All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - Small Forwards

by section214 on Sep 13, 2007 9:09 PM PDT in Old School

Wow! What a varied list we have here. And all ten of these guys were better than Gerald Wallace while they were Kings, so don't start with me with the "What about Gerald Wallace" stuff.
Vote below, and be sure to comment as it may help determine 2nd and 3rd team.

Poll

The Best Small Forward In Sacramento Kings History Is:

Francisco Garcia

2 votes

Eddie Johnson

2 votes

Rodney McCray

0 votes

Billy Owens

2 votes

Harold Pressley

0 votes

Lionel Simmons

6 votes

Peja Stojakovic

92 votes

Hedo Turkoglu

1 votes

Corliss Williamson

6 votes

Ron Artest

17 votes

128 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 14 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Small Forwards

I took Peja at #1. Now, I still believe we got the better of the Artest / Stojakovic trade, but Peja in his prime delivered more than Ron-Ron has to this point. It's Artest's abysmal shooting percentage that drops him to #2 on my list.

I give Eddie Johnson a slight edge over Corliss for #3. EJ was an incredible shooter (I think he was close to 49% during his time here and he was a perimeter shooter). Corliss, on the other hand, was solid both on and off the court, a pro's pro, and just a helluva nice guy.

Lionel Simmons might have finished higher with me if he'd had at least one good knee, and I'm hoping that Cisco re-writes my list over the next couple of years.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Sep 13, 2007 9:16 PM PDT reply actions

Re: Small Forwards

Agreed.. You nailed the top 3.

by Kusian on Sep 14, 2007 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - Small Forwa

remember how peja stepped it up to near MVP level when C-Webb went down.

free special ed.

by Swissy14 on Sep 13, 2007 11:30 PM PDT reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings

Peja would've finished 2nd or 3rd in MVP voting in 2004 if Webber didn't come back or came back in a limited role. I know we needed Webber; but the chemistry between Peja, Brad, Vlade and Doug was so perfect there.

Don't forget the monster season Brad was having, too. He was at 16/10/5 when Webber returned.

by Tom Ziller on Sep 14, 2007 6:51 AM PDT reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - SF

My top 5:

Peja - In his prime with the Kings he was so fun to watch. The 2001-2003 years were the best. He was even driving the baseline and finishing which is something he has not been doing much of since 2003.
Artest - He has the most overall talent of any small forward we ever have had but he hasn't been here long enough, or proved himself here enough to be #1.
Simmons - While I think Eddie was the most clutch of all our small forwards, Simmons was the glue guy back then. Also, Eddie was only here 2 seasons and Lionel was our draft pick and before he hurt his knee really bad in 1994, he was solid.
Eddie Johnson.
Corliss Williamson.

Special Mention: I wanted to mention a guy that didn't play a full season with the Kings but might have become the greatest of ALL our small forwards:

Ricky Berry

His suicide was such a tragic thing to have happen. He seemed like a good guy. His one season with the Kings was amazing. I still remember that night that he and Harold Pressley put up an Arco Arena record for most threes made in a game/quarter. That was so fun to hear. Gary Gerould was going nuts.

He can shoot, and he looks great in a suit. Hey, everybody - It's REGGIE TIME!

by dalt99 on Sep 14, 2007 9:33 AM PDT reply actions

Remembering Ricky

Nice list, dalt. Agreed 100% on Ricky Berry.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Sep 14, 2007 9:36 AM PDT up reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster -

Think I'd have to go with Peja, then Lionel, then Ron-Ron and EJ.

But what about Gerald Wallace? <ducks>

by otis29 on Sep 14, 2007 9:38 AM PDT reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - Small Forwa

Hey, remember when Peja played at an MVP level for 2 1/2 months while our best player was recovering from injury? That was rad.

I vote L-Train because his offensive output was pretty close to Peja's with three huge exceptions: 1) he rebounded; 2) he defended; 3) L-Train maximized his limited talent, while Peja minimized his unlimited talent. And who knows how good L-Train could have been if his career wasn't derailed by injuries (real injuries, not slightly sprained pinky fingers).

Peja is 2nd because he did improve every season for his first four or five seasons before severely dropping off, and he was an integral part of the great Kings teams. 3rd is close between Eddie Johnson and Ron-Ron, but since I'm too young to have any strong memories of EJ, I'll go with Ron.

Freakin' Kings.

by DB on Sep 14, 2007 1:15 PM PDT reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - Small Forwa

I liked the L-Train but his offensive output wasn't in the same league as Peja. Simmons was a good player on a horrible team and he lacked range outside of 8 feet. Peja on the other hand was/is one of the top pure shooters in the NBA and when healthy he has the ability to score in a variety of ways. Sure Simmons was a better defender and rebounder but his lack of athleticism had the Kings drafting Walt Williams to play the same position 2 years into his career.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Sep 14, 2007 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: All Time Sacramento Kings Roster - Small Forwa

I don't remember the L-Train's defense very well. His offense certainly in no way rivaled Peja's, however. Moreover, while Peja was certainly an underachieving rebounder for his size while in Sac, his on-the-ball defense was very decent.(Jerry Renolds always said he was the team's second best "man" defender behind Christie. However, I think his team/help defense was never very good.)

I always thought that Hedo had the perfect package of physical gifts to be an awesome defender. But he's never reached that level.

by Kusian on Sep 15, 2007 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions