By [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Josh Redetzke
redball77@yahoo.com
5/9/06[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2006/07 Sacramento Kings Payroll: $56 million
2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 million
Roughly: $4 million over cap[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ron Artest
Photo: D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Good: The Kings' lineup has been completely overhauled from what it was two seasons ago. Obviously, the biggest change for this team was trading Peja Stojakovic for Ron Artest. When it become clear that Peja wasn't going to be back after hitting the free agent market, the team nabbed the controversial Artest. So far, the trade has worked out great and Artest has given the team a tougher attitude. Better still is that Ron's contract is very affordable, paying him only $7.1 and $7.8 million the next two years (with a third year player option for $8.4 million). That is a great deal for a guard who fills up a box score with 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2 steals each night. Now, somebody needs to tell Ron to do something about that 38% shooting. Yikes.
Sacramento will save $8 million dollars on their cap this summer with the contract of Bonzi Wells coming to an end. Bonzi is a decent shooter and he somehow exploded this season to average 7.7 rebounds per game, a career high. He would be a good player to keep around, but his playoff explosion could make him a hot commodity in the summer. The Kings must make sure they get him for the right price.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim finally played in his first playoff game after 10 years in the NBA. He was a valuable role player for the Kings this year as he contributed 12.3 points and 5 boards each game while shooting 52.5% from the field. Shareef has four more years on his deal at an average of $6 million a year. That is a nice contract for the talented forward.
Mike Bibby's deal seemed very rich when he first signed it, but the King's point guard continues to perform at a high level. This year, he averaged a career-best 21.1 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists. Bibby will be a King for three more seasons at an average of $13.5 million each year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Bad: Because of injuries and ineffectiveness, Corliss Williamson and Vitaly Potapenko barely played this season. However, Williamson is still owed $6.5 million dollars next year and Potapenko will receive $3.3 million. Luckily for the Kings, those are the final years of their contracts.
The deal for Kenny Thomas still has four years and more than $30 million remaining. That price is a little steep for 9.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a game coming off the bench. Thomas has shown that he is capable of producing better numbers and Sacramento could use a more consistent scorer off the bench. His contract isn't horrible, it's just inflated when compared to his production, but he's far better than the alternative with Webber's contract which was the deal he was aquired in..[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Future: It should be noted that Brad Miller has four years and about $43.6 million dollars left on his contract. So far, he has earned his money quite well. The veteran center is one of the best passing big men in the game, as evidenced by the 4.7 assists he averaged this season. He also rebounds well and always shoots around 50% from the field (though his rebound average did dip to 7.8 this year). Miller does have an injury history, but if he can stay healthy his contract shouldn't be a problem.
The new-look Kings are actually in pretty good shape. They won't have any cap room in the near future, especially if they resign Bonzi Wells, but they don't need to add any more major pieces. Bibby, Artest, Miller, Thomas, and Abdur-Rahim are all signed up for at least the next two seasons, keeping most of their core intact. Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia are two young prospects they can develop (Martin has looked especially impressive). So for the time being, Sacramento doesn't need to make any big moves. Once their players get another season to gel, they should be much better than an 8th seed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bonus Points… for pulling the trigger on the Ron Artest deal. They might regret it later, but the Kings love it right now. Artest changes the mental toughness of any team he is on. If he avoids the psychological meltdowns of his past, he can be one of the best guard/forwards in the game and a team leader. With so many bad memories in Indiana, Artest needed a new home. Perhaps that will be enough to help him keep his focus.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Grade: B
[/FONT]
redball77@yahoo.com
5/9/06[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2006/07 Sacramento Kings Payroll: $56 million
2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 million
Roughly: $4 million over cap[/FONT]
Photo: D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Good: The Kings' lineup has been completely overhauled from what it was two seasons ago. Obviously, the biggest change for this team was trading Peja Stojakovic for Ron Artest. When it become clear that Peja wasn't going to be back after hitting the free agent market, the team nabbed the controversial Artest. So far, the trade has worked out great and Artest has given the team a tougher attitude. Better still is that Ron's contract is very affordable, paying him only $7.1 and $7.8 million the next two years (with a third year player option for $8.4 million). That is a great deal for a guard who fills up a box score with 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2 steals each night. Now, somebody needs to tell Ron to do something about that 38% shooting. Yikes.
Sacramento will save $8 million dollars on their cap this summer with the contract of Bonzi Wells coming to an end. Bonzi is a decent shooter and he somehow exploded this season to average 7.7 rebounds per game, a career high. He would be a good player to keep around, but his playoff explosion could make him a hot commodity in the summer. The Kings must make sure they get him for the right price.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim finally played in his first playoff game after 10 years in the NBA. He was a valuable role player for the Kings this year as he contributed 12.3 points and 5 boards each game while shooting 52.5% from the field. Shareef has four more years on his deal at an average of $6 million a year. That is a nice contract for the talented forward.
Mike Bibby's deal seemed very rich when he first signed it, but the King's point guard continues to perform at a high level. This year, he averaged a career-best 21.1 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists. Bibby will be a King for three more seasons at an average of $13.5 million each year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Bad: Because of injuries and ineffectiveness, Corliss Williamson and Vitaly Potapenko barely played this season. However, Williamson is still owed $6.5 million dollars next year and Potapenko will receive $3.3 million. Luckily for the Kings, those are the final years of their contracts.
The deal for Kenny Thomas still has four years and more than $30 million remaining. That price is a little steep for 9.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a game coming off the bench. Thomas has shown that he is capable of producing better numbers and Sacramento could use a more consistent scorer off the bench. His contract isn't horrible, it's just inflated when compared to his production, but he's far better than the alternative with Webber's contract which was the deal he was aquired in..[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Future: It should be noted that Brad Miller has four years and about $43.6 million dollars left on his contract. So far, he has earned his money quite well. The veteran center is one of the best passing big men in the game, as evidenced by the 4.7 assists he averaged this season. He also rebounds well and always shoots around 50% from the field (though his rebound average did dip to 7.8 this year). Miller does have an injury history, but if he can stay healthy his contract shouldn't be a problem.
The new-look Kings are actually in pretty good shape. They won't have any cap room in the near future, especially if they resign Bonzi Wells, but they don't need to add any more major pieces. Bibby, Artest, Miller, Thomas, and Abdur-Rahim are all signed up for at least the next two seasons, keeping most of their core intact. Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia are two young prospects they can develop (Martin has looked especially impressive). So for the time being, Sacramento doesn't need to make any big moves. Once their players get another season to gel, they should be much better than an 8th seed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bonus Points… for pulling the trigger on the Ron Artest deal. They might regret it later, but the Kings love it right now. Artest changes the mental toughness of any team he is on. If he avoids the psychological meltdowns of his past, he can be one of the best guard/forwards in the game and a team leader. With so many bad memories in Indiana, Artest needed a new home. Perhaps that will be enough to help him keep his focus.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Grade: B
[/FONT]
Not sure if this goes here, or in personnel moves.
