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Just thought I'd throw this out there....

http://www.nba.com/fantasy/features/teampreview_sacramento_kings.html

(Edited to add article. NOTE: This is the fantasy team preview for the Kings.)

Fantasy Team Preview: Sacramento Kings
By Tom Lorenzo, TalentedMrRoto.com
September 18, 2006 - 6:44 a.m.


2005-06 OVERVIEW

With Chris Webber shipped off to Philadelphia late in the 2004-05 season, Sacramento’s 2005-06 season began with a new face of the franchise: Peja Stojakovic. The 6’10” sharp-shooting Serbian got his wish to become the leader of a Kings franchise looking to decorate the rafters of Arco Arena with a NBA championship banner. Well, Peja, be careful with what you wish for.

After Peja’s bout with bum knees and the Maloof brothers realizing that one-dimensional scorers who shy away from the defensive side of the ball aren’t necessarily franchise players, it didn’t take long before the Kings sent the dismal Stojakovic packing to Indiana for everyone’s favorite “Tru Warrior,” Ron Artest. This was a risky move since most were certain that Artest would not be happy playing in Sacramento. Many were also concerned with Geoff Petrie pairing Artest with former “Jail Blazer,” Bonzi Wells, especially with Bonzi’s reputation for being tops in the “bad attitude” department.

Bonzi’s issues, however, were with his inability to remain healthy. Bonzi played in only 52 games and averaged a fair 13.6 points per game. Not exactly what you’d want from a guy demanding $10 million per year.

Sticking with the theme of Bad Knees, the Kings signed veteran Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a career 20 point per game scorer, to a six-year deal worth $40 million. Not bad for a former All-Star, right? Well, Shareef managed to post the worst numbers of his 10-year professional career by putting up lows in points per game (12.3) and rebounds (5.0). Brought in to fill the role that Chris Webber left behind, Abdur-Rahim only started 30 games in 2005 and lost the starting role (after suffering a broken jaw) to a solid power forward in Kenny Thomas. Kenny had a nice year with 7.5 rebounds and 9.1 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field.

Two bright spots for the 44-38 Kings were Mike Bibby and Brad Miller. Bibby continued to improve posting a career-high 21.2 points per game while making 192 three pointers, also a career-best. Miller, who has been one of the most consistent centers during the past five seasons, put up a solid 15 points per game while grabbing eight rebounds per contest. We also shouldn’t forget that Brad shot 82 percent from the free throw line, which is pretty impressive for a seven-footer. With the play of Bibby and Miller and 40 games out of Ron Artest in the second half of the season, the Kings were able to grab the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Though they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs, a few minor tweaks to the roster, including the addition of John Salmons and Loren Woods in the off-season and a full year of Ron Artest alongside Bibby and Miller, could bode well for the Kings in the upcoming 2006-07 season.

ADDITIONS:
John Salmons, SG
Loren Woods, C
Quincy Douby, SG
Louis Amundson, PF

LOSSES:
Bonzi Wells, SG
Jamal Sampson, PF
Sergey Monya, F

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
C – Brad Miller
PF – Kenny Thomas
SF – Ron Artest
SG – Kevin Martin
PG – Mike Bibby

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2006

Not much happened in the off-season for the Sacramento Kings. They did lose Bonzi Wells and his demands of $10 million per year and replaced him by slotting Kevin Martin into the starting shooting guard slot, while signing former Sixer John Salmons to help in coming off the bench. Bonzi seemed to have come alive during the playoffs last year by scoring 23.2 points with 12 rebounds per game against the San Antonio Spurs. That’s not typical of what you’d get from Bonzi Wells, but a young Kevin Martin and an unproven John Salmons won’t necessarily make up for the loss of Wells at the two-guard position.

Maybe the biggest off-season move came when the Kings let head coach Rick Adelman go and signed 41-year-old Eric Musselman to a contract during the summer. Musselman, one of the youngest coaches in the league, most recently coached the Golden State Warriors in 2002 and 2003. He is known for his strong defensive mind and, in 2003, Musselman was a runner up for the NBA Coach of the Year award. I suspect that Musselman will do his best job trying to keep Ron Artest out of trouble. If he does so, this may end up to be the biggest off-season move for the Kings.

The Kings used the 2006 NBA Draft to snag one of the best perimeter shooters from the college ranks in Quincy Douby, out of Rutgers. However, don’t look for him to get much playing time. With his small frame, it’s hard to imagine Douby matching up successfully with most shooting guards in the NBA. With a quiet draft and a few minor signings during the summer, look for the real fantasy value in 2006-07 to come from the usual suspects: Artest, Bibby, and Miller.

KEY BENCH POSITIONS / POSITION BATTLES

Kenny Thomas had a nice 2005-06 season beating out former All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the starting PF position. I suspect that not much will change in 2006-07 because Abdur-Rahim, who has been labeled as a “soft” player in the past, has never been one to rise to the occasion. Shareef had not sniffed the playoffs until last season, where he played in six games with the Kings and averaged only 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Were Shareef Abdur-Rahim able to gain his All-Star form, you could see a nice position battle here at the power forward position. However, it is currently Kenny Thomas’ spot to lose.

You may see a position battle at the two-guard spot between Kevin Martin and John Salmons. Salmons was brought in after a career year in Philly averaging 7.5 points per game in only 25 minutes. Kevin Martin had slightly better stats, logging 26.6 minutes per game and scoring at a 10.8 per game clip. Martin also showed some improvement in 2005-06 by putting up 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.3 three-pointers per game in 41 starts for the Kings. Other than Kevin Martin having a slightly better shooting touch than John Salmons, I figure the position will be won by the player who shows more hustle on the defensive end of the ball.

PLAYERS WE LOVE

It’s hard not to think that Ron Artest won’t regain his dominant form on defense. If Artest can put up more than 2.5 steals per game to go along with .75 blocks per game, it’s possible to see Ron become a top-20 talent in the league. His hustle on both ends of the court makes for easy transition buckets and quite a few takeaways on help coverage. Look for Artest to have a big year if he can remain out of trouble and on the court for 75-plus games this year.

Another obvious choice is Mike Bibby. He has improved his scoring average each year since joining the Kings in 2001. Last year Bibby scored 21.1 points per game, made 192 three-pointers and shot 85 percent from the free throw line. One thing to know about Bibby is that he is not a “pass first” point gaurd. With that being said, his career average for assists per game is 6.4. Those aren’t bad numbers for a scoring point guard. In fact, the only starting PG with a higher scoring average last year was Gilbert Arenas.

Though Kenny Thomas won’t “wow” you with his numbers, he averaged a double-double and his career numbers stand at 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game just two years ago. He also shot 50 percent from the field last year and is a presence on the defensive end of the court. He’s a nice player to pick up in the late rounds if you need a PF to fit into your lineup.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

I’ve all but given up on Shareef Abdur-Rahim. His name may make some fantasy players draft him on merit, but he’s coming off his worst NBA season, averaging a career low 27.2 minutes per game. Plus, there are the never-ending questions about his knees. Again, as noted earlier, Shareef is not the type of player to rise to the occasion and prove to the naysayers out there that he has returned to his 20-and-10 self.

Francisco Garcia is another player I would wait on. The Kings drafted Garcia out of Louisville where he was praised as one of the best three-point shooters in the country. Well, in his rookie season Garcia shot only 28 percent from beyond the arc. Is there room for improvement? Sure. But, I suspect that Garcia has a long way to go before he gets the chance to right his rookie season shooting woes.

BOTTOM LINE

I don’t see much surprise coming from the 2006-07 Sacramento Kings. Other than Ron Artest, Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, the rest of the roster may be filled with a few fliers and a few players who don’t even merit a spot on a fantasy team. There may be a surprise or two (Salmons, Martin, or Thomas) but until we see flashes once the season starts, there may not be much mystery in the 2006-07 Kings.

The views expressed by TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.
 
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could someone please paste the article, as it is blocked for me (shhhh, working...).

ETA: thanks!
 
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I think Artest is already a top 20 talent player in the league and what does the writer mean by "regaining" his defensive self? Artest played only half the season and he was in bad shape coming to sac, but he was still a monster on the defensive side. His first game with us against the Celts, i remember him stealing the ball from Pierce ( not such an easy thing to do).
 
Again, this is a fantasy team overview. The writer is talking about the value of drafting players onto a fantasy team.
 
i think reef will definiltye improve on his play last year, hopefull both kenny and his injury will light a fire of intensity in him
 
It's all about opprotunity. You play Reef 40 minutes a game and he'll get you 18 points and 8 rebounds.

No reason to play SAR that much minutes. Personally, i think he is going to improve in the rebounding section and he will be healthier this time around hopefully. He has been working out and training all summer for this season and we will see if it has any effects.
 
No reason to play SAR that much minutes. Personally, i think he is going to improve in the rebounding section and he will be healthier this time around hopefully. He has been working out and training all summer for this season and we will see if it has any effects.


I was just making the point that production, or even moreso -> stats, has a lot to do with opportunity and minutes. Most of the premier players have the luxury of those opportunties.
 
Just to reiterate what VF21 pointed out -- this is a fantasy basketball analysis, not a real basketball analysis. So the positives and negatives and whatnot are going to be skewed according to value as a fantasy player rather than based on effective contribution etc.
 
Just to reiterate what VF21 pointed out -- this is a fantasy basketball analysis, not a real basketball analysis. So the positives and negatives and whatnot are going to be skewed according to value as a fantasy player rather than based on effective contribution etc.

Still, Webber, Stojackovic and Wells references?? Gard durn name dropper!! (excuse my french) I'd think one almost has to ignore anyone still talking about Webber when referring to the Kings in this day and age.
The only thing I take from this article is frustration at the fact that the author takes only a skin deep look at the current state of this franchise. As if 'Reef never played through the pain of a wired shut jaw! I know, I know it's silly to get so worked up over an article of this ilk but when are the Kings gonna get their due!?!? They may not have won a championship in a while, but they've been a dangerous successful team for what? 7 years now? how 'bout a little respect for once??
 
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