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Wednesday Mail Sac: Which guards can guard?

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Mail Sac proudly presents "31Q," where members of our community ask questions that are just too dang big for the regular confines of September's 30 days.

dannyboy55 takes us to September 31st with the following: "Which guard can step up to be the best defender? With Tyreke gone, our perimeter/wing defense took a huge hit. We have a logjam at both backcourt positions, yet none of the guys are above average defenders (maybe Thomas). Whoever can prove to stand out on the defensive end and lead that first layer of defense might get additional pt in Malone's system. It's an interesting question but would be tough to answer at this point. McLemore looks to have the most upside here, but he wasn't drafted because of his d. It would be interesting to hear your guys thoughts. The more I look at this, the more grossed out I am by the defensive capabilities of our guards."

Great question, as this is a competition that is wide, wide open.

The current roster of candidates: Greivis Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas, Ray McCallum, Marcus Thornton, Ben McLemore, John Salmons, Jimmer Fredette and Trent Lockett.

There are a few things to factor in here. First, I'm not sure that any analysis of prior stats is really applicable here. Only four of the eight players listed above played for the Kings last year, and none of these guys have played under Michael Malone as head coach. The system and the focus on defense will allegedly be far different than what we have seen in Sacramento.

Expanding on that thought, if any of us would have been asked to predict the likelihood of Golden State being a plus defensive team last year, our guesses would have fallen somewhere between slim and none. David Lee? Steph Curry? Klay Thompson? Harrison Barnes? Jarrett Jack? None of these guys came to mind when the conversation was about defense. Andrew Bogut appeared to be on an island all by himself. But somehow the Warriors developed a system that enabled the sum of the team's parts to be a far better defensive unit than the individual components would have led you to believe. And that's what the Kings are shooting for here.

Expanding on this just a bit further, Tony Parker is not an especially gifted defensive player, but years ago he learned that by cutting off the baseline and turning his man towards the middle, he could benefit greatly from the help of his teammates. The system bred success for Parker on the defensive end (and having Tim Duncan shoring up the middle never hurts, either).

Another example might be Ray Allen. Allen was never known as a lights-out defender, but for the past six years (and while becoming an NBA "old man") he has been a vital contributor to a couple of the best defensive teams in the league (Boston and Miami). Again, Allen benefits greatly by playing alongside some incredible defensive talent. That will not likely be the case for the Kings guards in the near term.

So some of this will come down to talent, but I think that a lot of it will come down to desire, and the single most important ingredient could very well be trust. Trust in the system and your fellow teammates that if you rotate to help on someone, someone else will have your back. Much in the same way that the extra pass will be crucial to the success of the offense, the extra rotation will be crucial to the success of the defense. That and intelligence - knowing which guys to slide away from on the perimeter and which guys to stick to like glue.

Greivis Vasquez: Vasquez lacks the great lateral quickness and foot speed that you would like to see in your point guard, but he makes up for some of that with above average length - his wingspan, which is seven inches longer than Isaiah Thomas, is on a par with guys like Jared Dudley, Chase Budinger and Jrue Holiday. It would probably be safe to assume that Vasquez would have a greater challenge covering smaller, quicker guards such as Chris Paul, Ty Lawson and Tony Parker, while he might match up at least a little bit better against bigger, stronger guys like Deron Williams, Goran Dragic and Ricky Rubio.

From a mentality stand point, Vasquez could be one of the guys that adapts to the team defense concept a little more quickly. He's already a team-first guy on the offensive end, so it would seem that it would not be too difficult for him to apply the same concept on the defensive side of the ball. The biggest challenge for Vasquez will be improving his footwork so that he can offset some of his speed disadvantage with his length.

Isaiah Thomas: Don't sleep on the Hustlin' Huskie. Wes Matthews underestimated Thomas once. Once. And Thomas is a guy that is always looking for that extra edge and advantage that will get him and keep him on the floor. In-your-face defense could be the ticket for Thomas.

In Thomas' favor is that he fears no one (who could ever forget him taking on Kobe Bryant in his rookie season?), and would be the most likely of the Kings guards to get into his teammates for not carrying out their defensive assignments. While Vasquez might be the better offensive facilitator, Thomas might wind up being the better defensive spark plug. Thomas will always be challenged matching up against the likes of Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams, but he might match up better against the smaller, quicker guards.

Ray McCallum: One gets the feeling that McCallum will be the best defending point guard of this bunch within three years. Simply, McCallum's a smart kid, and he's going to figure out that an all-out defensive focus will be his ticket to more minutes. In the short term, however, McCallum is likely to get serious minutes only if Vasquez and/or Thomas crash and burn.

Marcus Thornton: My guess is that Thornton will give maximum effort on the defensive end, but his lack of height and length at shooting guard (his wingspan and reach are more in line with guys like Jeremy Lin and Beno Udrih), coupled with the fact that he is really not all that much quicker than the average shooting guard, will not yield great results. Thornton has always been a pretty decent passing lane defender. His biggest challenge seems to be finding his man (or any man) after he has left him. And you can expect the bitter beer face whenever he gets frustrated on a defensive rotation, and that is probably going to happen on a nightly basis.

The key for Thornton won't be whether or not he becomes a good defender. The key will be for him to become a good enough defender that his offensive attributes outweigh his defensive deficiencies. Thornton and DeMarcus Cousins may be the only two players on the roster that will be graded in this manner, due to their importance offensively.

Ben McLemore: Athletically speaking, there is no reason why McLemore can't become a good defender. His wingspan is the same as Russell Westbrook, Gordon Hayward, and Jon Brockman(!). He is not especially long for a shooting guard, but not terribly undersized, either. He possesses good leaping ability, and he moves well. However, young guards traditionally get eaten alive for at least a little while in the NBA, so don't be looking for McLemore to become a decent defender overnight. But he does appear to have the athletic tool kit to potentially become a plus defender.

Jimmer Fredette: The challenge for Jimmer is that he lacks the length of most two guards and the speed of most point guards. Fredette's talents translate much more to the offensive end than the defensive end. His guts and guile and desire will help, but it's tough to envision a scenario where he will be a better defensive option than virtually all of the other guards on the roster.

John (Johnny) Salmons: Salmons has been a considerably better defensive shooting guard than a defensive small forward, and he may currently possess the most overall defensive ability of all of the candidates. If Thornton and McLemore can't hold their own defensively, coach Malone won't hesitate to go to Salmons to by-God-get-things-done!

Trent Lockett: I still think that Lockett is destined for Reno, unless another back court player is moved off the roster by the beginning of the season. Lockett's reputation is that of a defensive hawk, and he displayed some of that effort and desire at Vegas Summer League. He also showed that he does not have to be overly involved offensively to be completely engaged defensively. However, given the dues that rookies are seemingly forced to pay in the NBA, I doubt that he would be as effective as Salmons this season.

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Bottom line, there is no one in the Kings back court that will secure a job based solely on their defensive acumen. There are no "stoppers" in this group. However, most of these guys don't look any worse than Curry/Thompson/Jack looked prior to the beginning of last season. The core rotation will be determined by which guys contribute the most from baseline to baseline, and the hope is that the system that Malone brings and the focus that he will demand will make a substantial difference on each end of the floor. The key will be a team-first selflessness.

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Send your questions or topic ideas to asksactownroyalty@gmail.com, and let this thread service all of your threadjacking needs.

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A history of DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas' serious Twitter beef

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Twitter really is an amazing place. Players, media and fans alike have all embraced the medium to provide endless entertainment. A perfect example of this is the ongoing Twitter "beef" between Sacramento Kings teammates DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas.

The tale begins on Aug. 13, Cousins' 23rd birthday. Like any good teammate in this day in age, Thomas took to Twitter to wish Cousins a happy birthday, although he added a good-natured jab about the big man's lack of foot speed:

Cousins naturally responded with a shot at Thomas' diminutive stature, and the "war" was on:

What followed was a rather hilarious string of barbs as both players made childish jokes about the other. And when I say "childish," I mean they literally made jokes about the other being a child:

Kids these days.

Stay tuned for the next round in this heavyweight Twitter bout.

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Phoenix Suns Podcast Episode 36: Exclusive interview with Channing Frye and previewing the Sacramento Kings

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The Phoenix Suns Podcast takes it to 11 as training camp is rapidly approaching and we are on the heels of the beginning to the 2013-2014 NBA season.

In part one of the podcast we invite royalty to the show in Greg Wissinger to take a look at his Sacramento Kings. For the past few seasons the Kings and the Suns have been at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference. The Kings have a new look, some unique challenges, and boast a player that the Suns fans were hoping for on draft night; Ben McLemore.

Check out what Greg and I think about the Kings this upcoming year: Phoenix Suns Podcast Episode 36 w/Greg Wissinger

Then in part two, my apologies to Greg, but the guest that all the Bright Siders are looking to hear from, Channing Frye joins the show. He gives BSOTS an exclusive update on his medical prognosis, status, and a peak into what his life has been like the past 12-15 months. On top of that there is some playful banter on the ASU-Arizona rivalry, the Michael Beasley situation, and much, much more...

Check out our conversation with Channing Frye: Phoenix Suns Podcast Episode 36 with Channing Frye

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Sidebar: What do you think the name of the podcast should be? Right now we are nameless and basically describe what we do as a title... Thoughts? Post in the comments

30Q: Will we see much of Greivis Vasquez and Isaiah Thomas on the floor at the same time?

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In our annual September series, we ask 30 questions over 30 days as we prepare for another season of Kings basketball. Today we consider how often we might see incumbent point guard Isaiah Thomas on the court at the same time as newly acquired Greivis Vasquez.

I'm not even going to get into the Stockholm Syndrome at play here where we Kings fans insist on speculating about random rotational pairings that don't really make much sense. Let's just take this question at face value.

It's easy to understand why some may speculate that Thomas and Vasquez could play together. While Isaiah is undersized and more of a scoring guard, Vasquez has great size and is more of a distributor. Vasquez is 6'6" and has a nice wingspan, so it seems like he should be able to cover the opposing team's shooting guard on the defensive end.

But while this is a nice theory, I believe it's simply a theory. Sure, we'll probably see them on the court together at least once or twice, but I would expect it to be for very limited minutes, and only when there's a particular match up that Coach Malone is looking to exploit.

If the team is focused on improving defensively, a Thomas-Vasquez line-up makes no sense. Both players have struggled on defense throughout their careers. Could a new, defense-oriented coach cause one or both to improve on the defensive side of the ball? If so, then the two point guard line-up makes more sense.

I'm also not seeing the pairing based on the glut of guards the team currently employs. Playing Thomas and Vasquez at the same time means that you're sitting Marcus Thornton, Ben McLemore, and Jimmer Fredette (unless you're forcing McLemore or Thornton into a small forward role). If a trade or two lightens up the logjam at shooting guard, then once again the Thomas-Thornton pairing makes more sense.

I'm not betting against Isaiah Thomas committing to defense and showing dramatic improvement. I'm not betting against trades happening this season. I'm just betting against the two point guard line-up until we see one of those other scenarios come true first.

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Union Agreement Reached for Downtown Arena

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The Kings and City of Sacramento jointly announced today that a Union Agreement had been reached for construction of the Downtown Arena.  The agreement was signed by Turner Construction and the Sacramento-Sierra Building & Construction Trades Council.

Under the Community Workforce and Training Agreement, at least 60% of construction workers and 70% of apprentices have to be from the city of Sacramento or surrounding region.  The arena project is expected to create between 3,000 to 3,500 jobs for construction alone.

The agreement also contains no strike or lockout provisions, thus protecting against possible future delays and cost overruns.

From the press release of the announcement:

"Today's announcement is proof positive that business and labor stand united in their commitment to this project and its transformative economic potential for the Sacramento region," said Mayor Johnson. "The arena is first and foremost about creating jobs, and I'm thrilled to see the Kings, Turner, and Building Trades demonstrating such a strong commitment to putting our community back to work."

"The promise of Sacramento's entertainment and sports center becoming a premier project for the region can only be realized with skilled craftsmen and women constructing the arena. The value goes beyond providing solid middle-class jobs," said Steinberg. "Time and time again since the 1930's, workforce agreements have been proven to save money for taxpayers and investors through construction efficiency and high quality.  Our workers and our residents deserve nothing less."

"We are excited to reach this agreement a full year before construction begins," said Granger. "The CWTA will not only ensure that we build the best arena in the NBA on time and on budget, but also that our region fully benefits from good paying construction jobs."

"Sacramento building trades workers are some of the best trained and best equipped in the nation, and now they will play an important role in the construction of this important civic space," said Canevari. "The CWTA is a significant moment for the business-labor relations in Sacramento. During the week of Labor Day, we are proud to announce and be a part of this community partnership."

"This is a major step forward as we get ready for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art building," explained Chuck Baldwin, Project Executive for Turner Construction.  "I'm excited about today's progress and can't wait to get shovels in the ground."

The agreement is not without its opposition, as the Sacramento Bee notes.  A group called the Coalition for Fair Employment is already protesting and representatives of the group have told the Bee that they will likely partner with anti-arena groups now.

Report: Chris Mullin to Officially Join Sacramento's Front Office

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Ever since Vivek Ranadivé has taken over the Sacramento Kings, there has been constant speculation on just what role Chris Mullin would play with the team. Ranadivé and Mullin are close friends from their time together in Golden State, and Mullin has been advising Ranadivé in an unofficial capacity since he took over the team. We saw videos of him in Sacramento's draft war room, and pictures of him wearing a Kings shirt at the Practice Facility.

The team has never mentioned Mullin as an official employee, but he's been mentioned repeatedly be Vivek & Pete D'Alessandro as a trusted adviser. One of the reasons cited for D'Alessandro's hire as GM was based off Mullin's recommendation. D'Alessandro worked under Mullin while the former Golden State great was GM of the Warriors.

However, a new report from ESPN's Marc Stein states that Mullin's role with the team will be expanding to a more official capacity. It's currently unknown what exactly that role might be. The Kings could employ a two-tiered structure, making Mullin the President of Basketball Operations with D'Alessandro as General Manager, similar to the system the Pacers use (Larry Bird & Kevin Pritchard). This system was rumored to be in discussion when Sacramento was looking for a GM.

Mullin's history as a GM is rather unimpressive, but he did help the Warriors get to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and ran a team that won 50 games and missed the playoffs. He also lends gravitas and experience to a young and inexperienced Kings front office.

(Thanks to adamsite & Tom A~! for pointing this news out in the FanShots/FanPosts)

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The Sactown Royalty Show Ep 13: Scott Moak

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The Sactown Royalty Show is back!  And I'm very excited to have Scott Moak, Sacramento Kings PA announcer, as this week's guest.


Scott was a fantastic guest, sharing tons of great stories from his 12 years of announcing for the Kings.  We discussed so many things.  Wonder what Vivek is like in a room of 200 people?  Wonder what Scott thinks about Pete D'Allessandro?  Who's the best on-court communicator Scott has ever seen?  Listen and find out!  Seriously, so many great stories.  Stories about Tracy McGrady, stories about Metta World Peace, just a fantastic guest.

And, for those of you wondering, Scott also thinks I'm an idiot, and thinks Isaiah and Greivis will play together a fair amount.

A huge thanks to Scott for joining me, and for obliging the most unprofessional request I've ever made as a writer (which is saying something).

Like the show? Subscribe to us on iTunes or on Stitcher! Leave us ratings, leave comments below, let us know how we're doing.

Thanks for listening.

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The most hyped Kings player transactions, 1985-1998

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SBNation asked each NBA outpost to post about its franchise's most hyped player acquisition, be it via the draft, free agency, trade, kidnapping, or other human trafficking. Tom asked me to handle the pre-technology era of 1985-1998, while Greg will handle 1999 - present, with the lockout of 1998 serving as a tidy little story break.

"Hype" was a lot different back in the day. AOL didn't come along with dial-up internet access until 1995, and by 1996 there were fewer than 40 million people worldwide surfing the ‘net. Today there are over 360 million users viewing well over 600 million active websites. From 1985 - 1993 the Kings were primarily covered by Sacramento's two competing newspapers, the Bee and the Union...none of these writers blogged, of course, as basement-dwelling technology was in its infant stages. As a result, hype was often more singularly driven. Sometimes the hype came from the franchise, sometimes it came from the excitement and enthusiasm of the fan base, and every once in a great while it was the actual event that triggered the hype.

For the period of 1985-1998, the pick for most hyped player acquisition would be, as they say, a layup. So I opted to drop a top ten list on you, which will create an ever-increasing amount of tension and anticipation as you read through the list. Feel free to skip to the end at any time should you find the wait to be too overwhelming for you. We want you healthy for the regular season.

10 - Joe Kleine, 1985 draft pick: Bang, you got me. I had to stretch this list to ten to include Joe Kleine, and there was no way that I was writing this piece without mentioning Joe Kleine. Kleine was the first pick of the Sacramento era, and the brand new fan base understood little of tempered expectations and the crap shoot that is the NBA draft (some 30 years later, little has changed).

One thing that was different about that period was that the draft seemed to be almost exclusively about drafting for need, unless perhaps you had the top pick and there was a "can't miss" prospect. The whole "best player available" thing didn't come into vogue until Michael Jordan started winning championships. The Kings were looking for a big man in 1985. They had LaSalle Thompson and Otis Thorpe, but Mark Olberding had logged the fifth highest minutes on the team in 1984-85, and the Kings were looking to get better up front. The eyes seemed to focus on Kleine, Jon Koncak and Ed Pinckney. Koncak was drafted fifth, and Pinckney wound up going tenth in the draft.

There is a lot of revisionist history about how the Kings "passed" on Karl Malone, but the truth was that Malone was as raw as could be. He also came from a small school, and very few NBA prospects came from those ranks back then. Twelve teams passed on the Mailman before Utah scooped him up.

Kleine was really a victim of circumstance. He did not have the talent to live up to his draft selection slot, and he was traded roughly three and half years after the Kings drafted him, along with Ed Pinckney (the Kings had previously acquired Pinckney from Phoenix for Eddie Johnson) for Danny Ainge and Brad Lohaus. Kleine averaged only 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a Sacramento King, but he did go on to have a fifteen year NBA career, and he did inspire the first documented Sacramento Kings drinking game.

JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOE!

9 - The 1995 draft of Corliss Williamson, Tyus Edney & Dejan Bodiroga: A lot of the excitement over this draft was due to the success of the prior year's draft class, which was Geoff Petrie's first. In 1994 Petrie drafted Brian Grant and Michael "The Animal" Smith (he also drafted Lawrence Funderburke, who played international ball for a couple of years before joining the Kings). Grant and Smith both exceeded what by 1995 had become very tempered draft expectations, so interest and enthusiasm was renewed for the 1995 draft. Williamson had been projected as a top four pick in the draft the year prior, but he opted to stay at Arkansas for another year and ultimately dropped to the Kings at the thirteenth pick. And when he gushed about coming to Sacramento (a first!), the fans became even more excited. Edney was fresh off his amazing full court sprint and layup to beat Missouri during the NCAA tourney, so the fans were excited about him as well. And Bodiroga was an international man of mystery - the European Michael Jordan, said some.

Williamson went on to be solid in his first run in Sacramento, becoming really the first "other" guy willing to take the big shot during the Mitch Richmond era. He fetched Doug Christie in trade and went on to win sixth man of the year and an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons. He returned to Sacramento as part of the 2005 Chris Webber trade, and was a pro's pro for the duration of his tenure. He is now back as part of the Kings coaching staff. Edney was actually second on the team in minutes in 1995-96 (Williamson was actually ninth in minutes that season), and was instrumental in getting the Kings to the playoffs for the first time in ten years. Unfortunately, injuries shortened Edney's career. Edney left the NBA for international ball in 1998, and was done for good after a brief stint with Indiana in 2000-01. Bodiroga never came to the States.

8 - Jason Williams and Peja Stojakovic, 1998: This marked the first time that I can recall the franchise hyping their draft picks. The Kings had drafted Stojakovic the year before, but he did not come over until 1998. Meanwhile, the Kings had drafted Williams, a kid that was under most radars due to the fact that he had been kicked out of Florida's basketball program for smoking weed. Shortly after the drafting of Williams, the Kings shipped out VHS tapes to all of their ticket holders. The first 2/3's of the tape was a compilation of Jason Williams highlights, and it was pretty breathtaking. The kid looked like the second coming of Pete Maravich on that tape. The last 1/3 of the tape was some very grainy, third-world tape of Peja shooting the lights out of every gym in the European theater. Both players went on to be heavy contributors to the golden age of Sacramento Kings basketball.

7 - Ralph Sampson for Jim Petersen, 1989: This one is a double hype. First we were excited that we had somehow obtained the one and only Ralph Sampson. Upon the realization that he arrived with no knees, he went on to be hyped as a contract that broke the back of ownership. The truth is that Petersen's contract was worth $4.9m over the next four years (and average of $1.2m per), while Sampson clocked in at 3yr./$7.6m ($2.5m per). The fact that such a minor difference in contract amount could allegedly have such an impact on the franchise told you all you needed to know about the empty coffers of Kings ownership. Sampson and Petersen were both out of the league after the 1991-92 season.

6 - Bobby Hurley, 1993 draft: Hurley was basically hyped for two reasons: He came out of a very successful and high profile Duke program, and Magic Johnson loudly sang Hurley's praises when he scrimmaged against the Olympic Dream Team. The horrific auto accident that Hurley suffered took his career, but thanks in part to Mike Peplowski (who pretty much kept Hurley from drowning in a ditch), Hurley is alive today. Fun fact: Peplowski was drafted in the second round in 1993...sometimes these things happen for a reason. Funner fact: Evers Burns was a second round pick that year, too. EVERS BURNS!!!

5 - Pervis Ellison, #1 draft pick, 1989: This does not appear higher on the list primarily because the fan base had a sense that this was a weak draft and that a Patrick Ewing or David Robinson was not in the draft. But no one saw the tire fire that was to be Pervis Ellison. "Out-of-service" Pervis played a total of 34 games for the Kings, averaging 8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He was traded a year as part of a three-team trade - the Kings received Bobby Hansen, Eric Leckner, the 1990 draft pick that would become Anthony Bonner, and three second round picks that didn't even amount to Eric Leckner(!). Ellison would go on to play eleven years in the NBA, but only managed to eclipse the 70 game mark once.

4 - The Derek Smith trade, 1986: If this list was about trades that set a franchise back five or more years, here's your number one pick. But this is about hype, and when the Kings traded solid core rotation players Mike Woodson and Larry Drew along with their 1988 first round draft pick (Hersey Hawkins was selected with that pick) Derek Smith (Junior Bridgeman and Franklin Edwards were throw-ins), Kings brass crowed about the acquisition of an elite talent. And Smith was certainly on the cusp of becoming such a player, averaging over 22 points a game in 1984-85, and over 23 points a game in 1985-86...before missing the last 71 games of the season with a knee injury. Apparently the Kings had no access to medical files or x-ray machines or newspapers back then, because they traded their third and sixth biggest minutes guys from their 1985-86 team (along with that unprotected first round pick) for a guy that would play a total of 116 games over two and a half years in a Sacramento uniform before the Kings finally waived him. Yeppers. This is going to wind up being the third most hyped trade on the list, and the Kings return on investment was the equivalent of about a season and a half. Yeesh!

3 - The draft class of 1990: This was to be the turn of the page, the dawn of a new era in Kings basketball. Derek Smith was gone. Pervis Ellison was gone. Kenny Smith was gone. Reggie Theus was gone. LaSalle Thompson was gone. The only real core rotation players on the roster were Antoine Carr, who was obtained from Atlanta for Smith just a few months back, and Wayman Tisdale, who had been obtained the year prior for Thompson. The Kings were going to draft five rookies (four in the first and one early in the second), and they were going to play.

I'll never forget that draft. I was working out of town for NAPA Auto Parts at the time, and I was staying at the Golden Pheasant Best Western Inn in Willows. I got off work just in time drive through Kentucky Fried Chicken (because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes ya' crave it fortnightly, smartass!) and make a beeline for my room, arriving just in time to get turn on the TV and crack open that bucket of extra crispy. Lionel Simmons at seven! Travis Mays, a steal at fourteen!! Duane Causwell, the answer to our woes at center at eighteen!!! Anthony Bonner at twenty three (OK, I've never heard of him, but !!!!). And then we snagged Bimbo Coles in the second round, and subsequently traded him for former Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year Rory Sparrow. What-a-day! Playoffs, here we come!!!

Simmons wound up being a solid pick, but knee injuries impacted his productivity and shortened his career. He played all of his seven NBA seasons with the Kings. Mays played one year for the Kings before being dealt to Atlanta for Spud Webb and the second round pick that would become Lawrence Funderburke. He was out of the league two years later. Causwell played seven seasons for the Kings and four more for Miami. Not bad for a number eighteen pick. Bonner had three seasons with the Kings, and was out of the league three years after that. Sparrow played one season for the Kings and retired after one more season. Simmons and Causwell were both members of the 1995-96 playoff team.

2 - The rights to Billy Owens traded to Golden State for Mitch Richmond, Les Jepsen and a second round draft pick that ultimately becomes Tyus Edney, 1991: The hype around this one started when the Kings drafted Owens, who had made it pretty clear that he didn't want anything to do with Sacramento (so clear, in fact, that his holdout extended into the regular season). The trade was actually made the opening day of the season for the Kings, and Richmond did not join the team until their third game of the season. But the Kings went from wringing their hands over a petulant holdout to obtaining one of the league's bright young stars.

Richmond would go on to become the face of the franchise for the Kings, becoming the first Sacramento King to make an all-star team 1993-1998 and winning the all-star game MVP in 1995, being named to the all-NBA team five times, leading the Kings to the playoffs for the first time in ten years in 1995-96, and earning the respect and praise of his contemporaries - Michael Jordan named Richmond as his toughest assignment in the league.

Richmond logged seven seasons for the Kings. Due to a bad agent and lousy timing when it came to the collective bargaining agreements, Richmond averaged a paltry (by NBA standards, even back then) average salary of less than $2.9m a year. He made a total of $20 million during his seven years in Sacramento. He would make $30m in his next three years in Washington. And how did he get to Washington?

1 - Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe to Washington for Chris Webber, 1998: This was the perfect hype storm. In Richmond you had a tenured star that wanted out. In Webber you had a star-crossed man-child that Washington determined they could no longer handle. The internet was catching its stride as a news source, and ESPN was in full swing to report on such events. It was really Sacramento's first introduction to a true national stage. Sprinkle in the drama of Webber initially refusing to come to Sacramento (drama that was prolonged by the ensuing lockout), and you had a story that really lived up to the hype. In fact, it was a story that needed no hype - it was self-hyping.

I think that Webber finally decided to come to Sacramento and then some other things happened and stuff, but it's kind of hazy and Greg is going to cover it anyway, so, yeah.

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There you have it. Ask an old coot to summarize one lousy hyped moment and you get his life story.

We now return you to your regular programming.

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Kings officially add Chris Mullin to the front office

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The Kings officially announced today that Chris Mullin has joined the organization as the Advisor to the Chairman.

According to a team statement, Mullin will serve in a range of roles within basketball operations.

Mullin, 50, will assume a variety of basketball operations responsibilities, advising Ranadivé and General Manager Pete D'Alessandro regarding player transactions and apprising front office and coaching personnel of the team's collegiate and professional scouting efforts.

"Chris Mullin is an incredible addition to our organization," said Kings owner Vivek Ranadive in the team's statement. "I have great respect for his accomplishments and understanding of the game. From day one, we have focused on making the Sacramento Kings a first-class franchise built for the 21st Century. Chris brings the experience, knowledge, and influence to help us achieve our ultimate goal—bringing a championship to the fans and city of Sacramento. As we prepare for the new season and a new era in Kings basketball, I'm really excited about the group of visionary leaders we've brought together."

Mullin had served as an unofficial advisor to Ranadive and D'Alessandro in recent months. ESPN's Marc Stein reported Wednesday that the Kings were going to give Mullin a more official role, setting the stage for the Kings to make it official today.

"I couldn’t be more excited about joining the Kings and playing a part in making this team a winner again," said Mullin in the team's statement. "I’m especially grateful for the unique opportunity to work in close proximity with a world-class ownership group led by Vivek Ranadivé and the talented group of individuals assembled in our front office."

Mullins' front office experience includes serving as a special assistant and then executive vice president for five seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

Q&A with Kings minority owner Phil Oates

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For the latest installment in Sactown Royalty's Q&A series surrounding the changing landscape of the Kings franchise and the effort to build an arena, we check in with one of the original 20 local investors who in January stepped up to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Phil Oates is chairman of the Buzz Oates Group and son of local developer Marvin "Buzz" Oates. He's been a Kings season ticket holder since opening night of the '85 Kings season at the original Arco Arena (a building his company owns) and has deep roots in the area. This is why he joined the team of local investors who banded together at the request of Mayor Kevin Johnson earlier this year to show the NBA that Sacramento was serious about keeping its team.

Oates has become quite the legend among Kings fans for his rousing speeches, as illustrated in this clip:

The new Kings minority owner recently answered some questions regarding what has transpired over the last eight months and what the future is going to look like for the Kings and Sacramento with a new arena.

When the proposed Seattle deal was announced in January to relocate the team, what was going through your head?

The mayor first put together a group of guys, a very small group that met. He explained he was going to fight and asked us to join in the fight and I happened to be out of town but my CEO Larry Allbaugh went to the meeting and then he called me back and said, "I think this is something we should be involved in."

I really had just one question, and that was, "do we have people that are going to join our fight that have the economic balance sheets to keep the team here?" Because really it's a billionaire's game now and we don't have those kind of players in Sacramento. The mayor assured me he did; he did not give me any names. I never heard names like Vivek [Ranadive] or [Mark] Mastrov or Qualcomm, Jacob brothers - I had not heard any of those at that time, but I trust the mayor. When the mayor said he'd have some "whales" so to speak, I was in.

You had the press conference with Mayor Kevin Johnson not long after that where all of the local investors were announced. Kings fans have sort of come accustomed to you being a pretty solid speech giver. Is that something that comes naturally to you or what?

[Laughs] Well, I don't know about natural. What was interesting was we did not really know who was in the group until half an hour before that press conference because everything had been done on email up until then; and by blind email. So when I walked into the room that first time in January, I saw who was around the table and many of them were my friends and many were people who I had heard about and have since become my friends like Kevin Nagle, and Larry Kelley and Dale Carlsen ... The mayor asked who wanted to speak and I said, "I'll do it if you want me to," and I left it totally up to the mayor. He didn't tell us but until about 15 minutes before we walked out there who would be talking so what you saw there was raw Phil Oates, that was just me being emotional.

Did you every have any doubt that the Kings were going to stay?

I was 99 percent positive. We knew there would be twist and turns. I have great faith in the mayor. The mayor is one of the most amazing men I have ever met. He is a man of integrity. He can lead, as evident by how he was a point guard for the [Phoenix] Suns. But he can lead people and he can inspire people. So certainly, I had great faith in the mayor. I always felt like what was lacking here was someone with the economics to own a team and compete with the [Mark] Cubans of the world. The mayor is an honest man, he told me had that, so that really turned the corner for me.

I think what separates us from Seattle is to Seattle this was only about basketball. It wasn't about a community, it wasn't about the economics. To Sacramento, this was a live or die issue -Phil Oates

What really sealed the deal was that first trip to New York. I was not there when the presentation was made before the NBA, but that was my first opportunity to meet Vivek [Ranadive], Mark [Mastrov] and some of the others. And watching the fan support in New York as they came out in front of the St. Regis and sat out and weathered that cold all day while the NBA interviewed our team and interviewed Seattle; there was passion out there from Sacramento and Seattle had one or two reporters, but they weren't passionate about it.

This is just my opinion, but I think what separates us from Seattle is to Seattle this was only about basketball. It wasn't about a community, it wasn't about the economics. To Sacramento, this was a live or die issue and it was more than bouncing a ball on the court and guys running up and down. It was about the future of our town and what are we going to be like as we enter the 21st Century, and I think that is why Sacramento, from day one, was much more passionate about keeping the Kings than Seattle was about getting the Kings.

How would you define your role now within the local minority group and the larger partnership?

Within the group, Kevin Nagle has been our leader. Kevin is just a great friend and we talk or email every week and he has been a terrific leader both by example, and he's just a wonderful business man. He's kind of kept the group going and I would say I have probably been his assistant and try to keep them engaged just because we were with it from the beginning. We're kind of the connecting point of the local leaders to the big partnership - that's Vivek and Mastrov and those guys. In time, everybody is going to get their opportunity to run the partnership, but at this stage, Kevin would be the No. 1 person and then I'd be assisting him.

Within the big partnership, they really look to Kevin and myself to provide that local connection and I can tell you more than once we have talked to them about what it's like to live in Sacramento and how the Kings should connect to this community. We're kind of the voice a little bit of the people in the community, along with Mark Friedman.

What is some of the advice that you have given to Vivek Ranadive and Mark Mastrov in terms of how they should connect with the community?

Without throwing the Maloofs under the bus, I don't know if they really ever understood our community. Sacramento is really a family town to me with family values - almost a Midwestern city right in the middle of California. This is not the flash and dance of Vegas, we're not Chicago, we're not Los Angeles, we're Sacramento. And I think we are a town of core values and we appreciate integrity, we appreciate family. We're very much a family town and I just reinforced that to these guys, which is easy to do because they are all family men and women. That would be one of the examples.

We talked about honoring the people that have been faithful to the Kings even in the bad times and we need to be respectful of that, and they all have been.

What is it like working with guys like Vivek, Mastrov and Andy Miller and Chris Kelly? These guys are not from Sacramento but they are well-known businessmen throughout California and beyond.

I'm 62, so I probably don't get intimidated very often, but I've got to tell you, when I walk in the room with those guys, I am a little bit in awe and I step back a little bit because these are the movers and shakers of our world. But I've got to tell you honestly, they are the most humble, easy-to-know guys. I'm just a small fish in this thing, they never played that card. They have always been respectful and listened. They have the greatest of intentions. I've met their families, they are good family men. I mean, these are people that not only do you want to own your basketball team in your town, these are people who you would want to go to lunch with ... these are people that really understand business and they are going to make good business decisions, but they also understand what it means to be a community and they understand the importance of our fan base.

Getting to the arena. What is this project going to do for downtown Sacramento?

There are already some buildings that have been sold down there, people kind of hedging their bets for the arena being built. Well that means more taxes ... I'd be interested to see how much did the property taxes go up on those buildings between now and what they will be at the point of sale. That's tens of thousands of dollars for that one building that will come into Sacramento forever; it's an annuity. From property taxes, from just the spirit of downtown, from the synergy of downtown, it's going to have a tremendous influence.

Then the other thing is I have great faith in Mark Friedman. Mark is an expert when it comes to architecture and when he tells me this is going to be architecturally one of the best, if not the best, arenas in the country, I believe him. I think people are going to come to our town and when they come here they are going to want to go see the state Capitol and they are going to want to come see our arena.

What was your reaction to the news about Chris Hansen helping fund the group that is collecting signatures to try to force a vote on the arena in Sacramento?

I was shocked like everybody else. I didn't know any more than other people and we all speculated who it was. I was one of the people who said, "let's not hang the Maloofs in effigy yet," and I am glad I took that position because there are a lot of people who owe them an apology because they had them guilty before tried.

In business, smart people do strange things and he's a smart guy that did a very strange thing, so we will see how all that plays out in history for him as an owner and for Seattle getting an NBA franchise.

What about on the floor? How do you feel about where the roster is right now with the Kings?

I don't know if the roster per se, as far as players go, is significantly different than last year's team. I think the play on the floor will be significantly different. It was a disconnected group, and I guarantee you under Michael Malone it will not be disconnected.

One thing Vivek did ... I mean everybody they are hiring, Chris Granger, Pete [D'Alessandro] Michael [Malone], even down to the assistants. He is hiring leaders of men and people who are examples.

I think they have identified some of the shortcomings of our team, you know, the lack of ball movement, the lack of assists and sometimes that's not people finishing off the shot too.

I think we are going to have a better team, but I also think we're not going to make decisions to add one or two wins this year at the cost of tomorrow. We're very much in this community for the long haul and we want to be a team that is in the hunt year after year after year, and one of these days we are going to break through.

Is there anything else you would like to say to Kings fans?

I can only reassure the fans that we have great leadership at the very top, starting with Vivek all the way down. They have the common goal of putting a quality team on the floor consistently. These guys have won in the various arenas of life and they are going to win in this arena of life.

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30Q: What will Johnny Salmons's role be for the Kings?

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(And yes, he is now officially "Johnny Salmons" according to StR Bylaw 12.3.1a. Thanks, coach.)

Back in June, it seemed possible that, in an effort to clear additional cap space and rebuild a dilapidated roster, the Kings could waive Johnny Salmons under the amnesty clause. It didn't happen, though: instead, the Kings traded away Tyreke Evans and his massive cap hold to open up the space for Carl Landry and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. But ah!, Mbah a Moute is a small forward, which has been where Salmons has been used most often in both stints in Sacramento. Which produces a question: what's going to happen to Salmons's role?

Salmons was No. 3 in minutes played for the Kings last season; he played only 11 fewer minutes than DeMarcus Cousins and seven fewer minutes than Jason Thompson. Salmons was also No. 3 in minutes per game, barely behind Tyreke Evans and Cousins. There was a lot of Johnny last season!

... and it was not good. Not a single stat indicates he was better than "awful" last season. But he was still the team's best small forward not named Tyreke, who is a much better shooting guard than small forward. So, alas, 2,200 minutes of Johnny.

This year, Mbah a Moute figures to nab those Salmons minutes, depending on how tight or loose Michael Malone's rotation ends up. But Salmons won't likely slip all the way to Travis Outlaw territory in the rotation (despite the fact that Outlaw probably helps the team more than Salmons could), because Salmons is far more natural a shooting guard than a small forward. He's been a small forward in Sacramento out of necessity: in his first stint, Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia were the shooting guards, and there was no small forward of note once Ron Artest was traded. In this stint, Salmons's competition at two-guard has been Evans and Marcus Thornton, far better players. The competition at small forward has been James Johnson and Outlaw. Big difference.

The competition for minutes at shooting guard will now be Salmons, Thornton and Ben McLemore. I dare say that Johnny is going to draw the short stick here: Thornton is likely the team's best overall guard at this point (Isaiah Thomas is right there; Greivis Vasquezcould be there), and McLemore is going to get minutes unless he's a Robinsonesque disaster. That doesn't leave much for Johnny at two-guard.

But as the No. 2 small forward and No. 3 shooting guard, and given the reality of injuries in the NBA -- and particularly Mbah a Moute's recent injury history -- Salmons will play. For the sake of the team's win-loss record, he will hopefully not be a top reserve and nowhere near the top five in minutes played. But this is the season we likely say goodbye to ol' Johnny, and he should get a chance to say goodbye on the court most nights, in his special tilted-head, lack-of-expression, hand-switching way.

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30Q: Can Greivis Vasquez replicate his New Orleans Success in Sacramento?

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Aside from the ownership & management change, the Sacramento Kings weren't exactly world shakers this offseason, but they still managed to make some big changes. The biggest, of course, being the sign-and-trade of Tyreke Evans to the New Orleans Pelicans for Greivis Vasquez.

Vasquez has been a very nice story since coming into the league. Not many people thought he would be successful due to his slow foot speed and poor lateral quickness, but he has found a way to contribute to each team he's been on so far. While with the Grizzlies he played a big role in their first-round upset of the San Antonio Spurs as a rookie. And last year, he was a Most Improved Candidate after leading the entire league in total assists and having career-highs in almost every major statistical category.

Vasquez's acquisition was probably the most interesting one of the offseason for Sacramento because he brings a much different play style than most of the previous guards Sacramento has employed. He's a pass-first point guard who can also score instead of a score-first guard who can also pass. Last year Vasquez had an assist rate of 44.9% meaning that almost half of the field goals scored by the Hornets while he was on the floor were assisted by him. In comparison, Isaiah Thomas had the highest assist rate on the Kings at 24.6%. In fact, no player in Sacramento Kings history has ever cracked the 40% mark for assist rate:

Assist_rate_medium

Now, assists aren't everything. Despite having one of the league's best passers on their team, and Sacramento being one of the most selfish teams in the league, New Orleans finished 23rd in total assists to Sacramento's 25th, and also finished with a worse record. To be fair, they were without two of their best players (Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon) for a significant period of time.

But did Vasquez make the Hornets better? According to 82games.com, he did. New Orleans' offense was 5.3 points better per 100 possessions with Vasquez on the floor than off it. However, the defense was 4.1 points worse.

So can Vasquez make the Kings better? First, he'd have to beat out Isaiah Thomas for the starting PG spot, which isn't a given just yet (underestimate Thomas at your own peril). Should he do so, I think there's a very good chance for Vasquez to shine. DeMarcus Cousins in particular could see a big pump in his production by playing with a pass-first guard like Vasquez. Of the top scoring big men in the league last year, Cousins was by far the least-assisted at only 47.7%, meaning he had to create a lot of his own shots, thus decreasing his efficiency. According to HoopData, the league average for percentage of assisted field goals for big men is around 65%. Cousins will always be a shot creator, as it's one of his biggest strengths, but having a guy like Vasquez who can find him in better spots should up that enough to where his efficiency can see a big boost.

Another reason Vasquez can replicate or even possibly surpass his success last season is the fact that there will be similar players around him. In New Orleans, one of his favorite targets was Ryan Anderson. Sacramento doesn't have Ryan Anderson, but we do have Patrick Patterson, who shoots a very similar percentage from long range, albeit at a much lower volume. Marcus Thornton and Ben McLemore are also terrific shooters who will benefit from Vasquez's ability to find the open man. Jason Thompson and Carl Landry will make great pick and roll partners, and there is even the possibility of Vasquez and Thomas playing together at times, perhaps in the same vein as Denver with Andre Miller and Ty Lawson or Golden State with Jarrett Jack and Stephen Curry.

The Kings have not really had a player like Vasquez before. He's improved every single year he's been in the league and will be playing for a big new contract. There's no reason to believe that he can't continue to improve and that he could be a big contributor for this year's Kings team.

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30Q: Which Kings are most likely to be traded this year?

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In this 30Q, let's take a look at each player on the Kings and determine whether or not they are likely to be traded this season, because as we know, rarely does a season go by without the Kings making some sort of mid-season move.

Marcus Thornton
26 years old
2 years, 16.63 million
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  Marcus Thornton does one thing really, really well: put the ball in the basket.  Fortunately for him, that's a really important thing to be good at in the NBA.  As his contract shortens, his trade value goes up.  However, because the Kings only really have him and rookie Ben McLemore as solid SG depth, I think the Kings will hold onto him for at least another year to make sure McLemore isn't thrown straight into the frying pan.

John Salmons
34 years old
2 years, 14.58 million (last year only $1 million guaranteed)
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  Salmons is essentially an expiring contract this year, albeit with $1 million left on the books after this season.  He could be a valuable bench contributor to a good team, and I would be a little bit surprised if the Kings weren't able to find a deal to send him out this year.  The Kings won't get much in return though, perhaps a 2nd round pick.

Carl Landry
30 years old
4 years, $26 million
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  I was a bit surprised that the Kings brought Landry back, but as I've detailed before, I think this time will go a little bit better, as Malone especially realizes how to use Landry, having coached him in both New Orleans and Golden State.  His 4 year contract and age doesn't particularly help his tradeability but he's a very solid player and if he stays that way there will always be teams interested.

Chuck Hayes
30 years old
2 years, $11.68 million
Trade Value: Medium-Low
Analysis:  Hayes was brought in to make a big impact on Sacramento's defense, but he wasn't able to partly because he couldn't get enough time on the floor, and partly because when he did get time on the floor, he was in terrible lineups that saw him guarding 2nd or 3rd string bigs.  I think Malone would like to use him more, but I also think that if the Kings could get something of value for him from a playoff team, they'd probably pull the trigger.

Jason Thompson
27 years old
4 years, $24.94 million (last year only $2.65 million guaranteed. Contract contains 5% trade kicker)
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  Thompson is the type of big man that almost every team in the NBA would love to have as their first big off their bench, but he also suffers from the fact that his contract runs for 4 years, an eternity in today's NBA.  Aside from length, Thompson's contract isn't that bad, and he is a hard worker and solid player who will do fine for Sacramento.  I don't think he will be traded.

DeMarcus Cousins
23 years old
1 year, $4.92 million (Restricted Free Agent after contract is up)
Trade Value: Very High
Analysis:  I have a hard time seeing the Kings trade DeMarcus Cousins now, but come the season, it might be worth exploring, even if he's behaving himself and playing well.  I'm still not sold on this guy as a franchise centerpiece, and the possibility of giving him a max contract scares me a little bit.  If he is having a good year, I think the Kings should look at possibly selling high at the deadline, but it's not up to me.  The franchise seems to have put their faith in Cousins, for better or worse, and so unless stuff completely blows up between him and Malone, I think he's a Sacramento King for a long time.

Luc Mbah A Moute
27 years old
2 years, $8.97 million
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  The Kings probably aren't going to trade the first real SF they've had since Ron Artest, especially if he doesn't incur more injuries and displays the defensive acumen he was known for in Milwaukee.

Patrick Patterson
24 years old
1 year, $3.1 million (Restricted Free Agent after contract is up)
Trade Value: Medium-High
Analysis:  The Kings have a bevy of Power Forwards and Patterson is perhaps the most interesting one as he is the youngest and most versatile, able to bang inside or step out and hit the three at a high rate.  I think the Kings will experiment with him as the starting Power Forward this year to see how he and Cousins work together.  It also makes a lot of sense with Mbah a Moute as a starting SF.  I don't see the Kings trading Patterson.

Travis Outlaw
29 years old
2 years, $6 million
Trade Value: Nonexistent
Analysis:  The Kings would probably trade Travis Outlaw in a heartbeat if they could. But I don't think there are many takers out there.  We'll have to hope that Outlaw can regain some of his confidence and shooting stroke that seemingly left him when he left Portland.  I'm not holding my breath but I would like to be proven wrong, as I really like Travis Outlaw the person.

Ben McLemore
20 years old
4 years, $13.09 million (last two years are team options)
Trade Value: High
Analysis:  Teams almost never trade Top 5 picks in the middle of their first seasons. Unless you're the Kings last year and that pick happened to be Thomas Robinson.  I don't see the same thing happening with Ben McLemore, even if he proves to have a disappointing rookie year.

Jimmer Fredette
24 years old
2 years, $5.55 million (last year is a team option)
Trade Value: Medium-Low
Analysis:  I'm actually a little bit surprised that Jimmer hasn't been traded already.  He really hasn't had an opportunity in Sacramento, and with the additions of even more guards this summer, I don't see where he gets that opportunity this season.  Jimmer is a very good shooter so there will always be someone interested, but I don't see him fetching very much in a trade. Still, I think it's more likely than not that he isn't with the team by the end of the season than is.

Greivis Vasquez
27 years old
1 year, $2.15 million (Restricted Free Agent after contract is up)
Trade Value: Medium
Analysis:  The Kings are unlikely to trade Vasquez this year unless he turns out to be a complete disaster.  I think they want to see how the team runs with a Point Guard like Vasquez before they make any decisions regarding his future.  The fact that he's a restricted free agent after the season helps matters a lot as it gives the Kings a lot more flexibility going forward.

Isaiah Thomas
24 years old
1 year, $.88 million (Restricted Free Agent after contract is up)
Trade Value: Medium-High
Analysis: Thomas is an intriguing trade asset in that his contract is so small, it's incredibly easy to trade him, but would also probably require trading someone else with him to make a trade work, unless you're just trading him for picks or something.  Thomas' value to the Kings will depend on the two new Point Guards they acquired this summer: Vasquez and McCallum. If Vasquez takes the starting role and Thomas can't fully adapt to a bench role, he might be on the way out.  If McCallum is showing promising signs in Reno/practice, that could be another lubricator to a possible trade.  But Thomas loves competition, so I wouldn't count him out just yet.

Ray McCallum
22 years old
3 years, $2.29 million (Last year is fully unguaranteed)
Trade Value: Unknown
Analysis:  We can't really say for sure what exactly McCallum's trade value is right now.  I'd probably peg it at around medium, as his contract is super cap friendly and he showed some promise in the Vegas summer league.  But success in the summer league doesn't always translate to success in the NBA, and he'll have stiff competition for playing time this year in the form of Isaiah Thomas and Greivis Vasquez.  I think McCallum will see a lot of time in Reno this year to further his development and I don't really see him being traded.

30Q: Can Ray McCallum make the rotation?

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Ray McCallum has a skillset that will likely translate into a decent NBA career, but whether or not it's enough to give him a spot in the Kings' rotation this season is unclear.

The immediate answer is no. In the point guard rotation, he is currently behind Greivis Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette (barely).

McCallum could jump ahead of Fredette if he continues the type of play he demonstrated in Summer League. From a statistical standpoint, McCallum has the potential to produce across-the-board efficiency, something Fredette doesn't bring to the table outside of scoring. So really, the only thing that may put Fredette ahead of McCallum at this point is NBA experience and better shooting.

Out of all the point guards, McCallum's game is most similar to Thomas'. It's difficult to compare McCallum's numbers in college to Thomas' numbers over the last two seasons, but for the sake of argument let's just compare McCallum's Summer League numbers to Thomas' numbers last season.

Thomas: 13.9 PPG/4.0 APG/2.0 RPG/0.8 SPG/44 FG%

McCallum: 12.6 PPG/4.0 APG/4.2 RPG/2.2 SPG/38 FG%

Again, take these comparisons with a grain of salt considering this is a sample size of 79 games played in the NBA v. five games played in Summer League, but there are some similarities between the two. McCallum is a better rebounder than Thomas, the two cancel each other out in terms of assists, but Thomas is a tad better shooter and has a higher level of playmaking abilities. McCallum is quite a bit taller (6'3'') than Thomas (5'9''), but height has never stopped the Hustlin' Husky.

The Kings are looking for ball movement and McCallum doesn't provide much more in terms of assists than Thomas, but he is leaps and bounds ahead of Fredette in that category, who is averaging just 1.5 assists after two seasons. So again, he is much more of a threat to push Fredette further out of the rotation than anything else.

This isn't to say that McCallum is a threat to Thomas, just that they have similar styles - and both share a history of being underestimated, which should lead to a healthy competition between the two.

Vasquez isn't a lock yet at the starting point guard position as he will battle it out with Thomas in training camp and preseason, but considering he was the key piece in the new ownerships' offseason moves and he averaged 9 assist per game in New Orleans last season, he is going to give Thomas a run for his money, and be comfortably ahead of McCallum in the rotation.

Aykis put together a fantastic breakdown on Vasquez on Friday.

Defense, most likely, will be the real X-factor in the point guard rotation battle. The Kings lost their best defender at the guard spot in Tyreke Evans this summer, and head coach Michael Malone is seeking players who are willing to buy in to the team defense concept. All these guys will likely do that, but one will ultimately rise to the top. Thomas and McCallum have the highest probability of being the best defenders at the point guard position considering they have the quickness that Vasquez and Fredette don't possess. McCallum's height advantage over Thomas also could factor in a bit. (You also can't ignore the fact that Vasquez is 6'6'' even though that benefits him more on the offensive end than the defensive end.)

The bottom line is the only way McCallum breaks through in the rotation is if either Vasquez or Thomas gets hurt and he earns some legitimate minutes to prove himself. Vaquez is coming off ankle surgery, so we will have to see if that becomes an issue as the season progresses.

McCallum is the son of a coach and has a strong grasp on the fundamentals of the game, that much was clear in Summer League, and that is why the Kings signed him to a three-year deal. He also is a bright kid with a tremendous amount of will and determination to win. In other words, he fits right in to the new "culture" that Malone is trying to instill in the Kings this season.

So it will be a wait and see. Right now, McCallum doesn't have a spot in the rotation and there is a chance he could find himself on the Reno Bighorns' roster at some point this season to fine-tune his game (his outside shot needs work and he needs to figure out how to compensate for a lack of high-level playmaking capabilities).

Regardless, it appears the Kings got a steal in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft.

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30Q: Will Ben McLemore make an impact in his rookie year?

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Where would you place Ben McLemore's importance on the franchise's future-o-meter? First? Second, behind only DeMarcus Cousins? Third, behind Cuz and finding the right fit next to Cousins on the front line? Fourth, behind Cuz, the front line and the point guard development and competition of Greivis Vasquez and Isaiah Thomas?

Wherever you slot the importance of Ben McLemore's development, it looms large. He is the first pick of the new regime. And while McLemore's fall to the number seven pick in this year's draft is almost universally seen as a gift for the Kings, there were certainly alternatives to consider, including C. J. McCollum and Trey Burke. For momentum's sake, the franchise would sure like to see McLemore produce well enough to quell any talk of the intelligence of their very first pick.

Prior to Vegas Summer League, many Kings fans (yours truly among them) held out hope that McLemore would be a finished enough product to be in the starting lineup on opening night of the 2013-14 regular season. And while McLemore finished VSL a lot better than he started it, conventional wisdom seemed to be that Big Ben was nowhere near ready to be the contributor that we already know exists in Marcus Thornton. But...

Other than DeMarcus Cousins, I don't think that any player on the Kings roster has a starting position sewn up going into this year's training camp. I don't think that anyone even has the designation of "it's your job to lose." Jason Thompson started more games than anyone last year for the Kings, and I'm betting that he is going into camp battling for his spot in the rotation. John Salmons was third in games started last year, Isaiah Thomas fourth, and Tyreke Evans fifth. The Kings could potentially change 80% of their opening night starting lineup from a year ago (Cousins, Thompson, James Johnson, Evans and Thomas). As a result, we have to consider almost every possibility for McLemore.

Ben McLemore, Rookie of the Year Candidate: While I do not believe this to be the most likely scenario, it has to at least be considered. There is no doubt that at the end of VSL, Marcus Thornton was a considerably better NBA player than Ben McLemore, and by a wide margin. However, one has to wonder how much McLemore's game would benefit from playing with NBA-caliber players, especially if the shooting guard position is a position of emphasis in Michael Malone's offense (and you would think that it would be regardless of whether Thornton, McLemore or Jimmer Fredette was manning the position). Plug McLemore in with the generous Vasquez and go out on a limb and say that he and Cousins have chemistry, and you have a guy that would at least be part of the ROY discussion and a first-team all-rookie candidate (though I kind of like Trey Burke or Victor Oladipo for ROY due to their respective situations).

It's really not out of the question that McLemore could come into camp and flat light it up. And given that Thornton and Fredette are not exactly defensive demons and that all three of these guys will be learning a new offense and defense, McLemore's raw talent could propel him into the starting lineup. McLemore won't be handed the job, but he will be given every opportunity to earn it.

Ben McLemore, Trade Machine Instigator: In this scenario, McLemore starts the season as a bench but core rotation player. He has some ups and downs, but by the trade deadline he has played well enough that the Kings fan base concocts all sorts of trade scenarios that have Marcus Thornton leaving town, freeing up the starting two-guard slot for Ben. Thornton is dealt to the Juneau Frost Donkeys for a fast-melting glacier and two pounds of fresh salmon (not Salmons), The glacier promptly becomes the centerpiece of the Kings' defense, and Ben McLemore becomes your starting two-guard in his rookie season. Regardless, McLemore's development will be one of the most compelling story lines throughout the Kings' 2013-14 season.

Ben McLemore, Present Contributor & Future Cog: This is what I see as the most likely scenario, which automatically means that it is the least likely to occur. McLemore starts the season fourth in the guard rotation, behind Vasquez, Thornton and Thomas (there would be some occasions where Vasquez and Thomas play together). McLemore struggles with shot consistency very early in the season, and you can tell that he's pressing a bit. This winds up impacting his defensive play as well, as he blows more than his share of defensive assignment. But he settles down after a rocky few weeks. McLemore produces just well enough to earn an invitation to the "Futures" game during all-star weekend. His play increases throughout the season, though by season's end he still winds up fourth in guard minutes. He makes the second or third all-rookie team, and he looks like a guy that will be the starting two-guard for the Kings in 2014-15 and beyond.

Ben McLemore, No Consideration Granted for Draft Slot: McLemore comes into camp as the raw twenty year old that we know him to be. And while this rawness was a known quantity when the Kings drafted him, McLemore is granted no sympathy or consideration by Michael Malone's coaching staff. Oh, they invest a lot of time in McLemore and work with him in a constructive fashion, but by the time camp breaks he has yet to reach the caliber of Jimmer Fredette or John Salmons. Malone is adamant that the best and most-ready players get the minutes, and McLemore begins the season completely out of the core rotation. McLemore avoids Reno, as the home-heavy early season schedule of the Kings keeps him around where the coaching staff can continue to work with him. Injuries to other guards get him some spot minutes, and by the end of the season he is threatening to crack the core rotation, but few are sold on McLemore being the starting two-guard by the 2014-15 season.

Ben McLemore, Thomas Robinson for a New Generation: In a scenario that I can hardly even fathom, McLemore crashes and burns, and is left in the rear-view mirror as the coaching staff focuses on the players that are responding positively to the new system...both Thornton and Fredette are killing it. Unlike Robinson, McLemore is not dealt, but he does spend a good portion of the season in Reno. The fan base clamors for the Kings to start thinking about an extension for Jimmer Fredette.

-

I'm going with "Present Contributor & Future Cog." I just think that Thornton is way ahead of McLemore when it comes to understanding the NBA game and the speed at which it is played. Also, I have this wild notion that Thornton might actually be a willing defender in a system that demands defensive effort. Not a good defender, but a willing defender, and I think that is what Malone will be looking for this coming year. Thornton will be just a bit smarter at slipping screens and filling passing lanes than the inexperienced Thornton, and that will make a difference in the final analysis.

There is also the matter that Thornton has a proven NBA scorer's mentality, which is going to be a very important factor if Vasquez and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute make up forty percent of the starting lineup. McLemore's chances of starting probably improve slightly if Isaiah Thomas wins the starting point guard job.

It will be very interesting to see how McLemore's development and playing time wrings out this season. On the one hand, you know that ownership and management is dying to see a rapid return on investment on their very first player acquisition. On the other hand, coach Malone must stay true to his mantra that the best and most-ready players play, as it is most critical that his system is introduced to and embraced by the players. I think that the balancing act of these two points will result in specific and limited opportunities for McLemore early on, designed in part to boost his confidence and create some momentum for him. Malone can then utilize that momentum to systematically grow McLemore's role as the season progresses.


The Line You Don't Cross

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In the last several months during the battle for the Sacramento Kings and in the continuing aftermath, three people have crossed lines that should not have been crossed. Truthfully, there have been more than that, but I'm focusing on three -- Chris Hansen, Vivek Ranadive, and David Stern.

I have written letters to each of them. Since I am a poor hick in Tieton who can't afford postage stamps, I am posting them below. I'm pretty sure they all read my stuff.

I don't expect these letters to be all that popular in Seattle, Sacramento, or New York, but understand one thing in advance. These letters represent my own personal opinions. They do not reflect those of Brian Robinson or the rest of the Sonics Rising staff.

LETTER TO CHRIS HANSEN

Dear Mr. Hansen:

Since your name surfaced nearly two years ago, I have supported you in every way possible. Like many Sonics fans, I fully embraced your effort to build an NBA/NHL arena in Sodo. I left voice mails, sent emails, commented on message boards, attended what meetings I could, and encouraged my friends to do the same. As environmental and economic reports are released in coming months, I will be there for you again if needed.

I fully embraced your decision to buy the Sacramento Kings. Though I didn't want Sacramento fans to experience what I experienced in 2008, I felt it would happen eventually whether Seattle was involved or not. I still believe you did the right thing and that the NBA made a terrible decision that may have only delayed the inevitable.

With that said, there is a line that should not have been crossed and you stepped over it with eyes wide open. I can't embrace your decision to fund the arena opposition in Sacramento for one fundamental reason. I wouldn't want fellow NBA fans in Sacramento to fund our arena opposition.

I was relieved to read your statement of apology when the story first broke and more recently relieved to hear of mitigating factors not initially revealed and that you have agreed to pay a substantial fine as part of an FPPC settlement.

But here is the part that I am most relieved about.  You are a good man who admits when he does something wrong and who tries to make amends when he can. The following comes from the statement you released on September 9.

I would also like to highlight that I will take steps to prevent any signatures collected by GoCo from being submitted to the opposition. As it was never my intent to directly fund signature gathering efforts, I completely agree with the numerous Kings fans who have taken the time to write me and suggest this course of action. It is also important to note that this decision is not part of my proposed settlement with the FPPC, and is one I am making completely voluntarily. It's clearly the right thing to do given the circumstances and I wish the City of Sacramento and the Kings the best in their efforts going forward.

To be honest, I'm not sure what you can legally do to prevent those signatures from being used against the Sacramento arena, but I'm pleased to know you will try. It is "clearly the right thing to do".

In a way, it seems unfair to ask you to do this when others in this saga have stepped over similar lines of their own. David Stern devoted all of his energy to undermine your business transaction with the Maloofs and Vivek Ranadive used your money to buy the Kings for himself. Both of these things were done without apology and I have also written letters (enclosed) to Stern and Ranadive point out those indiscretions.

Best wishes,

Paul Rogers

LETTER TO VIVEK RANADIVE

Dear Mr. Ranadive:

First of all, congratulations on your successful bid to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. I was very disappointed that they didn't come to Seattle and become the Sonics, but I would've done the same thing were I in your shoes.

Second, I want you to know that I wrote a letter (enclosed) to Chris Hansen to express my disappointment in his decision to fund arena opposition in Sacramento.  He crossed a line that should not have been crossed.

With that said, I want to inform you that you crossed a similar line with your own actions. Doing your best to keep the Kings in Sacramento was an honorable thing, but the way you went about it was not.

It is not honorable to use another man's money to buy something you want. I know you needed to ensure that the Maloofs received essentially the same amount of money as they would've gotten had relocation been approved, but give me a break. You should've reimbursed Hansen for the $30 million deposit. You can argue that your actions were legal, but you can't argue that they were ethical.

This was wrong. It doesn't justify what Hansen did in response, but it explains the anger that led to it. For his actions, Hansen apologized, agreed to pay a substantial fine in a settlement, and has agreed to take steps to prevent the petition signatures from being used. Where is your apology and what steps are you prepared to take to make amends?

Here's a suggestion. Refund Hansen his deposit and encourage your fellow owners to offer expansion to Seattle in the next few years.

At any rate, though I'm sure we will disagree on these issues, I wish you luck in your running of the Sacramento Kings.

Sincerely,

Paul Rogers

LETTER TO DAVID STERN

Dear Mr. Stern:

I won't bore you with false pleasantries.

I want you to know that I wrote a letter (enclosed) to Chris Hansen to express my disappointment in his decision to fund arena opposition in Sacramento. He crossed a line that should not have been crossed.

With that said, there have been numerous lines over the years that you have crossed in your relationship with the City of Seattle.

In 2008, you went out of your way to help Clay Bennett pry the Sonics from their home in the northwest. In Bennett's "efforts" to get an arena done in Seattle, you ignored evidence of bad faith on his part. Email evidence revealed that he was "a man possessed" to move the team and had no intention of really trying to keep the team where it was.

When Steve Ballmer emerged with a last ditch effort to keep the Sonics in town, you completely ignored his attempt. You didn't even want to hear the proposal. You didn't lift one finger to see if Seattle could come up with $150 million to get it done. You were offended by Frank Chopp's stubbornness and stupidity and chose to punish Sonics fans for it. Many believe you are punishing us still.

Fast forwarding to earlier this year when Hansen signed a purchase agreement for the Kings...

You did everything in your power to keep the Kings from relocating. When one owner wasn't up to snuff, you exerted your influence to bring another on board. This is honorable in a vacuum, but is a travesty when combined with your total disregard for Sonics fans in 2008.

In this more current saga, you overstepped two big lines.

First, you shared confidential contractual information about the Hansen purchase with the Sacramento group. Why should they get a special warning that the dollars have to come up to match the price? I'm not sure this wasn't illegal on your part. I'm not sure that Hansen couldn't win a lawsuit against the NBA because of it.

Second, you failed to force Vivek Ranadive to reimburse Hansen for his $30 million deposit. You allowed him to include that dollar figure as part of his bid. You allowed him to use Seattle money to keep the team in Sacramento. I'm pretty sure you even encouraged it.

There are several more things I could bring up, but I don't have time. You haven't just crossed some lines, you have jumped over them in a vindictive and remorseless game of hopscotch. Hansen has apologized, agreed to pay a substantial fine as part of a settlement, and agreed to take steps to prevent the petition signatures from being used against the Sacramento arena.

Where is your apology for all the things you have done and what steps are you prepared to take to make amends? I have two suggestions for you.

First, calculate total amount of energy you used to keep the Kings in Sacramento and use the same amount to bring an NBA franchise back to Seattle. I know you can't guarantee one, but you've proven one thing in these last several months. You have enormous influence over your owners. Second, make Ranadive refund Hansen's money.

It would be the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

Paul Rogers

I believe Chris Hansen

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I believe Chris Hansen when he says he's sorry. Why wouldn't I?

I believe Chris Hansen when he says he will try to keep STOP from using signatures he paid $80,000 for in an effort to delay Sacramento's arena project. Why wouldn't I?

I believe Chris Hansen when he says the $80,000 payment was made without his knowledge five weeks after Hansen's bid to move the Kings to Seattle was rejected by the NBA. Why wouldn't I?

I believe Chris Hansen when he says he never meant to poach a team. Why wouldn't I?

I believe Chris Hansen when he says he regretted trying to take the Kings once he realized what incredible support the team has in the community. Why wouldn't I?

I believe Chris Hansen when he wishes Sacramento luck in getting the arena done. Why wouldn't I?

When has Chris Hansen ever shown himself to be anything but honest, principled and completely forthcoming? Why would anyone ever think Chris Hansen was lying to make himself look better? When has he ever done that? Why would anyone think this is all just the necessary steps toward image rehabilitation while deep down he really wants to stick Sacramento in the eye again? Why would anyone not trust Chris Hansen to do the right thing and burn those signatures? Has he ever done anything to show himself a calculating, dirty player in this game? Has he ever gone beyond the pale to force relocation? Has he ever tried to leverage legal means behind the scenes while saying something totally different in public? Has he ever lied you?

Oh. Wait --

***

Hansen or his lawyers apparently have the signatures. I, for one, will believe he is a changed man if he delivers the petitions he paid for to DowntownArena.org, not STOP. Then the DowntownArena.org folks can hold a recorded ritual burning so that all Sacramentans can enjoy the sight of $80,000 of Chris Hansen's money getting set on fire.

More from Sactown Royalty:

The official jerky of Sactown Royalty

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This post is not vegan-safe.

You may know mbcarval from our comment threads. He's a long-time member, a Sacramento native and Kings diehard who is in San Diego getting his MBA. And he's also an entrepreneur. He and a couple of friends have started a company called True Gentlemen's Jerky. Yes, that's jerky as in dried, flavored meat. Delicious, delicious meat.

Why start a new jerky company?

True Gentlemen's Jerky was formed by a group of friends who shared a common passion for a healthy alternative to the mass produced "jerky" that was being offered. The once All-American jerky that we grew up with seemed to be losing its appeal, along with its natural ingredients and flavor. Then one of our co-founders shared an old family jerky recipe that had been passed down to him from his father. The same way a dad would teach his son to play catch, his dad taught him the secrets behind making handcrafted, all natural jerky. It first started out as a college snack and way to fuel our active lifestyles, but over time grew into something bigger. We began incorporating new and fresh ingredients and ultimately creating various flavors to give out to friends and family. After receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and requests for more jerky. There was an unexplainable self-fulfillment that we felt from rolling up our sleeves and slowly crafting meat into our vision of what jerky ought to be.Then after a lot of planning and careful deliberation, we realized that we had the opportunity to bring back the original gentleman's jerky to the public.That's when True Gentleman's Jerky was born. We are True Gentlemen's Jerky---The Original Craft Jerky Pioneers.

GO ON.

To ensure our customers have a positive craft jerky experience, we utilize an extremely lean eye of round cut of meat, which provides the perfect balance of texture and slow cooked flavor. Our jerky is high in lean protein and does not contain any nitrates, preservatives, growth hormones, or animal bi-products. This means that our jerky not only looks good and tastes good, but can also be nutritionally beneficial. Especially, as a healthy alternative to what large jerky distributors are passing off as jerky. We realized early on that the additives large corporations use to keep their meat viable (and cheap enough) for large-scale production aren't necessary, and when the meat is prepared right, the jerky stabilizes itself.

mbcarval and friends have a Kickstarter going, seeking to raise $10,000 to get access to a larger commercial kitchen and develop a broader offering. (They are currently doing 2-ounce packages in two flavors. They'd like to expand that. I'd like them to expand that, because MEAT.) True Gentlemen's Jerky is 77 percent of the way to their goal. We don't do this often (ever?), but we like to support StR-Friendly businesses when possible.

So, if you love jerky and Kings fans and Sacramentans doin' thangs: please contribute to the True Gentlemen's Jerky Kickstarter project. Let's help a brother out!

Chris Hansen fined $50K for opposition to new Kings arena

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Chris Hansen was unable to purchase the Sacramento Kings in his attempt to bring an NBA franchise back to Seattle when the NBA rejected his $625 million bid for the team. One of the stipulations the NBA put on the Vivek Ranadive-led Sacramento ownership group was to build a "modern" arena for the team, and the California Fair Political Practice Commission found that Hansen committed $100,000 to a group attempting to gather signatures to force a city-wide vote for the new arena plans.

The FPPC has now fined Hansen $50,000 for his involvement with the anti-Kings arena group, according to the Associated Press.

The FPPC said Hansen is being punished for failing to file a campaign statement. Hansen has agreed to the fine, and the commission will vote to make it official.

Sactown RoyaltyI "believe" Chris Hansen

Hansen has since released a statement explaining his involvement with the Sacramento Arena opposition group, stating that his legal counsel advanced $80,000 of the $100,000 he committed to the party to begin collecting signatures to force a vote without his consent or knowledge.

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30Q: Will the Kings be able to grant Cousins' wish and obtain a defensive sidekick?

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DeMarcus Cousins is many things, but shy is not one of them. This summer during the Team USA camp in Vegas, Cousins was asked about the current state of the Kings and he mentioned how he believes he'd look better playing next to a shot blocking big.

From James Ham at Cowbell Kingdom:

"I love playing with Jason Thompson, don't get me wrong, but I believe I would play better if I had a shot-blocking big. I'm not the greatest shot blocker and I can move to the four and play my natural position."

Now, Greg already wrote an article a little while ago exploring this issue, but I'd like to expand on it a little bit. Cousins is right. He's not the greatest shot blocker, but he's also not the greatest defender. You can be a great defender without being a great shot blocker, and as of yet, Cousins has not put the same effort in on that side of the ball as he has on offense. That's completely on him, and putting the onus on someone else coming in and covering for his crappy defense to make him look better is immature in my opinion.

Still, I don't disagree that the Kings could use a lockdown defender/shot blocker next to Cousins, if only because Cousins is such a bad defender and the rest of Sacramento's bigs aren't exactly world beaters in that department. By far the best big man defender Sacramento has is Chuck Hayes, but Hayes has not been utilized very much since he came to Sacramento. That may change with Mike Malone on board, but if it does not, let's look at some options.

In terms of defensive big men currently available to sign, there are no really appealing options. Cole Aldrich may just be the best big man FA still out there and it doesn't seem like the Kings are super keen to sign him despite an excellent performance in the second half of last season. In terms of trades, we can eliminate players that teams aren't willing to trade or who Sacramento doesn't have the assets to trade for like Larry Sanders, Serge Ibaka, Andre Drummond, etc. and players that are too old and not part of a rebuilding project. If we take this list (best shot blockers in the NBA) and eliminate those players, here's who is left over:

1. Javale McGee (8.5% Block Rate)

2. Hasheem Thabeet (5.9% Block Rate)

3. Greg Stiemsma (5.8% Block Rate)

4. Andrew Bogut (5.5% Block Rate)

5. Bismack Biyombo (5.3% Block Rate)

6. Brandan Wright (5.2% Block Rate)

7. Festus Ezeli (5.2% Block Rate)

8. Robin Lopez (5.0% Block Rate)

9. Taj Gibson (4.7% Block Rate)

10. Ekpe Udoh (4.7% Block Rate)

11. James Johnson (4.5% Block Rate)

12. Kosta Koufos (4.4% Block Rate)

13. Ed Davis (4.2% Block Rate)

14. Jason Maxiell (4.2% Block Rate)

That's not a very appealing list. Of those players there are only a few that I think would offer a significant enough upgrade over Sacramento's current crop of big men in terms of total production. Someone like Hasheem Thabeet or Bismack Biyombo will block a lot of shots, but not do much else. The player also needs to be a good rebounder, as that was a big weakness for Sacramento last year, so that eliminates Brandan Wright.

From that list there are only a few options that I find appealing: Javale McGee, Andrew Bogut, Ed Davis and Kosta Koufos. McGee is not the sharpest tool in the shed but he is still very good at what he does. He's not a lock down defender but he's a tremendous shot blocker, an adequate rebounder, and efficient with his shots (54.2% from the field for his career). I believe he'd be the hardest to pry away from his current team however, if only because Denver doesn't really have much big man depth behind him now.

Bogut could be an option for next season, as this is the final year of his contract. With Bogut, injuries are always a big factor. When he's healthy, he's a tremendous defender and rebounder, and he passes well for a big man too. But he's missed almost a third of his possible career games, and if you discount his first three seasons, that number shoots up to almost half. A lot will depend on Bogut's year this year and if he can stay healthy. Even then, any contract would have to be structured without a lot of guarantees for me to want to make a big investment in him.

Ed Davis is a possible sleeper. He's only 24 years old and hasn't really gotten much of an opportunity yet. He's an efficient players, a good rebounder, and a good shot blocker. Memphis recently acquired the next guy on my list, Kosta Koufos, so Davis could possibly be had for the right price. He'll also be a restricted Free Agent next summer if Memphis gives him the qualifying offer. Sacramento should definitely keep Davis on their radar at the very least.

Koufos is an underrated big man in my opinion. Memphis basically acquired him for nothing this summer, and his contract is very friendly. He defends well, uses his shots efficiently, and rebounds well on both ends.

There are also a few big men that might be available that aren't as good shot blockers but are still very good defenders. The foremost of these is Omer Asik, who will see a greatly reduced role in Houston with Dwight Howard now aboard. Asik is still a good shot blocker, just not an elite one. He is an elite defensive rebounder however and a very good defender, both things the Kings can use. As he's making a little over $8 million for the next two years, I could see Houston wanting to possibly acquire someone who will see a little more playing time with that money.

Sacramento also doesn't have to really rush into acquiring another big man, particularly with how deep next year's draft is. Currently on DraftExpress's 2014 mock draft, there are 7 big men projected to be taken in the lottery and 10 in the top-20. Now it's still way early, but this draft does appear to be loaded with talent, particularly at that position.

Sacramento has plenty of time to figure out just what kind of partner they want for DeMarcus Cousins. Perhaps with a greater focus on the defensive end of the court as a team unit, the need for a shot blocker won't be as readily apparent. Cousins has the lateral quickness and size to be an effective defender, he just needs to put the effort on that end. The same goes for a lot of Kings, but if Cousins wants to be the leader of this team he will have to lead by example. If he doesn't, and continues to give no effort on that end, maybe this isn't the guy our future should be staked in.

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