has proven that despite his size, he is more than capable of starting in the NBA. There is only one Chris Paul out there, so finding a good offensive point guard that can also play good D is much easier said than done. While he can get into a bad habit of playing hero ball at times, which is my biggest complaint with him, Isaiah has proven his place as a starter in the NBA.

Behind Isaiah, we have two possible backups (right now): Ray McCallum, and Jason Terry. These are two guys in complete opposite situations when it comes to their careers. Jason Terry is an aging veteran who is trying to end his career on a positive note, (which is why many think he may be bought by the time the season starts). Ray McCallum is a guy who spent much of last year riding the bench, but in his last few games, where he finally got to start, he proved that he has some NBA talent. I think either of these guys could fill the role behind Isaiah fine. having Jason Terry to look up to for a year or two may actually work in Ray's favor. I firmly believe that a veteran presence like a Jason Terry can be a big difference maker on a team like the Kings. I have said I wanted a veteran presence for years. Terry has been around the block a few times, and even got himself a ring in the process. There is knowledge to be had there. Most of these teams in the playoffs have that veteran that they can look up to in the locker room. They can often bridge that gap between players and coaches. While Terry is not what he used to be talent wise, his locker room presence alone could be big for this team.

If Terry does decide to spend his last couple years elsewhere, and I would not blame him, Ray McCallum will get a chance to prove his place in the NBA. Many guys have had better years than him, and faded into oblivion two- years later, but many guys have also had similar rookie years to him, and proven to be great NBA players in the long run. I could see, given the opportunity, Ray McCallum having a similar sophomore improvement as Kevin Martin had for us. Both spent much of their rookie year in suits, or on the bench, but both also proved they had talent when given a fair shot. It will be interesting to see, but I think Ray could be Petey D's first big steal as a GM when all is said and done.

***UPDATE***

With the Darren Collison news, I feel the need to adjust this plan accordingly. We now have two options in the context of my plan. Sign Isaiah, and make a solid 1, 2 punch at the point, or plan for the future. My theory for this signing is that the team knows they can use him with or without Isaiah. If Isaiah is offered a real high deal (which after the Jodie Meeks and Hayward offers seems likely), we have a solid PG still with this deal. If the offer is able to be matched, we now have depth at the PG. Terry is probably gone in this situation, but with Isaiah, Collison, and Ray, we have a chance to always have a true point on the court. It also gives us a little more time to develop Ray. In my opinion, bringing on Collison doesn't kill hopes for Isaiah, but if it turns out to be the end of his days here, at least we have a PG we can insert now, instead of being left with nothing.

The Future:

Another reason I say a gamble with the tax line is worth it this year, in terms of keeping Isaiah, is that we can have some decent cap room to add the role players we need for future years. We are not going to get marquee free agents, but we can get 2-3 smaller names that could provide big boosts for us. Next summer, we should have the cap room to bring back who we want, as well as go after what we need.

***

This is not a rally against making any roster changes. We were a 28-win team last year. It would be stupid of me to rally against making any changes. This is simply one theory on how we can get better without having to gamble on our future. If we can get these superstars and get them to stay here, I am all for it, but if we do not, I think we can have a far better future than many give us credit for.

The Detroit Pistons are reportedly interested in the Sacramento Kings' pint-sized point guard Isaiah Thomas. Can they work out a sign-and-trade involving either Josh Smith or Brandon Jennings?

You can tell silly season is under way as the Detroit Pistons have been linked to a player that seems at first blush to make zero sense for the team -- Isaiah Thomas. No, not Isiah Thomas. Isaiah Thomas.

The Pistons have reportedly laid out an offer for $8 million per year for three years, according to NBA writer Aaron Bruski. If that number sounds familiar it is because it happens to be the identical deal the Pistons signed Jennings to a season ago.

In the past week or so the Pistons have said they were focused on less flashy signings and were more focused on trying to find a bigger reserve point guard to back up Brandon Jennings. Thomas would not be a backup to Jennings and he is certainly not a large man. He is listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds.

Still, Thomas is an electric scorer and budding playmaker. He is so small that defense is and will always be an issue, but when your incumbent is the defenseless Jennings I guess it's less of an issue.

So how does any of this make sense? For one, Thomas is a clear upgrade on Jennings, even if he isn't exactly a championship-caliber upgrade. Two, this is the Kings. And the Pistons have been associated with the Kings recently.

Heard things about Isaiah Thomas to the Pistons in a possible S/T, right around same time as Josh Smith speculation

— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) July 1, 2014

It seems Goodwill is saying something here without really saying something here. But the logic is pretty easy to follow. When the Pistons and the Kings were in discussions over a Josh Smith trade, it was reportedly the Pistons who backed away.

The deal on the table was Smith for spare parts such as some combination of Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Derrick Williams and Jason Terry.

The Kings then drafted Nik Stauskas, a perimeter shooter that seemed to overlap with previous draft pick Ben McLemore. Clearly something is brewing in Sactown.

So could this possible Thomas interest from the Pistons be part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings that sends some combination of Thomas and spare parts and maybe even McLemore to Detroit in exchange for Josh Smith and other assets? And what would those assets be? Could the Kings want to take on Jennings? It seems unlikely but any deal for Thomas only makes sense if Jennings isn't also in the picture. Would it also cost the Pistons Kyle Singer or a future pick?

Everything is crazy and nothing makes sense, therefore everything makes sense.

It's past midnight. Let the games begin.

If you want to talk about free agency in general, there's a thread for that. Detroit Bad Boys always has you covered.

Reactions to the Darren Collison signing have been....unkind.

The Sacramento Kings have signed Darren Collison to a three-year, fully-guaranteed $16 million deal.  The reaction in Sacramento has largely been negative.  But what about outside of Sacramento?  Well, it's not much better.

Mavs writer Kirk Henderson reacting to the intial rumor:

Kings! Don't do it! Collison can't make a basic entry pass to save his life!

— Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace) July 3, 2014

Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney:

The potential Kings downgrade from Isaiah Thomas to Darren Collison is painful. Could make Collison's TBD contract figure even more so.

— Rob Mahoney (@RobMahoney) July 3, 2014

Yahoo! Sports' Dan Devine:

One idea for the Kings might be to just let Isaiah Thomas be their point guard. He’s pretty good at it!

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) July 3, 2014

Like, I get that Isaiah Thomas is very small + that it is hard to build an elite D with a small PG. But … like … he’s good! For real!

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) July 3, 2014

Canis Hoopus writer Tim Faklis:

Oh, Darren Collison to Kings would mean bye bye to Isaiah? Okay, yeah. That's awful.

— Tim Faklis (@timfaklis) July 3, 2014

Hardwood Paroxysm's Noam Schiller:

Sacramento acquiring a PG who is inferior to Isaiah Thomas is a tradition unlike any other.

— Noam Schiller (@noamschiller) July 3, 2014

Amazing to see an NBA team steadfastly insisting their player isn't as good as he is. Usually the opposite.

— Noam Schiller (@noamschiller) July 3, 2014

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders:

Collision in particular one of league's worst at getting over screens. Clips were awful in playoffs whenever he played without Paul.

— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 3, 2014

ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton:

Isaiah Thomas is too small and shoot-first, so the Kings signed 6-0 Darren Collison, who has had a worse assist rate 2 of last 3 seasons.

— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) July 3, 2014

Eric Koreen, National Post:

If the Kings want to pay Collison more money than Isaiah, they are not very good at putting a price on talent.

— Eric Koreen (@ekoreen) July 3, 2014

ClippersBlog's Seth Partnow:

"True" point guard Darren Collison shot more per assist chance than Isaiah Thomas last year: pic.twitter.com/9dvCpz3yc6

— Seth Partnow (@WhrOffnsHppns) July 3, 2014

USA Today's Sean Highkin:

Seriously, what did Isaiah Thomas do to the Kings?

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) July 3, 2014

Liberty Ballers' Sean O'Connor:

Every team that has ever tried giving the keys to their offense to Collison has scurried to take them back.

— Sean O'Connor (@soconnor76) July 3, 2014

Cowbell Kingdom's Jonathan Santiago:

Some of you may think Darren Collison is a more pass-1st PG than Isaiah Thomas. Collison's AST% last yr: 21.9; Thomas' AST% last yr: 32.2.

— Jonathan Santiago (@itsjonsantiago) July 3, 2014

*****

So, yeah, everyone else is just as confused as we are.

Now that the Darren Collison signing has marinated a bit, it's time to begin the process of talking myself into the signing.

The Kings signing of Darren Collison came without warning.  Perhaps that's why it created such a powerful reaction.  We knew there was a possibility that the Kings might not retain Isaiah Thomas this offseason, but Collison suddenly became the physical embodiment of that harsh reality.  Isaiah may still remain with the Kings, but it feels like a foregone conclusion that he is gone.  Collison was given the impression he would be a starter.  The Kings leaked comments that they like Isaiah as a sixth man, a role Isaiah is obviously unsatisfied with.  The writing is on the wall, all that remains is for Isaiah to reach an agreement elsewhere.

I still disagree with the idea that Collison is a suitable replacement for Isaiah Thomas.  But if you're losing Isaiah, and aren't relying on getting a point guard back in a sign-and-trade, Collison is, sadly, one of the best options available in free agency.

A debate around here has been whether it's fair to compare Isaiah and Collison.  I think it's fair to, but I certainly understand those who argue otherwise.  I think it's fair because the Kings have chosen to sign Collison, to essentially move on from Isaiah, without even seeing what the market is willing to pay Isaiah.  The Kings made the decision that they wouldn't wait, they wouldn't consider matching Isaiah, they would instead move on with the next phase of their plan.  Sure, the Kings could still match, but it seems it would have to be an awfully low offer.

But now it's time to move past what might have been, and begin looking at what will happen next.  We expect, we hope, that this isn't the team's final play.  If it is, this offseason is a disaster.  But assuming the Kings have additional moves in store, a fair expectation, it's only fair that we wait and see the rest of the plan unfold.

An Isaiah Thomas sign-and-trade could fetch potentially valuable role players.  A trade involving some combination of Quincy Acy, Jason Thompson, Derrick Williams, Jason Terry, or Carl Landry could dramatically change the dynamics of this team.

Right now we're confused.  The team says they want to improve immediately, but seems to have downgraded their point guard.  But the rest of the team is still in flux. Even if this was the end of the Kings' offseason moves, we would expect the team to remain active in trades.

On Thursday, I posed the question on Twitter if this signing marked the end of the honeymoon period with Vivek, Pete and company.  Personally, I don't think it should.  The ownership and management of the team want to win, they want to improve.  They obviously have a different view of how to improve than what a majority of fans wanted to see.  But they've at least earned a little goodwill at this point.  I don't like the move, and I will be watching with a skeptical eye, but I'm willing to wait and see what comes next.

Day 3 was certainly eventful, what will Day 4 hold?

Well, Day 3 of free agency was eventful for the Sacramento Kings.  With the signing of Darren Collison, the Kings will be extremely limited going forward with free agency.  Isaiah Thomas remained a restricted free agent, and while it seems unlikely the Kings will move forward with Isaiah on the team, his situation remains unresolved.  We'll keep an eye on it, as any developments could have sign-and-trade implications for the Kings roster.

In other free agency news, there are murmurs that LeBron James may have a rift with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  Big drama!  LeBron might actually leave the Heat!

Carmelo Anthony has finished meeting with his suitors, and is expected to make a decision as soon as this weekend.  Once Carmelo signs, and if LeBron clarifies his future, many other dominoes will begin to fall.  Once the big pieces are off the board, the remaining free agents will move quickly.

Having trouble keeping up with all of these free agent moves?  Don't worry, we've got you covered:

Every Signing and Trade in One Place

There seems to be some sort of big free agent news every Fourth of July.  We'll do our best to give you the latest news as it relates to the Kings.  Otherwise, enjoy the holiday.  Be safe everyone.

We've been seeing subtle hints for the last few weeks now, but did we just get our first real glimpse at what might be the Sacramento Kings new jerseys this season? Join us as we examine the greatest fashion mystery of our time.

We'd heard rumblings and had been seeing subtle hints for a few weeks now. With new ownership comes many changes. New coaches, new players, a new arena... and soon we might be seeing our favorite team sporting a brand newold look!

Forget True Detective Season 2. We've got our own case to crack. Take a journey with me as we solve one of the most important fashion mysteries of our time. Examine the evidence. Come to your own conclusion. On this episode of: The Fippin Files!

***

The pieces of the puzzle really started falling into place just a few days ago. Think back to draft night. The sun was shining bright. You could hear the sounds of children playing. Can you picture it? Everything happened so fast. You might have missed the clues amidst the flurry of trade rumors. Trust me, I know. All those damn Euros getting picked up in the late first made it hard to concentrate. I took a drag from my cigaret as I anxiously swirled a glass of whiskey in the other hand. It seemed like just another NBA draft... and then HE walked into my life.

The first clue was right there in front of us. Did you see it? Notice anything off about this photo? Still not seeing it? How bout now?

That's right, it's the 2014 draft hat see? But something about it just wasn't right. And yet, at the same time, it seemed perfectly normal. Perfectly normal like a fox!

Uncertain what I was seeing, I googled an image of the 2013 draft hat. And then it became obvious.

Whoa, the logo was totally different! Since 2002 the Kings had been rocking the logo you see above. Uppercase "K" with the "ings" in lowercase. It's been on their website. It was on all their merchandise. It's the font they used on the logo at center court... until last season. Hell, they still have it on the backdrop they use for press conferences.

Turns out, the 2014 draft hat looked super familiar because I had seen it a MILLION times. Right there under the bill is the same logo the Kings had on their jerseys from 1995-2001. It was the very first logo they sported after the switch from Red/White/Blue to Purple/Black. Mitch wore it. Spud wore it. Bobby Hurley wore it. The Wizard wore it. THE GREATEST SHOW ON COURT even wore it for a bit!

Amidst everything that's gone on this offseason, you might have missed that the Kings had already begun to slowly transition their website over to the all uppercase logo as well. Well, I didn't... because i'm a goddamn pro!

But up to this point I was honestly just guessing. This was obviously all conjecture. I needed to move on with my life. We had no case.

Just a few days later Kings Co-Owner and StR favorite, Andy Miller, would drop a fashion bomb on us all. He took to twitter to confirm that a logo transition was indeed underway. But in this tweet we're presented with a purple version of a font we're already using! WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!

Kings logo transition underway ... "@sactownroyalty: RT "@TheNBACentral: Here are NEW NBA secondary logos: pic.twitter.com/TVB0wwzhUR""

— Andrew Miller (@amiller) June 29, 2014

Whatever it meant, he wanted to let us know that transitions like these can take some time to pull off. A "couple years" to be exact.

Logo transition takes a couple yrs to complete until it makes it to the uniforms. We are on it. Open to all suggestions. #ForeverPurple

— Andrew Miller (@amiller) June 29, 2014

It looked like the jerseys in our closets weren't going out of style anytime soon.

I was resigned to the fact that I was probably reading too much into things. I was too close to the case. It had become personal. Surely it'd be a while before the Kings were rocking a new look.

Then George Takata happened. It was the break I needed! George is the biggest Kings fan in Fresno and a news anchor for KSEE 24 (KSEE 24, LOCAL NEWS THAT MATTERS!), who also apparently has a pal in the sports apparel business. Takata's keen newsman reflexes kicked in when he spotted something interesting in a brand new catalog from his buddy's store.

My friend works at a sports clothing store & showed me the Kings new unis for this season. Product catalog. pic.twitter.com/QmJ1LzjJun

— George Takata (@georgetakata) July 4, 2014

You'll notice the home and away jerseys pictured are basically the same as the ones we have now. BUT, they now include the same '95 logo from this year's draft hat. Also, you'll notice even bigger changes in the white home jerseys. They no longer have the word Sacramento stitched across the chest (which never made sense to me anyway). A couple of years ago, when we were in the midst of maximum Maloofery, that would have meant the team was surely moving. In the year of our lord 2014, with Vivek in charge, I honestly think it just looks better.

What do you guys think? Real or fake? Clearly it's same logo the team is using as the header on Kings.com and the one they wanted Nik Stauskas wearing on draft night. Andy Miller told us some changes were in store. Maybe this is just the start of a major makeover. But, all you purple purists out there have nothing to fear.

Purple is the core going forward. Here to stay. Like the Kings! "@HeuristicLineup: @amiller@kfippin why no purple?"

— Andrew Miller (@amiller) June 30, 2014

So, are we getting new jerseys this season? While we'll have to wait for an official confirmation, all the evidence sure seems to line up nicely. I dunno about you guys, but i'm going to start setting some cash aside.

Unfortunately, the Pistons rank third on his list of preferred destinations. Fortunately, the Pistons and Kings are a match made in heaven and to understand why, you need to understand the byzantine rules of the NBA salary cap.

Just when it looked like cosmic forces from throughout the NBA were pushing Isaiah Thomas closer together, comes the first solid bit of news that is breaking them apart.

Vincent Goodwill is obviously working on this story intensely and he dropped this bit of news:

Hearing Isaiah Thomas' preferred teams (in order): Lakers, Heat, Pistons

— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) July 3, 2014

If you notice, the Pistons show up third on that list. This is despite the fact that Detroit sprinted out of the gate and reportedly were ready to offer Thomas a three-year, $24 million contract. That $8 million average trumped other reported offers by about $2 million.

So lets explore these three suitors and consider how much of a serious threat the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat are to Detroit's pursuit of Thomas.

Miami Heat

The Heat are in a catch-22. The more appealing the team, the less money there is available to offer Thomas a contract. And if reports that Lebron James is seriously considering moving to a new team are true, it opens up the requisite cap space but makes it much less appealing for a player looking to win.

Still, if the Heat bring the big three back and if Thomas is willing to take a salary of less than $8 million then the Heat are a real threat. But those are some mighty big ifs. Also, and perhaps most importantly, the lower the salary Thomas is willing to accept, the more likely it is that the Kings match the offer.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are awash in cap space and are hoping to attract some serious talent to join Kobe Bryant. Their first attempt is trying to lure Carmelo Anthony with the promise of a maximum deal. That would mean he'd make an average of $24 million for four years, and that means that it would be extremely difficult for the Lakers to have enough available cap space to offer Thomas a competitive deal. And, to reiterate, the lower the contract offer, the more likely it is that the Kings will match.

And let's say that the Lakers don't sign Carmelo. Who could they sign to entice Thomas? They'll have Bryant, who will take the ball out of Thomas' hands quite a bit, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre. The team would have about $18 million to play with, but if they don't land Carmelo, they will likely hoard cap space in an effort to sign Kevin Love next year.

The Sacramento Kings

Perhaps it is my Pistons bias showing, but I sincerely believe that Detroit represents the best landing spot for everyone involved -- the Pistons, obviously, Thomas and, crucially, Sacramento. But before we talk about why it makes so much sense for Detroit, we need to talk about why it makes so much sense for Sacramento. Why? As mentioned before, the Kings are in the driver's seat because Thomas is a restricted free agent. This means that the Kings can match any deal that Thomas receives. But not really.

Confused yet? It goes like this: as signs increasingly pointed to Thomas playing somewhere other than Sacramento, the Kings naturally needed a backup plan. That plan came in the form of Darren Collison, who the Kings signed, paying him $6 million a year for the next three years. Incidentally, the Kings allegedly told Collison he would be starting, meaning Thomas has even less motivation to return to Sacramento.

But the Sacramento Kings are over the salary cap thanks to the first year of DeMarcus Cousins' max deal kicking in. That means they had to use the full mid-level exception to offer Collison a deal starting around $6 million. Why does this matter? Because only teams above the salary cap can utilize the full mid-level exception. But these same teams cannot be $4 million above the luxury tax line or they are no longer allowed to use the full mid-level exception. This means, in essence, the Kings are operating under a hard cap.

The Kings were sitting at around $71 million in salary before signing Collison to his deal. That puts the team at around $78 million without factoring in Thomas' deal. The luxury tax for next season is $77 million. That means the Kings are hard capped at $81 million ($4 million above the luxury tax, which is referred to as the apron). They cannot exceed $81 million and still use the full mid-level exception they plan to utilize in signing Collison.

Now, the Kings have already made statements that the team would be willing to use the stretch provision to create the needed room under the hard cap in order to still have the full mid-level exception at its disposal. But that might just be an effort to maintain a good negotiating position in a future sign-and-trade for Thomas.

What's the stretch provision? It allows a team to release a player under contract and have the player's salary be paid in increments of double the years plus one. So if the team stretched the final year of Jason Terry's contract that pays him $5.8 million, the deal would count against the cap $1.93 million each year for the next three years.

What makes it an even more important managerial decision for the Kings is that because the team is over the cap and will have limited space in the future (assuming they re-sign Rudy Gay), the Kings need to get as much out of a Thomas trade as they can.

Detroit Pistons

Now, we can finally talk about the Pistons. Detroit is obviously interested as their $24 million offer shows. Thomas would represent an upgrade over incumbent Brandon Jennings, and fits better with the core of Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.

If the Pistons gave Thomas $8 million a year, the Kings would not be able to match without stretching a player because it would take them over the apron. More importantly, the Kings would be able to get more in return from the Pistons than they would from the Heat or the Lakers. Before the draft, the Kings and Pistons were reportedly in deep discussions about a trade involving Josh Smith and Jason Thompson. Detroit reportedly walked away from the deal, but it makes sense to revisit it with Thomas a primary piece.

It will take extremely delicate negotiations between the Kings, Pistons and Thomas. If a team like the Lakers or Heat manage to cobble together the biggest offer, the Kings will not be happy because they won't get anything in return for him. This would force the Kings to try and convince the Pistons to up their offer to Thomas, and in turn, the Pistons would try and force the Kings to sweeten the deal with better trade pieces.

Also an important consideration tilting in Detroit's favor is that the Pistons have approximately $6 million to $7 million remaining under the salary cap. This means that Detroit can take back a lot more money in a trade than they send back in return.

For example, the Pistons could trade Josh Smith, Will Bynum and Josh Harrellson. This represents $17.5 million in outgoing salary. The Pistons could take back Isaiah Thomas at $8 million, Derrick Williams at $6.3 million and Jason Thompson at $6 million. This represents $20.3 million. This allows the Kings to sign Collison to the full MLE and also keep the Kings under the luxury tax line.

This represents a starting opportunity on a young, growing team for Thomas, a great fit at point guard and an upgrade for the Pistons and the best possible trade return for the Kings.

What do you guys and girls think? Am I nuts?

Free agency marches on and the Orlando Summer League kicks off.

The holiday was surprisingly quiet in free agency.  Steve Novak was traded from the Raptors to the Jazz, and the Clippers signed Spencer Hawes to a 4-year, $28 million dollar deal, immediately becoming the deal I'm happiest isn't on the Kings' cap sheet.

Aside from that, the rumors really heated up around LeBron James.  It seems there's a legitimate chance that he might leave the Heat and completely reshape the NBA landscape again.  And of course, there are tons of unsubstantiated "I know a guy who knows a guy" rumors coming out of Cleveland.  It's chaos.  Chaos is fun.

Having trouble keeping track of all these happenings?  We've got you covered:

Every Signing and Trade in One Place

Today also marks the kickoff of the Orlando Summer League.  Orlando usually isn't the spectacle that Vegas Summer League is, mainly because Orlando limits access to who can attend in terms of media and fans.  The Kings aren't participating, they'll attend Vegas Summer League.  Nonetheless, it's kinda sorta NBA basketball!  Most games appear on NBA TV.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss both free agency and Orlando Summer League.

The Clippers add another player in free agency as former Husky Spencer Hawes agrees to a 4-year, $23M deal.

Former Washington Husky Spencer Hawes and the LA Clippers have agreed on a 4-year, $23 million deal, reports Adrian Wojnaroski.

Reports indicate the full mid-level exception deal has some interesting provisions: a player option for the fourth year, and a 15% trade kicker. This could allow the Clippers to make the deal a sign and trade from Cleveland, preserving their trade exception, which would allow last year's  Pacific Division champion to continue its pursuit of free agent guard Paul Pierce.

Hawes' impressive inside-outside game, somewhat reminiscent of former Sonics center Sam Perkins, would give the Clippers a perfect counterpoint to Blake Griffin's low-post game and add another offensive weapon alongside Griffin and All-Star point guard Chris Paul.

Hawes offered high praise for Clippers president and coach Doc Rivers, saying " The creativity that Doc allows his guys on the offensive end, how he installs things to take advantage of skill sets ... we will be able to do a lot of different things and create a lot of different matchups."

This signing could really pay dividends for the Clippers. Hawes was arguably the best free agent center on the market, and after losing point guard Darren Collison to the Sacramento Kings just a couple of days ago the club is now reportedly in pursuit of Lakers guard Jordan Farmar.

The Clippers are definitely looking to build on the success of last season, and Hawes is a great first step in that direction.

The Clippers needed a backup point guard after Darren Collison agreed to join the Kings, and they have their man in Farmar.

Jordan Farmar has agreed to a two-year, $4.2 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times and confirmed by other media outlets.

The Clippers used their bi-annual exception on Farmar, and the second year of the deal is a player option. Los Angeles now has about $79 million in salary committed for next season, and they must stay below the expected hard-cap apron of $81 million that was triggered when they agreed to sign Spencer Hawes with the full mid-level exception. This could complicate a potential sign-and-trade for Paul Pierce, but it remains a possibility.

The Clippers needed a backup point guard for Chris Paul after Darren Collisonagreed to sign with the Sacramento Kings for the mid-level exception, and Farmar should be a capable replacement if healthy. Farmar played just 41 games last season with the Los Angeles Lakers due to hamstring and groin injuries, averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 assists per game. The 27-year-old shot 43.8 percent three-point range on the year.

Farmar brings some championship experience to a Clippers team that should contend for a title next season. He won two championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

Let's stop pretending this decision was about "creating a change" or that Darren Collison is more "pass-first". The Kings didn't want to pay starter money for Isaiah Thomas so they didn't.

Pete D'Alessandro's recent decision to sign Darren Collison to a 3 year, $16 million contract caused a bit of a firestorm here in Sacramento as it seemed to signal that the Kings would not be pursuing Isaiah Thomas any further.  While Collison is not a bad player by any means, Thomas is better statistically, younger, and a fan favorite in Sacramento.

In yesterday's Sacramento Bee, Ailene Voisin unsurprisingly wrote a column in which she explained that the reason the Kings have chosen Collison over Thomas is that he's more pass-oriented and cheaper than Thomas.  Ailene has it half right, but first let's tackle the part of her premise that I disagree with.

Voisin describes Thomas thus:

Mostly, though, the Kings needed a change, a new look, another approach. Eight losing seasons - and back-to-back years of 28 wins - tells a pretty ugly story. The chronic overdribbling, slow tempo, and lack of spacing and movement became a disease that spread with every bounce of the ball. It was as hard on the eyeballs as it was on the wooden floor.

Thomas was hardly the only culprit, but he was the primary ballhandler, the player relied upon to establish pace and facilitate an offense, while harassing opposing ballhandlers, and in that sense, he was simply miscast. He is - and we have said this before - a Vinnie Johnson or Jamal Crawford, a clever, at times explosive scorer. The cover page of his portfolio should read, "Have Ball, Will Score."

2013-14 Season in Review: Isaiah Thomas

The Pizza Guy has been fantastic in Sacramento but it's unclear whether the team will bring him back if his price is too high. That would be a shame.

It's true, Isaiah Thomas is a score-first guard, and he has admitted as much in recent interviews.  There's a very simple reason for this, that being that Thomas is an exceptionally good scorer.  The only Point Guards who averaged more points per game than he did last season were Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Stephen Curry.  If you include only his statistics as a starter, he averaged more points than Lillard and Irving as well.  But there seems to be a false dichotomy that because Thomas is a good (some would say great) scorer, that he cannot pass or make his teammates better.

Darren Collison has been portrayed by Voisin and some others as a more "pass-oriented" lead guard than Thomas, a more natural floor leader.  I have yet to find a single statistic to confirm this.  In my opinion, the only reason Collison is depicted thusly is because he's a similar passer but not nearly as good a scorer (this isn't to say Collison can't score, because he can, and is relatively efficient as well).

If we look at Assists alone, Thomas' 6.8 in 54 games as a starter last season easily surpasses Collison's 5.3 assists in 31 games a starter for the Clippers, and that was with a far superior supporting cast to work with.  Thomas also had the far superior assist rate, at 32.2% to Collison's 21.9%.  Collison's assist rate has decreased almost every year he's been in the league after starting out with a relatively impressive 32.9% his rookie year.

Then there's "shots per assist chance", a statistic compiled by NBA.com and tweeted by Seth Partnow, a writer for ESPN's ClipperBlog:

"True" point guard Darren Collison shot more per assist chance than Isaiah Thomas last year: pic.twitter.com/9dvCpz3yc6

— Seth Partnow (@WhrOffnsHppns) July 3, 2014

As for Thomas not making his teammates better, he was the only King aside from DeMarcus Cousins to make the Kings better on both ends of the floor when he was playing.  The Kings were almost 5.5 points per 100 possessions better offensively and 3.9 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Thomas on the court per Basketball-Reference.  The Clippers' offense and defense both slipped with Collison on the court, but that is unsurprising given that he replaced Chris Paul on the court most of the time.  If we look at his previous years however, he has never made his team more than 1.6 points per 100 possessions better offensively.  Thomas improved Sacramento's offense by nearly 9.8 points per 100 possessions in his rookie year alone.

***

The fact of the matter is that D'Alessandro and Sacramento's front office do not see Thomas as a starting Point Guard and as such don't want to pay him a starting Point Guard's salary.  The most crucial bit of info in Voisin's piece was this:

The Kings were willing to offer $5 million to $6 million per year for four seasons - with the idea of Thomas as a super sub. But they were unwilling to match the $8 million to $9 million he reportedly was seeking and confident he would attract, given the four-year, $32 million contract Avery Bradley agreed to with the Boston Celtics and the three-year, $19.5 million deal Jodie Meeks reached with the Detroit Pistons.

and this quote from Pete D'Alessandro:

"We're still having conversations with Isaiah's agent and will continue to do so," said Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro. "We'll see where those conversations take us. With us, we're looking at the big picture. So we're putting our plan together, assessing what the best chemistry is and working toward long-term sustainability. It's a puzzle. Every team is trying to put together the right pieces."

That bold emphasis is mine.  Isaiah Thomas is rightfully seeking a similar contract to those his peers have gotten for similar (and sometimes lesser) production.  Avery Bradley, Jeff Teague and Brandon Jennings have all signed multi-year deals worth $8 million annually over the past two seasons.  Given Thomas' ability and production, that seems like a reasonable starting point for him to bring to negotiations.  But the Kings don't view Thomas as a long term starter, and as such don't want to give him long term starter money.  Whether you disagree with that viewpoint (as I and many other Kings fans do), it is what the Kings believe and it is why it is highly unlikely that the Kings will be matching any offer for Thomas aside from in a Sign and Trade.

Here is Sacramento's current cap situation for this season and next:

* DeMarcus Cousins' max salary was estimated using last season's max salary calculation of about 23.3% of the salary cap and as such may be off by a little bit.
**Italicized salary is a qualifying offer amount and as such is not guaranteed.

All salary information was compiled thanks to ShamSports.com.

***

After Collison's signing, the Kings only have about $780,000 left before hitting the luxury tax, and because they used the non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to sign Collison, they have a hard cap of $4 million over the tax or $81 million, a cap which they cannot exceed at any time.  If Kings were to use the stretch provision on Jason Terry (the stretch provision allows you to spread a waived player's cap hit over twice the amount of remaining years plus one), the maximum amount of annual money they could offer Isaiah is about $8.6 million, and that would still mean the Kings are over the tax with a roster not much different from last years.  That is why a match for Thomas is likely out of the question and even a sign and trade would be difficult given that the Kings don't have much leverage in the matter.  Should Thomas sign an offer sheet with the Lakers for example, a sign and trade would be rather pointless given that the Lakers have nobody really to trade (that's not a joke, the only players under contract are Kobe Bryant, Kendall Marshall and Robert Sacre).

The Kings likely don't view Collison as a long term starter either, and they did not pay him as such.  Their eyes are likely on the summer of 2015, when the Kings are set to have almost $25 million in cap space (and still plenty even with a possible Rudy Gay extension) and big names like Rajon Rondo, Kemba Walker, Ricky Rubio, Reggie Jackson, Goran Dragic, and Tony Parker all possibly available.

Pete D'Alessandro has not been afraid to make big moves in his short tenure here, but in this case, I feel as if he's making a mistake and undervaluing what he already has in the hopes of finding something better.  In the Bee article, both he and Voisin talk about how the last two years of 28 wins are "unacceptable" and that change is needed.  That is certainly true, but losing one of your better players for potentially nothing doesn't seem to be a step in the right direction.  If you were to make a list of reasons in order of importance as to why the Kings won only 28 games in both of the last two years, Isaiah Thomas would be about as far down the list as you could go.  More to blame would be a lack of team defense, a complete change of ownership and management (in a good way but still a transition), huge roster turnover, and little to no production from the Shooting Guards, Power Forwards or Bench.

This is all a bit unfair to Darren Collison of course, who has done nothing wrong and yet has already drawn the ire of some fans because of who he is not.  He's a fine player, and were he coming to Sacramento to play with Thomas, would widely be seen as an excellent signing, but alas, he is meant to replace him and his tenure here will forever be viewed under that light.

The Kings are not done with their offseason yet and there are still plenty of moves to be made, but in the here and now, and likely for future seasons should Sacramento's ploy to get an elite Point Guard via trade or Free Agency not pan out, the Kings have gotten worse when they should be striving to get better.  It's still not too late for them to bring back Thomas, but it seems clear at this point that the Kings are moving on and for Thomas' sake, so should he.

Stop. Just stop.

Many Kings fans, myself included, are upset that the Kings seem prepared to move forward with Darren Collison instead of Isaiah Thomas. It sucks. And yes, a lot of it has to do with money. But no, that doesn't mean Pete D'Alessandro and Vivek Ranadivè are acting like the Maloofs.

There's a big difference between being too cheap to exceed the salary floor and being too hesitant to overpay a player when the team is nearing a hard cap. We were conditioned for years to hear "cap flexibility" and think "cheap owners". This is a vastly different situation.

The Kings put themselves in this position. They acquired Rudy Gay knowing what his salary was. They actively encouraged him to opt-in to the final year of his contract at $19.3 million. And yes, they signed Carl Landry to a contract that looks like a pretty dramatic overpay. Yes, we have way too many guys on difficult-to-move deals. All of these factor into the inability to retain Isaiah. But these aren't matters of being cheap, these are issues of team-building strategy and talent evaluation.

Disagree with how the Kings value Isaiah all you want, I'll join you. But I won't sit by as the comment threads are filled with "seems maloofian" garbage. We endured one of the worst ownership groups in the history of professional sports. The team's current ownership and management have been the opposite. They're spending on infrastructure, players, and they're being open and transparent with fans. It's a delight. Disagreeing with the evaluation of one player doesn't change that.

The free agent big man comes to Detroit by way of the Sacramento Kings. Can we convince him to bring former teammate Isaiah Thomas with him?

The Detroit Pistons agreed to a multiyear deal with a free agent from the Sacramento Kings! Nope, not Isaiah Thomas, but rather center Aaron Gray. Yes, he's still in the league. He split last season between the Raptors and Kings, appearing in 37 games and playing a grand total of 355 minutes. Here's proof.

Yahoo's Marc Spears was technically the first to report the deal, edging everyone's favorite Vinces by a single minute. (C'mon guys! Type faster next time.)

Center Aaron Gray agrees to multiyear deal with the Pistons, source says.

— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) July 7, 2014

Source: center Aaron Gray agrees to a multi year deal with the Pistons

— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) July 7, 2014

How does Gray fit Detroit's roster? It seems safe to speculate that he'll likely take Josh Harrellson's roster spot. Harrellson signed a two-year deal last August, but the second year was a team option. In his lone season in Detroit, Harrellson rarely saw the court, playing even fewer minutes (317 to be exact) than Gray last year.

I actually thought Harrellson had a decent chance to stick around. Despite his lack of action last year, he's a talented 3-point shooter -- a skill that Stan Van Gundy clearly covets. Gray, meanwhile, is a traditional lumbering big man who rarely strays from the paint: according to basketball-reference.com, 58.9 percent of his career field-goal attempts have come from within three feet of the basket, and a whooping 88.8 percent have come from within 10.

One skill that Gray does have is the ability to grab the ball: he's averaged 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes over his career. Which, OK. That's good but not exciting. It's impossible to grade this acquisition without knowing salary, but I suspect it's for the veteran's minimum, or damn close.

And I sure as heck hope the "multiyear" aspect was a team option, much like it was for Jorts last year. Gray, who turns 30 in December, hasn't really improved since arriving in the NBA as the 49th overall pick in 2007. He's bounced between Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Sacramento, averaging more than 13 minutes a game only once in his career. He is what he is, and that's a 7-footer who takes up space (but sadly doesn't actually offer much rim protection).

Now your thoughts. Do you like the move?

Employment!

According to the Sacramento Bee's James Jones, the Sacramento Kings will be adding Tyrone Corbin as an assistant head coach.

"The Kings have reached an agreement to hire former Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin as the lead assistant on head coach Michael Malone's staff a league source confirmed.

"Corbin will fill the role Brendan Malone, Michael's father, was in before he resigned before last season.

"Corbin had a 112-146 record as Utah's coach after replacing Jerry Sloan during the 2010-11 season. The Jazz made the playoffs following the 2011-12 season, Corbin's first full season as coach.

"Corbin played in the NBA from 1985-2001, including two stints in Sacramento (1995-96, 1999-2000)."

- Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee, 2014

Hooray! I think most of the reasonable ones will see Corbin was a product of the Peter Principal, and perhaps being the head coach was a promotion too far. I know what that's like, my talents are best used researching stats and writing once a week -- not managing a blog. Ty got the HC job with the Jazz in the rare "the two guys ahead of you retire and leave the corporation on the same day" situation.

Returning to the bench in a diminished role should be good for him. It returns him to where he was well regarded. (Flashback: Corbin was believed to be one of the better assistant coaches in the league.) Ty has never been the Top assistant before either, so in a way this will be a new challenge, and perhaps one commensurate with his abilities.

Hope Corbin finds happiness in Sacramento, and smiles a bit more.

Corbin finds new landing spot, Summer League is soon, and we'll miss you Jarnell Stokes.

Tyrone Corbin is the new King of Sacramento.  Excuse me, he was hired by the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach.

Kings to hire Ty Corbin as lead assistant coach - Kings Blog - The Sacramento Bee

The Kings have reached an agreement to hire former Utah head coach Ty Corbin as the lead assistant on head coach Michael Malone’s staff a league source confirmed. Malone was looking for a coach with head coaching experience to help on the staff. Corbin learned under the legendary Sloan beginning in 2004 before taking over after Sloan resigned during his final season as Utah coach.

While I never would wish ill on anybody, this could be a good move by Sacramento.  If the reports of Tyrone Corbin holding a locker room together are true then never will Corbin's talents be put to the test more than in Sacramento.  Sacramento has been a laughing stock for the past few years.  The main issue with Sacramento is it has a lot of ball dominant players such as Cousins, Gay, and Thomas.  Maybe with his talents being used as an assistant coach, Tyrone Corbin can return to his strengths rather than be overwhelmed by his weaknesses.

Gordon Hayward is being courted by a lot of teams and somehow becoming the laughingstock of the NBA for being a top tier prospect.

Hornets are also meeting today with Jazz RFA Gordon Hayward in Charlotte amid all this fun. Michael Jordan's Charlotte HORNETS

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 7, 2014

Report: Mavericks have Gordon Hayward on their 'wishlist' http://t.co/fdq1FRRQYa

— Eye on Basketball (@EyeOnBasketball) July 6, 2014

things seem a bit sad when you put gordon hayward's face on a big screen outside your arena to woo him

— Ben Swanson (@CardboardGerald) July 8, 2014

Don't get me wrong, as jokester myself I understand that some of these throwaway jokes are in jest.  But these teams that are begging for Hayward's services realize how good this kid is.  I'm sorry, but Coach K of Team USA doesn't just throw garbage on that bench hoping it works out.  He was selected to represent the USA team.  Hayward's performance last year speaks more about the coach that was able to bring out some of the very worst in Hayward rather than Hayward himself.  Yes, Hayward is accountable for his bad performance but to get terrible numbers and play from Hayward is a coaching marvel.  A marvel that I don't expect to be repeated any time soon.

Remember that 2nd round draft pick the Jazz traded in a deep draft for a worse one in a weak draft?  That draft pick turned into Jarnell Stokes.  So far in Summer League he's averaging a Paul Millsap-ian 13 ppg, 8 rpg, 1 spg, and 1 bpg.  On Sunday he exploded for 16 points and 12 rebounds.  So ... sigh ... much ... sigh ... Wherefore art thou Ante Tomic?

Speaking of Ante Tomic, a Turkish basketball analyst had this to say about him yesterday.

Utah Jazz ,haklarına sahip olduğu Ante Tomic'i bu yaz takıma getirmeyi düşünüyormuş.

— Mete Aktaş (@MeteAktas76) July 7, 2014

Translation:

Utah Jazz, rights he thought to bring the team this summer, Ante Tomic.

Is this the year Ante Tomic comes to Utah?

Is this the year Google Translate becomes coherent?

It's here!

via utahjazz.com

I know a few of us writers from SLCDunk will be there.  Who else will be attendance?  If you are there don't forget to say hi otherwise we cannot prove that you were there.  Be sure to bring tons of gatorade, guys, because the thirst is straight up real out there.  Hopefully, you're worthy of this great scrimmage.

We here, at SLCDunk, will also be covering the Vegas Summer League.  There should be lots of excellent content throughout the weekend and into next week about the exciting new additions to the Utah Jazz.