SB Nation - Andres Nocioni

Preview: Kings at Spurs

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:23 -0000

by Darren Abate - AP

THE OPPONENT

The Spurs are far better than .500, despite the record. I could try to explain what's gone wrong, but Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell can do it from a tighter perspective, much more eloquently.

[T]hrough 18 games, those horses have come up lame. Rather than getting a lift from the supporting cast, Tim Duncan is playing with MVP-efficiency and barely keeping the Spurs at a half-respectable .500. If the Spurs recover from their start of sputter and stall, Tim Duncan ought to be placed at the center of the MVP conversation. He’s threatening a career season, at least in terms of efficiency. And it’s all lost on a 9-9 start.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that no one else is playing well. Matt Bonner is a having a career year; DeJuan Blair is occasionally sensational. Tony Parker is not dominating, but playing competent basketball. I get all that, and I could further qualify. It’s just that the supporting cast taken as a whole is providing more drag than momentum-gathering boost. Tim Duncan is all dragster, and the team is mostly parachute.

Richard Jefferson has certainly been disappointing, and Manu Ginobili has seemingly been on-and-off, hot-and-cold. For the Kings' sake, given that our defense isn't bright and the Spurs' defense continues to be, let's hope Jefferson disappoints and Ginobili is more cold than warm.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tim Duncan	16	32.3	7.6	13.8	55.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	4.0	5.2	77.1	3.1	7.7	10.8	3.4	2.0	0.5	2.1	1.9	19.1
Tony Parker	14	30.4	6.4	12.8	50.3	0.1	0.4	20.0	4.7	5.9	79.5	0.1	2.6	2.7	5.6	3.3	0.7	0.3	2.1	17.6
Richard Jefferson	18	33.2	4.4	10.1	43.4	0.9	2.8	33.3	3.1	4.6	68.3	0.7	3.6	4.3	2.7	1.6	0.8	0.3	2.1	12.8
Manu Ginobili	13	22.8	3.5	9.6	36.8	1.6	4.4	36.8	4.0	4.8	83.9	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.6	2.0	1.2	0.5	1.9	12.7
George Hill	18	25.3	3.7	9.0	40.7	0.9	2.3	38.1	2.4	3.1	78.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	2.1	0.9	1.0	0.4	3.4	10.7
Matt Bonner	18	21.5	3.3	6.7	49.2	2.0	4.4	45.6	0.7	0.9	81.3	1.6	3.7	5.2	1.4	0.7	0.2	0.2	2.3	9.3
DeJuan Blair	18	14.9	2.8	4.7	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.2	45.5	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.7	1.1	0.2	0.7	2.5	6.2
Antonio McDyess	17	20.9	2.5	5.2	47.7	0.0	0.1	0.0	1.1	1.5	69.2	1.8	3.8	5.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	6.0
Roger Mason Jr.	17	18.4	2.3	6.0	38.2	0.9	3.1	30.8	0.4	0.5	77.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	2.2	1.1	0.3	0.2	1.5	5.9
Michael Finley	17	18.2	2.1	4.6	44.3	0.7	1.7	41.4	0.4	0.5	66.7	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	5.2
Keith Bogans	17	17.5	1.4	3.5	40.0	0.5	2.1	25.0	0.6	0.8	76.9	0.2	2.4	2.5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.1	1.9	3.9
Marcus Haislip	1	3.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Theo Ratliff	9	8.8	0.7	1.4	46.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.4	1.6
Malik Hairston	9	3.8	0.3	0.6	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7

THE KEY BATTLE

Tony Parker vs. Tyreke Evans. Reke struggled to defend the pick-and-roll against the Spurs last time around, with Parker slicing to the rim at will. Now granted, Parker does this against most teams. But if the Kings want to compete, Parker can't own the driving lines. He's going to have to work.

On the other end, it's a two-fold challenge in attacking San Antonio's defense: win the favorable size mismatches (particularly Evans-Parker) and overachieve in the problem spots (Andres Nocioni against the tough-inside, anti-three team defense, Jason Thompson vs Tim Duncan). Evans is the biggest key here, both in terms of punishing Parker without getting denied by Duncan and friends, and in terms of setting up Thompson, Spencer Hawes and others with easy attempts.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

Let's play Inane Arguments, hosted by Grant Napear! His tirades against

a) Paul Westphal for protesting the shot clock violation when the Kings inbounded with 1 second on the clock, and

b) Jason Thompson for protesting his fifth foul, which came when he pulled Darius Songaila's jersey on defense

were inane. Everyone, including Westphal, who, you know, has been around the league a while, knows that there could be less than a second left. Westphal was indicating he thought the New Orleans scorekeeper jobbed the Kings by starting the shot clock just a touch before the ball was touched. This is a pretty classic home court advantage type move. If you read Westphal's lips, he says "Nice timekeeper!" or something like that. He is indicating that he believes the shot clock was started early. Not that the Kings deserve a full second because the clock read 1. You idiot.

Regarding Thompson, Napear kept on about how obvious a foul it was, and how Thompson should have shut up about it and play smarter defense. Of course, Thompson was protesting the fact that he was assaulted repeatedly at the other end, with nary a whistle to help him out. You can see him motion to the refs that he had been beaten about the head by the Hornets defense, and how he deserved to get some calls if the refs insisted on calling Nancy garbarge like the jersey yank. Thompson wasn't saying, "I didn't pull his jersey!" He was saying, "They are beating me about the head and whatnot, how bout a whistle, chum?"

And missing those things isn't terrible. It's the attitude that he, Grant, is the smartest person in the world that grates.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Matt Bonner takes more three-pointers than Spencer Hawes.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Spurs by ... never mind. I am not a jinx.

DETAILS

The tip-off, again, is at 5 o'clock. Game thread then, with the second game thread at 6 and the post-game thread at 7:45. Recap someday.

Don't Blame the Argentine: Hornets 96, Kings 94

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:39:10 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

2 days ago: Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni (5) rubs his head after missing a free throw in the closing seconds against New Orleans Hornets in an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. The Hornets defeated the Kings 96-94. Nocioni missed two free throws that would have tied the game. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Anyone who faults Andres Nocioni for that missed free throw, the one which at 96-94 Hornets with 1.1 seconds left effectively ended the game, should remember who pulled in the offensive rebound which preceded the final, fatal attempts.

Since 2002 I have rued discussion of choking, or some lack of innate resolve these Kings supposedly had. That epic Game 7 in 2002 is memorably painful for many reasons, but the worst of which remain the airballs. Peja. Doug. Whooooosh. Stojakovic took on an unfair rap, as if he had never missed a shot against a great defense before! And for someone to argue that Doug Christie, in 2002, couldn't handle pressure ... that accuser either has no clue about Doug Christie, or has bought into the well-spread, cliche conventional wisdom about athletic competition.

As it goes with Nocioni, one of the least quivering players in the league. Like so many of his current teammates, El Chapu backs down from no challenge, and certainly a vital free throw in December isn't going to render his spine a strand of angel hair pasta. Nocioni just happens to be a non-elite free throw shooter. Even the excellent miss some. No one has ever shot 100 percent from the line, right? Everyone misses some. (Or if you're Justin Williams, you miss most.) Some misses happen in the middle of the second quarter, some happen to come at a critical juncture. There's no magical method to hitting the critical ones that isn't used in the second quarter. You think if players, if Nocioni had a special spell he could use for important free throws he wouldn't use it all 48 minutes? It's foolish, really, to think there exists choke artists in the NBA, and that Nocioni would be one of them.

Tangent ended. A heartrending loss for the Kings, who really deserve another road win. They continue to play with their balls out (figuratively), giving every opponent every ounce of effort they've got. Jason Thompson is the rare NBA complainant who doesn't scream when called for a questionable foul because of some perceived injustice: he complains because he knows he must now leave the game. I don't know, maybe that's the same reason Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace gets techs, because they really don't want to sit on the bench. It seems implausible, but maybe that's the case. With J.T., I know that's the case. It kills him to be on the bench during the final moments, when he could be in the paint, playing defense, running the break, looking for paths to the rim.

That's evident all over the roster. Sergio Rodriguez made a couple of miscues again, but it's not because he's trying to get on SportsCenter. It's because he's anxious to get an easy hoop for his teammates on every possession. A matter underdiscussed in discourse about the "unselfishness" of pass-first players is that they basically take on complete risk for the play. If Sergio goes backdoor to Ime Udoka, but Ime doesn't cut, well then it's Sergio's fault, because he shouldn't have made the pass without proper communication. If Ime does cut and the Kings get two, the credit is shared. With Sergio, it's not completely about a clever passer sharing his gifts with cutting wings and lurking big men. It's about risk assumption. I think that's why his turnover numbers spike: because of the type of work he does, when he fails, it must go horribly, horribly wrong. He's like William Tell, in that sense.

One NBA trope that has always bothered me was the idea that your best player had to take every game-on-the-line possession. You'll remember the whole LeBron saga of 2006, when The Chosen One drove the lane on the Cavaliers' final deficit possession of a playoff game against the Pistons ... and he passed off to a lesser teammate, who had an open three due to the defense LeBron drew. James wasn't exactly castigated for the decision -- he had his defenders -- but it drew a ton of discussion, with the central thrust that the greatest players don't pass. They want the ball. They want the fate of the game to carry their mark, their DNA. I never really bought that this was smart. Studies have shown that efficiency on these plays goes way, way down -- because the offense becomes predictable (high screen for LeBron) and the defenses can key in (collapse the lane). I always figured that if you have Kobe and Pau, maybe run a post play for Pau. He's good, too.

But when Tyreke Evans drove the lane in the final Sacramento possession, I think I understood. I don't really believe in basketball mystics all that much (see my first point in this post) and I don't think the NBA's superstars have a different blood type than the hoi polloi. Superstars are just really super star players. As such, if the defense aims to make the superstar weak at the expense of putting a lesser player in super position to score, then the lesser player with the super position ought to be called upon. But having the type of dominant player we have in Reke might have changed my thinking, at least in these boom-boom cases, where there hasn't been a time-out. Coming down the floor, do you rely on your best player in perhaps tougher-than-usual circumstances, or do you rely on your B-list? I mean, if the Kings gave the ball to Beno, given the way Evans had been getting to the rim, I might have been apopletic. And Beno played great! Even with share-happy teams, the NBA is such an individualist sport. When one player can affect as much as LeBron, Wade, Howard, Paul or Evans can, you're foolish not to let them try to affect the game in the final moments. Without Kevin Martin in action, the Kings did not have a better option than Evans driving the lane. He did, he nearly got the winning basket, and Nocioni got the offensive rebound and a chance to tie the game. That last possession didn't work out, but it went well, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

And if I may, in closing: Spencer Hawes played really well. His defense was active and smart. His offense was fine. I will take that Spencer Hawes seven days a week.

Kings 111, Knicks 97

Seth — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:12:41 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

"Not to beat a dead horse, but guys are getting out of the way on those drives".- Mike Breen (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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I've got like two pages of notes, but it's pretty much the same nonsense we've been going over. The Knicks spend most of their time playing like they don't care, and tonight they didn't even bother to make a run. Donté Greene, bless his little heart, had the game of his career against a Knick defense that didn't contest shots on the perimeter, or under the basket, or anywhere in between.

Only adding insult to injury was the fact that some of our beloved youngsters actually got some burn...and didn't look so hot. Danilo Gallinari was terribly apprehensive. More capon than cock. On one end, his touches were punctuated by either missed off-balance threes or drives that ended with a kick-out. The moves were more or less there; he just wouldn't pull the trigger on the right shots. On defense, Gallo drifted far too much and repeatedly left his man (usually Andres Nocioni) open on the perimeter or free to cut backdoor. Toney Douglas, meanwhile, wasn't hitting his shots (1-6), and kept getting hung out to dry on defense. Toney plays D the right way- up close and personal- but does so with the expectation that his teammates will help out. On the Knicks, that's an ill-fated assumption. The other guys don't exactly DWTDD. Jordan Hill, for his part, was pretty active in 9 minutes. Jordan missed both his shots, but his four rebounds and two blocked shots didn't go unnoticed.

The rest of the guys did their own little things. Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler, and Chris Duhon shot 10-38 collectively. Duhon bricked one fourth quarter attempt so badly that they needed a pole to get it out from behind the shot clock. I kid you not. Nate Robinson shot well, but spent too much time preening for the friends and family in attendance to play any defense. David Lee recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists on Sacramento baskets.

If there is anything positive to be taken from tonight's spectacle, it's that Danilo Gallinari's new spiky hairstyle looks like a cockscomb, which is most definitely intentional.

Oh, and folk hero Marcus Landry managed to post a +8 in his three minutes of garbage time. That's worthy of a starting spot, and I'm only half kidding.

The Knicks' next game is on Friday in Denver. If they can't find some semblance of teamwork and commitment between now and then, we're in for a long night. Thanks to everybody who came out for the game thread. Y'all are troopers. Keep commenting along and your participation will one day be rewarded with wins. We'll talk tomorrow. Goodnight.

Mavericks Vanquish Kings 104-102

Ziller — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:00:31 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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This was the Mary, Queen of Scots of basketball games. The Mavericks were always in the executioner's role, always with the biggest weapon and the strategically superior position. But damn if they didn't have to hack at the Kings repeatedly to get the job done. "Put the kids to bed, Sally, the Kings are in town!"

Dallas ended up winning 104-102, though it was basically a three-possession game for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Kings had the deficit at three points a couple times, but couldn't do enough to stop the Jasons Terry and Kidd. Sacramento ended up scoring 37 points in the fourth, a figure not terribly bloated by the foul party at game's end. But Dallas scored 36 of their own, cinching up the win.

Tyreke Evans was unbelievable, finishing with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He actually threatened the triple-double mark the entire fourth, having hung on nine assists and seven rebounds until the final, superfluous play. That's how awesome Evans's floor game was through three quarters, while he made his biggest late-game contributions in the scoring ledger. 'Reke had 13 points on six FGAs in the fourth, including 10 in the last six minutes.

Of course, that wasn't enough. Terry hit for 12 points in the fourth, and Kidd had a big three-pointer (his fifth of the game) late. Dirk Nowitzki -- the axe, in our opening metaphor -- was kept under wraps, limited to 20 points on 6-15 shooting. Credit Andres Nocioni and Jason Thompson for keeping Dirk out of his comfort zone, for the most part. Nowitzki's used to making tough shots, but the Kings made many of them too tough while also working hard to limit his attempts by bringing a keep double (often Evans off of Kidd, which didn't exactly work in terms of beating the Mavericks as a team).

Thompson's game looks much better in the box score than it did on the court -- he and Spencer Hawes were beat to a lot of defensive rebounds by Drew Gooden, who had an unbelievable nine offensive rebounds in 30 minutes, including six within the first nine minutes of the game. That's some awful defensive rebounding by the Kings bigs; the team did correct the problem, giving up nine in 34 opportunities in the second, third and fourth quarters combined (as opposed to eight in 18 opps in the first). But there's no excuse to let Gooden go hog wild early, not given the Kings size advantage.

Omri Casspi had two baaaad turnovers, but played well overall. Donte Greene got short shrift (fourth man off the bench, less than 12 minutes) for unknown reasons. His defense looked good. There was a bit of finger-pointing on the defensive end after a few blown assignments, and from my seat it doesn't exactly look like Thompson and Spencer Hawes are on the same page at either end.

But in the end, sticking with as good a team as Dallas for 48 minutes on the road is damn impressive. There's no such thing as a moral victory, but there are losses that aren't depressing, and this is one of those. 5-6 has never looked better.

The Prospect of, Um, Samuel Dalembert

Ziller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:06:35 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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Apparently, the Kings are highly interested in a defensive-minded center. Marc Stein of ESPN reports on TrueHoop that the Kings are in exploratory discussions with Philadelphia and Boston in a deal that would bring centre (boom!) Samuel Dalembert to Sacramento with Kenny Thomas and Andres Nocioni departing. Essentially, it brings in Dalembert, whose defense is well-reputed but whose offense and sometimes attitude is disastrous, for two seasons while cutting some salary off this season's ledger and freeing the team from Nocioni's longer contract. Here are the full contract details for the only three players who matter to Sacramento. (Boston, who would receive Nocioni, would also send a couple of dudes to Philly.) As always with matters of salary, thanks be to ShamSports (who you can also follow for pithy remarks, obscure transaction news and feuds with Sam Amick [no really!] on Twitter: @ShamSports).

Player	'09-10	'10-11	'11-12	'12-13
Dalembert	$12M	$12.9M	--	--
Nocioni	$7.5M	$6.9M	$6.7M	$7.5M*
Thomas	$8.8M	--	--	--

The Kings would save a solid $4 million this season, give or take as roughly 10 percent of the season's salary has already been paid out. Next season, the Kings would have $46 million in payroll on the books instead of $40 million, and would be out of the running for a major free agent chase, barring something unexpected with the salary cap. The Kings would gain $6.7 million in space in 2011-12 (putting the team at $34 million in commitments without accounting for Spencer Hawes's extension) as the then-31 Nocioni would no longer be on the books. Nocioni's 2012-13 salary is a team option, which is unlikely to be picked up by any team, unless Bueno Aires grabs an expansion club and Dorothy Nocioni is the owner. So basically, the Kings would save roughly $4 million this season, spend an extra $6 million next season and save $6.7 million in '11-12. A net savings of roughly $4.5 million over three seasons.

That's the money situation. What about the talent?

As we've discussed, Thomas is a bit of gravy right now. He's playing well on defense and on the boards, but he's really just an expiring contract. Adding another pivot would guarantee that. Heck, if Jon Brockman were an inch taller, or Sean May were 10 pounds lighter, Thomas would never get off the bench. Losing Thomas, while sad, because man we have been through a lot with that guy!, would not matter much to the product on the court. Just the product in my chest.

Nocioni has been a good contributor for the Kings, maybe the fourth best offensive weapon at any time. He's also, as we were reminded frequently during the Thunder-Kings game, an active defender, though he's less brilliant against lesser talents, where he loses concentration and chases the ball. Right now, he's the team's most easily swingable big small forward (a minor victory) and one of the team's more reliable shooters (with Omri Casspi, Beno Udrih and a healthy Kevin Martin ... and someday a healthy Francisco Garcia). You assume Ime Udoka would take over Nocioni's spot, at least temporarily, as the suggested three-guard line-up looms with Martin's expected return around the New Year. If it's not Udoka, Paul Westphal can choose between Casspi (the better scorer and more energetic defender) or Donte Greene (the ultra-athletic, hyper-celebratory choice).

But that's all temporary. Long-term, the Kings have plenty of options at the position. Udoka is the team's best defender without question, and he can hit an open shot (which is arguably all you want from Nocioni, though he tends to create in a pinch, which we'd miss until Martin returns or Spencer Hawes regains confidence). Casspi is a bright star -- not star as in NBA Star, but star as in shining light which will always rise with the moon and never disappear until it burns out in a wonderful supernova, which won't happen for millions of years. Greene, of course, is the secret lock of hair in the shoebox, the everlasting dream of tomorrow. Garcia might be a lost cause this season (he'll have about 25-30 games once he returns, and he'll need to refind his stroke on that shooting hand), but he's signed up for the long haul and can do a lot of what Nocioni can do, except for the rebounding. He is, basically, Nocioni. Which makes it weird that we have two Nocionis. But it had to happen -- we couldn't go from two Salmonses (John Salmons and Garcia) to zero Salmonses without making it up somewhere else. (Can we try two Martins or two Thompsons next time? Thanks.)

Now, to the Haitian Conflagration. Interestingly enough, I wondered about Dalembert last trade deadline.

[Tyson] Chandler's reputation is much stronger than that of Dalembert, though I can't really understand why. The only real, measurable advantages for Chandler are that he is 17 months younger, that he refuses to shoot if he can't dunk (hence the higher FG%) and he doesn't put the ball on the floor ever.

Dalembert is an equal or slightly better rebounder, a far better shot-blocker, is slightly cheaper in salary and MUCH cheaper in terms of acquisition costs.

(Quoting myself once again! The Ego is back, baby! Step off, Id.) Chandler is no longer a comparison, as he is spoken for. But look at Dalembert on his own merits: a career defensive rebounding percentage of 24.5 percent, a career block rate of 5.8 percent (that is, when on the court he blocks 5.8 percent of all opponent field goal attempts), a career individual Defensive Rating of 101.5, which happens to rank 88th in the NBA ... all time. He has played every game in each of the past three seasons. He is 75th in NBA history in total blocks, despite averaging only 26 minutes per game for his career (due to fouls and a lack of offensive ability). He was the third best rebounder in the league last season: 6th on the offensive glass (better than J.T.), third on the defensive glass (behind Troy Murphy and Dwight Howard), third overall (behind Howard and Kevin Love). He has finished top seven in the league in block rate in five of his eight NBA seasons, and top nine in rebound rate three times.

For a 7-footer, his career field goal percentage of 52.3 percent might be a bit low. But his True Shooting percentage (that's the best measure of scoring efficiency) is above league average, because unlike most defensive specialist centers he can hit free throws (better than 70 percent in each of the past four seasons and at 78 percent this year). His turnover rate is atrocious, which means he needs to stop handling the ball. I think a coach like Paul Westphal -- who convinced D.G. to stop taking hurried off-balance threes -- could impart that knowledge effectively. If not, your third big (who might start in front of Hawes -- that'd be a pretty big question) would have terrible hands. Not the worst realization, given how many top-level bigs have terrible hands, and given how good the other two prominent Kings bigs' hands are. (No Hamburglar.)

You know, if too many deals which I support come up, I'm going to be found out as an antsy Nancy who is just rooting for a trade. I'm not. But I understand the importance of interior defense -- look at much Hawes, who improved from dreadful to passable on defense, has helped! Imagine inserting a real, live, intimidating defender to the back line. The Kings, no matter how much they have surprised, are still a bad defensive team. Dalembert would help, this year and next. Given that the financial commitment is relatively short, and the price relatively small (no knock on Nocioni -- again, he's a bit superfluous here), it's something any team in Sacramento's position should consider. I trust that provided Boston is on board (Philadelphia certainly must be -- that franchise needs cap space like Jim Eyen needs a personal shopper), the Kings will consider this deal extensively. It's an intriguing one.

UPDATE: I completely neglected J.R. Giddens in this. Take roughly $1 million off this season's savings, and add a relatively old (24) Greene-level two-guard prospect. Giddens played 26 games for Kings assistant Bryan Gates's Utah Flash last season, and turned out a non-elite but good 19.1 PER. On the surface, I can tell he shot twos wonderfully and rebounded well for a 6-5 fella.

The Latest Nocioni Rumor

Jeff Clark — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:26:45 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Will Noc be a Celtic?

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Marc Stein give us the following scoop on TrueHoop.

There is some hope, according to NBA front-office sources, for a three-way deal that is currently in the exploratory-discussion phase.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, in considering the feasibility of a Samuel Dalembert-for-Kenny Thomas swap, have discussed expanding that concept with Boston by trying to draw in the Celtics on a potential three-way deal that would land Andres Nocioni with the Celts.

Sources further stressed over the past 48 hours that this should be classified as an ongoing conversation as the teams involved decide how much they like what's on the table.

But the full deal as it stands, if it eventually gets that far, would send Nocioni to Boston, Kenny Thomas, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine to Philadelphia and Dalembert and J.R. Giddens to Sacramento.

Taking the teams one by one:

*Boston has had interest in Nocioni from the minute Sacramento acquired him in February in the deal that dispatched Brad Miller and John Salmons to Chicago. That said, Boston has also been hesitant since February about acting upon that interest because Nocioni has three years and more than $20 years left on his contract after this season. That's a lot of long-term cash for the Celts to take on -- even if Nocioni turned out to be a James Posey-style Mr. Versatile for them -- after they just signed Rajon Rondo to a lucrative extension and with decisions about the futures of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen looming. So Boston pulling out because of financial concerns likely ranks as the biggest impediment to this deal.

Very interesting.

As Stein stresses, this sounds like an ongoing discussion rather than something imminent, but it is good food for discussion on a non-game day.

I've detailed the pros and cons of such a deal in the past. It only makes sense to discuss it and we know a similar deal was discussed last year.

Personally I think I'd roll the dice. He's a hard nosed competitor that needs a winning environment to really shine his brightest. His deal is rather large, but the cap number actually decreases each year and the price of picking him up is dirt cheap (expiring deals). He's even on the south side of 30, so he'll be a good piece for the present and near future.

Still, that's a big check to cut, so I wouldn't be shocked or dismayed to see the team pass.

What do you think?

Update: Via the Herald

On another front, a team source denied that the Celtics are in discussions to join a three-team deal that would land them Sacramento swingman Andres Nocioni. The team simply doesn’t have the flexibility to absorb Nocioni’s contract, which pays him $20.5 million over the next three seasons.

Poll

Would you make the rumored trade?

Yes

1583 votes

No

510 votes

2093 votes | Poll has closed

Another Way to Live: Kings Beat Rockets 109-100

Ziller — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:00:55 -0000

by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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In his post-game comments, Houston coach Rick Adelman blamed a lack of first half defense for the Rockets loss. Obviously, he's right: the Sacramento offense hummed through the first half, especially in the early second quarter.

But a big factor was also the Kings defense -- or Houston offense, depending on how you look at it -- as Sacramento held the Rockets to 37.5 percent shooting in the second quarter, and 31 percent shooting in the fourth.

For the full game, the Kings were able to finish with an above average offense (109 points in 96 possessions, for a 113 offensive rating) and an above average defense (104 defensive rating). Against a good team likely to make the playoffs. Despite a bad performance from the starter with the biggest advantage on paper (Spencer Hawes) and no real stand-out bench scoring efforts (though Ime Udoka had a quiet 10). It was about the least fluky performance imaginable.

Even if the most important shots were an Andres Nocioni leaning shot clock beater from 21 feet, a Tyreke Evans stepback 22-footer, and a Tyreke Evans shot clock beating bank shot from 22 feet.

As expected, Jason Thompson attacked the offensive glass. He did most of his damage early: seven of his nine offensive rebounds came in the first half. But that sort of damage is extensive: JT had as many offensive boards as the entire Houston roster, which is not just high praise for Shock, but for Spencer Hawes (seven defensive rebounds, nine overall in 27 minutes), Evans (six defensive boards), Kenny Thomas (six defensive boards in 19 minutes) and Nocioni (six defensive boards in 27 minutes). The Kings did excellent work keeping the Rockets -- a top-10 offensive rebounding team -- off the glass. It's really an amazing turn of events.

The shooting surplus -- the Kings shot an effective field goal percentage of .531, but are at .488 on the season -- isn't sustainable. The Rockets shot well below their season average, despite quite a few open looks from deep late in the game. I thought Beno Udrih played solid defense for Beno Udrih; at the same time, Aaron Brooks went 4-of-13 because he missed some fairly clean looks, not because of the Kings defense. Give credit to Hawes (who despite an overall miserable game rotated well in help defense), Udoka (a ridiculously sound ball hawk) and Thomas (never caught out of position on defense) for keeping the Rockets from piling on lay-ups ... but don't expect that to happen every night.

I'm pretty amazed at how balanced the offense has been without Kevin Martin. That's not a commentary on Martin -- if you're Kevin Martin, you should be taking 30 shots a game -- but more on Evans, who hasn't taken over the offense to the degree some young stars (think O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook) would. You sense some occasional discomfort between Evans and Udrih -- where one has the ball in the offense and the other really calls for it despite not being in scoring position -- but it hasn't affected the game to this point. Where the Martin absence has affected the offense most is in getting lots of shots for Thompson and the small forward, now Nocioni, who surely should be shooting the ball more frequently than Desmond Mason did. Thompson ended up with 20 shooting possessions (15 FGAs, 10 FTAs) against Houston, and Evans had 18, Udrih had 15, Nocioni had 14 and Hawes had 12. Compare that with Houston's so-called five-man symphony, which saw Ariza with 23 shooting possessions, Scola with 18, Brooks with 14 and Battier with 12. The Kings, who have a clear Alpha right now, were more balanced than the Team of Balance. Pretty impressive self-control by said Alpha. Solid judgment.

Udoka is just about perfect for this team. You wish he had a touch more skill handling the ball, but you could say that about every defensive specialist in the team (Battier included). To have a player that strong able to play shooting guard off the bench ... it's something different than Dahntay Jones gave Denver last season, but similar. It's a boon. Udoka's acquisition is looking brilliant right about now.

5-4. One game over .500. Seventh in the West, a solid third in the Pacific (ahead of those resurgent Clippers). It's the stuff of dreams. Dreams only Kings fans could have, I grant you. But dreams nonetheless.

Why Tyreke Evans and the Kings Have Been More Successful

Ziller — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:55:58 -0000

by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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Already the hyenas invade. I have noticed a sincere uptick in "Tyreke Evans is not a point guard!" talk since Kevin Martin got injured, Beno Udrih got inserted into the starting line-up, and the Kings have gone on a 3-0 string. I actually received a thoughtful email from a reader a few days ago stating that the Kings should trade Martin because "Evans clearly is not a point guard."

The assertion is that Evans's success has come with the switch to off-guard, which hasn't actually happened: Evans is handling the ball as much as he did with Martin on the court, if not more. Paul Westphal has instituted a duty-sharing system which had even Ime Udoka bringing the ball up as a shooting guard -- this is Ime Udoka, whose greatest successes have come as a Battier-like small forward and undersized power forward.

The Kings have been more successful for the last 10 days or so, definitely. But it has less to do with the Evans/Udrih backcourt than it does the addition of Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes to the starting line-up.

The starting line-up featuring Sean May and Desmond Mason was bad. According to 82games.com, over 31 minutes the Evans-Martin-Mason-May-Thompson line-up was a -19. Awful. Conversely, over 31 minutes the Evans-Martin-Nocioni-Thompson-Hawes line-up was a +1, which is pretty damn good (considering the age of that unit). Evans is the point guard in both line-ups (which happen to be the two most frequently used line-ups so far this season -- a Martin-less line-up will soon overtake them). The contrast is in the small forward and center, and when you look at the total individual production of Mason and May when compared to Nocioni and Hawes, it's easy to see why the Kings are better off now.

Of course, if success is more attributable to the additions of Nocioni and Hawes than the addition of Udrih, then the Udrih-Evans-Nocioni-Thompson-Hawes line-up will have performed worse than the best Martin line-up, right? Right: the current starting five is a -3 over 30 minutes of play. Evans-Martin has been better than Udrih-Evans, which tells me that a) Kevin Martin is better than Beno Udrih, which is obviously noncontroversial, and b) if Evans is so much more comfortable as a two-guard, the difference is not enough to make up for the fact that Martin is so superior to any non-Evans Kings point guard.

So that's where we are, or rather where we will be come January, when Martin returns. The best Kings backcourt features Evans as a point guard. If you don't believe he can do it, you will likely have January, February, March and April to convince everyone else. In the meantime, I suggest you pay attention to just how much Evans continues to run the offense, and how good he can be in that role.

Loud Links: 10.11.09

daddydai — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

about 1 month ago: Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant, right, and Jeff Green walk off the court during a time out in their 101-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings in an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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Clippers vs. Oklahoma City - Game Preview - Clips Nation
Oklahoma City lost in Sacramento last night in a game that came down to the buzzer. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green all played big minutes in that one, so the Clippers caught a break there. The Thunder have been pretty solid so far this season. Until tonight, their losses had come against good teams, and they've mostly been close, including taking the Lakers into Overtime. Nonetheless, after winning their first two games of the season, they've lost four out of five. The Thunder are the only team the Clippers beat three times last season - but all those good memories were completely washed away by the 41 point beatdown they put on the Clippers in the final game of the season, on LA's Fan Appreciation Night. I for one did not appreciate it. Kevin Durant has become one of the toughest players in the league to defend, and Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook have talent. But it seems to me these guys are still a couple years away from competing. [Very good preview of tonight's game by Clips Nation. Remember that blow out last season. Be careful Thunder, the Clippers may be out for revenge tonight.]

ESPN's NBA Future Power Rankings: Teams 1 to 5 - ESPN Insider
[ESPN ranked the future of NBA yesterday. Guess where the Thunder landed?] Oklahoma City may not make the playoffs this year, but for the three years that follow, the Thunder's hopes seem as bright as any team's. It starts with a rapidly improving roster that includes star forward Kevin Durant and rising talents like Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Jeff Green, as well as several intriguing prospects -- Thabo Sefolosha, B.J. Mullens, Serge Ibaka and D.J. White among them. Oklahoma City also ranks high in the money category, having more than $10 million to spend this summer on a free-agent splurge to cement its already strong nucleus while maintaining a very good cap situation for future seasons. The only question is whether owner Clay Bennett will commit to spending once the time comes. But thanks to the strong moves made thus far by GM Sam Presti, OKC earned a ninth-place ranking in the management category. The Thunder also scored well on the draft, owning both their pick and an unprotected choice from Phoenix in next year's draft before their likely ascension to the back end of the draft in future seasons. One area in which they didn't fare as well, however, was in the market category. Oklahoma City is the smallest NBA market and plagued by some wild weather, two factors that combine to put it well off the radar for most prospective free agents. But there's hope: The Thunder have an excited fan base, and Oklahoma City might look like a pretty good destination if the Thunder start winning big.

THUNDER: Wednesday Night: Thunder at Clippers
L.A. Clippers center Chris Kaman. This guy gets a lot credit for helping the Clippers to the cusp of .500 through the early season. With the team struggling with injuries, conditioning and chemistry, Kaman has been consistent. The Clippers center posted 20 points or more in six straight games this season. He leads the Clippers in scoring (21.9 points), field goal percentage (57.3%) and rebounding (9.4). Kaman played in just two games against the Thunder last season, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds. Expect to see Nenad Krstic, Etan Thomas and Nick Collison get their crack at Kaman.

NBA PM: All-Star Ballot Debate - Basketball News & NBA Rumors
[Some interesting thoughts about the All-Star ballot. Oh yeah vote!!!] Predictably there is some outcry about players being left off and to be fair there are some notables missing, such as center Chris Kaman of the L.A. Clippers (as noted in yesterday's post, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week). There are also some curious choices, such as picking Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller to be on the ballot over teammate Joakim Noah, since Noah is the starter. [Did you read that? Kaman was the Western Conference Player of the Week. Isn't the American who decided to play for the German national team in the Olympics?]

Kings notes: Nocioni makes Durant work for points | Sacramento Bee
It ended a tiring night for Durant, the Thunder star who was hounded by Kings small forward Andres Nocioni from beginning to end. Durant had 37 points, but he hit just 9 of 23 shots. He had it easy at the free-throw line, though, hitting all 18. "No, he didn't bother me," Durant said of Nocioni, who scored 16 points for the Kings in 35 minutes. "He tried to be physical and push me around, but he got me to the foul line, and I like those kinds of easy points. It was challenging. It was tough. He plays hard, but it didn't bother me at all."

Early in the season, it's important to assess your league's standings and the values of your players - ESPN
[This fantasy B-ball article mentions RW0.] Another interesting example is Russell Westbrook, who was shooting an amazing 48 percent -- just like Roy did last season -- from the field before a rough night Tuesday. It's amazing because as a rookie Westbrook topped 46 percent from the field in just one month and completed the campaign with an embarrassing .398 field goal percentage. Personally, I expected a significant jump in his shooting percentage this season, perhaps to the mid-40s. Considering his history last season, we shouldn't expect his field goal percentage to be any higher than its current 45 percent, although I don't think it will drop all the way to the low-40s.

66ers Team Colors To Match Oklahoma City Thunder - OurSports Central
The team's official website, tulsa66ers.com, will feature a new orientation of the Thunder Blue, Thunder Navy, Thunder Yellow and Thunder Red color combination that will enhance many of the features on the site. The website not only has updated content regarding the 66ers, as the team gets ready to tip off the 2009-10 season, but also ties into many of the great features on the Thunder website at thunder.nba.com. The new home uniform, will be a white jersey and shorts, with navy piping around the neckline, along with navy three-stripe piping down the sides for each. The 66ers wordmark is highlighted on the front with numbers in the light blue and outlined in red. Road uniforms will be light blue, with orange piping around the neckline, and navy three-stripe piping down each side. Tulsa is featured on the front of the jersey in white lettering with navy trim and the numbers will also be white digits with navy trim. Both home and road uniform shorts will feature the 66ers secondary logo on the left thigh and the Thunder secondary logo on the right thigh.

Thunder's All-Star marketing plan: Vote early and often | NewsOK.com
To help push three of the NBA’s rising stars to their first All-Star Game appearance, the Oklahoma City Thunder will encourage fans to "Vote Thunder. Vote Often." It’s a marketing campaign that is in line with the team’s "Rise Together" motto, which avoids putting one player over another even though Kevin Durant is widely considered the league’s next big star and projected by some to earn a selection to this year’s All-Star Game, set for Feb. 14 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

66ers Announce Bundle Ticket Pack With Thunder-Cavs Game Included - OurSports Central
[For our Tulsa readers, if there are any... Mr. P. you out there?] Tulsa, Okla., November 11, 2009 - The Tulsa 66ers announced today that 10-game ticket packages are now on sale. The 10-game bundles sell for only $99 and include the Oklahoma City Thunder versus Cleveland Cavaliers match up at the Ford Center on Sunday, Dec. 13. Fans can see nine tremendous 66ers games from 100-level seats, in their inaugural season at the Tulsa Convention Center in downtown Tulsa, while also sitting in the "Loud City" section at the Ford Center to see Cleveland's LeBron James, along with Kevin Durant and the rest of the Thunder during the Cavs only trip to Oklahoma this season. Many of the nine select 66ers games will feature extraordinary halftime acts, and amazing entertainment. As a ticket plan holder, any unused tickets can be exchanged for future 2009-10 regular season games.

Winner of the free NBA League Pass broadband account - Ball Don't Lie
"I am a disheartened, disappointed, and disenfranchised (literally) Seattle Supersonics fan. I have been a loyal fan through the high days of the Glove and Reign Man, and the low days of "this might be my last Sonics game ever." However, unlike most bitter Sonics fans I have converted into an Oklahoma City Thunder fan.

Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107

Ziller — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:20:53 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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What a complete game for the Kings. You knew Sacramento had the advantage on the glass and in the paint, and that Tyreke Evans had a huge size advantage on the perimeter. But the Warriors are deep with talent (Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson are legit, and Anthony Randolph shouldn't be third-string anywhere) and the roster is filled with good scorers (Corey Maggette, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Stephen Curry). Let's be honest: without Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia, no win is decreed.

But by the half, this one felt nailed shut. The Kings took an 11-point lead into the break, but it felt like 20+. And it really came from the bench all night long -- from Omri Casspi's threes (he hit three straight in the first quarter, 4-6 overall ... and he added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals) and Donte Greene's best pro game (17 points, five rebounds, one turnover, one unbelievable sideline alley-oop to Jason Thompson at the buzzer).

Tyreke Evans was again brilliant (23 points on 18 shot attempts, eight rebounds, two assists, zero turnovers, two steals -- sat the entire fourth quarter). At some point, it's going to feel pedestrian, watching Evans destroy opponents on both ends. I think the last few years have been rough enough that we won't take 'Reke for granted in the near future, but damn. With the performances by Greene, Casspi and Wabeno Udrih, it's easy to overlook how dominant Evans was in the first half (especially the second quarter).

Jason Thompson had his third straight double-double with 19/11 -- and this happened to be his most efficient shooting night. The key to me over the weekend has been that J.T. has dominated the defensive glass. We know he can clean the offensive glass, but the team needs him to step up his game at the other end. Against Utah and Golden State, he did just that.

If you want to find a minus in this game, it'd have to be one of two things: Evans was limited in the third by the bigger Jackson, and Andres Nocioni had a bad shooting night. But with regard to 'Reke in the third: the Kings won the quarter by eight points, with the offense humming in Udrih's hands. And Nocioni can be expected to have bad nights -- he's not a shy shooter, and that's probably a good thing in his role as a primary scorer in the starting five. You don't want Chapu to stop shooting (or driving, which he did often) -- that puts pressure on the other scorers. Missing Martin already adds enough pressure.

That Nocioni was so inefficient but the Kings still won big is a testament to how well everyone else played.

One more lowlight: Spencer Hawes wasn't fantastic, with 10 points, six rebounds and four turnovers. But while Thompson is built to expose an undersized, without-resolve opponent, Hawes is different. What use is a stretch big against a team with no defensive post presence? On the other end, I thought Hawes played fine. On the whole, his lack of superlative production since retaking the starting job has been disappointing. But with the team 2-1, and owning the glass for two of those games, it's been fine. The Oklahoma City game on Tuesday will be a bigger deal for Hawes, I think.

By the way: the Kings haven't won two in a row since last November 7 and 9, and haven't swept a back-to-back since April 2008, roughly 100 games ago. Unbelievable. The Kings can move to .500 for the first time since Dec. 4, 2006 (!) with a win on Tuesday.

SB Nation - Andres Nocioni

Preview: Kings at Spurs

THE OPPONENT

THE KEY BATTLE

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

BOLD PROCLAMATION

NUMERIC PREDICTION

DETAILS

Don't Blame the Argentine: Hornets 96, Kings 94

Kings 111, Knicks 97

Mavericks Vanquish Kings 104-102

The Prospect of, Um, Samuel Dalembert

The Latest Nocioni Rumor

Would you make the rumored trade?

Yes

No

Another Way to Live: Kings Beat Rockets 109-100

Why Tyreke Evans and the Kings Have Been More Successful

Loud Links: 10.11.09

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Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107

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