Who Can the Sacramento Kings Pair With Tyreke Evans In the Starting Backcourt?
When Tyreke Evans was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 2009 NBA Draft, it was wondered how he would play alongside franchise player Kevin Martin. Evans' domination of the ball in the halfcourt didn't jive particularly well with Martin's slashing style, and subsequently Kevin Martin was traded.
Kings brass quickly determined Tyreke Evans was the franchise and has searched the roster frantically for an adequate guard to complement Evans in the back court.
In addition to Kevin Martin, there have been several attempted partners. Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia, Luther Head and Pooh Jeter have each masqueraded as a starting guard alongside him, but based solely on Sacramento's abysmal record in the last 18 months, each of these lineup experiments have failed.
The dilemma is this: Evans isn't a conventional shooting guard. He isn't a conventional point guard either. He is a shooting guard in size and stature, without question, but can't shoot. He is a point guard in certain skill sets (elite ball handler, dominant at getting to the basket), but struggles to run a fluid offense or find people.
In my opinion, Evans would be best served playing alongside an elite shooter. As the Kings roster is presently constructed, that role would have to be filled by Omri Casspi or Francisco Garcia. Both could be role players on a playoff team, but you don't want them playing starters minutes on a playoff contending team.
Thus the Kings must look around the league to find a backcourt mate who strikes a little more fear than Beno Udrih, who has been typecast into that role mostly out of necessity.
If the Kings were to attain the services of one of these guards, Udrih would move to the third guard, a role better suited for the Slovenian. I present a few players around the NBA who would pay immediate dividends for the Sacramento Kings.
Ben Gordon, SG Detroit Pistons
When the Pistons lured Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to the Pistons two summers ago, there was an immediate abundance of wing players in Detroit. With the Pistons seemingly looking to move Rip Hamilton now, Gordon won't be easy to pry.
But the Pistons are currently involved in a potential ownership change so they may look to free themselves of Gordon's three-year, $37.2 million remaining salary after this season. The question, of course, is would the Maloofs be willing to take on a hefty paycheck like that?
On the court, Gordon's elite three-point shooting would serve as a tremendous aid in helping space the floor for Tyreke Evans. On the defensive end, Ben Gordon and Tyreke Evans could switch off seamlessly as both could realistically check point guards and shooting guards.
OJ Mayo, SG Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have asked Mayo to take on a new role: bench spark plug. It's common knowledge that all NBA players want to start, and play a lot of minutes. Both of those requests would gladly be granted in Sacramento.
Mayo is something of a combo guard himself, but with a much better outside jump shot than Tyreke. Additionally, Mayo's contract wouldn't serve as a major obstacle, as it is very reasonable. Could the Kings piece together an attractive enough package of picks/players?
Stephen Curry, PG Golden State Warriors
Golden State would have to get swept off their feet to trade away this young man, but lest we forget this is an organization that once gave away Mitch Richmond to the Kings in exchange for a sack of marbles.
Curry's strongsuits are: his sniper like outside shooting, ability to run an offense, and his knack for getting teammates involved. To be quite frank, there's not many players Stephen Curry couldn't play alongside in the league.
With his vast array of ability, Curry could either play off ball and set up Evans or let Evans run the show while Curry unleashes the league's most dangerous set shot from three.
J.J. Redick, SG Orlando Magic
Noticing a trend here? Tyreke Evans needs to play with a dominant three-point shooter. Newsflash: there isn't a better three-point shooter than J.J. Redick in the world. Redick isn't an elite on ball defender, but he competes every night.
Most importantly, Redick knows his role, doesn't take bad shots and is a good teammate. Orlando just re-signed him to a lucrative, long-term deal, but they also just acquired fellow SG Jason Richardson.
I'm not saying the Magic are shopping Redick (they're not), but if the Kings can offer a big the Magic desire and require to compete in the East, Geoff Petrie and Magic President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith may spend many sleepless nights discussing specifics on a trade (if they haven't already).
In recent weeks, Tyreke Evans has found a certain measure of health and has found his game along with it. Tyreke has seen a significant bump in his field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage since Jan. 1.
He is getting his teammates more involved as well, with Evans' assists average going from a pedestrian 4.8 per game to 7.3 in 2011 thus far. He clearly is the best player on the team, and how much this group develops rests largely on how much he develops.
I respect and understand the King's philosophy of building through the draft, but this young roster is starved for more talent. Sacramento, owners of the league's lowest salary and not coincidentally the league's worst record at 9-30, should be in full blown talent acquisition mode.
The acquisition of one of these guards would help Tyreke Evans development, and consequently, that of the Sacramento Kings as well.
