 |
| All that is good and bad in Sactown. (Getty Images) |
Over the next month, CBSSports.com's Eye On Basketball will take a team-by-team look at the 2012 NBA offseason. Next up: the Sacramento Kings. You can find our offseason reports here.
I. How they finished 2012:
OK, it wasn't that bad. After Keith Smart took over for Paul Westphal, things actually improved. The team seemed to play more freely, get along better, DeMarcus Cousins stopped making everyone want to run into traffic with his attitude, Isaiah Thomas came alive. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't anything close to good.
The franchise could be moved, the team was awful for what feels like the 10th year in a row, and Tyreke Evans still doesn't have a position.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
II. Needs entering the offseason:
Well they really need a point gu... no. I mean, they could really use an upgrade at the two... no. Well, I mean, it's not like they have a dominant big man inside and a veteran power fo... wait.
The Kings could use some help at small forward, if they're not playing Tyreke Evans there next season, which they could, because they never have a plan for what they're doing with Tyreke Evans until 30 seconds before tipoff, it seems. They might as well make it into a game promotion: "Spin the Wheel of Tyreke Evans Positionality, win new tickets in Anaheim!" (Sound of kazoo plays.)
III. The Draft:
Thomas Robinson, against all odds, fell. And Geoff Petrie swooped like a hawk on mice.
Robinson had a poor Summer League, but if you chalk it up to adjustment, Robinson should combine with DeMarcus Cousins to grab approximately all of the rebounds, ever. He can provide clean-up scoring and hopefully create a 1-2 interior punch that teams are overloaded by. Robinson's maturity from his responsibilities for his family, especially his sister, could help the Kings' locker room grow up a little bit, too, and his strong competitive spirit and will to win my rub off on the other guys. They could use it.
If not, the Kings just drafted an undersized power forward who doesn't have a reliable mid-range game. Not a lot in between.
IV. Free Agency:
Tumbleweed rolls through section.
They re-signed average-to-slightly-above-average Jason Thompson for $6 million a year for five years, which is an awfully long time but at a reasonable price. They flung a pick to Toronto for James Johnson, and signed Aaron Brooks, back from China to a two-year deal.
Yup.
You can blame Geoff Petrie for once again swinging out and not bringing in anyone of any relevance while John Salmons remains on the roster. But really, this is the Maloofs. Sacramento is NBA radioactive right now. Who wants to go to Sacramento only to be switched around and have to deal with the move? The team is constantly in flux and has a huge cluster in the backcourt with Thomas-Evans-Salmons-Jimmer. There wasn't a lot they could do, and it's not like Petrie has a sterling track record recently to boot.
The Kings are hoping development of their young players takes them forward, because the moves they made this offseason, even if Robinson turns out, aren't going to propel them forward in a major way. More was needed.
