The Kings 2010 Las Vegas Summer League roster was sort of announced. My good friend and yours, Marty Mac, dropped the names of the players on the team today on his new blog. Jason Jones later confirmed those players for The Sacramento Bee.

Here is the roster:

Guards: Devan Downey, Dionte Christmas, Sylven Landesberg, Tyrese Rice, Donald Sloan and Ryan Thompson (Yes, JT’s brother)

Forwards: Omri Casspi, Donté Greene, Wayne Chism, Lee Cummard, Jasol Ellis and Tyren Johnson

Centers: DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Connor Atchley and Steven Hill

Overall, that’s 16 players. You probably noticed that Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson won’t be playing. By now, Jason Thompson has earned the prestige of not having to play on the Kings’ summer league team. This was not a rite afforded to Spencer Hawes last season but JT has progressed far more in his two years than Spencer did in his first two seasons. Tyreke Evans will be training with Team USA and frankly, showed in his rookie year that he’s far beyond any summer league basketball.

Of the Kings regular rotation guys, they’ll have four players (Omri, Donté, DeMarcus, and Hassan) running in Vegas. Last year, we got a glimpse into just how special the Kings top pick could be when Tyreke bullied his way to the basket against guys like Brandon Jennings, Toney Douglas and whoever else was unfortunate enough to have to guard the Rookie of the Year bulldozer. Now, we’ll all get a chance to see DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside make their sort-of professional debuts.

But outside of the Kings contractual regulars, getting to know the rest of the team seems like a good idea. The Kings have anywhere from three to five roster spots to fill and with the plans to hold off on the free agency frenzy, any one of these guys could play well this summer, get invited to training camp and work his way onto the regular season roster. So here’s a little breakdown of each player and what he could bring to the table.

Sylven Landesberg | SG | 6’6” 207lbs | Virginia

Did you look at that video? Who did that remind you of? It was sort of eerie how much these highlights reminded me of Tyreke. I’m not saying he’s nearly as good as Reke but the way he attacked the basket, used his body, stayed under control and finished plays was very reminiscent of the 2010 Rookie of the Year. Landesberg is a very good attacking guard. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense by finding his way to the basket. He rebounds well, converts at the line and is extremely strong with the ball. His biggest drawback is that he’s not a good shooter from outside. Even though he improved his freshman 3-point shooting of 31% to a sophomore mark of 38%, the guy struggles to find his stroke from outside. At the pre-draft combine, he made just 15/25 college threes, 11/25 NBA threes and 18/24 mid-range jumpers off the dribble.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I think it’s very high. If I had to pick one guy from this group to earn himself a contract with the Kings, it would be Sylven. Even though the Kings need shooters more than anything on the perimeter, they probably won’t be able to pass up on a guy that gets to the basket so easily. A strong performance from Sylven (and with the way he plays, I expect nothing less) probably earns him a lot of points with Geoff Petrie.

Dionte Christmas | SG | 6’5” 205 lbs | Temple

Dionte Christmas is another guard with high-scoring abilities. At Temple, he filled up the buckets with a barrage of scoring. His jumper is a little funky with a slight hitch in it in the style of Michael Redd and he has this weird tendency to move his right leg forward when he shoots off the dribble. But the shots usually find the bottom of the net so maybe that won’t matter. He’s also a pretty good defender. He can get pushed around a little bit but his instincts and footwork are pretty good. Where he’s lacking is his ability to get to the basket off the dribble. His ball handling is that great and he’s not a very good athlete considering the position he plays. Part of the reason he didn’t make a team last year is it’s hard to stand out as a guy teams have to have when you’re lacking athletically.

Likelihood to make the Kings: He’s another guy that could make this team if he shoots the lights out. He definitely has NBA range and he can make it from both the spot-up and off-the-dribble situations. And since the Kings already have a couple of truly versatile guards, they may just be looking to add cheap shooters this off-season as they head towards next summer.

Wayne Chism | PF | 6’9” 246 lbs | Tennessee

Chism is a guy that uses his quickness to catch players off guard inside. He’s not particularly athletic and since he’s around 6’9” he’s not exactly towering over the competition at the next level. So he has to use his quickness and reach (7’0”) to make plays on both ends of the floor. He doesn’t mind shooting the three when given the chance but that doesn’t mean you want him to shoot it (32% in college). What works for Chism is the fact that he rarely quits on plays and you don’t really expect him to do as much as he does. He has good strength inside to go with that reach.

Likelihood of making the Kings: I would say he almost has no chance. The Kings frontcourt is especially loaded after the draft and Chism doesn’t seem to be dynamic enough to get noticed in a way that would make Geoff Petrie want to add him to the roster. Maybe if he works hard, he’ll get a training camp invite.

Connor Atchley | PF/C | 6’10” 225 lbs | Texas
Atchley is not a guy who is high on the center prospects list for many teams. He has good height and length to play inside but he’s a little light on strength. He played in the D-League last season with the Iowa Energy and the Dakota Wizards and really wasn’t that bad. His Per-40 minute averages of 16.1 points and 9.5 rebounds are very respectable. He gets pushed around on defense a little because of his lack of strength and he has a difficult time scoring with his back to the basket because of the same reason. But he’s decent enough to carve out a minor career for himself.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I’d say it’s an improbable feat for Atchley to make this Kings team. He just isn’t the type of player that stands out and even if he did in the summer league, the Kings really have no use for him.

Lee Cummard | G/F | 6’7” 190 lbs | BYU

Here are the things I can tell you about Lee Cummard. He has a child. His old AIM handle was “leesalty.” He can flat-out shoot the rock. At BYU, he never shot under 51.7% from the field, made 85% or more of his free throws in two of his three years and shot well over 40% from three in his three-year career. Give him daylight and he’ll bury you with a long-range shot. He’s an okay athlete but might get abused physically at the next level. He mostly a spot-up shooter and probably can’t create his shot in the NBA.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I’d say it’s not going to happen. Even though the Kings need outside shooting, Cummard probably isn’t a gifted enough athlete to justify bringing him aboard. If he was able to handle himself a little better athletically on defense, his ability to shoot the ball would make him a strong candidate for at least a D-League affiliate. But he has a lot to improve on if he wants to play professional basketball in the United States.

Devan Downey | PG | 5’9” 170 lbs | South Carolina

You may remember Devan Downey from the time he lit up the Kentucky Wildcats and upset them in the SEC. Downey destroyed first round picks like Eric Bledsoe and the number one overall prize of the 2010 draft, John Wall. Downey is really small for an NBA point guard but he also might just be one of those guys that plays to the level of his competition and finds a way to get things done. He’s a pretty good scorer in a variety of ways. The problem with him wanting to play at the next level could be the fact that he’s much more of a scorer than a point guard and there isn’t a huge market for 5’9” shooting guards. Regardless, he should be a fun watch this summer.

Likelihood to make the Kings: It probably isn’t likely because there are better and bigger point guards out there. But if Downey can prove he’s adept at running a team then maybe he can earn himself a training camp invite and another chance to prove himself.

Ryan Thompson | SG | 6’6” 220 lbs | Rider
(WARNING: NSFW Audio Track)

Ryan Thompson is actually a lot more than just JT’s little brother. RT (not Regional Transit) can play and is a really good outside shooter. Even though he struggled with his shot in his senior year, he shot over 42% from three in both his sophomore and junior season. The nice thing about Ryan though is he’s not just a guy that settles for the jumper. He attacks the basket quite a bit and shows a well-rounded offensive repertoire. His biggest drawback has been his ability to get quality scoring opportunities when defenders overplay his right hand. His defense is okay but with better shape, his lateral quickness could greatly improve.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I actually think if he can prove he’s an NBA three-point shooter then he has a great chance at making training camp with the Kings. A lot of people will claim it’s because of his namesake but that will just be an ignorant assessment. Ryan has the potential to be a teammate/opponent of his brother someday.

Tyrese Rice | PG | 6’1” 190 lbs | Boston College

Rice reminds me a lot of Darrick Martin in the way he attacks offensively. Their jumpers are even kind of similar. Rice has a lot of moves and does a great job of scoring the basketball. His game oozes streetball and I don’t mean that as a knock. He just seems to have a certain flair to everything he does on the court. The problem though is he’s not a very exceptional athlete and he’s pretty small compared to most athletic point guards in the league. He needs to prove he can run a team because most of his teammates at the next level will be able to handle the scoring load.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Not very high. Yes, the Kings could use another guard on the roster but if they take on a third point guard, this guy is going to have to be able to defend and distribute. Rice seems much more like a scoring guard first.

Steven Hill | C | 7’0” 245 lbs | Arkansas

Steven Hill is a lot more agile and athletic than the hair and headband let on. He has explosive leaping ability for a guy his size and great length to go with it. He can score with his back to the basket and had a brief stint with the Thunder in 2009. Hill didn’t show a great ability to rebound but he’s improved that over the last two years in the D-League. He’s a very solid defender that challenges shots well.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Again, the froncourt is very stacked but that doesn’t mean he can’t play in the NBA. He just needs to go to a team that has more of a need for size.

Jason Ellis | SF | 6’7” 200 lbs | Boise State
I’ll be honest: I’ve never heard of this guy. And there isn’t a lot of information on the internet for him. His biggest accomplishment might be having the same name as a professional skateboarder. He rebounded well in his four years at Boise State with a career average of 7.9 in 27 minutes per game. At this point, it definitely seems like I’m just filling space here so I’ll move on.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I just don’t know who this guy is. Maybe he can make the team but I’ve never seen him play. I will say that there isn’t a single guy that has made the Kings in the last 10 years that I haven’t seen play before they signed. That doesn’t bode well for Jason Ellis.

Donald Sloan | G | 6’3” 205 lbs | Texas A&M

Donald Sloan became a fairly high-volume scorer (17.8 ppg) in his last year as an Aggie but it also might be because he took nearly 13 shots per game. Sloan isn’t much of a playmaker in terms of guard play but he’s a very electric athlete. His outside shooting has been pretty suspect in his college career and his defense leaves something to be desired. But he should be good for a highlight or two this summer.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Kings need shooters at the shooting guard position and Sloan doesn’t really fit that bill. Also, he’s very undersized at 6’3” and that’s going to automatically turn teams away unless he plays at an unreal level for him. He will not make this Kings team but I expect him to be entertaining for the crowd.

Tyren Johnson | SF | 6’8” 204 lbs | Louisiana-Lafayette

No joke, this is the only “highlight” video I could find for him. I don’t know if that says more about his playing career or beat-making abilities. Tyren is a decent-enough athlete who probably won’t be able to play the 3 or the 4 but will have to find a way. He has three-point range but I would advise against him shooting that shot. He showed good rebounding and playmaking ability his senior season. He also turned the ball over a lot. He’s going to either have to get quicker or much stronger to find a position in this league.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Even though the Kings could use another wing player, I think the stigma and reality of Tyren being a tweener for the 3 and 4 inhibit his chances of getting a training camp invite. He can change that by playing his tail off in the six games this summer and performing well in practice. Otherwise, I think he’ll have to stick to the beat laboratory.

Andy Katz put together this video about the perception of DMC vs what he and John Calipari view as the reality.

It was posted eight days before the draft:

It’s a good look into the person that DeMarcus is. He’s very confident, which might be the biggest difference between him and the other big men in this draft. And the fact that he’s easily the most talented big man in the draft and Calipari called him the “most unfinished product” is scary for the rest of the league. Could very easily be back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners in Sacramento.

Dan Feldman, TrueHoop Pistons blogger and human highlighter, put together this fantastic chart of all the incoming rookies and their corresponding rebounding numbers.

Play around with it and enjoy.

I received this email from Connor, a reader, wondering about Michael Beasley and the “everything must go” sale the Miami Heat are having on his behalf.

After watching the draft Thursday night and watching teams like the Bulls take desperate measures to get cap room, I thought since the Kings don’t look to be a major player in this year’s free agency could they take advantage of this? I then came across an article that the Heat are trying desperately to get rid of Michael Beasley’s contract, So wouldn’t it be a smart move for the Kings to add a young talented forward with just the cost of taking on his contract? I’m sure the Heat would have a very reduced price for Beasley. To get rid of Hinrich the Bulls threw in a 1st round pick as well. Is this scenario even conceivable?  If Miami is really desperate to get rid of Beasley what is stopping the Kings from doing this?

Connor brings up an intriguing idea. Using the lure of free agency that Miami has decided to reshape their franchise with against them in order to pilfer assets from the organization. A team like the Sacramento Kings – rebuilding by acquiring young talent and future assets – is in perfect position to do something like this.

The problem though is figuring out where Michael Beasley fits in with the future of this organization. The asking price would be relatively small. The Kings would actually be doing Miami a favor by acquiring the #2 pick in the 2008 draft and absorbing his relatively small contract (two years, $11.2 million). In return, a conditional second round pick would be the likely asking price and even if it wasn’t conditional, the Kings could offer up a pick in 2015 or later when the Kings should be firmly cemented in the playoffs for years to come.

However, the Kings would have to figure out where he fits in.

The frontcourt is very loaded and primed to be a presence/strength for the Kings this year. Here’s the tentative depth chart for the small forward, power forward and center positions:

C: DeMarcus Cousins, Samuel Dalembert, Hassan Whiteside
PF: Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Jon Brockman
SF: Donté Greene, Omri Casspi

Doesn’t look like there’s a lot of room in there for a #2 pick who hasn’t even turned 22 years old yet. Michael Beasley is probably best used as a power forward and with Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and the Brockness Monster all trying to carve out playing time for their respective résumés, it seems unlikely he’d get a lot of run at the 4. And he’s obviously not a center so he’s unlikely to get any burn at the center position.

So would it behoove the Kings to acquire Michael Beasley for next to nothing and then try to slide him into the small forward position? Check out the difference between him playing the power and small forward positions (courtesy of 82games.com):

Seems like there is a pretty considerable difference with him on the wing and with him in the post. With Beasley on the wing, his shooting percentage is much lower and that probably has to do with him shooting so much from the outside and shooting so poorly. According to HoopData.com, Beasley shot just 37% on two-pointers beyond 10 feet today. He also only shot 27% from three-point land.

With him playing so far away from the basket, he seems more likely to take jumpers instead of attacking the basket. When he’s driving strong to the basket, he looks unstoppable. But he usually needs to be pretty close to the basket to get aggressive. So far in his career, he’s been far too resigned to taking contested jumpers and hoping they go in.

When you look at Synergy Sports numbers for Beasley, his most efficient ways of scoring are all heading towards the basket. He shot 67.6% in transition this year with only five attempts coming from three. He scored on 58.2% of his shots off of offensive rebounds. He made 59.6% of his shots when he cut to the basket. The guy can score and score better than most when he’s playing in a linear, progressive manner.  But look at his spot-up jumpers (38.4%) and how often he took them (25.9% of his plays, which is highest percentage for any type of play) and you can see why his numbers average out to being so underwhelming.

One last thing that concerns me about Michael Beasley is his mental makeup. He’s had some issues so far heading into the league and since he’s been in the NBA. I don’t really want to get into what they are but for someone who seems to be so aloof and capable of getting depressed fairly easily, to acquire him and have him possibly sitting on the bench while a deep frontcourt hogs all of the minutes doesn’t really seem like something I’d want to experiment with him.

Look at this highlight trailer from the documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot, which followed eight high school players (including Tyreke Evans and Donté Greene) leading up to an All-Star game in New York City.

First of all, it’s cool to see Lamont Peterson (Reke’s trainer) in this film because he lends a lot of great insight into the progression of Tyreke along with how the high school basketball scene treats and ranks these young players. Second, the line he gives Donté Greene before he drives to the basket and scores is pretty funny. But overall, it gives a good glimpse into the psyche of who Michael Beasley is. It doesn’t appear to have changed ALL THAT MUCH since he played in this game to going to Kansas State to spending two years in the NBA. He’s kind of a goofy guy. There’s a scene in the movie in which he purposefully films himself running into a wall. Maybe he wouldn’t be bad for team chemistry like Isaiah Rider or Zach Randolph were bad for chemistry but maybe he wouldn’t take things seriously and he’d have more of a Joey Dorsey affect.

Throwing a guy like that into a position in which he isn’t likely to excel while battling for minutes in one of the now deepest frontcourts in the NBA seems like a bad idea to me. Maybe the Kings could pursue this idea and it would work. But with the way this franchise is rebuilding itself, I just don’t find it to be a risk worth taking.

From Kingsflix:

Looking around the internet, there couldn’t be more praise being heaped onto the Sacramento Kings for selecting DeMarcus Cousins at #5 and Hassan Whiteside at #33. They got two guys who were bandied about the lottery without having to move any assets in order to acquire them. They just stood pat while Geoff Petrie worked his mind control over the rest of the league.

Here’s what the heavy hitters have to say about the draft:

From Tom Ziller at NBA Fanhouse:

Fifteen feet of wingspan for the price of their naturally allotted picks. What remarkable luck to get two high-upside players at these spots. Final Grade: A++++++ Would draft again!!!

From Chad Ford at ESPN.com on why he gives the Kings an A:

For a second straight year, I think the Kings had a terrific draft. Some GMs believe Cousins has more talent than anyone else in the draft. And as a No. 5 pick, it would be hard to find a better value.

Whiteside is very intriguing as a second-round pick. As a lottery pick, he would have been a huge risk, but as a second-rounder, he’s all upside.

Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don’t Lie gives the Kings an A:

It’s the biggest “if” in the draft, and because we’re four months away from playing anything, we’re allowed to go glass half-full with this. If Cousins gets his act together, he’ll fight former teammate John Wall to be the best player coming out of this draft.

From Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus on why the Kings are “big winners”:

In this case, you can take the term “big” literally. The Kings, who dealt for center Samuel Dalembert last week, added two more fives to the mix, taking Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins fifth overall and Marshall’s Hassan Whiteside with the No. 33 pick in the second round. In both cases, Sacramento took the best player available. I would have had Cousins fourth on my imaginary draft board, behind John Wall, Evan Turner and Derrick Favors, but saying that probably overstates the difference among the group. On statistics alone, Cousins was the best player in the draft, and while I don’t think he will overwhelm opponents with his size as he did in college, I think he’ll be an excellent pro.

Kurt Helin at NBC Sports also gives the Kings an ace:

They got a potentially very good big man in DeMarcus Cousins that could be the inside to Tyreke Evans’ outside. The second-round flyer on Hassan Whiteside was a good one — big upside with little risk.

The only poor grade the Kings received from the main guys was Chris Mannix at SI who gives them a B- :

After acquiring the disgruntled Samuel Dalembert from Philly, the Kings drafted another disgruntled big man: DeMarcus Cousins. Hard to argue with Cousins’ potential — 6-foot-10 without shoes, with a gigantic 7-6 wingspan and a standing reach of 9-5 — but he earned a reputation as a sulker with a questionable attitude at Kentucky. Will he mature in the NBA? If he does, he has scary talent and could blossom into an elite center.

This was from an interview on The Baseline:

Q: You were out in Sacramento for a workout; what’s your impression of the city?

DC: First thing I like about the city is the weather. It was like I was in a movie, it was like perfect weather. It was a beautiful place and I loved the culture, so that’s the place.

From ESPN.com’s Ric Bucher:

The Chicago Bulls have a deal in place that would move Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick to the Washington Wizards, freeing up enough cap space to pursue two maximum-salary players on this summer’s free-agent market, sources with knowledge of the Bulls’ plans said Thursday.

Since it’s a good-faith deal for the time being, there remains a chance it could fall apart. But according to one source, the Sacramento Kings are prepared to make a similar deal with the Bulls in the Wizards’ stead if that were to happen.

Hey there, Geoff! Why the long face? Did you get the 5^th pick in the 2010 NBA draft, even though you had the 3^rd best shot at getting the first pick overall? I see. Bummer. Well, you’re within your rights to be disappointed with the outcome of the NBA draft lottery, but you better not succumb to the pits of despair – after all, you know better than anyone that bad lottery luck can still translate into new franchise cornerstones.

Then again, not every draft works out as well as 2009 did for your Kings. And though the past season was encouraging from a “We finally have some young pieces to build around! We’re going somewhere!” standpoint, you still have a lot of work to do. Getting Samuel Dalembert from the Philadelphia 76ers was a good start – there’s that defensive big man you’ve been craving – but you still lack an elite wing player, have a logjam at small forward, and in general, don’t have the talent needed to compete at a high NBA level. All that work and more can be done on draft night, that rare blend of luck, gut feelings, and the ability to juggle multiple scenarios for your benefit.

What scenarios? Well, I’m glad you’ve asked. Conveniently laid out before you are the many, many ways you could go on draft night, ranging from “franchise altering” to “coaching Florida International”.

The Conventional Way
This is the conservative, yet usually common approach. You use your draft pick on the best player available, then use your cap space to bring in free agents. However, even here, there are many ways to go.

As far as the draft goes, sticking to this philosophy should be fairly simple. The 2010 draft has a funny build – it has a consensus top pick (John Wall), an almost consensus #2 and #3 (Evan Turner, then Derrick Favors), and two more guys who round up a pretty consensus top 5 (DeMarcus Cousins and Wesley Johnson). Since, whadaya know, the Kings have the 5^th pick, the thinking here is to allow teams 1 through 4 to deal with the headache of having to actually choose who they take, and then snatch the remaining guy. As of today, it seems that guy would be either Cousins, who fills in a nice frontcourt rotation with the newly acquired Dalembert, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson, or Johnson, who will probably share the swingman positions with Donte Greene/Omri Casspi.

You are then left with ample cap space to use during free agency. Assuming no top free agent feels like tagging along to the Sacramento rebuilding project, the conventional route says to nab some cheap, young, and talented free agents, who could grow with the teams existing core.

Interestingly, the best fits at shooting guard – Sacramento’s most burning need after bringing in Dalembert – are all restricted free agents: Golden State’s Anthony Morrow, a knock down shooter that would thrive next to Tyreke’s drive and kick game; J.J. Reddick, who possesses a similarly deadly stroke to go with the much improved play making and defensive abilities he displayed for Orlando these playoffs; and Ronnie Brewer, who has shown glimpses of becoming a defensive stopper/offensive slasher for the Utah Jazz before slipping this year, ultimately being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and injuring his knee one game in; Chris Douglas-Roberts showed a knack for scoring from the wing, but has fallen out of favor in New Jersey and may not get his option picked up; and maybe even Wes Matthews will be available after a very good rookie season for Utah, though he probably wants to stay in Salt Lake City.

You are then left with a plethora of intriguing rotation players. Amir Johnson is a pogo stick who led the NBA in field goal percentage, but seems to lack basic basketball smarts. Dorell Wright is a good defender, and has improved his 3 point range last year. Travis Outlaw was Portland’s second best clutch option before being hit with the double whammy of injury and a trade to the Clippers. BOTH Collins twins could be available. And you know as much as I do that you want to see Jason Williams back in Sacramento.

All in all, though, one can clearly see that the conventional way is unlikely to land the Kings an immediate star. However, as far as long rebuilding processes, this is a good way to add young pieces, gun for another lottery pick next year, and preserve some of that cap space.

Drafting By Need
There are problems with picking the best guy available. As stated, the most likely reward in this case would be either DeMarcus Cousins or Wesley Johnson. However, both of these players have huge concerns. While Cousins has the potential to be an NBA superstar and the best player in this draft, he also seems to be a total nutjob, the kind of player who only figures stuff out on his 3^rd or 4^th team, destroying chemistry on every squad he goes through before that. For references, ask the Miami Heat if they regret picking Michael Beasley in 2008.

Johnson, on the other hand, will already be 23 years old by the time next season starts, raising questions as to how much he can still improve. Going through his college resume, one also sees a glaring hole in the 2008-2009 season – he sat it out after transferring from Iowa State to Syracuse. While his lone season with the Orange was a huge success, you must ask yourself why a player so talented feels the need to forego a season so he can switch teams, and why his one year with Syracuse was his only truly dominant college campaign. And, of course, the biggest problem – how does Johnson fit with Sacramento’s existing roster? Versatile and athletic as Johnson is, at 6’8”, he’s not a natural fit at shooting guard, and plugging him at the 3 could prove redundant with Omri Casspi and Donte Greene on board.

The thinking here is avoiding those problems by taking someone who might not have as much potential as Johnson or Cousins, but is safer. Want to finalize your new frontcourt rotation, hopefully fixing those defensive concerns once and for all? There are big men a plenty in the mid-to-late lottery range – Cole Aldrich, Ekpe Udoh, Greg Monroe and Ed Davis, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and Hassan Whiteside are all potential lottery picks – of varying defensive prowess. Monroe in particular seems to have caught the eye of the Kings front office, with a polished offensive game that has drawn comparisons to the still beloved Vlade Divac.

There is no shortage of athletic wings either, with Al-Farouq Aminu (a Josh Smith-ian, mega athletic 3/4 tweener) and Xavier Henry (an NBA ready scorer) leading the pack, and Gordon Hayward, Luke Babbit, Avery Bradley and Paul George getting plenty of love as well. Any of these could concievably turn out great for the Kings.

Of course, any of them could be a bust too. Picking by need is always dangerous – as we all remember, it was Portland’s reason for passing on the greatest player of all time. So if you go down this road, choose wisely.

Trade Down
Even if you draft by need and hit the jackpot, one must always strive to maximize the value of his picks. And if you can get your player both at number 5 or at number 10, the obvious choice here is to take him in the spot where you pay him less money, and try to get another asset – be it a pick or a player.

The Warriors are picking 6^th, and have reportedly been looking at moving up, but I doubt they give up anything substantial for one spot. However, acquiring a solid backup big man in Ronny Turiaf, or a scoring swingman in Kelenna Azubuike or Reggie Williams could be something to look into.

Zach and PistonPowered’s Dan Feldman have already discussed a potential trade with the Detroit Piston, where the Kings get the 7^th pick and Tayshaun Prince. However, this also included Detroit taking on Nocioni’s bad contract, which the Sixers have now done themselves. Perhaps the deal could still happen, though – Sacramento still has two bad contracts on the books in Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia, and while both players (especially Beno) give the team more than Noc did, shedding that extra weight and acquiring the veteran Prince could be worth it.

The Utah Jazz, picking 9^th (thanks, Isiah), are reportedly quite infatuated with Greg Monroe, which is understandable, since their all-star power forward seems poised to leave in free agency, and their starting center is aging and coming off a major injury. Monroe probably won’t be available at #9, though, which could open warm the Jazz up to trading up. Do they have anything the Kings want though? Their best young assets are C.J. Miles, a 23 year old, 5 year veteran that never seemed to learn how to play basketball, and Paul Millsap, who is on such a bargain of a deal that the cost-cutting Jazz would be fools to let go. Still, if you like Miles and can get your guy at both #5 and #9, this could work.

Ditto for the Indiana Pacers, at #10, who have very few young assets themselves, other than Roy Hibbert (whom I doubt they trade) and Brandon Rush (shooting guard, has potential, is terrible on the court).

However, if you’re looking for a wild stretch that works for both teams, try this one:

The Sacramento Kings trade Francisco Garcia and the #5 pick for Richard Jefferson, George Hill and the #20 pick
I have to start this with a disclaimer: this deal makes sense for the Kings if and only if they are certain that they don’t want Cousins, and he’s available at #5. I know this seems odd at first – both teams seem to be giving up to much. But walk through this one with me.

The Spurs have one and a half legs out of their championship-winning window. The critically aclaimed trade for Jefferson backfired, with RJ looking nothing like the near all-star he was for those early decade Nets teams, and the Spurs were swept by the Suns in the playoffs. However, they still have Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on their last legs, meaning they can’t go to a full-fledged rebuilding strategy.

This seems to me like the next best thing.

In Garcia, the Spurs get just what Jefferson failed to provide – albeit on a smaller scale. Cisco can score, he can defend, he can shoot, and he can handle the ball. He’s a perfect fit either at the 3 next to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, or at the 2 when Manu is on the bench.

This is where one says “Cisco is nice, but he’s not as good as George Hill”. Is that so? Check this out:

Best Year	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	TO	REB	AST	PTS
G. Hill 09-10	29.2	47.8	39.9	77.2	0.9	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.9	12.4
Garcia 08-09	30.4	44.4	39.8	82.0	1.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	2.3	12.7

Those numbers are dauntingly similar. In their best campaigns, Hill and Garcia give virtually the same production – Hill is a slightly more efficient scorer, passer and ball handler, while Garcia gives you more blocks, steals and rebounds. For the immediate future, which is the Spurs’ bottom line, this is no loss. And by upgrading their pick from #20 to #5, the Spurs can now pick a young stud who can both contribute right away, and develop under the tutelage of Pop and the Big Three (do you have any doubt that DeMarcus Cousins will destroy this league if Tim Duncan’s work ethic rubs off on him?

Sacramento looks at this deal differently. In the Garcia-Hill trade off, the Kings obviously prefer Hill, since he’s younger and still on his rookie contract. Hill could be a very nice compliment to Tyreke in the backcourt, both as a second ball handler and as a shooter of Reke’s drives. While Garcia and Hill are similar now, if Hill improves down the road he could become the better player, which is what interests the Kings more than what happens right now.

In addition, bringing in Jefferson’s expiring deal gets rid of yet another bad contract – Garcia is nice, but isn’t worth  a year. Jefferson probably never plays for the Kings, either getting bought out or immediately swapped to a team looking to get under the cap next summer.

Which brings us the pick swapping. Remember when I said this only works if the Kings don’t want Cousins? That’s because in this draft, the disparity from top 5 to the rest of the draft, that drafting number 6 (which is essentially what the Kings will be doing if they stay at #5 and don’t take Cousins) isn’t that different than drafting at #20. In fact, Hassan Whiteside, who has already had two workouts for the Kings and is apparently getting at least some consideration from them at #5, goes at #22 in Chad Ford’s latest mock draft.

IF you don’t want Cousins – which, given his background, is understandable – this deal means you can still get one of your guys in the draft, while dumping a bad contract and getting a young stud on the way. Which is pretty neat.

The Financial Bullet
The conventional use of cap space is usually to sign a free agent. However, it also enables you to take on another team’s bad contract so you can extort an asset or to from them. For example, the 76ers are reportedly willing to give away the 2^nd pick in the draft to the team that takes Elton Brand of their hands. Brand’s deal is truly horrific, though, so the Kings probably don’t want that.

However, several other teams might be looking to shed some payroll, and could be willing to give away a key piece for it. The Knicks could be looking to move Eddy Curry’s final year so they can sign another big free agent, and might be willing to give away Wilson Chandler – or even Danilo Galinari. The Heat have reportedly already offered to trade Michael Beasley to the Nets for virtually nothing to clear more cap space themselves, which is an intriguing possibility if you believe Beas could still fulfill his potential with a change of scenery.

The options truly are endless: this is a league full of overpaid players and frugal owners. A creative GM with cap space to play with could end up swinging something major. Whether that thing is taking on a player who can contribute despite being overpaid, or to take on a package including both an albatross and an asset, this might be your best bet.

The Blockbuster
Of course, if you’re sick of drafting, making minor moves, and waiting,  the Kings have the right combination of assets to pull off a major deal. Here is a random idea on how to make a splash felt round the league:

The Kings trade Donte Greene and the 5^th pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Andre Igoudala
Gotta admit, Geoff, you kind of beat me to this one. Originally, in my mind, this trade was included in the Dalembert for Nocioni and Hawes deal (though I assumed Philly would want Jason Thompson and not Hawes, and Greene was not included). However, despite these deal going halfway down, I see no reason why the other half can’t follow. The original trade, with both Igoudala and Dalembert, couldn’t have gone down until July 1^st anyway (Sacramento officially gets their cap space only then).

For the Sixers, this sends the franchise into a full rebuilding mode – and not a moment too soon. Igoudala was never worth the franchise money he was given, and though losing their best player hurts, this allows Philly to pick Evan Turner, and hand the franchise over to him without worrying how he’ll coexist with Iggy. Throw in the 5^th pick, and Philly suddenly has a really nice, young core: Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams, Turner, Donte, Thad Young, Marreese Speights, Hawes and whoever Philly nabs at #5 (Cousins?) form a young, athletic top 8, all of whom offer room to develop. This team could do serious damage down the road.

As for the Kings, this move fills yet another major whole with a former 76er. With Dalembert shoring up the frontline, Igoudala will join Tyreke to form an explosive backcourt duo, with burgoening defensive potential. While Iggy isn’t the perfect Tyreke compliment, as he isn’t a great outside shooter, his shooting percentage should benefit greatly from somebody else creating his shots – he posted respectable true shooting percentages of 58.0 and 59.8 in his first two seasons in the league, when his usage was relatively low.

The Kings would now have a great 3 guard rotation of Tyreke/Beno/Igoudala, which presumably swallows nearly all 96 backcourt minutes. The rest can go to Fransisco Garcia, who will also split small forward duty with Casspi. Losing Greene hurts depth-wise, but down the road, would you rather have him or Igoudala? Right. I thought so.

Throw that backcourt with a frontcourt that includes a post scorer in Carl Landry, a post defender in Dalembert, a potential-laden big man in Thompson, and a rebounding specialist in Jon Brockman, and you have a nice rotation. Not a championship rotation by any means – and probably a squad that, in the West, will just barely fight for their playoff lives unless Tyreke makes a huge leap – but a squad full of potential.

Last, but not least, Sacramento is now poised for the future. Since Dalembert’s deal expires after next season, Sacramento are now on the board to be well under the cap for the summer of 2011. While this can still change – an extension for Landry could be in order, as well as one for Dalembert if he fits in, and nobody really knows what is going to happen with the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement – the flexibility is a huge asset.

The Isiah Thomas
Trade the #5 pick and your 2012 first rounder for Hedo Turkoglu. Trade Casspi, Landry, Greene and Thompson for Gilbert Arenas.  Watch fans cry weeply. Not recommended for those who aren’t into destroying their franchises and tarnishing their reputation beyond repair. Then again, Geoff, if you’re into that, who am I to deny you the oppurtunity. After all, you’re the one in charge, not me.

The 2010 ESPN TrueHoop Network NBA Mock Draft is here and I’m more than glad to represent the Kings with the fifth pick. Each selection will be made available on network sites (links at the bottom of this post), will cover just the first round, and will be made according to prediction, not some blogger preference. Enjoy.

Previous Picks:
Check back hourly for picks until 5 pm today, pick 11 will start at 8 am on Tuesday.

#1 — John Wall, Washington Wizards — Truth About It
#2 — Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers — Philadunkia
#3 — Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets – NetsAreScorching
#4 — Wesley Johnson, Minnesota Timberwolves — A Wolf Among Wolves

With the fifth pick in the 2010 TrueHoop Network NBA Mock Draft, the Sacramento Kings select DeMarcus Cousins from the University of Kentucky.

What do chicks dig? That’s right; they dig the long ball.

You know what this is? Yep, it’s a long ball, also known as a homerun.

The Sacramento Kings win the draft for the second year in a row if DeMarcus Cousins falls to them at the fifth pick. Last year, they ended up with the best rookie in a deep lot by getting Tyreke Evans with the fourth pick despite the fact the team ended up with the worst possible luck they could have had in the lottery. After failing to move up in the lottery once again, they could very well have the best big man in a long while fall to them at the fifth pick.

Maybe DeMarcus Cousins isn’t the best player in the draft and maybe he isn’t the second best player in the draft. But 20-10 guys don’t grow on trees and Cousins potential and demeanor on the court are exactly what the Kings need as they get back out of the cellar and into the respectable contenders wing of the NBA. Cousins is sort of a monster in many ways. He runs hot with his mental game and he finds a way to maul low-post defenders with his power and post presence. This is exactly what the Kings need right now.

Sacramento is probably never going to be a top of the list destination for free agents in this league, no matter how good the team is. It’s just hard to get top players to commit here by their own free will when the market is so small. So the way you have to acquire star players is by drafting intelligently and taking calculated risks when you possess high picks in the draft. This is exactly what the Kings are doing here for the second year in a row. With Tyreke Evans already kicking in the door of stardom, DeMarcus Cousins seems to exist to do the same for this team in an area closer to the basket. With these two picks over the last three years, you’re now more than halfway towards acquiring three star players to lead a playoff team.

The other part of this selection that I love is after the Kings latest trade with Philadelphia, Sacramento now has a formidable big man rotation. Having Jason Thompson as a featured player in the post seems like a lofty expectation to pile onto a guy. It doesn’t mean he can’t do it. He’s shown flashes of being able to play with the best in the West. But having depth in your frontcourt is a luxury that some teams strive for.

With Sam Dalembert, DeMarcus Cousins, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson the Kings now offer you a lot of different looks on the court. They can go with guys that run the floor well with the Dalembert-Thompson or Dalembert-Landry combos. They can power you inside with grit and toughness by throwing Landry and Cousins out there together. They can get both of their guys to play in the mid and high-post to draw opposing shot-blockers away from the basket with Landry and JT. There’s just a lot you can do.

Star players and roster versatility seem to be the championship formula of today’s NBA. The Kings begin their path back into contention if they are able to grab DeMarcus Cousins with the fifth pick.

The Golden State Warriors are now on the clock…