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9. Sacramento Kings
There's a new coach in Sactown. There's a new franchise cornerstone. There's even a potential new building site for a new arena.
But I'm guessing Kings fans, who for much of this new millennium have been regarded as the league's loudest, are struggling to muster much enthusiasm. Can't blame them, either.
Maybe new coach Reggie Theus proves to be the right replacement for Eric Musselman and gets a re-energized response from a group that never responded to Muss. Maybe Kevin Martin's $50 million contract extension winds up as a bargain if he keeps developing. Maybe even the proposed construction of a new home for the team at Cal Expo will be the plan that ensures the Kings' long-term existence in Sacramento.
But look at the rest of the Kings' roster. Does anyone but Martin offer much long-term hope?
Even if Ron Artest suddenly turns dependable in his contract year after a summer of contrition and charity work, he's headed for free agency at season's end and realistically will always make folks wonder how long the calm is going to last. Mike Bibby's future, meanwhile, certainly seems to be elsewhere after a season of struggle and two near-trades to Cleveland.
Pretty much anyone else you name looks like a rotation player at best, whether it's newly signed Mikki Moore, combo guard John Salmons or Francisco Garcia, whom Theus loved at Louisville. The Kings obviously believe that rookie center Spencer Hawes will defy the skeptics and exceed expectations ... and they need him to, with big men Brad Miller, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas all on the decline.
One theory holds that Kings president Geoff Petrie still hopes to move Bibby in the near future to see if Artest fares better without him. Yet it should be pretty clear by now that this team -- nearly three years removed from trading away Chris Webber to start the rebuilding process -- remains more than one move away from regaining its place among the West elite. Sacramento's turn-of-the-century rise from perennial doormat to title contender earned Petrie a well-deserved rep as one of the league's best architects, but rebuilding this castle with the limited assets in his possession has already proven to be much tougher.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=WestOffseason07
There's a new coach in Sactown. There's a new franchise cornerstone. There's even a potential new building site for a new arena.
But I'm guessing Kings fans, who for much of this new millennium have been regarded as the league's loudest, are struggling to muster much enthusiasm. Can't blame them, either.
Maybe new coach Reggie Theus proves to be the right replacement for Eric Musselman and gets a re-energized response from a group that never responded to Muss. Maybe Kevin Martin's $50 million contract extension winds up as a bargain if he keeps developing. Maybe even the proposed construction of a new home for the team at Cal Expo will be the plan that ensures the Kings' long-term existence in Sacramento.
But look at the rest of the Kings' roster. Does anyone but Martin offer much long-term hope?
Even if Ron Artest suddenly turns dependable in his contract year after a summer of contrition and charity work, he's headed for free agency at season's end and realistically will always make folks wonder how long the calm is going to last. Mike Bibby's future, meanwhile, certainly seems to be elsewhere after a season of struggle and two near-trades to Cleveland.
Pretty much anyone else you name looks like a rotation player at best, whether it's newly signed Mikki Moore, combo guard John Salmons or Francisco Garcia, whom Theus loved at Louisville. The Kings obviously believe that rookie center Spencer Hawes will defy the skeptics and exceed expectations ... and they need him to, with big men Brad Miller, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas all on the decline.
One theory holds that Kings president Geoff Petrie still hopes to move Bibby in the near future to see if Artest fares better without him. Yet it should be pretty clear by now that this team -- nearly three years removed from trading away Chris Webber to start the rebuilding process -- remains more than one move away from regaining its place among the West elite. Sacramento's turn-of-the-century rise from perennial doormat to title contender earned Petrie a well-deserved rep as one of the league's best architects, but rebuilding this castle with the limited assets in his possession has already proven to be much tougher.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=WestOffseason07
