82 games,  six months gone and it is time to discuss how the team makes the grade as seen from my eyes.  A full report card is too long so I will break this down into 4 parts. The Core, The Near Core, The Here Todays, The Coaching and Front Office. Today, the Here Todays.

What is a “Here Today”? A suitcase player who could be seen to shuffle off to another team. They either have too much unrealized potential or are very good but not excellent at one skill but not well rounded enough to  garner reliable minutes.  Other Here Todays are players that don’t fit a system, have personality issues, or are more valuable for their contract than their basketball talent.  MidTerm grades in parantheses

Andres Nocioni:  The Bull of the Pampas  has not been able to bring his best basketball as his playing time is limited. Noce is an easy player to enjoy – he plays hard, with grit and he brings effort every night. The biggest problem for Chapu is that he would excel on a team that is better. He is out of place on this team. If he returns next season, and realize he has publicly requested to  not return,  he will be (if not already) the K9 of 2010-11. C (C-)

John Brockman: The second half of the season had Nessie submerged. He is not guaranteed for next year and he will need to work this summer on bringing some offense. A midrange NBA caliber jump shot and 75% FT shot will go a long way towards keeping him on the court. Overall, despite his second round status: D + (C-)

Ime Udoka: The loses seemed to push Ime further and further back in the line up. I think his maturity and defensive production have been a bright spot. I hope he returns. C – (C-)

Sean May:  Given more chances the last few weeks May increased his production but added little. D – (D-)

Kevin Martin, Segio Rodriguez, Kenny Thomas, Hilton Armstrong, Dominic McGuire, Joey Dorsey, Garrett Temple gone tomorrows (and in most cases, yesterday)

2 Core and 6 Near Core, if you add Brockman who should be back for 2010-11 but must show marked improvement to be a Near Core player,  the Kings have 9 players going into next season.