We just got off the phone with 35th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft and newest Sacramento King, Tyler Honeycutt.  As far as his new teammates go, he said he’s most excited to play with Tyreke Evans.  And though he was unhappy to slip out of the second-round, he said the wait was harder on his mom.  Listen to his comments below.

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We’re still waiting on Jimmer, who’s still going through the interview circuit in New York.

Tyler Honeycutt from his Kings visit

With the 35th pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt out of UCLA.  Expected to go in the first round, Honeycutt slipped on draft day and was unexpectedly available when the Kings picked the first of their two second-rounders.  Honeycutt teamed with Jimmer Fredette workout here in Sacramento, where he was pitted against Tobias Harris of Tennessee.  More of a defensive-specialist at this point in his development, Honeycutt needs to work on his perimeter shooting and add weight to be successful at the NBA level.  But he was way too good of a prospect to pass at no. 35.

Jimmer Fredette from his Sacramento workout

With the tenth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings (via the Milwaukee Bucks) select point guard Jimmer Fredette out of Brigham Young University.  The senior guard averaged an incredible 28.9 points per game in his final college season, shooting nearly 40% from three point range and leading BYU to a 62-11 record over his final two seasons.

Earlier in the day, the Sacramento Kings cleared out some minutes for Jimmer when they moved point guard Beno Udrih to the Milwaukee Bucks, sliding down to the number ten pick in the deal.  Barring a trade for a veteran point guard, Jimmer Fredette will most likely get rotational minutes as a rookie alongside Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton.

Coming into draft season, I was as skeptical of Jimmer Fredette as anyone.  After his interview here in Sacramento, most of my concerns were alleviated.  For starters, he is bigger in person than I expected and without question, he will have no issue getting off his shot at the next level.  There will be some growing pains on the defensive end, but effort won’t be an issue and neither will scheming.

Overall, I see a bright future for Jimmer Fredette as a member of the Sacramento Kings.  He is an extremely intelligent, high basketball IQ player who can really stretch the defense, giving Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins plenty of room to work.

Caught up with Tyreke Evans a few hours ago, who’s back in Sacramento hosting a free basketball camp with the Positive Coaching Alliance and VSP the next two days for underprivileged kids in the area.  And with the draft just minutes away, Evans shared some of his thoughts.

He was however unable to comment on the blockbuster trade the Kings reportedly made this afternoon.  The Kings guard hadn’t yet received official word that the trade was a done deal from the team yet.

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It all began All-Star Weekend when NBA commissioner David Stern gently picked up the Sacramento Kings and placed them on the tracks of the craziest roller coaster ride known to man.  For months, the ride went up and down, side to side, splashing through pools of water, until a reprieve of sorts brought the ride to an abrupt halt.  While plenty of fans were able to get off and take a break, the hardcore fan couldn’t quite lift the hand rail and got locked in for another turnaround.

That turn?  Draft season.

We’ve done our best to bring you top notch draft coverage through prospect profiles, podcasts with some of the most relevant guests and mock drafts from a variety of sources, so here is a recap.

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Spurs GM R.C. Buford on the reports of Tony Parker’s availability, via Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News:

“We’re not shopping anyone,” Buford said, via text message. “We’ve received calls on a lot of our guys and we’ve answered the phone.”

For the right deal however, perhaps a trade for Tony Parker can be done.  ESPN’s Marc Stein tweeted earlier today that the Spurs would only trade Parker if Richard Jefferson is part of a deal.  The Kings have enough cap room to absorb both Jefferson and Parker’s salaries in a straight-up trade for the seventh pick.  But you figure the Kings would try throw in either the contract of Beno Udrih or Francisco Garcia into a potential blockbuster.

Update (12:58 pm): According to Draft Express, the Spurs might be looking at the option of dealing George Hill also (via SLAM)…

The ESPN DDL live mock first-round mock draft is in the books.  I represented the Kings.  You can read the chat transcript here.

The results…

1. Cavs – Kyrie Irving
2. Wolves – Derrick Williams
3. Jazz – Brandon Knight
4. Cavs – Enes Kanter
5. Raptors – Kemba Walker
6. Wizards – Kawhi Leonard
7. Kings – Jimmer Fredette
8. Pistons – Bismack Biyombo
9. Bobcats – Jan Vesely
10. Bucks – Alec Burks
11. Warriors – Jonas Valanciunas
12. Jazz – Chris Singleton
13. Suns – Tristan Thompson
14. Rockets – Klay Thompson
15. Pacers – Marshon Brooks
16. Sixers – Nikola Vucevic
17. Knicks – Kenneth Faried
18. Wizards – Marcus Morris
19. Bobcats – Jordan Hamilton
20. Wolves – Jeremy Tyler
21. Blazers – Iman Shumpert
22. Nuggets – Markieff Morris
23. Rockets – Donatas Motlejunas
24. Thunder – Tyler Honeycutt
25. Celtics – Justin Harper
26. Mavs – Tobias Harris
27. Nets – Reggie Jackson
28. Bulls – Malcolm Lee
29. Spurs – Nikola Mirotic
30. Bulls – Josh Selby

It was a lot easier to pick Jimmer with Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker off the board.  I did say that if I were in the Kings shoes, my preference would be to trade that pick – either move down or out of the draft completely.

The rumor mill is in full tilt tonight, with Yahoo! front man Adrian Wojnarowski leading the charge.  Is there a possible blockbuster trade looming between the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs involving All-Star guard Tony Parker?

The San Antonio Spurs are engaged in discussions about trading point guard Tony Parker to secure a high pick in Thursday’s draft, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Spurs have talked to teams in the lottery, including the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, who hold the fifth and seventh picks, respectively. The Kings are determined to get a frontline point guard, and have also talked with the Denver Nuggets about Raymond Felton.

Wojnarowski followed his initial story with a series of informative tweets:

If Spurs deal Tony Parker to Kings for 7th pick, expect Omri Caspi to be part of package, sources say. RC Buford has been long fond of him.

Followed by:

The Kings coaching staff, in win-now mode to stay employed, are fully behind trading the 7th pick for an established player, sources say.

There’s no question the Kings coaching staff would appreciate a seasoned-playoff veteran like Parker to run the show. And so might Tyreke Evans.  The beauty of Evans is that though he was drafted as a point, the 6′-6″ 2009-10 Rookie of the Year can play both the shooting guard and small forward positions.  It’s unknown how close a deal like this is near completion, but tossing small forward Omri Casspimight not be something that interests Sacramento.  Although Casspi finished the season rough, he is a quality three-point shooter and a backcourt of Tony Parker and Tyreke Evans will need all the perimeter shooting it can get.

With less than two days left before the 2011 NBA draft, the no. 7 pick is looking more and more desirable by the minute, as teams are posturing to both move up in the draft as well as drop salary in anticipation of a new collective bargaining agreement.

Check back later this morning for our podcast with Kings beat writer Jason Jones of the Sac Bee, where we discuss the potential Parker deal and other speculation surrounding the Kings draft day options.

Left: Mark Payne, Right: Kevin Galloway

Two local kids were the center of attention for media at today’s draft workout at the Kings practice facility.  But it was Andrew Goudelock of Charleston who stood out of the final group of six to come through Sacramento.  Along with Goudelock was Sacramento’s Kevin Galloway of Texas Southern and Stockton’s Mark Payne of UC Davis.   Also participating was Spanish small forward Xavi Rabaseda and guards Jacob Pullen of Kansas State and Julyan Stone of UTEP.  Goudelock has a chance of being drafted as a late first to second round pick, but the rest of these prospects are fighting for their basketball lives.

Videos and analysis after the jump.
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Kings VP of Basketball Ops Geoff Petrie discusses the Kings pre-draft process following today’s workout.