That was really a blast!

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(From the FanPosts. - TZ)

The last month has been one of many surprises, and few if any of us predicted just how well things would go during that time. So as we enter the second month of the NBA regular season and the final month of 2009, I thought it might be interesting to try to offer some perspective about where we are now in comparison to where we were last June.

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(From the FanPosts, with minor editing for language. -- TZ)

Dear Beno:

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize publicly, solemnly, and unequivocally for all of the bad things I said and wrote about you. I wasn’t alone in my disparaging and discourteous remarks, but that can’t be taken as an excuse. There is no excuse. To quote Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men: “Don't I feel like the farkin’ acehole?”

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Even though this was preseason, I felt that the Kings really needed a win. They outplayed the Warriors for most of the game with the exception of the second quarter and a period spanning the third and fourth. But they pulled it together and finished strong, to the delight of the home crowd, which was pretty respectable for a preseason game. There were some Warriors fans in the house, but they were a pretty small minority.

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The late returns continue to trickle in from the previous two ballot initiatives. In Hate Poll #1, the detestable Kobe continues to duke it out with the odious Rick Fox for most-despised-of-all-time-honors. Meanwhile, the somewhat less-reviled-but-still-wildly-unpopular Shaq and Sasha are going toe-to-toe for lead honors in Hate Poll #2.

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The polls are still open on Hate Poll #1: Your Least Favorite NBA Player Ever. And as of this writing it is a neck-and-neck race between the two most detestable players in NBA history: Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox. Robert Horry is playing the role of third-party spoiler, with Shaq clocking in a distant fourth. The remaining candidates are garnering nominal vote totals, including a handful of write-in candidates, of which Eduardo Najera and Sasha Vujacic figure prominently.

But the democratic process won’t wait. Other crucial issues require our attention. And so we must move onto our next ballot initiative, specifically, Your Least Favorite Active NBA Player. The nominations are in, and the StR readership has assembled a long list of eminently disreputable candidates.

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OK comrades, The Two-Minute Hate is over. The nominations are in. And it’s time to put this exceedingly important issue to a vote.

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Look, it’s a long off-season, and we’re trying to stay occupied while we wait for the action to start. So sometimes we need to get creative.

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(From the FanPosts, an excellent post mortem on the Chris Webber trade. - TZ)

There has been much discussion lately about the relative merits/demerits of the second Chris Webber trade. I am of course referring to the February 2005 deadline deal where the Kings sent Chris Webber, Matt Barnes, and the unforgettable Michael Bradley to the Sixers for Kenny Thomas (our current favorite King), Brian Skinner, and Corliss Williamson. All sorts of claims and counterclaims have been made on this site about the deal. So I thought it might behoove us to try to take an objective look at the trade and its still-smoldering aftermath.

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It's gonna be a loooong summer. The Dog Days are upon us, and there's not a lot of hoops news to talk about. So I thought we might entertain ourselves a bit in the meantime. And what better way to do that than with player anagrams. After all, there's nothing like a little wordplay to lighten the mood.

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(From the FanPosts. We're only on the list once! - TZ)

We all know that there are a lot of onerous NBA contracts out there. So I thought it might be fun to try to rank (or at least list) the really bad ones. I started with individuals but quickly came to realize that the list was getting far too long. So I settled on the worst contracts by team instead, grouping bad contracts where it seemed appropriate. Also, I left out expiring contracts (T-Mac, K9, etc.) to keep this list manageable. Most of my information comes from DraftExpress, but I did rely on HoopsHype for those players that DraftExpress hadn't updated. (Sorry Pook.)

And now, ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the worst contract situations in the NBA... 

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I will now engage in a statistical exercise where I will attempt to project the future performance of Jason Thompson based on his past (college) statistics. Already a mere two sentences into this post and no doubt many of you have already started rolling your eyes. The trajectory of JT's improvement from college freshman to college senior may not be a very good predictor of his improvement as a pro for various reasons that I can think of, and probably many more that you can.

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Last week, I presented a post titled "Judging Geoff" in which I presumed to offer an assessment of the body of work of Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. With the benefit of full "50-50" hindsight, I based my assessment on available data and on my own historical recollection. I then used that assessment to draw conclusions about how the Kings declined so rapidly from near-championship status, and to ascertain what lessons might be learned "moving forward" (to use a favorite GP aphorism). The discussion thread that followed that post provided some good perspectives, and led me to modify my conclusions somewhat. So at the risk of beating a dead horse and/or stating what is already glaringly obvious, I've decided to offer this brief(er) follow-up.

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It has often been said that hindsight is 50-50. I’m not sure that quote means anything, but in any case, we have the luxury of looking back on the past achievements of others (or ourselves) and pronouncing judgement on their successes and failures. This is not the first post that has attempted to assess the accomplishments of the venerated Kings President of Basketball Operations---all hail Geoff Petrie.

It would be easy enough to criticize President Geoff based on the fact that the Kings just finished with the worst record in the NBA and the worst in franchise history. Somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong. But what and when? How did a two-time Executive of the Year oversee such an epic decline from two consecutive seasons averaging 60 wins to a 17-65 season, all in the span of six years? What might we learn "moving forward"?

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OK kids, let's play prognosticator.

The question is: Who do you think will be the top five picks, in order?

The question is NOT: Who do you WANT the top 5 picks to be?

Let me qualify this post by saying that, by StR standards, I am really not the least bit knowledgeable about the players in this (or any other) draft. The sum total of my "knowledge" comes from reading StR fanposts, fanshots, etc., which is to say that I am thoroughly confused. Nevertheless, I want to go on record as saying that I have this sneaking suspicion that for all of the smokescreens and head fakes going on out there, the top three picks are going to end up being exactly what everyone thought approximately six months ago.

And with that, my thoroughly uninformed prediction is as follows:

1. LA Clippers: Griffin

2. Memphis: Rubio

3. OKC: Thabeet

4. Sactown: Curry

5. Washington Minnesota: Evans

Let 'er rip!!

This is my first post so please bear with me.

There appears to be a growing consensus that Washington does not want the #5 pick because of the luxury tax hit they would take from the comparatively high salary the #5 pick commands. As I said in another post, I find it ironic that the Wiz played poorly enough to have the second worst record in the league, and yet they can’t even afford the consolation prize. But I digress.

Here is my first question: Does anyone understand the rules about exchanging salaries in association with draft picks. In other words, how much salary can a team hope to unload by exchanging picks with another team? Every time I try to read the league rules on this subject my eyes glaze over. Because Washington is dealing from a position of weakness, they probably can’t get the deal they want, which is unloading Jamison, and they may not even be able to attach any more than either Thomas or Songaila individually to the deal. (Undoubtedly they’d prefer to get rid of both, assuming the rules allow it.)

My next question: Is it in the Kings interest to take on a Darius Songaila or an Etan Thomas so that they can acquire the #5 pick? Having #4, #5, #23, and #31 puts the Kings in a good position to acquire a lot of talent and possibly to move up to get someone like Rubio, assuming they want to do that. For the record, I have no informed opinion on who the Kings should pick in the draft because I frankly don’t know shine-ola about NCAA or European hoops. I’m just thinking strategically. The downside is, of course, almost everyone is looking to trim costs, and having multiple first round picks (as well as taking on Thomas or Songaila) seems to be at odds with that strategy. The issue is as much about the accounting books as it is about talent.

Finally, aren’t certain other teams better positioned than the Kings to take on salary in exchange for the #5 pick? In particular I’m thinking of Memphis and OKC, both of which have modest team salaries next season and are in full rebuilding mode already. I would think Portland belongs in this conversation as well. Their team salary is dropping from about $80M last season to about $50M this season as Francis and LaFrentz finally come off the books, and Pritchard is notorious for draft day maneuvering.

Thoughts? Feedback? Derision?