Sacramento Kings: '09 Offseason Outlook

Next week the NBA will hold it's draft lottery.

The Sacramento Kings, having had the worst record in the league, will have the best chance at the number one pick and will choose no worse than fourth.

This will begin one of the most important offseasons in Kings history.

The team will soon have three major decisions to make that will shape their future.

First, they must hit big with their draft choices, plain and simple.

Second, they must find a new head coach. A coach that will be able to nurture and develop a young roster with it's core players all under the age of 24.

Lastly, they will have the opportunity to do something in free agency. They stand below the salary cap. With many teams struggling financially, this may be the perfect opportunity to steal away a quality player from a team looking to avoid the luxury tax.

In the draft the Kings will have one of the top picks. They also have a late first rounder, acquired from the Houston Rockets in the Ron Artest trade. They will also have the top choice in the second round.

This potentially gives the Kings three more solid young players to add to their developing core.

Assessing the Kings roster, at least one of these three picks must be a point guard, as Beno Udrih showed this year that he is not the answer.

Should the Kings land the top pick, they will have their choice of forward Blake Griffin or Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.

If they don't get Rubio at the top, Ty Lawson could be a good fit with their later first round pick.

On the coaching front, Eddie Jordan is the front runner, with Paul Westphal as another possible candidate. Both of these coaches fit with the Kings philosophy of an up-tempo, offense oriented game plan. Either of these coaches would be a great fit.

This leaves free agency.

The most likely free agent acquisition could be Orlando Magic forward and former King Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic already have two gigantic contracts on their roster in Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. Due to financial implications, they may very well be willing to let Hedo walk.

Turkoglu would give the Kings an established crunch time player and a strong second option on offense.

Despite having the worst record in the league, this is a roster with promise.

Already in place are core pieces in Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes, Francisco Garcia and Jason Thompson. The only star in that group is Martin, which means that the team could look to upgrade at any other position.

The Kings enter this offseason with major questions and holes to fill.

The good news is that they will have all the tools necessary to make major improvements and return to Kings basketball.