Sacramento's Kings Among NBA's Paupers

The Sacramento Kings came into the 2008-2009 season thinking that there might be a season of hope and possible playoff fortunes. What came of the '09 season was a coach's firing, misfiring from a terrible offense, and disarray among veterans and rookies alike; but there is a slight chance of hope with the talent and potential of a small core of young players.

The firing of Reggie Theus as head coach probably was in some ways both good and bad. For the good, he didn't really fully support star shooting guard Kevin Martin as the team's de facto No. 1 option and primary scorer; this was not necessarily instilling the support that a team's best player should have and Theus didn't seem committed to Martin's growth as he was just trying to win everyone else over. Also, Theus didn't have a great amount of knowledge in knowing good lineups to place on the court, often relying heavily on injured veterans like the departed Brad Miller or the retired Shareef Abdur-Rahim to make things happen, despite their own inabilities. The bad in Theus' firing is that he is the third coach to be owed money due to firing, and the players themselves have seen another coach go without having much stability, while interim coach Kenny Natt is likely to depart from the team as well.

Offensively, the Kings were at a disadvantage starting with their starting point guard, Beno Udrih, who really only has been good for parts of 1 1/2 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and his first season in Sacramento. Being highly paid and highly mediocre as well, he's there to stay, which is probably a negative thing. The lack of a great post presence, even before Miller was traded to the Chicago Bulls, created little room for shooters Martin and Francisco Garcia to get better perimeter shots; and honestly, the lack of great scoring support and committed defense from the entire team allowed for losing to take great precedence in 2009.

In light of the trade of Miller and breakout veteran scorer John Salmons to the Bulls for Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden (who was strangely waived after one game), the Kings ended up playing worse, and what's more is that Nocioni publicly slandered his teammates to a Spanish language news source, causing dissension between him and his teammates, namely Kings hero Bobby Jackson. For the positive, there is the long-term commitment of the team to Martin, who projects as a future league star. Garcia is a great teammate and just as good a player, and is good either as a starter or lead player from the bench. Nocioni, if he can inspire better play and good rapport with his teammates, is a great role player who hustles and can really play as a defender and shooter/slasher. Beyond the aforementioned players, the rookies Jason Thompson and Donte Greene, and fellow young big man Spencer Hawes are the triumvirate X-factors of the Kings.

Thompson, a 2008 lottery pick out of Rider University, has shown great promise and figures to be a cornerstone power forward for the Kings, if he can continue to develop at a good pace. Greene, the rookie out of Syracuse University, though young and generally immature altogether, has a great profile as a successful NBA player based on his talent and natural gifts as a 6'11" shooter; his development will largely depend on him becoming smarter with his shot selection, refining his stroke and showing a greater commitment in being a complete player on both sides of the ball. Hawes, a combination power forward/center, shows a lot of promise as well, and he has continued to display his strengths as an offensive and defensive presence inside the paint and his surprising athleticism; and lastly, former NCAA champion Tar Heel and Minnesota Timberwolf Rashad McCants could end up being brought back for his shooting and athleticism on the wing. Together, a starting lineup of Garcia (who can effectively play point guard at 6'7"), Martin, Greene at small forward, Thompson and Hawes can be a gateway to major success.

Just not for what has ended up being the 2008-2009 NBA regular season.