Bleacher Report - Articles by shawn schwaller

Ron Artest Ejected From Lakers Rockets Game: Too Many Bad Calls By Refs!

shawn schwaller — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:03:07 -0400

Although the league continues to use Kanye West’s song, the NBA isn’t so amazing these days.

I just watched Ron Artest get booted for committing a solid foul on Pau Gasol in the fourth quarter of game four between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets. Gasol drove the lane and Artest fouled him hard, but all Artest really touched was Gasol’s arms.

Sure there was contact, but Artest wasn’t exactly going for Gasol’s neck or face. Artest was given a flagrant II and kicked out of the game. Kobe later said he thought it should be a flagrant I and that Artest shouldn’t have been booted.

“When a guy goes up to shoot a layup, what are you supposed to do in this league today?” asked Jeff Van Gundy following the play between Gasol and Artest. I totally agree with Van Gundy. What are you supposed to do? Are you supposed to slap them in the face and get away with it like Rajon Rondo?

The NBA is becoming a joke. I’m sick of the inconsistent calls made by NBA referees. And now that the playoffs are on, it’s pretty blatant. Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics slaps Brad Miller of the Chicago Bulls in the face on his way to the basket and stays in the game never to get fined and never to be given a flagrant foul. Are you kidding me? Miller had to get like eleven stitches and his mouth bled for approximately five minutes. The ball was at the end of Miller’s outstretched arm, yet Rondo slaps him in the face, makes him bleed, and stays in the game? That call changed the series and helped the Celtics win. Rondo was never given a flagrant after the fact either.

The NBA is becoming shady.

Although I can see the reasoning behind the Derek Fisher suspension for game four between the Rockets and the Lakers, Kobe should have never been given a flagrant after game three.

Since when can you review a three point shot in the middle of the game? I thought you could only review a shot if the clock expired. I remember watching a Sacramento Kings game this last season when Michael Finley of the San Antonio Spurs hit a three point shot long after the shot-clock had expired, but the refs didn’t review it because there was 54 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter. That shot helped the Spurs win, but it shouldn’t have counted. It wasn’t even close!

Sure, the Kings weren’t exactly heading for the playoffs, but shouldn’t all games be called the same way with the same rules no matter what? It was obvious that Finley’s shot shouldn’t have counted, but the refs refused to review the play because it wasn’t a last second shot. Funny considering that I just saw the refs review a shot made by Artest in the middle of the quarter to see if it was a three pointer or a two. This raises the question: Are Kings fans second-class NBA fans?

The problem is that all of these inconsistent calls are making it look as if the NBA is rigged.

Lakers Given 3rd and 4th Quarter by Referees in 112-103 Win Against Kings

shawn schwaller — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:50:43 -0500

Yeah I know the title’s wacky, but it’s true. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 112-103 on Friday night, but they were given the third and fourth quarter by the referees. First, let’s look at the fouls among starters. The Lakers starters had 17 fouls while the Kings starters had 22. However, it goes beyond fouls.

Here’s a run-down of events in the 3rd and 4th quarter that gave the tempo and control to the Lakers:

3rd Quarter

1. Luke Walton and Pau Gasol both got away with traveling.

2. Lamar Odom hit the ball out of bounds and Kings power forward Jason Thompson was blamed.

3. Trevor Ariza smacked Kings center Brad Miller in the face on a rebound attempt and Miller was called for a foul.

4th Quarter

1. Kings power forward Jason Thompson was fouled on a dunk by Lamar Odom.

2. Kings shooting guard Francisco Garcia was called for charging when his defender was inside the circle.

3. Kings point guard Bobby Jackson was called for a moving pick when he wasn’t moving.

If you want to continue to live in your world of make-believe than go ahead, but the fact is that the Lakers got calls. Its David against Goliath when the Kings play the Lakers. It’s a big market against a small market. At least the Kings kept Laker fans from getting free tacos from Jack-in-the-Box by scoring 100.

Sacramento Kings Coach Reggie Theus Making Small Mistakes That Count

shawn schwaller — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:26:13 -0500

Reggie Theus has got the Kings working hard and that’s no myth. Spencer Hawes, the young center, seemingly became a fantasy basketball dream overnight. He’s even shown a bit of humor by calling himself and Brad Miller the “Ivory Towers.” Now that’s funny.

However, my support of Theus has waned in the recent weeks. Here are two examples why:

Nov. 18: Sacramento Kings VS. Memphis Grizzlies

It started to hit me when the Kings were playing the Memphis Grizzlies a few weeks ago. Guard Kevin Martin was out so Theus started Bobby Jackson beside point guard Beno Udrih.

First of all, at 6-1, Jackson does not have the size to start as a shooting guard. And second of all, starting Jackson forced Theus to play third-year guard Quincy Douby and rookie Bobby Brown side by side at the guard positions later in the game.

This was a disaster waiting to happen because both Douby and Brown are talented, but very inexperienced. In other words, I’m glad they’re on the Kings, but I don’t want to see them playing side by side unless the Kings have a 20 point lead with 3 minutes left.

Well, needless to say, the Kings lost badly to the struggling Grizzles. Douby went 0-9 from the field and scored 2 points, and Brown went 3-11 and scored 7. This was quite disappointing because Brown has been pretty efficient this season in limited minutes.

It was quite obvious that coaching substitutions was part of the problem. Brown and Douby, side by side, was a train wreck.

Although rookie Donte Green is even less experienced, at an athletic 6-11, he provided needed size when he started in subsequent games in place of Kevin Martin. Starting Green also allowed Jackson to come off the bench to play beside the less experienced Brown and Douby.

Dec. 2: Sacramento Kings VS. Utah Jazz

Eight days later when the Kings played the Jazz, a similar problem occurred. After keeping the game close against an injury plagued Jazz squad, Theus inserted Douby into the game for the last 3:59 after he hadn’t played the entire game. Forward Francisco Garcia, who had just came back from an injury, could no longer play and had to be taken out right at the end so Theus called Douby’s number.

By putting Douby in, Theus made a grave mistake. He should have anticipated the possibility that Garcia wouldn’t be able to make it through a certain amount of minutes – coming back from an injury. If Theus anticipated this, he may have chosen to put Douby in the game at an earlier point so he could get warm and get into some kind of a rhythm.

Certainly Theus didn’t think that Douby would take a shot in such a close game, right? Wrong.

"I was looking for someone who might knock down some shots down the stretch," explained Theus, "And also, I think 'Q' defensively could fight Korver a lot better going around picks, and he did a good job of it. He just didn't knock down shots."

Douby ended up taking two shots, missing both, in those final minutes. During one of the shots, guard Kevin Martin was open on the wing, and during the other, Beno drove the lane and passed out to Douby on the wing.

Theus needs to work towards more consistency with his rotation. Douby should have played a few minutes in the first half to get him involved in the game, and he should have anticipated that he would need to call on Douby

Former Sacramento Kings Center Vlade Divac Named National Serbian Adviser

shawn schwaller — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:10:16 -0400

Serbia and Montenegro native Vlade Divac was just named an adviser on foreign policy, the diaspora, and sport and humanitarian issues by the Serbian government. Divac is an NBA veteran of 16 years, but he’s also served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

According to Divac’s official website, he is and has been committed to enabling and helping refugees and internally displaced persons still living in refugee camps to realize their rights to housing, work, and material security, and thus regain and empower their own self-confidence and personal dignity.

Divac’s major program, the Humanitarian Organization Divac (HOD) was established with the mission to provide financial, material, and other resources necessary to fulfill physical, mental, social, and other needs of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and uncared-for persons, regardless of nationality, race, religion, politics or any other background or orientation.

Divac played for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Sacramento Kings. After his career in the NBA, he moved back to Serbia.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989, oddly enough, Divac is most well known for his dazzling and creative play against Shaquille O’Neal—in numerous playoff matchups—while playing center for the Sacramento Kings from 1998 to 2004.

Although O’Neal had far superior size and power, Divac gave the Diesel fits on a few occasions with his ability to draw fouls, flop, pass, and hit outside jumpers. Divac was the heart and soul of the Kings high-post Princeton-style offense.

In terms of character, he was also the leader of the Kings, and the “father” in the “father, son, and holly turk” trio (Peja Stojakovic was the “son” and Hedo Turkoglu was the “holy turk”). Divac was usually all smiles and he had a great sense of humor.

Divac reportedly accepted the position to help promote humanitarian work in Serbia. He says he is not interested in politics and money.

Sacramento Kings Power Needs Could Be Filled by Shelden Williams

shawn schwaller — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:52:57 -0400

Although the Sacramento Kings are in big trouble in terms of size, power, and athleticism, Shelden Williams might just help with at least two of these problems. Williams was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, then was traded to the Kings two years later.

The Kings acquired Williams in 2007-2008, along with Lorenzen Wright and Anthony Johnson, in a multi-player trade between the Atlanta Hawks and the Kings that sent Mike Bibby to Atlanta. Johnson and Wright have since left the Kings as free agents. One of the major goals of the Kings was to obtain young players and draft picks.

Shelden happens to be that young player, and the Kings also received Atlanta’s 2008-2009 first round pick (the pick has lottery protections).

Although he’s not extremely athletic, at 6-9 and 250 pounds, Williams offers size and power on the low block. His nickname at Duke University was “the landlord,” because he owned the paint in college. It just has yet to translate to the NBA.

After starting a few times in his first few years with the Hawks, Williams quickly fell off the radar. During his rookie season, he averaged 5.5 points per game and 5.4 rebounds in 18.7 minutes. Not great, but it was much better than his second season (3.0 points per game and 3.0 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game). Rumor has it that he lost popularity among the coaching staff in Atlanta.

Last season with the Kings, Williams averaged 5.2 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game in 12.9 minutes. Most of the minutes came at the end of the season after the Kings were far from the playoffs.

In the preseason opener against the Portland Trailblazers last Tuesday, Williams was the only player on the Kings squad who could hold Greg Olden, the 7-0 behemoth center on the Blazers, and prevent him from getting onto the low-block. Meanwhile, Oden pushed right through Kings power forward Mikki Moore, and second year center Spencer Hawes.

In the first preseason opener, Williams played for 20 minutes and had 7 PTS, 3 REB, 1 block, and four personal fouls. The numbers aren’t great, but he looked like a man among boys, especially as compared to the others in purple.

Importantly, Williams is up for a contract extension after this season, so its now or never. And because he was drafted so low, the Kings have to pay him $4,302,427 million if they want to keep him for the 2009-2010 seasons.

Geoff Petire, the Kings General Manager, has until Oct. 3 to offer the extension. It is hoped by Kings management that the team option will be incentive to improve his game.

"I'm a guy who is going to go out and play hard," said Williams to Sacramento Bee sports writer Melody Gutierrez. "What I think about are the little things that don't really come out in stat books – hustle plays and little stuff like that."

"He's important to us, from my perspective, because he has a different game than anyone else on our team," claimed coach Reggie Theus. "He is sort of a low-post bruiser – a space eater is what we call him – and we don't have anyone else on the team like that. I think (he's) very valuable in that sense."

Indeed, there’s no other player on the Kings who can push folks around on the low-post. If he can become a “landlord” in the NBA, both he and Kings management will be thrilled and he may have a long career with the Kings, especially since his fiancé is Los Angeles Sparks superstar Candace Parker.

Mark my words, Shelden Williams could be a sleeper on the Kings this year.

Sacramento Kings Unveil New 2008-2009 Uniforms

shawn schwaller — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:14:20 -0400

Over the weekend, the Sacramento Kings released their new 2008-09 road and home jerseys. The home outfit is white, says "Sacramento" instead of "Kings," and has new dark purple and black highlights.

The road jersey, on the other hand, is a slightly different tone of dark purple, and it has white highlights.

"They are much lighter," exclaimed Beno Udrih to Sacramento Bee reporters. "I like the colors...and they are a little different than last year," continued Udrih. Udrih also stated that they would have to see how the uniforms worked with sweat.

The current colors began in the late 1990s. There have been a few variations—the most dreaded of which being the gold road uniforms worn at times over the last few years.

Before purple, black, and white, the Kings sported powder blue and then dark blue road uniforms (white at home), with "Kings" spelled in red and blue.

Before the current team logo, a variation of which was also adopted in the late 1990s, the logo was a strange cross between red mountains and a blue basketball (with "Sacramento" spelled right across the middle).

Sacramento Kings and Small Forward Francisco García Agree to 5-Year Contract

shawn schwaller — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:06:35 -0400

The Sacramento Kings and Francisco García have agreed in principle to a 5 year $29.8 million extension.

Born in the Dominican Republic, the 6'7'' 195 pound forward-guard played for the University of Louisville before being drafted by the Kings with the 23rd pick in the 2005 draft.

In the Sacramento Bee, García exclaimed that "it feels good, man." because "I love the city, I love the organization, I love the style we play," and "I love my teammates."

In 2005-2006 García scored only 5.6 points per game, grabbing just over 2 rebounds and dishing 1.4 assists.

While seeing his minutes go from 19.4 in his first year to 26.5 last year, García raised his scoring to 12.4 points per game while also significantly improving his three-point and field goal percentage.

García played under Reggie Theus when Theus was an assistant coach at Louisville during García's tenure there and he is considered to be a vital piece of the Kings future.

García plays with great tenacity, is already underrated on the defensive end, has the potential to become a three-point threat, and has shown that he can be a positive vocal leader both on the court and in the club house.

Addressing many of the doubters, García was quoted in the Sacramento Bee as claiming that "a lot of people don't really believe in us because we're so young," but "I think we're going to surprise a lot of people this year. I think we've got a good team and got a lot of talent. We just have to play."

The following link will take you to a clip on Francisco García from a show entitled NBA Access

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvNWOCucSM8

Shareef Abdur-Rahim Retires: Big Man Coach Next?

shawn schwaller — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:18:56 -0400

After 12 years in the NBA, Sacramento Kings power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim is retiring.

For the last year-and-a-half, Rahim was attempting to recover from two arthroscopic knee surgeries, but it was too much for his 31-year-old body to handle.

Rahim averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists throughout his career. His career totals are 15,028 points and 6,239 rebounds.

He played for Vancouver, Portland, Atlanta, and Sacramento—which partially describes why he only reached the playoffs once. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Grizzlies.

Rahim also played for the US Men's basketball team in the 2000 Olympics.

Although the Kings will need to pay Rahim his salary this coming season, part of his $29 million contract might be removed from the team's payroll in 2009-2010, saving the Kings $6.6 million.

Essentially, this could be a very good thing for the Kings, as they are currently in a rebuilding phase. The removal of Rahim's contract could provide even more room for the Kings to spend.

As of now, the Kings only have $52,196,715 on the books for the 2009-2010 season, so Rahim's contract would take another $6.6 million from that total. In 2010-2011, the Kings only have $23,563,005 on the books.

The Sacramento Kings will be big spenders in the summer of 2010, a year that will offer a number of free agents to choose from.

Over a phone interview with Sacramento Bee sports writer Sam Amick, Rahim exclaimed that "for me, there will always be a part that's stuck in a state of nostalgia, always hoping I could be young and playing and running up and down the court..." but "it was progressively getting worse, and I couldn't do the things you have to do to play in the NBA. Mentally, I could still do it and still see myself doing it, but physically I couldn't do it anymore."

Sam Amick also reported that Rahim was playing in his "prime" when the Kings signed him in 2005. New Jersey was the first to attempt to sign him but declined after a team doctor detected floating particles in his knee area.

In fact, the only reason the Kings signed him was because New Jersey reneged on their side of the bargain after their team physicians determined his knees were bad.

After thanking him for his service to the Kings and for being a good citizen in Sacramento, General Manager Geoff Petrie exclaimed "It is our intention to find a new role for Shareef with the organization as he begins the next phase of his professional life."

It just so happen that the Kings have been shopping for a big man coach. Looks like they may have found him.

A short video remix of Rahim's career can be viewed in the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCVEQEjlQPk

Zach Randolph to Stay with Knicks and Jerome James Still Warming the Bench

shawn schwaller — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:45:32 -0400

The New York Knicks have reportedly passed on a deal that would have sent Power Forward/Center, Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marko Jaric and Darko Milicic.

Knicks General Manager, Donnie Walsh, refused to add a first-round pick to the deal.

Wow, what a team Mike D'Antoni would have had, that is, if he could have gotten his hands on two more European players.

Both Milicic and Jaric have arguably not played up to their potential, but they could have blossomed under D’Antoni’s run-and-gun system.

Randolph averaged 17.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season, but he’s not exactly the kind of player his numbers make him out to be.

In addition, when you look at what the Knicks are going to pay him in the next three years, you might get a stomach ache: $14.6 this coming season, $16 million next season, and $17.3 million in 2010-11 – the last year of his contract.

Overall, the total is $48 million. Ouch! That’s a lot of cash.

And you though the Sacramento Kings had it bad for paying Kenny Thomas $16 million over the next two years. Thomas’s contract, though it is bad, is nothing in comparison to Randolph’s.

D'Antoni’s quickly finding out that he’s going to just have to ride this one out in the Big Apple.

Remember that moron Jerome James, who after helping the Seattle Sonics defeat the Sacramento Kings in the playoffs, signed a $30 million dollar contract with the Knicks?

Remember that trash bag he carried onto the court after the Kings lost? Yeah, well the Kicks are paying him $6.2 million this coming season and he’s never amounted to anything.

So that’s what you get Jerome James!

You’re a big letdown and the only reason I say that is because of that stuff you did when the Sonics beat the Kings.

Two points and 1.5 rebounds per game last year? $6.2 million this coming season—priceless.

Star-Spangled White Supremacy: Josh Howard and Race in America

shawn schwaller — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:10:49 -0400

Maybe Josh Howard’s remarks can help some of you get to the bottom of race relations in America.

Does he speak on behalf of the entire black community? I say no.

But his remarks about being black and not celebrating The Star-Spangled Banner most definitely relate to the black experience in America.

The first and only event that people bring up is slavery, and, yes, forced labor for a few hundred years would set any community back quite a bit, not to mention the head start it gave whites for those few hundred years.

But what happened after slavery was abolished in the United States?

From the late 1860s until 1900, Reconstruction failed and African Americans continued to be disenfranchised, taken advantage of, and lynched.

The Ku Klux Klan rose to power for the first time as a major terrorist organization. In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision ruled that separate facilities were equal. Jim Crow segregationist policies continued right up to the Civil Rights Movement that started to gain momentum in the 1950s.

Schooling was and has been unequal, African Americans were barred from homesteading in the western states until the late 1800s, and African American children could not attend public schools until the 1950s.

Later in the 1900s, home loans provided by the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation and the Veteran’s Administration were disproportionately channeled to white families—out of about $120 billion that went to home loans, only a few percent went to non-white families.

Home loans, in addition to the federal funding provided for freeway construction, paved the way for white flight to the suburbs.

America’s urban centers began to decay in the 1950s. Places such as Compton and Watts in Southern California were all white and had racial restrictions to keep non-whites out, but this all changed at mid-century.

The suburbs provided jobs that paid better, schools that were supported by parents who had the time and energy to help make the place that their children learned better in a time of tax revolts, and safer streets and neighborhoods.

The point is that white flight was federally funded and urban decay was the result of a shift of funding to the suburbs. Money and jobs followed whites out of America’s urban centers.

Meanwhile, the urban center became a drug infested, crime ridden police-state. This is when the urban center started to become infested with, as Ron Artest calls it, “ghetto culture.”

Before the 1950s, urban centers that are now referred to as ghettos were all white.

Overall, too many African Americans and other non-white peoples have faced too many barriers when it comes to personal advancement.

Josh Howard is speaking, whether he knows it or not, about a legacy of white supremacy.

Are there African-American millionaires? Of course. Is Howard a millionaire? Yes. Is it possible that we might have a black president? Yes.

But does Howard speak for all African Americans? Is he a representative of his “community” just because he said that he didn’t believe in The Star-Spangled Banner because he is black?

Do white people speak for all white folks when they make remarks that deal with race?

If you’re going to say that Howard speaks for all black folks, than you have to acknowledge the history of oppression and white supremacy I brought up. That is precisely what he is speaking about.

Lastly, what is wealth and why is there such drastic differences between white, black, and Hispanic median wealth? On the 2000 US Census, white median wealth was $79,400, black median wealth was $7,500, and Hispanic median wealth was $9,750.

Do these differences only account for intelligence and the ability to achieve, or do you think there’s something else going on in the United States?

Saying that Howard is un-American is more un-American than his remarks, because he was referencing, whether he knew it or not, part of the African-American experience in the United States.

Star Spangled: Josh Howard, Mark Cuban, Ron Artest, and Desperate Sports Writers

shawn schwaller — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:58:44 -0400

One of the major problems with sports writers and with journalism in general, is that the writers want stories. In the eye of the sports reporter, the more controversial the story is, the better it is.

Houston Rockets small forward Ron Artest, though not a perfect angel himself, has been and continues to be somewhat of a victim to this desire to publish the latest trash on anything imaginable and it has taken the admittance of one small market sports reporter to prove this.

On September 17, Sacramento Bee sports reporter and Kings beat writer Sam Amick actually admitted that he missed Artest’s crazy antics because it gave him something to write about.

“As the summer neared an end and the reality sunk in that I won't have the joy of covering Ron Artest in this coming season,” exclaimed Amick, “I began to miss those days when Artest was saying something new and newsworthy almost every day.”

Just after these thoughts, Amick claims to have received an email out-of-the-blue from Artest which contained remarks on Josh Howard’s recent activity.

Howard, the speed racing, starting small forward for the Dallas Mavericks was featured in a cell phone video, at a powder puff charity football game put on by Allen Iverson. In the video, as the Star Spangled Banner is being played, Howard exclaimed that he doesn’t celebrate the song because he’s black.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, responded by saying, “We will be going through some advanced communication-skill sessions together this training camp.” Are you kidding me? An “advanced communication-skill session” with Mark—I’m nuts look at me on the side court yelling at my coach and the referee’s like a crazed lunatic—Cuban? That sounds like a riot.

So Artest emailed Sam Amick in response to the Howard situation. Here’s what he said:

I think Josh Howard's comment is a reflection on education. I think the schools need to teach deeper in the history classes and make the students aware of racism but also teach them that all people are not bad. I can relate to not feeling wanted by my own country at times but as I dug deeper I realized that America is divided and we need leaders to bring America closer together. An example where I felt unwanted by my country was when I didn't get a chance to tryout for my national team. I believed it was because my history.

So Sam Amick got his story. More important was the fact that he was guilty of looking towards Artest for stories while the small forward played for the Kings. I know because I read that garbage for the last two and a half years.

Amick’s desire to expect stories from Artest should be a lesson to Houston Rocket fans and Houston sports writers. Yeah, Artest gets readers, but his antics and the desires to attract readers can be detrimental to the team’s success. I also put Amick in this category.

Would The Real Sacramento Kings Fans Please Stand Up?

shawn schwaller — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:06:18 -0400

Inspired By Uninspiring Comments

Formerly known as "bamboozled" on the Sacramento Bee comment blogs, I've decided to further develop some of the previous arguments and set things straight—especially after the recent garbage written about the Sacramento Kings by other Bleacher so-called reporters.

The most recent article written before mine was written by a Portland Trailblazers fan, so it was no surprise that he had no clue about the Kings and predicted that Sheldon Williams and Shareef Abdur-Rahim would start.

Kings Have a Really Good Shot for the Eighth Spot: The Clips Will Have a Rough Time

Call me crazy, but I really see the Clips, Denver, and maybe even the Warriors slipping a little bit as they try to get used to the changes.

I really don’t see how Camby is going to make the Clips better. I love B-Davis, but the Clips are banking on some really old players. B-Davis is 29, Camby is 34, J-Will is 32, T-Thomas is 31, and Mobley is 32. What they're really hoping on is Kaman (26), Thornton (24), and Gordon (19).

However, I pity them for signing Ricky Davis because he’s never become much of a team player. They got him for a bargain, but that’s still 2.3 million down the sink.

The Clips have two new starters, and a collection of new players who will get significant minutes. Because of all the new players that the Clips have brought in, they may not gel anytime soon—or at all. It takes teams time to adjust to changes even when you bring in a player like B-Davis.

I really don’t think it’s crazy to say that the Kings have a really good shot at the eighth spot.

Mussleman Screwed Up Artest: He's the One Who Made it "Artest’s House"

Mussleman screwed up Artest at a key point in his career by getting him to play offense on the low-post and making his think he was the first offensive choice.

I predict that Adelman, with yet another very talented team will have a great regular season record but not get past the second round. That’s just what he does and having a “big three” that's injury prone doesn’t help.

Artest, bless his heart, is a curse. Look at the responses from all of the Kings fans on the Sacramento Bee comment blogs. The Kings fans were thrilled for the most part.

Brad Miller, More on the Playoffs, and Yes the Kings Might Make it to Seventh or Eighth Place

Brad Miller's stay is contingent on Hawes' development or the acquisition of another center. I don't think Hawes is ready to start and Miller is really a glue type player despite his obvious weaknesses.

This team as it stands in the West—especially with all of the recent movement—can make the playoffs.

The Clippers, Warriors, and Denver are going to have major chemistry issues because they lost key players. Plus, there's a bunch of aging teams in the West that sped up their sink to the bottom by losing their young talent and getting older players (think Mavs and their loss of Harris).

I bet that the Suns will have problems as well. Surely with a new coach and players the Suns will have problems with chemistry. So that puts the Kings around seventh or eighth place. They won’t get ahead of Suns, but they might get ahead of the others mentioned above

The New Team System

Why keep Singletary and Ewing when the Kings could get Brown, Jackson, and Greene?

I can't believe that people don't show hope for Salmons and Garcia at SF. These guys can play and they're not exactly bad on defense either.

Artest broke the theme of ball movement. All of the players the Kings added (well not all) and the players that will get more playing time are slashing wing players who can shoot. Even Moore is a slasher for pete's sake.

So the Kings have a similar system as before—high post offense with slashers, pickers, and poppers. Except our newer big men can play high and low post.

If Williams gets a little more active—and can come in and butt heads—and Thompson continues to round out his ability, the Kings will be rockin' Arco soon in a previously cow-filled pasture near you.

Artest Dissing the Kings

Do you people not see the way he's dissing the Kings?

Now he's confident because he's playing with T-Mac and Yao? What about before "now" when you were on the Kings Ron? Now he's going to listen to his teammates? Now he's willing to come off the bench or play only ten minutes? Now he's "destined to win?" What the f%^$! Ron?

I'm so glad you're not a King. While you were making all of these statements about "the now" and the future, you basically admitted that you really have never done those things before (ie., listen, be a team player, confidence in team, etc).

Why would you claim that you're going to do this instead of just doing it, or relying on your record to speak for itself? Because your record can’t speak for itself and you haven't done these things.

You Can Play Defense Without Being As Strong As Artest: The Swagger Issue

The Kings need one or two standout players, all stars—not super stars, and a really good supporting cast. The only person close to being a super star that Sac had in the last decade was Webber.

Furthermore, Artest isn’t a super star. He's more like a stupid star. Here's the thing with the swagger issue: you swagger when you win, if you're not winning and you swagger you look like a dork..cough...cough...Artest.

Kevin Martin has swagger. Garcia definitely has swagger. Everyone’s caught on muscle and they forget that muscle is not all it takes to succeed in the NBA. And you can play defense as good as Artest without being as strong as Artest.

If He Only Had A Brain: The Culture of Ron Artest

After he kicks his dog, he'll apologize, ask to be traded, and then claim he wants to be in Houston's future plans. Then he'll email Mark Stein at ESPN, promote his second rap album which will flop like the first one, and claim he's with 15 million per season.

All in the meantime, he'll clog Houston's offense, help them win A FEW games, almost not make the playoffs, and play a little defense. Then he'll claim he's a thug because he's ghetto and that’s his culture. The Kings were more fun to watch without Artest.

Bobby Jackson: The Gift

I have a Bobby Jackson Kings jersey for a reason. Although I too have had other favorites on the Kings over the years, Bobby is definitely one of them.

My wife has always said that they should have kept Bobby and traded Bibby and I think she has a point. Bobby said, "I'm going to push these guys just like they'll push me" because "I want to pass the torch onto the younger guys. I want to teach these young guys how to play the game, how to get the most out of themselves, how to approach game situations and how to practice. How to work hard."

In terms of "culture," Artest—this is where it’s at! I know people are going to complain about this trade, but I have no idea why. Bobby is a gift to the Kings right now. He wants to mentor, coach younger players, and win. He's a solid veteran who can be clutch if he needs to be.

Ron Artest and His Culture Remarks

It’s disappointing to say the least that Artest made those "culture" remarks. What the heck is "ghetto" culture anyways?

The Kings got a first round pick from this year, a first round pick for next year, and fan-favorite Bobby Jackson. That’s not bad folks...I'd rather have Jackson teaching our young players than Artest.

Although there are still haters of this deal, I don't know why. Once again, Adelman is going to have one of the most talented teams in the NBA, and YES, the Rockets will probably not make it to the Western Conference Finals, let alone, the Finals.

Speaking of culture, Adelman's culture equals getting to the playoffs—with REALLY talented teams—and losing (Portland and Kings).

Ron you're not special in the sense that you have to be professional like every one of us in the real world. And to the media I say this: stop reading his emails and stop being vultures for the hottest story.

Although Ron has not been professional, I think the media AND Ron are the problem. No team in their right mind would have given you an extension this summer Ron. Why did Chicago not see a role for you in the future? Why did Indiana not see a role for you in their future? Why do the Kings not see a role for you in their future?

Bro, you need to lead by example. You could have come out this season and rocked it in every game, but you let your mouth get the better of your basketball ability. You could have come out this upcoming season and proved you were deserving of more money, and you might have gotten it, but you instead chose to email the media and show the world that you are a basket case.

More on the Bobby Jackson Trade

Peja was a first round pick and now the Kings basically got two first round picks and a fan favorite—and great point guard—to teach the youngsters. So if you must connect this to Peja, it looks pretty good.

One first rounder (Peja) traded for two first rounders (Green this year and pick next year) plus Bobby Jackson and one million cash. And what if Mcgrady and/or Yao and/or Artest go down with injuries? What if that pick is between 14-20? That’s looks good…

El Flaco: The New Starter at Small Forward

Why isn’t anyone talking about Garcia? What most of you all don’t know is that HE is going to start at SF. Just wait and see. Salmons is a SG at heart, and a good sixth man that can slide over and play a few minutes at SF when Garcia rests

Conclusion

So take these comments for what they’re worth. They’re certainly better than the recent garbage written on the Kings.

Peace Out.