Looking at the Kings this year, if they stay healthy, I'm excited to see what's next. After drafting Jason Thompson, signing Beno Udrih with a 5-year mid-level exception, trading Artest for Donté Greene, Bobby Jackson and a 2009 1st round pick and signing Bobby Brown, what was once a quiet off-season erupted into a rebuilding frenzy.
DRAFT
#34 Jason Thompson: Who? That's what I said when I heard his name with the #12 pick at the draft day party at Arco Arena, and yes, Jerryd Bayless getting taken at #11 and traded to #13 Portland was a killer.
A 6'11, 250 lbs. PF, he averaged 20.4 PPG, 12.1 RPG and 2.7 BPG and won the POY and DPOY in his conference as a senior. Both averages in points and rebounds are #2 to Michael Beasley, but he played in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at little known Rider, where he won POY and DPOY in his conference. However, he and Beasley squared off, and JT shut him down for 13 points. He was also scouted by Villanova and UConn, but chose Rider with the guidance from his dad.
He's got an inside-outside game, like Sheed, and the credit for that goes to him being a 5'11 guard his freshman year in college. He'd rather play inside. He has a nose for the ball and rebounds outside of his area too, and I like the sound of that. Kings GM Geoff Petrie said he's a 4 with some of a 3's skills. I think he's might be a project for a couple of years but he'll be a great player.
Summer League: JT came in and was clutch, hitting tow game-winners against the top summer league teams
Review: He was brought in for defense, length, athleticism and depth at the 4, and hopefully, like Kevin Martin's 23 PPG at little known Western Carolina, his numbers will translate into the NBA. A lot of people said that drafting him that high was a mistake. I say, if it's a mistake for the Kings to draft him at #12, would it have been a mistake for the Warriors, who were also interested in him, to draft him at #14?
FREE AGENCY
Beno Udrih was a must have with the weak market for point guards after him, Baron Davis and Gilbert Arenas. The Kings contacted Chris Duhon, and there was even some outrageous rumor that they were going after Arenas. Udrih was contacted by the Clippers, Cavs, Heat and Knicks. Many thought Udrih would walk from the team that gave him his big break when he was down and out. Hours later, he accepted the Kings' full mid-level exception.
As a starter, he averaged 14 PPG, 3 RPG and 5 APG. Now, 2nd year head coach Reggie Theus plans on ramping up Beno to 7-8 APG. That sounds a little high for him, considering that he looks like more of a scorer, but anything's possible after seeing Jose Calderon step up in T.J. Ford's place.
So much for Geoff Petrie saying that they were "likely" done signing free agents before they signed #5 Bobby Brown to a 2-year deal. Brown was one of the best point guards in summer league with the New Orleans Hornets, outdueling Mike Conley and D.J. Augustin. After playing in Germany and the Vegas summer league, Brown ignored Chris Paul's plea to back him up and offers in Europe to try to become Beno's back-up, if he beats Bobby Jackson. Brown may be the pure point guard that they need and have been looking for.
Review: Outplaying the most talked about point gurads in the summer league, if he plays well this season, automatically a great pick-up.
THE RON ARTEST TRADE
Ron Artest decided not to opt-out, then hours later, said he made "the biggest mistake". Expecting a long-term deal, he talked with Geoff Petrie and that was not in his plans.
Artest did not make a mistake. The trade to the Houston Rockets made them instant contenders, as long as they can stay healthy. He wasn't going to get any big offers from other teams and the Lakers wouldn't make a move to trade Lamar Odom. No team wanted to take Kenny Thomas' contract either. The trade also included 2nd round picks Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. going to Houston. Singletary was traded to the Phoenix Suns for D.J. Strawberry, while Ewing was traded to the New York Knicks for Freidic Weis.
The Kings bring in #20 Donté Greene, a 6'11, 228 pound, very athletic, highflying, sharpshooting small forward who dropped 40 points in his first summer league game and finished second in scoring. He can also post up, something the Kings lost in trading Artest. Looking at him, the first player that comes to mind is 6'10, 230 pound Rashard Lewis, though he's very far away from him. A closer comparison to who he is right now is Kevin Durant. With the upside Greene is said to have, Lewis is the best case scenario. With the addition of him, the Kings get younger and more athletic.
Looking at his length and athleticism, experts say that he has the potential to become a lockdown defender. So a guy who can dunk, shoot, steal and block at small forward, sounds good to me.
Summer League: Greene kicked off his debut with 40 points, only to follow it with 17, 19, 15 and 22. He seems like a good defender with the 1.6 SPG, but it's all about how his game translates into the NBA.
Review: Greene is said to be a work in progress, but he looks like he'll be the back-up to John Salmons, giving him plenty of time to grow this season if he gets into the rotation.
Speaking of Salmons, he'll get the start at SF. When he came off the bench, he didn't perform well, compared to the 41 starts averaging 17.5 PPG. Now, no one will be in his way after his breakout season.
In the trade, the Kings also get point guard, old #24 Bobby Jackson, a salary cap friendly veteran and fan favorite. Jackson, 2004 6th Man of the Year with the Kings, also brings in veteran wisdom and leadership to help mentor the young players in his potential last season. He said that he was planning to return to the Kings and finish out his career 2 years on the veterans' minimum so he can become a coach. Can't wait to see him in the new and improved Kings jersey.
One more thing about the trade that's good for Artest, he's gone. No waiting for him to get off his suspension. No more disrupting the locker room. No more last minute changes if he's going to play or not.
EFFECTS OF BRAD MILLER'S SUSPENSION AND POSSIBLE TRADE
Too bad the summer started out so smoothly, because Brad Miller got slapped with a 5-game for suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy. He admitted that it was his third offense for marijuana. He said that he learned his lesson, but the suspension says he's done it twice. Sounds like someone didn't learn his lesson the first two times.
This is good for Spencer Hawes though. He'll likely start in Miller's place, and I'd like to see him start for the Kings regularly. Look what happened with Al Horford or the young Blazers team. A lot of people, including me, think that Hawes will be better than Miller.
Not only that, rumor has it that the Bulls are interested in getting Miller back in exchange for Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons/Joakim Noah. The Bulls would rather trade Simmons but the Kings were interested in Noah in last years' draft and were very close to drafting him with the Bulls right in front of them with the #9 pick. Since then, there's been no talk of Miller being traded but it would be a good idea to get Nocioni.
Nocioni is a valuable player for any team looking for a 3-point sharpshooter, on or off the bench. If the Kings get him, expect more cap space to come off. Teams that could use him are the Nets, Mavs and Hawks
Another good place for Miller to land, along with Thomas, is Phoenix. He's a lot faster and younger than Shaq and had a better year than him as well. Trading Shaq for Miller would give the Suns a better chance for them to run-and-gun. It might also fill up some seats in ARCO Arena as well. He'd also be a tremendous veteran presence for the Kings. For him to take Hawes and Shelden Williams under his wing would be very beneficial.
LAS VEGAS SUMMER LEAGUE
Summer league was all about developing the young guys. Thompson, Hawes, Williams and Quincy Douby all played well for the Kings, while Brown played for the Hornets as said before and Greene played for the Rockets. In Game 2 v. the Blazers, Thompson had the game-winning 3-point play in OT to beat Potland 75-74. In Game 3 v. the 3-0 Warriors, he had the game-winning tip to give the Warriors their first loss. He's got some clutch in him.
Douby played well averaging the third highest point total with 22 PPG while Greene averaged 22.6 PPG. Douby put up 36 points and Greene posted 40 his first game. Brown's highlight game was a 20 point, 5 rebound, 5 assist game when he hit the game winning shot for the Hornets that instantly put him on the map in Vegas. He was #3 in assists and had a 10 assist game along with 13 points in that game.
Hawes put on some weight and looks leaner and more athletic than last year with his dunks. Williams statistically played well and hit some mid-range shots. A good summer league for the rookies and returning players.
TEAM STATS
With Artest gone and loads of young talent on the team, with some defensive pressure the Kings could be on the rise soon. They won 38 games in an injury hit season that involved key players. Mike Bibby missed 38 games before he got traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Artest missed games to suspension, injury and to support his daughter Diamond because of cancer. Martin, the leading scorer, missed 21 games due to injury. Udrih missed games also because of injury.
They were #8 in scoring (#6 in the West), #10 in FG% (#7 West), #9 in 3PT% (#5 West), #3 in FT%, #7 in SPG (#5 West) and #3 in getting fouled. They have a record of 34-18 when they score 100+ points. They need to ramp up their assists, rebounding and blocking and decrease turnovers and fouls. They finished #1 in turnovers per game, 7th in fouls per game, 26th in BPG and 29th in RPG and APG. So if they distribute and protect the ball better, they'll definitely see improvement coming their way.
So in review, after the Kings drafted JT, signed Brown and traded Artest, Singletary and Ewing for Donté Greene, Bobby Jackson and a 2009 1st round pick, they ended up with 3 summer league stars, signed for a long term point guard, got a fan favorite back and have an extra 1st round pick for next year, all while filling their roster. In doing so, they got younger, more athletic, have more cap space sooner and they get new jerseys. Going into training camp this Sunday in Hawaii, not a bad summer for the Kings.
Point Guards: Beno Udrih, Bobby Jackson, Bobby Brown
Shooting Guards: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Quincy Douby
Small Forwards: John Salmons, Donté Greene
Power Forwards: Mikki Moore, Jason Thompson, Shelden Williams, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kenny Thomas
Centers: Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes
Key Additions: Jason Thompson (draft), Donté Greene and Bobby Jackson (Houston), Bobby Brown (free agency)
Key Losses: Ron Artest (Houston), Anthony Johnson (Orlando)
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