This is just a quick hitter, but the thought crossed my mind (or at least the space that it should occupy) -

During the offseason we wrote at length how the Kings needed to round up some draft picks, get younger, get to rebuilding.

We went into the draft with a 1st round pick and two 2nd round picks. We came out with the same. Some of us were not pleased with the trio of Thompson, Singletary and Ewing, Jr.

We later acquired the equivalent of a second 1st round pick as we landed Donté Greene (that's right, after last night's game I am now Alt 0233ing it) in the Ron Artest trade.

We also signed Bobby Brown as a free agent after his fine summer league performance for New Orleans (ask our friends At The Hive how they feel about that).

To recap, we now have three rookies acquired via draft, trade and free agency. All are in David Thorpe's rookie top 25 right now (and that was before Donté's game at New Orleans).

So, without even getting into the continuing development of Spencer Hawes, a hat tip to Geoff Petrie, for making me itch with anticipation over what tomorrow may bring.

Thanks, big fella.

Mmm, turnovers.

Pregame -

The 11th game of the season, and Spencer Hawes' 82nd as a pro - his last game as a rookie according to Brad Miller's math.

A fan sitting behind me dumps his beer - the first turnover of the night...foreshadowing?

No live band tonight, and the emcee is one of the Royal Court Dancers.

I'm safe here up here in 214. There is no way that they'll venture up here for one of those annoying fan interviews, right? Right?

1st Quarter -

Turnover.

Here come your Thundersticks. I think that there are 10 for every fan.

Nice claws, Bluetooth. Turnover.

Turnover, turnover.

Jason Thompson is going to lead this team in floor burns.

Turnover.

Kings out to a 23-15 lead, thanks to good rebounding, no thanks to shoddy ball handling.

2nd Quarter -

Turnover, turnover.

Kings have Hawes, Williams, Thompson and Brown on the floor. The 5th man is B-Jax, whose age is  the equivalent of his four teammates, combined.

Turnover, turnover.

Name that TV Tune is on the jumbo tron, and Reggie runs the table.

Turnover.

Down 43-42 at the half.

Halftime -

Cyclist stunts, short bathroom lines, cold beer.

3rd Quarter -

Who gave the Viagra to Michael Finley? He's taking it to the hole hard!

Turnover.

John Salmons needs a partner - he can't do this by himself...can he?

Turnover, turnover.

Bobby Brown and Jacque Vaughn are getting kind of chippy.

Turnover.

A 30-25 quarter and the Kings lead 72-68.

4th Quarter -

I just noticed that Salmons is sporting a large bandage over his eye? Is that from the other night? Hope not - the NBA will fine him for making a statement about the officiating.

Turnover, turnover.

Turnover, turnover.

Tied with 3 minutes left. Do you like Pop and Duncan or Theus and Salmons?

No one has left as we go down to the wire.

46.5 seconds, we have the ball and Reggie calls timeout. I'm not a big fan of this. I think the timeout benefits San Antonio's defensive efforts more than our offensive efforts. Hope I'm wrong.

Our last three possessions - airball by Brad, miss by JT, short 3 by Douby. The Spurs did a good job of keeping the ball away from Salmons. This is where Martin's presence would have come in handy, if for no other reason than to free up Salmons.

Another woeful job of execution late, and we fall 90-88 to Tim Duncan and his traveling band of minstrels.

Postgame -

For the better part of a year, I have watched my favorite team in the whole wide world play with a total disregard for the ball. Two, maybe three fewer turnovers tonight and the Kings win this game. This has got to stop. As tired as we may get hearing Jerry preach this, we must value the ball. This-has-got-to-stop.

Until the next time, end transmission.

Chad Ford John Hollinger Ponders PER

First things first. It’s an off day, TZ has already covered Kevin Martin, and I feel like writing. Second, seven games is way too small a sampling to draw any intelligent conclusions, but that has never stopped me before, and it does not seem to be slowing me down at the moment.

The Kings are 8.5% through the 2008-09 season, so I thought that it would be the perfect time to see how our guys are doing in Chad Ford John Hollinger’s PER rankings. As I have stated before, PER is a great guide, but it is not a rule. It is, however, the easiest way for lazy hacks like me to compare player performance. And I found some interesting things, such as the fact that the Kings rank in the top 13 at every position. Let’s take a look, by position –

Center  Brad Miller, all two games of him, ranks 3^rd, behind only Dwight Howard and Shaq. Spencer Hawes ranks 10^th, ahead of such guys as Yao Ming, Andrew Bynum, Chris Kaman, Tyson Chandler and Jermaine O’Neal (he also rates ahead of Al Horford and Joakim Noah – just sayin’).

Power Forward  Jason Thompson ranks 13^th. Shelden Williams is 44^th. And the guy getting the minutes – Mikki Moore – is 55^th, looking up at Channing Frye. I’ve always said that it’s not Mikki’s fault that he is miscast as a starter. Hopefully JT will develop quickly and allow Mikki to bring his energy off the bench. I’m not slamming Mikki here. JT is the future, and I’m ready for the future.

Small Forward  John Salmons is 12^th (take that, neophyte “writer”). Dribble your way into my heart, big fella. Still not sold on the beard, though...

Shooting Guard  Slumping Underachieving Slow starting Gamer Kevin Martin ranks 12^th at shooting guard, despite playing on one leg for a couple of games and playing with the pressure of perhaps knowing that TZ and I profess our man-love for him on an annoyingly regular basis. Quincy Douby is 52^nd.

Point Guard  Yes, our point guard ranks 12^th on the list.  Bobby Brown is off to a fine start. The Tasmanian Slovenian? Not so much. He currently “ranks,” and he ranks 58^th, just ahead of B-Jax at 59^th.

Rookies  Thompson 3^rd, Brown 5^th.

Not ranked  Donte’ Greene, Kenny Thomas, Francisco Garcia.

What does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing. But that’s never stopped us from opening a lively thread, has it? Hell no! And it’s not going to stop us now.

Topic starter – Bigger waste of time: This article, or Michael Olowokandi’s time at Pete Newell’s big man camp?

Ah, opening night! Hmm, looks like a late arriving crowd...

Inactive for tonight: Francisco Garcia (calf) and Kenny Thomas (parvo).

New item for 2008 - they have a lighting system that now illuminates the floor with a waving flag, instead of unfurling the big the flag for the national anthem.

A Maloof label band (Red Fury? Rev Theory? Ren & Stimpy?) plays during the Kings intros. The starters come out of the tunnel this year instead of off the bench. Loud applause for Hawes, loudest applause for Martin.

The podium that the band is playing on is behind one of the baskets and must take up about 70 seats. I don't think that anyone is going to mind - this place is kind of empty (10,000?), with the downstairs emptier than the upstairs.

Kevin Johnson sitting with Gavin Maloof. Joe is at a luxury suite, nursing those artificial knees.

Big Mike has been replaced by Arman (Armand?), a smooth talking young man who I think will do a pretty good job as "emcee." No sign of sign man.

And we're underway...

We don't need a game clock for Kings game. Every Kings turnover signifies the equivalent of two minutes of game time.

Hey Reggie, that's two on Mikki. Time for JT. Reggie? Hello! Is this thing on?

OK, JT is finally in. Good God he has big feet.

Bobby Brown...nice!

17 for Memphis in the quarter. Was that us that did that to them or did they do that to themselves?

2nd quarter -

Almost six minutes without a turnover...woo-hoo!

KJ gets a nice ovation from the crowd. He does a little sucking up...hey Kev, you got the job!

Darko!

The crowd just love's JT's hustle. He seems a little anxious in front of the home crowd for the 1st time.

Hawes is really smooth on those wing threes.

Nothing against Mikki Moore or his game, but once Brad comes back I could easily subsist off of a diet of Miller/Hawes/Thompson/Williams.

The Kings jumbo tron shows this "mystery karaoke" piece, where Kings sing to other Kings until they can guess the song. In this case Shelden Williams singing to Mikki Moore beat Kenny Thomas singing to Donte' Greene. Pretty damn funny.

Now it's singalong time at ARCO, but can someone tell me why they chose a Garth Brooks song? For the first time I think I'm glad that this place is kind of empty.

Spencer Hawes works and works and works. JT may hustle, but Hawes does all of the little things. He switches, he helps. This is a guy that is going to do a lot of those little things that don't always show up in the stat line. He's Pollard with talent.

Halftime -

OK, there is a guy painting with both hands, and in five minutes he has created an awesome 4'-5' portrait of B-Jax. Amazing.

The band comes out and plays another song. Fun, though watching some of the older fans try to keep time with their thundersticks is rather disconcerting.

3rd Quarter -

I notice that Donte' Greene is always the first guy off the bench to cheer on his teammates, and he always is the first to greet his team at timeouts. I like this kid.

WTF? Reggie calls a timeout in the middle of a Kings fast break. Reg, you're supposed to figure out a way to slow down the other team.

B-Jax enters for the first time with 2:55 left in the 3rd to a standing ovation.

Bobby Brown has been solid.

4th quarter -

Martin lands a little funny but waves off Theus' offer of substitution. Gamer.

If you subtracted Hawes' help fouls he'd never be in foul trouble.

JT playing a lot more within himself in the 2nd half.

Beno, Beno, Beno. It's called a 24 second clock.

JT +1! JT on D! The crowd loves this kid.

53 seconds left and the crowd is chanting for B-Jax. I think this is the alternative to an outright Beno sucks chant.

Salmons comes up big on both ends.

Kings win! I'm not sure of the final numbers, but it seems that if the Grizz had not been so hot from three the Kings would have blown this game wide open. Other than a few post ups by Rudy Gay and a couple of drives by O.J. Mayo, it didn't seem like Memphis got much underneath.

Come to ARCO, buy a $10 or $22 seat and enjoy the game. I'm not shilling for the Maloof's here. Between Martin, Hawes, JT and Bobby Brown, my $40.50 ticket was well worth the price of admission. No long lines, plenty of parking.

Until next time, end transmission.

Note – This post has very little to do with basketball. It is not intended to be political, though it is a social commentary. Should you proceed with the reading of this piece, I hope that you enjoy it. If not, long live your right to choose.

I was born in 1959, and it has always ticked me off. Had I been born a year later, I could have made the claim that I was a ‘60’s child – astronauts and Camelot, peace signs and VW Microbuses. Free Love! Instead, I was a cold war baby, which apparently meant (among other things) that my mom was entitled to play the role of the shoe wielding Nikita Khrushchev while my backside was the desk.  The 1959 birth year also means that I’m currently living in my sixth decade, even though I’m not yet 50. These are the things that piss old people like me off when we’re not chasing the neighbor kids off our lawns (and stay off, you little bastards! I just fertilized!).

The timing of my birth did afford me with a couple of pieces of wonderful timing. I grew up watching Willie Mays play centerfield for the San Francisco Giants and I was appropriately aged when I met my wife. And with all due respect to the moon landing, I was just old enough to understand the greatest social event of the ‘60’s (and my life) – the civil rights movement.

When the civil rights movement first hit our lone television, I didn’t quite understand it. I was born and raised in California, and I had friends on my street and at school of all types. This may have been the lone benefit of being on the lower half of the middle class scale in the ‘60’s – it provided for more seasoning in the melting pot. Nevertheless, as a result of my environment I quickly learned that there were good and bad people in the world, and race, creed, color or gender had nothing to do with it.

When my dad would take me to see Mays (and McCovey and Cepeda and Marichal) play, he would remind me that he could not go and see such players when he was a boy, and it always annoyed him that he was deprived the opportunity to see Josh Gibson or Satchel Paige (in his prime) on the same field with Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott and Ralph Terry. (Dad grew up in New York, and our family will “celebrate” 81 years as Giants fans next year. Remember that whenever you think that it has been tough being a Kings fan. In nearly half a century I still have not seen the Giants win a World Series. But I’m not bitter…) As dad would say, “I paid my nickel and goddammit I should have been able to see the best players for my money!” It was hard to argue with the man, especially since he was tarring roofs at age 13 and nickels were hard to come by. Besides, he was bigger than me and he had the keys to the car, so who was going to argue?

My dad’s basketball upbringing was filled with watching 5-8 guys with names like Cohen and O’Shaunessey and Donatelli. The two-handed set shots and total lack of movement was not exactly inspirational, though I’m sure that wouldn’t have stopped TZ or me from writing about it on our Smith Corona’s and then hand delivering the finished product throughout the neighboring brownstones. Today, we are free to follow players as varied as Martin, Garcia, Hawes, Thompson, and Udrih.

What does any of this have to do with the Sacramento Kings, StR, you, me, or the price of Chai Tea at Starbucks? Well, I’ll (finally!) tell you. On Tuesday, November 4^th, we are being given the opportunity to make our voices heard in the form of our right to vote. Who you vote for pales in comparison to the casting of the vote itself, exercising that hard earned right that should always be cherished and protected. The fact that an African American leads one of the major party tickets fills me with pride. I emphasize that this is not an endorsement of the candidate. It is a whole hearted endorsement of the circumstance, that we are now setting our political playing field in a manner similar to our sports playing fields – let all of the best players play, and may the best players win. I am amazed and humbled and thrilled that this has happened in my lifetime.

As I mentioned earlier, my dad was tarring roofs at age 13, with the bulk of his earnings going to supporting the home in which he lived. I worked in an industrial laundry at 16, but it was summer work and I got to keep my money for myself. My daughter? She’ll be 16 in a couple of years, and I’m thinking that it will be Abercrombie or Pac-Sun for her. And so we push the rock forward.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Vote your heart. Vote your soul. Vote your brilliance. Vote American. Vote.

Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.

The date was March 4^th, 1998. I sat at ARCO Arena and witnessed something I had not seen in several years. I watched in amazement as someone other than Mitch Richmond stepped up and won a game for the Kings. Corliss Williamson poured in 40 as the Kings pounded the Detroit Pistons 109-89. Throughout the ’97-’98 season, Corliss Williamson became the other guy on the Kings willing to take the big shot with the game on the line. Richmond had some fine teammates over the years – Lionel Simmons, Wayman Tisdale, Spud Webb, Walt Williams, Brian Grant – but none of them wanted to be the other guy, much less the guy. Sarunas Marciullonis showed more late game huevos in 53 games than the rest of these guys combined for in a Kings uniform. This is not said to diminish the legacy of L-Train/Tizzy/Spud/The Wizard/umm.whatever Grant’s nickname was. It simply points out that it takes special players to bring home a win. Sometimes these players have names like Michael Jordan or Tim Duncan, sometimes they have names like Steve Kerr and Robert Horry (sorry about that, folks).

Mitch Richmond toiled played seven years in Sacramento, and the teams on which he played averaged a 32-50 record. Most sane people agree that this was in spite of The Rock and his efforts, not because of him. In fact, many (myself included) still consider Richmond to be the greatest Sacramento King, though had Chris Webber’s knee held up another two years we might be singing a different tune. And Richmond holds the distinction of being a principle in the Kings two greatest trades – he came here in exchange for the rights to Billy Owens, and after seven fine years he left in exchange for C-Webb. Love me some Rock Richmond.

So fast forward to today (you’ll need to generate 1.21 jigowatts to accomplish this) and you will once again find a Sacramento Kings team with a fine two guard, with the team on its way to a 32-50 record (give or take a few games). So the comparisons are natural – is Kevin Martin Mitch Richmond for the 21^st century? It’s an easy analogy, but does it hold?

Mitch Richmond’s first year in Sacramento was his fourth full NBA season. For all intents and purposes, this is Kevin Martin’s fourth full season. Richmond was 26 at the start of that season, Martin is 25 right now. At 6-5 and 220, Richmond was a bruising player who could hit from outside and back a guy down. He was not a high flyer but he could muscle his way around the court. Martin is a lithe 6-7 and 185. He has more hops than Richmond could have ever hoped for, but he is not a physical presence (that’s OK, neither was Reggie Miller…ooh, hold that thought).  Martin is an above average rebounder for a two guard, better than Richmond. But Richmond was a better assist man. And I watched night after night as Richmond took guys like Clyde Drexler out of their games. Do you currently envision Kevin taking Brandon Roy out of his game? On many nights, Mitch Richmond was the Kings best player on both ends of the floor.

Hmmm.  There seems to be more differences than similarities in their games, their builds, their essence. There are, however, some similarities in their situation, and it goes beyond being the two guard for a bad team in the capitol of California. They both were/are the primary (sometimes the only) reason to buy a ticket to a Kings game. Yes, many of you may not remember what it was like to pick the games that you were going to attend based solely on when Jordan was coming to town, or Magic, or Bird. You went to the games knowing that your team was favored to lose, and you were either going witness a small miracle (they effing won!) or a dose of reality and a confirmation of how far away the Kings were from being an NBA team (they effing lost!). And back then, maybe we went with the wish and the prayer that Walt Williams or Grant or Bobby Hurley or Corliss would develop and explode into stardom. Today we reserve that wanderlust for Hawes, JT, Greene, TBD #1 and TBD #2.

This is not to say that everyone on this team not named Kevin Martin sucks. Tisdale, Simmons, Webb and Duane Causwell made up the starting lineup in Richmond’s first year here. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? 29-53. Therein lies another similarity. These are not bad players, but where are the stars?

Kevin Garnett was an underachiever in Minnesota, and Paul Pierce was not a guy to lead a team in Boston. But combined…ask Kobe and LeBron about that math. Mitch Richmond never had a wing man while he was in Sacramento, and Kevin Martin either needs one, or needs to be one to someone else (hello, Mr. Bosh, welcome to Sacramento!).

In the final analysis, if Kevin Martin resembles anyone it is Reggie Miller. Miller was a more prolific perimeter shooter, but people forget that he also knew how to get to the hoop, draw contact and get to the line. And Miller had Donnie Walsh, the same way that Martin has Geoff Petrie. Richmond’s management could never get him support. Martin has youth in the wings and cap space on the horizon.

So in the final, final analysis, the Richmond/Martin comparison is cute, but it doesn’t really hold water. And my bet is that if Martin plays here another seven years, the team will average better than a 32-50 record, which is really more of a testament to Petrie and the Maloof’s then it is to Martin. At least I hope that it will be better. Otherwise, these next few years is going to be about as exciting as kissing your own brother.

(section214 -- your favorite correspondent -- has done the honor of whipping up Sactown Royalty's 2008-09 preview for the NBA Blogger Previews series. Enjoy. - TZ)

Team Name:  Your Sacramento Kings.

Last Year’s Record:  38-44, 11^th in the Western Conference.

Key Losses:  Mike Bibby (at the trade deadline last year), Ron Artest, Patrick Ewing Jr., my sanity and my car keys.

Key Additions:  Youth is served – Jason Thompson, Donte’ Greene and Bobby Brown, more available parking at ARCO Arena.

1.      What significant moves were made during the offseason?  The biggest was obviously the Ron Artest trade.  At last year's trade deadline, the best that the Kings could get for Ron-Ron was expiring contract and Denver's 1st round pick.  Geoff Petrie waited, netted Donte' Greene, a 1st round pick for next year (albeit a late one) and fan favorite and expiring contract Bobby Jackson.  Not bad when you consider that Artest could have opted out and the Kings could have wound up with nothing.  Now there is no doubt that Houston got the better end of this deal, but the Kings got exactly what they needed - youth, a draft pick, and the assurance that they will not spend long term money on Ron Artest.
Kudos also to Petrie for snapping up point guard Bobby Brown.  Brown was the most impressive point guard at the Las Vegas summer league while playing for New Orleans.  If Brown works his way into solid minutes he will be a great bargain at $442k.

2.      What are the team’s biggest strengths?   Kevin Martin, Kevin Martin and Kevin Martin.  Dude averaged almost 24 points a game last year on 15 shots.  His ppg has been 3/11/20/24 (rounded) over his first four years, and all he did this summer was work on his game.  This is the first year of his first "real" contract ($8.8 million this year), the first year as the lead dog, the first year without Artest and Bibby refusing to yield to his superior true shooting percentage (over 60%!).  He may be a little less efficient this year, but he'll get more looks.  27-28 points per game is not out of the question.  And he's a great kid, a solid community guy, the potential cornerstone of a rebuilding franchise.  I will give honorable mention to the work ethic of this squad.  The Kings played their collective arse's off in probably 79 of the 82 games last year, no small feat for a team that was really out of the playoff hunt by February.  Kudos to Reggie Theus for that.

3.      What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?  Pick one - defense, rebounding, athleticism, cohesion, Kenny Thomas.  The youngsters on this team (Jason Thompson, Shelden Williams, Donte' Greene, Spencer Hawes) have a little bounce but lack experience, while the veterans (Brad Miller, Mikki Moore, Bobby Jackson) are crafty but not physically dynamic.  The roles for many Kings players will change throughout the year, and that will make things double tough.

4.      What are the goals for this team?  If you ask Reggie Theus and the Kings organization, the goal is the playoffs.  If you ask most Kings fans, the goal is playing the youngsters as much as possible and drafting Ricky Rubio, Blake Griffin or B.J. Mullens.  The Kings are a team in transition, and Theus is going to have his hands full balancing going after wins with getting the kids some burn.  The development of Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson is hugely important (Donte' Greene's development may have to wait until next year).  I would add that having Kevin Martin grab the reins of this team would also have to be considered as a major goal. 

5.      2010 free agent that vaults this squad back into contention?  Chris Bosh.

Predicted record:  37-45.  One game worse than last year.  The loss of Artest will cost them about a half dozen games (He only suited up 57 times last year), but this team now knows the coaching staff, and they suffered far more than their share of injuries last year.  11th in the west, ahead of Memphis, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and whichever one of the Denver/LA Clipper/Golden State teams that wind up imploding.