Carmelo Anthony watch: A royal answer to a taxing problem
A handful of teams had cap space to facilitate moving Carmelo Anthony. After a flurry of trades the Kings remain, and arguably were OKC’s best option all along.
The Carmelo Anthony watch continues for the OKC Thunder with a view to moving him in a trade still holding priority over other options. The problem obviously is entering the week only a handful of teams had cap space to facilitate a trade.
Since then almost all of these teams participated in trades with the Hawks, Magic and Nets actively trading. The Bulls seemed like an ideal partner, but jumped on adding Jabari Parker removing them from the equation.
That leaves the Sacramento Kings as the lone team with significant cap space plus the potential desire to facilitate a trade of this nature.
Vlade and Vivek the wild cards:
Despite having cap space the Kings, to put it politely, are a bit of a misnomer. This because Vlade Divac tends to make perplexing decisions on a lark. Factor in owner Vivek Ranadivé who might suddenly decide a player destined to be middle of the pack is an ‘A list’ star (Buddy Hield is the next Steph Curry anyone?). That said, the Kings are looking like the last option to move Carmelo Anthony via trade.
Potential beyond moving Melo:
Looking at the most logical moves for each side offers an opportunity for Sam Presti and the Thunder which merits strong consideration, not to mention major impact to the bottom line.
The interesting aspect of these trade options is there is the potential to possibly move a bit more salary given Vlade’s penchant for bigs, and the King’s roster needs for versatility and defensive prowess.
Option A:
Examining the King’s roster, the most logical player Sacrmento would want to send back is Zach Randolph. Like Melo he is on a expiring contract, although at less than half the price ($11,692,308).
It’s unlikely the Kings would be moved to do the straight up switch. Therefore, a first round draft pick would be required to sweeten the pot.
Problem is OKC don’t have one of those to offer until 2022. Not an ideal scenario given that draft could be the year high school players are eligible again.
Option B:
ESPN trade machine indicates the straight up swap of Melo for ZBo is successful. But, there are opportunities to make the deal more appealing for the Kings and simultaneously lower the Thunder’s luxury tax further. For example OKC could send Anthony plus a youngster who has yet to reach their ceiling. In this second option that player is Dakari Johnson.
As mentioned Vlade loves his big men, so someone like Dakari Johnson may appeal to Divac. Sacramento would have the room to fit him in and give him a year audition. And, if they’re unhappy with him his contract is expiring anyway.
Option C:
The more appealing secondary player option for both sides may be Terrance Ferguson. Granted, I know not everyone will be keen to see TFerg depart OKC. However this option would be appealing to the Kings who conceivably want to infuse youth in this roster area (see: Vince Carter, Iman Shumpert, Garrett Temple). Moreover, adding a defensive edge with scoring ability will hold precedence in Sacramento. Plus it helps OKC as it would aid in cutting more luxury tax.
Furthermore, while the Kings are looking for draft picks (particularly next summer) OKC can’t appease this request anytime soon.
If OKC send TFerg, he resolves an immediate need for Sacramento and may allow OKC some leeway in sending a second round draft pick instead of a first.
Diving into the three scenarios, let’s examine why each has merit and benefits for both teams.