| Begin A Youth Movement? Authored by Derek Flack - November 21, 2007 - 5:58 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Breaking Down The 2nd Round After a somewhat surprising first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, we find ourselves with even better match-ups in the Round of Eight.
Prospect Report: Brook Lopez Of StanfordFor a team looking for a well-developed offensive game at center, Brook Lopez is the 2008 Draft’s best option.
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Mike Bibby has recently heard his name swirling about in trade rumors like a tumble weed in a tornado. One constant rumor is a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Kings should look hard at pulling the trigger on a deal like this, especially if they can grab young talent with potential to get better and fit in with the current crop of youngsters on the Kings; maybe someone like Daniel Gibson or Shannon Brown.
The Kings would benefit by acquiring young talent and would also be spreading out the $13 million plus owed to Bibby in each of the next two seasons to more than just one guy.
If Bibby does indeed get traded the 2008 NBA draft will be on the radar for most Kings fans. They will probably be a lottery team, so they will have a shot at drafting a point guard like Derrick Rose or OJ Mayo, both of whom could make an impact on the game the way Bibby has for the Kings in the past.
But maybe the one player on their roster they should look at trading more than anyone else is Ron Artest. He has been relatively quiet so far this season and hasn’t been too big of a distraction for the Kings, but it’s only a matter of time before he erupts.
Artest has played well through the first three games of his return to the Kings, averaging 20.3 ppg. He is also rebounding well and is leading the team in assists. Artest is an All Star talent, but is he worth keeping around if at moment he could blow? He has proven over the years that he is indeed carcinogenic; he causes cancer at some point for every team he is apart of. In Indiana he had many incidents leading up to the “Malice at the Palace”. On numerous occasions he destroyed press cameras and fought with teammates, slowly deteriorating the pacers chemistry, even bringing out the worst in his teammates Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson. His stats look good right now, but if the Kings don’t climb above .500 soon his attitude may quickly change.
Artest's trade value has declined over the past year due to his various injuries and recent seven game suspension. His contract is relatively small though; he is owed $7.8 million this year and $8.45 million next year, which is the final season in his contract. Many teams can put together attractive packages to equal that small of a salary; the problem is what team would gamble on Artest? There is one possible destination for Artest, but it all depends on if Isiah Thomas doesn’t get fired. Thomas has made trades for players like Artest before; he traded for Zach Randolph, Steve Francis, and Stephon Marbury, each of whom is a headache for an organization in their own unique way.
One major problem this team is currently having a hard time dealing with is rebounding. They only have one player, (Brad Miller, 8.7 RPG) that averages over five boards a game. You can’t win if you can’t rebound. This team gets out rebounded by seven rebounds a game. That is too many second chance opportunities to give to the opposition. This is another reason why the Kings need to make some changes.
The current roster, even when everyone is healthy, still can’t rebound. Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim are two big forwards that can rebound, but neither one of them can get off the bench. Thomas has a career average 7.2 boards a night while Abdur-Rahim pulls down a career average of 7.6 a night. Combined these two players are only logging about 26 minutes a game. If the Kings aren’t going to give these players much of an opportunity to get in the game then they might as well trade them for a big that coach Reggie Theus will play.
If they did trade Thomas or Abdur-Rahim it would free up a few more minutes for rookie center Spencer Hawes. Hawes was a lottery pick and has shown brief flashes of brilliance so far in this young season. If his playing time grows he will develop a little quicker then he will from watching on the bench.
One bright spot on this team right now is Kevin Martin. He is a young, athletic scorer with a tremendous, though awkward, shooting ability. Martin is currently second in the league in scoring dropping 27.3 points a night. He has proven he can score but he can’t do it by himself. With most of the veterans on the team sidelined the Kings have had trouble finding other guys to help take the load off of Martins shoulders.
If other guys don’t start knocking down some shots it will be increasingly difficult for Martin to score at such a high rate. Teams will be able to focus their defense more and more on Martin and force other guys to hit their jumpers; if no one else steps up the losses will continue to pile up.
Fortunately John Salmons is one player that has really stepped his level of play up over the last year. He is currently putting up 17.1 ppg and has shown he can help Martin do the job, which will come in handy when Martin runs into a bad night. Salmons, in his sixth NBA season, is a player who has been around long enough he can help this team get on the right track and win some games with his leadership but is also the right age to be apart of a rebuilding team. Salmons is one the most underrated players in the league and is one of the key players this team needs to hold on to for the future.
The Kings will probably be faced with some tough decisions to make during the All Star break. They might be good enough to fight for the eighth seed of the Western Conference and creep into the playoffs. They also might be good enough to just miss the playoffs but only end up with the 11th or 12th pick, which more then likely won’t land them a big time rookie, but still a quality player.
Should they trade the star veterans that are always injured to try and acquire young talent and aim for the future? Or should they keep this team together with Bibby and Artest and make another push for the playoffs? With so much uncertainty around this team it could get interesting when the trade deadline approaches in February. |
