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kingsfan234

joined May 14, 2010 last login Sep 20, 2010 posts 5 comments 72

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Kings ranked 12th in ESPN NBA Future Rankings

12. Sacramento Kings | Future Power Rating: 518

PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
214 (11th) 69 (21st) 143 (3rd) 21 (28th) 71 (8th)

You might be surprised to see the Kings in the top half of the rankings given how the past two years have gone.

The Kings still have several negatives -- a dinosaur of an arena, a tiny market, and a front office that has saddled the team with several bad deals -- but two overwhelming positives have the Kings on the rise.

The first is financial: Sacramento should be well under the cap next year and could be in position to expand its talent base quickly.

The more tantalizing one is the current roster. Sacramento scored DeMarcus Cousins with the fifth pick in the draft and will pair him with 2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans -- meaning it's very possible the Kings somehow got the best player from each of the past two drafts in addition to two other solid contributors in recent drafts, 2009 first-rounder Omri Casspi and 2008 pick Jason Thompson.

We don't know if this is the right organization to keep Evans and Cousins on the straight and narrow, but we do know the team is in a much better position with them on the roster.

(Previous rank: 19)

almost 2 years ago kingsfan234 5 comments

Kings' Evans cut from U.S Basketball Team

Ailene in this article describes the mood Evans is feeling after the injury led to the national team cutting him. I feel it's good that we have a guy who gets mad and upset after defeat like this, and especially at something that wasn't his own fault. But now lets see whether he rebounds from this positively or negatively.

almost 2 years ago kingsfan234 0 comments

Shaq's Destiny Realized....

by kingsfan234 on Jul 29, 2010 1:17 PM EDT on Fear The Sword

I hate Shaquille O’Neal. I’m a die-hard Kings fan and I’m predisposed to the ideology, the very essence of despising the all-time Lakers great. I rue the day he relegated us to Sacramento Queens status and I operate on the very thought of him ruing the day he pinned us with that rap. It’s in my blood. But what’s even harder than liking Shaq is coming to the notion where we’ll be in a league without the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T for the first time since June 24, 1992. There are only a handful of teams remaining in this league who would even consider the notion of signing the 38-year old, declining, past his prime center. And the team that does end up signing Shaq will probably be bidding against themselves to do so.

Continue reading this post »

18 comments | 1 recs | Tweet

The NBA is a like a very big play… every player has a role in the big show and this year Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins gets to play the villain.

So far in Summer League play Cousins has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt he is easily the second-best talent in the 2010 NBA Draft class, and with his size and knack for the game he is going to challenge a lot of people to consider him for Rookie of the Year.

The problems with Cousins has nothing at all to do with what happens on the floor. It's everything else Cousins has to do as a NBA player.

Cousins is abrupt and defensive. He is arrogant and aggressive. He seeks out confrontation and for a kid that has a million dollar smile and a multi-million dollar game, it unfortunate the chip that lives squarely on his shoulder has made it easy to cast him as a villain.

The amusing thing about Cousins is if you catch him away from the cameras or the eyes and ears of the media, he is a pretty funny and likeable guy, but for whatever reason he has to be defensive with the press and the fans and that's always going to taint the perception of him.

The most defining examples of this was in New York at the players' hotel just before the Draft. NBA superstar Kevin Durant was posing for pictures with fans, something he tries to accommodate whenever he can. Cousins walks by and says to Durant, "Just tell'em 'No' Kev…" Durant looked at Cousins and shook his head in disbelief.

Admittedly Durant is a special NBA player that still refuses to accept he is a superstar in this league and wants to accommodate all of his fans, but it was in that moment it became clear one guy absolutely gets it and the other guy didn't.

There were lots of those kinds of moments with Cousins this week in Las Vegas, where you say to yourself: "If this kid ever gets it, he'll be among the best in the game."

Cousins has better offensive skills than Andrew Bynum and physical tools like Dwight Howard. If Cousins ever decided to hit the weight room hard, he could be one of the best centers in the game very quickly – it's just hard to see him as a player with that kind of drive and determination.

There is almost no doubt Cousins will be a successful NBA player. There is also little doubt Cousins' temperament on and off the floor is going to be a problem – he almost punched out an opponent yesterday in Summer League play.

You can just see he's playing right on the edge of out of control emotionally.

There is a real good chance Cousins grows into a more controlled player, but you have to wonder in a league that empowers immaturity and encourages outbursts, is Cousins going to be the next great big man, or the next Rasheed Wallace? He could very easily become both.

HoopsWorld

almost 2 years ago kingsfan234 24 comments

Top 10 DRAFT Players-Reaction???

by kingsfan234 on May 14, 2010 6:38 PM EDT on Sactown Royalty

Doug Gottlieb has Derrick Favors as the #2 player and Cousins as #10. I personally think that Favors is in fact a better player but many people on this page favor Cousins. Apparently he brings up Cousins attitude and tendency to coast through games in stretches and Favors' potential and athletic ability. John Wall of course remains at the number one spot. Thoughts???

here's the link