Sacramento Kings: Belated Season Wrap Up, Predictions and Fantasies

As most of my articles have discussed, Tyreke Evans is one hell of a player. 

He had a breakout rookie campaign that netted him two awards to go along with a few Rookie of the Month honors.

The Kings as a whole were not much to boast about. Although the team showed some new life at the beginning of the season, even going above .500 early on, the Kings eventually came back down to earth and puttered along to finish the season.

They had a 35-point second half comeback, traded the face of the franchise, and saw some pleasant development from a few players. Lets go over the players who made it to seasons end.

Most Improved

Donte' Greene - Showed he belongs in the league. Demonstrated great defensive prowess and the ability to hit shots...finally.

Beno Udrih - Made himself look like the point guard Petrie inked to the big contract two summers ago. Played to his strengths and it made him a better player.

Meh...

Jason Thompson - Started off smoking hot, then cooled down significantly. If anything, Thompson may have regressed a bit from last season. At least he was consistent.

Spencer Hawes - My belief in his ability as a NBA post player is waning. He can pass very well, shoot, and when he gets good position, he has a very solid back to the basket game. But attitude problems and the fact he is about as tough as rice paper are really working against him.

Seven foot centers that weigh less than some wing players does not bode well for him. 

Andreas Nocioni - Veteran reserve filling up space. Really had a crappy season. He should be on a team like the Celtics.

Francisco Garcia - Did exactly what you would expect from him. Made threes, played defense, handled the rock a bit and looked emaciated. Typical El Flaco.

Ime Udoka - ...he had 15 points in the fourth quarter of the comeback against the Bulls?

Sean May - Started the first few games. Never got to the weight Westphal was looking for. Was a low risk, high reward situation, so the Kings really lost nothing here.

Mid-Season Additions

Carl Landry - Instantly became the Kings' second-best player upon arrival. Tough, aggressive post player who is an incredibly efficient scorer. This is a guy they will try to lock up this coming off-season.

Dominic McGuire - Didn't get a good look at him really. Was stoked for picking him up for nothing; we will see where he falls into play this summer.

Rookies

Tyreke Evans - ROY

Omri Casspi - Showed a lot of potential, but hit the rookie wall hard mid-season. He wasn't used to guarding players on the block much and it took a toll on his body. Also a little slow laterally, which could present a problem defensively for him as a wing player. Also, can't see him being able to add much body strength. Has a sweet stroke from downtown, though.

Jon Brockman - Dude's a boss. Gets rebounds, looks awkward, and is just a good dude to have on your team. Glue guy, he'll stick around this summer.

The next exciting chapter of this voyage is about this summer and what will hopefully happen regarding this Kings team. But first I just want to recognize Paul Westphal for not getting fired mid-season.

Best coach the Kings have had since Rick Adelman. Which is not saying too much, but he is by far the best.

At any rate, here is how I think things will shake out.

Draft

1st Pick - Derrick Favors: This is assuming that the draft order stays the same, which it won't, or that the Kings get the third pick. With Favors, the Kings land a player compared to Antonio McDyess and Amar'e Stoudemire pre-knee surgeries and is only 19 years old. 

2nd Pick - Jerome Jordan - Another weak frontline player to join the rest the Kings have! Maybe if Craig Brackins is still available the Kings can snag him, but the Kings may use this pick on another post player. Or perhaps they can trade Thompson and/or Hawes and their second-rounder to move up to a mid-first round pick.

Free Agency

Now, I don't like to speculate, this is a fun game to play!

LeBron James' Cavs are down and potentially on the verge of elimination from the playoffs. If there is one thing LBJ could do after a very unexpected and early playoff departure, it would be to bolt Cleveland.

Now, hear me out, but if the King comes to play for the Kings, he will be coupled alongside arguably the best player under 25 not named Kevin Durant, along with a lottery pick and a decent supporting cast along with perhaps some other off-season moves.

A good friend of mine literally just sent me a message on Facebook talking about this and I felt he made some valid, although intoxicated, points.

A man can only truly be a King when he is on the Kings...that's my justification anyhow.

The Maloofs would throw anything and everything at LeBron to try and get him to come here. They do own a casino after all.

Sure, Sacramento is not New York, LA or any other place. But, why the hell would he go to NY anyway? To play with Bill Walker and Jonathan Bender? Eddy Curry?

The Kings would have a great shot at him and Sactown would be instant contenders with LeBron. The Clippers could offer him a strong supporting cast, but it is still the Clippers where he would be overshadowed by the Lakers.

Chicago probably makes the most sense with Noah and Rose...but I just really want him to come play for Sacramento. 

And although this will not happen, I will go as far as to bet money hoping I'm wrong with anyone that the Kings will not sign LeBron or any of the other highly touted free agents to be.

The team is from Sacramento after all. What player has ever thought, "Hmm...Sacramento! Now that is a place I want to live!"

We can only wait to see what will happen this summer. But I will bet anyone and hope I'm wrong that the Kings will sign no significant free agent this summer.

But anything could happen. But most likely not.