JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS / jvillegas@sacbee.com

Francisco Garcia gets in some extra shooting after the Kings' workout.

0 comments | Print

Kings notes: Free agent Kirilenko interests team

Published: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 7C
Last Modified: Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 - 12:09 am

The Kings have 15 players in training camp, and coach Paul Westphal is fine with that.

"I know that (basketball president) Geoff (Petrie) is going to be opportunistic, and we're always looking for chances to improve the team if it's there," Westphal said. "On the other hand, we don't have to do anything, either, and we're in good shape."

Not among the 15 is free-agent center Samuel Dalembert. The Kings renounced his rights Friday.

But if the Kings choose to be opportunistic, intriguing players are available. They are among the teams interested in forward Andrei Kirilenko.

Kirilenko, 30, is an unrestricted free agent and playing professionally in his native Russia. He spent 10 seasons with the Utah Jazz, made the All-Star team in 2004 and became known as one of the most versatile players and solid defenders in the NBA.

Jimmermania – Of the Kings' three draft choices, most of the media wanted to know about Jimmer Fredette.

The National Player of the Year last season at BYU is expected to play a key role this season. He was the point guard for the second team during Saturday's practice.

"He's a very intelligent basketball player," Westphal said. "And the guys like playing with him because he's a good passer."

The veteran – John Sal- mons returned to the Kings in a June trade with Milwaukee that also brought the eventual draft rights to Fredette.

Salmons, entering his ninth season, is now the most experienced King. As for a leadership role, he plans to let his actions set the example.

"Just try to be professional," Salmons said. "Come in every day, play hard, try to make the right play. Try to play the right way. If I have to say something, say something. But I think more than anything, actions speak louder than words."

Et cetera – The Kings signed forward Lawrence Hill and guard Adrian Oliver to fill out their roster.

Hill, 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, played at Stanford and appeared in four games for Texas of the NBA Development League this season. Oliver, 6-4 and 210 pounds, played three seasons at San Jose State after transferring from Washington.

• The first team Saturday had Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton at guard, Salmons and Chuck Hayes at forward and DeMarcus Cousins at center.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more articles by Jason Jones



About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.

hide comments
Sacramento Bee Job listing powered by Careerbuilder.com
Quick Job Search
Buy
Used Cars
Dealer and private-party ads
Make:

Model:

Price Range:
to
Search within:
miles of ZIP

Advanced Search | 1982 & Older



Find 'n' Save Daily DealGet the Deal!

Local Deals