I like Howard and all...

[KF10]

I know nothing on Thompson, but Bass >> Williams, SAR, Thomas and Moore (well, Moore is better as an energy, aka glue, guy whereas Bass could be more of a starting PF) but it seems that is not what Kings fans want.

Seems from what you describe, Bass for Artest should work fine, but then again, maybe people just have not seen him enough hidden behind Dirk.

I know what Bass is capable of. I liked him during his NO time. He has shown that he is a capable player during Dallas. But end of the day, it comes down to value. As we know, Bass is not worth Artest. Even Artest current state of value, he still has more (significantly) value than the package of Bass/Stack IMO.

[myconsumerclub]

Irregardless hes a rookie and shoots FT horribly not an 80% + like Bass who is way stronger and more suited to the NBA game. Bass has the look of a Boozer or Brand and is there now were as this Kid is years away from getting there if he ever does.

Jason Thompson
NBA Comparison: Jason Smith
Strengths: Post forward with excellent length and versatility ... Though he's already a senior, he has a developing skill set and shows a lot of upside ... A late bloomer who despite playing at a mid-major has lottery pick potential ... Terrific foot speed allows him to hold his own on the perimeter on both ends of the floor ... Has great fluidity and athleticism and inside/outside skills ... Good touch on his shot with consistent range out to 12-15 feet ... Has some polished post moves including a nice jump hook ... A marvelous passer for a 6-10 guy with vision and good decision making. Has a 1:1 a/to ratio, which for a post player is excellent ... Rebounds the ball well ... Quality defender. A factor as a shot blocker with his quick leaping ability and timing ... Can handle the ball in both the half court and full court ... Has the ability to face the basket and take bigger players off the dribble ... High character guy. Plays with a high motor, great attitude and eager to improve. ... Hard worker who has shown steady improvement throughout his college career ... Averaging 20 and 10 for his second consecutive season in college ...

Weaknesses: Needs to become stronger and tougher inside ... He has the frame and ability to play inside but will need to improve on those skills for the next level ... He'll need to improve on his leg strength to better fight for positioning ... Must become better at using positioning for rebounds instead of relying strictly on his athleticism over less athletic, smaller players ... Playing in a lower level conference makes him a tougher sell. Level of competition has not been great playing at Rider in the MAAC, he'll have a bigger adjustment in level of competition, thought he has performed very well when facing top level competition ... His free throw shooting while solid over his career has trailed off (55%) as a senior ...

Horrible pick for a center at that position in the draft I'd have taken a few others first especially Hibbert because at 7'2" he will be a real center and not a wannabe. I was hoping we could trade up to get him. If Miller is the next piece to go then you need a young center that has some size and Hawes and Thompson are too lite to play inside.

[KF10]

Irregardless hes a rookie and shoots FT horribly not an 80% + like Bass who is way stronger and more suited to the NBA game. Bass has the look of a Boozer or Brand and is there now were as this Kid is years away from getting there if he ever does.

Jason Thompson
NBA Comparison: Jason Smith
Strengths: Post forward with excellent length and versatility ... Though he's already a senior, he has a developing skill set and shows a lot of upside ... A late bloomer who despite playing at a mid-major has lottery pick potential ... Terrific foot speed allows him to hold his own on the perimeter on both ends of the floor ... Has great fluidity and athleticism and inside/outside skills ... Good touch on his shot with consistent range out to 12-15 feet ... Has some polished post moves including a nice jump hook ... A marvelous passer for a 6-10 guy with vision and good decision making. Has a 1:1 a/to ratio, which for a post player is excellent ... Rebounds the ball well ... Quality defender. A factor as a shot blocker with his quick leaping ability and timing ... Can handle the ball in both the half court and full court ... Has the ability to face the basket and take bigger players off the dribble ... High character guy. Plays with a high motor, great attitude and eager to improve. ... Hard worker who has shown steady improvement throughout his college career ... Averaging 20 and 10 for his second consecutive season in college ...

Weaknesses: Needs to become stronger and tougher inside ... He has the frame and ability to play inside but will need to improve on those skills for the next level ... He'll need to improve on his leg strength to better fight for positioning ... Must become better at using positioning for rebounds instead of relying strictly on his athleticism over less athletic, smaller players ... Playing in a lower level conference makes him a tougher sell. Level of competition has not been great playing at Rider in the MAAC, he'll have a bigger adjustment in level of competition, thought he has performed very well when facing top level competition ... His free throw shooting while solid over his career has trailed off (55%) as a senior ...

Well, of course he is a rookie. So, you are trying to say that Thompson is not a 80% FT shooter. So, he is not better than Bass? Well, Bass is clearly more proven to play in the NBA. Obviously, his 3 yrs of experience he has. But that doesn't means that he is better than Thompson. I've seen significant amount of both players. And I could say pretty easily that Thompson has a pretty good chance to surpass Bass easily. Thompson is a multi-dimensional PF that plays an inside-out game. Think David West/Rasheed complex. If you are relying only on scouting evaluations such as nbadraft.net. You are not in a position to create an opinion on this issue. You have probably not seen Thompson before except that Mavs/Kings game. I could see why you are doubting Thompson's potential.

[myconsumerclub]

Still Roy Hibbert at 7'2" and 278 was still available and with Miller soon to be gone you need a center and Hawes is never going to be a starting quality center. At least Hibbert has the size and that is were you start and with a team that traded away Bibby you are giving up for the playoffs and looking to rebuild. They need picks and youth and Bass provides youth and would have looked great next to Hibbert. Add Martin Garcia Salmons and Udrih and you almost have a team pending Hibberts development. Then you lose this season and get a top 4 next season and pick up a key free agent and your back in the swing. Thompson leaves you with a so so team to look forward to.

You always build around either a center or a PG and I always opt after building around a center since you can't see them winning too many championships in recent history. Bass is athletic enough and strong enough to compliment Hibbert. Miller could act as a tutor to train him and I think that he is going to be the one that everyone that drafted ahead of him after the first 7 is going to regret they did not take. His upside is huge compared to a Thompson.

love the Ewing Jr pick up but even if Singletary develops he's a 6'0" PG and they aren't that great statistically speaking. You could get as good off the waiver wire and use next years lottery pick to find a keeper at that position.

[KF10]

Still Roy Hibbert at 7'2" and 278 was still available and with Miller soon to be gone you need a center and Hawes is never going to be a starting quality center. At least Hibbert has the size and that is were you start and with a team that traded away Bibby you are giving up for the playoffs and looking to rebuild. They need picks and youth and Bass provides youth and would have looked great next to Hibbert. Add Martin Garcia Salmons and Udrih and you almost have a team pending Hibberts development. Then you lose this season and get a top 4 next season and pick up a key free agent and your back in the swing. Thompson leaves you with a so so team to look forward to.

You always build around either a center or a PG and I always opt after building around a center since you can't see them winning too many championships in recent history. Bass is athletic enough and strong enough to compliment Hibbert. Miller could act as a tutor to train him and I think that he is going to be the one that everyone that drafted ahead of him after the first 7 is going to regret they did not take. His upside is huge compared to a Thompson.

love the Ewing Jr pick up but even if Singletary develops he's a 6'0" PG and they aren't that great statistically speaking. You could get as good off the waiver wire and use next years lottery pick to find a keeper at that position.

I have to disagree with you. Hawes has the tools and potential to be the better centers in the league. Just a level below from the superstar centers, that's his ceiling. Both fans and Kings FO believe that Hawes could be special. Hawes has a great basketball IQ and is very advance for his age. (Considering that he is only 19 when we draft him last year) His post skill is arguably the best for his age level. Various sites has touted him as having the best post skills coming as a rookie since over a decade. He is a quality player. Plays in the high post and low post. A good passing center. His defense is solid. People has envision him as a below-average defender. But he is actually a decent defender. He has shown that he is a capable defender in the post. But the only thing that he has to work on is his strength. He could have all the post moves in the world but it wouldn't matter due to his strength level. But he is still young and will improve on that aspect of the game. Knowing that he is a gym rat, he will be stronger and better.

I really like Hibbert last year. And to be honest, I wanted him last year. In Georgetown, he was GREAT. Big frame. Nice inside game. He is familiar with the Princeton Offense. Which we run in variations. But we picked up Hawes instead. My initial, response was "WTF? Hawes?!? He is just a slow stiff" But at the sametime, I was willing to give him a chance and not to jump to conclusions. And it payed off. Over the course of the season, Hawes proved me wrong and several other Kings fans. To this date, we have NO regret of drafting Hawes. And we love Hawes.

This year's draft. You keep saying that you love the Ewing Jr. pick. True, he has insane hops and is a good defender. But as it right now, he will be cut by the Kings. He has shown NOTHING in the SL. He doesn't have the drive to play his game. Well, he is a good defender and hustler, I could give you that. But if he keeps playing at this supbar level. He will get cut guaranteed. I hope Ewing Jr. will play his best game tomorrow against the Rockets. I wish him the best if he gets cut.

[DDansby123]

The problem with this thinking is that Dallas is going to resign both Artest & Kidd after this season. If we make the Howard/Artest swap, and unless we fall flat on our face, Dallas is gonna keep trying to win. We've gonna give both too many years and too much money. Then we've suck with a Dirk/Artest/Kidd/Terry core for the next 3 yrs due to their contracts/money/age. That makese me nervous.

Eh, I've resigned myself to the fact that our FO is in win-now mode pretty much no matter what. I'm not going to be any more nervous about that fact with Ron Artest than I would be with Josh Howard or Vince Carter or Jason Kidd. I have serious doubts no matter which win-now direction management takes. Why not go for the higher-risk/higher-reward guy?

[Teffer10]

The mavs are in a desperate situation so they need to make the high-risk/high reward moves.
I personally feel that staying pat and not making any moves at all (again) is more high risk and low reward than taking a chance on someone like Artest. At least there is somewhat of an opportunity for high reward.
I've changed my tune a bit on Artest but still prefer VC or Marion if we trade Howard.

I do commend the front office for at least attempting to add Artest without giving up Howard because that would vastly improve this team.

Its gotten to the point for me that anything less than a starting lineup of Kidd/VC, Howard, or Miller/Marion or Artest/Dirk/Diop or Damp will be a disappointing off season. Anything less and this will be a very mediocre season at best.

[Teffer10]

The problem with this thinking is that Dallas is going to resign both Artest & Kidd after this season. If we make the Howard/Artest swap, and unless we fall flat on our face, Dallas is gonna keep trying to win. We've gonna give both too many years and too much money. Then we've suck with a Dirk/Artest/Kidd/Terry core for the next 3 yrs due to their contracts/money/age. That makese me nervous.

I wouldn't worry too much because falling flat on our face is a high probability. But then, some of us like you, DDans and I seem to view last season as falling flat on our face but the FO and many others still perceive this as a championship caliber team so very little will probably get done.

In reality, no matter what happens, this team is going to suck for at least the next 3 years. If the FO would have went the rebuild route this off season, there would have at least been some reason to believe in the 4th season and beyond. However, by attempting to win with Dirk (this is not a knock on Dirk personally), there is no reason to get excited about this team's chances for at least 5 years and that is probably an optimistic time line.

As Mav fans, we can always hang on to hope that other teams will lose key players to injury so that we can slide into the finals, or other teams' GMs suffer from temporary insanity and give us players for nothing, but we all know that is dreaming.

Bottom line, we do not have the necessary resources or means to procure the necessary resources to put a legit championship caliber team on the floor and that is becoming more and more evident as the off season progresses.

[JES12]

or other teams' GMs suffer from temporary insanity and give us players for nothing, but we all know that is dreaming.