Individual Grades

DISCLAIMER: Anyone that reads this needs to understand, that first and foremost I am a fan of the Sacramento Kings and that I want ultimate success for everyone associated with that franchise and that means every player. I am a fan of every player on the team and want each one to do well. I have no grudge against any player for the Kings. These are just my opinions and have no meaning in the grand scheme of the franchise and its decisions... (just in case by any remote possibility a player actually happens to read this)

The Sacramento Kings finished the season 25-57 this year and with the 3rd worst record in the NBA. Here are my grades of each individual player

Jason Thompson: Grade : B+

JT started the season off like a monster and looked like a sure bet to be in the rookie sophomore game and then he hit one of the worst 2nd year slumps a person has ever seen. The key to young players is to see how they can respond to adversity and JT did. When the Landry-Martin trade went down, he took the role of going to the bench and didn't pout. He thrived in the role. His rebounding this year was the Kings largest asset and next year the key growth will be with his ability to get to the double-digit rebounding clip by controlling his fouls (something he did better after the slump). The jump shot from 15 has got to get more consistent and he needs to get quicker and more athletic around the rim. It seems like JT constantly get outjumped by one or two guys near the rim instead of finishing strong like Landry with the throwdown or the reverse. He has a lot more upside than most people might think. This summer will be huge for him as he and Spencer Hawes will be battling for minutes at the center position with Landry as the permanent fixture at the 4 spot. He is a major part of our core for the future. If the way he battled with Pau Gasol in the finale (19pts 16 rbs) is any indication of his talent, then perhaps one day this guy can be an all-star.

Sean May: Grade: C+

We didn't see a whole lot of Mr. May this season and for good reason. It seems like he would not be able to keep up with the other 9 guys on the court and he was often lagging and outmuscled for position. There is value however in Sean because he showed an uncanny ability, that I didn't really know about, to make a consistent 15 foot jumper. He seems like a decent passer from the few minutes he did receive on the floor. While I wouldn't mind if the Kings kept him for the minimum, I don't see him getting any more playing time next year as the Kings will likely add a quality big man in the draft or via free agency. Overall, smart player but not enough minutes to make any sort of impact.

Dominic McGwire: Grade: C/Incomplete

Honestly saw the guy play maybe 2 to 3 times this whole season before he went out with the foot injury. While he may be one of the better defenders on the team; his offense does not seem NBA quality at all. Maybe he becomes Udoka's replacement if the Kings let him go.

Ime Udoka: Grade B-

During the times that the well traveled vet played, he provided good experienced leadership on the floor and decent defense. His shooting however was horrible at times as he was not the 3-pt shooter the Kings had hoped he would be (28% 3ptFG). While it is always good to have a guy like Udoka on your team as a calmer of nerves, I don't know if his defense warrants another year for the Kings and taking up of minutes from Casspi, Donte, and Garcia.

Donte Greene: Grade: A-

I know... an A- is really high... but considering where "The Show" was at last year and how far he has come in just one season; the grade is well deserved. Donte Greene was so unnoticed last year that one of my good friends from hs, referred to him as Gerald Greene, when we talked about his web series last year. Yikes. Donte has made enormous strides with his work ethic, defense, and shot selection. His athleticism, length, and versatility scream the possibility of one day being a star player... it's his ability to remain consistent that still is in question. Personally, I think the guy has the 2nd most upside on the team after Tyreke. He has the ability to guard 4 positions on the court as well as play those positions. He's 6'11 and I totally believe that one day he will be one of the best defensive players in the league if he can committ 100 percent to it. His attitude is unlike any young player you will meet. He constantly roots for his teammates whether he is or is not on the court and he generally loves Sacramento. His statistics don't stand out to you but I don't like to look at stats when talking about Donte. There were games where he would play 30 minutes and other games where he played 5-10. This is where consistency has to come in. I think he has done enough to earn that small-forward starting position (more later on Westphal and his lineups). I believe with more consistent minutes this guy will be much better and I look for him in the offseason to add more strength and quickness off the dribble which will make him even more of a threat than just a 3 point shooter and future hopefully dunk contest contestant.

Francisco Garcia: Grade: Incomplete

Unquestionably the vocal leader of this team and a good one at that. Does not gripe about his minutes and he is able to advise his teammates now that its been his 5th year in the league. He had a freak injury during training camp and never seemed to get a chance to show his skills on the court. In the limited time we did get to see him, he played well and showed reallly good range on his jumpers. He is a very good utility guy who can play 3 positions and will be vital as a leader for the Kings if he continues to accept his role. I see him doing that.

Spencer Hawes: Grade: C+

The guy really has some talent as a passer and a jump shooter but jeez he is still weak when it comes to playing down low. He threw some of the sickest passes you'll ever see against the Lakers at Arco during X-mas break. The Kings love to run their high post through him but he seems to really get outmuscled for rebounds on a consistent basis. Averaging only 6 rebounds a game as a center is unexcuseable. And it's not like JT or Carl are taking away all of those rebounds as they average around 14 total boards between them. The Kings will always stick with him because as they say center. I don't think the Kings will be giving him an extension over the summer. They want to see him really play out his contract. Don't get me wrong though! Spencer Hawes is very important to the Kings future almost as much as Donte, and JT. He has unique skills and anchors an offensive system that once the Kings figure out, is gonna look amazing. There is going to be a situation that could happen where he falls out of favor with the Kings and it looks like the origins started with the trade for Landry. Who is going to be next year's starting center? JT or Spence???

Carl Landry: Grade: A-

Landry otherwise known as "Man-dry" is a beast down low and he seriously made KG look 20 years older than he already did when they were in Beantown a month ago. Landry's numbers increased big time this year as he got starter's minutes in Houston and then onto Sac as the 2nd best scorer. He is the low-post scorer that Spence and JT aspire to be. There is one major weakness though with Landry and it's his horrible rebounding numbers (6.5 per game... while it might be a lot lower because earlier this season he wasn't playing as many minutes... still he didn't go up much past 7 rebounds as a King). It's hard to expect him to truly be a good rebounder when he does so many other good things the Kings don't have much of such as draw the double team, make a jumper and post up on the block and drive, finish strong... but when you see a guy like Brockman coming in and averaging just 4 rebounds in 12 minutes of action... it's hard not to think that Landry's rebounding can get better. Still this guy is a permanent fixture with the Kings and he's only making 3 mil next year so a lot of quality for minimum quantity of money that he is receiving. Next year, I would like to see him get around 8 to 9 boards and 20 pts a game because I honestly think JT is going to average a double double next year so rebounding is going to be harder. Great addition by the Kings and it made losing one of my favorite players of all time Kevin Martin a lot easier than it would have been.

Andres Nocioni: Grade: D

Mr. Nocioni, did you just feel like shooting everytime you touched the ball? Was this your train of thought: "hey i'm not in this team's future plans so let me go ahead and get mine while i get these few minutes that I have". JEEZUZ, NOC!!! Nocioni looked to shoot basically everytime he got the ball as the Kings started losing later into the season. He looked very good early when he was buying into the Kings early success when they were 13-14. Soon as the losing started happening, is when a switch went on in Noc's head to just shoot every time he got the ball. I understand that he's not in the best of situations as an aging veteran (on a team of under 24s) with an inflated contract that is going to be impossible to move in the next two years, but you can't play selfish ball and expect people not to notice. Kings management, please find a way to move this guy!!!! ASAP. Unless he changes his attitude completely, all he's doing is taking away minutes from Casspi, Greene and Garcia.

Beno Udrih: Grade: B+

From someone who was basically left for dead after last season's dreadful effort to a player who became one of the leaders of the team and won the Oscar Robertson Triple-Double award (honors the player who signifies best off the court leadership/community service and on the court all around game/leadership). Beno has turned it around and essentially rediscovered his strengths: Pick and roll offense with a lot of movement and a pretty automatic sweet looking jumper. He is very crafty around the basket. Guy was playing hard every game and had a great triple-double against the Cavs. He had 21 and 11 against the Lakers to close out the season. The offense needs him to function correctly. I clearly remember a game against the Clippers where the Kings were just killing them and as soon as Beno went out, the Kings went clueless on offense. This guy is a good facilitator and relieves Tyreke of a lot of pressure of handling the ball. He can get you a good shot when you need it and makes Spencer Hawes look really good when they play their two man game. I will admit and like a lot of others, we were all down on this guy because of last year but he has seriously turned it around. He plays really well against LA teams for some reason.... (oh yeah the Lakers can never defend point guards and get scorched by really good ones and the Clippers... well they're the fucking clippers). It will be interesting to see how Beno's role changes or if it does at all based on what the Kings do in the draft or free agency. For now Westphal's offense is very good for Beno.

Omri Casspi: Grade: B

A pleasant early surprise this season but is it just me or has everyone gone a little too crazy about this guy. He has a lot of things to work on in the offseason but for someone who was a 23rd overall pick, he has definitely overachieved. He really needs to work on his ball handling especially with his weak hand and not being predictable on his drives. His finishing needs work and I thought this year he settled for too many outside shots (although he shot them really well at nearly 45%). Not really sure how large Omri's upside is. Seems more like a guy that can come off the bench and really give good energy and hustle plays along with hard nosed defense. The Kings found a good player at pick 23 and as long as Omri realizes his obligation to his team and not just his country's media, the future is very bright. Shot selection and ball handling are his areas that need to be improved. The "Michael Jordan Of Israel" definitely has the drive to do it.

Jon Brockman: Grade: B

Going strictly by what expectations are. Jon Brockman has been excellent. The "Brock-Ness Monster" has created havoc when he came into the game and left opponents acting like "who the f--- is this dude elbowing and nudging people out of the way" His toughness and rebounding are admirable in the few minutes that he received. Nothing is more obvious than the fact that the Kings may never run a play for him as the 1st option but he will definitely need a jump shot in order to stay in the league and I have no doubts that he will work on this along with getting even stronger so he can knock more heads to the ground next year. Guy averaged 4 rebounds in 12 minutes of game time. Pretty good but a lot of things Brockman does... you won't find in the stat sheet.

Tyreke Evans: Grade: A

Tyreke Evans averaged 20-5-5. Enough said. To do that for an entire season as a rookie is truly remarkable. I'm sick and tired of trying to prove that he's the rookie of the year so I'm just going to put my faith in the voters to get it right. He has changed the outlook of the franchise from being very grim (See end of 08-09 everyone playing for themselves) to being as bright as it can be. He is a game changer and you feel his impact during a game with his drives and kicks and incredible handles. He thrills the crowd with his moves (see Ron Artest spun into the floor 3/16 vs. Lakers) and he is going to be even better next year when he trains in LA this summer to develop the jump shot which will make him unguardable. The way he took over to help the team come back against Chicago was remarkable. I'll always remember his step back jumper with the shot clock running down and his motion showing that he had big balls and that the United Center was "his house". Most importantly he seems so unfazed by all the attention and all the hype around him. He is so humble, its amusing. He doesn't need the big lights, He loves Sac and he's going to be the man for years to come that hopefully brings us that championship that the city has been dying to get, especially since '02. Slow down there, we just need a trip back to the playoffs for now. Key with Tyreke's growth will be his ability to play without the ball and trust his teammates to make shots. Trust and good shooting are both contagious and they both contribute to chemistry. Once Tyreke knows Omri, Donte, JT, and Spence and other young players the kings get in this draft are capable of being consistent, this team is going to be even more successful.

Coming soon...my apologies to Paul Westphal