In what will go down as one of the greatest personal victories of all time, today I was able to secure an invite to the 2010 Sacramento Kings Media Day. A special thanks goes out to Kings’ Executive Director of Media Relations, Darrin May, who made the day possible. I will be breaking down audio, video and still shots over the next few days and turning them into something interesting, but until then, here are a couple of pictures not taken by me, which prove that I was, at least for 2 hours on September 27, 2010, a member of the media.

In this picture, I am the redhead to the left of Kings power forward, Jason Thompson. Thank you, LaMont Peterson, Tyreke Evans’ trainer, for not only snapping the shot but posting it here on twitter. Antoine Wright can be seen in the upper left hand on the photo either yawning or flipping the bird. Thompson was both an impressive interview and immense, although I’m pretty sure the sweat was from a can- a theme for the day.

This is what I like to call my Mike Wazowski shot. Hidden behind the shiny silver micro-phone to the left of Tyreke’s face is yours truly. I’m glad this picture was taken because Evans doesn’t speak loudly enough to drown out the noise of the digital recorders let alone record a quote. Thanks to Yahoo and the AP for posting this gem here.

Hopefully this will be the first of many media experiences, but for today, I am showing the 3 family members who read this blog that I have made the big time. The overwhelming feeling I got from today was that there is a new attitude in Sacramento. The players were engaging, thoughtful and accessible, as was coach Paul Westphal and President of Basketball Ops Geoff Petrie. Training camp opens in the morning and this team looks like a group ready to make some strides.

2009-10 record: 25-57, 5th in the Pacific, 14th in the Western Conference.

Coach: Paul Westphal (292-216) Second season with the Kings.

Staff: Jim Eyen, Mario Elie, Truck Robinson, Pete Carril, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Otis Hughley.

Offense/Defense: 100.0 points per game (18th overall), 104.4 points per game yielded (25th overall).

Key Additions: Samuel Dalembert (trade), DeMarcus Cousins (draft), Hassan Whiteside (draft), Luther Head (FA), Antoine Wright (FA), Pooh Jeter (FA).

Key Losses: Spencer Hawes (trade), Andres Nocioni (trade), Jon Brockman (trade), Ime Udoka (FA).

Training Camp Hopeful’s: Connor Atchley (FA), Joe Crawford (FA), J.R. Giddens (FA), Darnell Jackson (trade),  Marcus Landry (FA), Donald Sloan (FA).

Key Camp Battle: There is plenty of intrigue coming into camp due to the fact that only 7 players who finished the 2009-10 season will return for another tour. The most prevalent battle pits Donté Greene against Omri Casspi for the starting small forward spot. The third year Greene is packed with potential, but struggled with both maturity and consistency issues in his first two seasons as a pro. Casspi, the league’s first Israeli born player impressed early last season in his rookie campaign but slumped tremendously as the season and his body wore down. Both players will be counted on to play major minutes; the one who shows an ability to both play defense and consistently hit from the perimeter will win the job.

Prediction: Casspi starts, Greene plays minutes at both the small forward and shooting guard. Neither player was able to wow in Las Vegas during summer league, but Casspi continued to gain valuable experience as a member of the Israeli National team. That experience will give Omri the edge in what should be a great battle between two players loaded with talent.

Key Coaching Concern: The Kings entered the 2009-10 season with Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Kenny Thomas, Sean May and rookie John Brockman as their power forward/center group. Jason Thompson is all that remains one year later. Kings front man, Geoff Petrie made a mid-season deal to acquire talented power forward Carl Landry, giving up leading scorer Kevin Martin in the process. Petrie then dealt for defensive minded center, Samuel Dalembert, parting with the young but inconsistent Spencer Hawes and malcontent veteran Andres Nocioni. Lastly, Petrie used both of his draft picks to further to bolster the front line, selecting big man DeMarcus Cousins with the 5th overall pick and project Hassan Whiteside in the early second round after a cataclysmic draft day slide. The Kings now have the ability to match-up against any front line in the league and they should be among the elite rebounding teams in the NBA.

So where is the challenge? The combination of Dalembert, Landry, Thompson and Cousins will have to share the 96 minutes allotted to the power forward and center position. Westphal will have to get creative to keep all of these bigs happy and productive, possibly even using Landry to steal minutes from the small forward position. With both Dalembert and Landry playing out the final year of their contracts, balancing minutes and personalities will be a crucial component to coach Westphal’s job if the Kings hope to continue the building process.

*** Position by position breakdowns start Tuesday with the point guard position.

Sunday, October 3 at 4pm, the Sacramento Kings will be showing off their new-look roster in an open practice setting. Admission and parking are free. You can click here to download and print your general admission ticket.

The Kings have had a long tradition of opening up an early pre-season practice to the fans. The 2010-11 season is tempered with a new excitement as a major roster overhaul has taken place. This will be the public’s first chance to see veterans Samuel Dalembert, Antoine Wright and Luther Head as well as rookies DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside, don the purple and black on the Arco Arena court.

Gates open at 3:30. Seating is first come first serve.

Thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter, we have up to the minute injury news with photo evidence!

“Jus dislocated my finger lmao”

-boogiecousins

It appears to be the ring finger of Cousins’ left hand. This isn’t Francisco Garcia vs. the exercise ball, but it looks painful. With the style of play that DeMarcus Cousins plays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this type of injury quite often from the rookie big man.

With the Kings long history of injury woes, I doubt anyone in the Sacramento front office is sharing the “lmao” sentiment right about now.

According to AOL Fan House’s Scott Schroeder:

Marcus Landry, the brother of Sacramento Kings power forward Carl Landry, is reporting to the Kings’ veterans camp today where he will compete for a roster spot, according to his agency, Exclusive Sports Group, LLC.

Marcus Landry

The undrafted, 6′-7″, 230-pound Landry spent last season playing for the Knicks, Celtics and the NBDL’s Maine Red Claws. For the Red Claws, Landry showed promise, putting up 11.4 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting .382 from three point range in 25 minutes of play.

In four years at the University of Wisconsin, the 24-year-old Landry averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting .361 from behind the arc.

Big brother Carl, already a member of the Kings, sent out a tweet with this message last week:

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR ALL NBA GM’s: One of the top Wing Free Agents is still available(Marcus Landry). Don’t let a wonderful player pass u by.

It appears that the Kings Geoff Petrie was listening to what his starting power forward was selling.

Marcus will have to fight it out with a now crowded group of shooting guards and small forwards joining the Kings roster that currently sits at 18. If he has any hope of making the 2010-11 opening day roster, he is going to have to show an ability to defend and bury open perimeter shots. The competition should be fierce between Marcus Landry, Luther Head, JR Giddens, Antoine Wright, Joe Crawford and Darnell Jackson for who secures one of possibly two or three remaining roster spots.

Remember the post about the Atlantic Division being previewed by the NBA blogosphere? Well the Pacific Division is happening over the next few days and we’re happily participating with the Kings preview (along with Sactown Royalty). Check it out:
Read more…

According to an official Kings press release, the franchise will offer variable pricing plans for games this season.

“We realize that all games are not created equal,” said Matina Kolokotronis, Kings president of business operations. “Similar to the successful model used by the hotel and airline industries, we are aligning our pricing to better match the demand set by the market. This new structure also allows us to price many games at a lower price than last season, making Kings games even more accessible for fans.”

The Kings have spent the summer rolling out a series of impressive ticket packages aimed at enticing the common fan back to Arco Arena. Last week’s launch of their “Here We Rise” campaign came with the announcement of 400 upper level season ticket seats being offered for the reduced rate of $10 per seat per game.

Thanks to the Bee’s Jason Jones for getting this quote:

“We’ve talked to our season-ticket holders at length, both in person and through a lot of surveys, and the NBA,” said Kings vice president of marketing and communications Mitch Germann. “A lot of NBA teams are going to do (variable pricing), too. I know in Major League Baseball some teams have been doing it for a while.”

Kings just released this press release about introducing Variable Ticket Pricing for Kings games this year:

“We realize that all games are not created equal,” said Matina Kolokotronis, Kings president of business operations. “Similar to the successful model used by the hotel and airline industries, we are aligning our pricing to better match the demand set by the market. This new structure also allows us to price many games at a lower price than last season, making Kings games even more accessible for fans.

The new structure allows the team to better react to how fans are responding to the product game-by-game. With variable pricing, the price a fan pays for one game may be different than the price he or she pays for another game in the same seat. Additionally, prices for the same game may change as demand for that game adjusts over time. Fans are encouraged to buy early to guarantee their price at the time of purchase.

I love that the Kings are doing this. Many sports organizations do this already and it’s really the way to go. There’s no way you’re going to want to pay the same price to see the Miami Heat as you would to see the 76ers come rolling into town. Unless you have more fans wanting to attend games than seats, it’s almost impossible to have a professional franchise and not have this kind of system in place.

Kudos to the Kings for getting this implemented for the upcoming season. Catering to the fans when it comes to ticket prices is always a smart strategy.

It’s about that time again, folks. The NBA world is getting ready to gear up for the pre-season so they can be ready for the regular season campaign. And you know what that means — the NBA blogosphere is starting to preview stuff.

Jeff Clark from Celticsblog.com has organized the NBA blogging world-wide preview effort once again and we’re debuting the Atlantic Division previews now. Behold the Celtics and those that will finish behind them!

Celtics: CelticsBlog | Celtics 24/7 | Celtics Central | Celtics Hub | CelticsLife | Gino’s Jungle | RedsArmy.com | SBNation Boston | SBN Recap

Knicks: Posting and Toasting | Bandwagon Knick | KnickerBlogger.Net | SBN Recap

Nets: NetsDaily | NetsAreScorching | Fanway | SBN Recap

Raptors: Raptors HQ | Hoops Addict | Hip Hoop Junkies | SBN Recap

Sixers: Liberty Ballers

Recaps: All Previews

Click around and support the hard work by all of these great bloggers.

I haven’t given any coverage to the Omri Casspi mural defacing because I don’t want to indirectly give it attention. It’s a heinous act that is disgusting in every way.

But just because I don’t want to cover it on this space doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read great pieces about it elsewhere. Tzvi Twersky of SLAM posted this fantastic piece on the mural and incident.

Tomorrow, on one of the most introspective holidays, I’ll spend the day at synagogue studying my faults, flaws and sins. Thousand of miles away, Omri Casspi will, too.

At some point in their lives, whether they’re apprehended or not, hopefully the swastika-painting Sacramento criminals reassess themselves as well.

Read the entire piece here.