Kings Blog and Q&A

Kings guard Kevin Martin underwent "successful" surgery today to repair a hairline fracture of the navicular bone in his left wrist. He is expected to be released from the hospital today.

Martin is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks.

Martin was injured in the Kings' home opener last Monday against Memphis. He played two days later against Atlanta with the injury only to find out a day later the severity of the injury.

Martin was averaging 30.3 points through three games.

--Jason Jones

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OAKLAND - When the Kings decided to hand over control of their offense to Tyreke Evans, they joined a growing list of teams depending on young point guards to direct their squads.

Sure, you still have your sages at the point like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. But there are a lot of teams leaning on younger players at the position.

So what does it take to lead a team a veterans when you're one of the youngest players on the team?

One of the "older" point guards weighed in on what Evans needs to do to succeed.

"Pace and tempo," said Los Angeles Clippers guard Baron Davis. "I think as a young point guard the more patient you are with yourself I think it translates to everyone else on your team."

Evans is going to have to be patient with himself. He's already endured a sprained ankle and some off shooting in four of his first five games.

It's natural to jump to conclusions about Evans after five games, especially when he's made only 35.5 percent of his shots and has 18 assists against 12 turnovers.

I still contend Evans will be fine. He'll learn to power through the fouls and finish at the rim and get a better feel for the NBA game.

I say power through fouls only becuase I joked with Evans he might want to learn how to flail and flop better to which he replied, "Man, I'm a rookie."

Valid point. No need for Evans to wait for a whistle.

Davis enjoys watching Evans and the emerging group of young floor generals.

"I haven't played against Tyreke Evans but I've watched him a lot and you see that (poise)," Davis said. "You see that in these young point guards that they're so poised. ... For me it's great to watch how the game is evolving."

Davis said Evans, Golden State rookie Stephen Curry and Chicago second-year guard Derrick Rose are among the young point guards he enjoys watching.

So even as Evans goes through his rookie struggles he still has many around the league who believe his talent will payoff for the Kings in the long run.

--Jason Jones

Ime Udoka spent the last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.

That meant always being a contender for an NBA Championship and plenty of important games and a roster stocked with veterans.

After signing with the Kings on Wednesday, Udoka acknowledges he's not joining a team like the Spurs.

"This is pretty much similar to my situation in Portland a couple of years ago," Udoka said Thursday after his first practice with the Kings. "It's a young team with a lot of talent trying to figure it out, trying to win. So I'm going to try and come in and help with some of the experience I have with playoff teams and just help the young guys out."

Udoka figured he'd be doing that with his hometown Blazers in his second stint with Portland this season. Udoka's best pro season came in his lone season with the Blazers in 2006-07.

But when former St. Mary's star point guard Patty Mills, a second-round draft choice, decided to sign with Portland Udoka was cut.

"It was somewhat of a surprise," Udoka said. "A last minute signing by a second round pick, he accepted an offer and they decided to go in that direction. I've been through a lot before so I kind of let it roll and stayed working out hoping for the next opportunity."

That chance came with the Kings. Udoka played briefly with Beno Udrih in San Antonio and played a season with Sergio Rodriguez, so he's familiar with two of his teammates.

Kings coach Paul Westphal hoped Desmond Mason would be his primary defensive stopper. With Mason waived Thursday, Udoka inherits that role when he makes his debut Saturday.

"They know what I do," Udoka said. "They want me to come in and bring a little toughness, defense, knock down some shots."

--Jason Jones

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***

With an agonizing decision to make and a broken left wrist to deal with, Kevin Martin hopes a good night's sleep can help him come to a decision.

Martin could miss six-to-eight weeks after an MRI of his left wrist showed a non-displaced hairline fracture of the navicular bone.

Martin has three options to deal with this injury:

1. He can have his wrist put in a cast for six-to-eight weeks.
2. He can have surgery with screws inserted and miss eight weeks.
3. He could try to play through the pain, like he did Wednesday night against Atlanta.

"I'm going to turn the phone of early tonight and get some good sleep on it and I'll to make a decision on it tomorrow," Martin said.

Martin is sure to receive several texts and calls advising him of what he should do. Martin certainly didn't expect to learn he had a broken wrist, especially after playing with it Wednesday.

And even though Martin hasn't decided what he'll do, the team has to begin thinking about what to do without him.

I can't imagine coach Paul Westphal is going to sleep well after what has been a long day that started with Andres Nocioni's arrest for suspicion of drunken driving, the team waiving Desmond Mason and news about Martin at the end of practice.

"That certainly put the icing on the cake for down news today," Westphal said.

The team practiced with Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih playing together in the backcourt today, a look that could become the norm if Martin is out for two months.

Westphal's plans to play Udrih and Evans together before the season were about flexibility, now that backcourt could become a necessity.

Then again, Westphal could opt to keep Udrih as a reserve, as he did when Martin missed two exhibition games. Rookie Omri Casspi started in place of Martin in both games.

New addition Ime Udoka will be in uniform for Saturday's game in Utah, but it's hard to envision Westphal starting Udoka after two days of practice.

There will probably be minutes for Sergio Rodriguez and perhaps Donte' Greene if Martin is out.

We'll have a better idea when Martin wakes up in the morning.

***

By the way, don't forget to vote by clicking on the link if you want to see the Kings vs.Oklahoma City on NBA TV.

The Kings-Thunder (28 percent of the vote) is trailing Denver at Chicago (30 percent).

--Jason Jones

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***

Many of you might have learned via Sam Amick's Twitter account (more than would have learned from mine since I have way fewer followers than he does) that he hears Spencer Hawes will start at center tomorrow night when the Kings host the Atlanta Hawks.

Kings coach Paul Westphal was mum as to whether Hawes would start tomorrow. After Hawes impressive stat line Monday night (21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) it seemed logical Westphal would replace Sean May with Hawes in the starting lineup.

Monday night Westphal said he'd sleep on a decision, which he did.

But he still didn't want to reveal his decision after today's practice.

"It will be announced at the appropriate time unless you can tell me Atlanta doesn't read the paper and watch the Internet," Westphal said. "Why should I tell them?"

Well, for Westphal's sake, here's to hoping none of the Hawks read The Sacramento Bee or follow Sam or myself on Twitter.

As for what Hawes has done to improve his game at this early stage of the season, Westphal didn't mind chatting about that topic.

First thing, no one is asking Hawes to be he second coming of Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn or any other Bad Boy from the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Sure, Hawes bulked up in the offseason. But no one wants him to ignore his skilled game.

"I think that what we want from Spencer is to maximize who he is," Westphal said. "We're not asking him to be some kind of an enforcer, but he needs to be a physical presence, both offensively and defensively."

Last night Hawes did that without knocking anyone's teeth out.

"One thing I was really excited about and we've been emphasizing is he really set some good screens and he held them," Westphal said. "That's been an adjustment we've asked him to make and he's made ... He's concentrating on making contact on the boards, he's doing a better job with that. Sometimes he would go to the boards but not go to his man to box him out. He's doing better on that."

--Jason Jones

OKLAHOMA CITY - It was another road game, and another impressive showing from Omri Casspi.

Casspi followed up his 22 point, seven rebound effort in Phoenix with 17 points tonight against Oklahoma City.

The more Casspi plays, the more it looks like both of the Kings first-round picks will have big roles this season.

Tyreke Evans was supposed to step in play immediately. It was assumed Casspi would need more time to adjust to the American game.

After watching the last two games that might not be the case.

"Casspi just keeps making steps every game to prove he belongs on the court," said Kings coach Paul Westphal. "And when you have a player that keeps playing that you've got to put him in the game."

Casspi started for Kevin Martin who sat out the 104-89 win with a sprained left ankle. Martin should play in Friday's game against Utah.

If he doesn't, Casspi should be fine filling in again.

Casspi's improvement is quite the change from Summer League, where it looked like he'd be a non-factor as a rookie.

"For as lost as he was for a while he's caught up fast," Westphal said. "He's not making tentative mistakes very often anymore. He's working on the areas his game needs to be tightened up a little bit. He's been probably the surprise of the camp."

Also have to point out how well Donte' Greene played tonight.

When I asked Westphal about Greene before the game, he said the biggest struggle for Greene was learning to play in a disciplined structure and that he was coming along well.

Greene made for of five shots for 11 points. He also had three assists and two steals.

Those stats show Greene is catching on to the message. Move the ball, take good shots and play defense.

"Donte' Greene did a real good job," Westphal said. "Only took one shot that I questioned. Other than that he played a fine game."

--Jason Jones

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***

PHOENIX - Omri Casspi is hardly afraid of any task in the NBA.

He's feisty. Or as his coach, Paul Westphal put it, enthusiastic.

"We have to tell him 'Hey Omri, back off a little bit,'" Westphal said after Tuesday night's exhibition game against the Phoenix Suns. "He wanted to guard (Amar'e) Stoudemire. "'i'll stop him, I'll stop him.' Not tonight Omri. Save that for the regular season."

I'm pretty sure Westphal was joking about Casspi covering Stoudemire in the regular season.

I also don't think Casspi was joking about wanting to defend Stoudamire, who had 27 points.

"It was too late," Casspi said. "Unfortunately they didn't let me do it. I'm just saying, maybe try something else like a smaller guard on him because he kept scoring, scoring and scoring."

Casspi did plenty of scoring of his own against the Suns. He had 22 points on nine of 14 shooting, including four of five of his threes.

He was aggressive offensively and was calling for the ball once it became obvious he was hot.

But you still got the feeling Casspi was disappointed he didn't get a chance to defend Stoudemire, even if he's giving up about 25 pounds.

"I'm ready to help," Stoudemire said. "Whatever it takes to win."

--Jason Jones

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***
Time to touch on a couple things I didn't hit on in my game story that focused on the big game from Jason Thompson in the Kings' 101-94 preseason win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.

*Kings coach Paul Westphal touched on the impact Desmond Mason had on the game. He only made one of his eight shots in his second game of the preseason but Westphal liked what Mason added.

"I thought (Saturday night) even though Desmond didn't shoot the ball well he was a big reason we were able to win the game," Westphal said. "He was part of the group in the first quarter that got us off to the big lead. In the fourth quarter when no one else could guard Corey Maggette he did a real professional job on him."

Mason hasn't shot the ball well in his two games. He's two for 13, but Westphal said Mason was also a key in the Kings good start in their preseason game against the Lakers.

Mason had a chance to get the crowd going when Tyreke Evans tried to throw him a lob for a dunk in the first quarter.

Spencer Hawes, who tried to get the ball while Mason was in the air, foiled the plan.

Evans joked after the game Hawes only did that because he was still mad about blowing an alley-oop dunk against the Lakers.

*Westphal added Beno Udrih (four points, two assists) and Omri Casspi (eight pints, three rebounds) had big games without big stats.

*Westphal joked that "we're taking Kevin Martin for granted" after his 32-point performance. Martin made all 15 of his free throws after missing four of six foul shots against the Lakers.

*I'm going to let Sam Amick cover all the praise Evans received from the Warriors in detail. Evans he finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. He made seven of 14 shots including a late jumper when the defense sagged off to prevent his penetration.

The Warriors eventually put small forward Stephen Jackson on Evans as the Kings' rookie was too big for Monta Ellis.

--Jason Jones

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***
Kings coach Paul Westphal announced the starting lineup tomorrow's preseason game against the Lakers. Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin are the guards. Desmond Mason and Jason Thompson are the forwards with Spencer Hawes at center.

Westphal seemed pleased to have Mason back on the floor and ready to go after back spasms cost him the first two preseason games.

Mason said his back is at "95 percent" and that he has no problems running, cutting or dunking.

He proved that at the end of practice when he went baseline and took off for a two-handed dunk when the Kings were practicing late-game situations.

But we all know a healthy Mason can get above the rim. The Kings want to see Mason's impact defensively.

Westphal has spent most of training camp harping on defense and Mason could prove to be the team's best perimeter defender.

"Everything n the preseason is an experiment," Westphal said. "You want to give everybody a chance to do what they might be capable of doing and then evaluate how the pieces fit together when you've got enough information. Right now we're along way from having enough information. But from what we've seen in practice we'd like to see Desmond out there tomorrow."

*The highlight of practice (at least the portion open to the media) came from Tyreke Evans.

Guard Lanny Smith appeared to have an easy fastbreak lay up. Evans, however, ran the play down and blocked the shot.

Evans grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the court and drew a foul while making a lay up of his own.

--Jason Jones

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***
I wanted to see the dunk by Desmond Mason that his teammates dared not try Thursday's morning.

Here it is from the 2003 contest. And it's no surprise on one on the roster could follow this one up:

--Jason Jones

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***

The Kings promise to be courteous to those sitting close to the floor this season.

Coach Paul Westphal said the team went over some NBA rules this morning. One of the rules is designed to make sure someone 6-foot-7 doesn't impair your view of the game.

"We'll be in compliance with all the NBA rules like we're going to sit down on the bench so the fans can see," Westphal said. "It's important, you've got to cover that stuff, so we covered that today. It was a good day."

Westphal said the fourth day of training camp is often the toughest. It's when the two-a-days start to catch up with your body.

So this morning's practice, like the previous morning practices, was a lighter session to save the players' bodies for this evening.

Among the focuses (again and as expected) were defensive situations and execution in those situations in addition to some shooting drills.

As for those nighttime scrimmages, Westphal likes what he's seen from the Kings. He said rookie forward Jon Brockman was "almost" injured during last night's session.

The keyword is almost. The way Brockman plays, it would make sense that he'd enjoy a few hard falls every now and then.

"He got kneed or something in the hip and thought he was going to have to go out for a second," Westphal said. "But he was all right. I think you'd have to really knock him out before he'd go out of a drill."

Westphal added Andres Nocioni looked good last night shooting from the perimeter. It gave the coach a chance to get on rookie forward Omri Casspi, who was defending Nocioni.

"It gave me a good chance to yell at Omri a lot," Westphal said. "...That's good for rookies."

--Jason Jones

More from this morning's media session:

The stars of last night's scrimmage, according to coach Paul Westphal, were forward Jason Thompson and guard Desmond Mason.

Westphal said Thompson did a good job rebounding and "reading the situations when the ball came to him offensively."

Mason, the veteran guard trying to make the team after playing in only 39 games for Oklahoma City because of a knee injury, was aggressive on offense and defense, Westphal said.

At his best Mason was one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA. He won the 2001 Slam Dunk contest and dunked over opponents with ease.

The Kings don't have an explosive player like that in the backcourt. So his aggressiveness on both ends of the floor bodes well for his chances. Then again, it's only one scrimmage.

Thompson struggled during the early portion of Summer League with his rebounding in particular, so Westphal praising that aspect of his game is a good sign.

*Sean May weighed in at 261 pounds this morning to earn a fully guarantee his $884,881 salary for the season. He had until today or Oct. 27 to weigh 265 or less or $100,000 of his deal was not guaranteed.

*When asked (again) if anyone had emerged as a team leader, Westphal said he wasn't ready to anoint anyone a team captain after three practices.

Thus far most players seem to be willing to "lead by example" and Westphal has said he doesn't plan to force anyone to change their personality to be a vocal leader.

--Jason Jones

Tyreke Evans will have an MRI on his strained left knee. He injured the knee yesterday during the team's practice.

"He just took a step he didn't like," said Kings coach Paul Westphal.

Evans shot free throws after practice, but Westphal said there is still some concern.

Center Melvin Ely also missed practice this morning with a right knee strain. He injured his knee during last night's scrimmage. His injury won't require an MRI.

--Jason Jones

What would Kings Media Day be without a little something from Kevin Martin?

I wrote about Martin for tomorrow's newspaper. What I didn't get into the story was Martin's endorsement of Paul Westphal and the coaching staff he called "brilliant."

For the first time since Martin's first two seasons in the NBA under Rick Adelman, he's playing for veteran coach.

"Coaches that have been there," Martin said. "We've got a coach (Truck Robinson) that led the league in rebounding that can teach Jason and Spence how to do things like that. We have a very knowledgeable head coach that can teach even players like myself how to make the game a lot more easier and lead this team."

Nothing helps a coach quite like his top player buying into the system. So without one practice, Westphal is already off to a good start. Then again, it's September.

Martin mentioned Westphal leading the team but at some point the coaching staff will need the players to police themselves.

Which player or players will lead the Kings remains a question for many. Is it possible for a rookie like Tyreke Evans to step in (like Derrick Rose did for Chicago) and become the leader of the Kings? Or is it up to Martin to fill that role?

Martin spoke of helping the younger players and sounded very much like a leader. But he's not going to forcibly take the reins.

"You know me - this is not my team," Martin said. "I'm a very important piece but it's not my team."

--Jason Jones

The NBA has released the 2009-10 NBA schedule. Here are some of the early highlights for the Kings:/:

Season opener - Oct. 28 at Oklahoma City: The first of three road games to start the season is a contest against Kevin Durant and Co. If the Thunder had never moved from Seattle, would this have been coach Paul Westphal's return to Seattle?

Home opener - Nov. 2 vs. Memphis: Tyreke Evans could see a lot of O.J. Mayo, who like Evans, is seen by many as a shooting guard with point guard skills. Unlike Mayo, Evans doesn't have a young player like Mike Conley playing the point.

National TV appearance - Nov. 8 vs. Golden State: It's the only time the Kings are scheduled to be shown across the country and apparently the league didn't want to wait to see how good the Kings might be to do that.

Hi Brad, John - Nov. 17 vs. Chicago: Brad Miller and John Salmons return to Arco after playing key roles in the Bulls nearly advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

There's Jonny - Dec. 12 vs. Minnesota: Rookie point guard Jonny Flynn was one of the starts of the Las Vegas Summer League. The point guard the Timberwolves selected ahead of him (some guy named Ricky Rubio) might still be in Spain.

The King and the Diesel - Dec. 23 vs. Cleveland: LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal make their only appearance at Arco.

The Champs are here - Dec. 26 vs. Los Angeles Lakers. It's the first time the Kings will face the defending NBA Champions, who will play the Cavs on Christmas Day.

--Jason Jones

The Kings officially signed forward Sean May today.

May has averages of 8.5 points, five rebounds and 1.2 assists in 82 games over three seasons. May missed the 2007-08 season because of a knee injury.

Also, the Kings 2009-10 schedule will be released tomorrow at 10 a.m.

--Jason Jones

Going through some leftover material from the Las Vegas Summer League I found this tidbit from assistant coach Mario Elie on Donte Greene interesting.

I wanted to know Elie's take on Greene's potential as a defender. With Greene's size and athleticism, I mentioned the possibility of Greene defending at least three positions (shooting guard and both forward spots).

After the Kings finished their summer league schedule with Greene starting at shooting guard I figured it was a topic worth looking at again.

Here was Elie's take:

"That's going to be some work. This is my first real dose of Donte. He's still a young player and that's his thing. A lot of young players have got to understand offense is not going to get you on the court every time. Sometimes it's doing the little things. Playing defense, making hustle plays and that's how I got on the court. I got out there and Rudy T (former Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich) would tell me 'Mario, go out there and shut this guy down' and I had no problem doing that. And Donte's got to understand sometimes it's not going to be offense. We may need you to guard (Shawn) Marion, an athletic three. I think he has the capability of doing it. It's just up to him, the willingness to do it."

Greene's ability to grow into such a role would be a boost for the Kings on both ends of the court. Being able to defend multiple positions has obvious benefits. But if Greene is defending Pau Gasol, for example, Greene could force Gasol to defend on the perimeter and create a mismatch. The same holds if Greene defended a shooting guard like Brandon Roy. If Greene were able to develop a consistent post game, he'd make Roy have to work on both ends.

If Elie can get Green - or any other King - to be the defensive hound he was in his playing days remains to be seen.

It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

--Jason Jones

Here's Jason Thompson talking about his best game of the Summer League. He scored 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. My apologies for the shoddy camera work. It's only my second or third time using this camera and it's not like my camcorder.

--Jason Jones

LAS VEGAS -- Tyreke Evans hopes to play in tomorrow's Summer League game against the NBA D-League Select team.

"I don't know," Evans said. "I'll just keep icing it and getting treatment and go from there."

Evans said he injured his finger on Monday when Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings hit his hand while knocking the ball away.

--Jason Jones

LAS VEGAS -- Tyreke Evans (sprained right index finger) is not practicing today. He will play in tomorrow's Summer League game. After last night's game Evans said the finger was injured but didn't think it was a serious injury.

--Jason Jones

LAS VEGAS -- One of the points of emphasis at the Kings' shootaround this morning was Tyreke Evans posting up smaller guards.

Evans has done some of that in tonight's game against Milwaukee, taking advantage of the smaller and very talkative Brandon Jennings.

So far, Jennings has been outclassed, with an emphasis on class.

Nevermind that Evans has already posted up Jennings and earned as assist by finding Jason Thompson open for a jump shot. Or that Evans scored easily on the block against Jennings.

Jennings showed some of the immaturity he was criticized for having before the draft when after missing a shot on which he thought he was fouled, Jennings tripped Thompson.

Thompson only offered a stern glare, but has not retaliated.

--Jason Jones

The Kings were impressed with Tyreke Evans willingness to discuss the shooting in Nov. 2007 in which he drove a sport utility vehicle that his cousin, Jamar Evans, shot and killed another man, Marcus Reason, from the passenger seat of the car.

Tyreke Evans testified he didn't know his cousin had a gun and was never charged with a crime.

Tyreke Evans said he didn't want to appear to be hiding anything so he discussed the incident with every team he met with starting with the pre-draft camp in Chicago last month.

"I started off telling them about me," Evans said Friday after his introductory press conference. "I told them what happened in that situation and they respected that. They knew I wasn't the type of guy to get into things like that. Like I said it was the wrong place, wrong time. It's something I learned from and I'm moving on from it.

Evans hadn't addressed the issue with local media before the draft. It came back to the forefront after Jamar Evans was sentenced to nine to 20 years in prison for third-degree murder and weapons charges from the incident.

Time to sell Tyreke

After today's press conference Tyreke Evans saw a preview of what will be a 25-foot billboard with Evans in his No. 13 Kings jersey with him promising to "Reke Havoc" this coming season.

Evans is the soft-spoken type. He didn't appear overly excited by the advertising campaign, but he understands his No. 13 jersey will be prominent as the Kings begin trying to lure many of the fans that stopped coming to Arco Arena back.

If the Kings wanted to take the road to easy marketing, they would have selected Ricky Rubio.

Rubio, who comes with a country (Spain) behind him, Olympic highlights and YouTube clips galore showing off his fancy passing.

"Absolutely it entered our mind," said Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof said of marketing Rubio. "But at the end of the day winning's going to sell more tickets."

Number games

Just in case you missed it, Omri Casspi will wear No. 18. Jon Brockman will wear No. 40.

And you can meet all three of the Kings draft picks tomorrow at the Bloc Party at Marshall Park (28th and J Street) in Midtown.

The event runs from 4 - 9 p.m. The rookies will be introduced at 6:30 p.m.

--Jason Jones

St. Mary's guard Patty Mills and Florida State guard Toney Douglas discuss their workout for the Kings, how it compares to others and how they'd fit in Sacramento. If the Kings drafted either player, it would be with the 23rd or 31st pick.

--Jason Jones

The first video is of Davidson guard Stephen Curry. He believes he's a good fit with the Kings and new coach Paul Westphal.

--Jason Jones

I'm still waiting on video from post-workout media sessions with Stephen Curry, Patty Mills and Toney Douglas. But here's a little something for you to look at. Bear with me as this was my first time behind the camera for work.

Both videos feature Tyreke Evans doing well. Not that I'm trying to give him any extra pub, the video I shot just happened to catch Evans doing well.

In this clip, Evans ends the workout by driving to the hoop and setting up Jonny Flynn for an easy bucket.

Evans goes one-on-one with Curry, showing off his ball handling and passing skills. Evans scores on one attempt and finds Mills (who's out of my camera's range) for three.

--Jason Jones

After hearing Brandon Jennings' verbal dunk on Ricky Rubio, it's easy to forget he wasn't the only point guard of note at today's workouts.

Jrue Holiday of UCLA was in town for his second workout. It was also Syracuse star Jonny Flynn's chance to workout for the Kings.

Syracuse plays a lot of zone defense. Well, basically all Syracuse plays is zone defense.

So I asked Flynn how playing for Syracuse helped him prepare to defend NBA point guards.

"It doesn't prepare you at all," Flynn said with a laugh. "You sit in a zone all day."

Should the Kings draft Flynn, the 6-0, 186-pound burner would need to be ready to defend some of the fastest players in the Western Conference.

It's hard to tell if a Syracuse guard can do that because of the zone defense.

"On defense your athleticism gets hidden a lot," Flynn said. "You come out here and see (Kings forward and former Syracuse player) Donte Greene and you might look at him and be like nobody from Syracuse can play defense. But in practice we go over defensive principles"

But there's no denying Flynn is an athlete.

At the end of a three-man weave, Flynn took the ball and dunked it easily. He barely touched the rim, easily getting the ball over the hoop and dropping it through.

Flynn is built more like he played for the Syracuse football team so he should be able to put up a fight against bigger guards. His build reminds me a bit of the Lakers' Derek Fisher.

Besides Jennings comments, his speed and quickness were also impressive. It's safe to say he'd be the kind of point guard that would push the ball.

Flynn compared himself to Chris Paul because of his toughness. Jennings compared himself to Rajon Rondo.

The key in both comparisons you have to like is both Paul and Rondo defend and look to involve their teammates.

--Jason Jones

Dionte Christmas admits he won't wow you with his vertical leap.

The 6-foot-5 guard is relying on his jump shot, not ability to jump to earn a spot on a team's roster.

"I think every team could use a shooter," Christmas said Friday after his workout with the Kings. "And I like to pride myself on being one of the best shooters in the country. I think I can bring that to a team. I' m very energetic. I think I can be a great asset to someone's team."

Christmas led the Atlantic 10 in scoring the last three seasons. He's noted for having a quick release on his jump shot with good elevation and form.

Christmas' 319 three-pointers are the most in Temple history. He made 107 threes as a senior, also a school record. He averaged 19.5 points last season.

And Christmas does his homework before visiting a team. When I spoke with him in Oakland following his workout in front of several teams, he was able to detail how he'd fit in with Golden State.

The same went for the Kings. Christmas sees himself as someone who might "follow in the footsteps" of Kevin Martin as a perimeter scorer. He added that his skills would also take pressure off the likes of Jason Thompson.

Christmas' admitted lack of elite athleticism is one of the reasons he's projected as a second-round pick. He might be considered a reach with the Kings' pick at No. 31, but there always remains the possibility of Christmas' stock rising or the Kings acquiring another pick in the second round.

Christmas is also confident he could help a team as a ballhandler, which is a skill he's working t improve.

Another intriguing player that worked out for the Kings was Pittsburgh point guard Levance Fields.

At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, Fields looks a lot like a football player. And he's from Brooklyn, NY and most basketball fans know the swagger that comes with a point guard from New York.

Fields isn't considered one of the top prospects at the position.

He led a Pitt team that was known for its toughness. So it's no surprise that's what Fields touted as one of his strengths.

"I'm just tough nosed," he said. "Tough mentally, a grind it out type of player. Not really pretty, not fancy. I just get the job done and do whatever my team needs for me to do to win. I think that's all that matters. As long as my team wins, that's all I care about."

Fields averaged 10.7 points and 7.5 assists as a senior.

There will be more on Earl Clark and James Johnson in tomorrow's Bee. And I'm sure there will be some kind of update on the Kings coaching search.

--Jason Jones

OAKLAND--If Austin Daye is available for the Kings to select with the 23rd pick, someone might have lied to him.

He'd like a guarantee from a team that it would select him. Daye said he's heard he'll fall between 9-17.

The lanky small forward from Gonzaga hasn't hired an agent. Daye said he's "pretty dedicated to staying in" the draft with this caveat.

"I really don't want to fall into the 20s," Daye said after his workout Tuesday at the Golden State Warriors practice facility. "If that happens I'm probably going to go back to school, if that's what they're saying."

Daye spent two seasons at Gonzaga. At 6-10, 192 pounds, Daye sees himself creating matchup problems as a small forward or even a power forward like Rashard Lewis.

Daye just doesn't want to wait to be selected after the top-20 picks to show he can do that, even if it might mean going to a better team.

"If you fall to the 20s it could help you and it could hurt you," he said. "You could be buried so far down on the bench you might not get out of that hole."

Daye wouldn't be buried if he somehow fell to Sacramento, which holds Houston's first-round pick from the Ron Artest trade.

Daye's length and athleticism would be welcome on offense and defense. Daye is also a decent shooter, having made 42.2 percent of his three pointers for the Bulldogs.

Daye averaged 11.6 points in two seasons. His 70 blocks last season were third most in school history.

But if Daye is around for the Kings to pick, he's not going to be happy.

Another interesting prospect that could fall to No. 23 is Louisville swingman Terrence Williams who calls himself a "definite NBA player."

Unlike Daye, Williams isn't worried about where he'll be selected. And after four years of college, he doesn't have the option of going back to school either.

Williams isn't finding the draft process stressful.

"Not studying for a test and trying to take a test, that's nerve-wracking," Williams said. "Playing basketball and getting drafted? This is supposed to be fun. I see one website where I can go 13. I see another where I can go 25. It doesn't matter to me. Playing in the NBA is a dream. If I get drafted 30, I'm playing in the NBA. It's not going to really matter. This is basketball."

Williams (6-6, 220) operated as a point forward and often defended the opposition's best player. He said that meant guarding anyone from a point guard to a power forward.

And he's the kind of player that looks to do the little things, or as he put it, connect the dots.

"If you're a great shooter and he's a great rebounder I'm going to get you the ball so he can knock down the shot and I'm going to box out so he can get the rebound," Williams said. "So I'm a guy that does the little things."

So where did Williams learn to play like this? It started while growing up in Seattle.

"When you're a kid everybody wants to score 12 points so they go home and tell their mom 'I scored 12 points today,'" Williams said. "There wasn't enough balls for the type of teams I played on so I had to be the type of person that didn't' want to shoot the ball all the time. I had to be the type of person to get those guys involved, rebound."

Williams is living in Las Vegas and working with former All-Star Gary Payton on ways to improve his play.

Williams played on Payton's AAU team in Seattle and they share the same agent, Aaron Goodwin.

Payton, however, has his way of reminding Williams he hasn't hit the big time yet.

"I stay in (Payton's) house," Williams said. "Well I stay in the little house he stays in the big house."

As for where he fits in this year's draft class, Williams is confident he's as talented as any of the wing players available.

The stats say Williams is not a great shooter. Williams shot 43.1 percent as a senior, including 38.5 percent on threes. Both were career highs. But his free throw percentage (58.1 percent) was the second lowest of his career.

Williams defense and versatility make him worth a look. He's the only player in Louisville history with 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 steals.

And by the way, for those of you on twitter, you can follow my work updates @jejones_sacbee where I'll provide updates as I get caught up on the NBA beat.

--Jason Jones

OAKLAND - Patrick Mills referred to himself as a "young" point guard that wanted to prove he knew how to run a team shortly after a workout in front of 21 NBA teams Monday afternoon at the Golden State Warriors practice facility.

Mills, who turns 21 in August, however has a couple of years on a some of the other top point guards in this year's draft class.

Spain's Ricky Rubio is 18. Other point guards such as Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings are just one year removed from graduating high school.

Mills played two seasons at St. Mary's College in Moraga before declaring for the draft without hiring an agent.

But he sounds like a player that has no intention of withdrawing his name from the draft.

"In my head I'm one hundred percent in," Mills said. "There's an opportunity there and I want to make sure I grab it by both horns and go for it. There's always that backup plan but in my head, certainly, there's not that backup plan."

Should the Kings pass on a point guard with the fourth overall pick, Mills could be an ideal fit at No. 23 or No. 31.

Mills hasn't spoken with the Kings, but the team is familiar with the speedy point guard.

Mills is from Australia and played on his country's Olympic team last summer. "Patty" didn't start for Australia but led the team with 14.2 points per game.

He played some of his best basketball against NBA players. He scored 20 points with three assists, two steals and no turnovers against the United States in a quarterfinals loss. Mills had 22 points against Argentina, which had five NBA players.

Mills calls the Olympics the "highlight" of his young career and said the experience made putting his name into the draft an easy one.

And the scar on Mills' right hand is another reason not to risk a return to college.

Mills missed time with a broken hand last season. While he was out, he had the opportunity to speak with Kobe Bryant at a Warriors game. Mills received more affirmation that he could play in the NBA from that conversation.

"I still act like a small kind, you know?" Mills said of speaking with Bryant. "I get that excited. ... Him saying I have the ability to play at the next level gives me that much more confidence."

As Sam Amick pointed in Sunday's Bee, Mills does come with some questions about his shooting and turnovers.

But Mills (6-0, 185) has shown he has the kind of speed to push the temp offensively. And in a conference with players such as Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Aaron Brooks leading teams, speed at point guard is at a premium.

Mills averaged 18.4 points and 3.8 assists as a sophomore. He shot only 40.2 percent from the field and made 33.8 percent of his threes.

Mills is confident enough in his ability that he's not seeking the first-round guarantee many prospects without agents want to stay in the draft.

He's looking for positive feedback and said he'd go back to St. Mary's if NBA teams told him he wasn't ready to contribute.

Mills believes he's mature enough already based on his play in the Olympics.

"Summer campaign I was only 19 at the time, running a team that was in their mid 30s," Mills said. "I see myself in a similar position if I get in the league this year. Something I'm familiar with."

Mills has workouts scheduled with Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta. And he'll head fly to Italy Wednesday for a European camp for draft prospects.

Check back tomorrow with more on prospects working out in Oakland.

--Jason Jones

Hello.

Many of you might know me from my work on the Raiders. Now I'll be one of your sources for Kings and NBA information.

As the Kings bring in players for workouts I'll be looking at some of the lesser-known prospects. The fourth overall selection is the big pick, but the Kings have two more picks in the top-31. And with a roster that's almost certain to look different than the one that ended the season, there's a good chance a few undrafted rookies will find their way into training camp.

So here are a couple of prospects that worked out yesterday along with UCLA's Jrue Holiday.

Josh Akognon
5-11, 185, PG, Cal State Fullerton

Quick bio: Akognon put his name in the NBA Draft last year but returned to college where he averaged 23.9 points as a senior. He worked out twice for the Kings last year. He began his college career at Washington State, but left after one season. He said the Cougars' slow-paced style didn't suit his style.

"I led the team in scoring and I averaged 10 points," he said. "I just wanted to get into a more up-tempo system. People think it's more than that but it really isn't."

What he has to prove: That he can he can create for others. Akognon never averaged more than 1.6 assists in three college seasons.

Akognon said he could.

"What I was told to do in college was play the two (guard) and score," he said. "They didn't want me passing. They just told me to shoot the ball so that's what I did."

Kings fit: A change of pace point guard that would be available in the second round, possibly as a free agent.

John Bryant
6-11, 275, C, Santa Clara:

Quick bio: Bryant led the country in double doubles during the regular season (24), rebounds per game and total rebounds as a senior. He averaged 14.2 rebounds, up from 9.6 rebounds as a junior. He also averaged 18.1 points.

"I was able to stay on the floor longer," Bryant said of his improvement. "Just getting my body in better shape."

Bryant was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year.

What he has to prove: That he can continue to get in better shape. Bryant said his weight is up in the 280s right now, but his body fat percentage is down from 21 percent to 15 percent.

Kings fit: Draft is short on big men and Bryant might be worth a look at No. 31. If not, he's sure to be invited to a camp because players with size aren't easy to find.

--Jason Jones