If you've been paying attention to some of the details of the ongoings of the NBA since the new CBA was resolved, you may have noticed two things: 1) teams are now required to spend 85% of the salary cap on their roster. Last season it was only 75%. 2) The Sacramento Kings have struck out on lots of big men. Last year teams were required to spend $45 million on players or face a penalty. This year that is closer to $48 million. The penalty for being under the minimum team salary, at least from what we know, is that the team has to pay the difference and split it up among their players. The Kings flirted with this penalty last season and again, this year, they sit currently at just over $41 million of payroll.
The second side to this story is that the Kings were believed to be bringing back Center Samuel Dalembert, but for some reason Dalembert ended up signing a very reasonable 2 year, $13.5 million dollar deal that is only partially guaranteed in the second year, in order to join the Houston Rockets. So now the Kings find themselves short one big man and needing to spend some money. Enter the Jazz. It is no secret that the Jazz could use some extra playing time for their young big men and that a trade would certainly help them accomplish this. Because Sacramento is so far under the cap, they could take on Paul Millsap, or Al Jefferson, or Mehmet Okur for free and the Jazz wouldn't be forced to take back any players. The jazz could request a player to add some depth at wing, although I personally believe the Jazz are good at point guard and the wing, unless an obvious upgrade is made.
Yesterday, Basketball John mentioned that our bigs' trade value could plummet if it becomes obvious that we need to move them. I think it's obvious now. The Jazz need to be proactive in making a move to curtail missed playing time. The type of trade that would make the most sense is to trade Millsap or Jefferson for Sacramento's 2013 1st round pick, or Okur for a couple of 2nd round picks. The Jazz need to clear playing time and the Kings need a big body and to spend some cash. Just a situation to keep an eye on for the next few weeks.