There is nowhere to go but up.

Francisco García knew that much minutes after it was over, when the Kings' season that began in Minneapolis in late October ended there Wednesday night with their 17th win in 82 tries and new benchmarks for franchise futility had been set that no one saw coming six months before.

"It can't get worse," the fourth-year swingman said while sitting at his locker at Target Center.

"I know it can't get worse. That is very good news. It can only get better."

Because this was certainly the worst.

Before the failure was complete, with shared blame all around and injuries and one particular player suspension not aiding the Kings' cause, there was the belief from Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie on down that this team could stay in the playoff hunt until late in the season. But by the new year, there was an 8-23 record and a Dec. 30 matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers that marked the return of the player whose ailing left ankle had such a lasting impact on the campaign.

After missing 22 games because of an injury that Kevin Martin and those close to him always indicated was far more serious than the "sore left ankle" distinction given by the organization, the pain remained for the team's leading scorer and his teammates. It became the theme of the 2008-09 Kings: pain both physical and emotional that started even before Martin injured the ankle in early November.

Brad Miller's ill-fated summer suspension was the first blow, with the former Kings center missing five games to start the season for violating the league's drug policy. García was unavailable, too, his left calf injury suffered in a preseason game at Dallas forcing him to miss 17 games and hindering him throughout just as Martin's injury did him. For a team short on top-tier talent even before the flurry of trades in February, it spelled the end almost from the beginning.

"I was hurt," García admitted Wednesday. "I came back too early from my calf (injury). I still feel a little ball in (the calf). … I was hurt, and then it was my (broken right middle) finger (suffered March 3). It was just a tough year for me, for everybody."

The season for Martin – who has said his injury entailed substantial ligament damage and a deep bone bruise – ended the way García's began. He missed the final eight games after an X-ray on April 2 revealed a bone spur that could require minor surgery in the offseason.

"I think Kevin is going to be an All-Star next year," García said. "When I'd talk to him about (his ankle) this year, he'd say how he couldn't be as quick defensively as he wanted. We talked about it all the time, and he wanted to (play better) and he was really frustrated. Offensively, he could do what he wants, but defensively, he couldn't move laterally because of his ankle. I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but that's what it was."

On a team that finished as the league's worst defensively, that Martin increased his scoring for the fourth consecutive season (24.6 points per game) wasn't talked about nearly as much as his defensive struggles.

"Everybody is always questioning his defense, but when I first got here (in 2005), me and Kevin was just defense," García said. "I know Kev can play defense, because I've been there with him. He came back early, and everybody could see he was limping on the court. He couldn't even dunk. … He still had his 24 points. What do you expect from a guy like that? He still went out there to compete, and he still was hurt."

When it came to quantifying the effect of the injuries to Martin and García on the season, opinions were widely varied from coaches to training staff, media and fans. But when it came to point guard Beno Udrih and his play, there was little disagreement that he fell well short of expectations.

Udrih, a career backup with San Antonio who signed a five-year, $32 million deal last summer, finished ranked 22nd among point guards in scoring (11 points per game), 23rd in assists (4.7 per game) and 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.16) among point guards who averaged at least 27 minutes per game (he averaged 31.1).

Udrih, who drew the ire of former coach Reggie Theus and interim coach Kenny Natt for his unwillingness to be held accountable for his poor play, reiterated his season-long stance that the offensive system didn't set him up for consistent success.

"I know I can play much better, but it's like I've been saying, (that) everybody can," Udrih said after the season finale. "It's a team sport, five players at a time on the court. We'd play chin (a popular Kings offensive set), and I'd dribble, hand off to the guy, go to the corner and never see the ball anymore, so it's hard to have a system played like that. …

"I just tried to adapt, do what they're telling me to do."

Udrih said he wishes Natt had been more receptive to his views on the offense.

"Kenny was just trying to do his job," Udrih said. "He had an opportunity to take over the team, and I think he was doing his best. I don't know. I always try to put myself in that situation. And if I was in that position, I would probably communicate with the players more to see where they're comfortable on offense, defense, stuff like that. He was doing his job the way he thinks was going to work for us."

As was the case for all involved with the Kings this season, it was a not a job well done.

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