nbrans

"I thought Tyreke looked sluggish and not ready to show how he can play," Westphal said. "I think he needs to pick up his pace play and he did a little bit in the second half. He needs to keep getting in better shape and play at a little faster speed and make better decisions with the ball. He killed the clock a few times and that's not the way we're going to play this year." Related: The Paul Westphal School of "How to Lose Your Players By Needlessly Calling Them Out in the Media" is accepting applicants.

Just wanted to endorse a listen of this two-part podcast, which had some really entertaining and insightful analysis by both Ford and Simmons. Lots of complimentary things to say about the Kings' draft (Ford at one point says that Whiteside is the only guy after 19 with superstar potential), lots of analysis of free agency and GM situations.... very very entertaining listen. And I have to say - we all kind of love to hate Chad Ford, but his draft analysis has gotten better and better over the years and he comes across really well in this podcast.

Pretty cool feature where ESPN got a player from each team to participate in a 1st Round Mock. Top 4 went: 1. Wall (chosen by Andray Blatche) 2. Favors (chosen by Thad Young) 3. Turner (chosen by Devin Harris) 4. Johnson (chosen by Kevin Love) And #5, chosen by Tyreke Evans: DeMarcus Cousins "There's a lot of good guys out there at this spot in the draft. DeMarcus is big [6'11"] and built [292] and can run and rebound [9.9 a game last season]. Add him to our frontcourt, and we'll be ruling."

"The Kings will take a second look at Georgetown sophomore Greg Monroe and Marshall freshman Hassan Whiteside in a pre-draft workout on Saturday... I've heard the Kings like Monroe, but bringing Whiteside back is interesting. Whiteside isn't considered a top-5 prospect by most pundits, but who knows? Maybe the Kings see something in him or they plan to trade down and select Whiteside."

Favors-Cousins workout in Sactown not as good as it looks. They won't be competing head-to-head. Agents! -- Chad Ford via Twitter

Had to share this for this quote alone: "Babbitt measured around 6-9 in shoes with an 8-9 standing reach. That doesn't blow you away. However, he had an impressive 6-11 wingspan and essentially measures up with Griffin (6-10 in shoes, an 8-9 standing reach and a 6-11 wingspan). But Griffin is way more athletic, you say? Not according to the combine numbers." Oh, Chad. Chad Chad Chad.....

Verticals: John Wall 39", Turner: 34.5", Favors: 35.5", Cousins: 27.5", Johnson: 37", Aminu: 33.5"

(link to ESPN Insider) So let's see. 6'10", 40" vertical, NBA range on his three, handles the ball like a guard..... projected to go second round? How is that possible?

"OK, it's time to shine a harsher light here. There's one thing working hugely against Rubio's status as an A-list prospect that nobody seems to want to mention, so let me put it out there: There's very little evidence he can score at anything approaching an acceptable rate for an NBA point guard. We have very little recent Euroleague data to work with from Rubio -- just a 66-minute sample from this year and a larger sample from two years earlier -- but both sets translate to scoring about five points per 40 minutes and shooting in the low 30s. Ugh. Rubio shot better in the Spanish ACB league this season, including 25-of-62 on 3-pointers, but he also shot only 39 percent on 2s against a lower level of competition. Same goes for his alleged breakout in the Olympics -- as heralded as he was for his play, he made nine baskets in eight games and shot 28.1 percent for the tournament. And while one of those games was against a team full of U.S. All-Stars, he wasn't bedazzling the Germans or Angolans either. Obviously he's a Jason Kidd-like rarity in that he can have a heavy impact on the game without scoring, but if his shooting numbers don't improve, he'll make Kidd look like Rick Barry."

"Rubio has been pretty adamant that he doesn't want to play in Memphis. Although he doesn't have the same objection to Oklahoma City, it sounds as though the Thunder are leaning toward drafting either James Harden or Stephen Curry. So, if neither team makes a trade, Rubio would be there at No. 4. But sources in Sacramento say that the Kings have reservations about Rubio and that it's far from a done deal that they will take him if he is on the board."

"I'm going back to school," Lawal said. "I sat down with my family and after going through this positive experience, where I learned a lot and got a lot of exposure, I realized the best thing for me to do was to go back."

"One team that is believed to have asked about Marbury is the Sacramento Kings, a franchise believed to be in serious financial distress because its owners, the Maloof family, lost hundreds of millions in the alleged Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme."