SB Nation User Blog: section214

Tyreke Evans comments on shooting incident

section214 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:38:40 -0000

Tyreke Evans comments on shooting incident

No charges, no implications. Just a young kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now can we please STFU about this and move on to his playing ability?

2009 NBA Draft: Lottery Open Thread

section214 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:35:52 -0000

Tee it up!

Sactown Royalty Draft Contest - The Field Is Set

section214 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:08:49 -0000

83 StR members meet in a battle of wits to determine who thinks most like Geoff Petrie. Miss all three picks and you receive lifetime membership in the Chad Ford Tool Of The Month Club. Picks can be found after the jump - good luck!!!

Order	StR Member	1st Pick	2nd Pick	3rd Pick
1	betweentheeyes	Curry	Claver	Mills
48	andy sims	Curry	Young	Claver
54	furious.d	Curry	Young	Heytvelt
67	Nick the Quick	DeRozan	Brown	Douglas
57	PurplePurple	DeRozan	Young	Douglas
82	LPKingsFan	Evans	Brown	Mills
71	rc360	Evans	Casspi	Beaubois
23	Aykis16	Evans	Casspi	Brown
13	cbsf	Evans	Casspi	Calathes
61	corbin	Evans	Casspi	Calathes
50	JuanPrimo	Evans	Casspi	Collison
64	Dastardly D	Evans	Casspi	Collison
76	27freethrows	Evans	Casspi	Daye
30	kingsoftheboxscore	Evans	Casspi	Gibson
9	section214	Evans	Casspi	Heytvelt
47	allbenji's	Evans	Casspi	Maynor
11	Big ZK	Evans	Casspi	Mills
22	dkons21	Evans	Casspi	Mills
80	creep	Evans	Collison	Brown
79	jwill is the best	Evans	Daye	Brown
59	bozotunes	Evans	Hansbrough	Douglas
27	JohnSalmons19	Evans	Lawson	Heytvelt
78	piratejp	Evans	pick traded	Claver
36	PhutureKings	Evans	Teague	Claver
77	nbrans	Evans	Teague	Gibson
43	#1kingsfan4eva!	Evans	Young	Gladyr
19	Deleran	Evans	Young	Mills
20	Carl	Flynn	Budinger	Christmas
72	SavageBeast	Flynn	Calathes	Casspi
69	ramon	Flynn	Casspi	Mills
26	R-man	Flynn	Ellington	Claver
63	Sactown Demos	Flynn	Summers	Claver
66	MTBalla	Flynn	Summers	Mills
39	KINGSFAN80	Flynn	Williams	Collison
18	Ball In Cup	Flynn	Williams	Mills
74	Ellimist	Flynn	Young	Brown
33	Red Reign	Flynn	Young	Pendergraph
60	markdog333	Holiday	Budinger	De Colo
16	kangsfan	Holiday	Mullens	Calathes
51	SugaB	Holiday	Williams	Beaubois
40	CAB	Holiday	Young	Gibson
81	Toback	Jennings	Budinger	Beaubois
70	OrangeLazarus	Jennings	Casspi	Calathes
35	willski	Jennings	Claver	Calathes
44	passionforPERPS	Jennings	Teague	Adrien
56	discocricket	Jennings	Teague	Beaubois
52	Bushka	Rubio	Blair	Mills
58	clicc916	Rubio	Blair	pick traded
75	pookeyguru	Rubio	Brown	Beaubois
21	caesarpalacio	Rubio	Budinger	Taylor
14	sroufe	Rubio	Calathes	Brown
68	mike murray	Rubio	Calathes	Casspi
12	Exhibit G	Rubio	Calathes	Heytvelt
62	longtimelistenerfirsttimecaller	Rubio	Calathes	Heytvelt
49	DougChristieKO	Rubio	Casspi	Beaubois
15	LA SportsCentral.com	Rubio	Casspi	Brockman
28	KingsForLife	Rubio	Casspi	Brown
8	panzerfaust	Rubio	Casspi	Claver
37	KillaFresh	Rubio	Casspi	Claver
31	dalt99	Rubio	Casspi	De Colo
4	Smills91	Rubio	Casspi	Douglas
29	dannyboy55	Rubio	Casspi	Heytvelt
5	Citadel29	Rubio	Casspi	Liull
10	LeaguePassAddict	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
25	kingme	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
42	Burrito3	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
7	otis29	Rubio	Casspi	Summers
32	CloudyEyes	Rubio	Clark	Calathes
41	eduardo_m7	Rubio	Collison	Heytvelt
2	STH114	Rubio	Daye	Mills
3	jjham15	Rubio	Hansbrough	Beaubois
6	NoceOne	Rubio	Hansbrough	Beaubois
53	SolidWar Snake	Rubio	Hansbrough	Thornton
65	AnotherStupidSN	Rubio	Heytvelt	Calathes
34	left hand	Rubio	Heytvelt	Meeks
24	Darth_Ennui	Rubio	pick traded	Heytvelt
83	SPTSJUNKIE	Rubio	Teague	Heytvelt
45	gedrosian	Rubio	Williams	Claver
38	SactownKing9	Rubio	Williams	Collison
73	jwill all the way 55	Rubio	Williams	Mills
46	moproblemz	Rubio	Young	Claver
55	GreekKing	Rubio	Young	Collison
17	vfettke	Rubio	Young	Mills

2009 Sactown Royalty Draft Contest

section214 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:37:48 -0000

I see a tall, soon to be rich stranger entering your life.

Last year, we held the first annual Sactown Royalty Draft Contest. Dozens of StR faithful matched "wits" in the hopes of correctly guessing the thought patterns of Geoff Petrie. Ball In Cup took the prize (a still yet to be designed t-shirt) with his shrewd choosing of Sean Singletary in the 2^nd round. All in all, never have so many guessed so wrong for so little. Patrick Ewing, Jr.? Really?

Well, the stakes have been raised (though not the prize). Welcome to the second annual Sactown Royalty Draft Contest. This year we again have three picks, #4, #23 and #31. Utilize your cunning, guile, and inside knowledge, and you could walk away with the same yet to be designed StR t-shirt that we promised "Cup" last year. Talk about limited supply! (By the way, my idea for a t-shirt design last year – "Sactown Royalty…We drafted Sean Singletary and all I got was this crummy t-shirt" – was voted down at the Board of Directors meeting…stupid rbiegler!)

The rules? I tried to keep them simple, as I know my audience well –

In the comments section of this post, let us know who you think the Kings will draft with each of their 1st round picks, and then their 2nd round pick. Whoever gets the most picks right wins the next Sactown Royalty T-shirt (coming soon!...?).
In case of a tie, the correct selection of the #4 pick will be the tie breaker. The 2^nd tie breaker will be the #23 pick. The 3rd tie breaker will be who posted their selections first. Ailene Voisin does hold veto power based on who she thinks is the sexiest, but TZ holds veto power over Ailene, so it’s all good.
One entry per person. Once you have entered you may not change your picks, unless you can prove that you are Chad Ford. The advantage to entering early is the tie breaker edge, while the advantage of waiting is any extra bit of news that you may pick up between now and Thursday.
Entry deadline is this Wednesday, June 24th, midnight PST.

Now go forth and think like Geoff. Speak in low, measured tones. Call out the kids in your neighborhood for a 2^nd workout. Fill your gas tank to the full mid-level, no exceptions. You can do this. You will do this. You must do this.

Good luck. (UPDATE - 79 into the pool after the jump - )

Order	StR Member	1st Pick	2nd Pick	3rd Pick
1	betweentheeyes	Curry	Claver	Mills
2	STH114	Rubio	Daye	Mills
3	jjham15	Rubio	Hansbrough	Beaubois
4	Smills91	Rubio	Casspi	Douglas
5	Citadel29	Rubio	Casspi	Liull
6	NoceOne	Rubio	Hansbrough	Beaubois
7	otis29	Rubio	Casspi	Summers
8	panzerfaust	Rubio	Casspi	Claver
9	section214	Evans	Casspi	Heytvelt
10	LeaguePassAddict	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
11	Big ZK	Evans	Casspi	Mills
12	Exhibit G	Rubio	Calathes	Heytvelt
13	cbsf	Evans	Casspi	Calathes
14	sroufe	Rubio	Calathes	Brown
15	LA SportsCentral.com	Rubio	Casspi	Brockman
16	kangsfan	Holiday	Mullens	Calathes
17	vfettke	Rubio	Young	Mills
18	Ball In Cup	Flynn	Williams	Mills
19	Deleran	Evans	Young	Mills
20	Carl	Flynn	Budinger	Christmas
21	caesarpalacio	Rubio	Budinger	Taylor
22	dkons21	Evans	Casspi	Mills
23	Aykis16	Evans	Casspi	Brown
24	Darth_Ennui	Rubio	pick traded	Heytvelt
25	kingme	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
26	R-man	Flynn	Ellington	Claver
27	JohnSalmons19	Evans	Lawson	Heytvelt
28	KingsForLife	Rubio	Casspi	Brown
29	dannyboy55	Rubio	Casspi	Heytvelt
30	kingsoftheboxscore	Evans	Casspi	Gibson
31	dalt99	Rubio	Casspi	De Colo
32	CloudyEyes	Rubio	Clark	Calathes
33	Red Reign	Flynn	Young	Pendergraph
34	left hand	Rubio	Heytvelt	Meeks
35	willski	Jennings	Claver	Calathes
36	PhutureKings	Evans	Teague	Claver
37	KillaFresh	Rubio	Casspi	Claver
38	SactownKing9	Rubio	Williams	Collison
39	KINGSFAN80	Flynn	Williams	Collison
40	CAB	Holiday	Young	Gibson
41	eduardo_m7	Rubio	Collison	Heytvelt
42	Burrito3	Rubio	Casspi	Mills
43	#1kingsfan4eva!	Evans	Young	Gladyr
44	passionforPERPS	Jennings	Teague	Adrien
45	gedrosian	Rubio	Williams	Claver
46	moproblemz	Rubio	Young	Claver
47	allbenji's	Evans	Casspi	Maynor
48	andy sims	Curry	Young	Claver
49	DougChristieKO	Rubio	Casspi	Beaubois
50	JuanPrimo	Evans	Casspi	Collison
51	SugaB	Holiday	Williams	Beaubois
52	Bushka	Rubio	Blair	Mills
53	SolidWar Snake	Rubio	Hansbrough	Thornton
54	furious.d	Curry	Young	Heytvelt
55	GreekKing	Rubio	Young	Collison
56	discorocket	Jennings	Teague	Beaubois
57	PurplePurple	DeRozan	Young	Douglas
58	clicc916	Rubio	Blair	pick traded
59	bozotunes	Evans	Hansbrough	Douglas
60	markdog333	Holiday	Budinger	De Colo
61	corbin	Evans	Casspi	Calathes
62	longtimelistenerfirsttimecaller	Rubio	Calathes	Heytvelt
63	Sactown Demos	Flynn	Summers	Claver
64	Dastardly D	Evans	Casspi	Collison
65	AnotherStupidSN	Rubio	Heytvelt	Calathes
66	MTBalla	Flynn	Summers	Mills
67	Nick the Quick	DeRozan	Brown	Douglas
68	mike murray	Rubio	Calathes	Casspi
69	ramon	Flynn	Casspi	Mills
70	OrangeLazarus	Jennings	Casspi	Calathes
71	rc360	Evans	Casspi	Beaubois
72	SavageBeast	Flynn	Calathes	Casspi
73	jwill all the way 55	Rubio	Williams	Mills
74	Ellimist	Flynn	Young	Brown
75	pookeyguru	Rubio	Brown	Beaubois
76	27freethrows	Evans	Casspi	Daye
77	nbrans	Evans	Teague	Gibson
78	piratejp	Evans	pick traded	Claver
79	jwill is the best	Evans	Daye	Brown

Coach Fuller to become a Trojan?

section214 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:54:34 -0000

Coach Fuller to become a Trojan?

Hide the cell phones, USC ballers. Reggie Theus may be coming your way.

Hey, I have an original idea...how 'bout a poll?!?

section214 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:18:05 -0000

Too slow, too flashy, and not enough game film on him.

I’ve been agonizing over this for at least the past fifteen minutes. On the one hand, I don’t want to burden you with another poll. On the other hand, your burdens really don’t keep me up at night. As Harold Pressley once said, "Dick Motta killed my career!" Actually, Harold has said that about 1,000 times and it is really not germane to this post, but it beats anything else that I could think of at the moment.

A couple of weeks ago, Ricky Rubio and Blake Griffin were 1a and 1b on our draft board. The chasm between these two guys and the rest of the pack rivaled the hole in the Kings’ defense. In a word, gaping. In eleven words, I still cannot believe how much our defense sucked last year. But I digress.

As I mentioned in my epic and critically acclaimed post from last Thursday (well, my mommy liked it), the gap has seemingly widened around here as it pertains to Griffin vs. Rubio, and the gap has narrowed as it pertains to Rubio vs. everyone not named Hasheem Thabeet or Jordan Hill. This is perhaps due to us getting more information on guys like Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Johnny Flynn, and others, coupled with the lack of new information that we have received on Rubio. Throw in the fact that it is still not 100% clear that he will be available to play this year, and you have a situation that would have any blogger suffering from writer’s block hollering "re-rack!"

So, let’s pretend that the first three guys to go on draft night are Griffin, Thabeet and James Harden. Substitute Hill or Demar DeRozan for Thabeet and/or Harden if you like – it’s not like we’re running a dictatorship or anything around here. Just don’t disagree with us, capeesh? Where was I? I was pretending something…Mrs. Section214 doesn’t have her "lariat of truth," so that’s not it…oh yeah, the draft!

OK, it’s our turn to pick, and Geoff Petrie is looking at the remaining swing men. But the brothers Maloof have concerns over the growing throng of pitchfork wielding and torch bearing maniacs in the ARCO parking lot. The chant "POINT GUARD OR DIE HARD" is growing louder and louder. A lock of Beno Udrih’s hair has been delivered to the war room, with an attached note that reads, "Draft a point guard or you’ll ~~never see Beno again~~ have to sit there and watch Beno run this team for another year, at least until he gets hurt again." Horrified, the Kings’ brain trust agrees to draft a point guard.

Rubio is there for the taking. The same Rubio that we wanted as badly as Blake Griffin barely a month ago. GP is ready to pull the trigger, but he decides to consult his one true source for all of the important decisions that he makes for the Kings and his personal life – Sactown Royalty. It is our collective voice that will make this pick, and it is this poll from which that voice will be heard (hmm, I seem to have overcome those self esteem issues that plagued me as a child).

Have at it, StR. Gavin, Joe, Geoff, Paul and the rest await your decision. The future of the Kings franchise is upon your shoulders. Use your cunning as your guide, your knowledge as your beacon. And if all else fails, let Harold Pressley be your inspiration, and let his hate of Dick Motta illuminate a path of righteousness to the doorway of our new savior, our new panacea, our new point guard.

Or don’t vote – this whole thing has really gotten quite out of hand anyway.

Poll

With the #4 pick, the Kings select (sorry K9(woof!), you'll have to sit this one out - PG's only)

Rodrigue Beabois

0 votes

Nick Calathes

0 votes

Darren Collison

0 votes

Stephen Curry

18 votes

Tyreke Evans

78 votes

Johnny Flynn

25 votes

Jrue Holiday

37 votes

Brandon Jennings

93 votes

Ty Lawson

4 votes

Eric Maynor

0 votes

Patty Mills

2 votes

Ricky Rubio

333 votes

Jeff Teague

7 votes

597 votes | Poll has closed

Now What?

section214 — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:51:21 -0000

Sigh. I long for the days of yesteryear. More accurately, I long for the days of yestermonth. It was barely a month ago that 97% agreed that either Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio would look best in a Kings’ uniform. No one else mattered. It was a draft of two studs and the rest duds. Two heroes and a gaggle of zero’s. Two gold nuggets a batch of douche nuggets. Let everyone else try to mold lumps of coal into diamonds. Our minds are made up. Hasta la vista, baby!

Then we got kicked in the (ping pong) balls, but good. I’m still peeing blood, or at least Bloody Mary’s. Griffin and Rubio were seemingly gone, and we were relegated to making chicken salad out of something that sure wasn’t chicken salad (you may substitute that line with "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear" or "trying to make a point guard out of Quincy Douby").

Then the funny stuff started to happen. Rumors began swirling that Ricky Rubio might still drop to #4. Our reaction was disbelief, followed by cautious glee, followed by distrust. Rubio must be aging exponentially, because according to his detractors he has seemingly lost a step or two over the past month, his jumper has gotten worse, and he no longer is interested in playing defense.

Thankfully, Ricky is but one of eight candidates that various "experts" have coming to the Kings with the #4 pick (and that doesn’t take into account the fact that Chad Ford has three different guys coming here all by himself!). I can’t recall this much volatility at the top of a recent draft. There are guys predicted to come here that could be gone by #4 (Rubio, Harden), and guys that might not even land in the lottery (Holiday, Flynn, Curry). There are mysteries (Jennings), tantalizing questions (Evans) and a guy that no one around here seems to want (Jordan Hill). And the worst part? You can’t trust Geoff Petrie as far as you can throw him. He could cross up everyone and take Demar DeRozan or Peja Divacoglu.

The one thing that these guys all have in common is an elevated amount of risk. One or more of these guys might become all stars someday, and a couple of guys will probably be busts. The problem is there is no way of really distinguishing the Baby Ruth’s from the doodie’s at this point. It is literally a crap shoot. To wit –

Ricky Rubio – The most exciting, and the most likely to become the face of a franchise, with the potential of eventually returning a certain franchise to national prominence. He is the guy that will make his teammates better, guaranteed (note – guarantee is not guaranteed). Questions include his availability (will he be drafted before #4, will he even come over this year?), his athleticism, and his ability to do "Good Feet" and "Folsom Lake Toyota" ads.

Tyreke Evans – Long, quick, confidant, engaging…but enough about me. Evans size and length is enough to make you tingly when you think about him sharing a backcourt with Kevin Martin. But questions abound as to whether he is really a distributing point guard. My opinion is that this stuff is a little overblown. CP3 and Deron Williams are not exactly bashful about scoring, but because they handle the ball every time up the floor they have the opportunity to fill up a stat sheet. I’m not dogging these guys – I would take either one in a heartbeat. But if the Kings are going to continue to run a version of the Princeton, a guy like Evans that can be an effective slasher could come in handy. Of course, he would also need to be able to hit open jumpers, which has been a question. But let’s remember that fellow Memphis alum Derrick Rose was not exactly a light’s out shooter in college. Rose added almost 20% to his free throw shooting alone as an NBA rookie. Just sayin’.

Brandon Jennings – By tomorrow, we will probably know a lot more about Jennings’ as a player. The knock on him is that he has not flourished in Europe. But did anyone notice that Josh Childress booked less than 9 pts. and less than 5 boards per game in Greece this year? The point is his Europe stats are meaningless. There have also been questions about his attitude, but no one can seem to reference the how’s or where’s or why’s of these alleged issues. I have nothing to go by here but gut feeling, but I think that Brandon Jennings will be an NBA player, and perhaps an NBA star.

James Harden – Harden could possibly be gone before #4. Harden is apparently a marketing major, as he was attempting to sell the Kings on the idea that he could play the point. Again, in the Princeton it would be an interesting concept. But the thought of Harden chasing Tony Parker and the such around NBA floors…well, at least he would work off the rest of that body fat. Harden should be at least a solid pro in the right situation. I’m not sure that Sacramento is the right situation.

Jrue Holiday – Brandon Jennings, part 2. This guy had always been a point guard, but he moved to the two so that he and Darren Collison could play in the same backcourt at UCLA. As a result, now there are questions as to whether he is a point guard. And because his numbers (again, at the two) were less than enthralling at a school that runs a very deliberate offense, his overall talent has come into question. He is slotted to go anywhere from #4 to the tail end of the first round – amazing. Worst case scenario, this guy is Kyle Weaver, not a guy that you’d draft at #4, but a guy that will always find work in the NBA. Best case scenario is > Rajon Rondo.

Stephen Curry – I see this guy and I see Mike Bibby. I swear, it’s Mike Bibby! And not $14 million a year Mike Bibby, but young, not expensive, and willing to fill his role on a team Mike Bibby. The concern should be less about whether he can play the point offensively. The concern is whether he is quick enough to chase opposing point guards.

Jordan Hill – This guy would be playing 25 minutes a night for the Kings in a very short period of time as the roster is currently comprised. An Ike Diogu or Marcin Gortat could change that a little bit. I get the feeling that if Hill didn’t have the same hair stylist as Mikki Moore, Kings fans wouldn’t be so cool on him. That said, he certainly lacks the…what’s the word that I’m looking for…help me out with this, Ailene…the sex appeal of most of the other candidates.

Demar DeRozan – The list wouldn’t be complete without a swing man. DeRozan has not been discussed here as much as the other guys, primarily because we don’t want to go through the mental gymnastics of figuring out how he would fit on a roster with Nocioni, Garcia and Greene. But the guy is said to be a talent. And I just don’t trust GP…

Well, there it is. Less than two weeks until the draft, and we don’t have a freakin’ clue. And we have not even touched on the #23 and #31 picks. I hope that you can all make the draft day thread. It should be epic.

And 1 – I will put up a draft contest later next week. You will have an opportunity to submit your predicted picks, with the winner eventually perhaps winning a prize of some sort, maybe. I say this because defending champ "Ball In Cup" is still awaiting his StR t-shirt (still in development) from last year. And he has not complained once. You the man, Cup!

Fly in the Ointment?

section214 — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:34:01 -0000

I'm just tossing this quick one into the FanPosts, as I sit here thinking out loud.

Hasheem Thabeet did not paricipate in the drills in Chicago. He is not working out for teams. Might this cause a drop in his draft standing? And if so, how does that impact the Kings?

To this point, it has almost been a given that Thabeet would go 2 or 3. But if he does not show the Griz and the Thunder the goods, will they pass? And if they do, which additional player gets chosen ahead of us in his place?

I can't imagine Petrie pulling the trigger on Thabeet if he does not participate in a workout here (or somewhere where GP can get a good look at him.

I'm not losing sleep over this, as I think that Griffin/Rubio/Evans/Jennings would all look good in a Kings uniform (heck, I might even feel that way about Harden/Hill/DeRozan/Holiday). I am, however, amazed that Thabeet and his handlers have taken this approach, and that it has not been mentioned as a potential threat to his current draft stock.

Thoughts?

Assigning Ricky Rubio Trade Limits

section214 — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:01:20 -0000

It's official - he's dreamy.

Let’s start by admitting that we lust for Ricky Rubio. 48% of you wanted him when Blake Griffin was still a possibility. As much as we want to say that Brandon Jennings or Tyreke Evans or (insert player name here) might become a better pro, that’s just code to prepare ourselves for the very real disappointment that Ricky Rubio may not wind up in a Kings’ uniform. Simply, if it was our turn to pick tomorrow and Ricky Rubio were available, probably better than 90% of us would want him. Were Rubio available and passed on by the Kings at #4, the ensuing draft thread would be epic.

Three weeks ago, I posted “The Five Stages Of A Geoff Petrie Draft Pick.” The post drew a parallel between GP’s draft picks and the five stages of death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. As it pertains to the ping pong ball drop, we have already gone through denial (are you kidding me?!?) and anger (effing David Stern!), and we’ve moved on to bargaining. And much like when you’re bargaining death, you’re ready to promise almost anything.

We have seen comments that have offered up Jason Thompson or Spencer Hawes or Kevin Martin(!) to move up one or two slots to draft the exciting yet still unproven Spaniard. This makes no sense to me. And based on recent history, it is overpaying.

In 1998, Antawn Jamison was chosen by the Toronto Raptors with the 4^th pick of the draft. He was then traded for Vince Carter, who was taken 5^th by the Golden State Warriors.

In 2006, Minnesota traded #6 pick Brandon Roy to Portland for #7 pick Randy Foye and $1 million.

Also in 2006, Chicago sent #2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge and a conditional 2^nd round pick to Portland for Tyrus Thomas and the rights to Victor Khyrapa.

Last year, Minnesota sent #3 pick O.J. Mayo, Marko Jaric (3 yrs., $21 million) and Greg Buckner (3 yrs, $12 million, partially guaranteed) to Memphis for #5 pick Kevin Love, Mike Miller (2 yrs., $19 million), Brian Cardinal (2 yrs., $13 million) and Jason Collins (1 yr., $6 million).

Also last year, Indiana sent #11 pick Jerryd Bayless to Portland for #13 pick Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack (1 yr. @ $2 million preceding a qualifying offer) and Josh McRoberts ($700k).

Recapping, Toronto saved a few rookie salary scale dollars with their deal. Minnesota picked up some cash in the Roy/Foye deal. The Bulls and Blazers swapped rookies and little else. Memphis took on 2011 salaries in order to move up, while The T-Wolves got a good player at a relatively fair contract (Miller), plus shed contract for 2010. The Portland/Indiana deal was thought to be a rookie swap with throw-ins, though Jack did play reasonably well for Indiana last year.

Mike Miller was the only known commodity involved in any of these deals, and he was pretty much thought of as little net value in relation to his contract. The point is, it has not historically taken a ton to swap up a couple of picks.

Now, if a team like Portland (for example) felt that Ricky Rubio was the missing piece for them, they could go to Memphis and offer any combination of Jerryd Bayless, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, and/or their #24 and #32 picks. And if Portland wants to do that, the Kings can’t compete with it, nor should they. The aforementioned Blazer players are 2^nd tier for them (this is said with no intended disrespect - Fernandez is very important to Portalnd and is a stud, but he is not as important as Roy/Aldridge/Oden/Pryzbilla). If the trade didn’t pan out, it wouldn’t affect their core. The Kings on the other hand, would suffer massive damage if Rubio didn’t pan out and the cost was a current core player and a pick. And save the “there are no core players on a 17-55 team.” Martin, Thompson and Hawes have value in relation to their contracts, period. They should not be considered as easily dispensable just because the team currently stinks. That type of thinking would have jettisoned Mitch Richmond long before we used him to acquire Chris Webber. This is not to say that any of these guys are untouchable. But it is to say that you don’t give these guys up for the unknown.

Simply put, the actual trades that were mentioned above are the normal market. The Washington’s #5 and JaVale McGee rumors for the #2 or #3 pick appear to be false (though we’ll see). If a team like Portland comes in with an offer that is above and beyond that market, well, that’s that. In the mean time, these are the strongest offers that I would like to see the Kings make to move up in the draft:

The #4 and #23 pick and Kenny Thomas (1 yr. @ $9 million) to Memphis for the #2 pick and Marco Jaric (2 yrs. @ $15 million). Memphis retains a top four pick, picks up a #23 pick (to go with their #27 pick). They net a $6 million savings by involving Thomas and Jaric. Memphis runs the risk of losing out on Thabeet, but if they are that high on him they would just take him and not make this deal. The Kings get their man and still have a pick at #31 to try and pick up a bench player. The contract weight of Jaric in 2010 will not prevent the Kings from financially participating in the big fish free agent market. I would be OK substituting Donté Greene for the #23 pick if that was Memphis’ preference. It should also be noted that this deal could be made without involving Thomas (and I'd be OK with that), but Memphis will probably need his contract to reach the league payroll minimum, unless they go free agent shopping or make one of those "Marcus Camby" trades.

The #4 and #23 pick and Donté Greene to OKC for the #3 and #25 pick. This is providing that Rubio is still there at #3, of course. The Thunder move up a couple slots later in the 1^st round and land Greene at the low price of $870,000, and still get whomever they would have selected at #3. The Kings get their man, and retain a latter 1^st round pick. I would be willing to keep Greene and let them keep their #25 pick is that was OKC’s preference.

Any deal that has the Kings giving up more is a deal that I do not want to make. I should note that I see Nocioni, Udrih and Garcia as having little or no value in relation to their contracts (with Garcia perhaps being barely fair value for a contending team), so any deals involving them actually benefits us more than the other team, unless we are taking even worse contract in return.

I love Ricky Rubio. The thought of him in a Kings uniform makes me warm and fuzzy. But only at fair market value. If his acquisition is to cost us any of our few assets, I’m ready to welcome whomever Geoff Petrie drafts to play alongside Martin, Thompson and Hawes with open arms.

Super Paranoid Fun Thread

section214 — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:52:44 -0000

They're out to get us. They're all out to get us.

OK, you little ragamuffins. This thread is for you. All of you Oliver Stone-loving rocket scientists. All of you Zapruder film devotees. Yes, you may be paranoid, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you.

Of course, you may need to keep your comments brief. It’s not easy typing when you’re continually looking over your shoulder. And you don’t want to stay logged on too long. Because we’re watching you…watching you…watching you.

Since this is your thread, I will not point out that the last ten teams to secure the #1 pick are LA (Clippers), Chicago, Portland, Toronto, Milwaukee, Orlando, Cleveland, Houston, Washington and New Jersey. This list does not exactly support the theory that the lottery is rigged to help the major market teams, especially when teams like the Knicks and Celtics were in some of these drafts.

I also won’t mention that blue-chippers like LeBron James and Dwight Howard wound up in mid-markets. The year James came out, Detroit, Chicago and New York were all in the lottery. When Howard came out, the Bulls and 76ers were in the lottery. And Boston getting hosed in a year that Oden and Durant came out? Puh-lease. So we’ll just keep that this our little secret. Facts suck, anyway.

(I need to speed this up – I don’t like the way my dogs are looking at me…)

The three teams that vaulted the Kings to the #1 pick had the same number of wins (combined) as the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 22 wins each. They included the Clips (generally regarded as the worst franchise historically in the NBA, if not all of major sports), and Memphis and Oklahoma City (two NBA outposts that actually make Sacramento look like a big city). I can’t figure out what David Stern is up to here, but I know that you can.

I would spend some time telling you that sometimes a duck is just a duck, and sometimes bad luck is just bad luck. And the Kings have certainly had more than their fair share. I would point out that the NBA has no reason to keep the Kings down. I would mention that Cubs fans could tell you something about bad luck, but I’m sure that their failure to win a world series in the past-damn-near-100-years is Stern’s fault to, and I can’t wait for you to tell us how and why.

(Hey, the referee’s just called traveling on Carmelo Anthony for traveling. Fix!!!)

So for all your stew, this thread’s for you. Have at it. And please be sure to focus on the following tried and true points:

- Blame David Stern whenever possible

- Accuse the Maloof’s of destroying their product so that they can relocate

- Refer to game 6; for the love of all that is holy, refer to game 6

- Blame David Stern whenever possible

- Over blow the fact that we received the pick that we had the greatest odds of receiving, completely ignoring that this is the same (at least slightly) flawed system that has been in place for years

- Ignore your inner hypocrite that would have taken delight in this same system had we jumped into the top three either of the past two years

- Blame David Stern whenever possible

Alrighty, kiddies, it’s all yours. Turn on every light in your house, check all door and window locks, and let the raving paranoia fly. But you may want to create a new log-in handle when you post your comments. Because David Stern is watching you…watching you…watching you…

"Smile, kid, and your parents make it home safely. Capeesh?"