A Bench Fit for a King

As I combed through the roster of the Sacramento Kings (nothing else to do at work today), slotting players based on where they project in the lineup this year....starter or bench player, I could not help but wonder if the Sacramento Kings have not assembled one of the best young benches in the NBA.

Projected starters for Sactown.

PG - Beno Udrih
SG - Kevin Martin
SF - John Salmons
PF - Mikki Moore
C - Brad Miller

With a trade having sent Ron Artest to Houston, John Salmons becomes the full-time starter at small forward for the Kings.

Starting the more defensive-minded Mikki Moore alongside your best center, Brad Miller makes the most sense for your frontcourt if you are head coach Reggie Theus. Moore's strengths as a decent shot-blocking PF that runs the floor well and is an active defender can be emphasized alongside the I-Can-Do-Summa-Everything-Including-Shoot-3s game of the King's number one big man Brad Miller.

Sacramento's biggest problem in their frontcourt though will be that their starters are too old and their bench is either too young right now or they suck.

It's no secret they would STILL love to move Kenny Thomas (not as desperate now though as in the past) and that Shelden Williams....just has little to no NBA game. So when I refer to the quality of Sacramento's bench, please, do not think that I am referring to these two.

I am moreso referring to their newly acquired young talent in Jason Thompson, who they drafted seemingly out of nowhere in June, and Donte Green, who they officially acquired in August from the Rockets in the Ron Artest deal.

Jason Thompson, whom the Kings selected with the 12th overall pick, is relatively unkown having played at Rider during his college years but has all the tools you would want in an NBA PF and the college stats to back it up. The size, the length, the versatility. The double-doubles. As a late bloomer and despite being a Senior when drafted he still exudes enough tangibles and talent that would hint at the potential to show much improvement down the line.

He was a bit of a risky pick because of all of that but from what I've seen it's a good risk by the Kings as they are looking towards rebuilding and Thompson will have time to develop his game there. Even with his limited experience, I could see him supplanting Shelden Williams off the bench behind Mikki Moore by season's end. Because Shelden Williams sucks.

The standout of the Kings bench however would be non other than Donte Green.



Green is your prototypical small forward with a scoring ability on a level of Tracy McGrady's in my opinion. That's who he reminds me of. He's almost unguardable. He has also drawn comparisons to Rashard Lewis or Marvin Williams. I do think he can be better than those two if he so chooses. He will however have to work on a few weaknesses. Mainly his defensive focus and his feel for the game. Offensively there is nothing this kid cannot do. Sky is the limit for Mr. Green.

You factor in the returning bench play of Francisco Garcia (who will be playing for a new contract), a great pickup at the PG position in Bobby Brown, and another year of NBA experience for Spencer Hawes and Quincy Douby and I would not be surprised at all to see Sacramento's bench perform extremely well and make a statement in the league as soon as this year.