Kings win back-to-back home games, but what does it mean? We'll see

It’s important to attempt to discern what we’re seeing.

It’s not just that the Kings have won two of their past three games.

Or that they’ve won their past two home games over Memphis and Phoenix, respectively.

Or that their 7-24 record results in the NBA’s worst winning percentage at .226. Or that the Kings currently are grouped with the L.A. Clippers (10-24); Minnesota (9-25); New Jersey (9-25); Washington (8-24); Detroit (11-22); Toronto (11-22) and Charlotte (11-20).

Basically, these are the worst of the worst. And Sacramento’s .226 winning percentage comes on the heels of two victories, while uplifting in nature, that surely rank as remarkable, if not downright miraculous.

Actually, the Kings could have lost those games more easily than they were won.

Teams usually do not win with 55-foot shots, buzzer-beaters as the Kings did with Tyreke Evans bomb against Memphis.

Nor do they normally outscore their opponents, 19-2, during the game’s final six minutes by limiting a team to one basket in its final 10 possessions as they did against Phoenix.

There can be no sugar-coating where the Kings and the rest of these teams reside in the NBA’s hierarchy. We’re talking way on the outside hoping to get into a position in which they can look.

While assessing the Kings, the surroundings cannot be ignored. The teams whom share Sacramento’s early-season struggles have youthful bases.

New Jersey (Avery Johnson) and Washington (Flip Saunders) are considered first-class coaches. Larry Brown almost is universally acknowledged to be one of the world’s best coaches, yet he’s already been replaced in Charlotte by Paul Silas.

Others such as the Clippers, Minnesota, Detroit and Toronto have relatively young, new and/or inexperienced coaches.

The league’s most successful coach – the L.A. Lakers’ Phil Jackson – has his own problems at this time. Granted, the two-time NBA champion Lakers’ problems are relative and totally unlike those of the bottom-barrel group.

Yet, problems are problems and as Kings coach Paul Westphal alluded to following the victory over Memphis, the season can be described as attempting to plug leaks in a dike. Just when a hole is filled, another arises.

Many of the teams struggling to win also struggle to score. The Kings rank sixth from the bottom in scoring at 94.1 points per game. The inability to score usually indicates a lack of prime-time talent.

Yet, New Orleans averages 93.9 points with all-star point guard Chris Paul running the show. There are no givens when teams struggle other than all teams will. Some just will do it more and longer than others.

Clearly, the recent performances of rookie center DeMarcus Cousins have given the Kings reason for optimism. While Cousins figures his way, the Kings should be realizing their course of patience with the 20-year-old must be followed.

Cousins’ youth and inexperience will be a factor, but his growth cannot be denied. Cousins understands his growth also requires patience. As much as he’d like to be an immediate dominant presence, he has to learn the league, his teammates and himself.

Said Westphal of Cousins, “He’s cutting down some of his impatient mistakes and doing a better job of getting a wider base. He’s reading the defenses better, before he makes his move and he’s staying out of foul trouble.”

Cousins has a unique and distinctive game. He’s listed at 6-foot-11, yet at times he plays the game as if he’s a 6-footer. He’ll attempt to push the ball upcourt via the dribble or lay in the backcourt to try to poke the ball away from a guard.

These aren’t particularly smart moves, but they are part of what makes him who he is. Cousins isn’t scared and that heart in a big man has been needed around here a little longer than virtually forever.

He plays as if he‘s a big guy who grew tall relatively late instead of always being a big guy. He says that’s not the case.

“For me, I was never afraid to try stuff,” he said Sunday night after scoring a career-high 28 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out season-high and team-leading six assists. “When I first started playing ball, I used to take off dribbling the ball and coaches would flip their (lids). I’d just keep going and I guess I’ve benefited from it.

“My shot has been messed up, but I’m comfortable shooting (15-footers).”

The extra bonus Sacramento gets with Cousins is he is naturally silly and funny. It’s difficult ever imaging an uptight locker room with him roaming with walk-bys.

When told most of the Phoenix players believed he’d walked on a key fourth-quarter, three-point play, he said, “I took eight steps because I had a guy (Robin Lopez) on my back and I couldn’t control that.”

What Westphal and the rest of the Kings coaching staff and front office have not been capable of controlling is the players’ inability to make shots. It’s the coaching staff’s job to help their players get good shots. The coaches can’t make the shots for them.

Perhaps the players need to put in more work and control what they can control.

Witness 23.1 percent field-goal shooting (6-for-26) in the first quarter against Phoenix and 35 percent shooting in the second quarter. Then the Kings shoot 61.1 percent (11-for-18) in the third quarter and 10 of 20 in the fourth.

Explain that! Moreover, the Kings made eight of their last 12 shots in the fourth, so that means they missed six of their first eight. Explain that, too!

We’re still waiting to see what the Kings look like if they play a solid 48 minutes. It was nice Sunday, however, to see Sacramento receive workmanlike performances from Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, Carl Landry, Jason Thompson as well as Cousins. For once it didn’t matter that Evans and Beno Udrih stunk up the joint.

And it didn’t hurt that Pooh Jeter contributed four points, four assists and no turnovers during the fourth quarter, his only 12 minutes of action.

Little things keep Kings from improving

It seems as if it were just 2½ weeks ago the Sacramento Kings were 3-1 and preparing to play the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was.

Fast forward to Wednesday night against the New York Knicks, the Kings had lost five straight games, four at home and three to teams struggling as badly if not more than themselves.

The Kings raced to a 15-point lead near the end of the first quarter against New York, which had lost six straight, and the early consensus was Sacramento was moving toward stopping the bleeding with a reconfigured starting unit including Luther Head and Jason Thompson.

Wrong! Now the Kings have lost six straight entering tonight's home game against the New Jersey Nets.

The Kings went to their new second unit and allowed points so quickly, the term point-shaving entered the mindset. The Knicks scored so easily, it was like the Kings just had to be letting them, right?

After the game, coach Paul Westphal said this same second-unit Tuesday had battered the first unit so badly he almost felt sorry for his starters.

Against the Knicks, the second unit received what it had given in the previous day’s practice because during a 20-2 New York run I felt sorry for what predominantly was the Kings second unit of DeMarcus Cousins, Omri Casspi, Darnell Jackson, Francisco Garcia and Beno Udrih.

Or maybe it was that they were sorry. It was one of those two, well, maybe both.

The Kings twice ran away from players with the ball in the half-court. Those are a couple of moves that likely inspired Westphal to later compare their performance to ‘sub sixth-grade basketball that was indescribably bad.’

Now that was an accurate description. Include an incorrect traveling call on Cousins; an accurate traveling call on Cousins, an unnecessary 20-footer by Jackson, who appears to have 15-foot range at best; and a missed layup by Udrih; and the Kings had handed momentum to the Knicks like a friendly black jack dealer with an eight on a 13.

Check out this Kings defensive possession midway through the second quarter with four of the five starters in the game. Carl Landry had just made a jumper over Amare Stoudamire to cut New York’s lead to 38-37.

Then New York’s Toney Douglas (defended by Udrih) runs a high angle screen-roll with Stoudamire (defended by Samuel Dalembert). Stoudamire rolls and on the move gets stopped by Landry. Stoudamire goes to the floor.

Douglas passes to Ronny Turiaf at the top of the key with Stoudamire still on the floor. Turiaf takes one dribble and passes back to Douglas who has faded beyond the three-point line. He makes one hard dribble left to elude Udrih (yes, it was that easily done) and rises for a three-point attempt. Landry steps out to challenge the shot because Udrih now was behind Douglas.

The shot misses badly. Dalembert moves over to box out Turiaf. That leaves Stoudamire, who had risen from the floor, a wide-open path for a two-handed tap dunk and a 40-37 lead.

Now the Kings had spaced the floor on the opposite side with Danilo Gallinari (defended by Garcia) up top and Wilson Chandler (defended by Tyreke Evans) in the short right corner.

Evans remained in a four-foot area throughout the possession and basically did nothing. He didn’t go for the rebound nor did he attempt, maybe not even think about boxing out Stoudamire.

More importantly, Evans (last season’s NBA rookie of the year and 20-5-5 guy, yada, yada, yada) let his teammates down. He certainly could have and should have had Dalembert’s back when the center had Landry’s back who had had Udrih’s back.

On one possession, Udrih and Evans stunk it up defensively. In a five-man game, that’s 40 percent of your defense giving you nothing and the opposition everything.

It was just one possession, but the line between NBA success and failure can be that fleeting. Just like 17 days can turn into a 2½-week trip to hell and just like four minutes can turn a 31-18 Kings lead with 10:35 left in the second to a 38-35 Knicks lead with 6:30 left.

Heck, it wasn’t even four minutes of game time, but in real time it seemed less. And Westphal during one stretch called a time out with 8:59 left and followed with a 20-second time out 45 seconds later.

Now, the Kings had ample opportunities later to win this game, but this one stretch of play, low-lighted by one defensive possession, was an indicator of why they didn’t. It is a possession such as this that leads to Sacramento allowing a league-high 49.2 defensive field-goal percentage.

Moreover, it’s an example of how a team has to work in concert and trust each other defensively if it is going to be successful.

It’s not rocket science but it is a thinking man’s game.

Simply, though, let’s get back to Marty Mac’s theory of needing five or six players performing near or above their potential against the Knicks.

Landry, who is making me re-think his potential of scoring with his back-to-the basket, had 21 points and nine rebounds and played well.

Westphal credited his team with doing a better job of getting Landry the rock. Perhaps the Kings can begin to go inside to Cousins with more diligence and success, too.

Cousins committed a team-high five turnovers, but scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds.

Moreover, he played so hard, it was noticeably different than most of his teammates. The dude is intense. He plays as if he doesn’t want to lose. He sells out. I’m not sure I can say that about each of his teammates.

Donte Greene played 20 minutes, all in the second half and never came out of the game once he entered.

It could just be me, but his quickness and athleticism are needed on this team. He’s going to make mistakes, but when he’s playing really hard and relaxed, the Kings are a better team.

That’s three out of 12 who played well and that will not get the job done.

Evans scored a team-high 23, five of which came after the outcome had been decided. He added five rebounds and five assists, but soon must figure out how to stop leaving his feet and passing.

Being one who was guilty of the same thing, Evans has to stop taking off from so far away from the hoop and not knowing what he’s going to do. He’s got to get one dribble deeper on drives so he can fully take advantage of his strength and body control.

Moreover, he and Udrih both have to stop jumping into the air and passing almost blindly backwards. Those passes usually start the opponents’ fast break.

Udrih scored 18 and helped fuel the Kings fourth-quarter comeback with 11 points, but his recent defense has been embarrassing.

As Head said after the game, “This is so disappointing because we can play so much better than we’ve been playing.”

This is true and in the darkness, you’ve got to look for a little light somewhere. Sacramento’s light from one vantage point is it can play better. Maybe the Kings will when they truly get tired of getting their butts kicked.

Coaches have to coach and players have to play

A couple of thoughts come to mind after watching the Kings Sunday afternoon lose their fifth straight game, this time to the Detroit Pistons.

This is a question, more than a thought, but why are the Kings trying to make tuna fish salad out of chicken?

Luther Head is not a point guard, but that’s where the Kings are trying to play him.

Jason Thompson is not a small forward, but his natural position is power forward. This may not be a revelation, but play the dude at power forward.

If you still want him on the floor and don’t want to play him at power forward, play him at center. That’s probably his second-best position, but small forward is his third-best/worst position.

Actually, Westphal’s use of Thompson at three is a compliment, albeit a dumb one. The coach was trying to get him onto the floor. The same minutes Thompson played at three, he could have played at a position we used to call Bench.

Here’s a key that I can’t accurately assess, but J.T. wears size 20 shoes. Small forwards don’t have feet that big. If you wear 20’s like Bob Lanier’s 22’s (back in the day) or Shaquille O’Neal’s of similar size, make the mistake of putting him in the paint.

Let the man bang. Reportedly, he had one of the Kings’ best training camps. Everyone said no one came into camp in better shape. Play the man.

Coach Paul Westphal says there is a frontcourt logjam with Samuel Dalembert, Carl Landry, DeMarcus Cousins, Darnell Jackson and Thompson. And I guess this means we’ll never see Hassan Whiteside in anything but street clothes in the near future, so the NBDL likely is screaming at that youngster.

I’m with that, but someone has to sit. Westphal has to sit one of these cats. Two games ago against Phoenix, it was J.T. Last game, it was Jackson. Perhaps the coach is moving toward breaking up the logjam.

Donte Greene is a small forward, a long, athletic small forward whom I see as one of the team’s better defensive players. He’s not great, but he’s good enough to get time on this squad.

Westphal obviously has not seen it this way. Yet, he will. Omri Casspi and Greene should be getting the small forward minutes. It can be argued Greene should be starting over Casspi – and it has been.

I had a discussion with former Kings star guard Mitch Richmond about that Jackson receiving time over Thompson. For the record, I’ve seen each of the Kings games, some twice. I’d bet Richmond likely has not seen any from start to finish.

To say Jackson hasn’t earned playing time with his performances is unfair. When presented the opportunity, he’s performed well so I can understand Westphal giving him time. The man is trying to win and Jackson, during the season’s first few games, outplayed Thompson.

Yet, if you give Jackson credit for doing well early in the season, then Thompson should receive kudos for playing well at times during the last two seasons.

Richmond can’t understand Jackson outplaying Thompson, but Jackson reminds me of former Kings tough man Michael Smith. Jackson doesn’t rebound like Smith, but the Animal didn’t make shots like Jackson, either.

Kings President Geoff Petrie said he’s not having trade discussions regarding Thompson. If that’s true, then Petrie needs to pick up the phone.

The Kings are 3-6 and have lost five straight. They’ve lost to Detroit, Minnesota and Memphis, each of whom also is struggling.

Yet, they are not alone with their struggles. Consider the Atlanta Hawks just ended a four-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota.

The Los Angeles Clippers are 1-10 (1-5 at home). Charlotte (4-7) is 1-4 at home, like Sacramento and Cleveland (4-5).

Miami (6-4) has different expectations, of course, but struggles are struggles.

The struggles of Washington (2-6) and Philadelphia (2-8) are along the same line of Sacramento’s. These teams have average, at best, talent bases and are trying to find their respective ways.

Just for the record, when things go poorly, coaches always catch a lot of flak and not undeservedly. They usually receive major accolades when things go well.

That’s the situation for which they signed the dotted line.

However, and this is a major however, coaches don’t play. There’s not a guard on the Kings who shot as well or even played as well as did Westphal or Mario Elie. Give either one the looks these current day cats are getting and the Kings are not shooting a league second-worst 29.5 percent from three-point range.

Only Oklahoma City at 25.3 percent shoots worse. Only Omri Casspi (38.3) and Francisco Garcia (37.8) are shooting above 25 percent.

However, the Thunder leads the league in free-throw shooting at 88.1 percent. The Kings are 28th out of 30 at 70 percent.

That’s a bad combination, folks. The Kings currently would lose every western in which they’ve appeared.

They are the gang that can’t shoot straight. Beno Udrih is shooting 17.4 percent from three, but check out the percentage of these dudes: Orlando’s JJ Redick (12 percent); Golden State’s Vladimir Radmanovic (29.6 percent). These are shooters who have gotten off to slow starts. It happens.

Westphal, like most all coaches, encourages his players, particularly shooters to take open threes. Sacramento went two for 18 in Sunday’s loss to Detroit on the same night Phoenix made 22 of 40 in a road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Westphal was asked if 18 attempted threes were too many.

“If they don’t go in,” he said after they didn’t. “It’s always easy to look at the stat sheet after the game and say we took too many threes, if they are not going in. But what we tell our shooters, guys lot ‘Cisco, guys like Omri, Luther Head, who ever they are (that) if you are a good three-point shooter and you are open, you have to take it with confidence.”

Players also have to realize they don’t have to take every wide-open three-pointer they get. There are nights when you stink up the joint and have to make adjustments.

At some point, players have to play to their levels. It’s too much to expect a higher level of production of which they are capable. It is not, repeat not, too much to expect professionals to produce and earn their loot.

In the case of Sacramento, there are players who haven’t had enough of a career to determine a level. However, there are some who have and until the young boys get their acts together.

So we shall see what we shall see.

Kings have more pressing problems than Cousins' mouth

Rookie big man DeMarcus Cousins’ temperament and tendency to woof are just two of the Sacramento Kings problems Sunday as they look to halt a four-game losing streak.

The Kings begin a four-game home stand against Detroit and it could get late really early in this season if Sacramento coach Paul Westphal’s crew doesn’t quickly get its act together. The Kings are 3-5.

Cousins reportedly has been talking back to coaches and doing so to the point where he has required special attention. To the point, where a source says, Westphal has had to step away from his personality to deal with the rookie.

Really? Has the big 20-year-old kid whom the Kings were able to pick with the No. 5 choice because he likes to run his mouth been running his mouth?

As it consistently has been said in this space, the early part of the season is a feeling-out process. Westphal and his staff have to figure how to deal with this team and vice versa.

Recently it came to light Cousins flapping his gums had become a distraction. Word is Westphal has been hearing verbiage from more than just the rookie. Again, that’s not a news flash.

The Kings have a squad littered with youngsters who really don’t know what they are doing, yet believe they do. That’s often what being young is about.

I know. I have a 20-year-old son.

Moreover, I’ve been there and didn’t know that.

Cousins, for the most part, has to figure out when to talk and when to shut up. For the most part, he has accomplished that during games and practices. He's just done dumb stuff like most young folks - and quite a few older folks - including those who have painted Cousins as a bad person or a loser or a troublemaker.

Certainly Cousins has fed the fire of those inflammatory assessments. The guess here is he doesn't care, but he should. Image really isn't everything, but education inside your craft is and if your behavior hampers learning, it needs to be adjusted.

Don’t try to read his sour-puss faces and grimaces. One of the worst things people do is try to look at another’s face and discern thoughts. Nobody is that smart. Some faces tell everything. Others tell nothing. Some appear to reveal one emotion when the reality is totally different.

Cousins has to understand there is a time to talk and a time to listen. And he always has to recognize the coaching staff is attempting to help him grow as a player and person. The Kings need him to move toward maximum production, like yesterday.

Coaches make mistakes, too, and if they don’t recognize that, they are moving in the wrong direction.

It’s likely the Kings coaching staff should share some of the blame because it usually takes two to beef. Additionally, if their dealings with Cousins have been unsuccessful and aren’t designated to be effective in the future, the directions need alterations.

More importantly, Westphal has more pressing issues.

The Kings need low-post point production as well as ways to score easy buckets. The former should much easier to locate.

Cousins, who has come off the bench in each of the past four games (all losses), is Sacramento’s low-post threat. The Kings have not used him in the post nearly as much as they should; as they need.

Carl Landry is a face-up, mid-range jump shooter. If he scores around the basket, it usually is off an offensive rebound or a fast break.

Jason Thompson has the size to play with his back to the basket, but doesn’t finish sufficiently. Besides, currently he can’t make consecutive free-throws with any consistency.

Westphal has not settled on a lineup or rotation at this point, so we might as well see Cousins at power forward alongside Dalembert. Foul trouble is not a concern since it has been a constant, anyway.

The bottom line is most teams cannot score with perimeter-oriented offense. The Kings likely would reside near the bottom of that list.

Include a defense permitting far too much penetration to be effective and there needs to be a more efficient offense to compete. Don't look for those points to come off effective manuvering on the break. The Kings often look as if they've never run a three-man weave, much less worked on spacing and passing in advantageous situations.

The Kings, however, have been in position to defeat New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota and Phoenix. So, all is not lost. Despite how ineffectively and unsightly, they’ve performed, the conversion of a few timely possession combined with similar defensive stops.

Yes, easier said than done.

Just about as easy as figuring out how to deal with young men who think they know it all.

Yo, while we're at it - can a brother get some Pooh Jeter?

Who are the Sacramento Kings destined to become

It’s anybody’s guess what the Sacramento Kings ultimately will become this season.

They could end up in the playoffs or the lottery. Currently, more folks likely would wager their valuables on the lottery.

Yet, three games into their campaign, the schedule indicates we’ll likely be receiving a GPS-type directional indicator before we sit down for turkey.

The Kings not only play their next four games at Arco Arena, but eight of their next nine and 10 of their next 13.

Sacramento opens its home campaign against the Toronto Raptors tonight before games Wednesday and Saturday nights, respectively, against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Statistics don’t mean much at this juncture; nor do records.

However, there are a few indicators, if proven to be reasonably legitimate, that prove somewhat telling.

So far, the Kings appear to have nine to 10 players capable of playing productive ball. One of the many questions surrounding them will be how consistently they can perform. Another will be what type of defensive mentality they can establish as a unit.

Sacramento has just one set of back-to-back games – Nov. 21 home vs. New Orleans and Nov. 22 in Salt Lake City against Utah.

The Kings were the lone NBA squad to begin its season with three road games, yet the schedule presents an opportunity for Sacramento to establish itself capable of successfully competing – or not.

There are a couple of phases the Kings immediately will have to correct if they are to take advantage of the early schedule.

The Kings won two of three road games despite consistently committing dumb, careless fouls. It’s one thing to foul defensively in an attempt to prevent a player from establishing good position or easily penetrating its defense.

Fouling to prevent lay ups or dunks are good because they are the last line of defense.

It’s another thing to foul by needlessly reaching or gambling to make a steal, particularly in the backcourt. Those fouls merely fuel the opposing offense as well as weaken the Kings.

Sacramento’s ability to convert fast-break opportunities has to improve. Three-on-two advantages are basic basketball plays that have to be converted at a high rate if the Kings are to continue as a high-scoring squad.

It would help if the Kings get the ball into the hands of Beno Udrih at every opportunity. Tyreke Evans may be listed as a point guard, but at this stage of his career, the talented second-year guard goes for his better than creating opportunities for others.

It is easier for a team to improve offensively. Everyone wants to score, but few want to make the mental and physical commitments required to defend.

Individually, the Kings have to be impressed by rookie DeMarcus Cousins, Carl Landry, Francisco Garcia, Samuel Dalembert, Luther Head, Udrih, Darnell Jackson and Evans.

Cousins has been a force offensively and has been the lone back-to-the-basket post weapon. Additionally, the 20-year-old can and will pass.

Landry has been its most dependable scorer, but does most of his work facing the basket.

Garcia and Omri Casspi have combined to shoot 12 of 23 from three-point range, while the rest of the squad is six of 23. Casspi was incredible with six of seven in the win over Cleveland, but was zero of six during the previous two games.

Hence, there is a level of consistency yet to be established. As good as Casspi was offensively, his hustle and toughness defensively were equally important to the win.

Dalembert, in a combined 23 minutes during two games, has shown he can anchor the defense and provides a badly-needed shot-blocking presence. Like most defensively-oriented centers, he wants to prove he can be a scorer.

Dalembert has been in the league too long to become something new. His offensive game should be limited to put-backs and rolling to the hoop on screen-roll plays. That’s it. Jump shots should be a rarity for Dalembert.

If Head and Jackson can continue to produce at relatively similar levels, they will provide coach Paul Westphal options one month ago he had no reason to believe existed. The pair has been solid and consistent, characteristics only a coach truly can appreciate.

Jason Thompson has to figure out how to become more effective offensively. The guy misses more four-to-six footers than normally imaginable. Meanwhile, exactly what the deal is with Donte Greene is unknown to me at this point. I’m interested in asking a few questions this week to try to get a clue.

Organizationally, the Kings did not expect Jackson to make the team entering training camp. Head was a question mark at best. So his current assist-to turnover numbers of 10-to-one certainly qualify as a surprise.

It’ll be fun to see what other surprises the Kings have to offer this month.

Kings just work now - progress to come later?

Early NBA preseason games often provide more questions than answers.

There were times during Sacramento’s game Sunday night in Oakland against Golden State when it seemed as if the Kings didn’t want to play.

Now, we always must be careful of what we think we see and be capable of maintaining an open mind to all the circumstances involved.

Confusion can appear to be disinterest.

Coach Paul Westphal during his post-game comments did not implicate his team’s effort or lack thereof. He pointed towards his team’s lack of experience on the floor and indicated at times it made his team appeared disorganized.

“It’s hard for us to find the rhythm with a lot of key players out that we need to have on the floor,” Westphal said. “But that’s part of training camp. So it looks disorganized like we’re trying to learn our offense, so our offense is not effective at all.

“We’re not functioning smoothly. We’re not getting the ball inside. And that’s a problem.
I’m sure we’ll get better. We’ll get on the same page as we start getting some guys back.”

Center Samuel Dalembert, who has the NBA’s third-longest active games played streak with 354, has yet to play during the preseason because of a left adductor strain. The Kings miss him dearly at the defensive end.

“I don’t go to the trainer for an update every day,” Westphal said after Sunday night’s game, “but I’m hopeful to see him this week. I really don’t want to rush him, but at the same time, you can see that we can use him.”

The Kings Sunday also played without forward Carl Landry (eye injury) and guard Beno Udrih (sprained right shoulder). Westphal said he thought both could return to action this week.

Sacramento begins the regular season Oct. 27 in Minneapolis against the Timberwolves. It has four preseason games remaining, with tonight’s return engagement against Golden State at Arco Arena the only one at home.

Tonight’s contest should provide a more realistic indication of what the Kings will be working with this season. However, these upcoming games are dwindling opportunities for players (Luther Head, Darnell Jackson, Joe Crawford and Marcus Landry) to show they belong on this team.

Neither Marcus Landry nor Omri Casspi nor Donte Greene nor Antoine Wright has distinguished himself enough to win the wide-open starting small-forward position. The entire training camp body of work will be considered, yet making due with the minutes received during the next two weeks likely will go a long way to claiming that position.

Then again, Westphal has numerous frontcourt options. He could opt to go with Dalembert at center, Jason Thompson at power forward and Carl Landry up front. Francisco Garcia also factors into the mix at small forward.

It may not be fair to call this a work in progress at this juncture.

We must wait to see how it evolves.

Kings getting ready to line up

The Sacramento Kings, like all NBA teams, are attempting to finalize their training camp roster.

According to Kings President Geoff Petrie, the Kings have 18 commitments for the start of camp Sept. 28, preceded one day earlier by media day.

"We have 18 committed and we may add one or two more before camp starts," Petrie said Tuesday afternoon. "We're still two weeks away and there's always the possibility that someone could go to Europe or elsewhere."

Elsewhere has become a major option for players over the past 15-20 years. Back in the day, there weren't options of going to play all over the world.

Now, it's nothing for a player to take guaranteed money in Italy or Lithuania or Japan or China or Australia over the non-guaranteed opportunity to make an NBA team.

So far, the Kings expect the usual suspects - Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia, Samuel Dalembert, DeMarcus Cousins, Omri Casspi, Hasaan Whiteside, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Donte Greene, Pooh Jeter and Antoine Wright.

Then there are the hopefuls - Darnell Jackson, Donald Sloan, Luther Head, Joe Crawford, J.R. Giddens and Connor Atchley.

Any of the hopefuls could be swayed by guaranteed loot elsewhere. However, Head, Crawford and Giddens likely will see openings with the Kings for anyone who consistently can make perimeter shots.

Petrie estimates, "close to 30 percent of the league's players are from other countries."

That's an amazing change from 25 years ago when the number of NBA international players was in single-digits.

Bush to surrender his 2005 Heisman Trophy

New Orleans Saints and former USC running back Reggie Bush is taking a hit for a whole lot of people.

Bush announced Tuesday he will return the 2005 Heisman Trophy he won following reports he and his family received hundreds of thousands of improper benefits while playing at USC.

Bush's family reportedly lived rent-free in a home and received substantial cash gifts from two different agent groups positioning themselves to represent him in the NFL.

Bush, 25, was 20 years old in 2005. Since he's opted to return the Trophy, in my eyes, he's admitted wrongdoing of some extent.

However, clearly the adults (i.e., parents, any advisers, agents Mike Ornstein, Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake) also were at fault in a major way and were at least as responsible for the chicanery.

I'd love to hear from Bush's parents about what they did. I'd love for Ornstein, Michaels and Lake to come clean about their parts in the entire deal.

Plane tickets, free hotel stays and cash would seem highly difficult to bypass, especially for a 20-year-old.

In a related thought, I'd still have the Trophy if I was Reggie. Five years later, they are coming to get it? C'mon now.

Just a thought. Had Reggie Bush been in a car accident and died, would the Heisman folk still have wanted their Trophy returned? As my son and sister say, I'm just saying.

Five years? Come now. What's up with that?

The Barry Bonds trial should be something special at this rate.

Brockman gets security in Milwaukee

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond had his eyes on hard-working second-year forward Jon Brockman for a while.

So when Brockman's one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings ended, Hammond made his move with a three-year deal that exceeded Sacramento's cost-saving limits.

Toss in the Kings draft that netted big men DeMarcus Cousins and Hasaan Whiteside and the Kings decided to let Brockman go.

"Where was he going to play?" said a Kings insider of Brockman. "We want to give Whiteside some minutes if we can and we have (Samuel) Dalembert, Cousins, (Jason) Thompson, (Carl) Landry and Whiteside.

"We liked Brockman, but the days of having guys on the roster who you can't find time to play are over, not when you are cutting costs."

Hammond said the Bucks liked Brockman when he was acquired by the Kings in a 2009 draft-day trade with Portland.

"We followed him in Sacramento and appreciated him for what he was and who he is," the GM said Saturday morning.

Hammond said he expects Brockman to thrive in coach Scott Skiles' system.

"Scott holds players, all players accountable defensively. But when players get open, he encourages them to take open shots. I think Brockman can make 15-foot shots when he gets the chance."

Hammond said the Kings were getting a hard worker in Darnell Jackson. The Kings also picked up a 2011 second-round choice.

"We only got him from Cleveland with a month or so left in the season,' Hammond said of Jackson. "He's similar to Brockman. After the season ended, he was at our facility every day working on his game. He's very motivated to find a place in the league.

"And there is this thing called 'Basketball Karma' that says when a player works hard he is rewarded with success. Jackson had a good game in our first summer league that showed he'd been working."

Jackson's contract is not guaranteed this season, a source said, so he'll have to show something special to make the Kings suddenly crowded frontcourt.

Athletes vs. Cancer golf tournament first-class affair

It was a virtual Kings reunion at Woodcreek Golf Course Saturday for Matt Barnes' 2nd annual Athletes vs. Cancer celebrity golf invitational. It was a fund-raiser as well as a celebration of the life of Barnes' mother, Ann, who passed away in 2007 from cancer.

Former Kings Chris Webber, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Doug Christie, Brad Miller, Harold Pressley and Henry Turner were among the celebrities who joined Barnes, Vince Carter and Roger Craig on the scorching hot day.

The vibe was friendly and upbeat as fans mixed with the celebrities and home owners around the course had barbeques and parties.

I only wish I had photographic skills to show the outfit worn by Pollard. It was an amazingly, colorful matching top and shorts outfit that words cannot accurately describe.

However, Huggy Bear could have sported it comfortably in the old '70s TV show, 'Starsky and Hutch.'

In fact, the only thing more colorful than the outfit on the 6-foot-11 Pollard is his consistently unique look at life. The colors I remember were green, yellow, black and orange in a somewhat mosaic delivery.

"It's an outfit that (befits) a game like (golf)," he said with his normal deadpan delivery.

Kings look to make moves under radar

The Kings won't use their entire $15 million queen in this mega free-agent game of chess.

However, it wouldn't be surprising for Kings President Geoff Petrie to use a couple of pawns, knights and bishops to fill a hole or two.

Petrie said Wednesday afternoon he planned to make calls after the 9 p.m. (PST) opening of free-agency.

"I'll probably call any number of different players," he said, "and some agents who represent some pretty large groups of players to get a lay of the land."

Petrie admitted the Kings are more inclined to wait and watch.

"Sometimes it better to stand pat and see how it all shakes out," he said.

The Kings priorities recently have been altered following the recent additions of 6-foot-11 rookie DeMarcus Cousins, 7-foot rookie Hasaan Whiteside and 6-foot-11 Samuel Dalembert.

Amazingly, the Kings' roster now is big-man heavy. The Kings are young up front with the likes of 6-11 Jason Thompson (23), 6-11 Donte Greene (22), 6-9 Carl Landry (26), 6-9 Omri Casspi (22) and 6-7 Jon Brockman (23).

The Kings need more backcourt depth with just Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia as natural guards. And Garcia, who can handle the ball well enough to play guard, might be more of a small forward.

Certainly, the Kings need a backup point guard capable of changing tempo, running the fast break and penetrating defenses to create shots for teammates. Handling his weight defensively would be a nice trait as well.

Said Petrie, "If we were to prioritize, getting more shooters and more depth at the '1' and the '2' probably would be what we'd like to do."

Unrestricted free agents who bring these qualifications are Ray Allen (shooter), Nate Robinson (point guard), Flip Murray (shooter), Jannero Pargo (point-shooter), Earl Watson (point guard), Luther Head (combo guard), Steve Blake (point guard), Rafer Alston (point guard), Carlos Arroyo (point guard), Luke Ridnour (point guard), Eddie House (combo guard), Jason Williams (point guard), Kyle Korver (shooter), Randy Foye (point guard) and Shaun Livingston (point guard).

Actually the guard I'd love to see the Kings get is point Kyle Lowry, but he's restricted and Houston publically said it plans to re-sign him.

Petrie said he's enthusiastically looking forward to watching his team in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Kings won just 17 games in 2008-09 and 25 games last season.

"We've had some pretty lean couple of years," he said of games won.

Petrie also could have been referring to the team's spending as it created salary cap room that can be used to facilitate trades as well as signing free agents.

However, Petrie is mindful of making the most of this money under the cap.

And consider the current 10 highest salaries:

1) Kobe Bryant - $24,806,250.

2) Rashard Lewis - $20,514,000.

3) Kevin Garnett - $18,800,000.

4) Tim Duncan - $18,700,000.

5) Michael Redd - $18,300,000.

6) Pau Gasol - $17,822,187.

7) Andres Kirilenko - $17, 822,187.

8) Gilbert Arenas - $17,730,694.

9) Zach Randolph - $17,333,333.

10) Vince Carter - $17, 300, 000.

How many of those salaries would you like to be paying this season?