Would you rather..

[Ballings7]

Well-rounded bench play and experience at the guard spots

[Inc]

Question: What impact will Bobby Jackson brings to the team?

From Wiretap

The Kings are hoping that guard Bobby Jackson can become the team leader during his second stint with the team, according to The Sacramento Bee.

"I'm not Superman," Jackson said during a news conference on Thursday. "None of these guys are Superman. We all have to buy into coach (Reggie) Theus' system. We have to play hard."

Jackson, 35, is the oldest member of a relatively young Kings' team.

"We have a lot of different guys here," Jackson said. "We have a group of guys who can play the game. Probably not the All-Star-quality type that Vlade (Divac) and Mike (Bibby) were, but they are all players that can get the job done."

So I guess there is your answer.

Question: If their contracts were similar, who would you want on the team in the future, Garcia or Salmons?

[new don]

So I guess there is your answer.

Question: If their contracts were similar, who would you want on the team in the future, Garcia or Salmons?

Def. Garcia because of his terrific outside shooting and ball handling skill set. Plus he has this swagger about him imho.

Q: Since I dnt live anywhere near Sacramento (i'm from and live in the Bahamas) and the Kings are moved to Las Vegas.....would you still be a "Kings" fan or would you pull for the Warriors??

[OGSactownballer]

There is about a snowball's chance in hell that ANY NBA team moves to Las Vegas (a goodwill gesture to the Maloofs for screwing them out of a championship in 2002-03 doesn't equate with a franchise move), so it's not even worth speculating about. Sac residents know that all this is just noise to get an arena built anyway.

So if Spencer is posting say 17/9/3 with a 1.5 blocks avg. after the first game, do you sit him and start Brad or do you try to go with the twin towers approach?

[KF10]

There is about a snowball's chance in hell that ANY NBA team moves to Las Vegas (a goodwill gesture to the Maloofs for screwing them out of a championship in 2002-03 doesn't equate with a franchise move), so it's not even worth speculating about. Sac residents know that all this is just noise to get an arena built anyway.

So if Spencer is posting say 17/9/3 with a 1.5 blocks avg. after the first game, do you sit him and start Brad or do you try to go with the twin towers approach?

You mean after the five games?

But yeah, if Hawes averaged that I would say let him start unless Miller proves that he could do better. Theus said a player have to earn their way to the starting position. (But last year, Artest was suspended for the first 7 games and Theus insert Artest in the starting lineup after he served his suspension. Probably, it is different base on particular players, I guess.) So, Miller has to prove otherwise. And also, assuming that Thompson earned the starting PF position at training camp. That is the only way we will able to this twin towers approach. But as is right now, Moore is the starting PF.

Question:

Are we going to see an improved number of crowd in Arco? Or lower? Same?

[Dustin5566]

Question:

Are we going to see an improved number of crowd in Arco? Or lower? Same?

I expect about the same. The team has not gotten any better and the economy is still crap.

Question:

Would you rather have a championship ring or a gold medal?

[RoyalCourtJestr]

Q: Which rookie do you want to succeed more, Thompson, Greene or Brown? Who WILL be better in the future?

I think Greene SF's with his size and skills set normally intend to become real good. But i'm gonna go with Brown. Simply because we need a new young PG

Q: Should the kings take more of a scouting look on Patrick Mills the young PG from Australia? And what do you think is his limit is going to be

SUSH. I know Mills (I'm the beat writer for the team here at St.Marys) and for the first time in my life I DON'T want someone to leave college early.

He's got the game man. Seriously.

As to the ring/medal... personally, either one suffices. In basketball, the USA shold be the best in the world with the NBA so winning either basically puts you at the top of the hoops world.

Question - In terms of our starters (assuidly, Beno/Kevin/Salmons/Moore/Miller, whats the order of offensive key you'd put them in? Aka, Martin, Salmons, Beno, then Brad? Who do you want to hold the ball?

[KF10]

Well, you mean offensive options? If so, this is what I'll think:

1st option: Martin (Our best offensive player)
2nd option: Salmons (2nd best offensive player)
3rd option: Beno (3rd best offensive player)
4th option Miller (4th best offensive player)
5th option: Moore (By default...)

Obviously, Martin is our best offensive player, so we will see more offensive attention of him...Like more plays and isolations for him. Salmons is our 2nd best offensive player. He thrives on a isolation base scenario. Which he is good at. And so on and so on....

Question: If Martin is our 1st option (DUH), he will receive even MORE defensive pressure and most likely he will get double or even triple team. So, how many assists he would likely to average? Knowing that he usually averaged 2ish assists due to his "drive and kick out to the open man" method...

[OGSactownballer]

I actually feel that the answer here is that Martin is the top SCORER - but the second option on offense. John actually creates far better on the drive and kick as a slasher than Kevin, and you need to remember that Kevin is the best SHOOTER on the team and therefore needs to be available to take that open shot.

Since Beno is not a strictly pass first guard, how do you get the ball into the hands of the scorers enough?

[KF10]

I actually feel that the answer here is that Martin is the top SCORER - but the second option on offense. John actually creates far better on the drive and kick as a slasher than Kevin, and you need to remember that Kevin is the best SHOOTER on the team and therefore needs to be available to take that open shot.

Since Beno is not a strictly pass first guard, how do you get the ball into the hands of the scorers enough?

Yeah, John Salmons is the better "drive and kick" type of player...Due to his PG abilities. Salmons came to the NBA as the "tall PG" like Shawn Livingston type of player...But time pass, Salmons is a bit more of a forward that has PG capabilities..(Basically, he's versatile).

But again, the structure of the team has Martin having the ball most due to being the best player and option. He will receive more defensive attention. Thus, forcing Martin to expand his game even more (assists and playmaking). Well, this is when Martin has the ball in a particular possession. When he (Martin) doesn't have the ball, most likely Salmons will have the ball and he does his thing. Score under isolations and/or drive and kick outs...

It is given that Martin/Salmons is our best offensive options. And again, this is under the assumption that both of our guys having the ball the most thus leaving the other players (Beno/Miller/Moore) fairly open and limited touches. And basically, change the whole offensive system to having one guy dominating the ball (Artest) to having 2 guys dominating the ball (Martin/Salmons). Another scenario, WHICH answers your question is that how Beno get the ball to the hand to scorers.

Well, we know Beno isn't that pure PG that we wanted. He is more of the scoring 1st and pass 2nd type of PG. But he has some playmaking ability. His 5 assists per game is evident. BUT during the re-resigning of Beno, Reggie Theus expect Beno to average 7-8 assists per game. Theus wants Beno to reach a higher level of play and feels he can do it. Well, I think it is a kind of reach that Beno would average 8 assists but around 7ish assists can be realistic though. Well, that is my opinion. So, under this assumption, we see a more traditional offense and most likely Martin and Salmons are playing off the ball (slashing, cutting, and creating offensive opportunities) while Beno dishing the ball to them and whatnot.

But ultimately, I do think Beno will average more assists than last year. But I don't have the exact estimate though. I would be ecstatic if he averaged 8ish assists. But if he averaged 7 or even (high 6ish) assists I would be totally content.

Sorry, for the long description...

Question:

Are we going to see the most of the Princeton Offense post-Adelman era?

[Ballings7]

Brad Miller also had the ball in his hands a lot, sometimes doing the pump and drive (okay occasionally, but did it much too much), and of course the usual being the passing.

Ron and Brad were who we typically ran the most offense through. Brad's role will only go up there with Ron going, I would think.

[KF10]

Brad Miller also had the ball in his hands a lot, sometimes doing the pump and drive (okay occasionally, but did it much too much), and of course the usual being the passing.

Ron and Brad were who we typically ran the most offense through. Brad's role will only go up there with Ron going, I would think.

Yeah, I agree that Miller's role will be significant after the departure of Artest. I really want to see what kind of offense we will have. Will we have the traditional Princeton Offense, having Miller have the ball to facilitate the offense? Or the traditional offense from the PG position, Theus inferred Beno will average around 7-8 assists? Or will we have Martin have the ball the most and he will create from there? Or a bit of of everything?

To me, we have a diverse set of offensive sets IMO. We can be soo versatile in offense IMO. I think we can be all of those as mentioned above. It will be fun to see the Kings experimenting the offense post-Artest era.

[pillwenney]

Hopefully running the offense heavily through Brad will increase his value.

[KF10]

Hopefully running the offense heavily through Brad will increase his value.

Yeah, I agree. This is my prediction: I think Miller will have a better season than last year. His assists will be around the 4ish range. And finally he will utilize his strengths completely...Well, this is under the assumption that we are running the Princeton Offense the most in post-Adelman era...

[Cruel_Ruin]

Brad's value peaked last season. Unless he explodes beyond imagination, he won't ever get us more than an expiring and a 1st. Might as well ship him out before the season starts if that kind of deal is available to us.

[KF10]

Brad's value peaked last season. Unless he explodes beyond imagination, he won't ever get us more than an expiring and a 1st. Might as well ship him out before the season starts if that kind of deal is available to us.

I disagree. Like I mention about Miller. His production will increase due to various factors...He will have the ball more in his hands...Assuming that we are going to run more offensive sets around Brad (i.e Princeton Offense) Which I think we are. His assists will be higher than last year. And probably his points will be the same or just a tad bit higher due to opposing centers leaving him open...So, he doesn't need to "explodes beyond imagination" to garner more value...

If we keep Miller for the year...His contract is a huge expriring (Expires at the 'magical' offseason of 2010) His value will shoot up again due to that. But the key word is "patience". Which Petrie/Kings are. Well, that is why I don't think we will just dump Brad just for relief...

[pillwenney]

Brad's value peaked last season. Unless he explodes beyond imagination, he won't ever get us more than an expiring and a 1st. Might as well ship him out before the season starts if that kind of deal is available to us.

Probably the main factor here. I doubt that kind of deal will be available to us, mostly because so many things have to line up for it to happen.

1. The other team has to have that much in expirings
2. They have to have something at least of equal value to a late 1st
3. They have to be willing to part with this stuff for Brad, which means that they have to value him as much as we do (which leads me to the rest of these prerequisites)
4. They have to be kind of a "bubble" team, which automatically eliminates probably about half the league
5. They have to have a need for a center
6. They have to have a need for a center like Brad, which makes things really tricky because Brad is such a unique player
7. They have to be willing to take on the extra year of his salary.

So over all, it has to be the perfect situation, and it probably won't happen.

[Cruel_Ruin]

Brad's value peaked last season. Unless he explodes beyond imagination, he won't ever get us more than an expiring and a 1st. Might as well ship him out before the season starts if that kind of deal is available to us.

I disagree. Like I mention about Miller. His production will increase due to various factors...He will have the ball more in his hands...Assuming that we are going to run more offensive sets around Brad (i.e Princeton Offense) Which I think we are. His assists will be higher than last year. And probably his points will be the same or just a tad bit higher due to opposing centers leaving him open...So, he doesn't need to "explodes beyond imagination" to garner more value...

If we keep Miller for the year...His contract is a huge expriring (Expires at the 'magical' offseason of 2010) His value will shoot up again due to that. But the key word is "patience". Which Petrie/Kings are. Well, that is why I don't think we will just dump Brad just for relief...

I'm not saying to dump Brad for just expirings. I think he's worth more than that. I'm just saying that even if Brad puts up a better season than last (Say, 15/11/4 or close to that), teams still won't be willing to give up much more than an expiring and a late first. If that kind of deal is available to us, I'm sure Petrie will pull the trigger and not look back. Finding that kind of deal becomes tricky though, look how long it took us to trade Artest, who was on the market for over a year.

His value will decline as an expiring than it is now. Expirings are just worth cap relief, and a productive player on an expiring contract is a liability. You want your players under contract. Waiting for him to expire (unless forced to) would be a mistake.

[Cruel_Ruin]

Brad's value peaked last season. Unless he explodes beyond imagination, he won't ever get us more than an expiring and a 1st. Might as well ship him out before the season starts if that kind of deal is available to us.

Probably the main factor here. I doubt that kind of deal will be available to us, mostly because so many things have to line up for it to happen.

1. The other team has to have that much in expirings
2. They have to have something at least of equal value to a late 1st
3. They have to be willing to part with this stuff for Brad, which means that they have to value him as much as we do (which leads me to the rest of these prerequisites)
4. They have to be kind of a "bubble" team, which automatically eliminates probably about half the league
5. They have to have a need for a center
6. They have to have a need for a center like Brad, which makes things really tricky because Brad is such a unique player
7. They have to be willing to take on the extra year of his salary.

So over all, it has to be the perfect situation, and it probably won't happen.

Good points, but the center position is really weak nowadays, and I'm sure there will be some teams wanting to solidify their own. Detroit, Miami, Orlando, Denver come to mind off the top of my head. It helps that Brad became a productive rebounder over the last year, it makes him easier to trade off into a traditional Center role.

[KF10]

I'm not saying to dump Brad for just expirings. I think he's worth more than that. I'm just saying that even if Brad puts up a better season than last (Say, 15/11/4 or close to that), teams still won't be willing to give up much more than an expiring and a late first. If that kind of deal is available to us, I'm sure Petrie will pull the trigger and not look back. Finding that kind of deal becomes tricky though, look how long it took us to trade Artest, who was on the market for over a year.

Yeah, I agree. Brad is worth more than just a salary dump. But under that assumption (If he averaged 15/11/4) why wouldn't he garner more value than right now? If he averaged that, teams that are lacking a legit center will consider Miller. But then again, look at the deals that we got from Artest/Bibby. Rebuilding packages. Which I think is actually good. But I don't know...We will see...

The reason why we waited long for a deal for Artest is because there were not "ideal" proposals that Petrie liked...So, he waited and got the package he wanted..A rebuilding package.


His value will decline as an expiring than it is now. Expirings are just worth cap relief, and a productive player on an expiring contract is a liability. You want your players under contract. Waiting for him to expire (unless forced to) would be a mistake.

How is a productive player under an expiring is a liability? Well, assuming that it is the year that Miller expires, we can package Miller's expiring with another player...Look at last year, Jamison was a huge expiring and garnered alot of value (Well, in the trade thread). Due to being a productive player under an expiring. Well, you may have a point. I don't see teams would give alot for a rental (Miller) but he should garner value after his allege 15/11/4 season...