Kings' Midterm Grades

[KingInExile]

Sam Amick has his mid-season assessment of the Kings out in this morning's Bee. His assessment is pretty harsh, which is to be expected. But are they fair? Are they harsh enough? What are your grades?

Amick's Grades: http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1552461.html

Coaching: C+...The Reggie Theus performance and firing have been well chronicled, so we move on to Kenny Natt. Positives: a more professional culture; a much-needed, no-nonsense mentality; and clear-cut expectations of players. Obvious negative: A 4-13 record since he took over.

Management: D...From Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof to basketball president Geoff Petrie on down, they created this mess.

Beno Udrih: D-...He has knocked down his shots at a decent clip (45.7 percent). That's the extent of Udrih's contributions this season and the sole reason he – and the Kings – avoid receiving any "F" grades.

Kevin Martin: C+...Although Martin certainly has scored at a high rate since returning from his left ankle injury, his lack of defense and turnover-prone ways have made two problem areas even worse.

John Salmons: C+...He has been a bright spot in a dark season for the most part, scoring at career-high rates and serving as the lone consistent producer.

Jason Thompson: B-...A magnificent start to the season was followed by a down period and finally a recent resurgence.

Brad Miller: D+...He has picked up his performance in recent weeks, but too much damage was done early.

Spencer Hawes: B-...He was the surprise story in the season's first month with his scoring, rebounding, defense and blocked shots.


Mikki Moore: C...The Kings needed more from Moore when Miller was out to start the season, and the veteran didn't produce. Not surprisingly, he eventually lost his starting role and continues to fade further from the rotation.

Francisco García: C-...García's right calf injury kept him out of the first 17 games. Still, one of the team's few spot-up shooters is hitting just 42.1 percent from the field while not yet proving worthy of the five-year, $29.6 million contract he signed in the summer.

Bobby Brown: C...There was a time this season when it seemed he would have more impact than any other rookie, but Brown has been underwhelming.

Bobby Jackson: C-...If players are being judged on the distance between expectations and outcome – and they are – Jackson falls short, too.

Quincy Douby: D+...Game-winning attempts against San Antonio and Phoenix in mid-November were off-target, which is how Douby's three seasons in Sacramento could be described as well.

Donté Greene: Incomplete...Theus was the first to publicly call Greene a "project," and it appears he was right.

Kenny Thomas: Incomplete...The veteran, who didn't play in the final 52 games of the 2007-08 season, found his way onto the floor in three games recently and did what he was asked: defend and rebound. Soon thereafter, he returned to the bench and to daydreams of being traded.

Shelden Williams: Incomplete...The Mike Bibby trade last season brought Williams to Sacramento, and the Kings said they wanted a long look at the fifth pick in the 2006 draft with the hope that he wasn't the bust everyone had said. As it stands, their look has changed nothing of Williams' reputation, and he is set to leave town this summer as a free agent.

[KingInExile]

As for my assessment:

Coaching: I would drop to a solid C. The team has played with better focus and intensity at times under Natt. However the team's defense is still so bad that they couldn't keep a turtle from driving to the paint. I suspect that that the looming trade deadline is dictating some of the playing time decisions, so we may not see the necessary short leash on guys like Miller until March.

Management: D is about right. The bottom line is that the team needs the Maloofs to take a back seat and let Petrie do his job without making public comments.

Beno: F...the guy just sucks and is not worth his contract.

Martin: C-...he's Reggie Miller, but he's trying to be Kobe Bryant. He's supposed to be the leader of the team, but the only thing he is inspiring is contempt. He needs to go back to the part of his game that works (moving without the ball to find open jump shooting opportunities) and get away from his experiment with iso plays.

Salmons: B-...the fact that he plays defense gives him a boost in his grade. He could be so much better if he stopped being selfish with the ball and played within a role.

Thompson: A-...as a rookie I expected him to play only limited minutes and struggle to make a significant contribution. He has far exceeded my expectations. He is delivering the hustle and desire in the front court that this team has lacked for the last couple of years. I have recently seen flashes of C-Webb in his play...color me impressed.

Miller: D+...Miller has been scoring and rebounding better lately. But his nonexistent defense and constant whining (which often lead to poorly-timed techs), make him more of a liability than he's worth. The guy's attitude problem needs to be packed up and shipped somewhere...anywhere...soon!

Hawes: B...he continues to make great strides to improve his game. His grade would be higher, but he's starting to pick up too many bad habits from Miller (propensity for whining being one).

Cisco: B...in what I believe his primary role should be, pressure defense, he is solid. He still makes some bad decisions on the offensive end, but his desire and drive can't be mistaken. He's one of the bright spots so far IMO.

Brown: C+...he has a lot of potential, but needs to find his role better.

Jackson: C...he's just not the guy he was in his first stint. And his frustrations with the rest of the team's lack of effort is showing through with bouts of bad attitude on the floor. I would like to see him moved by the deadline just so he can get back to a team where he might again be relevant.

Moore: D...the only thing he contributes is taking minutes away from Thompson and Hawes. He has become irrelevant on this team.

Douby: Incomplete...I think a player has to have had a consistent role in the team's season in order to be graded. I don't think Douby has the talent to justify a consistent role on this team and might agree with Amick's D+ grade. But the fact is that his role has been too inconsistent to be graded.

Greene: Incomplete...I think he's got a lot of upside and am encouraged by what little we've seen from him so far. Hopefully his time in the D-League will boost him into a more consistent role by the end of the season.

Thomas: Incomplete...Is he still here?

Williams: Incomplete...at least he has plenty of energy left when he gets home to get the nursery ready for his new baby.

[ICMTM]

With Thompson I just see a guy who in time could be at an all star level. We will become a good team when the Kings can run more plays through him and Hawes and they aren't a third and fourth option on the team. As far as Hawes I see a really unique player. Again I think the Kings would be better shifting more of the offense through them instead of the wings. Their grades both of them are weighted whereas Cisco, Martin, Salmons, Miller, Moore, and Beno are based on actual play. We suck so I'm failing them all!

[pillwenney]

Martin: C-...he's Reggie Miller, but he's trying to be Kobe Bryant. He's supposed to be the leader of the team, but the only thing he is inspiring is contempt. He needs to go back to the part of his game that works (moving without the ball to find open jump shooting opportunities) and get away from his experiment with iso plays.

To be fair, I think it was kind of thrust upon him. People looked to him as the leader and part of it is doing what he's trying to do.

I agree with a lot of Amick's grades. I think he's a little harsh on Spencer and Jason, since, like others said, their grades should kind of be weighted. I would also give Salmons at least a B, probably a B+. Yeah, his ballhogging wears on me at times, but that's literally the only part of his game that annoys me. Outside of that, he's really the main reason we don't have the worst record in the league right now by a few games.

[dozencousins]

Both coaches suck & sucked i give Theus an F &
Natt i give a D - he doesnt get the F to me only because at least he doesnt take anyones sh*t !

[SacTown Kings]

I am suprised everyone is giving Miller a D! I thought Miller has been playing pretty well this year. Everyone thought Miller played great last year and his numbers are not that much different this year, in fact his fg% is up. I would give him at least a C. When Miller is not playing our offense struggles.

And Kmart's grade needs to be a little higher. He is shooting 40% from downtown and scoring 24.4 points per game. Sure his defense is weak but what do you expect from him, it's not like we were expecting great defense from him. Also it is not his fault if the coaches keep running iso's for him. What is he suppose to say "sorry coach I'm more of a Reggie than a Kobe so I'm not going to run your iso plays."

Everyone else is about right except I give Douby and Beno both an F. Oh and Natt gets a C, the teams record might not show the difference but the team is playing much more focused compared to Reggie's team.

[OGSactownballer]

With Thompson I just see a guy who in time could be at an all star level. We will become a good team when the Kings can run more plays through him and Hawes and they aren't a third and fourth option on the team. As far as Hawes I see a really unique player. Again I think the Kings would be better shifting more of the offense through them instead of the wings. Their grades both of them are weighted whereas Cisco, Martin, Salmons, Miller, Moore, and Beno are based on actual play. We suck so I'm failing them all!

Here's the thing.

ICMTM is 100% on the money here. NOBODY in the NBA ever wins consistently by running their offense through the wings unless you were the Jordan Bulls or have Kobe or LeBron - it just takes that caliber of player to make it work. You MUST start your offense through the post, and now is the PERFECT time to be developing our two young very capable post players - Thompson and Hawes. I think that time will show that they have perfectly complimentary games and skill sets. This is also, BTW, EXACTLY why Salmons needs to be moved - we can't have three guys on the wing that need 10-20 ball touches to be producers - it's just taking to much away from the high percentage guys down low.

Unfortunately, right now we are in a mode of "try to make the vets look attractive to other teams" coming up to the deadline. I would hope that after the trade hoopla dies down that guys like Miller (if not gone) will be seeing significant bench time as the young guys are introduced to the NBA refs to help them in the future.

[Nicky Nix Nook]

A constant flow of thought:

As a team I give the Kings a D+.

Yes they are terrible right now but what do you expect to see in a rebuild? You want to maintain mediocrity with finishing 8-10 in the west every year? I would bet no and with the Kings being in Sacramento (very small market) and no championship history the team is going to suck for a while. It is inevitable. Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Bulls, and teams with big markets have a much easier time building their teams so fast because of their location. The Lakers were bad for 1-2 years, then were a mediocre playoff team but when Jerry West wanted to see his Lakers blossom again, he donated Pau Gasol to make them contenders. Same is true with Kevin Mchale. He hated that the Celtics were the joke of the NBA so he generously donated Kevin Garnett. The way the Kings rise again is time. Unfortunately Oscar Robertson isn't Toronto's GM because if we was maybe he would donate Bosh. We have to suck for a draft pick, we have to wait for FA and/or trades. It doesn't happen over night.

With all that said, I still am not impressed with the pure effort this year. It's obvious in everyone's body language except Garcia, Thompson who plays hard every night IMO. They slug around, give up when they're down, and show no signs of passion out there. That's my disappointment. I can deal with poor performances but not when it's a lack of effort.

[cdt3]

I agree with the team grade they were poor. How Mikki Moore got a C for starting and putting up 4/4 and Miller and Salmons got a C- for 12/9/4 and 18/6/3? Moore gets an academy award for an NBA big guy and Salmons gets an A- and Miller a B-. Salmons has been the all around best player this year, scoring as many points as Martin and playing defense. This team needs Salmons and Martin to be successful. JT and Hawes have been B+ players also. The change in Coaches 4 times in the past 4 years has hurt us but management and would get a D but they brought back Carril which was big down the road so they get a C.

Having Coach Carril back tells you that the Kings want Hawes and JT to run the Princeton in the future. It is basically the 2 passing/shooting bigs and 3 shooters. Martin, Garcia, Beno and Greene are just not enough depth to win in the playoffs. You need Salmons in the Princeton whether he off the bench in the BJax role or starting, he is just too valuable and competetive. You need talent and depth to be an excellent team. If we add a dynamic PG in the draft or FA this team is back on track very soon to a contender after a short rebuilding.

[ICMTM]

Although I think Salmons has been our best player he also needs a lot of rock to be successful I don't think he is a ball hog, but he needs more time to feel the leather than anyone on the team. If you hold the ball that much you have to be on start status. Salmons is not.

[Inc]

A constant flow of thought:

As a team I give the Kings a D+.

Yes they are terrible right now but what do you expect to see in a rebuild? You want to maintain mediocrity with finishing 8-10 in the west every year? I would bet no and with the Kings being in Sacramento (very small market) and no championship history the team is going to suck for a while. It is inevitable. Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Bulls, and teams with big markets have a much easier time building their teams so fast because of their location. The Lakers were bad for 1-2 years, then were a mediocre playoff team but when Jerry West wanted to see his Lakers blossom again, he donated Pau Gasol to make them contenders. Same is true with Kevin Mchale. He hated that the Celtics were the joke of the NBA so he generously donated Kevin Garnett. The way the Kings rise again is time. Unfortunately Oscar Robertson isn't Toronto's GM because if we was maybe he would donate Bosh. We have to suck for a draft pick, we have to wait for FA and/or trades. It doesn't happen over night.

With all that said, I still am not impressed with the pure effort this year. It's obvious in everyone's body language except Garcia, Thompson who plays hard every night IMO. They slug around, give up when they're down, and show no signs of passion out there. That's my disappointment. I can deal with poor performances but not when it's a lack of effort.

Wait.. Is that what we're doing?
If so, we sure do suck trying to rebuild..

[KF10]

I really think that we need to get back the the Princeton Offense. I hate to see isolation plays and one and one basketball. This current offense pretty much sucks. I don't even know what is this offense called? Is it "give the ball to Salmons/Martin and create"? This offense is not effective. Sure it gives you points but it is not effective like I said. We have several players that are ideal for the (Princeton Offense) system, why not use their skill/talent level and fully utilize it? As much as it pains me, Eddie Jordan is probably the best known (available) coach for this situation. And I wouldn't mind to see him here for a couple of years...(Argh, I can't believe I said that).

[element_88]

i wouldnt mind flip saunders either, as another poster mentioned in another thread.

[Nicky Nix Nook]

A constant flow of thought:

As a team I give the Kings a D+.

Yes they are terrible right now but what do you expect to see in a rebuild? You want to maintain mediocrity with finishing 8-10 in the west every year? I would bet no and with the Kings being in Sacramento (very small market) and no championship history the team is going to suck for a while. It is inevitable. Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Bulls, and teams with big markets have a much easier time building their teams so fast because of their location. The Lakers were bad for 1-2 years, then were a mediocre playoff team but when Jerry West wanted to see his Lakers blossom again, he donated Pau Gasol to make them contenders. Same is true with Kevin Mchale. He hated that the Celtics were the joke of the NBA so he generously donated Kevin Garnett. The way the Kings rise again is time. Unfortunately Oscar Robertson isn't Toronto's GM because if we was maybe he would donate Bosh. We have to suck for a draft pick, we have to wait for FA and/or trades. It doesn't happen over night.

With all that said, I still am not impressed with the pure effort this year. It's obvious in everyone's body language except Garcia, Thompson who plays hard every night IMO. They slug around, give up when they're down, and show no signs of passion out there. That's my disappointment. I can deal with poor performances but not when it's a lack of effort.

Wait.. Is that what we're doing?
If so, we sure do suck trying to rebuild..

Drafting Thompson and Hawes, trading for a 1st round pick and a prospect in Greene is sucking? Do you expect us to rebuild over night while making the playoffs every year?

[deNIEd]

Beno, Moore signings
Miller, Thomas still on the roster

makes a team that sucks at rebuilding

[Nicky Nix Nook]

Beno, Moore signings
Miller, Thomas still on the roster

makes a team that sucks at rebuilding

Honestly signing Beno (and I know this has been a constant disagreement) was not as awful as everyone continues to bring up. He showed a lot of good things last year and although it was a bit too long it in no way is significantly hurting the team. IMO signing Moore WAS a good idea at the time but soon after we discovered we were going to have to begin rebuilding. Thomas is damn near impossible to move and so the only thing that bothers me is the fact Miller hasn't been traded yet.

The Bibby trade was a joke IMO but the Webber trade was worse. My complaint about our rebuild or with Petrie in general is that we sell our star players SOO cheap.

But to put things in perspective:

Garcia-26?
Martin-25
Green-20
Hawes-20
Thompson-22
top 4 pick in the draft
Hou 1st in the draft.

That looks like a rebuild to me. yes we have a ways to go but it's a good start IMO.