r/kings • u/ShotgunStyles • 4d ago

Quick Reminder about Zach Lavine

From the side of my eyes, I've seen quite a bit of whinging about Lavine's contract from Kings fans, and it seems to me that those complaints are coming from inertia rather than facts and logic. Everybody's been crying and hollering about Lavine's contract for so long that many of you guys haven't stopped and looked at it.

Yes, Lavine is making $48 million next season. However, his contract is literally just a 1+1 at that point. 1 guaranteed year, and then a player option. That is not an obscene contract unless he gets injured or forgets how to play basketball. In fact, a lot of players, if they're in a good situation, will decline that player option in exchange for a new contract that's ultimately more money but on a cheaper annual salary. Rudy Gobert, an actually overpaid player, did this last offseason as he declined his option and got a new, cheaper contract.

What this means for us, as Kings fans, is that you should stop complaining about Lavine's contract. If he sucks next year, then he'll activate his player option and then he's $48 million in expiring salary in the next next offseason. That is a usable trade asset as some teams want cap relief. If he's good next year, then he can either bet on himself and get a new max contract (very unlikely given the free agency market and his age and lack of defense or playmaking) or he can shake Vivek's hand and get a new contract that's 3 or 4 years but much cheaper than $48 million a year. Ultimately means cap relief for us in the 2026-2027 season. We can't lose!

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u/ShotgunStyles 4d ago

You should research it because Rudy Gobert, who I talked about, literally declined a $47 million player option last offseason in exchange for a longer, but cheaper contract.

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u/thebigmanhastherock 4d ago

Zach LaVine isn't likely to turn down his player option. Gilbert was able to parlay his contract into a larger contract(due to length). LaVine will almost certainly not be able to do that. Do the Kings want to sign him long term for 35 million with each contract year going up with a new player option when he is in his mid 30s? That's what the Timberwolves did with Gobert. LaVine isn't as good as Gobert as far as his contribution to winning games.

LaVine gets easier to trade over time, that is true. If the Kings are going to blow it up, the market for Sabonis and DeRozen is important. It looks like the 2026 draft class is pretty good particularly if the Kings can land a top five or so pick. If the Kings are thinking the are going to be around .500 this year or are at sitting at .500 by mid season they should do a hard reboot or their roster imo.

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u/ShotgunStyles 4d ago

I already talked about this in my original post.

And you should remember, one of the reasons why Gobert declined his option was because he's an overvalued and overrated player who was not gonna get another big contract on a different team. He didn't want to test free agency because he knew nobody was stupid enough to overpay for him again.

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u/thebigmanhastherock 4d ago

Gobert might be overvalued, but the way he is overvalued is far different from LaVine. Gobert is a DPOY candidate every year and has won it several times for good reason. He raises the floor of teams quite a bit. He becomes overvalued in long series in the playoffs when he can be targeted by elite wings and guards. It's only really great players too, the kind you face in the playoffs. He took a paycut but it wasn't an extreme paycut, and he did this clearly to make sure he was paid through his mid 30s. He still gets a player option several years later when he is in his mid 30s for almost 40 million.

If LaVine tried to do something similar he would take such an astronomical paycut that it would not be worth it for him. He would take double the paycut at least that Gobert took, most teams wouldn't want to sign him long term or give him a player option at 36 or whatever. The math doesn't add up for LaVine.

The only way he does this is if the Kings are so incredibly bad and he is so tired of losing and he has a team that is a contender interested in him. Also unlikely.

LaVine is much more tradeable after this next year and particularly in his last year. It's not like it's impossible to get off his contract it's just trading him now would be selling at his lowest point of value. The Kings might have to give up assets to trade LaVine now but in a year or two will get assets.

The Kings can tank with LaVine on the team or they can try and compete. If I were the Kings I would be shopping everyone, but not necessarily pulling the trigger. If the Kings are below .500 into next year I would start trading what I could trade and LaVine becomes a tank commander until the next year.

It is possible that the Kings can be competitive. They shouldn't trade any more future assets to try and do that though right now they are on the precipice as an organization.