Tyreke's Offseason

With the pressure of the Rookie of the Year announcement finally off of Tyreke's mind what is next for the young superstar in training? Just that training! After a few weeks off Tyreke will be hitting the gym hard and as he recently said in his ROY press conference, "I will be working harder than ever before." He's heading off to Las Vegas on Monday to sign up for Team USA, which will start play in July. There is no doubt in Sacramento Fans' minds that Tyreke is the future and that this kid has tremendous potential and Tyreke wants to do right by the Kings Organization, his teammates, coaches, and fans. This offseason he will be spending most of his time in LA with his trainer and friend, LaMont Peterson, working on all aspects of his game that need improvement. His midrange jumper is at the top of that list. But he's working on more than that. He wants to shed the stigma that analysts tagged him with being one of the worst passers...in other words...he doesn't want to be known as the ball hog! He significantly improved his assists as the season progressed, so there is hope for a bright future. Nothing is better than to see a young kid who doesn't rest on his current skills. He could easily say I'm the rookie of the year, what do I need to work on! Thankfully he's been raised by amazing people and have made him a humbled person and athlete who knows he's no where close to the top of his potential in this game and he's willing and eager to put the work in to achieve the best possible skill set he can. The future is bright Kings fans! NBA Teams beware...you think you can prepare for this kid now? Just wait until he brings out a whole new arsenal of skills next season you won't know what to do with him!

Lottery

With exactly 3 weeks to go before the NBA Draft Lottery takes place, where the Kings have yet another chance at the coveted #1 pick, who do we want? Granted there is no way to tell where we are picking, but one would be inclined to believe it is a top 3 pick, but who knows.

There are a ton of players entering the draft this year, mainly half Kentucky Wildcat team, but this draft class is relatively weak in terms of "star" players. We all know Geoff Petrie is a draft god grabbing our favorite in the #4 spot last year, getting the gems of Omri Casspi and the up and coming John Brockman. In past years we have gotten some amazing players late in the first round, you know back in the golden years of .500 seasons!!! Who do we want? Wall, Cousins, Favors? Someone else???!!! Who?

It has been reported and quoted, by what source I do not recall, but it is being reported that face of the Kings, Tyreke Evans is lobbying hard for Demarcus Cousins, saying something along the lines of "you have no idea what I could do with a guy like him [Cousins]." So, is Tyreke already able to put his word in and influence the pick of Petrie? Ehhh probably not, I for one would love to get Cousins. I think if we were to get the #1 or even #2 pick it's highly probable. At #3 I think the Kings become a bit more unpredictable. The so called "experts" are saying the Kings will pick at #3 and take Favors, but I'm hoping for a higher pick! I think we got robbed of the #1 pick last year, even though I am more than happy with our #4 super star, and ROY, in Evans, but it would make me feel better to not get shafted this year with the fall of those pesky white ping pong balls! I don't know who would be the best fit for the Kings, it's why I'm a fan blogger and not in the front office, but I would be more inclined to lean towards Cousins if we were to pick at #1. I think Wall is too much like Tyreke and even though he's an amazing player and likely to have an amazing year and career, I'm still in favor of Cousins and his style of play and how well it can match up with Tyreke and Company!

NBA 2009-2010 Rookie of the Year

"The NBA selection for the 2009-2010 Rookie of the Year is..."

TYREKE EVANS!!!!!

As if there were any other considerations for the award other than Tyreke! The unofficial word is that Tyreke will be announced as ROY either Thursday or Friday. This breaking Wednesday tradition of the past two years for those receiving the honors.

I don't know what the best part of Tyreke winning this award is. There's the fact that he just deserves it! No one took it away from him...he played hard, tough basketball for the whole season only missing games when he had no choice with injury or a concussion. Then there is what the ROY award means for the Kings organization, the team, the coaches, and more importantly the City of Sacramento and the FANS!!! Tyreke brings home the first major award since Bobby Jackson's Sixth Man award in 2003. This is the first time a Sacramento Era rookie has won the distinguished honor of Rookie of the Year. Tyreke's victory is one that makes even the smallest of Kings fan happy! After a steep decline in wins and in popularity, the Kings and their fans have something and someone to be excited about! Tyreke is the face of our franchise! He is the future, he is the hope! It also goes to show that the playoffs don't mean anything in terms of winning the award, and that cheaters (aka Camp Curry) never prosper! The Kings did their campaigning for Tyreke in the best way possible. They didn't have to resort to calling up every voter across the country and asking them to switch their vote had they already voted for Tyreke or Brandon on the ballot. That's just shameful! If I were Steph Curry, I'd be embarrassed! I wouldn't want to win the award based on that! Not to mention his daddy was behind the majority of the "Smear Tyreke Campaign". No, there wasn't an actual titled campaign, but it's obvious that the Warriors camp was doing everything in their power to strip the young rookie of an honor that he so clearly deserved. Their argument for Curry was laughable...it was simply this...

Sure, Tyreke easily takes the rookie scoring title for the 2009-2010 season, but if you take Steph's numbers from January forward he beats Evans year by a full point. Well guess what, it's called the 2009-2010 Rookie of the Year...not the 2010 Rookie of the Year. Besides all that! I want a player that can show up for the WHOLE season not one who kicks it into high gear for 4 months of the season!

So I end this blog with two things to say....

1) To the Haters: I TOLD YOU SO!!! Don't try and justify it don't diminish it, just accept it for what it is and what true fans always knew it would be! Tyreke is not only our pick for ROY, but the league's and nation's as well!

2)

CONGRATULATIONS TYREKE EVANS FOR WINNING ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!

Suspension for Criticism-Fair or Not? You Decide

In the last week, before a game 3 ball was jumped for, the NBA made a quick $105,000.00 off three NBA members( 2 coaches, 1 player) for comments about the officiating. David Stern is none to happy about the continued criticism being made of his referees, especially by coaches, namely Phil Jackson. Jackson seems to be fined more than anyone else in sports and it never seems to get any better. At some point one would think that the fines, for someone who is as rich as Jackson probably is, is like asking Donald Trump to pay a $1000.00 fine, it's chump change! Should suspensions be handed out to coaches who are critical of playoff calls? I for one don't know. It is clear that just a big fine isn't preventing the criticism from coming, but suspending coaches, especially during the playoffs, is more of a punishment to the team than the coach. For that reason alone, I'm inclined to lean to the no suspension side of this argument. A coach should know better! They are adults and they are supposed to be professionals and just take it like a man. As Kings fan, we all know all too well the heart ache that comes with bad calls, not just during the regular season. Dare to revisit that horrible set of games against the Lakers Conference Finals? I for one don't want to revisit it! Sterns argument is that if enough coaches start criticizing the officiating then fans will start to see a conspiracy afloat. Need we have another Tim Donaghy, the ref who was exposed for betting scandal, and who officiated those crucial Kings/Lakers playoff games. No Laker fan at the time would admit to there being any obvious blown calls...the first time it was mentioned to me was over 6 years later when the scandal broke. Laker fans got a dose of what that felt like in the 2007-2008 against the Boston Celtics when they cried foul [pun intended] about the officiating...or lack there of. Calls are bound to be missed in the live action that is sports! Some are blatantly and painfully obvious others are judgement calls. But there is nothing you can do to change it! It is what it is...sure it sucks, but as professional players and coaches you just have to take it. Sometimes there is a call that can decide a game, but more often than not, a game isn't decided by a few bad calls.

So back to Phil and his group of guys...Phil complains and whines about Kevin Durant getting "star treatment" all year long. Well, if you ask me, he's got one of those super star treated players on his team, you know Kobe Bryant right? Bryant complains about more shots and missed calls or calls than any other player I know! If Kobe misses a shot, he throws a fit because he MUST have been fouled because super stars don't miss right?! Superstars probably get more calls than the average guy, but that's not just because they are superstars. A superstar player has to take it to the rim, be aggressive, and create contact, it's why they are superstars. But what they do get is the ability to bicker a little more without getting the technical thrown at them. Although, the refs seem to be getting tired of their whiney attitudes as Superstars Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard have 13 and 16 technicals respectively as of 4/6/10. These numbers put them in the top 4 most t-ed up players in the league. I am happy to report that no Kings player appeared on the list of 24 for most t-ed up players with the 24 spot being tied with 7 players receiving 6.

Basically my point is shut up and play basketball. Sometimes there is cause for the complaint...see Stephen Jackson of the Bobcats already in the playoffs...Captain Jack was turned into a pirate with his head band being knocked down around his eyes when he took it to the rim and no call was made. He had a point when he was expressing his feelings of the no call to the refs being seen saying "How did this happen?!" empathically! He had a point, but at the same time, they aren't going to call a foul that late after it happens. There is no going back to the review booth to see none calls you can just move on and play through it. Use it as motivation if you must, get mad and take it to the rim and get the call!

First of many

First off, Welcome! If you are reading this I hope you find my future posts to be interesting enough to continue to read. The point of this blog is to share my opinions on all things Sacramento Kings related, and perhaps a little more with the NBA in general.

As I sit here waiting for the end of the just begun off-season, I am currently waiting for the announcement every Sacramento fan is dying to here. "The NBA announces its pick for 2009-2010 Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans!" For much of the season this was no contest. As Tyreke continued to put up numbers that baffled the best in the league, his rise to the top has never stopped. Sitting atop rookie rankings from week 3 forward, he was the only option. After we watch Brandon Jennings post 55-points in week 2 of the season, he dropped off in statement games. Granted, he's the only top rookie to be in the playoffs, but he had help with the addition of Salmons and the great play of Bogut, who is out due to the injury to his arm. Then there is Stephen Curry...He's talented beyond belief with comparisons already being made to the best point guard in the NBA, Steve Nash. He has great court viewing skills. He sees plays and he makes them. He has a great 3-point shot finishing the 2009-10 season with 43.7% from beyond the arc, but where was this person in the early goings of the season? On the bench, that's where! He was able to even the race and make the discussion a little more interesting as the last 6 weeks of the season Curry and Evans have played leap frog with the top spot on the Rookie Rankings lists. The clear standout based on numbers and consistency this season has always been Tyreke Evans...and ladies and gentlemen he is only 20 years old! That's right, the virtually no name player who was taken in the 4 spot of the draft by the worst team in the NBA last year, who took his team on his back, led the charge in the 35 point comeback in Chicago, hit the game winning shot in Milwaukee, isn't even old enough to drink! Not to mention there is this small thing referred to by the masses as HISTORY! That's right, Tyreke made history on April 12, 2010, at the 6:46 mark of the 4th quarter sinking his 2 free throws to secure his season average of 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists. These numbers may not seem like much, but he's only the 4th rookie to ever do so in their debut NBA season. The others you ask??? Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. That's pretty elite company. This season only 2 other players put up those averages in the whole league! Who you ask? Lebron James and Kobe Bryant...again elite company. To give this award to any other rookie would be like reliving the Lakers/Kings 2001-02 series....a dagger to the heart!