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BasslineSpin.com February
27, 2009 ...Ask yourself this question… Would you rather be
in the Kings present situation or in the Charlotte Bobcats current state? I
prefer the Kings’ deal and here is why. Sure, the Bobcats are winning more
games since they traded Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley to Phoenix for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw.
But what does that get the Bobcats? The answer is—less of a chance at
a high draft pick. Charlotte isn’t going anywhere. They aren’t going to make
the playoffs. They are not going to win any championships with their added
vets. They also picked up Vladimir Radmanovic, and Sagana Diop. It is a short term mini-fix that
ultimately makes Charlotte’s path to REAL winning take that much longer. The
Bobcats pieces that could be in it for the long haul are Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor. Raymond Felton is
probably a backup PG on a real good team in my opinion. D.J. Augustin is a
keeper. ...The Kings on the other hand—just stink. Their reward will come
however with a high pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. They also have a better
contract situation that will allow them to hopefully sign a young starter at
either Center, Point Guard, or Small Forward.
The Kings have a solid starter in Kevin Martin, and
they will have a shot at keeping Drew Gooden. Andres Nocioni would be an ideal sixth man. Jason Thompson - if Gooden stays—could return to
being a bench player. I am not ready
to give up on Francisco Garcia but I
would love to see him get past the pouting and return to being a spiritual
team leader than plays with a smile on his face. I believe Garcia should
embrace his role as the ideal backup utility player. He could spell either
guard position or his natural Small Forward. ...I’m not sold on Spencer Hawes or Beno Udrih as
starters but I do think they could be a top-tier backups. ...I still want to
see Ike Diogu play
and despite a tough outing in Wednesday’s home loss - I still believe Will Solomon can be an NBA backup PG. February
24, 2009 ...We took in the Kings latest loss at ARCO last
night as the New Orleans Hornets came calling. Chris Paul made our trip in from Rocklin
worthwhile—putting on a dazzling display of talent under control. He welcomed
back Tyson Chandler to the
lineup and the two hooked up for what seemed like two ally-oops each quarter.
The Kings are trying to get to know each other after the massive roster
shakeup of last week but I came away wondering about other issues. Why did Cedric Simmons get five minutes (too many) of
action? ...Why did Kenny Natt continue
the poor idea, originated in Chicago, of playing Andres Nocioni out of position at the FOUR? Why did Ike Diogu not play on a night when Jason Thompson picked up three quick fouls? Why did Will Solomon not play? Why was Kenny Thomas inactive? Are the Kings really
trying to lose to help themselves for the lottery? ...In the same way that an
efficiency rating can decipher that Paul is the best Point Guard in the NBA -
so too - can the efficiency rating tell you who is the worst at any position.
It is a scientific formula. “Player A” and “Player B” are just numbers to the
efficiency rating. Simmons’ career EFR—as pointed out before - is a putrid
.287. That is the worst, lowest number among all Centers, and third to worst
among all Power Forwards. I know this. It is a fact. So why mess with him at
all in the lineup? He’s never been anything but an okay shot blocker.
...Nocioni is a SMALL FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you play him at the Power
Forward you are likely to lose the rebounding battle as a team. As
advertised, Nocioni plays very hard and I appreciated his defensive effort.
...I repeat that with over 2,000 career minutes logged - Diogu owns a .513 EFR—that would rank
among the top 30 PF’s in the NBA. He should have been the guy to replace
Thompson at the FOUR when JT had to come out. ...Solomon’s Toronto efficiency
is higher than Beno Udrih’s EFR
this season in Sac. Why not play Bobby Jackson at the
TWO as a backup for Kevin Martin—which
frees up Solomon to, at the very least , back up Udrih? ...If Diogu is not
going to play - then I believe Thomas should be active. Kenny Thomas can
still rebound the ball and run and finish. ...Maybe the Kings coaches have
been told to try to lose. What I saw tonight was a heck of recipe for it.
Play Cedric Simmons. Concede the rebounding battle by playing Nocioni at PF.
Trot out Rashad McCants and
his horrid EFR. Keep the two guys (Diogu, and Solomon) that have historically
decent EFR’s out of the game. February
19, 2009 ...Rashad McCants and Calvin Booth are headed to Sacramento for Bobby Brown and Shelden Williams. Will Solomon is
coming to Sac and the Kings waived Mikki Moore. I
like Solomon as a backup Point Guard in the NBA. Actually, on the Kings, he
is more efficient than Beno Udrih—so he
might even start here. Solomon is 30 years old. He was a top-tier PG in
Europe before being signed by Toronto this season. Solomon is a REAL PG with
a nearly two-to-one assist to turnover ratio. ...I hope nobody at ARCO thinks
McCants is a player. He is a shot-happy gunner that IS capable of a big
offensive night. His problem has been consistency. At .287 (EFR) he rated
71st in the NBA at his Shooting Guard position for the first half of 2008-09.
...Mikki Moore ranked
66th at Power Forward during our recent “halfway” stat audit - so we have no
issues with him being cut. ...How the Raptors ended up with Patrick O’Bryant is the one that puzzles me. I have
long maintained that O’Bryant can be a real legitimate BIG in the NBA. I wish
the Kings had gotten him. ...On the Kings side - to recap - I like Drew Gooden, Solomon, and Ike Diogu. I am not a fan at all of McCants, or Cedric Simmons. I like the way Andres Nocioni plays with intensity—but I think he
has been and, will continue to be, on the downside of his already limited
athleticism. |