The Knicks are looking to shed even more salary-cap room for this coming summer as they prepare to make a run at James. Small forward Jared Jeffries is among those said to be available.
Kings' trade outlook
The Kings remain in a challenging position, as their focus is acquiring a big man the likes of whom may not exist.
The most talented of those potentially available – players like Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire, Bosh, and Utah's Carlos Boozer – are simply too risky because they have expiring contracts and may not re-sign this summer. Meanwhile, there is the alternative of pursuing big men of less impact such as Dalembert, whose contracts would severely limit the financial flexibility in the near future. Though the Kings' financial outlook isn't as dire as it was at this point last season, they still need to spend responsibly.
"I think if we're going to trade for another player and take on significant money, you'd have to feel like you're getting some real bang for your dollar," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said late last week.
There are potential targets for the Kings who would come with less risk: Golden State's Andris Biedrins (four seasons and a combined $36 million remaining) and Washington's Brendan Haywood (expiring contract worth $6 million this season).
Haywood is the sort of defensive-minded presence they covet, but he's also a hot commodity at the moment.
Charlotte – which sources say would be very motivated by any trade involving Kings second-year forward Jason Thompson – has a logjam of centers whom the Kings may inquire about: Nazr Mohammed (6-foot-10), DeSagana Diop (7-0), Alexis Ajinca (7-0) and oft-injured Tyson Chandler (7-1). The Bobcats may also have interest in the expiring contract of Kenny Thomas ($8.7 million this season), as he has been highly regarded by Charlotte coach Larry Brown since they were together in Philadelphia.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
For more Kings and NBA coverage, go to www.sacbee.com/kings.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
If you choose to use our "reply to comment" feature, you should note that the length of the quoted comment will count against the size limits for your comment.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.