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More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Quite obviously, I'm in the tank for Leon Powe. I begged the Kings to draft him in 2006 with the No. 19 pick which went to Quincy Douby -- Powe ended up going to Boston with the 19th pick in the second round. Powe's story is heart-rending, and it gets even moreso every passing day. (He also happens to be a killer player.)

In Game 2 of Boston's opening round playoff series against Chicago, Powe tore his ACL. He finished the game on the injured leg, but then had to forfeit his season to get the ligament surgically repaired. This week, the Celtics decided to refuse to make a $997,000 qualifying offer to Powe because he won't likely be ready until December or February and the Celtics cannot afford to lock up a roster spot with an injured player when they're trying to get another championship. (It's perfectly fair. Heartbreaking, considering Powe's work ethic, character and talent. But fair. Boston can do whatever it wants.)

So Leon Powe is a free agent. The Kings will look to reportedly add one big man, with incumbent Ike Diogu as the early favorite. But would bringing in Powe turn out to be a better play for Sacramento?

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Visiting Sergio Rodriguez in Gran Canaria

Blazers writer Casey Holdahl follows up a visit to Rudy Fernandez's youth camp on Mallorca with a stop on Gran Canaria to visit with new King Sergio.

about 12 hours ago Ziller comment 2 comments 0 recs

Ron Artest, the Lakers and You

by Ziller on Jul 2, 2009 4:13 PM PDT in News Comment 78 comments

More photos » by Matt Sayles - AP

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Ken Berger of CBS reports Ron Artest is a Laker. Carmichael Dave of KHTK and Ramon Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News confirm.

Holy crap it is going to be fun to boo Ron-Ron next year. Enjoy this, Lakers fans. Enjoy it well.

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Kings Summer League Roster Announced

by Ziller on Jul 1, 2009 2:35 PM PDT in News Comment 115 comments

The Kings released the full roster for its summer league team. It is rather stacked, in my humble opinion. The best news? Pete Carril will run the squad.

Check out the full roster after the jump.

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Will the Kings Add Another Assistant Coach, Scott Roth?

by Ziller on Jul 1, 2009 1:23 PM PDT in News Comment 8 comments

Scott Roth, most recently the coach of the D-League's Bakersfield Jam, was rumored to be a potential assistant coach on Paul Westphal's staff back when Westphal was hired. It didn't happen -- the Kings bypassed both rumored D-League additions (Roth and Bryan Gates) in favor of adding Jim Eyen, Mario Elie and Truck Robinson, and retaining Pete Carril.

But Roth might in fact join Westphal's staff. The coach resigned from his Bakersfield job this week. A day prior, a D-League blogger rumored that Roth would end up in Sacramento. I've been told there's a chance the Kings could add on to the staff, and that Roth could be the guy, but there's no verification. Heck, for all I know Roth could be a candidate for the Timberwolves job!

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Happy Anniversary, Maloof Family

by Ziller on Jul 1, 2009 11:47 AM PDT in Commentary Comment 40 comments

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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Kings VP Mitch Germann informs us today is the 10th anniversary of the Maloof family's purchase of the team.

The Maloofs catch a lot of flack in Sacramento. The arena issue has been the central wedge, though perceived tampering in Rick Adelman's expulsion, various trades and free agent signings and subsequent coaching hires have also tempered enthusiasm.

But anyone who has been around longer than 10 years understands just how much the Maloofs helped this franchise by rescuing it from the previous ownership. (In fact, you can usually tell the 2001 bandwagon fans apart from the longer-term fans based on their statements about the Maloofs.) The Maloofs have made some unfortunate steps, but in total have been by far the greatest ownership team the Sacramento Kings have ever had. Joe and Gavin, in particular, are great, accessible, passionate owners who deserve our kudos.

Congratulations, Maloof family. Here's to another decade of success in Sacramento.

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Carlos Boozer is Suddenly a Whole Lot Cheaper

by Ziller on Jul 1, 2009 6:32 AM PDT in Free Agency/Trades Comment 124 comments

Back in December, Mr. section214 made a fantastic argument in favor of the Kings going after Carlos Boozer. I will excerpt it.

Carlos Boozer is an NBA all-star, a career double-double man (21/11 over the past two plus seasons). He is a low post beast that finishes at the rim with either hand, and he can hit the mid-range jumper. He runs the pick and roll with the best of them, and he is currently 27 years old. He has already told the Jazz that he is opting out of the final year of his contract.

Oh yes, that. Carlos Boozer has the reputation of being a "mercenary," a gun for hire, a player with no loyalty. This was born out of his nasty exodus from Cleveland. And there is no way to candy coat this – when an agent thinks that you’re too sleazy to work with, well, that’s sayin’ something. Add to that the announcement to opt out and the fact that he has missed significant time to injury in three of his seven seasons, and you have all of the ammunition that you need to call this guy a selfish pr*ck.

Except that his teammates have never really castigated him for any of this. It is the nature of the beast of the modern day athlete. They all play in glass arena’s and none of them will throw stones, as they are all prepared to take a similar path if the opportunity presents itself.

I agree completely with 214 on these points. The sensationalism of Boozer's separation from Cleveland is not that no one else would ever do it, it was that no one else had ever done it. Especially to a blind guy. Meanwhile, you have a star power forward with one of the best rebound rates in the league, elite scoring instincts and even a record of success following his latest injury.

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