With the 5th/33rd pick the Kings select....

It's official! 2010 NBA Draft Day has officially concluded and I must say, Kings fans are more than excited about BOTH of the selections in the draft.

Yesterday was the Kings Draft Party at ARCO Arena, which I attended, along with about 4,000 other Kings fans! Prior to the start of the draft, Mayor Kevin Johnson was on hand and made this statement, "I'm going to name off 4 players and with applause let me know who you want" well Favors, Turner, and Johnson received applause worthy of a drunken karaoke performance, but when Cousins name was announced, the fan favorite was obvious! With all the rumors floating around about Houston attempting to make a deal with Minnesota to move from the #14 to the #4 pick to steal Demarcus Cousins from any team waiting to snag him off the block; not to mention his sudden jump from #5 - #7 picks to a possible #2 and #3 in some mock drafts, I was nervous! It came as no surprise that John Wall went to the Wizards at #1, Congrats! Turner was no surprise nor was Favors. Then came the #4 pick. I am pretty sure that those in attendance at the Draft Party set a world record for largest collective sigh of relief when David Stern took to the podium and said "With the 4th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Minnesota Timberwolves select.....Wesley Johnson." PHEW! With anticipation building it took a commercial break to build the already fragile nerves of all in attendance! When David Stern announced the #4 pick ARCO erupted in cheers as if we had just beat the Lakers in a game 7 championship series! It was loud and it was clear that the fans got their pick!

Here's a little info on each of the rookie selections.

Demarcus Cousins- University of Kentucky

6'11" 270-290 lbs

True Center

7'6" wingspan (rounded up .25")

9'5" standing reach

Averaged a Double-Double last season playing around 20 minutes per game.

Now Demarcus is only 19 years old. When he begins play after summer league he will be 20 (August 13th is his birthday for all who want to give him a shout out on Twitter @boogiecousins). What most people will tell you about him right now is that he's a risk. They assume that because he's had a few yelling matches with coaches in the past that he has a problem with authority or that he's crazy! That happens to be my personal favorite! Granted I do not know this young man any more than the bulk of the country, but what I have seen of him thus far is no different than anything I'd expect of a 19 year old. I don't think he's crazy, lazy, authority challenged if you will. I think he's got drive, ambition, and a pure competitive blood running in his veins. With the right direction and coaching, he's bound for greatness if he is willing to put the work in. Talent isn't enough to make it in the NBA. It's about developing and improving on your existing game to make yourself the best player you can be. From all accounts, Demarcus is looking forward to joining the Kings and being in SacTown and I know from the sounds at ARCO that SacTown is ready for him too!

Hassan Whiteside- Marshall

7'0" 235 lbs

PF/Center

7'7" wingspan

9'5" standing reach

Top shot blocker in NCAA with 5.4 b/pg

I will admit, I've heard Whiteside's name in the past, but only briefly. I had to do my homework on him before writing this. I love the drive that he displays. Once thought to be a lottery pick, he dropped to the 2nd round where the Kings may have struck gold, once again! It's not his numbers or his workouts that made all other teams pass him up 32 times before the Kings took him. Hassan suffers from a very common disorder, A.D.D. bringing his maturity level into question. When I think basketball powerhouses Marshall isn't a school that comes to mind, and surely the competition within the conference is probably lower than that of top teams Duke and North Carolina, but great players can come out of nowhere. Hassan is using his snub from the league as fuel to make them regret not choosing him. If you ask me, that's pretty mature. But let me put into perspective just what a 7'7" wingspan means....Hassan opens his arms straight out and could touch Yao Ming's head with one hand and his toes with the other! Yes! That's right! Yao Ming is 7'7" tall! INSANITY! And we have another rookie who is just one inch less at 7'6"!!!

In the end only time can tell what will come of these two, and all other rookies taken last night, and those who weren't. But as a Kings fan, I am more than excited about both of these guys. So welcome to Sacramento Demarcus and Hassan!!!

Oh, and I TOLD YOU SO! I've been calling for Cousins since March! I'm happy I was right!

Trades, Drafts, Free Agency OH MY!

There is no denying that these past few weeks talks of Lebron and the rest of the all star free agency have subsided, if only for a little while. With all the coaching changes happening in the east and with the amazing play of the highly underestimated Celtics (yes they've knocked out #1 and #2 seeds in the east and are looking to knock out #1 in the west making that 3 top teams in the NBA) it's easy to overlook the smaller teams and what is happening within. So here is a bit on what I "know" on the Kings and what's going down in Sac Town!

Noc Out as King:

Multiple sources are reporting that Kings' forward Andres Nocioni wants out! He's not shy about it either. This isn't the first time this season we've heard this statement either. It was reported that he wanted out before the trade deadline in February because he felt he wasn't part of the core going forward. The Kings are reportedly in discussion to shop Nocioni for another player. I say great! Give me a player that wants to be in Sacramento. I don't want anyone here who doesn't want to be here!

Return of One Time Fan Favorite Hedo Turkoglu?

It's been said that Hedo wants to return to the team he first called home in the NBA. After departing from Sacramento after the 2002-03 season, Hedo has played for three teams: San Antonio, Orlando, and Toronto. He continued to flourish while in Orlando and he became the player that the Kings began shaping in 2000. Here's my concern, he wanted to go to Toronto, but shortly after arriving it went down hill. He got hit with the party tag and there is just bad blood swirling around the whole situation in Toronto. Maybe the cold weather didn't suit him? I don't know, but if he wants to come back to Sacramento, and if we take him back, don't screw it up Hedo! Be here and be the player you were while you were here and in Orlando. Don't screw us over and let our fans down like you did Toronto's.

Kings Look to Build a "Royal Family":

With multiple teams looking to trade up in the draft, the Kings have come into conversations in the sports blogosphere to be a likely candidate to give up their 5th pick for a proven player. Rumor is that Tayshaun Prince would be a possible from the Pistons should the Kings want to give up the #5 pick. Price would be a great addition to the young squad. He brings experience, leadership, and proven talent to the Kings.

Draft Possibles:

My favorite, and has been since day one, YES even if we had gotten the #1 pick, Demarcus Cousins! Cousins had a work out in Sacramento on Saturday, and from all reports he had a great work out. With all comments being positive, accept that of Sacramento Bee writer Aileen Voision about his body fat percentage and his belly, he's still my #1 man...or would it be #5? I don't know! Favors also worked out with the Kings on Saturday. The two are the top big men in the draft and could both be unavailable come time to select at #5, but the general consensus on mock drafts is that Cousins will go to the Kings.

Only time will tell what is going to happen next Thursday, but there's one thing I know for sure; I as well as hundreds of other Kings fans will be on hand at ARCO Arena for the Draft Party! We rocked downtown for the Greatest Draft Lottery party last month, and this is bound to be just as if not more exciting than that! This is a MUST ATTEND and MUST RSVP event! Without an RSVP you can't get a ticket to get in!! So get your RSVP on! Visit http://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings_draft_party2010.html to get your tickets today! Event doors open at 3:30 pm and the event will start at 4:00 pm. Special guests are scheduled to appear! The best part is....Attendees will receive a voucher for a free ticket to one regular season game in the 2010-2011 season!

Why the 5th pick isn't the end of the world...technically

Yesterday I was in Midtown with hundreds of other Kings fans awaiting the results of the lottery. I was among the rest of the world of Kings Fans that hung their heads in disappointment at the 5th pick in the draft. Thanks a lot balls...we didn't want that pick! But what can you do? I am putting my disgruntled attitude aside and looking at it as positively as I can. Here is what the "experts" are saying.

Depending on which mock draft you look at you will see a couple of different options for the Kings at the 5th spot. But before I go there, the top 4 is a hot mess! The top three is pretty much sealed, Wall, Turner, Favors. But it's that 4 spot that is messing everything else up for our 5th pick. According to Bleacher Report Demarcus Cousins is going in the 4 spot and the Kings are taking another Syracuse Orangeman in Wesley Johnson, I'm sure Donte will be happy! Shaun Ahmad, a senior analyst with Bleacher Report has a significantly different mock draft than any other reporter out there. His top three match up with the rest of the field Wall, Turner, Favors, but his 4 sport goes to Wesley Johnson. So one would think, "Okay, Cousins is still available, the Kings will take him in this mock up." But no, Ahmad has the Kings taking Greg Monroe from Georgetown. Sorry, but I've never heard this guys name mentioned for the Kings of any other high picking team!

Here's a running tally of a handful of sports reports of who the Kings will take at 5:

Cousins: 4

Johnson: 1

Monroe: 1

Aminu: 1

Basically the "experts" say Cousins, but who knows. These are the same guys where half were reporting that the Kings would take Rubio last year...thank goodness they were wrong about that! But hey, if they can be right about Cousins, I wouldn't complain. He's been my pick from the beginning!

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!