Kings Blog and Q&A

Keep an eye on the Clippers.
That's what I've been hearing for months now when the conversation turned to the impending free agency of Beno Udrih. And how.
So here's the latest: the Kings, as expected, made an offer to Udrih on Monday night. But as it turns out, it wasn't the only one. I just spoke with LA Times beat writer Jonathan Abrams, who is reporting for tomorrow's paper that Udrih met face to face with Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy in New York City to discuss their potential future together. That jives with all the chatter I've heard about how Dunleavy - who wanted Udrih a year ago but couldn't get owner Donald Sterling to fit the bill - is a huge fan of Udrih's. That's not it, though. Not even close.
Clippers forward Elton Brand unexpectedly opted out today, and his agent (David Falk) says the move was made with the intent to re-sign with the Clippers and allow the organization more free agency flexibility. Beno anyone? Yes and no.
It could also be Baron Davis, who shocked the NBA world tonight by opting out of his deal with Golden State. As one agent told me tonight in regards to Davis and his surprising move to leave $17.8 million on the table, "He must know something I don't know." And suddenly, Udrih is tops in the free agent point guard class no more.

* One last note for the reader dubbed 'cantjump' in the comments section of the previous post: No, Kenny Thomas did not opt out by his June 25 deadline. He has two years and approximately $17 million left on his contract, whether they play him next season and the next or not. - Sam Amick

After a day in which the local media acted as if Ron Artest not opting out was the equivalent to Baron Davis signing with the Kings, the small forward has indeed remained.
The deadline came and went and Artest didn't bound into Geoff Petrie's office changing his mind, so he is still a King. Before we get on to the next order of business, I meant to plug KHTK's Carmichael Dave's show. He currently has his unofficial co-host (Artest) on the air . I'm told he will interview newest Kings draft pick Jason Thompson tonight and talk about his decision to stay.
As expected, Beno Udrih was contacted by the Kings just as the official beginning to free agency at 9 p.m. Pacific time on Monday. Per that situation, all signs point to the Kings offering a five-year, full midlevel offer (approximately $6 million per season) that Udrih will now ponder with his other possibilities. If I get any other feedback, I'll share ASAP. Check tomorrow's paper for thoughts from both Udrih's agent, Marc Cornstein, and the agent of secondary point guard possibility Chris Duhon. - Sam Amick

Ron Artest will be unpredictable when he's 80 years old.
Or, if nothing else, he'll be perceived that way by the masses - myself included.
So while every conceivable sign other than Peter Vecsey's column point to his return, the actual part of it becoming official still wholeheartedly matters. That could happen at any point until 9 p.m. Pacific tonight, even though it (probably, most likely, bet most of my mortgage) won't.
His agent, Mark Stevens, has consisently said it's 99 percent for certain he'd be back, leaving the one percent just because that's his job. In my latest e-mail exchange with Artest, he didn't hold back from going all the way. (Short aside: this whole saga could have been eliminated if he had filed a written letter - which he hasn't - saying he was staying rather than wait for the deadline.)
"Yes, (Sacramento) is where I'm staying," he wrote on Thursday. "But I still think about all my critics. ... (There) will come to a time when I can go where I want, basically...It's a major turnaround. Everywhere I go, somebody or some fan wants me to play on their team - from San (Antonio) to Boston and even Detroit."
Speaking of turnarounds (of the 100-degree sort), I decided I have done a turnaround of my own. With the written word leaving room for interpretation and confusion, it now seems as if the turnaround he wrote of was less directly related to opting out. The point Artest was making, in the end, is that he's gone from a player so many teams were afraid to touch because of his soiled name to a player whose value is on the serious rise. And he's right.
Artest will be highly coveted via trade this summer and perhaps this season, because he still plays top-notch defense and can score and has put some distance between himself and all serious controversy. Always unpredictable, but insanely talented too.

***

* Speaking of his ever-improving reputation, Artest has a new web home that is one of the more slick and smart sites I've seen - www.ronartest.com.
From a PR standpoint, it goes the wise route of highlighting the many positive attributes of Artest and his different charity involvements. The opening page has Artest's new PETA mantra - "Have the balls to spay or neuter your dog." The links include one for XCel University, Artest's new program in which he'll focus on helping at-risk, impoverished kids find a way to get to college. The reality from an NBA standpoint, of course, is that teams will see this sort of continuing image makeover and feel a little better about trying to make a play for him. - Sam Amick

From Sacramento and Miami and every surreal place in between comes the reality that the Kings and representatives of Jason Williams, if not Williams himself, will probably be talking within a few days to explore the possibility of his return to the Kings as a free agent.

The Kings are prohibited from contact with free agents and any public comments until the market opens tonight at 9 Pacific time. Aware that Williams is an exposed nerve of a topic around Sacramento, and that it could send the wrong message to Beno Udrih, the Kings are hesitant to discuss the scenario even off-the-record.

But it has a chance of happening. Not a great chance, for a few reasons that have nothing to do with the past, but an actual chance. It's real.

As always with J-Will and his first NBA home, there will be strong reaction from outside the organization on why it would be an exciting reunion and why it would be the worst of all possible moves for a team that just doesn't need the hassles. Take the emotion out of it and this is what you've got.

• The Kings still like the idea of having Udrih back. They thought, with good reason, that he worked very well and, without as much good reason, that he can repeat that showing for the next several years. But they also understand that getting into a bidding war for a career backup before 2007-08 is an invitation for trouble. Seriously, an average of nearly $7 million a season for Beno Udrih?

Everything the New Jersey Nets do is scrutinized as part of the great plan to build the roster of tomorrow while clearing cap space for the summer of 2010. LeBron James just happens to be on schedule to become a free agent then, the team is hoping to have a new arena in Brooklyn around then, and rapper Jay-Z is a friend and Nets minority owner.

That's what made Thursday meaningful for the entire league and not just El Dorado Hills. New Jersey selected Ryan Anderson, the former Oak Ridge High star, at No. 21 in a great moment for the Sacramento region, but in the big picture as one of the last acts of a very busy day that helped set the Nets up for the future.

They cleared cap space by trading Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons, mostly because Jefferson is on the books until 2011 and Simmons until (ding, ding, ding) 2010. They addressed both obvious position needs by landing young, promising center Brook Lopez in the lottery and young, promising power forward Yi in the trade. They even opened LeBron's position by dealing small forward Jefferson, though that was more coincidence than anything because moving a big salary meant either Jefferson or Vince Carter and the Bucks wanted a small forward who defends and not a shooting guard with a brutal contract.

In the worst-case scenario, the Nets don't get LeBron after all the maneuvering to date and in the future. But they still have one of the better young nucleuses in the league (Devin Harris, Yi, Lopez, a little bit of Josh Boone and Sean Williams) and, in a couple summers, an armored car full of money to back up to someone's front door. It's not like they were going places in 2008-09 anyway -- if you finish 26 games behind Philadelphia, game over.

In the best-case scenario, the Nets get James and take over the world. Not only that, they get him at the expense of an East competitor, the Cavaliers, and over heated bidding by the Knicks in a neighborhood turf war. New Jersey management will be building in the city at the time and hoping the arena will be close to completion, planning to reduce the interest gap with older brother living in Madison Square Garden and New Jersey management will have Jay-Z.

During a chat earlier today with the father of Kings second-round draft pick Patrick Ewing, Jr., I got a kick out of teasing Patrick Ewing - the Hall of Fame center - about the fact that his son is a much more engaging interview than he ever was during his early years in the league. Ewing, who is a delightful man, immediately cracked up ... and wholeheartedly agreed. For the longest time, he was just very uncomfortable conducting interviews in anything other than small, informal media gatherings.
That all seemed to change, though, during his travels with the original Dream Team in 1992. He became increasingly less guarded, and began to open up around everyone, colleagues, coaches and media members alike. Not that he had much choice. He was surrounded by quipsters and pranksters, foremost among them Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone, and often the target of the verbal darts because of his easy nature and playful, gentle spirit.
Covering that team for the Atlanta Constitution during that summer of 1992 was a blast. Though we all cranked out the copy, it never felt like work. The training camp was held in La Jolla, the qualifying tournament in Portland, followed by another week-long training session in Monte Carlo before heading to the Games in Barcelona. Only about six or seven American journalists (mostly longtime NBA scribes) accompanied the team for the duration, and in Monte Carlo, we all stayed at the same swanky seaside hotel. The access there was absolutely incredible. You were always bumping into the players or coaches in the lobby, in the restaurants, in the bars, in the casino ...
If Bird wasn't grousing about the $8 cost of a beer, Barkley was regaling us with stories about dinner with Prince Rainier and Prince Albert, or longtime friends Ewing and Chris Mullin were working out in the fitness center or sitting by the pool. Once, while strolling through the casino to people watch - I grew up in Las Vegas and hate gambling - I happened upon Karl Malone. He admitted to being overwhelmed by the sudden attention and said that, basically, for the first time in his NBA career, he was starting to receive numerous endorsement opportunities.
While Ewing and I were reminiscing Saturday about the good time of '92, I was reminded that I actually met his son - who must have been about eight years old - at the pool in Monte Carlo. I also shared a shuttle with Patrick's nephew, Tony, from the Nice airport to the hotel.
"Now I'm starting to feel old," Ewing chuckled.
Like several of his former Olympic teammates, he confessed, he is also on a diet.

Great expectations ...
While Kings officials think Ewing, Jr., the later of their two second-round selections, could make the roster as a defensive specialist, they seem even higher on point guard Sean Singletary, who was drafted one spot earlier. Among other things, he has huge hands, a la John Stockton.

Loyalty matters
Further evidence that Ewing is an exceedingly loyal guy. His son is represented by David Falk, the agent the former Knicks star (and No.1 overall draft choice in 1984) made famous.

Probably not. But he's the best the Kings have at the moment -- even if it's not exactly a high standard -- and may turn out to be one of the better options once the roster is set for October, so it's a possibility.

Coach Reggie Theus said as much today, that he'd rather play Garcia at shooting guard and small forward but that more Garcia at the point has to at least be considered.

It would have been on the table anyway with second-round pick Sean Singletary the only natural at the position. Garcia's development there the second half of last season becomes another momentum shove for the idea.

The Kings have to like the opportunities for creating mismatches with 6-7 Garcia and 6-7 Kevin Martin in the backcourt. The obvious drawback: there would be payback on defense and Sac is bad enough there without Garcia in a transition period.

If the Kings re-sign Beno Udrih, which may not happen, trade for a new true PG or grab Udrih's replacement from the same free-agent market, the Garcia-as-starter theory becomes moot. Until then, it's in play on some level.

Spencer Hawes may have been enough on his own, at least for the most ardent of Kings fans.
The Purple Politician will be at Las Vegas summer league again showing off whatever new skills he's been honing in these offseason months, with his progress so directly tied to the forward movement of the franchise itself. But there's more. Much more.
Quincy Douby, Shelden Williams, Jason Thompson, Sean Singletary, Patrick Ewing Jr. will take part as well, with Kevin Martin likely to be watching from the sidelines as he awaits his time with the Olympic select team that comes directly after summer league. Beyond the Kings, it's 21 teams in all and six of the recent top 10 draft picks expected to take part (Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, Joe Alexander, D.J. Augustin).
As I've said before, summer league is a must-see for the fanatical types. Games are played in UNLV's Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center, and the scene is a who's who of NBA types that you can't get anywhere else. GMs, coaches, scouts and veteran players are mixed among the fans, with the floors filled all day long while the action around the action never stops either.
Free agent deals are discussed by GMs and agents up in the bleachers. Fans have little problem grabbing an autograph or a picture after their respective favorites are off the clock. A good time had by all. Anyhow, anyone looking to go should lock up that flight soon since the first tipoff is July 11. The schedule was recently released (click here for the entire sked), with the Kings set to play five games. For ticket info, go here.

July 12 - Kings vs. Raptors, 1 p.m.
July 15 - Kings vs. Blazers, 7 p.m.
July 16 - Kings vs. Mavericks, 3 p.m.
July 18 - Kings vs. Warriors, 7 p.m.
July 20 - Kings vs. Rockets, 5:30 p.m.
* Schedule subject to change - Sam Amick

The Kings will hold a rally at Arden Fair Mall on Saturday to introduce the team's three draft picks to fans. The free event will be in front of Nordstrom at 3 p.m.
So, here's your opportunity to ask Jason Thompson where Rider is (tip: bring a map of New Jersey). Or, you can grab a pen and mark your height against Patrick Ewing Jr. (I'm guessing I'll be just above his belly button.)
At 6-feet, Sean Singletary will be on hand to make sure no one leaves with an inferiority complex.

Mystery solved. Jason Thompson, power forward, Rider, the safer bet to become a good player over the project that may turn out to be really good, if the potential of matchstick Anthony Randolph ever catches up to his reality in about two seasons and 50 pounds.

It wasn't a straight Thompson-over-Randolph call Thursday night -- once point guards D.J. Augustin and Jerryd Bayless were off the board, the soft Kings had to go big and Thompson was the clear preference over some mix of Roy Hibbert, Kosta Koufos and Randolph. But the contrasts are impossible to avoid heading to the future, especially since Thompson and Randolph are both power forwards while Hibbert and Kostas are centers and at that stage it becomes Spencer Hawes' problem.

The Kings went for the practical over the possible, feeling they'll get a surer ride back to prominence with Thompson and his production on the boards to address a gaping hole, his age (22 next month, compared to 19 next month for Randolph) and experience (four years in college, compared to one for Randolph). There's some adjustment for one season with LSU in the Southeastern Conference vs. four in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference -- Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Loyola, Manhattan, Marist, Niagara, St. Peter's and Siena along with Rider -- but nothing changes the fact that Sacramento needed a physical presence much more than the versatile offensive game of Randolph.

If Randolph turns out to be Lamar Odom with focus and Thompson is a career backup and proven reach at 12, Geoff Petrie will have a problem. Until then, Petrie has a body of work in the draft that buys the benefit of the doubt. (If Kevin McHale, Elgin Baylor or Michael Jordan make the same pick at the same spot, they're getting trashed today).

I'm somewhat surprised at how quickly I bought into the Kings' selection of Rider forward Jason Thompson at No. 12, but we'll obviously learn more in the coming months.

As for non-hoops impressions, the 21-year-old came off very well in his phone interview with the media. After one question, he even dropped an "I beg your pardon." So, Kings fans, rest assured that he at least has manners.

For those looking to continue reading up on the youngster, check out this comprehensive look from Draftexpress.

For the visual types, the always-faithful YouTube...

No. 12 pick - Rider forward Jason Thompson

Before we get to the video, we interrupt this broadcast for the draft night opinion of the Kings' resident chief of the youth movement. Shooting guard Kevin Martin was ecstatic with the Thompson pick on Thursday. I polled him only because I was told he saw Thompson work out and was very impressed.

"(Thompson) was the best player we could have got and needed," Martin wrote via cell phone. "(I'm) very excited we were able to get him and was very impressed watching him workout!!!"

And, yes, those were his exclamation points.

A bit of context for the below interview which took place after a workout in Utah: the Old Spice Classic he talks about was in November, when Thompson outplayed Michael Beasley (Kansas State, picked No. 2 by Miami) and J.J. Hickson (North Carolina State, picked No. 19 overall by Cleveland) and turned some serious heads.

No. 42 pick - Virginia point guard Sean Singletary

No. 43 pick - Georgetown forward Patrick Ewing Jr.

- Sam Amick

I'm cranking here for the story for the paper, but here's a peek at the Kings' No. 42 pick Sean Singletary out of Virginia - and a quick video. At No. 43, they took forward Patrick Ewing Jr., the son of the great Patrick Ewing. New Kings' big man's coach, anyone? - Sam Amick

The Kings opted to add physicality to their frontcourt in Thursday's draft, taking Rider power forward Jason Thompson with the No. 12 pick.

The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder averaged 20.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his senior season. He was seen by many as a late first-round pick, and certainly behind the likes of LSU's Anthony Randolph. But while the biggest question about the 6-foot-10, 18-year-old was in regards to his lean frame (197 pounds), Thompson has no such deficiency.

The 21-year-old who was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's Player of the Year could certainly help a Kings team that was 29th in the league in rebounding (40.1 per game). He is also lauded for his passing skills, making him only the latest good-passing big man to be taken by Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie. It marked the second straight season they've picked a center, as Thompson will join 7-footer Spencer Hawes after he was picked tenth overall last June out of Washington.

***

* Petrie put out a quick statement about Thompson, although the media won't speak with him directly until after the second round.

"He is a 6-11 power forward with some three skills who averages 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists per game and is a tremendous all-around player for a big guy. What really impressed us was his ability to dribble the ball, pass the ball and run the floor with his size. We think again that he will be a multi-dimensional type player for us. It gives us another young big to go along with Spencer (Hawes), as we try to move along further to try to improve the team."

* For a good read on the newest King, click here.

* Who said Rider isn't big-time? Thompson has his own web site - Jasonthompson1.com.

* Nice Reggie Theus plug from the one and only Dick Vitale on the ESPN broadcast.

"Get a contract extension baby," he yelled after breaking down Thompson 's skills.

The Kings coach, to review, has one guaranteed season left on his contract and a team option for the 2009-10 campaign that he'll have to earn.

As for Thompson, Vitale hollered, "Potential, potential, potential baby!"

* We just spoke to Thompson on a conference call, and I'll provide some of that in a bit. But the more entertaining conversation with Thompson was the one that happened when he called back.

After speaking with a Kings rep about which jersey number he would wear, Thompson - who wore No. 1 in college - kept swinging and missing with every pick. No. 1 is retired in honor of Nate Archibald, and there were probably four "nopes" after that. So for the moment, he settled on No. 34, which would be his press conference number but could certainly be changed later.

Then minutes later, Thompson called back with another pick - "Is this the Kings?" he said when I answered the media room phone.

"Yeah, is this Jason?" I answered.

"Yeah, it is," he continued. "I wanted to know - is (No.) 15 gone?"

Since I knew the answer, I figured I'd settle the matter rather than go looking for the Kings PR man Darrin May.

"Yeah, that's John Salmons' number," I said.

"Oh, okay," he said. "Thanks."

Click.

* I spoke with Theus a bit ago about Thompson, and he offered some good insight. In its entirety...

"He did a great job in the workouts. We saw him work out three times, one in Oakland and two times in our building (in Sacramento). From a skill level, he does a lot of the things that we need.
He averaged around 12 rebounds a game in college, which means as much as anything that he has a nose for the ball. He has great hands and goes and gets the rebounds if they're out of his general area. We always talk about being able to score around the basket. He has the ability to score around the basket.
The fact that he grew slowly (from 5-foot-11 when he started high school, 6-6 as a junior playing center and 6-8 when he left Lenape high school in Mt. Laurel, N.J.), he handles the ball for a big guy extremely well which means that after he can rebound the ball he can also become a ballhandler on the break.
He runs the floor really well, and just gives us some size and athleticism around the basket, which we really need. The biggest factor is that he really showed those skills for us when we worked him out.
We're always talking about next year and someone who can come in and help us. He also was one of the few guys in the draft we thought was NBA-ready. Obviously he's going to get better. Defensively, he has to get better. That was the biggest thing that I saw and we saw as a staff in the workouts is that he just didn't have a clear grasp of the defense around the basket. Obviously we feel that his footwork and his athleticism will allow him to do that with some work, but he has to get better in that area. Just real happy. He was the big we were looking for.
He's got potential. He's got quickness, he's got strength and he's got size, and he doesn't mind mixing it up. He was an offensive-minded guy in school, played in a place where he probably could get away with cheating on defense because of his size and the conference that he played in. He never was really challenged in that way."

* Thompson's 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior was second in the nation.

* Thompson spent some time with Chris Webber when he came out to Sacramento for workouts, and even dined at his restaurant. C-Webb, Thompson said, even provided a few gift cards for his Center Court in Natomas. Maybe that was the deal-maker...

* I'll keep adding to this post, so keep checking back for more info. - Sam Amick

There is at least slight shifting at the top of the draft and, in the one with real potential meaning for the Kings, the chance for more.

Milwaukee has traded Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to New Jersey for Richard Jefferson, a move that gives the Bucks a two-deep of Jefferson and Desmond Mason at small forward and little need to select Joe Alexander at No. 8. The intrigue is whether they are aiming for a new power forward in a few minutes when any at that pick would seem to be a reach or whether they will be content with the returning Charlie Villanueva and pick another position.

If it's power forward, Anthony Randolph comes into the picture, as long as it's a very vertical picture. Randolph is 6-10 and about 200 pounds, so he'll need to bulk up a lot, in addition to being what many teams estimate to be a couple years away from measurable contribution.

If it's another position, the Bucks could hope for Eric Gordon to play behind Michael Redd for the moment and have a successor in place to allow them to deal Redd.

Meanwhile, ESPN reported that the Clippers and SuperSonics had a deal in place that would allow L.A. to jump three spots to No. 4 and while Seattle would get a future first-round pick for its troubles. Then ESPN reported wasn't set.

The trickle-down could cause a shift in point-guard selections by both or either team, to be followed by what the Bobcats (No. 9) and Pacers (11) do with their needs in question. The Kings await their decisions.

The other part of the Artest e-mail (read below) included a request to call his agent, Mark Stevens. After doing so, this latest update took a turn that you all could have certainly seen coming. It went back the other way, of course. For all you fans who have taken the "let me know on June 30" approach, please ignore...

"They (teams) are coming after him, but at the end of the day, people make comments all the time, reporters like yourself," Stevens said. "But like I've said, the Maloofs have been good to Ron and to us and we want to try to do the same to them."

Any chance the agent and the athlete don't see eye to eye at the moment?

"We have a good working relationship; we see eye to eye," he said. "He knows that I have his best interests and I'll never not have his best interests."

So you're still planning for him to stay in a Kings uniform?

"As of right now, yes sir," he said.

Comical aside

Per Sactownroyalty, a Kings fan in Korea offers a hysterical spin (or a 100-degree turn, rather) on Artest's e-mail reference.

"I made a 100 degree turnaround." By my calculations, If he was heading north he's now on his way to the Warriors. ;p

by Kfan in Korea on Jun 26, 2008 1:32 PM PDT - Sam Amick

In an e-mail to the Bee just minutes ago, Kings small forward Ron Artest indicated he may indeed opt out of his contract before the Monday deadline and become a free agent.
Asked about a NY Post column in which Peter Vecsey said Artest would be opting out, Artest had the following to say.
"I never knew so many teams would be coming after me," he wrote. "All I can say is I made a hundred degree turnaround."
Of course he may have meant a 180-degree turnaround, but you get the idea. As I mentioned on the Rise Guys this morning, Artest opting out can't be that shocking to anyone who knows him well. While he would most certainly make more money by becoming a free agent next summer, his name is hot at the moment and numerous championship-caliber teams appear to see him as their missing piece. If there is one player in the league who would be willing to lose money for the chance to go deep in the playoffs and get a ring, it's Artest. For all his complexities and his penchant to distract, he is a beast of a competitor who truly wants to win. Stay tuned for more throughout the day. - Sam Amick

There have been bad free-agent deals, bad coaching searches and, big picture, bad seasons, but the Geoff Petrie Draft Record remains very good and that's the issue of the day.

Petrie and the Kings are hours away from their toughest draft call with the most on the line since Jason Williams in 1998. Even if the 2007 selection at No. 10 was two spots higher than tonight's trap door, and therefore theoretically requiring a bigger payoff, they wanted a center or power forward and had good reason to feel one would be there. Bigs went 6, 8, 9, 10 and Spencer Hawes ended up in Sac. All very logical and clean.

There's no such cushion with No. 12 in '08.

The position need is point guard and there should have been a direct path to at least the option of Texas smurf D.J. Augustin once the Pacers agreed to acquire T.J. Ford from the Raptors, a deal that can not become official until July 9 because of salary-cap technicalities. But Indy is not instantly steering away from Augustin. Plus, Charlotte, at No. 9, will consider a point.

The Kings also