Marcus Thornton – voodooDr's Blog

NBA And Sacramento Kings Post-Summer League 2012, Trade Rumors and Training Camp

July 22, 2012 by voodoodr06 Leave a Comment

This post will focus on the Kings and the NBA after summer league 2012 and probably up to or thru training camp.

First we have Sacramento Kings Offseason Moves & Analysis from the folks at Sheridan Hoops. as they do a good job of analyzing each team in the league quickly.

July 22nd:

Trade Rumors: These guys at Gather say that Jimmer Fredette may be traded to the Utah Jazz.

I would not be unhappy, depending on what comes back to the Kings, but I would be surprised. Other than his last game this summer, Fredette has not shown anything trade worthy.

The Kings however, have loaded up their back court, even adding Aaron Brooks these past few days and with another SF in the wings come training camp in Tony Mitchell it would be rough to trade guards without getting something in return and I’m not sure the Jazz have that “something”. Brooks had Tweeted “Sacramento Kings” back on July 16th before jumping on a plane to come out to the State capitol.

“The backcourt squeeze is on. The Kings’ roster included guards Marcus Thornton (6-4), Isaiah Thomas (5-9), Jimmer Fredette(6-2) and Francisco Garcia (6-7) even before coach Keith Smart revealed plans to move Tyreke Evans (6-6) from small forward to shooting guard.”

Trading Fredette would not be a bad idea if the owners are willing to walk around with more egg on their faces for a series of bad moves in 2011…a series of bad moves.

July 23rd:

Mitchell is likely to be called in for the Kings training camp.

“Mitchell kind of separated himself a little bit,” Smart said. “He has the right size as a small forward. Obviously, we have a ton of players at that position that he plays, but nevertheless he’s not a guy you take off your radar because you see the size.

“A long athletic player that can be physical, and I like the way he attacks the rim.”

Mitchell was undrafted after leaving Alabama after his junior season following a suspension for violating team rules. In looking for a summer-league team, Mitchell believed the Kings would be a good fit because of their uptempo style.”

Read more here

And the Kings will open the 2012/2013 season with a three-game road trip, starting in Chicago, then in Minnesota and ending in Indiana. They won’t have a home game until November 5th against the Warriors.

The Kings will face a very difficult start to the season, and could easily be in a 3 game hole when they return home, and facing the Golden State in their firt Home Game may not be easy.

The keys may be can the Kings make a trade for veteran strength that would provide support and cohesion at Center? Someone who can come off the bench and play strong defense, help Cousins mature into the type of All-Star player many expect him to be and have the respect of his teammates?? Is there such a player, can the Kings get him and would he want to be in Sacramento during this mess of a time?

August 1, 2012:

The Kings announce Their 2012 Pre-Season schedule as follows:

Oct. 10 vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m. Oct. 15 vs. Portland, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 vs. Golden State, 7 p.m.

Oct. 19 at Los Angeles Lakers (in Las Vegas),

7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Los Angeles Lakers 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Phoenix 7 p.m. Oct. 25 at Los Angeles Lakers (in San Diego) 7 p.m.

The regular seasons starts for the Kings at the end of October with a thrree-0game road trip, returning to Sacramento for the first home game on November 5th.

August 8th:

The Bleacher Reports guys say Isaiah Thomas could win Most Improved Player in 2013.

How do they decide that this early in the Pre-pre-season?? In 2012 “(Thomas) played with a ton of heart, kept up with the league’s best point guards, created shots for others and came up with big baskets seemingly every time the Kings needed one.”

In 2013 “With Thomas likely getting the nod to start at the point guard position this season, and having a full offseason this time around, he should be a strong candidate for the Most Improved Player Award.Interestingly, newly acquired Aaron Brooks received the aforementioned award after the 2009-10 season in which he averaged 19.6 points per game and 5.3 assists while starting all 82 games for the Houston Rockets.”Will Power Balance arena be renamed Sleep Train? Just getting a name that lasts a full season and a contract that does as well would probably make the Kings happy.The Kings partnered with ARCO got 25 years in the naming of their arena. Last year they went with Power Balance, the new company who made sports wrist bands. More money in the five year contract, especially in year 5 when the Kings take would increase from $750,000 to $2.35 million.Problem is Power Balance filed for bankruptcy before year one was even finished. Read more at the link above.

And the Kings extended Coach Keith Smart’s contract an additional year, thru 2013/2014.

“The Kings could have waited a few months and made Keith Smartprove himself more before deciding he was their coach beyond the 2012-13 season.

But in Smart’s first six months, Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said he had seen enough.

The Kings announced Monday that Smart had agreed to a contract extension through the 2013-14 season.

“We had talked about it at length somewhat after the season, after the draft,” Petrie said. “We just really moved forward on it in the last couple of weeks. It’s something I’m really in favor of. He’s the right coach at the right time for the group of players.”

Hard to say, I would have let Smart coach at least half the coming season before pulling the plug but at least they didn’t fire the guy.

2012 NBA Draft Results, Grades, Free Agency and Rookie Camp

June 29, 2012 by voodoodr06 Leave a Comment

This post is mostly just a steal from late June entries into my Kings Off-season post here.

Sacramento Kings logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

June 25th:

Decent choices at the 5th pick? That’s what Kings officials are saying as we get close to the June 28th Draft Day. Read what they are saying HERE.

June 27th:

Tomorrow is the NBA Draft and today’s Bee article says that “the Kings have options at #5” but really the options that are laid out are “trade the pick” or “keep the pick”. What other options are there at this point? Either you have decided to trade and move up in the draft (the Kings don’t have the horses for that) or trade down in the draft (the Kings made a bad decision to do this last year. Do they want to risk a tenuous connection to Sacramento fans and dump the pick again?) or keep the pick (knowing there just isn’t much there unless someone falls into their lap).

My suggestion? Keep it and hope for that perfect storm that would allow the best player (well 2nd ) to fall their way like Cousins did two years ago. That means Harrison Barnes or even Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would slip and for that to happen the Bee is right that the Bobcats need to take Robinson. If that one thing happens Thursday then we better hope the Kings kept #5—-or made an amazing trade.

The trades talked about in the Bee don’t seem amazing. The trades seem like Jimmer Fredette “pull your hair out” trades. I just don’t see trading #5 so someone else can trade for Dwight Howard.

Where will you be on Draft Day June 28th? How about one of the Neighborhood Draft Day Parties?? There will be Draft parties at five locations hosted by the Kings from 4pm to 7:30pm.

Where are the parties?

All five parties are free to the public, with doors opening at 4 p.m. at the following locations:

MIX Downtown (corner of 16th and L Streets).

Dave and Buster’s: Roseville (1174 Roseville Parkway).

Pins n’ Strikes: Elk Grove (3443 Laguna Blvd).

Buffalo Wild Wings: Folsom (2759 E. Bidwell St.).

Oshima Sushi Fugu Lounge: Natomas (2071 Natomas Crossing Drive).

Find out more about these parties HERE from the press release. You will be able to mingle with Kings players Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson and Hassan Whiteside, Kings Dance Team members, Breakers and Slamson

Read the Bee article HERE

The Bleed Black and Purple blog had a very good post just a few days ago about that #5 spot the Kings find themselves holding, saying that it is

“…not hard to question the happenings in Sacramento over the last six-seven years. As owners, the Maloofs have repeatedly said they are going to spend to get better.”

Ain’t that the truth, so even in easier drafts anything from the mouths of Kings would be hard to decipher. As today’s Bee article explained well, Draft Day in the NBA people say a lot of things. And none of it is true. So sometimes if you really want to confuse people….you tell the truth.

“…back to the basketball side of things. Petrie has been on the hot seat for some time now. And let face it, Mikki Moore signings will do that to a fellow. But let’s not kid ourselves; most of Petrie’s mishaps are a direct result of the Maloofs not opening the checkbook” That fellas is the honest to gosh truth.

“We are entering a new era in the NBA. The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Celtics and Mavs all look like they are headed for rebuild mode. The Grizzlies, Clippers and Timberwolves are on the rise. Will the Kings even be in the discussion? Does the same group that put together the Webber/Divac team have it in them to do it again? Do Kings fans even believe they can do it again.”

Read the Bleed Black and Purple blog HERE

Trade rumors? The big one in the Bee (can any rumor be true if it is published in the Bee?) is Kyle Lowry of the Rockets for the Kings #5 plus Houston would add their #14 & #16 picks. There must be something else in the mix (John Salmons anyone?) for it to make any sense. But does it make sense at all? Apparently that “other” is Tyreke Evans. ‘Reke hasn’t lived up to his ROY expectations but he is still the 2nd best player on this team and has abilities that could make him an All-Star.

Not someone I would want to trade for 14 and 16 in a weak draft. “The rumors will continue, but this deal seems highly unlikely unless the Rockets sweeten the offer. More to come in the days ahead“

3:58 pm it does not seem the Kings will be making that trade to the Rockets for their #14 & 16 plus Kyle Lowry as sources have confirmed(via Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated) that the Rockets moved their #14 pick to Milwaukee along with Samuel Dalembert who will join his 3rd team in 2 years and 4th team in the last 3 seasons after his big year just 3 seasons ago.

Donte’ Green will not be resigned by the Kings according to Carmichael Dave who spoke to Green today.

Speaking of SI, here’s a Mock Draft at SI today “with movement in the top five, trade chatter and misdirections galore. ” I won’t ruin it for you but they show Robinson going #2 to Charlotte which means the Kings would really get some decent choice with #5. Except of course it is the Kings 2012 version which means drama up the ying-yang. Check it out at the link above.

Now the Kings drama swirls around “we want a Center” when it has all been “we want a SF” and “we want a PF”.

I guess it is easy to understand all of the dysfunction. This is the Kings after all. And, truth be told they need a Center to back up Cousins. And a Small Forward. And really a Power Forward. Really. So what do you do? You don’t have a good enough team to select a back-up Center with #5. Maybe they entertain trade offers and drop down to take a back-up IF they gget a quality PF in return. Quality not crap. And not a SF, you have a good one in Evans. Treat him right, give him a spot and let him grow. SF or SG but plus him the fuck in and leave him alone. Smart seems to be able to coach the kid.

Maybe Drummond could learn to play PF/C, but as far as I can see he is a project. And I don’t see a good player coming to the Kings to make this trade worthwhile.

The Lakers are so interested in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that they are dangling Pau Gasol for a Top 5 pick and a player. Gasol is not a bad player to have and is certainly an improvement over MKG at this point. But what about in 3 years? Do you make that trade now? I would say yes depending on the “player to be named”. This from Lakers Beat Writer @Mike_Bresnahan of the LA Times. A rumor from someone in the know.

And will the Lakers trade their 60th pick in the 2012 Draft?

And Chad Ford from ESPN Sports Nation during his internet chat today:

…Let’s put it this way. If the (Charlotte) Hornets wanted to trade the draft rights to Davis today … I think there is only three players they COULDN’T trade him for: LeBron, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. Normally I’d add Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose to the mix. But with Dwight Howard threatening to bolt Orlando, of course the Magic would do the deal. And given the seriousness of Rose’s injury, I think the Bulls would seriously consider pulling the trigger too. Remember, Davis is from Chicago as well.

Apparently Metta World Peace could be part of a Gasol package deal. Does that entice the Kings??

So with 24 hours to go, what do I want to see happen as a Kings fan? Who do I want assuming Davis is already signed and has his first All-Star birth lined up after his Rookie-Of-The-Year award ceremonies…

Hell I want Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Davis won’t be there. Robinson goes second. Of all the other guys on the board MKG is the guy.

Doesn’t play the position the Kings need to fill. So start working on trades. Decent trades cause you won’t get great ones.

MKG is tough as nails and everywhere he goes his teams just win. And win. Every level, every team.

Don’t get me wrong he has holes in his game. Someone says he is like Scottie Pippen. But today if you have or you can get a good shooter and then get the modern-day Scottie Pippen for the next 10 years do you take that player?? Hell yes.

So pray Charlotte takes the next big man with Thomas Robinson, and leaves MKG on the board.

And pray the Kings have just been misdirecting folks because Ford is 100% right:

“FORD: And don’t get me started on the Kings. They have five guys on their roster that care nothing for defense or chemistry and want to jack up 20 shots a night. They finally get a chance at a guy who can make a huge impact on the floor without the ball in his hands and their response is to trade the pick.”

Ok, just for the giggles…

SIMMONS: ”’…Moving on to Sacramento’s no. 5 pick, we might make some history here, Chad. Even though it would be foolish to overpay in a trade for someone like Andre Drummond (who has all the textbook Thabeet/Kwame/Darko red flags), but you know someone might … only Geoff Petrie is the one trading the pick, which means we might be headed for a double rainbow of dumbness. After all, Petrie was the guy who dumped a mildly annoying contract (Beno Udrih) for a mildly disastrous contract (John Salmons) so he could move back three spots and make the worst lottery pick of the 2011 draft (Jimmer Fredette). He’s capable of anything. That makes me wonder if we could see a trade like this: Detroit deals Tayshaun Prince (expires 2015) and the no. 9 pick to Sacramento for the no. 5 pick and Salmons’s contract (expires 2015). Sacramento stays in the top nine and adds an unselfish veteran swingman who won’t really help them because it’s not like they can compete for a title; Detroit sneaks into the top five and rolls the dice with a Drummond/Monroe tandem that will eventually fail. Everyone loses!

FORD: Agree that Petrie is doing the GM equivalent of impaired driving with this pick. Kings fans are watching, horrified, as he weaves back and forth across the road. The question isn’t whether he collides into the telephone pole … it’s when. And no, Joe Dumars already drafted Darko. He’s not going to move up to do it again. At no. 9? Maybe, but Drummond is much safer at 9 than at 5.

SIMMONS: You’re right, this is crazy … let’s just do something sane. With the fifth pick for Sacramento, I’m taking Thomas Robinson … a.k.a. the rich man’s Carl Landry. Stick him with DeMarcus Cousins and, at the very least, you’ll be pounding the boards and making opponents miserable every game. But if the Kings can get an offer like “Parsons and the 14th/18th picks” or “Rudy Gay straight up” or even “Andre Iguodala straight up” for this spot, they should grab it. You know, unless MKG is sitting there.

(Thinking.)

Oh, god. They’re going to screw this up, aren’t they?

ok I’m thru laughing. Because I read the last sentence.

I’m taking my head out of the NBA Draft Day rumormill. It is getting viscious

And Simmons & Ford agree in their dual mock drafts. Robinson goes to Sacramento. Great choice but I don’t think Robinson drops past the #2 hole. He has been sitting there in nearly every draft I have seen or heard about.

Of course, maybe it’s all misinformation and MKG goes to Charlotte meaning that Robinson survives for the #5 pick. Could be why Sacramento has turned down all of these crazy fantasy trades and lives to take their pick (???)

Donte’ Greene says good bye to Sacramento, the fans and all of his friends. For the comedy alone, plus some games that were strangely very very good, I will miss Donte’ and some city will be glad to have him and probably at a good price.

This is such a strange sports league.

Nighttime rumors the night before the Draft. What? Like 18 hours to go? And HoopsRumors are still boiling!!!

Plus the 5 Hottest rumors out there ZZZZZzzzzzzz…..

June 28th:

Kings could fill the need at SF But if they do fill that need what do they do with Tyreke Evans?? Plus him in at SG where he should have been since Day 1 after he was drafted? Or trade him? Cause they do keep trying don’t they?

Aare they predicting MKG cuz otherwise I am tired of this crap.

and another last minute Mock-Draft, this one from Sacramento. Who do you think the Kings get?? Anthony Davis? oh WTF???

PF Thomas Robinson! I cannot argue with this pick at all. Not like last years’ debacle. Yes there are question marks

.. But this kid should have gone second in this draft and could surprise everyone and turrn out to be ROY, you just never know. Simmons and Ford above were right on in their mock dual-draft.

17+ points and 11+ rebounds, leading the Kansas Jayhawks to the NCAA Championship game. And the Kings get him filling a big big hold next to Cousins. This could make the frontline of the team the best your frontcourt in the league.

Who will want to rebound against Cousins and the new kid Robinson?? I would have been happy with MKG but Charlotte took him instead of Robinson and look who the hell Sacramento got?? Excellent!!

It seems like a steal to me. And hear that sound? Kings fans are finally celebrating.

The Kings traded their 2nd Round pick to the Indianapolis Pacers in order to fi,l a much needed hole.

The Kings traded their pick for…..Cash! Cash? These great business men of the Maloof family turned down an Arena the city was going to build for them ….. need cash? I think they got $3

“SB Nation’s Tom Ziller has sorted through all the facts, and has ultimately decided that Robinson was a great pick up for Sacramento, but giving their second-round pick away was far from being smart. Overall, he gave them a B as part of his NBA Draft grades. Here is some of his commentary:

Second-round picks don’t require guaranteed contracts and don’t carry cap holds. It’s ridiculous for a bad, cheap team to sell the No. 36 pick when plenty of promising prospects were available. The Kings should know better, having picked up Isaiah Thomas (an All-Rookie team honoree) at No. 60 last year. For a team that needs everything to go right to compete, you can’t start cutting off your own limbs for firewood.

SB Nation is right on

But getting Robinson really is a bit like Christmas in June.

” I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Geoff Petrie this happy. When he approached the gathering of media types in the practice facility late Thursday night, he was almost giddy. As coach Keith Smartnoted, Robinson was the “clear cut” choice within the organization if he was available. And, of course, no one thought he would be available

This is all started because Charlotte Bobcats owner/boss Michael Jordan decided to take Michael Kidd-Gilchrist instead of grabbing Robinson or moving the pick. MJ, of course, has never lacked guts. He drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison– tough even for the game’s greatest player to live down – but that didn’t stop him from following his instincts again on Thursday.”

But doesn’t it just make sense for the old Jordan to draft the new Pippen? Thank you MJ.

It’s like the one article in the Bee started today…”Thomas Robinson at #5? You gotta be kidding me!”

Read more here

Kings and Thompson agree to a contract. Jason Thompson, a restricted Free Agent belonging to the Kings, agreed to the contract the team offered to him the first day of Free Agency. It does not seem that he had discussions with any other teams, but the Kings drafted someone (Robinson) who plays Thompson’s position (Power Forward) and brought Ryan Anderson in for some semi-serious discussions, who also plays PF probably had him wondering WTF?

In the end the Kings did not sign Ryan and so finally get to sign Thompson.

The Kings will have three players who can play Power Forward, including Chuck Hayes, and Hayes & Thompson can both back-up at Center.

The Kings and Thompson can sign that contract in a few days and then this post will (finally) come to an end!

Photo Gallery of the 2012 Sacramento Kings Summer Mini-Camp features Fredette and Robinson.

Robinson, the Kings 1st Round pick for 2012, signs his contract and participates in Rookie camp.

“Per the NBA’s rookie pay scale, rookies can sign for 80 to 120 percent of a set first-year salary. For the No. 5 pick (Robinson), that amount for the 2012-13 season is $2,812,200, with $2,938,700 the following season. Teams hold options for the third and fourth seasons.”

Read more here

Fredette gets an opportunity during mini-camp & summer league. Coach Smart worked out with him. Guard Isaiiah Thomas is finishing his college degree this summer which gives Jimmer Fredette full “Point Guard” duties during this camp.

“And I think that’s what we’re focusing around him,” said Bobby Jackson,the Kings’ summer league coach. “He’s going to have the ball in his hand at the end of the game, in game situations. He’s got to learn how to make calls, know who’s hot and who’s not hot, and that’s part of being a point guard.“He’s going to have a lot of freedom to do a lot of things, play at point and just run the team. We just want him to flow into the offense, if he sees some mismatches, take advantage of it, and just show us he can be that point guard that he was in college.”

Read more here

July 14th:

Conversation with Gavin Maloof at the halftime of todays game with the Lakers.

Lakers led by 1 point at halftime, but the Kings won the game by 12.

July 17th:

Kings picked up Free Agent Guard AAron Brooks who has been playing with their Summer League team and playing well. Brooks played in China last season. He was locked out and then the rules when the lock out ended kept him (and others) overseas, but it may have done him well because he certainly got more court time there than he would have here.

He may take minutes that otherwise would have gone to immer.

The Kings then solidified a trade with the Toronto Raptors for Small Forward James Johnson.

“The $2.8 million that Johnson was owed for the upcoming season hardly seems onerous for a player that started 40 games last season, even if it did put the Raptors near the cap (the team also signed Quincy Acy on Monday and were expected to finalize Jonas Valanciunas’ contract later in the week). A direct comparison to Fields, whose contract averages out at $6.33 million per season, reveals that Johnson held a head-to-head advantage last season in scoring (9.1 to 7.2), rebounding (4.7 to 3.0) and assists (2.0 to 1.4) and is just 16 months his senior.”

Lots of talk from yesterdays Grant Napear Show here.

What does the Brooks signing and the trade for Johnson mean to Fredette, Salmons, Evans and the other Kings? And are more moves anticipated in SacTown?? For me? Not much…yet. And, yes I damn sure hope so. But check out the article at the link from the Bleacher Reports.

July 20th:

At this point it looks like SF Tony Mitchell may be the first Summer League player to be picked up by the Kings. A combination of the right spot (Small Forward), the right size (long is a phrase you hear describiing many players these days) a very athletic forward Mitchell was undrafted after leaving Alabama after his junior season following a suspension for violating team rules.

Read more about him here and expect Mitchell to oin the team for regular practice camp.

Robinson and Fredette finish camp strong, both playing well in the final game of Summer League.

2012 NBA Draft (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)
Report: Houston Rockets trying to trade for Top 10 pick in NBA Draft (tracking.si.com)
2012 NBA Draft: Latest Mock Draft Projects Harrison Barnes To Kings (bayarea.sbnation.com)
Questions Linger Around NBA Draft (aol.sportingnews.com)
NBA Rumors: Kings Would Be Smart to Deal No. 5 Pick for Kyle Lowry (bleacherreport.com)
NBA Draft Rumors: Sacramento Kings a Lock to Move No. 5 Pick (bleacherreport.com)
2012 NBA Draft Grades: Sacramento Kings Earn ‘A’ For Thomas Robinson Selection From Chad Ford (kansascity.sbnation.com)
2012 NBA Draft Grades: ESPN’s Chad Ford Gave Rockets A C (houston.sbnation.com)

Filed Under: Kings, NBA Tagged With: 2012 NBA Draft, Jimmer Fredette, Kings, Kyle Lowry, Marcus Thornton, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, National Basketball Association Draft, NBA, Sacramento Kings, Thomas Robinson, Tyreke Evans

Sacramento Kings and the NBA—After the Lockout

December 9, 2011 by voodoodr06 1 Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

This is a post-lockout post covering the Sacramento Kings and the NBA.

Want to revisit the “good-ole” lockout days and the Kings? OK, go here.

When the season starts I (may) start an in-season post.

I will attempt to keep this post organized in blocks covering

Free Agents and Rookies
The Arena rumblings
Other teams goings-on

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Free Agents & Rookie Signings

December 3rd:

The Kings are the frontrunner to sign Houston free-agent F Chuck Hayes, originally from Modesto California.

Not a player I would be interested in, but for a short-term front-line defense….I dunno?? More at the link above.

December 3rd:

Rumor is that Thornton is sought by “4 or 5 teams” including New Orleans. I’m sure he is. With a high average in less than half a season in Sacramento will boost his view to execs at (almost) just the right time. He is a Restricted FA this season, so unless the Kings want him to leave he is staying in Sacramento.

So the questions become:

are there teams that just want to make an offer sheet & see the Kings match it?
are there teams that will make an offer and have a sign-an-trade in mind?

He will get a lot of looks, as he should. He may be more valuable to other teams than to the Kings. Thornton fit right in after Evans’ injury. Now Evans is healthy and Jimmer is in town. Minutes available to Thornton will probably go down.

Read the article here.

December 5th:

The Bee reports the Kings are ready to make offers to Dalembert and Thornton.

“The Kings contacted the agents for guard Marcus Thornton and center Samuel Dalembert last week and will look to reach agreements with both this week in time for training camp Friday.

Thornton and Dalembert have drawn a lot of interest, but the Kings have an advantage in retaining both.

Dalembert is an unrestricted free agent, and the Kings have about $25 million under the salary cap to use in offering him a contract that would be worth more than contenders over the salary cap could offer.

Thornton is a restricted free agent. If a team signs Thornton to an offer sheet, the Kings will have three days to match it and retain him.” Read more at the link.

December 6th:

Read this article about Rumors, Free Agents and Deals that can help the Kings return to the playoffs this year, which would be their first playoff appearance since 2006.

The Kings will host the Lakers in the opener.

“The Lakers won’t look quite the same during this visit. Coach Phil Jackson retired, former Cleveland coach Mike Brown took his place, and center Andrew Bynum will be serving a five-game suspension for body-slamming Dallas guard J.J. Barea in the playoffs. But Kobe Bryant returns for what figures to be another memorable performance, and ex-Kings forward Ron Artest makes his first Sacramento appearance as Metta World Peace. ” More at the link.

December 7th:

On Pearl Harbor Day, thank you to all of our WW II Veterans and their families for your service.

The Kings are considering how to spend the money they have under the cap to bring on some veterans in addition to their own FAs and rookies.

The team has plenty of cap space just to get up to the new minimum teams are required to spend.

The article states “The Kings need to spend about $17 million in salary this season to reach the minimum salary floor, and are approximately $25 million under the $58 million salary cap.”

Now, I understand teams are not always completely upfront about money and their intentions, but saying they are some “25 to 58 million” below the cap is amusing. It’s like me saying I made an error in my checkbook somewhere between $280 to $5,080….it’s that last missing 30 mill that will kill ya guys.

Here is a nice article with Six Moves the Kings Should Make.

Read the details at the link above, but the basics are: Find a PG (no shit?), move some SG’s (ditto), who is the starting SF?, don’t spend all your money on just one, keep Thornton, and add veterans.

I think Dalembert will be gone. Without the lockout maybe they would have had a chance, but teams have had a lot of time to think and lottery teams that did not draft or trade for a “C’ will have renewed interest in Dalembert because he played well when the team won some games late last season. Always helps your bottom line to play well when your team wins.

Which means the Kings need another center and since getting Nene or even Gasol are about nil, Chandler would be great, I don’t see it happening. And this article mentions Guard JJ Barrea as a possible pick-up, that would be nice but I’m sure Dallas will try hard to hold onto their players. Sure, we will sign Hayes it seems, but how much Center do you really get? He plays defense and plays bigger, but still he is 6’6”. That is often a liability.

But the bigger issues are the need for the coach to get it in his head that players need a settled rotation. People need to know what their role is. What do I give to the team? They need some stability in their minutes and their role in the team’s rotation.

I don’t care if it is Dalembert or Nene…the issue is the same. Is coach listening??

December 8th:

Updates: Jersey numbers—

JJ Hickson will wear #31 for the Kings, and

John Salmons will wear #5 in his second go round as a Sacramento King.

Chuck Hayes may not make it to a spot with the Kings as the Minnesota Timberwolves are in hot pursuit and according to Hayes the Kings & Wolves are “neck to neck”.

NBA League business opens tomorrow (December 9th), and with the shortened time for trades, signings, FAs, team staffing and for the Kings to get up at least to the league minimum on team salaries–we could have a whirlwind month!!!

And checkout the new Back in Black jerseys for the Kings HERE. Sweet!!!

December 9th:

A Sacramento Bee article today lays out an argument about the value of Dalembert to the Kings. I usually don’t agree with the chick that wrote the piece but I do agree that an offer of $7 to $8 million per year for Dalembert is his fair value in this league. He is not Chandler. He is not Nene. I would not cry if there is a sign-and-trade.

“Concerns about Dalembert’s physical state are legitimate. In a belated attempt to get in shape before his first season with the Kings, he strained an inner thigh muscle and missed all of training camp. More troublesome is the trickle-down effect: Dalembert was never fully healthy, bothered much of the season by a swollen knee and sore hips.”

The Kings offer Thornton a $40 million for 5 years which is a fair offer for the young guard. This offer broke in Sports Illustrated so it’s not just a local Kings rumor. Late last season Thornton was a surprise offering pure offense after Evans was injured. He does need defensive improvement but most young players do.

Update: Thornton signs a deal! Reports are a 4 year deal for $33 million.

The Kings renounced their rights to Samuel Dalembert (center) and Pooh Jeter (guard), Marquis Daniels (forward/guard) and Darnell Jackson (forward), according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. ropping Dalembert was a surprise, I really expected a sign-and-trade, especially with the salary gap the Kings already have. The team could still sign him in theory, but I think the odds of Dalembert coming back to the Kings are about nil. More at the link above.

Why did the Kings release the rights to Samuel Dalembert??

Maybe because they were so close on Chuck Hayes? Nah, that doesn’t make sense, Dalembert offers more—yeh, more contract but…plus there is always sign-and-trade. He does have value out there, at least according to all the Twitterings.

By renouncing his rights the Kings give up Dalembert’s Larry Bird rights, a complicated bit of chicanery that results in Dalembert being unable to sign a five-year deal anywwhere in the NBA. Folks say that must really tweak the player and his agent. But why do that? And why do it today? Sure he had a big “hold” on the cap, but they released three other players that would have cleared the space needed to sign Hayes and Thornton.

Do they have (or hope to have) another FA signing and really needed big Cap room cleared? That would make sense. But if so, who? That part doesn’t make much sense. Clearing $19 million in Cap room opens up a lot of dollar space.

We shall see…

—–> I guess the question in today’s Sacramento Bee Sports section got answered. Dalembert was only worth the cap room space to the Kings.

The Kings sign former Houston Center, Free Agent Chuck Hayes Hayes filled in when Yao Ming was injured and helps fill behind the loss of Dalembert for the Kings. I still have this picture in my head of the 6’6″ Hayes at “Center” standing at sidecourt next to Yao Ming. It always made me laugh.

A 4 year deal worth $21 million.

Hayes is a good defensive player, always was going back to his Kentucky days.

Check out Jerry’s take on both Thornton and (more important) Hayes.

Dalembert may have a home in Texas.

So, first day of NBA business for this season and the Kings have been busy. And productive.

They don’t have to fret about what to do with Dalembert, he is gone…probably.

They let three others go and free up cap space.

With that, they sign their own FA Thornton and a center (No, a PF) Hayes.

You Kings fans say you want defense? Say hello to your new PF, Mr Chuck Hayes! here he goes to work against KG…

And Amare Stoudamire let’s see the Chuck Wagon:

And Hayes stuffs Blake Griffin, Nowitzki and others. I think we will enjoy this fireplug.

Not a great day but definitely not a bad one.

Around the league on Day 1 lots of trade rumors, some deals (in addition to the Kings) made for a busy day.

Here is a wrap-up.

Jimmer Fredette signed his Kings deal today. Twitter him at @jimmerfredette and welcome him to the NBA!

The Kings also signed Rookies Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas.

I’m not going to comment on all the Napear crap today except I hope he is right and the Kings are about to lock up a good player who can fit the team and move the Kings forward as we work on a new Arena.

Napear is a jerk for saying as much as he did.

I just wrote and deleted 3 more paragraphs about the Napear bizness. Nuff said.

December 10th:

Mixed views on Thornton & Hayes. Of course. They are not BAD deals. Maybe you could have saved a few bucks maybe not. And run the risk of having an unhappy player in Thornton. Now, as the Bee article says, Thornton feels “loved” in Sacramento and hopefully will contribute for some years to come.

Training camp opens this afternoon. Check the little videos from Hayes & Thornton. They are happy to be Kings, I tell ya it’s so important to have players that want to be here and appreciate their contracts.

Now the Kings apparently CAN sign-and-trade Dalembert, according to the Royal Pain blog…..to a massive one year contract to the Mavs. Of course the Kings have wanted them some JJ Barea, but it is said they are hard after Tyson Chandler. nice!!!

Chandler just went to the Knicks so we will see who the Mavs give up.

From SacTown Royalty “Mavs’ first swipe, I’m told, will be trying to do S-and-T w/Sacramento for Dalembert by using big trade exception from Tyson Chandler deal.”

Today there are still a lot of postings about the “Mystery” player from last nights radio discussions. Lots of rumors and “wanna” thoughts, nothing even close to solid.

The Kings signed Free Agents Lawrence Hill and Adrien Oliver to contracts today. Hill is a Forward and played at Standford and then with Texas in the D-League while Oliver is a Guard from San Jose State (transfer from Washington) and played in Greece most recently. We’ll see if either player lasts past training camp but after releasing four players yesterday they needed to fill out the roster.

Jason Jones from the Bee quotes Coach Westphal as saying the Kings don’t need to add any other players. He likes the roster just as it is. Well, Coach…really? I like some players but if I was Coach I think I would want to get a proven PG and a veteran (not 6’6″) Center. Even a veteran PF would be nice and thinning out the SFs would be a blessing. Course, I guess that is why I am just a fan??

More from Coach vis Jason Jones “Westphal said he’d be surprised if his starting 5 wasn’t Evans, Thornton, Salmons, Hayes and Cousins.”

December 11th:

Good things coming out of the first day of camp!!

Cousins Looks Like A New Man

Check him out in some of the youTube videos online but Cousins does look much more mature physically. It reminds you how young he was last season.

“He is leaner. He is lighter. He is quicker. Really, his new body has to be seen to be believed…

…Moving forward, Westphal wants Cousins to get into even better shape, cut down his turnovers and control his emotions, reducing the number of times he stands and pouts when he gets fouled, misses a shot or doesn’t get the ball.” More at the link above.

Kings’ Evans says he’s feeling good as camp opens

Last summer Evans took some time off after his Rookie of the Year season. This summer he worked out and although camp is very late, Evans feels and looks much better. His injuries seem healed and during charity games this summer he played like an All-Star.

“”I wanted to be ready,” Evans said. “Especially if I didn’t play, I didn’t think there was a reason to take a long time off. I thought it would be good to get in the gym and keep working on my game….

…”I thought Tyreke and DeMarcus did a pretty good job of keeping their weight down and being in shape,” Westphal said.

Westphal said the rookies did a good job of staying in shape, too.”

Read the rest of the Bee article at the link above.

Today’s Bee also reminds us that the Kings are interested in unrestricted FA Andrei Kirilenko. He’s not the player he once was after ten seasons with the Jazz, but Kirilenko would be a good veteran forward with very good defensive skills. The Kings do still have quite a number of SFs.

He will be damn expensive. Kirilenko made some $17.8 million last season. His price will have to drop this year—-a lot. But he will still be a big number.

But what could Kirilenko do for the Kings if they were to acquire him??

SacTown Royalty says they guess at the current team cap space to be around $13 million, so the Kings are still one of the few teams that could afford this FA. They also argue Kirilenko is a better PF than SF, but that could be what he WAS vs what he IS now. My guess would be SF.

Fans still think of AK as an All-Star (that was 2004) or at least All-Defense (last was 2006). But he does still play good defense at 30 years old and would bring a veteran’s mindset and would be an improvement over Salmons who is better off the bench. I keep hoping Donte Greene can get his head together but it just seems to be such a stretch for him.

“To me, Kirilenko seems like a real upgrade at small forward, and I wouldn’t blink if the Kings offered him four years, $35 million (roughly what remains on Salmons’ contract). For perspective’s sake, the mid-level exception is worth $21.3 million over four years.

With Kirilenko as a starting small forward and Hayes at power forward, this could turn into a pretty decent defensive club almost immediately. A lot would depend on how Evans and Cousins develop at that end, but the potential for a good defensive team would be there.” Read the rest at the link above.

December 12th:

Although the Coach says “Leave my team alone”, the Kings are mulling more personnel moves.

The Bee reminds us that the team and the fans anticipated some big moves this off-season. We remember that big strides in improvement in that good old Win-Loss area are needed in order to convince folks in the greater Sacramento area that there would be positive benefit to building a new Arena.

You cannot convince the casual fan of that positive benefit if people don’t see the team trying to make strides toward improving the team—adding name quality players.

“With the room we still have, there’s tremendous flexibility for trades, with players and salaries and whatnot,” Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said. “Where we’re going to go with that, I really can’t tell. I really don’t know, so I really can’t tell you.”

The article talks about players already discussed here the last few days: Kirilenko, JJ Barea and Dalembert. Those folks could add to the team but they are not necessarily going to provide that name recognition that would help get the public interested in funding an Arena.

Chuck Hayes may be undersized for Center. I certainly thought so. But he us big enough for Forward even PF. And since I have been watching him work his legs will win some games and will absolutely punish opponents. Every single game Hayes just does what he can to help his team win.

“It’s a four-quarter game,” Hayes said. “My opponent is going to get the best of me sometimes, but if I outlast them for four quarters, eventually I’m going to help my team win.”

December 14th:

JJ Hickson has a hard work ethic. Everyone agrees on this back to his school days as well as his short tiem in college. The Kings are hoping his willingness to work extra hard and learn will translate to improvement on defense.

Everyone expects that Hickson will rebound and his offense around the rim will improve. He did seem to fall in love with the jump shot, a problem many big men face when they first hit the NBA and meet up with a lot of bigger and stronger guys. Suddenly that jumper looks pretty nice.

So if JJ works hard, listens to the coaches and sees those things make positive improvements in his game he could become a very important King.

Today’s Bee says the Kings made an offer to Guard Jamal Crawford. A nice veteran Guard who last played for the Hawks. If it is not Crawford and/or Kirilenko the Kings will pick up someone as they still have to spend money to meet the league minimum.

And they still need to spend money to improve their team. They still need improvement or backup at the PG spot at the very least, IMHO.

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Training Camp

Of course, training camp has been shortened this season due to the owners locking the players out and the league cutting the number of games but still wanting to get a long season in.

So with a 66 game season and no extension at the end of the year the compression hits training camp. Which means players who failed to work hard this summer will pay a heavy price in camp and during the season. And working too hard can put you in line for injuries like muscle pulls etc which can cause significant inuries that put a player out for a period of time or lingering injuries that can last all season.

I won’t give you notes every day of camp. Mostly it would be the sdame ol’ blah blah.

Day 2 notes, December 11th: the link will take you to the Cowbell Kingdom’s coverage today. John Salmons says he has been impressed seeing the young guys on the team (damn near everybody is young) passing the ball and being very unselfish. If that continues it can only create good things on the court.

When you watch a scrimmage, the fewer times you scream “give the ball up!” the better things are going for sure.

December 14th:

Cousins & Evans both leave practice early today with injuries. At 5:15 pm there is no additional information on either player or their status for practice tomorrow. They are now listed as day-to-day.

December 15th:

The Kings Annual Scrimmage. Check the gallery of 30 pics at the link.

Notes from the Scrimmages are here.

I am not certain what the team is thinking this year and next as far as growth. Free Agents next year? The draft again this year? Just keep muddling along and hope everyone reaches their peak together> Some heavy duty kagic??

My concern is that as a fan I want to hear rumblings out there that Sacramento is talking about Dwight Howard. Or the Kings are talking to Chris Paul.

I understand Petrie keeps secrets and we are not in line to get those players. But I want to hear people TALKING about the Kings. Maybe if people think the Kings came close on Paul, maybe then the Kings DO come close on Dwight Howard.

Ya feel me??

December 21st

We have a game against the Golden State Warriors–and the Kings win! Nice win since I had basically given up on the season not long ago.

Nice game for Tyle Honeycutt due to injuries and Jimmer Fidette. Of course some starrters led including Thornton and JJ Hickson.

Coach was happy for Honeycutt.

Forward Travis Outlaw had his debut for the Kings, tender hand and all, swatting a pass away.

Coming our way

for the 2011/2012 Season

Live Game Coverage

and

Live Chat

thru the Sacramento Bee and SacBee.com

This Sunday (Christmas Day) the Bee will feature full coverage, ready for the Kings league opener against the Lakers here in Sacramento, in a special section.

“To tell the team’s story this season, The Bee and sacbee.com will present coverage that provides in-depth looks at the team and its players along with expanded up-to-the-minute coverage on the Kings blog and juiced-up game-day coverage featuring live chats for all 33 home games.”

Read it all at the Bee link above.

Decmber 24th:

Looking at predictions for 2011/2012 most folks seem to be lining up around 25 wins during this lockout shortened season.

25 this year translates to 32 over an 82 game season, so not bad.

The BleacherReport says we can go 7-3 in our first 10 games. That is a possibility as we have quite a few home games.

“Four of the first five Kings games are in Sacramento. As a media side note, only one game all year will be on TNT and eight games will air on NBA TV.

Monday, December 26th – Win against Lakers, 101-97
Tuesday, December 27th – Win at Portland 90-83
Thursday, December 29th – Loss to Chicago, 100-86
Saturday, December 31st – Win against New York, 95-89
Sunday, January 1st – Win against New Orleans, 101-94
Tuesday, January 3rd – Loss at Memphis – 91-87
Wednesday, January 4th – Win at Denver 106-100
Thursday, January 5th – Win over Milwaukee – 96-91
Sunday, January 8th – Loss to Orlando – 90-82
Tuesday, January 10th – Win at Philadelphia 95-89″

7 wins would be a great start. I see 5, but I will be praying for more.

HoopsWorld has a much more even report on the Kings upcoming season.

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December 16th:

You have heard that Doctors are testing Chuck Hayes for a heart abnormality. It is too early to say what impact a possible abnormality may have on our new PF’s career. We just wish him well.

December 21st past 6 pm

Here is the article covering the lastest of the heart problems with Chuck Hayes.

December 22nd:

A Bay Area article talks about the challenges the Kings face.

It has been a strange Dalembert goings-on kinda day!

First we hear from Dalembert’s agent that he has siged some kind of contract (??) with the Kings.

Then we hear Hayes’ had another medical test (in Cleveland) and came up clean. Ready to report to Sacramento (??) Except…

Didn’t we cancel his contract? And cut him lose as soon as possible?? (understandible, just asking)

Well, the end call is that Dalembert signed with the Rockets and will not be back

Chuck Hayes is reportedly clean to play RoundBall again.

December 23rd:

Charlie Hayes returns to the Kings. It made for a strange period, but the Kings say “welcome home Charlie.”

Coach Westphal says Hayes will return to Sacramento on Saturday, December 24th and start on Monday, December 26th.

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Arena Rumblings

December 6th:

The Arena sponsor, Power Balance, may be leaving. Power Balance is going thru some legal difficulties including an apparent auctioning off as part of a court settlement for bankruptcy.

Read all about it at the link above. Hard to say if this is good or bad. The Kings lose some money today but they then have an opening that they could also attach to the new Arena.

And here are some interesting possibilities for Arena names based on some of our well-known local businesses!

December 9th:

Magic Johnson is once again suggesting he will put money in Sacramento. During the summer there was the possibility Magic may jump in as a part-owner if the Maloofs sell, now he said something when he was in Sacramento last night indicating he will put big money into a new Arena for the Sacramento Kings.

Read about it at the Cowbell Kingdom and comment here if you want.

And Sacramento releases the details of Arena funding.

“The city of Sacramento, the National Basketball Association, the Sacramento Kings and the development team will need to collectively pony up $387 million to build a new entertainment and sports complex downtown, according to a report that will be unveiled at Tuesday’s (December 13th) City Council meeting.”

Much more at the link above.

December 11th:

Today’s Editorial from the Bee—City should take next step on arena

Read the entire editorial at the link above.

“There is more than enough reason for City Council members to take the next step toward a proposed long-term lease of city-owned parking to help pay for a new downtown Sacramento arena.

Agreeing Tuesday to issue a “request for qualifications” would be like you putting your house on the market. It lets everyone know you’re interested in selling for the right price, but you’re not committing to anything.

Still, the vote is essential to find out whether a parking deal can provide most of the city’s share of the $387 million-plus arena – and whether this complicated, risky transaction makes sense for the city.”

Jason Jones from the Bee tells us that Petrie says “Kings are about $1 million under minimum salary figure. Dalembert has not been ruled out entirely. Adding a veteran PG or another big are options for the Kings with Evans backed up by two rookies.”

December 14th:

Last night the City Council voted to approve the next step on the Arena and move things forward. Details on the action are found at the link.

The primary issue for the Council wa to enure that Sacramento doe not get stuck with the full cost. This is the issue for everyone—the city, the county, the owners, the suburbs, the public. So if everyone is able to agree on a piece of the cost maybe this thing can actually happen.

The Vote was 7-2

“Alright, it was still pretty boring, but Tuesday’s meeting had everything you could ask for in a five-hour local government showdown, including human PowerPoint presentations, #Occupy protestors, some normal people, the villain city council member, people whose sole purpose in life is to show up at every city council meeting and speak on every issue, people that sang during their two minutes to speak, the transvestite with a keen business acumen, and of course, the mayor that dunked on Hakeem Olajuwon like he was Timofey Mozgov.”

Read the article at the link above.

Another good thing in the Bee today: it is not strictly basketball but it is sports—and PRO sports in Sacramento.

We may get a professional soccer team to be located in Elk Grove which is a bedroom community in the South Sacramento County. Sacramento has a ton of soccer fas and sports fans support each other. They understand the needs.

Read all about soccer in Sacramento at the link. This is exciting!!

December 16th:

For the first time, the Maloofs signal that the March 1st deadline for “A new Arena…or else” may not be drawn in cement after all and may have some flexibility.

Small Market, Big Heart Documentary Film

Where: Crest Theater, downtown Sacramento

When: Grand Opening Monday January 9th: at 7 pm

“Small Market, Big Heart, the full-length documentary designed to share the compelling story of the people of Sacramento and their battle to acquire and preserve a professional sports franchise over the last 26 years, will premiere at the Crest Theatre on Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m” Read more about the film at the link above.

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Other Team Goings-On

December 8th:

Late in the night I, like you, heard that the NBA (Stern) had vetoed the Chris Paul trade from the Hornets to the Lakers with a stop to drop off Pau Gasol in Houston. Yes, it would have put the Lakers at the top of the heap (again) but it wouldn’t guarantee them a championship. In fact, it would be nice to see them get their player but not win…kind of like some years with the Yankees for you baseball fans.

I don’t know what to think about it. I hated the trade because the Kings never get trades like that. But I hated Sterns meddling even more. Especially since peeps (knowledgeable peeps) are saying Mark Cuban was the primary complaining owner. The last guy in the world I would listen to. And, of course Cuban would whine. When does he not whine?

The Lakers will find another way to sign big stars that the Kings and Hornets cannot sign. It is Los Angeles. It used to be every player wanted to go to New York, now for basketball players it is Los Angeles. I get it.

So the Lakers will get big-name stars and the Kings will get leftovers and disgruntled players and good rookies some of which decide to stay…if we win.

Revisit the Kings & Lakers rivalry in a great photo history here.

I enjoyed this!!

December 9th:

OK, so the things that confuse me about the now nixed Paul trade are that:

1) the Hornets are (for now) OWNED by the NBA. So everytime you hear the words “New Orleans Hornets” replace them with “the NBA” or even with “the David Stern”.

It is beyond strange that the NBA would decide to trade Paul and then the NBA would prevent the trade from going thru. Stern is now fighting with himself??

2) How could the NBA even propose this trade and think fans would see it as even near to being fair? The Hornets (the NBA or the David Stern) would have received NOBODY in return. Nobody. Yes, Odom & 3 stiffs (we remember Kevin Martin) and a draft pick. For Chris Paul to the Lakers? Like they had no one worthwhile to trade back? They have been trying to dump Odom for many years. He could have been a very good player now he is what he is. Not a bad NBA player just not worthy of Chris Paul.

So, let’s just GIVE the Lakers the best young Point Guard in the league? During this new post the 2011 CBA which made small-market teams the equals of the Lakers?

This deal which the owners fought so hard for, resulting in loss of games, loss of fans, loss of prestige—was supposed to have prevented things like this from happening. As soon as ink is on the paper what kind of trade happens? And what team is involved in conspiracy with the league?

How does the NBA/Stern offer a lopsided trade to make the Lakers the kings of the NBA again?? If someone other than the NBA owned the Hornets it is a wierd trade. Since the NBA purchased the Hornets (remember?) it is now more than wierd. And now the NBA steps in to say “Oh, you bad owner of the Hornets trying to make this trade!”, when the NBA IS the bad owner of the Hornets? Too funny. Too funny.

Big names and big cities—abound today.

Accusations of tampering/Dwight Howard/Nets, and supposedly trade talks for Chris Paul resume with…

And, of course…NBA owners DENY that they were the ones who stopped the Chris Paul Trade.

Let’s see: the NBA now owns the Hornets, the NBA/Stern made the Paul trade and the NBA/Stern pulled the trade back after it was made and then the NBA/Stern blamed the pull-back on the other team owners especially Mark Cuban. Yet the owners deny even complaining about the trade.

So, now will it go through?

“Paul could have been in Los Angeles on Friday, ready to pair up with Kobe Bryant as the next star in Hollywood. That fell apart Thursday when the league, which owns the Hornets, rejected a three-team trade the club had agreed to for “basketball reasons,” denying the decision came about because of pressure on Stern from irate owners.

And instead of the immediate boost the league craved coming out the lockout with free agency and training camps opening, it found itself with another public relations disaster.”

“Criticism of the NBA squashing Paul trade is pouring in“. From the web sites I have seen people are complaining about the leagues role in all of it, not just the “squashing”.

People complainined about the trade, and then complained the trade got stopped.

They are unhappy with the NBA. Period.

The above article, and others, make it seem inevitable that the NBA will force Paul’s move to the Lakers in another trade. And they think peeps will think that is fair??

Dwight Howard formally requested that the Orlando Magic trade him.

The Magic granted permission to three teams to talk to Howard’s agent about a possible trade.

No, Sacramento did not receive permission. But New Jersey did, even in the midst of some very serious tampering charges. The other teams are the Dallas Mavericks and the…..Los Angeles Lakers.

Why did the owners want that lockout again? What was the purpose of nearly blowing the NBA up?? Oh yeh, so that the best players on the planet could all go to just one or two teams. Right!

December 12th:

So, with his formal trade request the Lakers are after Howard.

By making the trade with the Mavs, moving Lamar Odom for a #1 pick and a “trade exception” the Lakers position themselves to play for Dwight Howard rather than Chris Paul (for the moment).

The Lakers are expected to offer Bynum and Dallas draft pick for Howard and try to fit him under the exception, worth some $8.9 million.

Kobe went public saying he did not like the whole thing and was ushered into Mitch Kupchak’s office to talk about it, but Odom was gone by then.

Where does Paul go? The Clippers are still on his original list of three teams…did he or will he add some more acceptable partners? And did Howard give up on New York/New Jersey just because peeps are in trouble for perhaps talking to Howard when they were not able to? Will Howard fit into the amount of salary the Lakers can now pay? Will Orlando allow his agent to talk to any additional teams if the Laker deal cannot be worked out?

What a couple of high-profile messes these have turned out to be after all of the summer lockout drama which was specifically supposed to even the field out and ensure the small market teams can compete with LA and NY for big-name players and league titles.

It’s early, but none of this builds confidence.

Other activity:

Mike Bibby will play back-up PG for the NY Knicks.

PF David West has signed with the Indiana Pacers for 2 years at $20 million.

The Warriors used their Amnesty Waiver to let guard Charlie Bell go and save some of his salary. Plus, since Bell showed up drunk at his DUI hearing maybe he didn’t even notice he was cut loose.

The Warriors then offered young Center DeAndre Jordan a 4 year contract. The Clippers have 3 days to match the offer for their restricted FA Jordan. I don’t think they will take that long.

PF Grant Hill re-signed with the Phoenix Suns for one more year.

A busy day around the league but those big names are still out there tantalizing people.

December 12th:

Clippers submit offer to league for CP3. It is a big offer ut the NBA wants PG Bledsoe as well. Clippers are unsure. Now the league is also asking for a 2nd pick because the NBA does not want Paul moved out of New Orleans.

Everything fell apart today:

Chris Paul trade to Clippers is dead–the demands of the NBA were “too steep” as the league kept up with “give us just one more” until the Clips said “no”.

Dwight Howard decided he will stay in Orlando “if things change”.

Grizzlies trade Guard OJ Mayo to Pacers. Details on all of these changes are at the Mayo link.

Jason Jones asks: “Is David Stern going to coach the Hornets?”

That is the best damn Tweet I have read in two years. Thanks @mr_jasonjones

From Ken Berger at CBS Sports Executives are trying to revive the “Chris Paul to the Clippers” trade talks.

Plenty of teams want in on the Chauncy Billups talks. Dwight Howard says he would stay in Orlando if Billups signs with them.

Chris Bosh wants Billups to sign in Miami.

Split the difference and have just one Florida team?? “Billups has threatened to retire if a team he doesn’t want to play for claims him… such as a team with Deron Williams already at the point guard like the Nets. The reason the Nets put in a bid is to keep him away from the Magic — they want to trade for Dwight Howard, they don’t want him to suddenly start to be happy in Orlando.”

December 14th:

Wednesday morning one-liners.

Chris Paul trade is approved—to the Los Angeles—Clippers

Marc Stein at @ESPNSteinLine reports “ESPN sources say NBA approval to be issued by night’s end to seal CP3 and 2 future 2nd-rounders to Clips for Gordon/Kaman/Aminu/Sota first (round pick)

That is a very big price to pay. You get a great player in Paul, but Gordon and a 1st round pick, that’s a lot.

Trade talks for Dwight Howard are called off by the Magic.

“Consider this the Magic throwing cold water on the process they thought was getting overheated.”

NBA Free Agency: Chuck Hayes Signs Four-Year, $21 Million Deal With Sacramento Kings (sbnation.com)
Marcus Thornton Signs Five-Year, $40 Million Deal With Sacramento Kings, According To Report (sbnation.com)
Marcus Thornton & Jimmer Fredette: Who Should Start for the Sacramento Kings? (bleacherreport.com)
Thaddeus Young to Philadelphia 76ers: Breaking Down the 2011 NBA Free Agent Signing (bleacherreport.com)

Filed Under: Kings, NBA, Sacramento Tagged With: Andrew Bynum, Chuck Hayes, Free agent, Kings, Marcus Thornton, sacramento, Sacramento Kings, Samuel Dalembert

The Sacramento Kings, the National Basketball Association (NBA), The Lockout and…..

September 30, 2011 by voodoodr06 1 Comment

The Sacramento Kings, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the 2011/2012 lockout. I have waited a few months before starting this post.

Image via Wikipedia

In the midst of the damn lockout by greedy owners (I’ll get to greedy players later) that may push the growth of professional basketball back a good decade, I am starting a running post about the Sacramento Kings.

Twitters at:

@SacramentoKings

@kingsbuzztap

@boogiecousins

@jimmerfredette

@jtthekid

@TyrekeEvansNews

and a lot more that you can find for yourself.

Given the current situation(s) the team finds itself in, that may well include components about:

the lockout and state of affairs
the movement toward a new sports arena in Sacramento
whether the team stays in Sacramento or leaves
whether the current owners keep the team or sell
rumors as well as truths about these.

With the lockout, I can’t even link to players and stats on the official team site. There are none. As if there are no basketball players.

The article at this link is excellent. It is a 2007 rewrite of a 2004 article about “8 Common Profiles of a Bust”. Even the name brings a smile and I read it again. This guy is smart and funny and tags these players right on the chin.

Read it, you will enjoy it.

My guess? The 2011.2012 season is gone. Done. Dead.

What does Stern want you to think?

I was a manager and an Executive for a long time. I understand that folks on the line rarely see or understand the needs of the organization, they must focus on what they need to do today and not be cluttered with the rest of the bullshit.

So, in the NBA, the Exec (Stern) during the lockout wants you to believe that it’s all about the money, including what teams win & lose. Last year the Kings had money but chose not to spend it. So during the lockout, Stern points to the Kings low spending and connects their team struggles. As if they would be top-tier and blames it on the “soft cap.”

This year the Kings have money (cap room) but with the lockout can’t spend it and even if it ended today no one knows how or when teams can spend money.Even on their recent draftees, They can’t even talk to players. They are not even allowed to have their players pictures on the team website. They face huge fines if they do.

The projections are generated by Basketball Prospectus.

October 8th:

David Stern wants us (fans) to cry “Uncle” over the lockout and force the players to cave.

“The clock wasn’t always on David Stern’s side just because of the specter of missed paychecks for players. It’s also one hell of a public relations sword to wield. He sets the deadlines. He controls the clock. He decides when the crescendo hits and the bottom falls out of the lockout song. He can twist the players’ stomachs into knots heading into Sunday if there are talks underway — which there won’t be, because Yom Kippur is celebrated on Saturday. ”

October 28th:

Today an article on “The Big 4” steering the debate in the NBA including David Stern, Billy Hunter, Adam Silver and Derek Fisher. Read about each individual at the link.

“In their respective roles with the NBA (Stern, Silver) and its players’ association (Hunter, Fisher), the four will be asked to overwhelm the opposition – inside and outside their own ranks – with the brute force of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the gentility of Mother Teresa.”

Read about it HERE.

Fort what it is worth, the Kings page on NBA.com is HERE

And the Kings 2011/2012 schedule (before it gets reduced or eliminated) is HERE.

But, mostly, this will be about my views on the team, the players & coaches and the future of the team on the basketball playing side.

So, let’s get on with it:

The 2010/2011 year in retrospect

What a difficult year for fans of the hometown Kings.

What about the organization?

First the owners have talks with the city of Anaheim, California about moving the team there. Serious discussions to the point of renaming the Kings (as late as May 2011) and picking a time to move (the 2011/2012 season).

Understandable as Sacramento taxpayers have been unwilling to back any kind of plan for a new arena. I get that. But a 3rd team in Los Angeles?? I don’t think the NBA wants that, I’m not even sure the peeps in Anaheim wanted it.

So the NBA told the Kings “No”.

And Sacramento got busy. And thought BIG. Even Chris Webber tries to get involved.

Note that I say taxpayers are unwilling, not fans are unwilling.

Fans are also taxpayers of course and some unknown percentage of real game attending fans (even season ticket holding fans) are unwilling to pay for any part of a new arena. I get that too. Times are tough for most of us, but even in good times a lot of people would balk at public money being involved at any level.

That said, the Kings MUST have a new arena in order to consider staying. otherwise they will move. The business is so expensive that as owners you must have a solid expectation of what your future will be.

Besides the funding issue (and that is enough) the team has not been top-tier in the past few years and in the recent few it often seems the front office decisions are not well thought out and the owners no longer want to be a part of the community.

Sacramento had the best (most vocal) fans in the league because they saw the team as “their” team. It was part of the fabric of the community. Even Sacramentans who are not interested in the sport were interested in the fortunes of the Kings. Now it often seems the organization is just “visiting”.

So how did the season go?

Up & down and mostly down as far as wins & losses.

What was good? Another good crop of rookies, especially…..

C/PF DeMarcus Cousins. This young man just turned 21 in August 2011. He is 6’11” and 270 lbs. A monster in the paint. He is immature though, and it showed in his freshman season on & off the court. He is a smart, likeable kid though and he has a huge upside to his career. With someone on the team with stature (some street cred) to mentor him he will be among the best in the league. Left on his own he may well explode.

Cousins averaged 18 PPG and 8+ RBs per game, and in many games he looked unbeatable at both ends of the court. An exciting player and I am looking forward to his 2nd year.

Cousins manager talks about what is is like to manage a future star.

However, I removed him from my list of tweeters cuz his tweets sometimes read like a 12 year old. I know he just has fun with them and I probably tweet like an old dude, but he does need to grow up and realize that what gets posted on the internet will live forever. I know if I was tweeting and blogging at 21 I would be embarrassed to read them now, I was that stoopid.

Marcus Thornton, G. Picked up from New Orleans and got minutes as Tyrke struggled. He really produced and became a fan favorite. But what will his role be with Evans healthy and two interesting guard draftees in Jimmer Fredette and Isiah Thomas? With minutes in Sacramento, Thornton started scoring and hit an average of 21 PPG in 21 games to finish his season with the Kings. Exciting and mature young player.

What were the problems?

An injury to G/PG Tyreke Evans. What a great draftee the Rookie of the Year Evans was. And how disappointing it was for the fans to watch him struggle through a full year of foot injuries. With his injury his stats dropped in every important category and he just was not the same player.

All the best to Evans for this coming year. I hear he is over his injury and from clips of some NBA player pick-up games he looks better than ever.

‘Reke’s half-court buzzer beater.

Jason Thompson, PF/C. 6’11” and 250 lbs. Also needs a maturity check (and he isn’t even young, so what’s the excuse here?) and like many players without a consistent role, minutes & expectations Thompson often fails to produce. Another one with some childish tweeting issues but having fun.

How does the 2011/2012 season look?

The coming season looks very mixed.

First, the lockout. Players have no idea if they will get to practice or play or when. Will they go play in Europe? If they do, can they come back? Will they get injured somehow without a contract?

What about the rookies?

Drafted and now professionals. But no contract, not even any contact with their team.

My guess? No camp, no preseason, no first month or two….maybe the old 50 game season. But I worry there may be no NBA this entire year. Yes, I know. I am a fear monger.

How strange it must be to be a rookie this year. Strange for the fans as well because we can’t even guess at their potential impact on the team because we have no news on their contract status and we have no camp this year. No practice news. Nothing. At this point the league has postponed training camp and cancelled 43 preseason games.

But we have 5 reasons the Kings will be an up-and-coming NBA team:

5. Donte Greene and Tyler Honeycutt Will Fill the Small Forward Spot Admirably

4. Marcus Thornton Will Continue His Explosive Scoring Production

3. The J.J. Hickson Acquisition Will Pay Big Dividends

2. DeMarcus Cousins Will Grow as a Player

1. Tyreke Evans Will Develop into a Leader and Franchise Player

Those are tantalizing reasons to follow the Kings during this upcoming season. Read the details on each reason at the link above.

________________________________________________________________________________________

*****Negotiations*****

And so we find articles like these in the local news.

September 18th: Time running out in the NBA lockout.

September 25th: Kings can’t afford a cancelled season.

September 28th: NBA lockout heads into key stretch.

October 1st: NBA Players Union and the owners meet for a 2nd day of talks

and later that day: After two days of talks, “with no real progress”, the NBA season opener is now in doubt according to Pro Basketball Talk via Comcast Sports. “The NBA was going to open its new season (November 1st) in grand style .Now, NBA arenas will be dark.” Read the rest of the article at the link.

October 2nd:

The NFL ended their lockout without injury to the season, and the NBA?? It is time to end this lockout now.

“Pick Door No. 1, 2 or 3 and make a deal. Both sides need to stop playing games and start playing basketball or risk further alienating a fan base already disturbed by the game’s lack of fluidity, mostly outrageous ticket prices and arena situations that vaporized the Seattle SuperSonics and have threatened the ruination of the Kings.”

October 3rd:

Kobe working ‘intensely’ on Italy deal.

The NBA says that Tuesday will be a “HUGE” day in negotiations.

October 4th:

The “HUGE” day in negotiations resulted in the league cancelling the remainder of the 2011/2012 Pre-season. Stern says the league offered a 50-50 split in revenues (they defined ‘revenues’ as “basketball related monies, which is below the 57% currently the players share) and the union turned it down “unequivocally”. “They said, ‘We can’t do it.”‘ according to Stern.

If there is no labor agreement by Monday, the league said they will cancel the first two weeks of the regular season.

” Players had offered to reduce their BRI guarantee to 53 percent, which they said would have given owners back more than $1 billion over six years. They say they won’t cut it further, at least for now.”

Today was Media Day until the season went PPFFFTTTT!!

“What we are missing today is the opportunity to collect new content. We are missing the bold proclamations of Marcus Thornton, the chance to see Tyreke Evans healthy for the first time in a year and Coach Westphal’s calm and positive message about new beginnings.”

More about what “should have happened” is it the link.

October 7th:

Today the NBA announced they refuse to meet with the players unless the Players Union agrees to a 50-50 split in “revenues” which is a signigicant reduction from the last agreement which had the players at 57% and a big reduction from the last offer the players made, 53%.

It certainly gives you a clue as to why the few meetings between the league and the players have had zero positive movement.

The outlook for a 2011/2012 NBA season just took a dismal turn.

For Sacramento Kings fans it means big trouble because getting any further positive footing on a new arena just became all the more challenging.

Thank you NBA and Mr Billionaire “Owner”.

October 8th:

Who is playing in Europe? So far the “stars” that have threatened to play in Europe have not made the move. Yet. But there are a lot of NBA players there now. You can find the list HERE updated to the signing of Tony Parker this week. The list is organized by League, so if you are looking for a specific player, just muddle through.

October 9th:

The Associated Press announces that the NBA Negotiators will meet Sunday night. “Top negotiators for the NBA and players’ association will meet Sunday night in perhaps the last chance to avoid canceled regular-season games, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.”

There has been no indication that the players caved to the NBA 50-50 demand, so it is surprising (and welcome) to see the league will meet with the players.

“No talks had been expected after Friday’s developments, when the league said it had been willing to meet on other issues but confirmed it wouldn’t go beyond a 50-50 split. Union executive director Billy Hunter had planned to fly to Los Angeles on Monday for a regional meeting with members.”

Sacramento	Draft Grade	Additions	Analysis
	B	Picks: No. 5 Thomas Robinson	The Kings were at the bottom of the NBA in so many categories last season. They were a bad defensive team who did not share or shoot the ball well offensively. Robinson is not going to be able to help alleviate all their problems, but he should help them improve upon the 29th ranked defensive rebounding percentage (70.5%) and gives them a boost at the power forward position going forward. One also has to hope that his focused, aggressive style of play rubs off on some of his teammates.

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