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and highlights.Kings hope to improve bench with the first trade of the NBA seasonThe Sacramento Kings have been one of the surprising teams early this season playing .500 basketball and considered a possible threat for the 8th seed come playoff time. But in the team's recent games their defense has been very poor, especially when Demarcus Cousins and John Henson are on the bench. The Kings' bench unit could also use an additional ball-handler to support second-year guard Ray McCallum. The Kings tried to address these needs in exchange for two players closer to the far end of their bench.
Sacramento Kings trade: Jason Thompson (74) - Allen Crabbe (69)
Milwaukee Bucks trade: Jerryd Bayless (74) - Zaza Pachulia (68) - 2015 2nd Round Draft Selection
Despite his tenure with the team, his versatility, and his durability, Jason Thompson found himself down on the Kings' rotation this season. A healthy Carl Landry provides bench scoring and can play next to either Demarcus Cousins or John Henson. Henson can play center adequately enough, especially in today's NBA. The Kings primary use a 3-big rotation of Cousins, Henson, and Landry, leaving few consistent minutes for anyone else up front. Thompson is still a reliable bigman and undeniably deserves more than what the Kings were giving him this year. His DNP in the OKC blowout was an example of his low standing in the rotation. Even despite the significant garbage time in the Kings' loss to the Thunder, Thompson remained on the bench in favor of Quincy Acy and Eric Moreland. Considering JT's unhappiness with his role and the league-wide appeal of a reliable and durable player that can play either of the frontcourt positions, trading him is a clear choice for Sacramento.
Allen Crabbe started the season behind high draft selections Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas in Sacramento and played a total of 4 minutes prior to last Thursday's game. Considering Stauskas' rookie struggles and the work Crabbe has done in practice, the Kings gave Crabbe some extended minutes against the Rockets. But those excuses barely concealed what was likely the real purpose of Crabbe's increased minutes in three straight games against Houston, Detroit, and Oklahoma City. In the blowout loss, Crabbe played 19 minutes against the Thunder and scored in double figures for his third straight game. Showcasing his spot-up talents as well as his newly-developing handle and ability to create off the bounce, Crabbe averaged 11.3 PPG on 54% shooting and 57% (8/14) from downtown in 15 MPG in those three contests. Despite his improvements, the Kings still don't have the minutes to develop the California product with their lottery selections sitting ahead of him at the 2 position.
The Bucks added Jerryd Bayless to their backcourt this offseason for cheap, but even his 2yr/$6M contract is too much when he doesn't play. He has not played in any of the Bucks' 27 games this season. Nate Wolters and Kendall Marshall are both younger guards who can offer more to Milwaukee with their development than Bayless could as a journeyman. At 26, Bayless has already bounced around the league significantly, Milwaukee being his 7th team in as many seasons. With no long-term interest in Bayless, the Bucks find it easy to make him available.
Zaza Pachulia has enjoyed a lengthy NBA career, primarily as a backup center. But he has struggled with injuries recently and is now considered to be on the speedy decline. At an old 30, Pachulia likely isn't going to get much healthier as time goes on. Owed $10.4M for of the next two seasons, the risk of Zaza becoming dead money is high for the Bucks and make the team keen on trading away the Republic of Georgia native.
The Kings get a veteran backup center who can play solid defense when healthy. Thompson is the superior player to Pachulia at this point, but with the Kings' current 3-big rotation their 4th frontcourt player doesn't need to be exceptional. Sacramento might also find more minutes for Quincy Acy whom they are high on. Adding Bayless in place of Crabbe gives the Kings more handling in their backcourt, with three of their five guards now being adequate ball-handlers and playmakers. The draft pick is a good acquisition for the Kings, who only had the Thunder's late 1st rounder this year after their own 1st round selection will be made by the Bulls.
The Bucks shed almost $2M in salary in the deal, except Thompson's contract runs for 3 years instead of the 2 years left for Pachulia and Bayless. Thompson is two years younger than Pachulia however and has been incredibly durable over his career. Crabbe took advantage of the Kings' showcasing and now comes to Milwaukee with a good situation personally. O.J. Mayo has had an up-and-down career thus far and Ray Allen is obviously at the end of his career. Crabbe can join another young team on its way up (in the weaker conference as well) and have the priceless opportunity to learn from a Hall-of-Famer in Allen for a year. In exchange for taking the contract of Pachulia and getting a potentially adequate 2-guard in the future, their 2nd round draft pick was a trade sweetener that the Bucks can swallow losing.
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