Sacramento Kings: Grades for All Kings Players After One Month

Just a month ago, the Sacramento Kings had bested the Los Angeles Lakers 100-91 and spirits were flying high in the capitol of California.

After all, this was supposed to be the year where the young Kings utilized their talents and made something of themselves. The playoffs weren't expected, but what was expected was a team that competed night in and night out.

Fast forward a month, and the Kings hold a 6-13 record. They're 24th in the league points per contest and are 30th (also known as last) in the league in points allowed. Paul Westphal, who started the season as the Head Coach, didn't even last two full weeks before being fired in favor assistant Keith Smart.

While the Kings show flashes of potential, and have some decent wins under their belt, the early season optimism is quickly fading.

Let's take a look at the report cards for each King after one month of play.

Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans spent most of last season struggling with foot injuries, so it was hard for Evans to live up to the hype he'd built up over a fantastic rookie campaign.

Now that Evans is (nearly) in perfect health, Kings fans are starting to worry that he may never live up to the potential he'd shown when he was named rookie of the year in the 2009-2010 season.

He's shooting just 40.5 percent from the field and scoring just 15.9 points a contest, both career lows. His assists are down from 5.4 last season to just 4.5 this year, and he just doesn't look exceptionally comfortable at all times. His outside shooting—which he's been working on for the past two years—still shows no significant improvement.

Tyreke has improved his passing under Keith Smart, and while fans continue to have a misconception  that he is a "black-hole" type player, he is a willing distributor who'd be averaging 7 or 8 assists per contest if his teammates could just make easy shots. But when the Kings find themselves in a hole, the entire team forgets how to pass and Evans is certainly not an exception.

Evans becomes a scapegoat more than any other player on the team, and anyone who has given up on him already is really getting ahead of themselves. But so far, with his struggling shot and seeming lack of confidence, it's hard to give Tyreke a decent grade.

Grade: C-

Marcus Thornton

Marcus Thornton has been sidelined for five games so far this season with a hip injury, and will likely miss the next few weeks. While you may look at his numbers (16.4 points but on just 39 percent shooting) and think the Kings won't miss much, they will. Without him, they're forced to play John Salmons more—a nightmare inducing prospect for Kings fans.

Last season after coming over from New Orleans in a deadline trade, Thornton was exceptionally efficient and flexible. He readily accepted being a third option but stepped it up when the team needed him to be the leading scorer in Tyreke Evans' absence.

Unfortunately for the Kings, that Thornton has vanished, replaced by a far less efficient player. Like the rest of his team, Thornton can go through long stretches where the offense will flow smoothly and he looks very comfortable. But just like the rest of his team, when the Kings are down, he'll very often revert and forget to be part of a team offense, quickly chucking up shots.

It's a curse that many Kings players are struggling to break, but it has hit Thornton just as hard as anyone, (except for maybe John Salmons).

Grade: D+

John Salmons

John Salmons had two key baskets late that helped the Kings win in San Antonio.

Except for those two redeeming moments, Salmons season has been—and I'm being as absolutely kind as humanly possible, here—the worst season that any Kings player has had in the history of the franchise.

No, that isn't a typo. Certainly players have produced less than Salmons (7.0 points, 3.8 rebounds) but not while averaging 27.9 minutes a game and starting every contest—while shooting 34.5 percent to boot.

Why Salmons is still starting is beyond comprehension—at least when Donte Greene struggles, he's actually trying. Salmons looks beyond bored.

The smart thing for Sacramento to do would be to call up Andrei Kirilenko in Russia and beg him to join the Kings, then call up the NBA offices and beg David Stern's permission to use the amnesty clause midseason.

The Kings traded Beno Udrih to take on Salmon's bigger (and uglier) contract, and to add insult to injury the trade moved them DOWN three spots in the 2011 Draft. You will not find a worse move in franchise history.

Grade: F-

Chuck Hayes

The Kings interior defense has been absolutely dreadful, and the news that Hayes will soon be ready for action again is excellent for Sacramento.

He played in just eight contests before dislocating shoulder, and Sacramento will really need him to provide the on-court leadership and defense they expected when they signed him.

Grade: Incomplete

DeMarcus Cousins

We won't go into the whole "trade request", because it's really hard to know exactly what transpired between Cousins and then-coach Paul Westphal.

But when it comes to performance on the court, Cousins has easily been the best on the team.

No, his shooting isn't great (44.8 percent on the season) but it's improving. He has yet to develop any real post moves and mostly scores on putbacks and tip ins off of offensive rebounds. And speaking of rebounds, he's one of the best in the league averaging 11.0 a contest.

His defense, once considered a weakness, has been the best on the team. He's still picking up dumb fouls, but he's also making every big man who goes against him work for their shots. And if the league kept track of charges drawn, Cousins would lead the in the catagory.

He's learning to behave himself more with around the refs, although his temper is still a problem, and he does draw a ton of stupid fouls.

While he still really needs to become more efficient scoring wise, Cousins' play has been a bright spot in an otherwise murky season. The Kings should get him the ball more often.

Grade: B-

Jimmer Fredette

No matter how big a fan you are of Jimmer, it's impossible to say he's looked solid so far in his rookie season.

You could make the argument that the Kings are under-utilizing Fredette, but then again, with everything as discombobulated as it is in Sacramento, it's the least of the teams worries.

What is worrisome is Fredette's utter lack of confidence. He has yet to show the famed "eye of the tiger" he had at BYU and looks... well, like a rookie in over his head.

8.5 points and 2.3 assists on 36.3 percent shooting (and just 36 percent from downtown) isn't going to cut it. To top that off, his defense is easily the worst and most inconsistent of the whole squad, and that's saying something.

He gets a pass because he A. he is a rookie, and B. he could never have lived up to the expectations the general NBA fandom put on him. But he's looking more and more like a 'project' and less like a future star.

Grade: D+

Isaiah Thomas

Thomas' stats aren't much better than Fredette, but then again, that's not really an insult, considering Fredette was selected with the 10th overall selection and Thomas was the last pick in the draft.

Thomas is averaging just 6.4 points and 2.3 assists on 34 percent shooting. So why are Kings fans clamoring for him to start? Because he has something that is inconsistent amongst his teammates—100 percent passion for the game and 100 percent confidence.

And yes, he's not shooting well, but despite being just 5'11, his defense is miles above Fredette's.

Grade: B

J.J. Hickson

The Kings gave up Omri Casspi and a conditional first rounder to bring in Hickson. While Casspi isn't playing too hot in Cleveland, it looks, as of right now, like the Kings overpaid for the fourth year big man.

Yes, he can jump out of the building and will provide the occasional highlight. But he has no post skills to speak of, his defense has been very poor, and he continues to produce turnovers when he's unable to catch the simplest passes in the paint.

He's averaging just 6.5 points and 6.3 rebounds on just 38 percent shooting. It's no surprise the Kings didn't extend Hickson. If any team out there wants to over pay for him, the Kings will just have to give up their first rounder to the Cavs and call it a loss.

Grade: D

Jason Thompson

Since Thompson wasn't granted an extension with Sacramento, rumors have been floating that he is no longer in the teams future plans.

It would be foolish of Sacramento to give up on Thompson already, not because he'll ever become a big star, but because he's a very solid player who deserves to stay with the Kings.

He'll never be more than a fringe starter, but he's provided the Kings some consistency in the post. He has more post skills than Hickson and is a better rebounder. His defense isn't the greatest, but he's a very hard worker.

If another squad wants Thompson badly, then the Kings shouldn't worry about his depature. But he's a solid player and has been good for the Kings. He has averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds so far this season on a team high 53.8 percent shooting.

Grade: B

Travis Outlaw

There is nothing consistent about Outlaw's game. He's a good rebounder—sometimes. He's a good defender—sometimes. He's a good shooter—sometimes.

Those sometimes have been rare in his limited playing time for the Kings, and his pickup looks like a huge mistake on the Kings part. He's far too in love with a three point shot he just simply doesn't have. He's shooting just 26.2 percent from the field and an utterly ridiculous 14.3 percent from three.

Grade: F

Francisco Garcia

It's a sad state of affairs when Garcia, with his 36 percent shooting, is the Kings most consistent small forward.

He currently averages 4.9 points in 16.6 minutes a contest but his playing time has significantly risen under Keith Smart. He's a very solid defender and a smart player, but (like every other player on the Kings) really needs to improve his shooting percentage.

Grade: C

Donte Greene

If determination was pure talent than Donte Greene would be an NBA superstar.

As it is, he's one of the teams hardest workers, but gets inconsistent playing time and inconsistent results. He averages 5.4 points and 2.8 rebounds on 41.7 percent shooting, which is amazingly third best on the team.

Still, he should easily start over Salmons, because at least he actually tries.

Grade: C+

Coaching

Under Paul Westphal, the Kings were utterly discombobulated and lackluster. Under Keith Smart, baby steps are being made in the right direction, but not quickly enough.

You have to wonder how both coaches would have done if they'd had a whole training camp to work with this team and formulate a complete offensive gameplan. But then again, you have to wonder how the Kings would stand record wise if they could just hit 42 percent of their shots.

As it stands, Smart deserves to finish the season as the Kings coach, but if the team doesn't make significant progress between now and May, he won't be here next season.

Westphal Grade: F

Smart Grade: C+