TDOS All Time Kings Fantasy Draft II (Round 10)

[Bricklayer]

By the end of his first stint with us this guy had emerged as a two way, if not star, then production guy. He even on several occasions faced down Kobe. So:

SG/SF John Salmons (2008-09) 53gms 37.4mpg 18.3ppg (.472 .418 .823) 4.2rpg 3.7apg 1.1spg 0.2bpg 2.3TO

While I have to tap a partial 2/3 season guy this time out, SG was ALWAYS the Stinky Fish's natural position, and I'm not going to let half a decade of stupid coaches and management dictate that I have to be just as stupid. '08-'09 Salmons completes my starting lineup with another strong defender, and a guy who by the end of his first stint had learned to shoot the three and was highly efficient that year. There is always an air of ballstopper with the fish, but his ballhandling and passing abilities could still help Beno the same way that Reke's did, I've got natural smallball flexibility built into my lineup now (just move Artest to PF and Salmons to SF as needed) and with Beno/Salmons/Artest/Cousins that's 4 guys who can create in the starting lineup, if you can just convince them to work together.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Yeah, that's a good pickup. I decided against him because there's just such a negative atmosphere around him amongst our fanbase at this point. But at one point he was a good, productive player, even with the ball stopping. Certainly can't complain about that at this point in the draft.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Fortunately, we don't have to take into account a player's entire career for this draft - just one year with the Kings. With that caveat, I select...

PF/C Michael "Yogi" Stewart (1997-98) 81gms 21.7mpg 4.6ppg (.480 .000 .458) 6.6rpg 0.8apg 0.4spg 2.4bpg 1.0TO

Stewart went undrafted but signed a one-year deal with the Kings and played significant backup minutes (actually leading the team in games played) for us in The Year Before We Finally Broke Through. Of course, by that time he was in Toronto and beginning the long, slow burn of his NBA career. For a shocker, I'll point out that in the seven years following his single year with the Kings he earned 100 TIMES as much money as the Kings paid him yet he did not play SUM TOTAL as many minutes in those seven years as he played in his one year with the Kings. What happened? I don't know. Most likely he just wasn't any good. But in his one year for the Kings, he brought exactly what you want in your first big man off the bench - he rebounded (11 rebs per 36) and he blocked shots (4.0 blocks per 36). I've got plenty of scoring in my backcourt - I've just got to make sure my frontcourt isn't a leaky sieve. And Yogi's single good year will do that for me.

 

[Bricklayer]

thanks for finally joining us slowass!!

 

[uolj]

I decided against him because there's just such a negative atmosphere around him amongst our fanbase at this point.

Uh oh... should I go back and undo OP?


And yeah, there were several pieces of low hanging fruit, but they were mostly one-dimensional (scorers). Fitting more scorers on some teams that need other things can be difficult.

 

[William Blake]

Francisco Garcia
2008-2009: 65gms 30.4mpg 12.7ppg (.444 .398 .820) 3.4reb 2.3ast 1.2stl 1.0blk 1.7TO

Fierce competitor, charismatic locker room presence and well-rounded contributor. Cisco can space the floor for Cousins, make defensive plays and move the ball; there are guards with a higher talent level still around but I couldn't ask for a better fit.

 

[Bricklayer]

that was the other guy I was looking at here. Just decided I was going to have a hard time selling a Cisco/Beno backcourt no matter how good my frontcourt.

 

[63royals]

Drat, I was going to take Cisco. Since I need defense more than offense at this point and I need a SF I'm going back to the first Sacramento Kings team and taking:

Terry Tyler

1985-86 -- 9.5 points (45.7 %), 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 blocks

Spent 3 years here after several years in Detroit. Solid defender with major hops, so he could bock shots. Not the kind of guy you would run plays for very often, but he could score. Good team guy.

 

[Bricklayer]

That's a solid guy I had my eye on. There is a little bit of Travis Outlaw without the threes to his offense, but he was a longtime defensive roleplayer.

 

[sterö]

I wanted Garcia, but I'm also happy with this guy:

Marcus Thornton, SG

2010-11 27gms 38.1min 21.3pts (.450 .361 .805) 4.7reb 3.4ast 1.7stl 0.2blk 2.1to 2.2pf

He really played well and made an impact the year we got him from NO. Adding some scoring to my team. Potentially my 6th man.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

I'll go ahead and select

Patrick Patterson (PF)

2012-2013: 24gms 23.2min 8.0pts (.494, .444, .786) 4.8reb 1.3 ast 0.5stl 0.5blk 0.8TO

Can't hurt to stretch the floor with a shooting four.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

With my next pick, I select:

Gary St. Jean

He had two 40-win seasons (OK 39 wins, whatever), which is better than almost any other Sacramento head coach. Oh, and he actually made the Play-Offs (not many Sactown coach have accomplished that feat either).

 

[sterö]

Jim Petersen, PF

1988-89 66gms 10.2pts (.459 .000 .747) 6.3reb 1.2ast 1.0blk 0.7stl 2.2TO 3.6PF

Perfect 3rd big behind Cousins and Causwell!

 

[63royals]

Andres Nocioni (SF)

2009-2010: 75 games, 8.5 points (39.9%, 38.6% 3's), 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists

A SF who can also play PF. A battler with basketball smarts and an outside shot.

 

[William Blake]

Michael "The Animal" Smith
1996-1997: 81gms 31.2mpg 6.6ppg (.539 .000 .496) 9.5reb 2.4ast 1.0stl 0.7blk 1.6TO

Good rebounder and good finisher, managed to have a 109 offensive rating in spite of absymal free throw shooting. Won't mind doing dirty work off the bench alongside either Miller or Cousins.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Seeing as I still don't have a starting PF (as I expect to bring Yogi off the bench) I was planning on taking Smith next...if he got to me. So much for that. I'll go with plan B.

Carl Landry
PF 2009-2010: 28gms 37.6mpg 18.0ppg (.520 .333 .741) 6.5reb 0.9ast 1.0stl 0.6blk 1.8TO

After we dealt away Kevin Martin for Landry around the deadline, he came in and established himself as a workhorse for us. Sure, it was a short 28 games, but over that time he led the team in minutes per game, was second in scoring and second in rebounding. He's not perfect - a bit undersized and not a great rebounder or shotblocker - but we're a bit too late in the draft for me to get picky about my starting PF. And hey, he's tough, right? He was shot in the leg and was back on the floor three weeks later!

 

[Bricklayer]

yeah, I could see that Landry pick coming a mile away, just last major guy to make sense if nobody else snagged him

 

[Bricklayer]

Well other things definitely beckoned, but coach is a position too, and with the two stars I took its one I cannot safely ignore. Numbers say if I wait any longer I could end up with somebody I can make no effective argument for, so without further ado:

Phil Johnson 51-77 .398 1 playoff appearance

And so that's kind of it. The last Kings coach not to be an abject failure during his time here. There's certainly nothing to suggest Phil was a great coach, although he did once win COY in his youth. But he was a veteran coach, a guy who after coaching us, and coming back briefly to play assistant under Jerry Reynolds, went on as one of the better assistants in the league for two decades under Jerry Sloan. And he didn't completely fail with us. In fact...he was one of only two coaches in Sacto Kings history to make the playoffs in every full season he coached!!! Think about it. I could have chosen a few other guys who had success elsewhere, but nobody else was left who didn't look old and washed up or young and unready. Phil got a soft flawed team into the playoffs, and if nothing else my team isn't going to be soft. So while I'll never advance the argument that my team will win because of Phil, I can at least try to claim that given a team with enough talent, maybe he won't be a negative factor holding them back, or an abrasive factor rubbing Cuz and Ron the wrong way. I'm just playing defense with this pick. one less argument why my team just has to fail.

 

[Jespher]

My team could use a bit of magic from the wing. With my 6th selection, I choose:

Walt Williams - AKA The Wizard
6'8" 219# Forward
1994-1995 77gms 35.6min 16.4pts (.446 .348 .731) 4.5reb 4.1ast 1.6stl 0.8blk 3.2TO

Completing my starting 5 with another all around talent. The Wizard steadily developed his mid range game, during his initial three seasons with the Kings. His third season saw him start 77 games, the most in his 11 year career, with excellent defensive win shares, a PER of 15, and a very respectable 103 3-pointers made, along with 123 steals. My team is leading the field in both assists, and turnovers, and Walt continues the trend of players with more assists than turnovers. The motto of my team must be, Get back on D!

With C-Webb and Theus to handle the ball movement, and Ainge assisting with ball handling duties also, I expect William's ridiculous 3.2 turnovers per game will reduce. Or at least, one can hope

 

[kingsnation]

Larry Drew
1985-1986
75gms 26.3min 11.9pts (.485 .323 .795) 1.7reb 4.5ast 0.8stl 0.02blk 1.7TO

A proven scorer and willing passer in Larry Drew is exactly what my teams needs right now. Another offensive weapon who can get others involved. When given minutes, Drew can score, rack up assists and be a pesky defender. I have a few other picks in mind that may allow me to bring Drew off the bench where he has also proven effective.

 

[Bricklayer]

Yo Bonus! Get a move on. People do not timeout in MY draft -- we leave that to the amateurs over in that other draft!

 

[NoBonus]

With my next pick, I want to spread the floor a bit, so I select Hall of Fame guard:

G Sarunas Marciulionis (1995-96): 52gms 19.6min 10.8pts (.452 .408 .775) 1.5rebs 2.2ast 1.0stl 0.1blk 1.8TO

 

[uolj]

So I didn't have my list with me when I wrote this yesterday expecting to have my turn come up, but I knew a lot of the guys at the top of it were recently taken (the Animal, the Wizard, Drew). Now I figure I'll do as Bricklayer did and grab a coach before it's too late.

This coach may have been young and unproven during his time with the Kings, but he had promise and many thought he could have been kept another year. Of course, Rick Adelman was hired instead so we all shut up.

Still, he went on to reasonable success elsewhere so he couldn't have been too bad. And with the crop of coaches still left that's a win. So for my next pick, I select:

Eddie Jordan (1997-98)

 

[Löwenherz]

I'm taking a coach mainly because I have to take a coach and I'm hoping at this stage it will be seen as much of a neutral pick as anything else.

Dick Motta (48-113 .298)

*I make a point not to mention by name any players yet to be drafted*

Had a short, forgettable, miserable stint with us, but at least he had a winning pedigree to hang his hat on before the Kings cast of misfits drove the stake into his career.

Also, let's be clear about something else: there's one thing that Mr. Motta has that can't be said most other coach. He earned a ring.

And he did it with an underdog group in Washington that has a lot in common with the scrappy crew I've assembled. Sure, he may have been past his prime when he stalked the sidelines at Arco, but he also didn't have much to work with.

Motta took over a third of the way during his first season. His primary offensive options were quality role-players (but by no means superstars to build a team around) in Wayman Tisdale and Danny Ainge. His "drafted-first-overall" supposedly star rookie was out of service for most of the season (forcing a man whom Brick describes as "a complete hack with no discernible skills" to start at center instead) and then traded for scraps before he blossomed briefly into a 20-10 center. His starting PG Kenny Smith (who would go on to win a championship with Houston) was traded at the deadline for reserve F/C Antoine Carr (who would become the team's second leading scorer even while coming off the bench), pushing an "offensively challenged back-up" into the starting line-up at PG while Ainge and Vinny Del Negro split time as "alpha dogs" in a confused mess of a backcourt.

Before Motta's second season and lone full one with the team, the Kings made the bold move to stock up four first round draft picks - in a draft that is among the weakest on record (producing only Gary Payton and five one-time all-stars). Unsurprisingly, given those odds, the Kings managed to miss on everything but L-Train, who would be a quality player, but again, not someone to carry a team on his back, especially as a rookie. The roster had been more or less gutted to make room for the rookies (or more accurately, to acquire the rookies): Ainge was sent to Portland, Rodney McCray was sent to Dallas and Del Negro left the league entirely for two years to play in Italy. Couple that with Tisdale being injured for most of the season and you have a squad led by Antoine Carr, Rory Sparrow and a bunch of rookies who would eventually become role-players, journeymen or burnouts. They went 25-57 that season and I don't know how they won that many.

Motta was finally gifted The Rock on the day of the season opener of his third season. He lasted 25 games of a brutal two month schedule to start the season and then was sent packing. Ironically, Motta said when he was hired "I'm not a miracle worker" and then was promptly fired not even two years later precisely for not being one.

I think the team I'm crafting gives him a lot more to work with. And given their scrappy nature, it's nice to have a coach who won a ring with a similar crew and the mantra "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings"

 

[Dime Dropper]

I'll do write-ups tomorrow as it's extremely late here and I don't want to hold this up.

Could have taken a coach but at this point, the difference between the junk coaches left is negligible compared to the dropoff in talent in players there will be when my next pick comes around. There are still a few pieces that would be rotation players on good teams, and I'm going to snap two of them up.

First of my double selection is:

SF - Billy Owens (97-98): 78gms 10.5ppg (.464 .371 .589) 7.5rpg 2.8apg 1.2spg 0.5bpg 2.0TO.

Productive player who put up 10.5ppg/7.5rpg/3apg/1spg on 46% fg and 37% from behind the line. Big and versatile - capable of playing both forward spots. Can come off the bench or start depending on the matchup, and his ability to play two spots effectively allows me a lot of creativity with my line-ups.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Second of my back-to-back:

Brian Skinner (04-05): 25gms 7.4ppg (.554 .000 .377) 8.7rpg 1.5apg 1.7bpg 1.0spg 1.1TO

No, not Dwight - I'm taking the guy sending it back (or getting dunked on) Brian Skinner. Brian was actually one of the few guys in our history who could block shots, and he did so at a very good rate when he landed here in his first half-season. He played very well for us, and was strong on the boards as well as defensively. I need someone off the bench who can come in and protect the rim, and Skinner is probably the only one left who can do that without his leg falling off. Thankfully he was pretty good at that in 04-05, when he put up 7/9/1.5/1.7/1.0 in 28mpg. He can also play alongside either Vlade or Thorpe, so he's a natural fit.

Lowenherz is back on the clock.

 

[kingsnation]

Good pick with Skinner. He wouldn't have made it past me.

 

[uolj]

Funny, I was thinking that about Owens.

I'm antsy to pick... I've got two entirely different directions I can go, and want Löwenherz to make the decision for me.

 

[Löwenherz]

Dammit Dime! Skinner was my next pick.

Reggie Evans
(2013-14): 24gms 20.8mpg 5.5pts (.527 .000 .569) 7.7reb 0.7ast 1.0stl 0.0blk 1.3TO

Not a whole lot to look at other than his 7.7 rebounds a game for his half season with us. But in that short time, Reggie has already proven to be quite the low-level enforcer, willing to do the dirty work and keep the heat off my stars. He'll be lurking on my bench waiting to be paradropped in anytime it looks like the other team thinks it might like to bully their way to a win.

Not going to happen - the bully's on my bench and I can always use an "impish thug" on the roster.

 

[uolj]

Ok, with a starting five and a coach there are so many different ways to go here, and as I said there are two specific guys I was choosing from. But I think the allure of the fan favorite is just too enticing. This guy brings energy and enthusiasm, and actually some very good play including lights out three point shooting. As a sixth man I could do a lot worse.

Jon Barry
1999-00 62gms 20.1min 8.0pts (.465 .429 .922) 2.6rebs 2.4ast 1.2stl 0.1blk 1.4TO