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When the Rockets made the deal to bring in Artest, they pretty much gave up Donte Greene and a 1st rounder. A lot of us thought it was a great trade, but there were some slight doubts that this might be a kind of rudy-for-battier trade, especially with Greene's performance in the summer league.

Now, the regular season is pretty much done. Can some Kings fans give us some insight on how Donte Greene is doing, and if he looks like a promising piece to add to your core?

Ultimately the trade won't be finalized until the Kings select with the Rockets pick THIS year, but until then Greene is ABSOLUTELY apart of our younger core. He's shown flashes of brilliances and flashes of pure rawness too. He's really unpolished at this point, but the talent and flair is there. He's going to be a very capable scorer in this league, but understanding the game is what's going to seperate him from being good to great.

Chucker

greene could be really good if he clams down. i think he just gets too excited when he gets the ball and wants to score too quick. he can shoot, but not dribble

I'm probably over excited about Greene. But when he plays under control and sets his feet, his jumper is sweet.

Towards the end of the season, his defense has improved quite a bit as well. Against the Lakers, I noticed a few times he stayed right with his guy, & changed people's shot around the rim because of his length.

Considering he is still barely 20, (i think?) I'm not worried. In a few years, when he learns to play under control & play within the flow of the offense, I think he can be a good player. Some compare him to R. Lewis, which might end up being the case. But I think he could end up being more of a Lamar Odom type player, being able to shoot outside but also take people off the dribble with his quickness and length. But who knows.

He needs to take it to the basket more. He doesnt utilize his athleticism enough. But like someone said he's 20 years old with a TON of potential. I think he has allstar potential if he keeps his head on straight and works hard at improving his game.

I think there's a lot to like about his potential and right now, potential is one of the things the Kings are definitely about.

I think the jury is still out on whether or not he'll realize that potential.

I don't see the Kings has looking to move him at all, but I also think if their is a deal out there where we'd have to give up one of the young players to make it happen, he's the first one that we offer up.

Something else I like about him is his attitude. Aside from being generally funny, I mean the "Donte Greene Show"? LOL. But he has a good team spirit, he always is jumping off the bench when a big play happens, or cheering his teamates on during a timeout. I think thats awesome to have on a team, especially as he gets better and better.

The grade will come in after this summer. How ever hard Donte works this summer will determine what happens with him. He has a LOT to work on for sure, but he has great potential and while some call him a "chucker" I do think he's grown out of that to an extent. He is starting to involve a mid-range game as well which is crucial for his success at this level. He is the most raw player the Kings have maybe ever had and it's going to take patience and hard work. If he's willing to put in the time he can be a very good player.

I like the guy but he has lots of work to do. He is in the stage Spencer was in last year and JT this year. He has so many moves he can do that until you do it the number of choices sometimes over. In think Donte could match up with the guys like Durant and be a 3/4 eventually depending on how he improves with the defense. I think because of the youth of our 4/5 (and soon to be 1) Donte will have to come off the bench for a couple more years but he is defininitely in the future.

Man the Kings really need Webber's help with these big guys or at least a good defensive big on the coaching staff (not just Shareef, great at offense).

SacKingZZZ wrote:He is the most raw player the Kings have maybe ever had and it's going to take patience and hard work. If he's willing to put in the time he can be a very good player.

Not sure about that. Remember when gerald wallace was first drafted? He was extremely raw, and it took him quite awhile to develop. Its too bad we couldn't have kept him.

I look at Greene in a similiar way, and figure him as the wildcard in the kings future. The Kings will continue to make moves, get young talent and rebuild. So if in 3 years the kings are good again, playoff caliber, I look at Greene as the wildcard. If he develops and becomes a factor, it will make the kings all that much better then. If not, well...oh well. Nothing lost.

Gerald was raw, but he also didn't get to play as much as Donte is. Donte is showing how raw he is nightly. Good comparison and I definitely think it's at least close between the two.

SacKingZZZ wrote:Gerald was raw, but he also didn't get to play as much as Donte is. Donte is showing how raw he is nightly. Good comparison and I definitely think it's at least close between the two.

Donte played very little, and even got sent to D-League at 1 point. Donte Greene 13 Mins a game. Wallace 8. Little difference. Both did not play enough minutes to really evaluate.

murray wrote:
Donte played very little, and even got sent to D-League at 1 point. Donte Greene 13 Mins a game. Wallace 8. Little difference. Both did not play enough minutes to really evaluate.

Yeah, that twice as much thing is usually "little difference" kind of stuff. Difference is Gerald played most of his minutes in garbage time. Donte actually got crucial 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th quarter minutes here and there. You can watch Donte play 30 seconds and see how raw he is, and if you look further you can see the potential he shows in certain areas. Those brief looks can be far more revealing than you'd like to believe.

neither played enough minutes to truly understand the player they are. And by the way, since twice means double, 2 times 8 minutes is 16 minutes. Not 13.

murray wrote:neither played enough minutes to truly understand the player they are. And by the way, since twice means double, 2 times 8 minutes is 16 minutes. Not 13.

Really! Me dumb. I sorry. Gerald played a total of 430 minutes, most of which would certainly classify as "meaningless". Donte played 725 which is pretty close to double so I say why not round up, and Donte, while playing a nice chunk of meaninless minutes himself, did get some reps in during the meat of the game.

Of the people to develop I think Donte Greene has the farthest to go. I do see why there's a buzz around him but I didn't see flashes of brilliancy. I saw a guy that was too dependent on his jump shot and doesn't have enough in his game to be a starter in this league at this point.

I think the Gerald Wallace comparison is on the money! Nobody knew if he'd be anything in this league, and no matter how you feel about Greene he's just too raw to predict how his NBA career will end.

It all depends on how hard he's willing to work to refine both his body and his game.