Dec 8, 2012; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots past Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA Today Sports

I fully admit I wasn’t a big Damian Lillard fan coming into the 2012 NBA Draft – not that I didn’t think he had talent or wouldn’t be a good fit for the Kings, I was just a bigger fan of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and to a lesser extent, Thomas Robinson. Lillard was my distant third choice if both MKG and Robinson were off the board but it appears the Sacramento Kings front office had high hopes for Lillard and the rumors about the Kings thinking about selecting the Weber State product were more than real.

According to Sam Amick, the Kings indeed were very close to selecting Lillard in the NBA’s most recent draft, though opted for the “safe route” in Thomas Robinson because of concerns about the Maloof’s desire to pay impending free agent Jason Thompson:

There was strong support for Lillard among the team’s front-office and scouting staff, but the unexpected chance to grab Robinson when he slid was seen as a safer option in case the Maloofs didn’t pay the market price for Thompson and the team was left with Cousins and veteran forward Chuck Hayes on the frontline.

Dysfunctional isn’t even the word for the Kings organization in recent years and for a front office to not be in-line with ownership is – well – frighting. The blind leading the blind.

I still don’t fault the Kings for grabbing Robinson over Lillard – but for the front office and ownership to not be 100% on the same page? Yuck.

Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE

With a void at small forward and money to spend, many assumed the Sacramento Kings would be interested in Blazers restricted free agent, Nicolas Batum. Geoff Petrie had all but spelled out their intentions on Batum and other restricted free agents, but the Kings’ desire for the Lisieux native apparently wasn’t mutual. While a handful of teams were on Batum’s radar according to his agent Bouna Ndiaye, Sacramento apparently wasn’t one of them:

Before the free agency period began, Ndiaye said they had four teams circled as potential suitors: Toronto, New Orleans, Minnesota, and San Antonio.

Granted, this was before the free agency period began. However, given Batum’s extremely quick interest in the Timberwolves (within two days) and the fact that they didn’t mention Sacramento prior to the free agency period, fully knowing the Kings void at the three and available funds, one could reasonably assume there was a lack of interest.

That all said, this shouldn’t be taken as the insult it appears to be on the surface.

Batum, who has strong relationships with both Ricky Rubio and Tony Parker, appears to have a desire to play with talent with whom he already has a relationship with. The same can be said for current Hornets head coach Monty Williams, who was an assistant for the Blazers during Batum’s first two seasons. In addition to a desire for close ties, their ease of access (Toronto, Minneapolis) to his home country of France seems to be a sticking factor as both have direct flights.

It was a long shot for the Kings to sign Batum, but now we have a better understanding of why the two sides never seemed to get much further than a phone call – and it’s tough to blame the Kings for this one.