While I was away, trainer/coach Brian McCormick - one of the smartest basketball guys in the area - weighed in on Francisco Garcia's hoops IQ.
"Francisco Garcia is the smartest player on the Kings and easily my favorite. As Houston was setting up for a lob dunk to Tracy McGrady, Garcia leapt from his seat on the bench, waving a towel, and yelled at the players involved. At the next timeout, he explained the breakdowns in some rotations to the assistant coaches. And, to show what he meant, he later rotated quickly to take a charge on the baseline. Garcia gets it."
When discussing Francisco, we always mention that he makes one boneheaded turnover a game, and that's it. He's limited those as he's gotten more game experience as the season goes along, and it's showing with his recent outburst of efficiency.
John Salmons (a player McCormick doesn't like) and Garcia are comparable players at this point. But Garcia has the potential to be a very good offensive player once his jumper solidifies, and could get to just below Tayshaun Prince on the defensive end. Salmons is at his peak, I'm afraid.
McCormick also has some thoughts on Mike Conley in a Kings jersey, so go read the whole post.