No surprises, please

article

148

2009-06-22T22:26:00-04:00

Playerpress

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644 3578   The NBA Draft is just three days away and Kings fans are cautiously optimistic about the team's future. That's all we can bear right now, really. What with the uncertain arena situation and seemingly overwhelming fan malaise that has swept through once raucous and dangerously intimidating Arco Arena.  But I don't see the Kings fate tied to what has been a horrendous last two years. Fans have stayed away from Arco, but show me an arena that has held steady with its fans during this economic clusterf%#@.   If and when the economy uncrappifies itself the fans will return. Not because they have to, but because they want to. People say a lot of hateful things about Sacramento, but as a life-long resident I can say with confidence that we are among the most knowledgeable sports fans around. Yeah, we only have one pro team in the city limits, but there are several in every sport within a two-hour drive.   So this is a letter of sorts to Geoff Petrie; a man whose basketball IQ and talent evaluation will forever dwarf my own. There is one way to fix this bleeding orifice of a franchise...   Draft Ricky Rubio.   That's all. I don't want to hear about the great workouts of Tyreke Evans and Jonny Flynn's upside. The buzz created by 19-year-old Rubio would send a spark up the behind of a dormant fanbase that is looking for a reason to come back.   The draft is one giant crap shoot anyway. Can't miss guys do miss sometimes. Often, actually. Guys who were never even considered become stars. This is happening more and more often these days.   The question is not 'What if Rubio is a bust?' That question will be answered with time, not with the incessant doomsday inquiry. And what if he is a bust? Would we be in any worse of a situation than we are right now?   Team workouts give you a sense about certain things, but I do not trust them as the sole talent evaluator. It's the same thing as the NFL Draft Combine. How can you determine a guy's worth on the gridiron by how fast he can run with no pads, helmet or pants? So how, too, do you judge a basketball player's skill by having him practice layups with no defense in attendance?   Everything is set up so nicely for the Kings to get him too. Supposedly the first three picks are set. I never have faith in things turning out how they are destined to be, but the general consensus is that the first three are Griffin, Thabeet, Harden.   Rumor also has it that Rubio wants to come to Sacramento. Makes sense to me. Not only could he be the face that attempts to turn around arguably the NBA's worst team, but he will also be in the heart of the state with the most Spanish-speaking people in the country. Tennessee (Memphis has 2nd pick) and Oklahoma (Oklahoma City has 3rd pick) rank 27th and 26th respectively. Those numbers come from Wikipedia, which certainly does not mean it is 100% accurate, but I don't know why someone would fudge such a random statistic. Not even I have that kind of spare time.   Then there's the possibility that Rubio miht actually be good. (GASP!) I know, I know, blasphemy. But what if he is? What if he is the next Nash-type point guard? One would think that if he shows flashes of brilliance in his rookie season that it might tempt free agents to give Sacramento a long look.   Which brings us to the Kings' payroll situation...   The Kings will have a payroll hanging right around $60 million in 2009-10. That is a stupidly high number for such a terrible team. But relief is not far off. The cancerous contracts of Kenny Thomas ($8,853,125 in '09-10) and Shareef Abdur-Rahim ($6,600,000) will finally come off the books. Neither of those guys deserves the last three digits of their salaries, let alone the first four.   Going into 2010-11, the Kings will have roughly a $40 million payroll, which will free up anywhere from $15-20 million to try and lure a big-time player to the capitol city (they could even spend more depending on how close the organization wants to cut it to the expected $60 million salary cap and the $70-something million luxury tax).   Here's a list that we in Sacramento have become very accustomed to seeing:   LeBron James Dwyane Wade Chris Bosh Amare Stoudemire Yao Ming Dirk Nowitzki Joe Johnson   These are guys who are either free agents or can opt out of their current deals after next season. I think LeBron and Wade can be immediately thrown out the window, but what's to stop Stoudemire or Bosh from taking a chance?   The Kings have talent, folks. I have seen it many times. Kevin Martin is one of the best scorers in the NBA, Jason Thompson showed massive promise as a rookie, Spencer Hawes is developing quickly and they have solid bench players like Beno Udrih, Andres Nocioni and Francisco Garcia. If the Kings got Rubio and he looks like something special, why wouldn't a big man want to come here? There really aren't that many cows here. Sometimes I can go days without seeing one. Write enough zeros and it doesn't matter how many spots the local population has.   It isn't really so far fetched, is it? I'd like to think not.   Almost nothing goes to form in these matters. But it's all lined up for you, Petrie. It's really the only option.   Save the Spaniard, save the franchise.   0.0.0.0

2009-06-22T22:26:00-04:00

no-surprises-please

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No surprises, please

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