The jarring sound of the exercise ball popping was scary enough for Kevin Martin.

But before the Kings shooting guard could turn his head to make sense of the scene inside the team's practice facility weight room Friday, he heard an even worse sound coming from teammate Francisco García that he wished he didn't recognize.

"I heard the pop, and then I heard this 'crack' right behind the ball popping," Martin said. "It gave me chills for the next three hours. I felt so bad.

"He yelled, 'Oh … my wrist.' Just from the sounds of that, I knew it wasn't good."

That unfortunate truth was formalized Saturday, when the Kings learned García would be out at least four months after having surgery to repair a broken right radius in his forearm and ligament damage in his wrist.

Though the Kings' hopes of significantly improving on last season's franchise-worst 17 wins might not have completely blown up with the loss of García, the news took the air out of what had been an otherwise upbeat exhibition season.

"It's such a staggering blow to a person who worked so hard, and anticipating the upcoming season and all the goals you have and dreams," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "And then you have it yanked out and they're saying, 'You've got an operation today, and you're out for four months.' And then there's the team. You have to start thinking about what the effect of this is."

Martin's word choice of "devastating" was no overstatement. No NBA team could afford to lose a player of any significance less than the Kings, let alone a key reserve who brought leadership and shooting range to a roster that lacks in both.

"We couldn't afford to have (assistant) coach (Pete) Carril get hurt," Martin said with a laugh. "That's just the nature of this team."

García is the Kings' glue player, a swingman who could back Martin up at shooting guard or fill the small forward void or even bring the ball up at the point when a bigger lineup was needed. His in-house value was set last summer, when García's skill set and his magnetic effect on team chemistry netted him a four-year, $23.2 million deal that began this season.

The loss of García's outside range will put the Kings in an even more compromised position offensively. Even as García dealt with myriad injuries last season, he showcased an improved three-point shot (39.8 percent) that stretched opposing defenses and opened the floor for attacking types such as Martin.

The Kings will now turn to a group of small forwards who won't be in three-point contests anytime soon. Andres Nocioni is by far the most proficient in the bunch, having shot 37.3 percent from beyond the arc in his career and 44.1 percent in 23 games with the Kings last season. Desmond Mason – who has a one-year, nonguaranteed contract worth $1.18 million and missed the first two exhibition games because of back spasms – has long been considered one of the league's worst shooters among wingmen. And though second-year player Donté Greene has never hidden his affinity for the three-ball, he hit just 26 percent of his attempts last season.

García's absence could force the Kings to play rookie Tyreke Evans more at shooting guard, a change they'd rather implement by choice and not out of necessity.

Beyond the Kings' immediate concerns, there is the question of García's ultimate health. Before the ball exploded – what Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie simply dubbed "a failure of a piece of equipment" – Martin said García was lying on his back and lifting 90-pound dumbbells in each hand. He came crashing down and will now wear a cast for eight weeks before the damage will be reassessed and rehabilitation begins. Yet any serious injury to a shooter's shooting hand always raises questions about career-long implications, a reality that no one knows better than Kings assistant Mario Elie.

During Elie's sixth season, the then-reserve for the Houston Rockets broke his forearm after being undercut by Denver's Jalen Rose in a Jan. 17, 1996, game. He had screws and a plate inserted into his shooting wrist a day later, and he didn't return until an April 5 game later that year against the Kings.

"It's a lot of work, and once you get your cast off, you have no mobility on your wrist," Elie said. "He's in a for a long, long battle."

Elie said he expects García to fully recover, though.

"Technology is good now," he said. "It's not like back when coach (Westphal) and (assistant) Truck (Robinson) used to play and they'd just slice you up (in surgery). I think he's going to be all right. I worked really hard on getting back, and I went on and played a lot more years and won another championship. It didn't affect my shot. 'Cisco is a hard worker. He's mentally tough, so hopefully we can get him back by (the) All-Star break (in February)."

The Kings, however, might not be able to wait until then if they're looking to bounce back from García's injury.

"We'll definitely keep looking around at what (players) either (are) available or maybe come available," Petrie said about possible roster additions in light of García's loss. "There's certainly nothing imminent, but this whole thing with 'Cisco is really unfortunate."

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.