Darrell Arthur....a King?

[Smills91]

A few teams we spoke with this weekend were wondering about the whereabouts of Darrell Arthur. The Kansas power forward reportedly canceled workouts with the Clippers (#7), Philadelphia (#16), Toronto (#17) and Indiana (#11) after working out for Seattle (#4, 24) and Sacramento (#12). Arthur has not hired an agent and is reportedly conducting all his business through his mother and AAU coach, although he will surely stay in the draft. One NBA team we spoke to had a hard time figuring out where he was and whether or not he’ll be showing up for their workout, as he did not bother to cancel or notify anyone of his plans. There were talks of a potential back and/or hamstring injury, leading some to question if anything funny is going on. He was reportedly 100% healthy when he worked out for Sacramento on Friday. Arthur’s camp could not be reached for comment.

http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/

This is a probable scenario. The Kings are amped and ready to take Arthur with the #12 pick, because #4 is too high and #24 is too low. He probably liked Sacto, and the Kings probably felt he was a great fit. So I'm thinking the Kings gave Arthur a guarantee at #12 to keep him in the draft. There's really no other explanation for him to 'blow off' so many other teams like Philly, Toronto and Indiana all who could potentially look to draft him.

[UKF]

I dont know if what your saying is 100% accurate, but I don think that he will be the guy that we draft. It's just a feeling I have had for quite a while.

I don't think he would be the best pick though. He can rebound and would be a good young piece to this team, but he doesnt bring the interior defense that I would like to see us draft. I would much rather us draft a PG like Augustin or Westbrook.

Someone please make me change my mind on this guy. I saw a few games this year from him and didn't think he was that great. Someone please change my mind, because this is who I think we will end up drafting on the 26th.

[rpa]

He's the PF I most like in this draft for the Kings (of the ones we have a shot at)--athletic but reasonably skilled. I'd think that our pick would either be him or Augstine. I think there's a very high likelihood that Augustine goes to the Pacers at #11 (if he stays on the board that longer)

[SacKingZZZ]

I don't think there is any conspiracy here. After the Kings workout Darrell said that he had a strained back from sitting awkwardly during the flight to Seattle, as least I think it was Seattle. I am pretty sure he doesn't want to hurt his stock by not being 100% in workouts for the remaining teams.

[Crimson King]

TOP 13
Derrick Rose
Michael Beasley
OJ Mayo
Jerryd Bayless
Brook Lopez
Anthony Randolph
Eric Gordon
Joe Alexander
Kevin Love
Danilo Gallinari
DJ Augustin
Russell Westbrook
DeAndre Jordan

If the Kings select Arthur, it means we pass on two of the list above. So it's a good pick depending on who falls. And still, I doubt I'd pick Arthur instead of anyone of that list. Maybe over Alexander and Jordan, but not sure.

[SacKingZZZ]

I dont know if what your saying is 100% accurate, but I don think that he will be the guy that we draft. It's just a feeling I have had for quite a while.

I don't think he would be the best pick though. He can rebound and would be a good young piece to this team, but he doesnt bring the interior defense that I would like to see us draft. I would much rather us draft a PG like Augustin or Westbrook.

Someone please make me change my mind on this guy. I saw a few games this year from him and didn't think he was that great. Someone please change my mind, because this is who I think we will end up drafting on the 26th.

I don't know if it helps or hurts your view of him but he is the exact reverse of that statement. He is a fairly weak rebounder per minute but is an excellent defender and shotblocker. He really isn't that great on offense in an individual sense but has shown some things he can build on. He won't dominate in any facet other than maybe post D, which doesn't get you onto All-star teams or cereal boxes much. He has a nice fade away shot and is somewhat of a finesse player in the post, not too hard to figure out why considering he weighs in at only about 215. Very athletic and has also shown some touch out to 15 feet. One good thing if we did draft him is that we have a young big that can catch and throw down a serious dunk. And as I agreed with Ballings about, he is probably the "ideal" fit on paper to put next to Spencer Hawes. I think he could play off Spencer a little bit as well as get hit for backdoor alley oops.

I'd say a combo between Kenyon Martin with a little bit of the finesse post game of a Rasheed Wallace or KG.

[_SRV_]

How many times do you know Petrie made promises in the draft?
I know about Arenas (A promise he sadly broke later on)
And Douby was supposedly a promise, does anyone know of other occurrences?

[KF10]

I will be completely fine if we pick Arthur. IMO he will be an ideal fit with Hawes in the frontcourt. His athleticism and defense is superb. Especially for this Kings team. BUT lets say the available players for the #12 pick were Arthur and Westbrook. I'll be kinda mad if we chose Arthur over Westbrook. Other than that, I will be happy with Arthur.

[Ballings7]

My expectations for him with us are somewhat different from earlier - but my love for the guy's game and thinking he'll be a good NBA player have not changed. I'd be ecstatic if we drafted him, he's just my kind of player. And of course being a JayHawk guy is part of that.

Would be the most athletic player we've had since pre-knee-injury C-Webb and G-Wall. But still, it's not all about athleticism with Arthur, and if you've watched him significantly (and at times closely), you should know this.

And, while not "stand-out", an overlooked part of his game that's been a consistency is his passing ability.

He won't dominate in any facet other than maybe post D, which doesn't get you onto All-star teams or cereal boxes much.

Yup.

But with his defensive situation, it's favoring for him to make All-NBA 2nd team defense. I actually expect him to in his middle years. I'll take that on my team, especially on a team that sooner or later, has to, start making the steps to improve defensively at PF/C, and really has since 2003. I think adding him would be a good step in doing that.

------

Arthur isn't going to be the typical anchoring big man defender, but an all-around defensive big man who is really good, that will be a key part to his team's defense, as well as overall front-court ability.

Be it anybody in our pick range, I don't think you can expect to get a legit star player (superstar, franchise, multi all-star), or a big man relative to being a typical defensive anchor. Only DeAndre Jordan can possibly turn out to be that, and maybe McGee, for where we're picking. For me, this has sorted itself out in the last couple weeks, and is why aside from a very small amount of players, I'd be happy with just about anybody we draft.

[jfucsd10]

I read this article earlier today and thought the exact same thing. Arthur must have received a promise from us at 12. And unless Westbroook or DJ are sitting there, Im perfectly fine with that. Its just makes mroe sense to draft the PG at 12, then take a project big at the 4 like a dorsey rather than trying to find a point in the second.

Maybe JP already has a deal in mind with Beno and thinks the 4 is the position to draft or he has reason to believe that neither Russell or DJ will be sitting there at 12. In either case, Arthur has the upside, the athleticism, the hands and the IQ to play off of Spencer. I think he would be a fantastic pick given a modest improvment on his rebounding.

[pillwenney]

I was just about to post this because the same thing occurred to me as soon as I read it. My biggest question though is that he also canceled a workout with Indiana, who has a higher pick than us, which doesn't make a ton of sense. I also think it's possible that he's just injured and that his camp is doing a poor job of definitively saying that he is.

[SacKingZZZ]

I read this article earlier today and thought the exact same thing. Arthur must have received a promise from us at 12. And unless Westbroook or DJ are sitting there, Im perfectly fine with that. Its just makes mroe sense to draft the PG at 12, then take a project big at the 4 like a dorsey rather than trying to find a point in the second.

Maybe JP already has a deal in mind with Beno and thinks the 4 is the position to draft or he has reason to believe that neither Russell or DJ will be sitting there at 12. In either case, Arthur has the upside, the athleticism, the hands and the IQ to play off of Spencer. I think he would be a fantastic pick given a modest improvment on his rebounding.

That's the thing with me. If we draft a PG I don't want to see us commit to Beno Udrih long term. It will do nothing but stack up a position with two guys that can't really play more than 1 position most of the time making it hard for one or the other to get the time they need to develop.

If Augustin is there at 12 I can't see Petrie passing him up. Westbrook and Arthur? Depends on how Petrie feels about them. I could certainly see Petrie going for need and our rather obvious need for a young athletic big. I would be pretty dang happy with a young frontline core of Shelden, Spencer, and Darrell. Darrell and Shelden would be a great PF rotation next to Spencer and probably the most ideal as well.

I really hope we get one of Dorsey, Gist, White, Hickson or Hardin in the 2nd round or via trade if we do select a PG though. There are just waaay too many talented athletic bigs to pass up to fill a need that may not be so much of a need if we re-sign Beno. I don't know what the historical facts are but I'd take my chance on a big man over a PG that far down in the lottery. The best PG prospects are usually taken by that point.

[pillwenney]

I read this article earlier today and thought the exact same thing. Arthur must have received a promise from us at 12. And unless Westbroook or DJ are sitting there, Im perfectly fine with that. Its just makes mroe sense to draft the PG at 12, then take a project big at the 4 like a dorsey rather than trying to find a point in the second.

Maybe JP already has a deal in mind with Beno and thinks the 4 is the position to draft or he has reason to believe that neither Russell or DJ will be sitting there at 12. In either case, Arthur has the upside, the athleticism, the hands and the IQ to play off of Spencer. I think he would be a fantastic pick given a modest improvment on his rebounding.

That's the thing with me. If we draft a PG I don't want to see us commit to Beno Udrih long term. It will do nothing but stack up a position with two guys that can't really play more than 1 position most of the time making it hard for one or the other to get the time they need to develop.

If Augustin is there at 12 I can't see Petrie passing him up. Westbrook and Arthur? Depends on how Petrie feels about them. I could certainly see Petrie going for need and our rather obvious need for a young athletic big. I would be pretty dang happy with a young frontline core of Shelden, Spencer, and Darrell. Darrell and Shelden would be a great PF rotation next to Spencer and probably the most ideal as well.

I really hope we get one of Dorsey, Gist, White, Hickson or Hardin in the 2nd round or via trade if we do select a PG though. There are just waaay too many talented athletic bigs to pass up to fill a need that may not be so much of a need if we re-sign Beno. I don't know what the historical facts are but I'd take my chance on a big man over a PG that far down in the lottery. The best PG prospects are usually taken by that point.

I agree with most of this, although I don't think Augustin falls to 12 for us, considering that I could see the argument for taking him for every team at 6-11 except New Jersey and I ultimately just couldn't see him falling past Indiana, if nothing else.

And I also still seriously doubt that Hickson, Hardin or White falls to us. We'll have to trade up to get one of them if we want them. Gist should be available though and Dorsey's probably a toss-up at this point IMO.

[Ballings7]

I could certainly see Petrie going for need and our rather obvious need for a young athletic big. I would be pretty dang happy with a young frontline core of Shelden, Spencer, and Darrell. Darrell and Shelden would be a great PF rotation next to Spencer and probably the most ideal as well.

I agree with most of this, although I don't think Augustin falls to 12 for us, considering that I could see the argument for taking him for every team at 6-11 except New Jersey and I ultimately just couldn't see him falling past Indiana, if nothing else.

Totally agree.

[rpa]

Meh, I really hope the Kings don't take Westbrook over Arthur--actually I don't really want Westbrook at all. Westbrook is just a decent combo-guard in my eyes--he's closer to a PG than, say, Jamal Crawford but that doesn't mean he's ever going to be any good. I envision him as a Jaret Jack kind of player (minute/stat wise)--something I wouldn't take with the #12 pick in just about any draft.

[KF10]

Meh, I really hope the Kings don't take Westbrook over Arthur--actually I don't really want Westbrook at all. Westbrook is just a decent combo-guard in my eyes--he's closer to a PG than, say, Jamal Crawford but that doesn't mean he's ever going to be any good. I envision him as a Jaret Jack kind of player (minute/stat wise)--something I wouldn't take with the #12 pick in just about any draft.

I disagree. True, Westbrook is a combo guard, IN college. He has said that he will play PG exclusively in the NBA. If he keeps that in mind, he will be a good PG. IMO I envisioned him as a Ellis/Harris mold of player. I have a feeling that he will be special player...

[RoyalCourtJestr]

Arthur has been a favorite of mine for a while now.

Assuming both Westbrook and Augustin are gone (and i think it's about 50/50 chance they will be), Arthus is my favorite choice of who could logically be there. He's remained a favorite of mine because I think he is what this team has missed for a while now.

He's super athletic, something we've lacked. He's also defensive oriented, and his defensive potential is high. And also, given his psyical prowess, he could very well become a decent scorer. I think he could fit wounders with Spencer in the future, and if we got him I'd be very happy.

[sackings916]

I'd be fine with the pick..but im not expecting Arthur to be an all star or anything, but If Petrie made a promise to him he atleast has to be a starting caliber PF maybe on the same level as a Haslem or Gooden,

[rpa]

I disagree. True, Westbrook is a combo guard, IN college. He has said that he will play PG exclusively in the NBA. If he keeps that in mind, he will be a good PG. IMO I envisioned him as a Ellis/Harris mold of player. I have a feeling that he will be special player...

But how many combo guards in college become good PGs in the NBA? Off the top of my head the only recent one I can think of that falls into that category is Iverson. The better PGs in the NBA (even the "average" starting ones for that matter) were all PGs in college (discounting the foreign players like Parker, of course), not combo guards.

[KF10]

I disagree. True, Westbrook is a combo guard, IN college. He has said that he will play PG exclusively in the NBA. If he keeps that in mind, he will be a good PG. IMO I envisioned him as a Ellis/Harris mold of player. I have a feeling that he will be special player...

But how many combo guards in college become good PGs in the NBA? Off the top of my head the only recent one I can think of that falls into that category is Iverson. The better PGs in the NBA (even the "average" starting ones for that matter) were all PGs in college (discounting the foreign players like Parker, of course), not combo guards.

Being a true PG doesn't have to indicate of being a good player. Westbrook is a combo guard that has shown interest that he wants to be at the 1 spot exclusively. I don't know if he will be a pure/true PG but I would be satisfied if he averages around 7-9 assists at his prime, while keeping his scoring mentality.