A Royal Pain Presents…Kings Season Preview: “Expectations vs. Reality”

Here at A Royal Pain (cheap pop!), we strive to provide Kings fans with up to date news and analysis in a funny, creative, informative way (hey, even Cody Ross goes 0-3). So, to preview the Kings upcoming season, we’ve gathered and created what we believe is a solid list of expectations the fans have placed on the Kings for the upcoming season. Like the surgeon we are, we’re going to dissect each expectation and hitchu with a dose of reality (unless, of course, the expectation is realistic.)

So without further ado…the 2010-11 Sacramento Kings season preview!

Expectation: “The Kings will win 35 games this season.”

Reality:

Eze-“Looking at it realistically, I think this is a pretty solid projection. I’ve felt the Kings will be in the 32-37 area of victories for the 2010-2011 season, so I would agree with this expectation.”

Jake-“I think it’s a solid goal for the Kings, but it might be out of reach. This team won 25 games last year, and made some upgrades, but I don’t think any combination of the upgrades are worth ten wins. I’d say publicly, shoot for 35 wins, but the season’s a success if we win 30.”

Expectation: “DeMarcus Cousins will be Rookie of the Year this year, giving the Kings back to back winners.”

Reality: Cousins has the talent to be ROY, but isn’t in the ideal situation. Blake Griffin and John Wall both will have more touches, minutes, and opportunities to earn the award, while Cousins probably has to start all season to win the award. Look for Cousins to be solid this year, and in two or three years, he might be the best player from this draft. But don’t expect a ROY award.

Expectation: “Tyreke Evans will finish the year as a top ten player.”

Reality: It could happen, but probably not.

Eze-“He’ll be in the upper echelon, maybe top 15-20….which is still remarkable for a player of his age.”

Jake-“Unless his jumper’s down (which it isn’t, if the preseason is any indication), he’s not an elite player…yet.”

Expectation: “The Kings will have a representative in the 2011 All-Star game.”

Reality: Tyreke’s the only possibility, but even then, there’s a plethora of guards who are worth more in the NBA hierarchy. They’ll have lots of players in the Rookie/Sophomore game, though!

Expectation: “The Kings will trade either (or both) Carl Landry/Samuel Dalembert before the NBA trade deadline.”

Reality:

Eze-“Ugh, tough call. As far as Landry, I think a lot could depend on the new CBA. In the current state, as much as I love Landry, the Kings are going to have to overpay to keep him and with Thompson and Cousins both locked up, is Landry going to be worth the 9 or 10 million a year he’ll command? But if salaries do drop, as rumored, then it’s hard to let a player of Landry’s caliber walk for no return or trade him.

Dalembert on the other hand, he’s a nice stop gap until Cousins gets acclimated to the NBA, but past that he’s of small value to the Kings moving forward. If the opportunity presents itself, I could see Dalembert being moved. But the Kings aren’t going to make a trade for the sake of it – that 13+ million expiring tag has a ton of value to the Kings in itself.”

Jake-“I’ve always felt Landry is best if you can play him in more compacted minutes. His numbers last year with Houston off the bench were very, very close to his numbers starting in Sacramento, and he had ten more minutes a game with the Kings. But his offense is better than Thompson’s, so as long as Daly’s the starter, Landry should be the power forward. But I disagree that he’d fetch 9 or 10 million a year in the off-season. Landry is undersized for a power forward, doesn’t rebound well, and will be 28 by the time he plays his first game after signing a free agent contract. 6 or 7 million, definitely, but there’s really no upside to his game. Then again, as long as David Kahn and Chris Wallace have jobs, KG’s right: anything is possible.

I don’t see Daly being traded at all. Petrie and the organization have coveted him for awhile now, and he’s a good player. He’s the best interior defender the Kings have, and like Eze said, he’s a stop gap. But he still needs to be here the entire year, and maybe even resigned in the off-season.”

Expectation: “The Kings will trade for Carmelo Anthony this season.”

Reality: This isn’t happening.

Eze-“Parts wise, the Kings have the ability to do so. I can’t think of too many teams (that would be interested) that could out piece the Kings. With that said though, I’m not sure either party would be all that interested in a date. The Kings would love a true superstar, no doubt. But I think that’s about where their love affair with Melo stops. And not to mention, I highly doubt Melo is all that interested in signing a long term extension with the Kings.”

Expectation: “The Kings arena issue will be solved by the end of the year.”

Reality: In a perfect world, it’d already be done. Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world. And no, the issue won’t be resolved. Instead, we’ll hear relocation rumors all year long. As fans, though, let’s try and focus on the basketball! (No? Not working for you? Me either.)

Expectation: “The Kings biggest improvement will be rebounding.”

Reality: Bringing in Samuel Dalembert, DeMarcus Cousins and Darnell Jackson to replace Spencer Hawes is a win in itself.

Eze-“The Kings are going to improve all over the court simply off experience, but, I have to think their rebounding will be much improved this season.”

Expectation: “The Kings biggest weakness will be team defense.”

Reality: Yep. They’re young. Having Daly in the middle to protect the rim will help, but overall, the Kings struggled getting through picks and rotating all last year and this preseason. The more they play together, the better it’ll get, though.

Expectation: “Over/under: 10.5 game-winning/tying shots by Tyreke Evans in the final minute this season.”

Reality: Eze-“In the final minute, I’m totally buying this. Reke had a ton last season as a rookie and now with the improved jumpshot, I can easily see him knocking in 11+ game-winning/tying shots in the final minute. I’ve got the over on that.”

Expectation: “Donte Greene finishes the season as the Kings starting SF.”

Reality:

Eze-“I’m not entirely sure Donte will finish the season with the Kings – he’s a prime target to be thrown into a potential trade as “filler”. I hope Donte finishes the season as the Kings starting SF, but I have my reservations that we might see a bit of a back and forth situation with he and Casspi.”

Jake-“Yeah, I don’t see Donte as the starting SF for too long. If he’s starting at the end of the year, that’s great. Good for him. The only thing going for Donte is that he’s a better defender than Casspi, and Casspi’s actually too talented right now to start. Casspi on the bench is a lot more valuable than Casspi starting. He brings more to the second team, while Greene is going to be the same player either way.”

Expectation: “Bill Walton and Jim Gray will surpass Grant and Koz as enemies of Kings fans during broadcasts.”

Reality: Eze-“I understand the Kings wanted to get a little more…”serious” with their broadcasting, but really? Of all people? Was Robert Horry unavailable for post game analysis?”