When they initially talked about Mike Bibby's injury, my brain immediately assumed Quincy Douby or Orien Greene would take over the starting spot. It looks like that won't be the case, with Geoff Petrie telling Sam Amick he's going to look for free agent help. And actually, Douby or Greene may still start... but someone else will likely be brought in to take some minutes off their hands. Based on Amick's report and internal musings, here's a comparison of the possibilities.
Name Pros Cons
Gary Payton Veteran leadership Old as dirt, ineffective
Earl Boykins Scorer, low turnovers No defense, possibly too expensive
Mike Wilks Decent shooter, distributor Short track record
Luther Head Lethal deep shooter, young He's a shooting guard, would have to trade something
Rafer Alston Nice ballhandler Fat contract, terrible shooter
Keith McLeod ... He's terrible
Not a lot of great options. The problem with Boykins, who might be the best option on paper, is he's not going to figure in any future plans with the team -- when Bibby's back, Boykins is useless. If you're going to bring in Head, you're not improving the point guard position over Douby and John Salmons. Payton is a waste of time at this point; Alston's a waste of cash...
... which is why Mike Wilks (who the Kings almost signed back in July) makes the most sense. He's been hanging around town all summer, playing with some of the guys in pick-up games and working out. He'll likely jump at the minimum contract, since that's all he was going to get before anyways. And he'll actually fit with the team when Bibby returns, as a spot-minute locker room leader.
The problem? All those things (minus the Bibby absence) applied in July, and Petrie passed. Why? No idea. We'll see how desperate Petrie and Reggie Theus are to get a veteran back there, though.
UPDATE: Chucky Atkins is out 6-8 weeks with a pulled groin, and Denver signed Mike Wilks (who they had just cut). One option down.