For much of the time Mike Bibby was the Kings' point guard, whoever came next on the depth chart was almost irrelevant.
Bibby played at least 80 games in five of his first six seasons in Sacramento, and his durability offered quite the luxury for his team. Now? Not so much.
While the Kings thought highly enough of Beno Udrih to give him a five-year, $32 million deal over the summer, his reputation as injury-prone remains. And suddenly, the name that comes next carries new importance.
On Wednesday, the second day of training camp, Kings coach Reggie Theus said veteran Bobby Jackson gets the early nod over rookie Bobby Brown. For now.
"It would be Bobby Jackson based on his veteran status," Theus said.
The competition will be one of the preseason's most relevant, but it may be far from heated. Entering his 12th season, Jackson – who returned for his second Sacramento stint after being part of the Ron Artest trade with Houston in August – joked that the easiest way Theus can anger him this season is by playing him too many minutes. Too few, of course, isn't preferred, either.
"I can tell you I don't want to play 30 minutes," said Jackson, whose is in the final year of his contract. "That's just me. My thing is that I'd like to see over 15 minutes. That's just being competitive and (wanting to) work, knowing (the Kings) are going to get something out of me."
Brown, meanwhile, said he'd like to earn a major role. This, after all, is the delayed start to his NBA career, as Brown is one year removed from going undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton. After signing with Charlotte to play for the Bobcats' summer league team in 2007, Brown headed overseas when he was given a contract that was almost entirely non-guaranteed.
While playing with Alba Berlin of the German League, he averaged 14.5 points, shot 43.3 percent overall and had 4.1 assists per game in 16 games while leading the club to its first league championship since 2003. His path to the NBA continued in the most recent summer league, where Brown averaged 15.2 points and 6.3 assists in six games playing with New Orleans and impressing Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie.
"It's up for grabs," Brown said of the No. 2 point guard spot. "I'm going to compete, and I'm going to battle with Bobby Jackson and Beno every day in practice."
Asked to describe his game, Brown gave quite a pitch.
"I label myself as a point guard who can create for his teammates and score at the same time," said Brown, whose season high in Germany was 44 points. "Basically, I'm the best of both worlds. I can score and get in the lane and get it to guys and play defense. On the defensive side, I got a lot better, (much) better on the ball and off the ball. I'm way better since my college days."
Theus said Jackson's versatility will ease some of the tension of the competition, allowing him to play the veteran at either guard spot.
"Bobby Jackson's role, in my opinion, is going to be sort of a dual role," he said. "I think that … all three guys have to play. How many minutes? They'll determine that by their action on the floor. I still stick by – I guess, hide behind – the rule that I don't make the decision how many minutes guys play. They decide that by how they are on the floor and how they practice."
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