Another Rebuild? Kings trade Horford and Smith

With new GM Dylan in town, he and his Sacramento Kings wasted no time in letting fans know what direction their favorite team will be headed. It was clear that the Kings are headed for a rebuild, as news broke that Al Horford and Josh Smith, the team's two cornerstones, were traded. Horford was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the #7 and #17 picks in the upcoming CSL Draft, as well as the expiring contracts of Jason Richardson, Tony Wroten and Nick Collison. Smith is headed to the other side of the country, as he was traded to Atlanta for Jason Terry and Glen Davis, who are both on expiring contracts, as well as a 2016 first round pick.

In a statement about the trades released by GM Dylan, he said:

GM Dylan wrote:We appreciate all that Al and Josh have done for the Sacramento Kings franchise. Bringing the team to the playoffs in the 2012 season was unforgettable and we thank them for their hard work and dedication to the Sacramento Kings. We felt it was time to go in a different direction, and felt that the team currently constructed couldn't win a championship. Our goal here in Sacramento is to win a CSL title as soon as possible, and bring the trophy to the great Kings fans. We continue to be committed to winning games and, as always, put our fans first.  

The news was no surprise to Josh Smith, who had heard rumors for weeks about a potential trade away from the Kings:

Josh Smith wrote:It's a business man. You can never get an emotional attachment to a city or a team, because you never know what can happen. I just gotta get over it, work harder and get better.

Al Horford, on the other hand, admitted he was blindsided and a bit upset over the news of him being dealt to the Lakers:

Al Horford wrote:I was surprised for sure. Before this new GM came in, I was told I was the face of the franchise, the man around here. Unfortunately s**t happens and I just gotta move on. I'm looking forward to playing for the Lakers and their fans and hopefully having some more success there.

What the Kings received in return for these two players will certainly make things much more interesting both this off-season and next. Sacramento now old the #7, 9 and 17 picks in this years draft, giving them the potential to start off their rebuild with a wealth of young talent. The Kings also will now have a lot of cap space next off-season. With the subtraction of Horford and Smith and the addition of expiring contracts, the Kings will potentially have up to $35 million in cap space next off-season, making them a potential big player in Free Agency.

The Kings still have quite a few decisions to make this off-season, however, as they look to fill out their roster with draft picks and free agents. They also need to make a decision on Restricted Free Agent, power forward Ed Davis, whom the team reportedly intends to resign.

Good moves, though maybe I would've held out and seen if I could get a better deal for Smoove.

Either way, the team is on track.

I like the moves of sacramento, you have a lot of possibilies. Cap space and picks. always said josh smith and horford aren't a franchise players. Is better trade now for rebuild o adquire another great free agent.

I liked what you did with Smith, and with those 3 picks of yours, you may want to try to move into the top 3-5 just to get a real franchise guy.

Jake0890 (MIN) wrote:I liked what you did with Smith, and with those 3 picks of yours, you may want to try to move into the top 3-5 just to get a real franchise guy.

Much easier said then done... been trying for a while.

Dylan (SAC) wrote:

Jake0890 (MIN) wrote:I liked what you did with Smith, and with those 3 picks of yours, you may want to try to move into the top 3-5 just to get a real franchise guy.

Much easier said then done... been trying for a while.

Yeah... I don't think this is a possibility given the picks that you hold right now.  Take what you can get with what you have now and let them develop, imo.  Better to have a young core, than one "better" young player who is just as big of a question mark.

Good moves wish I had a chance to offer for Horford

Loved idea of you trading Smith but not the return at all, thought you coulda kept Horford to up his value while teams may overpay for his services during the season but like the picks you got in return.

Now you just need to get a player to build around and I foresee tough times in Sacramento.

I was a bit lazy when I saw the deals first and both seemed to be like salary dumps. Had a look at them again and like both deals for SAC. Did not realise that the pick you are getting for Horford are actually this year's which is big. So an excellent trade there. As you mentioned, you are not planning to rebuild around him so why keep him. 7th and 17th are very good picks for him.

With Smith, it looks more of a salary dump but you're getting instant cap space and an extra pick. So good deals.

Great article also

Classic case of taking one, or maybe in this case two or three, steps backwards to take a giant leap forward in the future. Sacramento is in good hands with you and will be back to respectability in no time.