Drafting Tyreke Evans Fourth Was Best For Sacramento Kings

Life was made easier for Geoff Petrie, General Manager of the Sacramento Kings, drafting fourth instead of one in the 2009 draft.

Going into the 2009 lottery the Sacramento Kings had the best chance to land the number one pick. After a season where they won seventeen games out of eighty two, the Kings salvation was the lottery.

The draft had only one ‘can’t miss’ prospect and everyone else was just an educated guess.

If the Kings had drafted Blake Griffin, the top prospect, they would have had to overhaul their roster to accommodate the power forward.

Jason Thompson a second year player out of Rider, currently plays power forward for the Kings. He averages a steady 14 points and 9 rebounds a game with an efficiency rating of +18.35.

Long term there is a good chance that Blake Griffin may surpass Thompson as a player, however he is currently injured.

The Memphis Grizzlies took Hasheem Thabeet second. He is seen as a long term project and may end up being the Dikembe Mutumbo of this era. After a 17-82 season, Sacramento had no patience for long term projects.

The third pick was James Harden to Oklahoma City. Based on his production in a limited role it is clear that the shooting guard is destined for greatness. The rookie out of Arizona State is currently averaging a meagre 9.7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assist a game.

Looking past these numbers Harden has had three games where he has scored over twenty points in a game. Had Geoff Petrie picked third he took Harden; it would have been a great choice.

The only problem was they already had a proven shooting guard in the form of Kevin Martin.

The greatest need of the Kings was a point guard. Over the years General Managers have learned that it is prudent to pick the best player rather than to acknowledge your need.

A great example of this was the 1984 draft where Portland Trailblazers, needing a Center took David Bowie leaving Michael Jordan on the board. They already had Clyde Drexler however Blazer fans are still hearing about this one to this day.

In a less sensational draft, the L.A Clippers enamoured with his size chose to take Michael Olowokandi at number one in 1998. Olowokandi was an unproven product who played one year at Pacific before entering the draft.

This would have been a great pick if Kansas senior Paul Pierce had not been available, along with Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison. While these three guys have made respective All-Star teams the clippers number one pick is currently retired. He was named the number three all time busts by Sports illustrated.

Picking at four was the best thing situation for the Kings. The draft was loaded with point guards. Blake Griffin might not make the Hall of Fame but it would have been a bold move to pick Tyreke Evans at number one.

Picking him at four, the Kings are seeing unexpected dividends.

One month into the season they have won twice as many games as they did this time last year. They are currently third in their division despite injuries to key players. Namely, Kevin Martin, the leading scorer from last season.

Evans is currently the leading scorer, with 20 points a game. He also averages 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are the only other players averaging 20+ points 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists a game.

The rookie’s is gaining confidence every game as he is averaging 23 points in the last five games.