What I see happening this year:
Dalembert and Landry will be the starters and compliment one another well. Landry will be free to score down on the blocks and spotting up outside with Dalembert picking up garbage points on putbacks and gimmies from Tyreke collapsing the defense. Likewise Dalembert's rebounding will mask Carl's deficiency in that department. Both make nice pick and roll options for Beno and Evans. A nice pairing IMO.
Thompson will be the first big off the bench and will spell both positions though spending more time at the PF. I like him with both Landry and Dalembert.
Cousins will be given a few minutes at center to start the season with that number growing as the season moves along. I think he will eventually be getting pretty good minutes and may even flirt with starting before hitting the rookie wall hard just before the all-star break. But if things go well he should again be starting before the end of the season and looking like the Kings starting center for the next decade.
Brockman will by and large be a practice/garbage time player, getting bigger minutes when injuries pop up and occasionally stealing Cousin's minutes if the rookie is not giving the effort Westphal wants to see.
Whiteside will not play in more than a handful of games this season. He SHOULD spend most of it in the D-League. He has a myriad of things to work on (gaining strength, offensive repertoire, consistency of effort and especially court awareness) before he'll ever play meaningful NBA minutes. He'd get much more out of playing every night in the D-League than riding the pine all season.
And that's all assuming no major injuries, trades etc.
As for the future, who knows? Again, assuming no trades the two guys that I think will start this season will both be free agents.
I think that the team will be looking to bring back Dalembert as a backup for a reasonable price but he strikes me as a player that would leave for a terrible team if he had the chance to start and that's what I see happening.
I think the team will want Landry back and the feeling will be mutual. I see him resigning for a bit more than he probably should but a reasonable deal nonetheless.
I think this is a make or break year for Thompson. Either way I think he'll be in the league a long time but I think this season determines whether it will be as an above average starter at PF or as a 3rd or 4th big man who provides some versatility and rebounding. Best case scenario has him establishing himself to start alongside Cousins which frees Landry up to be a high energy 6th man and first big off the bench - a role he thrives in.
Cousins certainly has bust potential but contrary to my generally pessimistic nature I see him being an ideal partner for Tyreke and giving the Kings the second star they need to really develop into a contender. He'll be a bit frustrating defensively, but he'll be a monster on the boards and reliable scorer down low and even on pick and pop situations.
Brockman is the kind of hustle player every team loves to have. He's expendable but I'd like to see him stick around.
I have a hard time envisioning Whiteside developing. He just seems too clueless to me to ever be a factor in this leage. Could he become a Camby/Chandler type player? Maybe, but he trails so far behind both of them in terms of feel for the game and effort level. I see him washing out of the NBA after a few teams try vainly to wring that tantalizing potential out of him. I'd love to be wrong here because a long athletic shotblocker/rebounder who can finish in transition and hit a few shots and score in the post a bit would be a PERFECT compliment to Cousins.
That's how I see things anyway.
