More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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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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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.

Geoff Petrie told The Bee's Jason Jones after the draft the Kings will look for frontcourt help in free agency. This could mean resigning Ike Diogu to a small contract, or chasing a center of minor repute to round out the depth chart.

But the team doesn't really need the help up front. Not right now.

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More photos » by Seth Wenig - AP

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There are two major arguments presented by analysts faulting the Kings selection of Tyreke Evans at No. 4: Ricky Rubio will be better, and Evans will not be a point guard in two years. If you agree with the former ... well, I can't fault you. I felt the same way for 10 months or so. I hold on to that fear, that while Evans will be good Rubio will be great. It's a fair fear, though it's hardly cut and dry. Predicting which will be the better player in five years is a guessing game, in my opinion.

The second argument -- that Evans is a shooting guard -- is something we can look at in a bit more concrete fashion. As just so you know this argument is being made, here's ESPN's John Hollinger: "I love Tyreke Evans as a player but am incredibly dubious about his ability to play the point and suspect he'll be a full-time shooting guard within two years." ESPN's Bill Simmons called the pick "a natural disaster." ESPN's Chad Ford wrote: "Ricky Rubio was a better fit than Evans, who is a not a point guard -- he has a scorer's mentality, and Sacramento already has a star shooting guard in Kevin Martin." In the opinion of ESPN's stats writer, ESPN's star columnist, and ESPN's draft guru, Tyreke Evans is not a point guard.

But what does history tell us?

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More photos » by Hector Mata - AP

Portland Trail Blazers' Sergio Rodriguez (11) of Spain, thanks the Lord for freeing him from the shackles of Nate McMillan. (AP Photo/Hector Mata)

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The Kings acquired at least one player Thursday who is definitely a point guard. While Tyreke Evans will have to prove to the coaching staff, the fans, his teammates and himself that he can be an NBA point guard, Sergio Rodriguez is there. He earned the moniker "Spanish Chocolate" in his pre-NBA days due to his stylistic relationship with old King Jason Williams. He is a passing point guard, racking up a great number of assists in limited minutes through three seasons in Portland.

Of course, there are problems with Sergio. He's an awful shooter -- 43.5% from two, 30% from three. He commits a bunch of turnovers (more than three per 36 minutes), his defense has always seemed suspect, he might be a lead guard who can only be successful in an up-tempo style, and no one has ever called him a leader.

And those are the on-court problems. Sergio apparently has issues in the locker room, too.

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HOST: Alright, for our next question, let's turn to basketball. As of today, how many players on the Sacramento Kings are too young to buy beer?

Ailene Voisin, the only full-time basketball columnist at the only daily newspaper in Sacramento, buzzes in.

HOST: Ms. Voisin.

VOISIN: Many.

HOST: Sorry, that is incorrect.

A completely random, faceless Kings fan, of which there are thousands in Sacramento and abroad, buzzes in.

HOST: Mr. Random, Faceless Kings Fan, your answer?

RANDOM, FACELESS KINGS FAN: Zero.

HOST: Correct!

***

This is all to point out that Ms. Voisin's insistence that Paul Westphal will have trouble handling this roster because it is filled with troublesome teenagers or some such nonsense is, well, nonsense. Talent is a problem. A lack of fit might be a problem. Basketball inexperience is a problem. Familiarity, or the lack thereof, is a problem. That Spencer Hawes argues about Ayn Rand and Karl Marx, that Jason Thompson has big feet, and that Kevin Martin injured his ankle last season ... I'm not following how these have become a) signs of troubled youth, or b) major obstacles Paul Westphal will have trouble overcoming.

One more thought: Ms. Voisin lists Donté Greene as "immature." She offers no background, though I assume she means to remind us of the Bobby Jackson Incident. I wasn't aware that one prank gone wrong (to the point of just pissing off a veteran player and the coaching staff, not bodily harm or some such) could sully a player's reputation for eternity. I'd really hate to see what Ms. Voisin would write if she covered, say, the Nuggets. (If Ms. Voisin has further evidence of Mr. Greene's immaturity, she ought to mention it in the column. We read newspapers, not minds.)

Meanwhile, while Ms. Voisin tries to stir the pot and add some unnecessary dramatic flourish to the hiring of Mr. Westphal, Mr. Greene has spent this month raising a child, working out with Daniel Shapiro daily, and saving a friend's life. I don't mean to implicate him as a modern-day Mother Teresa -- he's just doing his job as a father, an NBA player and a human being -- but his most recent record of action seems to speak of a young man with at least some shred of maturity. Again, if Ms. Voisin cannot give us specific examples of a player's immaturity, she ought not accuse him of such.

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

He's smiling now. Just wait until that bourgeois mutiny led by noted malcontent Jason Thompson. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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You wanna know the real reason the [Redacted] won the championship? Because Phil Jackson makes $25 billion per year.

Because you see, in the NBA, players don't listen to coaches who don't make $25 billion per year. Which bodes poorly for Kings coach Paul Westphal, according to Sacramento Bee sports editor Bill Bradley.

Westphal's salary next season is documented at $1.5 million, the low end of the league. Will Kevin Martin, who will make about six times more, listen to his new coach? Will Kenny Thomas pay attention while making $8.77 million? Of players under contract, only Donté Greene ($870,000) will make less than Westphal.

This is another hurdle Westphal will face in his first NBA coaching job since 2000. By lowballing a coach, the Maloofs have set up this scenario. Let's hope Westphal's experience can speak louder than his pay stub.

Will Kevin Martin, who will make about six times more, listen to his new coach? Kevin Martin, noted coach-killer, might not listen to Paul Westphal ... because Paul Westphal drives an Audi instead of a Jaguar. You heard it here first.

(I end this as I end all snarky comments on The Bee, which is to say I like The Bee and Mr. Bradley very much, and I know these "Leading Off" pieces are really, really not tailored to the hardcore NBA/Kings fan, but to the Keds-wearing state worker masses.* It's just funny to me that this argument can even be broached.)

* Copyright rbiegler 2007.

As linked below by Exhibit G, The Bee's Sam Amick reported on why Paul Westphal ended up beating out Kurt Rambis for the job.

[A]fter [Geoff] Petrie had to convince Westphal to stay in the race late last week, he had pressured Rambis' agent, Warren LeGarie, for an answer regarding what it would take to entice Rambis to take the job. That answer came this afternoon in the form of an e-mail from LeGarie, which was essentially a non-answer insisting that they needed more time and simply couldn't commit to anything. [...] There had been rumblings all along that Rambis had serious doubts about the job on a number of fronts and may not have taken it unless the expected salary ($1.5 million per in two guaranteed seasons) increased significantly.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com has a different story.

League coaching sources told ESPN.com that the Kings made a formal offer to Rambis hours before the Lakers' 108-104 loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

When Rambis passed -- having said repeatedly that he was determined to delay any decision about his future after the Finals and with the Kings intent on paying their new hire less than $2 million annually -- Sacramento moved on and agreed with Westphal on a two-year deal with a team option for a third season.

Ah yes, there is some spinning going on. The Kings either just wanted to know if they'd even be able to get Rambis, or they gave him an ultimatum hours before a Finals game in which Rambis was a lead assistant. We're talking about Geoff Petrie here, possibly the most methodical, least confrontational man in the business. We're also talking about the difference between a reporter in Sacramento, one who has reported this story from Day 1, versus a national reporter currently in Orlando. Amick's sources are obviously Kings/Westphal sources. I would surmise that Stein's sources potentially come from the Lakers.

None of this actually matters: Westphal is the coach, and it's unlikely folks around here will believe (or remember) Stein's story. But the spin being offered to Stein is obviously a degree less flattering for the franchise and Petrie, and it'd be unfortunate if that spin is what became conventional wisdom out there.