Jimmer Fredette Brings More Questions Than Answers to Sacramento Kings Offense

Jimmer Fredette brought something to Sacramento upon draft day that the Kings haven’t had in years: a true “star.” Not since Chris Webber has a King so captured the fans' attention and adoration. And this is before he even played a game.

What he didn’t bring was answers.

Fans and experts hailed him as a perfect complement to the Kings current roster, but in reality he just makes it all that much more complicated.

Jimmer hardly will be the seamless fit that many seem to think he will be...and until the Kings figure out what they’re going to do with all their players, don’t expect Sacramento’s offense to get any prettier.

The Kings had enough questions surrounding their offense without adding Jimmer. Guard Tyreke Evans proved his rookie year he could be a top talent in the league but struggled last year to improve his jump shot and was plagued by injuries (plantar fasciitis and ankle issues).

Center DeMarcus Cousins showed flashes of brilliance in his post game, but was increasingly ball-dominant as the season moved on. And shooting guard Marcus Thornton, brought over from New Orleans at the deadline, worked really hard to be a complementary player but really needs his shots in order to be effective.

The Kings should have traded the No. 7 pick in the 2011 draft for veteran help and spent all their time working with Tyreke/Cousins/Thornton to figure out an offense.

But come draft time, the conventional wisdom was that Tyreke wasn’t ever going to be a decent passer (despite the fact that he already was) and that the Kings needed a guard who could shoot (ignoring the fact that Marcus Thornton was fantastic at doing just that).

Most importantly, the Kings (apparently) were in desperate need of a point guard. And Jimmer was hailed as the perfect complement to Tyreke, one who could shoot and pass and would prove all his doubters wrong.

But let’s consider this for a second: The Kings have a guard in Tyreke who already has gained the reputation as useless without the ball, and while his weaknesses are vastly overrated, he does need to learn to be less ball-dominant.

They have a rookie center in Cousins who was hardly efficient offensively but showed great promise when the Kings ran the offense through him.

And then they added Thornton, the most forgotten piece of this puzzle, who was such a bright spot late last season with his shooting and yet now seems relegated to the bench in the midst of Jimmer fever.

That’s three guys who all need the ball to score. And we’re expecting Jimmer, who was dominant as a one-man show in college, to come in and fit in perfectly? We’re expecting him to transition from the No. 1 option he was at BYU and become the Kings' third (or even fourth) fiddle on offense? Seamless transition, indeed.

It is true that the Kings of the past never had one single floor general, and indeed that was the strength of the ye-olden-times Kings. Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie—none needed the ball to be completely effective and the fluid, ever-dangerous Kings passing game arose and gave the team not only a large amount of victories but tons of national recognition as well.

So, yes, it is conceivable that general manager Geoff Petrie is going for the same thing again. Tyreke, Cousins, Thornton and Jimmer are all capable passers and if they all buy into a fluid offense we could see something really special.

But until the Kings get all four to buy into that system and work the ball-dominance mentality out of them, don’t expect any miracles.

Most importantly, head coach Paul Westphal is going to have to learn to control his players on offense. The team has never had what you’d call a consistent offensive game plan, and over the past two seasons, they’ve had their biggest offensive contributions come from simply handing the ball to their youngsters (Tyreke in 2009, Cousins/Thornton in 2010) and hoping for the best.

Now, Westphal will have to continuing puzzling out how to run Tyreke/Thornton/Cousins together and figure out how Jimmer works in.

Westphal has struggled to choose between a halfcourt set and a fast-break heavy offense last season, but the one thing the Kings need more than anything is some structure and discipline. This must happen quickly into next season, or the Kings will just be floundering again.

Even the Kings veterans are offensive question marks. Adding John Salmons was the biggest head-scratcher of draft day 2011, a player who hasn’t been a successful fit for most of his career and was traded out of Sacramento last time in part because he was a ball hog.

Samuel Dalembert, should he return (looking more doubtful), seemed to think last season that the Kings brought him in to score and forced up a ton of bad shots.

And the Kings traded Beno Udrih in the Salmons deal, their most consistent player who worked hard to fit into the team's offense and was sent packing in order to “clear up room for Jimmer.”

The talent is there, of course. The addition of power forward JJ Hickson from Cleveland in a lockout-deadline deal just adds more fuel to the fire.

Jimmer, Tyreke, Thornton (should he return, he is a restricted FA), Hickson and Cousins, in terms of raw talent, make up one of the most talented young groups in the business.

But until Sacramento proves that it has an offensive game plan and convinces all five of the youngsters to buy into it, we’re more likely to see offensive stagnation than offensive mastery.

The addition of Jimmer Fredette hardly solves the Kings' offensive confusion. It just makes it even murkier.