What Went Right?
Kevin Martin exploded onto the scene as one of the top young scorers in the league. He was the third or fourth option most nights and led the team with 20.2 points per game. He shot 47% from the field and 38% from long range. Ron Artest had a solid season on the court by averaging 18.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while also stealing the ball 2.1 times per night. Corliss Williamson and John Salmons had solid years off the bench as they averaged 9.1 and 8.5 points, respectively. The Kings still averaged 101.3 points per game as a team and 8.18 steals per game as a team, but that was about it in terms of good things happening for the once proud franchise.
What Went Wrong?
Mike Bibby appeared to have a pretty good season by his numbers (17.1 points and 4.7 assists per game) but it was actually his worst since joining the Kings. He shot just 40% from the field and 36% from long range. He often struggled in the offense and was wildly inconsistent all year long. Ron Artest in his first full year with the Kings was fairly inconsistent with his ability to allow Mike Bibby try to lead this team. They had chemistry problems with each other in the locker room and Ron often tried to take over games on offense to no avail. Off the court, Ron went through two criminal issues. Ron Artest was given court dates for not feeding his dogs for weeks at a time and for having a domestic dispute with his wife. Brad Miller had a very disappointing season due to not having a defined role in Eric Musselman's offense. He averaged 9 points and 6 boards and had his lowest assists total (3.6) in four years.
Off-Season Overview
The Kings' big acquisition wasn't the monster draft selection of a big man project that is 5 years away from even being decent (Spencer Hawes). It also wasn't the incredible free agent signing of Mikki Moore who happened to have his best year during a contract year that he happened to play on the same team as Jason Kidd. It was firing Eric Musselman after one year of coaching the team and hiring New Mexico State head coach, Reggie Theus. Theus, the former star of "HangTime," will be responsible for turning this franchise around.
Players Added- Power Forward Justin Williams (Re-signed), Center Spencer Hawes (Draft), Center Mikki Moore (Free Agent, New Jersey), Point Guard Orien Greene (Free Agent, Indiana)
Players Lost- Small Forward Corliss Williamson (Retired), Point Guard Ronnie Price (Free Agent, Utah)
Phil Barnett's Impact Players-
As quickly as you could say “Ron Artest plead ‘no contest’ to a domestic violence charge,” Eric Musselman was replaced by Reggie Theus as the Kings head coach. Sacramento missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years last season and don’t have much to look forward to this season with Mike Bibby and Brad Miller looking like each of their respective careers have already peaked.
Breakout Player: Francisco Garcia might not have improved as much as the Kings would have liked last season, but he did improve his shooting, three-point and free throw percentage in his second year. Garcia should get more minutes and both the shooting guard and small forward position, especially since no one knows how much basketball Ron Artest plans on playing this season.
Disappointing Player: Shareef Abdur-Rahim was once a good power forward. During his first eight seasons, he never scored less than 18 points per game, but since he was traded to Portland in 2004, his numbers have declined considerably every season including lows in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Kenny Thomas will vie for some of Abdur-Rahim’s playing time.
FantasyInsideronline.com Fantasy Sleeper
Quincy Douby, Guard- With Mike Bibby out for the first 6 to 10 weeks, Douby will have to fill in at the point guard position. He isn't much of a distributor but he can score like he was a successful Eddie House. Expect him to average near 15 points per game to start the year at the very worst. Think of him doing what Bobby Jackson did to start the year a few years back in Sacramento.
Best-Case Scenario
The Kings are going to have to get some help to make the playoffs. If the Warriors, Grizzlies, Lakers, and Hornets all face significant injuries, then the Kings will be a lock to make the playoffs. In Reggie Theus' new offensive system, Brad Miller could re-surface as a threat with the ball in the high post as he can knock down the open jumper and thread the needle to cutting teammates. Mike Bibby comes back from injury and finds his old form as he puts up All-Star type performances and makes the team for the first time in his career. Ron Artest can keep his head for the whole year and be the dominant force on both ends that NBA people have been wishing he could become. The Kings win 45 games and win the 7th seed.
Worst Case Scenario
Reggie Theus doesn't make much of a difference and this team still struggles to have continuity on offense and no effort on defense. They get hammered on the boards and give up too many second chance points. Mike Bibby is unable to fully recover from his thumb ligament injury and struggles to shoot the rest of the season. Ron Artest has more problems off the court and forces the Kings to trade him and not get fair value in return. Brad Miller still can't rebound or provide a low post presence. Kevin Martin faces constant double teams and can't score at the same rate as last year. The Kings win only 35 games and don't even sniff the playoffs.
Talkhoops.net Prediction- 4th in Division, 10th in West
The Kings are headed back in the right direction in terms of philosophy but don't have a playoff caliber team. They lack inside toughness and still don't have anybody that can keep the other team off the boards. Mike Bibby is going to struggle with his hand injury all year long and is still not a good enough playmaker to ignite this offense. Brad Miller should have a great year with Reggie Theus intent on utilizing his passing ability. Ron Artest will have a decent year on offense and defense but will probably suffer more off the court issues. Kevin Martin will continue to shine on offense and Quincy Douby will emerge as a fantastic scoring threat off the bench. The Kings will miss the playoffs and finish the season around .500.
Last Season: Out Musseled
The Sacramento Kings decided to get rid of the only head coach in franchise history to lead the Sacramento Kings to the playoffs in every season (8 straight) that he had coached the team. Rick Adelman's inability to win in the playoffs, despite an ever changing team, was the reason for the firing. The Kings' media staff floated out sexy rumors of Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, and Larry Brown coming to coach the Kings and lead them to a title, despite not having a team capable of doing so. They narrowed it down to 3 candidates and were blown away in the interview by Eric Musselman, former failed Warriors' head coach. Musselman was known as a defensive minded coach that won over the decision makers (the Maloof brothers, not Geoff Petrie) with his thoughtful presentation of defensive philosophies. He had satisfied the hunger of two defensive starved brothers that were desperate to change the mindset of the offensive-minded franchise.
For the first 6 games, the new defensive minded coach looked brilliant. He had his team at a respectable record of 4-2 and only giving up 90.5 points per game. Then the team went completely downhill. It wasn't a team that was built for defense. It was an offensive-minded team with offensive-minded players that wasn't able to keep its defensive focus for very long. They finished the year at 33-49 which was the worst record in 10 seasons. They finished the year giving up 103.1 points per game. They were out rebounded by 4.5 rebounds per game. They allowed teams to shoot 47.2% from the field against them. The Maloofs and Kings' fans had been taken by this inexperienced head coach. They fired Musselman after just one year with the team, and decided to go another way.