Well its hard being a Sacramento Kings fan these days.  With all the mounting losses and staggering injuries, it's tough to compete in this league.  However, there is hope in the form of the 2009 NBA draft.  Kings are currently in position to recieve teh fourth pick and they have an 11.9% chance of getting the first overall pick.  This is one of the highest pick they'll ever get and tell you the truth I want the Kings to keep losing so they can keep their pick postion.  Here why:

        The goal of every NBA team is to win a championship.  Currently the Kings future starting lineup looks kind of like this:  Udrih, Martin, Garcia, Thompson, and Hawes with a bench including Donte Greene and Bobby Brown.  You look at that lineup and even if you factor in some improvement and good coaching, that team is absolutely nothing against some of the other elite teams in the NBA who are looking to win the championship this year.  Obviously we need to pair Kevin Martin with another star to get this team into serious contention.  Some of you point to the 2010 free agent pool.  However do you really thing one of the major stars: Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, etc. is going to sign with us.  I mean come on.  You guys are putting way to much hope on that draft class.  With around 15 teams that are going to have good cap space, how is Sacramento going to compete.  The only way we have been successful here in the Petrie Era is by making shrewd trades (Webber and Bibby) and good drafts not free agency.  So I want to bring all of our attention to the 2009 NBA Draft.  Okay now lets get to the good stuff:

        Alright from the first look at the pool of draftees I see the answer to many of our problems : point guards.  Unless we get the first overall pick (10%) in which case we pick Blake Griffin, I think we would be best off getting a point.  Here's the main list:  Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holliday, and Brandon Jennings.  I will go into some depth about each player and offer our team outlook.

Ricky Rubio:  A very young player, 18, who has some truly special point guard skills.  He lacks good athleticism or elite quickness, but he has a special feel for the game and really knows how to command and set up his teammates and make them better.  He can drive well and is a pain in the ass on the defensive end with his activity level and good hands.  He has excellent vision, good body control, can get to the FT line, and always gives his best.  A truly special point guard in the mold of Steve Nash.

Stephen Curry:  An amazing shooter who shoots almost 60% of his shots from three point range.  He can get his shot off anywhere and can consistently drill despite huge pressure.  He has good vision and can make the good pass to get his teammate a good look.  With other teams purely focusing on him, he has played the point well this season averaging almost 7 assists a game.  However, Curry doesn't possess the athleticism or quickness of good point guard and really will struggle to lead an NBA team at the point position and really doesn't have the size to play the 2 position.  His lack of explosiveness or athleticism makes him a subpar finisher.  Comparison:  Mike Bibby.

Jrue Holliday:  This guy can do a little bit of everything: he can score, pass, and rebound.  He plays good defense.  He's quick, athletic, and explosive which allows him to get to the basket at will and knows how to finish well because of elite body control.  Can pull up well off the dribble.  Has an overall smooth game and is a good decision maker.  Plays under control and with good effort.  Needs to improve his point guard skills, but has the potential to become a good floor general.  Has the mold of a Randy Foye/Westbrook/ Stuckey*.

Brandon Jennings: "Tremendous lefty point guard with a scary package of speed, athleticism, point guard skills and tenacity".  That basically sums up this guy.  So far he has struggled in Europe as his shot just hasn't fallen and his decision making has been pretty awful, turnover and bad shots.  Defensively he is weak and doesn't do a great job defending.  He is a natural point guard and can penetrate and set up his teammates with his good vision.  He has a solid jumpshot, but has struggled in Europe with it.  He has an explosive first step, has elite quickness and is very athletic, but he is also weak and struggles in the aggressive play of Europe.  He can't absorb contact well.  However, there have been flashes of brilliance in Europe and overall he has a very high upside. Comparison: Kenny Anderson

Team Outlook

Well I think we have a star in Martin already.  We have two big men: Hawes and Thompson who I think will end up making a very good big man pairing that is of championship caliber (cross your fingers and knock on wood).   I think with the right point guard our of this group we could dominate.  I think we need a pure point guard who can lead this team and make everyone better.  My preference in order is: Rubio, Jennings, Holliday, and Curry.  What do you guys think? Which guard would you chose?  Do you think getting one of these guards would make us a championship caliber team in a few years?  Would you select anyone else in this draft?  Please do share.

*A note on Stuckey:  would you have chosen him instead of Hawes the 2007 draft?  Is he better than hawes especially after his 40 point outburst?  Why did he fall so low?