It's February, which means the 2012 NBA Draft is only ... wow, it's still five months away. That's a lot of time. Oh well! ESPN's Chad Ford has his first mock out anyway. The Sacramento Kings are in position for the No. 5 pick right now, and Ford has the team landing a player at the biggest need spot: small forward. The pick is Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. A snip of Ford's blurb on the kid:

Few players work as hard as he does, and he also has athleticism, toughness and the ability to defend multiple positions.

A third John Calipari one-and-done in four years? Why not?

DraftExpress' mock was last updated a week ago, and doesn't take team needs into account. Jared Sullinger landed at No. 5 in that version, with Kidd-Gilchrist going No. 3.

The Sacramento Kings picked up Tyler Honeycutt with the No. 35 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft last week; it was quite a coup, as Jason Jones had reported in the run-up to the draft that if the Kings could pick up a late first-round pick, Honeycutt was a target. The team handled its immediate concerns at small forward (in theory) by picking up ol' friend John Salmons in the draft day trade involving Beno Udrih and an interesting move down in the lottery. Given that point guard-to-be Jimmer Fredette was the Kings' pick, swapping out Udrih for Salmons alleviates a crowded backcourt while giving the Kings a definite No. 1 option at the three.

But the future of the three remains unsettled; even Salmons' fans would admit that Johnny is neither great enough or young enough to be the small forward to help roll with Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and Fredette into the fields of glory. It stands to reason, of course, that (should Fredette develop, Cousins meet his potential and Evans bounce back on the path to elite stature) the small forward position will always be one of those sub-elite, "replaceable" spots on the roster. The Spurs, after all, never had an elite center to pair with Tim Duncan once David Robinson retired, and the starting two-guard spot was manned by a faceless succession of roleplayers. The Lakers have been sub-good at point guard for five titles this millennium.

So maybe the Next Great Kings Team won't have anyone of note at small forward. Maybe it'll be a Rasho Nesterovic or Derek Fisher or DeShawn Stevenson.

Or maybe the team will have Tyler Honeycutt.

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The aim of the NBA Draft is to get better, obviously. Getting worse is what you do in the regular season, as players lose value by failing to live up to their potential, or by getting injured, or by getting older and losing their ability to perform at a high level, or by being so good they become expensive, leading to the injuries and the getting older and whatnot. Bad teams get worse in the offseason, between the draft, trades and free agent. Good teams get better. Bad teams seeking to become good get better. The Sacramento Kings are, and have been, a bad team. They need to get better to become good. This is the goal.

I'm not sure the Kings got better on the day of the 2011 NBA Draft.

If they had drafted Jimmer Fredette at No. 7, they would have gotten better. If they had taken anyone at No. 7, they would have gotten better, just to varying degrees. The draft pick who doesn't play up to the rookie scale's first two years of salary is rare. Ultra-rare. Even Quincy Douby played up to his rookie scale salary. It's hard to make a draft pick and get worse. And the Kings may very well have gotten a lot better with Fredette. I'm not convinced he'd make the team better than would have Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, Bismack Biyombo or Chris Singleton. Maybe yes, maybe no. I'm not convinced, but I'm very possibly dead wrong. Maybe Jimmer was the best point guard in the draft.

Regardless, taken alone, Jimmer improves the team. But we can't take it alone because of what Sacramento did to justify taking Jimmer.

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The Sacramento Kings finished off the 2011 NBA Draft by taking Washington Huskies point guard Isaiah Thomas with the No. 60 pick on a night in which the team's backcourt was completely remade. The Kings had already traded Beno Udrih to the Milwaukee Bucks and selected Jimmer Fredette in the lottery. Thomas could replace Pooh Jeter as the new fourth guard in the Kings' rotation, assuming Marcus Thornton is retained.

The Thomas pick caps off an interesting night, not just for the Kings but for the NBA. There's no telling when we as basketball fans will again have something to celebrate, given the labor situation. I really cannot wait to see Thomas and Tyler Honeycutt compete with the incumbents, or see Jimmer and Tyreke Evans pair up, or -- yes -- seeing John Salmons tilt his head and drive to the hoop. Even if it didn't turn out quite as expected or hoped, it's basketball. It's what we love.

Welcome to Sacramento, new Kings. Hope you stay (and the team) stay a while.

Tyler Honeycutt of UCLA landed with the Sacramento Kings at No. 35 in the 2011 NBA Draft. Honeycutt was projected to go in the first round by many, and is considered a solid value pick. But will he get playing time behind John Salmons? (Just kidding.)

The Kings have the No. 60 pick, but wouldn't be expected to get a legit roster player all the way down there. Honeycutt should compete for a spot in the rotation with Donte Greene. It remains to be seen what happens with Omri Casspi, given the Salmons acquisition.

The Kings haven't added a power forward or center as of yet, which could mean that the team is serious about trying to keep Samuel Dalembert, or that the team is comfortable with Jason Thompson as a starter, or that the team is looking to make an impact in free agency or via trade, or that the Kings just really like Honeycutt and no available big men.

The Kings have the No. 35 and No. 60 picks.

The Sacramento Kings picked Jimmer Fredette of BYU with the No. 10 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Jimmer is ridiculously popular just about eveywhere, and figures to play in a three-guard rotation with Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton.

Both Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker lasted to the No. 7 pick, but went back-to-back at No. 8 (Detroit Pistons) and No. 9 (Charlotte Bobcats), leaving Jimmer to Sacramento. Knight ended a run of five straight international players running from No. 3 (Enes Kanter) to No. 7 (Bismack Biyombo).

Earlier on Thursday, the Kings traded their No. 7 pick to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Beno Udrih in exchange for No. 10 and good ol' John Salmons. Salmons is due $25 million over the next three seasons. Udrih was due $14 million over two years. The No. 10 is also typically less valuable than the No. 7 pick.

The Kings next pick at No. 35. That pick should come down around 7:30 Pacific.