CruzDude said:
The apparent training camp roster for the Kings this year shown in the bottom of the Bee Article with my updates. Two 7 footers and 6-11 Dan Langhi are there. Interesting
Training Camp Roster Sept 24, 2005
33 Sharif Abdur-Rahim PF 6-9, 245 Cal '90 9
10 Mike Bibby PG 6-1, 190 Arizona '00
15 Eric Daniels F 6-8, 214 Kentucky 04
33 Anwar Ferguson C 7-0, 255 Arkansas '05
8 Luis Flores PG 6-2, 200 Mahattan
32 Francisco Garcia SG 6-7, 195 Lousiville 06
3 Jason Hart PG 6-3, 185 Syracuse '00
45 Lonnie Jones C 7-0, 228 Ball State '02
22 Dan Langhi F 6-11, 220 Vanderbilt, '00
23 Kevin Martin SG 6-7, 185 West.Carolina 05
52 Brad Miller C 7-0, 261 Purdue '98
20 Rickey Paulding SG 6-4, 210 Missoouri '04
7 Ronnie Price PG 6-2, 190 Utah Val St 05
31 Jamal Sampson PF 6-11, 235 California '02
40 Eric Sandrin F 6-8, 225 Seattle Pacific
54 Brian Skinner C 6-9, 265 Baylor '98
16 Peja Stojakovic SF 6-10, 229 Serbia
9 Kenny Thomas PF 6-7, 245 New Mexico '99
42 Bonzi Wells SG 6-5, 210 Ball State '98
34 Corliss Williamson SF 6-7, 245 Arkansas '96
When you look at the list of invitees, it is obvious that there is just no room for Matt Barnes on this roster if we are only looking to carry 13. As mentioned, Erik Daniels has relatively no shot of making the roster, so no sense making Barnes go through that.
As I see the roster- 11 spots are accounted for...
PG- Bibby, Hart
Wings/Swings- Bonzi, Peja, Cisco, Martin, Corliss
Big Men- Abdur-Rahim, Miller, Thomas, Skinner
Ideally, and if recent history is any indication, we will carry a third PG- this is roster spot # 12. To me, this is shaping up to be a great battle between Flores and Price. FLores seems more like the Eddie House PG (not really a PG at all, but instant offense) whereas Price seems like more of a true PG. This position is largely irrelevant if Bibby and Hart stay healthy, but this is the Kings, so you never know.
Spot 13 is likely to be another big man (that balances the roster, gives you plenty of options in garbage time and insures you a bit against injury). People here seem to think of Sampson as the frontrunner because he signed a contract early on, but that is what Courtney Alexander did last year, and he got beat out by Mo Evans. As a matter of fact, this roster battle reminds me a lot of the Alexander/Barnes/Evans battle last year in that you know at least one will make the team, and it will be based exclusively on who plays better and wants it. So the battle is between Fergueson, Sampson, and Jones for one roster spot. If I had to handicap this battle, my money would go to Fergueson. He has been in camp before, and these guys who keep hanging around usually do so because Geoff likes something about them (I seem to recall Jabari Smith hanging around in a couple training camps before making the squad). I think Jones brings more to this team than Sampson does, so going into training camp I would say that the most likely running order is Fergueson, Jones, Sampson. Of course, injuries in training camp will also play a large role (Kings really liked Alexander heading into camp, but he was always hurt and never showed the staff much).
The other guys seems out of luck because of roster size. In my experience, Dan Langhi is not what this team needs. Having seen him played, he reminds me a lot of a poor man's Scott Padgett- we need physcial guys down low, not Padgett, and certainly not Langhi.
I love Ricky Paulding and think he could play a Mo Evans type role, but there is simply no room. We need a third PG and a 5th big man (in my opinion), so it seems that to make the team he would need to beat out Cisco or Martin. Possible, but not probable. Or maybe we stash Price/Flores on an NBADL roster because Paulding really wows us. More likely, but still not probable.
We have seen Erik Daniels. He would have to have a mighty camp. The team will likely carry 5 swing men (MAYBE, MAYBE 6 if Paulding is the real deal), and Daniels is currently no better than 7th. If Geoff thought that there was a chance a training camp invitee would make it on to the roster at the swing position, he would have invited Barnes, not Daniels.
I know nothing about Eric Sandrin, and find it hard to believe that a 6-8, 225 forward is making this team when we already have a glut of guys between 6-6 and 6-9.
