I don’t think that we are going to get our superstar through the draft and we are just going to have to wait for 2010 or 2009 to trade for a star/sign a star. I really think with the way our expiring contracts end up that that is the best possible way to get someone. As long as we have a serviceable team then a superstar can see that his presence may be enough to push us to that next level, not to mention our owners own a casino and if there’s anything we know about NBA stars they love the vegas. As TZ has mentioned before we have two big whopping contracts that will expire for the 2010 free agency which will be amazing trade chips.

In conclusion, no high-risk picks please.

So far as I can tell, Petrie doesn’t seem to take much risk. Assuming no draft-day trades he always seems to have his picks carefully pre-selected with a balance of good quality, and mid to high potential. I don’t see this as being any different, and I like how he drafts.

is an amazing athlete, but from all accounts he doesn’t know how to play basketball very well. Darrell Arthur could be a David West type player. I would actually prefer a low post player with this pick over a point guard. Beno didn’t do too poorly last year and it was his first time actually playing any sort of significant minutes. This year he could make that next leap. And I think everyone will agree that none of our current low post players have any chance at helping us on the boards, our biggest weak spot in my opinion. In conclusion I vote for Arthur, who isn’t necessarily a great rebounder, but he can learn, and also free up some 3s for Garcia, Martin, and Beno

Henry Abbot had something up the other day that mimics my sentiments completely. In a much more skillyfully-written passage, he concludes that being a pro-athlete is more about persistence, drive, and will power than workout numbers.

I look at a guy like Charles Barkley, who made a career out of hustling, and generally caring about the game more than he people he guarded, blocked, and dunked upon. He was what, 6’5” as a PF? I guess to say that numbers alone don’t paint the picture would be an understatement.

I’ll end by saying that the D-League and the NBA unemployment line is filled with guys who have tons of athleticism, and not enough drive/basketball IQ. I’ve got lots of faith in Petrie grabbing another gym rat.

Petrie seems to draft players that WOW him during workouts. If Randolph refuses to come, Petrie will want nothing to do with him.

Speaking if high cealing, I purpose trading back a few slots and grabbing Donte Greene, who fits the atheltic, high-upside pick.

In my view, when you pick in the lottery, you MUST obtain an asset (i.e. a player likely to start at some point in the league). You role the dice on “upside” and “potential” etc… at the bottom half of the first round, not the top half. Stars are rarely found picking late in the lottery and bottom half of the first round… sure their have been exceptions, but you are risking pehaps a one-in-twenty chance on getting a “star” versus a solid player who can be an asset to your team in the future (kept or traded). Most “stars” are picked 1-5 in the lottery. If your draft at 12 is a bust (more likely when drafting “upside”) then you’ve wasted the pick and obtained nothing useable in the future. Thus, the thinking behind Hibbert and Chalmers makes some sense if you subscribe to this theory… of course, the question is what theory does GP subscribe to?

The kings have nothing to lose during this rebuilding stage. Go with Alexis Ajinca or Randolph and try and hit a homerun in getting a star. I think it would be hard for the Kings to screw this pick up. I think they will however if they pick Arthur. Though he is solid , he does not have the star power. I really really hope they make a run in some way to get Augustin, I’m still holding out hope!

conducting a live mock draft on espn and debated either Chalmers or Hibbert (nod going to Chalmers by Ford) passing on Augustin/Randolph/Arthur et.al… both agreeing that #12 is a crappy pick

Can’t we gamble on a project like Randolph? Kevin Martin was a 185 pounds when he entered the draft. We aren’t going to make the playoffs in the deep Western Conference in the next two year as currently presented and this is a rebuilding team so why with a good big man coach can Randolph be a good player.

Just look at the teams that have been afraid to pull the trigger on high risk players because of unproven potential and team need. Vitaly Potapenko and a bunch of other career bench warmers were taken over Kobe Bryant. Just look at the Jordan draft, or many other draft disasters where teams would pick out of need and pass up on gambling on some of the most legendary NBA players. Teams need to go out on a limb and develop these high-risk, high-reward players, otherwise they’ll continue to always live in mediocrity…the status-quo.

It’s a no brainer, that at #12, if Anthony Randolph is available, you take him.

Lamar Odom is better than any forward on this team. Lamar Odom can’t block shots. The Kings need versatility players in the frontcourt.

Randolph is not NBA-ready, his body could not hold out for 82 physical NBA-type games. DeAndre Jordan would need to add weight as well though he is a bit taller. Speights on the other hand looks like his body is ready to take the wear and tear of NBA games. I could see him be a good guy to come off the bench as a rookie and contribute some good minutes during this transition year. If there is no Augustin or any other lottery pick that magically falls then Speights should be the guy. Still though, Petrie should be active and try to move up any way possible- use the second round picks to move up with first rounder or get a late first rounder out of those two.

Arthur’s undersized and skinny compared to many other NBA PFs. At 6-9, Arthur’s almost a small forward. Come to think about it, there’s only a small handful of players in this draft with the size or skill-set to be considered NBA ready from about the 10th pick+. Also, I don’t understand why a few people are riding the Ajinca bandwagon with such enthusiasm. NBADraft.net even compares him to Mikki Moore. Do we really want that?