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		Kings 2010 report card By Ben Schneider April 16, 2010

	The Sacramento Kings finished the season at 25-57 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Even though the wins are an eight game improvement from last year the Kings finished with the third worst record in the NBA. The Kings had the best chance at winning the NBA draft lottery last year and ended up with the 4th pick. That was a blessing in disguise because with that 4th pick the Kings drafted a 20 year old rookie from Memphis who ended up being the best rookie this year, finishing with averages of 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Evans was clearly the best player for the Kings this year and because of his exiting play gives Kings fans reason to believe. It is now report card time for the Kings from someone who was at every home game this year. Ownership B- The Maloofs gave fans some hope of a new arena deal when a land swap proposal that would put the Kings new arena downtown but the deal is very complicated and would need voting approval from Sacramento residents. The Maloofs where scene sitting court-side in the early parts of the season when the team was playing well but were MIA when the Kings faded down the stretch. GM B+ Geoff Petrie had the steal of the draft getting Evans with the number four overall pick. Injuries forced fellow rookie Omri Casspi into the starting line-up and he showed signs of being a really good player before hitting the rookie wall and was nowhere to be seen in the last 30 games of the season. Jon Brockman was a very solid pick in the 2nd round and could be a defensive specialist/role player off the bench for years to come. Petrie gets a high grade for trading Kevin Martin for Carl Landry. Martin was overpaid, injury-prone, one dimentional and didn't ever play a lick of defense. It was also clear he couldn't play alongside Evans. Getting a much needed low post scorer in Landry could make this trade a steal. Coach C+ Paul Westphal was in the conversation for coach of the year early on when the Kings stated 14-15, including 8-2 at home. But the Kings struggled after that at one time losing 23-26 games including losing 12 of their last 13 games. Westphal used way to many starting line-ups and his rotation was very questionable. Westphal does have respect in the locker-room which can go a long way in the NBA these days. If Westphal could have found a way to win more close games early on in the season and went with a more consistent rotation the Kings could have easily reached the 30 win plateau. Tyreke Evans A+ Evans is going to be an all-star for years to come. The Kings finally have a young player who they can build around. 20-5-5 in his rookie year says a lot for the type of career Evans is headed for. Remember he is only 20 years young. Once he develops an outside shot I see him being a Dwyane Wade type of player. Most importantly Evans gives Kings fans a reason to show up at Arco. Season Stats/ 20.1,PPG,5.3RBG,5.8 APG * 1.51SPG 2009/2010 Salary $3,610,080 Francisco Garcia D+ I realize that his injury while working out on a medicine ball was a fluke but I have never been sold on Garcia. He is too small to play the three, to slow to play the two guard and not a good enough shooter to be a consistent player. Garcia also lacks defensive ability. The Kings should look to shop Garcia in the off-season, problem is he is locked down for another three years. Season Stats/25 games/ 8PPG, 2.6RPG,1.8 APG 2009/2010 Salary - $5,800,000 Spencer Hawes C- This was supposed to be Hawes' breakout season. He already had two seasons under his belt and a lot of times the third season is a good indicator of where a player should be. Hawes never really got himself going this year. He got off to a very slow start that had him out of the starting line-up within the first month of the season. He did show signs of breaking out, a 29 point 10 rebound effort in LA against the Lakers comes to mind but those games where to far and few between. Hawes is a decent shooter and an above average passer for a big guy but he needs to develop a low post game and become a force inside on the defensive end. Season Stats/72 games/ 10 PPG,6.1RPG,2.2APG 1.15 BPG 2009/2010 Salary - $2,232,580 Jason Thompson B* Thompson finished the year on a high note once Hawes was lost for the season. A year after leading the league in fouls and disqualifications Thompson only fouled out once in the second half of the season. His averages of 13 and almost 9 boards a game is good for a second year player. JT plays with a lot of heart and a lot of passion but that only gets you so far in the NBA. He needs to develop a go-to move in the post and continue to improve on his mid-range game. With the addition of Landy Thompson could be moved to the starting center position next year, even though he is better suited as a power-forward. The upside is definitely there and Thomson showed improvement from year-one to year two. If Thompson is going to play center he is going to have to average more than .9 blocks per game. Season Stats/ 74 games/12.4PPG,8.4 RPB,1.3APG,. 2009/2010 Salary - $2,035,920 Beno Udrih B+ Udrih should get some serious considerations for most improved player. He improved his averages in scoring, rebounding and assist from last year. At first it looked like signing Udrih to a 5 year 30 million dollar contract before last season was a huge mistake but his play this year makes it a decent deal. Udrih did a nice job of filling in for the injured Kevin Martin and again when Evans missed time, even chipping in with a triple double. Udrih benefited the most from having an experience NBA coach who knows how to use him in Westphal. Beno and Evans also seemed to play very well together in the starting back-court. If the Kings can somehow win the lottery and swoop up UK's John Wall Beno would make a great sixth man. If the Kings go with another big guy with their first pick you could do a lot worse than Beno and Tykeke in the back-court. Beno also appeared in a team high 78 games so he has shown he is a durable guard. Season Stats/ 12.8PPG,2.8RPG, 4.6APG 2009/2010 Salary $6,077,500 Andres Nocioni D- Nocioni got off to a horrendous start when he was arrested for DUI just two weeks into the season. The rest of the year Nocioni looked disinterested and unmotivated. Nocioni only looked for his own shot and never let the game come to him. He tried to make an instant impact way to often and he simply isn't that good of a shooter.He has a hefty contract that still has two years left. If Petrie can get anything for him, even a second round pick it would be a steal. Nocioni would be a decent 7th or 8th man on a good team but on a rebuilding team he is not a good fit. Season Stats/8.5PPG,3.0 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists Season Salary $7,500,000 Omri Casspi C Casspi played well enough in the first half of the season to earn a spot in the rookie-sophomore game during the all-star weekend. Casspi has a weird looking shot but it seems to go down, at least it did for the first half of the season. I see Casspi as a good back up 3 guard. He is very crafty around the hoop and a good finisher. Casspi is the one King who will benefit the most from some time off. He hit the rookie wall and was MIA for the last third of the season. I don't see Casspi being an all-star like a Peja Stojavic but he could be a solid role player. Casspi also handled his recognition and exposure like a true professional. Being the first Israel born player he was featured on Jewish Heritage night on the road in big cities like New York and Chicago. Casspi did a nice job of not letting all of the extra exposure get to his head. Season Stats 10PPG, 4.5 RPB, 1.2 APG 2009/2010 Salary $1,167,000 Jon Brockman B- It’s no coincidence that the Kings really struggled in the 30 games that Brockman missed. The former Husky is just what a rebuilding team needs, a defensive specialist who can get in to the game, waste some fouls, get some offensive boards and make the other team work for everything inside. Brockman needs to develop at least a 10 foot jumper so defenders have to play up on him. Brockman also has something else going for him - He is a fan favorite and that is very important for a team that finished second to last in attendance. Season Stats - 2.8 PPG,4.7 RPB, 12 min per game 2009/2010 Salary $457,080 Carl Landry B Landry played well in his short stint with the Kings. He gave Sacramento a low post scorer they have been lacking since the Divac-Webber era. Landy is only 6-9 but has great hands, good footwork and some low post moves he can go to. Landy seems like the perfect fit for a team that wants to build around Evans. Landy averaged 18 points 6 rebounds in 27 games with the Kings. If Landry can average around 20 a game for an entire season and get his rebounding numbers up he could be one of the best power forwards in the western conference. Landry was forth in the NBA in 4th quarter scoring with Houston this year behind only Kobe, LeBron and Durant. If Landry would have been with the Kings for the entire season I think that would have been good for about 6-7 more wins. Landry is still young, a good locker-room guy and has a great basketball IQ. Kings fans should be excited to have Landry for an entire season next year. Season Stats( 27 games with Sacramento ) 18.3PPG,6.60 RPG, .9 APG 2009/2010 Salary $ 3,000,000 Donte Greene C- Greene did show signs of breaking thru but like Hawes those games where not on a regular basis. Westphal raves about the young player who he says has taken great strides this year. Immaturity was a big concern with Greene last year in his rookie season and he seems to have turned a corner in that department. Greene was the one King who really struggled with Westphal's inconsistent rotation. He started and only played five minutes and came off the bench and played 30 minutes. The problem for Greene was he never knew what his role was from game to game. Greene has all of the physical attributes to be a dominate player in this league. He is 6-10 who can run the floor, hit the three and defend. He had a six block game this year and a couple of 25 point plus outbursts. Greene is still a work in progress but the sky is the limit on his potential. At 6-10 Greene should be averaging more than 3 rebounds a game. Once Greene has a steady role and improves his free-throw shooting he could be another big threat off the bench. Season Stats - 8.5 PPG, 3RPB, 1APG 2009/2010 Salary $ 870,000 Ime Udoka C As a Portland Native myself nobody is a bigger fan of Udoka then yours truly. A lot like Nocioni Udoka would be a good nine or tenth player off the bench for a contending team. That being said I think he is a perfect leader for a rebuilding team. He is an undrafted basketball vagabond who has played overseas and knows what it takes to make it in the NBA. Udoka seems to be very respected in the Kings locker-room. Every team needs a defensive stopper who can hit the three ball off the bench. Hopefully Udoka will be back next season. If not he won’t have problem finding work elsewhere. Season Stats 3.6PPG,2.8RPB,.8APG 2009/2010 Salary $ 916,483 Sean May INC May didn't really play enough to warrant a grade. He is well liked by his teammates and was always ready to go to battle when his number was called. If May was a 2nd round pick from Cal State Northridge he would be a decent player, but being a NCAA champion and a former lottery pick from North Carolina he seems to be a bust. May made the veteran minimum salary of 925,000 for appearing in 37 games. Not a bad way to make a living.