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Summertime Tidbits on the Sacramento Kings
The Summer Scoop - August 19, 2005
by Devin Blankenship
Blink Your Eyes…
It’s amazing how quickly things can change in sports.
One minute a player that you coveted in free agency appears lost, agreeing to sign a contract with another team and strengthen their roster, forcing you to turn your attention in another direction. For all intents and purposes, that player is dead to you, out of sight and mind.
But in a blink of an eye and within 72 hours of that first deal falling through, an amazing turn of events has occurred and that player you initially coveted is holding up your team’s jersey in front of local media and flashing cameras—somehow now a part of your team.
What turned out to be boondoggle for the New Jersey Nets with Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s supposedly shaky knee became a blessing for the Kings last week in a series of twists and turns that left many at the Sacramento Practice Facility shaking and scratching their heads wondering exactly how Abdur-Rahim fell into the their laps.
Geoff Petrie and company had initially planned on lying low for the summer after the Bonzi Wells trade, unwilling to pick through the remnants of a gutted free-agent market and sign a player to a multi-year contract who might not deserve it just because options were running low. A trade was always a possibility, if the right deal came along, or a later signing if a player of interest was released due to the new amnesty program.
That was until the Nets decided to bail out of the Abdur-Rahim deal, re-opening a door for the Kings.
How hot were the Kings for Shareef? Geoff Petrie actually made a public comment in the Sacramento Bee stating Sacramento’s interest in the power forward, something that Petrie does just about umm, never.
Awkward?...
It should have been an awkward moment, one would think. The newest player and the person who traded for him run into the person who was traded—instead it showed how much class all of the parties involved have.
As Bonzi Wells and his family walked from Geoff Petrie’s office to the media room of the Practice Facility to take part in the obligatory press conference on the day Wells was acquired, they ran into Bobby Jackson, who was working out on the court and had just finished up his routine.
Bobby and Bonzi stopped and talked for awhile with the two sharing battle stories and Wells introducing his three sons. They were soon joined by Petrie, and three had a conversation where they were all laughing and joking around—a sight that you really had to see to believe. Things ended with handshakes and hugs as Bonzi and Geoff moved on to the press conference while Jackson headed off to the showers, his reign as a King over but still class enough to laugh with the player and GM involved with his departure.
Adelman…
Given a totally revamped roster, the 2005-06 season will present Rick Adelman with his greatest challenge since his first with the Kings in 1999.
Sure, there was a lot of pressure to win after 2001-02 and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, but Adelman knew what he had with that squad. This will be the first time he will need to mesh an almost totally new group of players together since he did it with Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Vlade Divac, and Peja Stojakovic, which turned out alright.
One of Adelman’s best strengths as a head coach is his ability to get the most out of players who may not have performed up to their capabilities earlier in their careers, and the current version of the Kings have a few guys who fall into this category. Past examples include:
<LI>Chris Webber was an enormous talent who never reached his potential until under Adelman’s tutelage.
<LI>Doug Christie was looked upon as an average NBA player with good athletic skills in LA, New York, and Toronto. He became a perennial member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team with the Kings.
<LI>Vlade Divac had a good career prior to Adelman but really became recognized as one of the best passing centers of all-time under Rick and made his first and only All-Star team with Sacramento.
<LI>Bobby Jackson had some success his first year in the league with Denver, but really blossomed after coming to the Kings and eventually became a sixth man of the year.
<LI>Mike Bibby has become one of the best point guards in the league under Adelman, after some ups and downs in Vancouver.
<LI>Jim Jackson resurrected his almost flat-lined career after one season with Sacramento and became a sought-after free agent the following year.
<LI>Scot Pollard was mostly a bust as a first round pick out of Kansas after “playing” for Detroit and Atlanta. He became a key member off the bench for Sacramento in 1999 after getting picked up midseason and has parlayed it into a nice NBA career. Pete Babcock, the GM of the Hawks at the time, later called releasing Pollard the move he most regretted in his career.
<LI>Adelman turned Jon Barry into one of the most valuable reserves off the bench during his stay with the Kings. Barry had bounced around the league with several teams before finding a home with the Kings.
And while Adelman is not the sole reason for each of these players' success, he played a large part in helping them blossom.
Age Revamp…
It’s amazing to see the almost total roster transformation Petrie has pulled off over the last eight months.
There are only four players (Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Brad Miller, Kevin Martin) on the current roster who were on the squad on opening night of 2004. Sacramento’s average age has also dropped from 27.2 on October 31 last year to 26.5 as of today. While that doesn’t seem like a whole lot, you have to consider that several of the non-core players on the Kings’ bench last season were 25 or younger, dropping the average.
In addition, the Kings starting lineup has dropped from 29.2 to 28.0 despite a year going by, with only one player on the Kings' roster over the age of 30 (Corliss Williamson—31) compared to four last season.
Interesting stat…
Just an interesting stat from 2004-05: Sacramento led the league in opponents’ free throw percentage, meaning that opposing teams shot their worst from the charity stripe against the Kings.
Why? Maybe the Kings were the best in the league at knowing who to foul on the other team. Another more plausible reason could be the effect of ARCO Arena on other teams.
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Summer_Scoop__August_19_-149250-58.html
The Summer Scoop - August 19, 2005
by Devin Blankenship
Blink Your Eyes…
It’s amazing how quickly things can change in sports.
One minute a player that you coveted in free agency appears lost, agreeing to sign a contract with another team and strengthen their roster, forcing you to turn your attention in another direction. For all intents and purposes, that player is dead to you, out of sight and mind.
But in a blink of an eye and within 72 hours of that first deal falling through, an amazing turn of events has occurred and that player you initially coveted is holding up your team’s jersey in front of local media and flashing cameras—somehow now a part of your team.
What turned out to be boondoggle for the New Jersey Nets with Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s supposedly shaky knee became a blessing for the Kings last week in a series of twists and turns that left many at the Sacramento Practice Facility shaking and scratching their heads wondering exactly how Abdur-Rahim fell into the their laps.
Geoff Petrie and company had initially planned on lying low for the summer after the Bonzi Wells trade, unwilling to pick through the remnants of a gutted free-agent market and sign a player to a multi-year contract who might not deserve it just because options were running low. A trade was always a possibility, if the right deal came along, or a later signing if a player of interest was released due to the new amnesty program.
That was until the Nets decided to bail out of the Abdur-Rahim deal, re-opening a door for the Kings.
How hot were the Kings for Shareef? Geoff Petrie actually made a public comment in the Sacramento Bee stating Sacramento’s interest in the power forward, something that Petrie does just about umm, never.
Awkward?...
It should have been an awkward moment, one would think. The newest player and the person who traded for him run into the person who was traded—instead it showed how much class all of the parties involved have.
As Bonzi Wells and his family walked from Geoff Petrie’s office to the media room of the Practice Facility to take part in the obligatory press conference on the day Wells was acquired, they ran into Bobby Jackson, who was working out on the court and had just finished up his routine.
Bobby and Bonzi stopped and talked for awhile with the two sharing battle stories and Wells introducing his three sons. They were soon joined by Petrie, and three had a conversation where they were all laughing and joking around—a sight that you really had to see to believe. Things ended with handshakes and hugs as Bonzi and Geoff moved on to the press conference while Jackson headed off to the showers, his reign as a King over but still class enough to laugh with the player and GM involved with his departure.
Adelman…
Given a totally revamped roster, the 2005-06 season will present Rick Adelman with his greatest challenge since his first with the Kings in 1999.
Sure, there was a lot of pressure to win after 2001-02 and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, but Adelman knew what he had with that squad. This will be the first time he will need to mesh an almost totally new group of players together since he did it with Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Vlade Divac, and Peja Stojakovic, which turned out alright.
One of Adelman’s best strengths as a head coach is his ability to get the most out of players who may not have performed up to their capabilities earlier in their careers, and the current version of the Kings have a few guys who fall into this category. Past examples include:
<LI>Chris Webber was an enormous talent who never reached his potential until under Adelman’s tutelage.
<LI>Doug Christie was looked upon as an average NBA player with good athletic skills in LA, New York, and Toronto. He became a perennial member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team with the Kings.
<LI>Vlade Divac had a good career prior to Adelman but really became recognized as one of the best passing centers of all-time under Rick and made his first and only All-Star team with Sacramento.
<LI>Bobby Jackson had some success his first year in the league with Denver, but really blossomed after coming to the Kings and eventually became a sixth man of the year.
<LI>Mike Bibby has become one of the best point guards in the league under Adelman, after some ups and downs in Vancouver.
<LI>Jim Jackson resurrected his almost flat-lined career after one season with Sacramento and became a sought-after free agent the following year.
<LI>Scot Pollard was mostly a bust as a first round pick out of Kansas after “playing” for Detroit and Atlanta. He became a key member off the bench for Sacramento in 1999 after getting picked up midseason and has parlayed it into a nice NBA career. Pete Babcock, the GM of the Hawks at the time, later called releasing Pollard the move he most regretted in his career.
<LI>Adelman turned Jon Barry into one of the most valuable reserves off the bench during his stay with the Kings. Barry had bounced around the league with several teams before finding a home with the Kings.
And while Adelman is not the sole reason for each of these players' success, he played a large part in helping them blossom.
Age Revamp…
It’s amazing to see the almost total roster transformation Petrie has pulled off over the last eight months.
There are only four players (Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Brad Miller, Kevin Martin) on the current roster who were on the squad on opening night of 2004. Sacramento’s average age has also dropped from 27.2 on October 31 last year to 26.5 as of today. While that doesn’t seem like a whole lot, you have to consider that several of the non-core players on the Kings’ bench last season were 25 or younger, dropping the average.
In addition, the Kings starting lineup has dropped from 29.2 to 28.0 despite a year going by, with only one player on the Kings' roster over the age of 30 (Corliss Williamson—31) compared to four last season.
Interesting stat…
Just an interesting stat from 2004-05: Sacramento led the league in opponents’ free throw percentage, meaning that opposing teams shot their worst from the charity stripe against the Kings.
Why? Maybe the Kings were the best in the league at knowing who to foul on the other team. Another more plausible reason could be the effect of ARCO Arena on other teams.
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Summer_Scoop__August_19_-149250-58.html
