2009 NBA Draft Open Discussion
Fear The Sword — ... #30, unless of course they make a move to acquire(buy) a pick from a less financially fortunate team.  Talk about the draft here! The picks, as they happen, after the jump   1.  Los Angeles Clippers -- Blake Griffin, PF -- Oklahoma 2.  Memphis Grizzlies -- Hasheem Thabeet, C -- UCONN 3.  OK City Thunder -- James Harden, SG -- Arizona State 4.  Sacramento Kings --  Tyreke Evans, SG -- Memphis 5.  Minnesota T-Wolves -- ...

Kings Select Tyreke Evans
Sactown Royalty — ... decided that Tyreke Evans, the dynamic guard from Memphis, would be a better choice than Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio. I trust them. ...

2009 NBA Draft Recap
Clips Nation — ... were crest-fallen when they didn't have a top two pick after the lottery, because they loved Ricky Rubio as their future point guard.  Then, lo and behold Rubio was available at 4, and the Kings took Tyreke Evans instead.  I really don't think that Rubio is going to leave an excellent situation in Spain, making a lot of money and being a national hero, to go to Minneapolis.  His buyout alone is going to be tough on fifth pick money instead of second pick money.  So it will be very interesting to see what happens with Rubio. ...

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Collison
At The Hive — ... Player A is Tyreke Evans, the first point guard taken in The Draft of the Point Guard. Player B is Darren Collison, the last point guard of the first round taken in the Draft of the Point Guard. ...

Jersey Numbers for New Kings
Sactown Royalty — Kings PR just passed on word of what jersey numbers the new Kings will wear. Tyreke Evans: #13 Omri Casspi: #18 Jon Brockman: #40 They have don't a number for Sergio Rodriguez yet (he's in Spain right now), but Spanish Chocolate wore #11 in Portland. That will be available in Sacramento, provided the team does not re-sign Rashad McCants, who wore #11 last season. (How did I miss the irony of Shaddy wearing two No. 1s under ...

RECAP: Warriors' 2009 NBA Draft Day - Stephen Curry & Amar'e?
Golden State Of Mind — ... . After all, the Kings need a point guard. Nope, I guess they wanted a guy people think will play the point, but probably can't, Mr. Tyreke Evans. I like his game, though he'll never be a top notch point. So I'm just a little excited. Perhaps Rubio would fall to the Warriors as Crabtree fell to the Niners. The problem was Minnesota needs guards so they were most likely going to take 2 guards at 5 and 6. In the back of my mind I was thinking they could take Stephen Curry and then, only if they had kept Kevin McHale, they might take Flynn or a big like Hill. ...

OPEN THREAD: Stephen Curry Press Conference @ 2pm on CSN Bay Area
Golden State Of Mind — ... For you Kings fans out there two things.  1) They will also be broadcasting their intro for Tyreke Evans at 3pm on CSN Bay Area and 2) you should really be hanging out at  ...

Darko, Hill, and Ghostface: Appraising The New Knicks
Posting and Toasting — ... wasn't touted much for whatever reason. Maybe it's because he's been around awhile. I personally see no reason why he can't be as effective as Tyreke Evans, ...

The Jrue Conflict
Liberty Ballers — ... is the point guard for Ben Howland's snail offense.   He knew he was only going to stay in school for one year, but decided he'd like to spend that year at the 2-guard, an unnatural position for Holiday.  I don't see the reasoning here.  Why wouldn't he, like Tyreke Evans, go to a school where he'd get a shot to play the position that he's believed to play as a professional.  (Hypothetical and extremely unrealistic situation alert)  If you're the best criminal lawyer prospect that only has to go to school for one year (I know, ...

Precedence for Tyreke Evans at the Point
Sactown Royalty — ... There are two major arguments presented by analysts faulting the Kings selection of Tyreke Evans at No. 4: Ricky Rubio will be better, and Evans will not be a point guard in two years. If you agree with the former ... well, I can't fault you. I felt the same way for 10 months or so. I hold on to that fear, that while Evans will be good Rubio will be great. It's a fair fear, though it's hardly cut and dry. Predicting which will be the better player in five years is a guessing game, in my opinion. The second argument -- that ...

The Kings Don't Need Another Center
Sactown Royalty — ... Luckily, the rebounding will get help at other positions. Kevin Pelton's college translations for Basketball Prospectus project a rebound rate of 9.3% for Tyreke Evans. Among Kings guards, only ...

Post-Draft Team Salaries
Sactown Royalty — ... $7,372,200 Francisco Garcia, G/F $5,800,000 $5,500,000 $5,800,000 $6,100,000 $6,400,000 Tyreke Evans, G $3,493,680 $3,755,640 $4,017,720 ...

My Night At The Draft
CelticsBlog — ... and Tyreke Evans?  Why?  Because they were speculating that it would push one of Rubio or Curry to them.  So, when Harden and Evans were picked, there were loud cheers.  When Curry was picked, there was gasping and murmers of disappointment.  For Jordan Hill, smattered boos.  An "over-rated" chant for Hansborough.  The crowd takes its role there very seriously, and it's definitely entertaining.  (The best part, of course, was when Stern mentioned the ...

NBA Draft 2009 Aftermath: Now Who Ends Up In The D-League?
Ridiculous Upside — ... Because he's so raw offensively, it's possible that Memphis would send him down for a stretch, but also highly unlikely that they would love to send a #2 pick down for seasoning. 3. James Harden - Oklahoma City Thunder - 0%             We know what he does, and frankly OKC needs the depth at SG.  Here comes chubby Paul Peirce to the rescue! 4. Tyreke Evans - Sacramento Kings 10%             He ...

Kings Summer League Roster Announced
Sactown Royalty — ... 6-9 225 6/22/1988 Israel 13 Tyreke Evans G 6-6 ...

Why the sad face, Jazz fans? The Jazz now have options
SLC Dunk — ... realize that newly drafted Tyreke Evans is a talented, ball-dominating shooting guard and not a point guard and they feel pressure to move Kevin Martin who gets disgruntled because he never touches the ball.  It is a more realistic scenario than you realize.  If the Kings shopped Martin, I would give them Boozer and Fesenko.  I love Kevin Martin.  I don't understand why the Kings drafted Evans and not Rubio.  And if this scenario doesn't come to fruition, the Jazz can always wait until they get the #1 overall pick in ...

The Old and Beautiful vs The Young and Restless: A Look At NBA Guards
Canis Hoopus — ... Nate Robinson    25 Jamal Crawford    29 Tracy McGrady  30 Tyreke Evans  19 Courtney Lee    24 Willie Green ...

Phoenix Suns Summer League: The Game Plan
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... -  Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington and Gerald Hendeson (on load from the Bobcats) New Orleans - Courtney Sims and Julian Wright NY Knicks - Nikoloz Tskitishvili (!), Jordan Hill, Blake Ahern and Mouhamed Sene OKC Thunder - James Harden!, Russel Westbrook, Shaun Livingston, BJ Mullens Portland - Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Patty Mills Sacramento - Tyreke Evans, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Omri ...

Spencer Hawes Skips Summer League
Sactown Royalty — ... Hawes, the third face of our franchise (behind Martin and Tyreke Evans), isn't like that. Remember when begged off a conditioning test because of his knee history? This reeks of that. Basketball is a job for Spencer. A lucrative job, but a job. I don't go to work during my vacation, and Spencer isn't going to work during his. He cares as much about basketball as I do about pushing papers, which is a bit disheartening. ...

What Happens in Vegas ...
Sactown Royalty — ... 3. Tyreke Evans - Evans is the man we consider our future.  And yet most of us have not seen him play.  Apparently he's questionable for today's game against the ...

Tyreke Evans Shows His Tools in Kings Summer League Loss
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans had a fairly ordinary Summer League premiere, in that Evans excelled in the areas you'd expect him to excel in and faltered in the areas in which you'd expect him to falter in. In other words, he got to the rim at will and defended strongly but didn't pass the ball or shoot jumpers incredibly well. ...

Inspiration
Sactown Royalty — ... We could have wound up with a guy named Ricky.   Thank Evans when Tyreke whirls - What GP wanted is what we got, Now please work on that jump shot! For without him, we’re left with nearly squat.   Thank Evans…Thank Evans, Thank Evans when Tyreke Evans whirls.   ...

NBA Summer League Day One Recap - It's A Grind
Pounding The Rock — ... with 61 total fouls.  Remember, NBA games are 20% longer as we are only playing 40 minute games out here in the desert.  The Pistons, much to my surprise, whipped up on the Kings.  The Kings feature several "name" players.  2008 first round draft pick and second year man -- and a player many around here wanted instead of George Hill -- Donte Green.  Another 2008 first round draft pick and second year man, Jason Thompson.  This year's #4 pick Tyreke Evans and #23 pick Omri Casspi.  The Pistons, on the ...

Vegas Summer League, Game 2: Kings vs Warriors, Open Game Thread
Sactown Royalty — Hopefully the boys got some inspiration from section214 and will be ready to roll at 5PM PDT, when the young Kings take on the equally young Warriors. I'm not sure the GSW coaches will send Stephen Curry across from Tyreke Evans; if so, call the medic. Reke is gonna hurt him. Try to keep the "OMG where's a link!" comments to a minimum. Here's the scoreboard, so please also keep the "OMG what's the score!" comments to a minimum. Enjoy, and go Kings. (I'll again have a recap in the morning.)

NBA Summer League Day Two Recap - The Breakouts
Pounding The Rock — ... Tyreke Evans - He was very impressive even though he didn't have a great shooting night.  He was 8-19 from the field, 2-5 from wayback, and 7-12 from the line.  Add it all up and it is 25 points.  The impressive part was his work on the glass.  He pulled down 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end.  He was even able to initiate a fast break off the defensive glass.  One JTU to Tyreke. ...

It's Too Easy for Tyreke Evans
Sactown Royalty — ... -- it's impossible to take your eyes off them during the course of a game because they are everywhere you look. Tyreke Evans, while fitting into the same defense-drive-rebound phylum as the two aforementioned kids, isn't quite the same. ...

How We Define a Point Guard
Sactown Royalty — ... I'm telling you all of this for a purpose.  I'm about to break down how we define a point guard, because it seems that we're spending a lot of time on this topic in terms of how Tyreke Evans fits on the ...

RECAP: LVSL Game 2- Warriors 98, Kings 95 OT- The Original NorCal Kings of Vegas
Golden State Of Mind — ... I'm telling you all of this for a purpose.  I'm about to break down how we define a point guard, because it seems that we're spending a lot of time on this topic in terms of how Tyreke Evans fits on the Kings roster.  It's important that you know that I have a very traditional view of a point guard, and also that you remember that I was a huge supporter of ...

How We Define a Point Guard, Part II
Sactown Royalty — ... Focusing on Harris and Westbrook here, statistically they certainly do not look like pass first PG’s. But wouldn’t you take either one of them right now? At the very least, were you not lusting for either/both of these guys prior to the drafting of Tyreke Evans? ...

Link 'n Links, July 13
Sactown Royalty — ... As linked in a morning FanShot, Sam Amick has some notes on the Tyreke Evans-Paul Westphal-Pete Carril relationship, with a cameo from John Calipari. ...

Vegas Summer League, Game 3: Kings vs Bucks, Open Game Thread
Sactown Royalty — ... Will Sacramento's third game be the first win? Will anyone care either way? Once again, all eyes on the point guard spot, where Tyreke Evans will line up across from ...

Game Thread: Bucks/Kings
Brew Hoop — ... Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas TV: NBA.com Stream Probable starters: Tyreke Evans PG Brandon Jennings ...

Recap: Bucks 91, Kings 86
Brew Hoop — ... Wow.  Now that is what Vegas is all about.  Tyreke Evans was great (33/9/7...and 7 tos) but the ...

Maloof: Tyreke Evans Will Start From Day 1
Sactown Royalty — ... . When play-by-play fellow Rick Kamla asked how long Gavin thinks it will take to get Tyreke Evans into Sacramento's starting line-up, Maloof relayed word from Westphal, given when Gavin asked the coach the same question. The word? "He'll start as soon as he steps on the court." ...

Summer League Open Thread: July 14th
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Some quick observations off the cuff from the bit I did see ... I liked Jonny Flynn. He's more of a true point guard than Evans or Curry and looks great out there running the team. He's still a rookie and made mistakes but he's got a lot of upside Cartier Martin -- who played in Iowa last year before getting picked up by the Bobcats -- looks good. Solid bench guy Tyreke Evans, as has been said before, is a massive specimen of a man. Unfortunately for ...

Links n' Links: July 15
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans tops Kevin Arnovitz's All-Rookie team for the first week of Vegas Summer League. Donte Greene makes the "notsomuch" list. ...

Vegas Summer League Game 4: Kings vs. D-League Select, Open Game Thread
Sactown Royalty — ... Game's at 5:30 PM PDT. The D-League Select team might be better than half the teams at VSL. Tyreke Evans should play. Go ...

Westphal Pulls Back on Tyreke Evans as Day 1 Starter
Sactown Royalty — ... During the game against Milwaukee, Maloof had said he asked Westphal when Tyreke Evans would be ready to start. Westphal replied, according to Maloof, that Evans would be the starter " ...

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 6
Ridiculous Upside — ... had a fairly solid game, with 31 points on 23 shots and 10 rebounds, but also nine fouls.  Marcus Landry has played relatively well, and yesterday he had 10 points on 4-6 shooting, though he didn't do much else.  Tyreke Evans is a very good rebounder for his position, but the shooting still isn't there.  He cut down on his turnovers, though.  Did I mention that the D-League team beat another NBA squad, this one also featuring several first-round picks ...

SummerPistons 96, SummerKnicks, 73
Posting and Toasting — ... The SummerKnicks are in action again on Friday, when they'll face Tyreke Evans and the SummerKings. SummerKings would be a good name for a boy band. ...

Kings Clips, July 17
Sactown Royalty — It would hurt him more to sit out -  Sacramento Bee Jason Jones with a good story on Tyreke Evans, who just wants to play. Musselman Close to Coaching in Russia - Sactown Royalty Anthony Morrow hits for 47 summer league points - Ball Don't Lie Kelly Dwyer talks about Anthony Morrow, and in the process completely explains the sensible way to view Summer League. Jazz Notes: The Boozer Review A rather level-headed look back at Carlos Boozer's tenure in Utah, focusing on a lot ...

Grading and Evaluating the Kings Summer League
Sactown Royalty — ... some bulk over the summer, but he also looked uncomfortable with it.  He had a few good post moves but he didn't convert nearly enough of his drives.  And most of his jumpers were off.  His rebounding numbers were good, and his man-to-man defense was excellent at times (especially in the 4th quarter of the Warriors game against Randolph).  But overall this was a craptastic performance for Donté and thats being positive. Now the Rooks: Tyreke Evans - Grade: B+ ...

We've Been Asking the Wrong Questions
Sactown Royalty — ... Silly us, arguing over Tyreke Evans's positionality. This franchise is Next Level y'all, and has bigger concerns than a point guard without innate passing instinct. But finally, Resolution. ...

SummerKings 84, SummerKnicks 71
Posting and Toasting — ... It's the defensive end, though, that's really got me hot and bothered about Toney Douglas. Tyreke Evans is a big fellow, but Toney gave him all he could handle in the backcourt. Douglas was quick enough to stay in front of him and sturdy enough to withstand many of his drives. If I have any criticism, it's that ducking under picks when Evans has the ball might not be a terrible idea. A few of his baskets came when Douglas got hung up fighting over screens. I'd say you challenge Evans to can a few jumpers before you trail him that closely on the perimeter. ...

We Have Forever Left
Sactown Royalty — ... Martin also talks up Tyreke Evans (his "eyes light up" when discussing how defenses will now have to account for two great guards on the floor) and Paul Westphal (he's relieved he now has a coach who isn't uptight when talking about the game). The most interesting stuff to me, however, was the only somewhat negative section, in which Martin rues the length of the rebuilding process and Amick asserts that Martin is closer to being trade bait than ever before. ...

It's A Virtue
Sactown Royalty — ... So, how can we practice patience?  It starts with us not declaring Tyreke Evans the savior, or a steal.  He's played in 5 Summer League games.  Sure, he looked good, but let's wait until he's shown his stuff in regular season games.  On that same note, let's not declare that he will never be a successful point guard.  Again, he's played 5 Summer League games.  He's 19.  Let's see what he grows into. ...

My Team Is Better Than Yours: Sacramento Kings Edition
Pounding The Rock — ... on 48 Minutes of Hell saying they didn't care about the shot clock miscue because we would have won in overtime.  That's good enough for me. 3.  Kings Roster Changes:  They had one direct draft pick and got Tyreke Evans at #4.  Through trades they also selected the player the Spurs have been scouting forever, Omri Casspi, and Jon Brockman. Kings Pre-Draft Workout: Tyreke Evans 6/9/09 (via kingsflix) They also brought in ...

Rating the Rebounding of Sacramento's Big Men
Sactown Royalty — ... in the final VSL game -- you could do a Hawes/May or Hawes/Brockman frontline to reach near optimal rebounding. If you have a wing or guard who rebounds the defensive glass exceptionally well -- looking at you, Tyreke Evans, who according to my previously explained primitive translation would have a defensive rebounding rate of 13%, a major improvement on 9% ...

The True Potential of Tyreke Evans
Sactown Royalty — ... and not prematurely anointing Tyreke Evans as our savior, I had a sudden realization about his true potential with the ...

Looking for a Cheap Center
Sactown Royalty — ... Swift has always been that there is more than one problem. Swift is atrocious on offense -- both invisible and bad, if that can be believed. He has never shot frequently, tossing up only 8.8 FGAs per 36 minutes at age 20 (compared with 12.7 for Hawes last season). He hasn't been a complete turnover machine, even when considering his small role on offense. But that's more of a footnote than a plus: at this point, playing Swift would mean playing 4-vs-5 when on offense. Tyreke Evans and ...

Can the Kings Use the D-League Effectively?
Sactown Royalty — ... The answer: probably not. Who exactly do you send down to Reno? Tyreke Evans? No. No no no. He should be your sixth man until he supplants ...

The View From Section 214, Plus Rantdumb Thoughts
Sactown Royalty — ...   Beno can be the greatest point guard of all time to wear the number 19 if he can beat out Bob Cousy. Cousy played 7 games for the Kings in 1969-70 when he was roughly 70 years old, averaging less than 1 point and 1 assist per game. Beno still has a way to go. (Hat tip to Tyreke Evans for not taking the easy way out. If he can take down Dough Christie, we will be happy campers.) ...

The View From Section 214, Plus Rantdumb Thoughts
Sactown Royalty — ...   Beno can be the greatest point guard of all time to wear the number 19 if he can beat out Bob Cousy. Cousy played 7 games for the Kings in 1969-70 when he was roughly 70 years old, averaging less than 1 point and 1 assist per game. Beno still has a way to go. (Hat tip to Tyreke Evans for not taking the easy way out. If he can take down Dough Christie, we will be happy campers.) ...

Vegas Redux: Jennings, Meeks and Alexander
Brew Hoop — ... On defense, Jennings can best be described as a pest.  Overall he looked like an enthusiastic defender most of the week, which will certainly help his chances of getting meaningful minutes as a rookie.  Jennings likes pressuring the ball and has extremely quick hands, as evidenced by his Vegas-leading 3.6 steals per game.  His lack of size was exposed most notably by Tyreke Evans on a few occasions, and while he'll no doubt benefit from adding 10-15 pounds, he'll never be a big guy.  Fortunately, he's pretty crafty.  One of my ...

Paul Westphal Talks Tyreke Evans, Sean May and More
Sactown Royalty — ... The Rise Guys had Paul Westphal on this morning for about 15 minutes. You should be able to hear the interview at KHTK.com later today, but until then some notes from his interview. Tyreke Evans's best quality is that he asserts his will on the court. Jon Brockman is smart, and knows where he's supposed to be. Omri Casspi can be a versatile player, especially considering his size. Positions don't matter as much as they used to; if Sean May can do good things as a center, then he'll ...

Deconstructing the Destruction of Beno Udrih
Sactown Royalty — ... stopped taking threes, but he still took shots. But for some reason, he upped his "point guard performance." Was it the exile of John Salmons (an isolation player) and Brad Miller (a facilitator)? Probably. It's interesting to note going forward. But the shot ... he abandoned his most efficient shot -- the three -- when the going got rough. His competition for minutes was Bobby Jackson and Will Solomon. How's it going to be when his competition is Tyreke Evans and Sergio Rodriguez? How will Beno respond when, quite ...

Reason for Summer Optimism, or the Lack Thereof
Sactown Royalty — ... in Sacramento, great, but if not, San Jose, Anaheim, Kansas City and others await with open arms. Either way, they won't spend a nickel without some certainty on this front. Aside from mentioning the possibility of the Kings relocating (already a sure-fire way to earn the ire of Sacramento fans), Hollinger then adds his sunny disposition to his predictions for the Kings next season, saying: The Kings did pick up a potential star in the draft in Tyreke Evans and a low-budget breakout possibility in Sergio ...

Dinner & Enthusiasm With Paul Westphal
Sactown Royalty — ... ·         Tyreke Evans is a basketball player. It’s what he does, and it’s all that he wants to do. Evans plays and approaches the game the right way. Westphal re-visited Evans’ handling of Johnny Flynn and ...

Outside-In: Where Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes Shoot the Ball
Sactown Royalty — ... It will, of course, be defense which decides whether Shock and Hawes works as a legit starting frontcourt. And, honestly, a lot of that comes down to Tyreke Evans: Can he rebound enough to lessen the frontcourt's problems on the defensive glass? Will having a point guard who tries to slow opponents help the backstops get into position better? We'll see. ...

How to Upset Me If You're a National Sportswriter
Sactown Royalty — ... , and Bucher's player to watch was Tyreke Evans.  I'm not going to recap their entire analysis, apologies in advance to those without Insider. ...

Voluntary Conditioning Program Begins Sept. 8
Sactown Royalty — ... (still unsigned) has tweeted a few times about various Seattle events, so he's up there. Tyreke Evans is on Mars learning the way of the Space Shaolin Ninja. ...

30Q: Can Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin Co-Exist?
Sactown Royalty — ... Much was made at draft time, and much will continue to be made in major publication previews, as to whether Tyreke Evans and ...

Sticky Ricky
Canis Hoopus — ... While the 18 year old may have made a sound financial decision in the context of weighing playing for the Wolves vs. Barcelona, he has, on the whole, put himself into a situation that was made worse by his camp's inability to properly gauge pre-draft hype and, apparently, an inability to use a calculator, the NBA rookie salary scale, and an IRS income tax spread sheet.  My best guess is that they figured they could live with, at the very least, the 4th pick's money and once Tyreke Evans started going all LeBron in the PG Battle Royales, they were ...

30Q: Can Omri Casspi Contribute From Day 1?
Sactown Royalty — ... three is critical for most NBA small forwards, and developing (or refining) that shot is vital to Casspi's development. He, David Thorpe and the Kings coaching staff all surely know that. Pete Carril is essentially playing the role of shot doctor this season, and I bet Casspi will be a top client. Where I'm most excited about Casspi's long-term opportunities is as a point-forward in the mold of Hedo Turkoglu: someone to make smart decisions and take the pressure off of Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin. But that will take time, so in the ...

30Q: How Much Will Injuries Affect the Kings?
Sactown Royalty — ... or (one would suspect) Tyreke Evans. Luckily, Thompson played all 82 games last season, Evans didn't miss a game in Memphis  and Martin's ankle has healed. I'm beating the schnit out of some wood, like it pickpocketed me. Of course. I just don't think Martin's injuries can be considered chronic, and he has shown a willingness to play through pain. Ditto for ...

30Q: Will the Kings' Relative Lack of Assists Matter?
Sactown Royalty —

30Q: How Creative Will Paul Westphal Be?
Sactown Royalty — ... has repeatedly stated he's not interested in boosting Sacramento's defensive appearance by slowing down the game to mute scoring totals -- which is good, because I think everyone in the league sees team defense with a bit more nuance than "points allowed" these days. (I'm sure I'm wrong about that.) Westphal has also talked about the need for easy buckets, which says to me transition offense will be emphasized. A primary concern to me is how the exemplary foul-drawing skills of Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin will be used. At Memphis, Evans ...

30Q: Will This Be Geoff Petrie's Final Season in Sacramento?
Sactown Royalty — ... shows that Petrie still has that draft magic. Petrie's future may hinge on how immediately Tyreke Evans blows up (if at all), but really Thompson could be the final chapter of his legacy. It was a classic Petrie "ufck it" moment, reminiscent of ...

30Q: When Will Tyreke Evans Get His First Start?
Sactown Royalty — ... 30Q asks the important questions about the Kings all through September. It's safe to say that rougly 90% of the reasons I'm excited for the 2009-10 Sacramento Kings have to with Tyreke Evans. Some of it is a healthy Kevin Martin ... paired with Tyreke Evans. Some of it is a muscly Donte Greene ... getting fed by Tyreke Evans. A maturing Spencer Hawes ... playing off of Tyreke Evans. An improved defense ... led by Tyreke Evans. An improve fast break ... started by ...

Kings Clips, September 15: Tyreke Evans Arrives Next Week
Sactown Royalty — Sacramento Bee: Martin accompanies Jordan to Hall festivities Sam Amick has more good notes in addition to the Martin/MJ vignette. Among them: Petrie plans to stick to 13 players on the roster (which would mean no Kyrylo Fesenko) and Tyreke Evans will get to Sacramento Sunday. KINGS.com: Francisco Garcia Injury Update Garcia will be cleared for full basketball activity next week, according to the team. ComcastSports Philly: NBA Notebook Evans has been doing two-a-days in the Philadelphia area ...

30Q: Should Andres Nocioni Be Traded?
Sactown Royalty — ... will start at small forward, just due to the roster balance (or imbalance, actually). In order to play Tyreke Evans, ...

30Q: Will the Maloofs File for Relocation?
Sactown Royalty — ... arguably saved New Orleans's attendance two years ago, boosting the ticket average high enough to set off some clauses making it more difficult for the franchise to extricate itself from N.O. Paul, however, was a multi-year pro at that point, and remains one of the most transformative young players in the league. Tyreke Evans is not quite there. ...

30Q: Desmond Mason? Really?
Sactown Royalty — ... I am a loyal fan. I want to see Greene and Casspi (and Tyreke Evans) play. I'm not a coach, but I think there are ways to motivate young players without threatening them with a terrible, old player coming off knee surgery. Try cupcakes! Little children such Greene and Casspi loves cupcakes. ...

30Q: Will the Kings Be a Good Three-Point Shooting Team?
Sactown Royalty — ... Part of the equation is unanswerable until we see exactly how the Kings offense will work (or attempt to work). Should Tyreke Evans take the reins early, the team could very well be focused on slashing and finishing rather than swinging the ball. There's also the matter of where on the court Paul Westphal will primarily station ...

30Q: Will Kevin Martin Be an All-Star?
Sactown Royalty — ... figure to, for the first time since 2004, have representation at All-Star Weekend in Dallas this February. If you could bet on whether Tyreke Evans makes the Rookie Challenge game, I would advise you to take that bet. Evans is an early favorite for Rookie of the Year ... and early favorites for Rookie of the Year, provided they don't Morrison it up, typically get picked for the game. ...

30Q: Which Path Will Jason Thompson Take?
Sactown Royalty — ... that he is standing at crossroads.) After a rookie campaign in which Thompson showed elements of consistent offense while offering vigorous (if flawed) defensive intensity, Shock can follow one of two paths. He can become a high-volume offensive threat. Or, he can become a defensive star. Circumstances may prevent Thompson from increasing his usage rate much beyond what he had last year (a bit over 19). Those circumstances actually have names: Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans and Spencer Hawes. The Kings have possession ...

30Q: Will Sean May Drop Jaws?
Sactown Royalty — ... Because as has been written about May for years now, he has the talent. He has the skill. He can play. While the minutes were limited because of injuries, May scored at a +17 points/36 minutes rate his first two seasons. In that second season (in which he played a total of 838 minutes), he got those points on 50% shooting. He has historically drawn fouls at a pace roughly even to that of Jason Thompson, which would be behind only Kevin Martin and (assumedly) Tyreke Evans. He might be the most completely rebounder on the roster not ...

Bobcats to Sign Felton: 1 Year Deal
Rufus on Fire — ... with a shrinking salary cap and zero demand for someone of his talent level. The Official Roommate of Rufus on Fire has long insisted that this is actually the best possible outcome for Felton, based on the idea that he was lucky to get a QO in the first place with D.J. Augustin around, and because there was something of a glut of borderline backup/starter "scoring" PGs on the market, with Nate Robinson and Ramon Sessions, let alone the drafted players like Tyreke Evans, Jeff Teague, and Brandon Jennings. Next ...

Another Kings Camp Invite: PG Lanny Smith
Sactown Royalty — ... . (Note: he will not provide good competition for Tyreke Evans because no one provides good competition for Tyreke Evans. The Kings are looking into having the basketball version of Deep Blue commissioned in order to give Evans an appropriate practice partner.) ...

Training Camp Invite Round-Em-Up
Ridiculous Upside — ... with notable college careers, but who all have reasons they haven't stuck in the NBA (prove me wrong, Dionte!) Sacramento: Lanny Smith This is a good move for the Kings, as Smith is a solid point guard who most recently played on the "NBA Generations" team.  If there's one thing Kings fans aren't satisfied with (one thing?) it's the point guard spot, as Beno Udrih had a pretty miserable season last year.  The team then drafted Tyreke Evans and traded for Sergio Rodriguez, though, so it'll be tough ...

30Q: How Will Beno Udrih Respond?
Sactown Royalty — ... this offseason, I broke down why and how Beno Udrih broke down last year. Beno took about 20 games to go from a player a reasonable share (if not a majority) of fans accepted at the full mid-level exception, to a player everyone in town hated. Beno looked weak, lethargic, slow, completely defendable and completely indefensible. Certainly, the team put the ball back in his court. If Beno begins preseason as the starter, it is an honorary position. The Kings drafted Tyreke Evans to play point guard, and trade down six spots in the high ...

LA Clipper Optimists - Betting Baron Bounces Back
Clips Nation — ... in Memphis?  When will Tyreke Evans supplant Udrih as the starter in Sacto?  These are the 15 I'm using for the sake of argument.) ...

30Q: Will Sergio Rodriguez Blossom?
Sactown Royalty — ... ) is a point guard, the others are centers. The Kings have had trouble coughing up the ball, Tyreke Evans is expected to have some trouble coughing up the ball ... and Sergio Rodriguez has a whole lot of trouble coughing up the ball. It's a concern, and at some point we will probably wonder to ourselves whether the sparkly passes are worth the Hail Marys that end up in the third row. ...

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Sacramento Kings: It's all up from here
Golden State Of Mind — ... in offensive efficiency. Such are the sort of numbers associated with a team struggling to even remain competitive. There's not much silver lining there. Last season, the Kings just plain stunk.   That's yesterday's news though, isn't it?   <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> New faces:   Tyreke Evans (Draft #4 overall) Omri Casspi (Draft #23 overall) ...

Take Me To Your Leader
Sactown Royalty — ... over big. Damn you for losing that weight, Sean May! You cost me my promotion. You’ve made a powerful enemy today, my friend. Where was I? Job interview…lame excuse for not getting job…lamer Sean May joke…oh, yeah – leadership! There has been a fair amount of conversation around StR regarding team leadership. As in, who is going to lead the current bunch, and how will it be determined? By talent (Kevin Martin)? By potential (Tyreke Evans)? By height (Spencer Hawes)? By authority (Paul ...

Tyreke Evans and the Chalice of Point Guard Purity
Sactown Royalty — ... J.K. Rowling's got some new steez, futhermuckas! It's name is Tyreke Evans, and he seeks the Chalice of Point Guard Purity. ...

Sacramento Kings Media Day Errata
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans has a bobblehead. There it be in yar photograph. He was not happy with the representation of his hair. ...

30Q: Can the Kings' Defense Possibly Be That Bad Again?
Sactown Royalty — ... Kings, and even moreso the defense of the 2008-09 Sacramento Kings. So little remains from the start of last season that it's hard to assess what's next. At least three and possibly four positions in the starting lineup will be different than last training camp as practice begins today. The coaching staff has been remade, expectations lowered, styles changed. And while we have an idea of what to expect on offense -- Kevin Martin will score efficiently, Tyreke Evans will draw fouls, Jason Thompson will get put backs, ...

On Tyreke Evan's Chaste Chalice: A Follow-up
Sactown Royalty — ... which cited Tyreke Evans's low college assist rates as a pointer that Too Easy will be a full-time shooting guard within two seasons. The numbers show that Evans's college assist rates are comparable with those of ...

Waiting For Tyreke Evans's MRI Result, Contemplating Kings Fatalism
Sactown Royalty — ... While we wait to hear the results of Tyreke Evans's MRI -- he strained his knee ligament during yesterday's morning practice, sat out the evening scrimmage and sat out today's morning practice -- it's worth noting how panicky knees get us. You don't need the song. You know it's because ...

We Have Time: Maloofs Pledge to Not File for Relocation in March
Sactown Royalty — ... (Between this and the "whew" result of Tyreke Evans's MRI, can I just say that things are coming up Milhouse ...

Fatalism Denied: Tyreke Evans Scrimmaged Wednesday Night
Sactown Royalty — Not only was the MRI on Tyreke Evans's knee negative, but Too Easy felt well enough to scrimmage Wednesday night. And according to Sam Amick, Evans looked good. File this one in the Cabinet of Hope in the back of your mind. It's not always bad!

30Q: Will Tyreke Evans Be a Superstar?
Sactown Royalty — ... The story could be legend -- a young Tyreke Evans, surrounded by much older brothers, molded into a Basketball Machine. The right arm taped behind his back to develop the left. 1,500 jumpers a day. A modified version of Twister to develop his footwork. Every decision made by executive board, each move considered fully. The most pragmatic Ascendance the lig has ever seen. ...

A Small, Good Thing
Sactown Royalty — ... U.S. Treasuries, the incremental rebound of the housing market, these are all green shoots. This is a season of green shoots for Sacramento. In fact they’ve already started sprouting, just not necessarily, as is often the case, where or how we thought they would. No the Kings didn’t end up with Kurt Rambis as coach, but if assistant coaching staffs are a reflection of the head coach’s basketball mentality we’re probably better off with Westphal. Petrie drafted Tyreke Evans, which, to say nothing of said guard’s talent, saved ...

Boos All Around for Kings TV Situation
Sactown Royalty — ... get to read about seven preseason games instead of watching them. (Unless you go to the gym, for the few local preseason games, which by the way will cost you the same as a regular season game -- no breaks on ticket prices, parking, concessions, nothing. And you might not, of course, get the stars. For either team. Because it's preseason.) I have no way of getting to the Portland game Tuesday. That's not worth broadcasting to the loyal fans down in Sacramento? The first chance to see Tyreke Evans and ...

The View From Section 214, Special Section 104 Practice Edition
Sactown Royalty — ... ·         Udrih and Rodriguez both represented themselves well enough, but I didn’t see enough from either one of them to convince me that this team couldn’t go with Tyreke Evans at the point. And with the high pick and roll that they were running, Evans could flourish. ...

Kings Starting Line-up for Preseason Opener Announced
Sactown Royalty — The Bee's Sam Amick reports that Paul Westphal announced the starting five for Tuesday's exhibition opener against Portland: Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin, Desmond Mason, Jason Thompson and Sean May. Apparently, the sore ankle of Spencer Hawes isn't game ready, and apparently the Mason-as-starter experiment has begun. There have been no reports of a Beno Udrih injury. So, um, Tyreke Evans is starting from Day 1. At least in the preseason.

The Difference a Year Makes
Sactown Royalty — ... There's no question that this has been a slow summer.  We've passed our time figuring out if Tyreke Evans will be All-Star, or if he'll just be ROY.  We've spent some time realizing that Westphal might be a pretty good fit for this team.  Some of us have even been so desperate to pass that time that we've actually done our normal 9-5 jobs rather than waste countless hours arguing on StR.  This is, quite frankly, unacceptable.  The madness must be stopped. ...

2009 NBA GM Survey and Predictions
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... year: Philadelphia - 51.9% Which team will be most improved in 2009-10? 1. Washington - 48.3% 2. L.A. Clippers - 17.2% 3. Oklahoma City - 13.8% 4. Toronto - 6.9% Also receiving votes: Boston, Memphis, Minnesota, San Antonio Last year: Miami, Portland - 25.9% Who will win the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year? 1. Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers - 79.3% 2. Jonny Flynn, Minnesota - 10.3% 3. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento - 6.9% 4. Stephen Curry, Golden ...

Preview: Kings at Blazers, Preseason Game 1
Sactown Royalty — ... lit again. That's not a Jailblazers joke. It's a "WATCH OUT FOR THAT BURNING METEORITE YOU GOD-FORSAKEN WOODSY HIPPIES!" joke. If you are interested in the Blazers, you should check out the always tremendous Blazersedge, written by the elegant Dave Deckard and the suave Ben Golliver. KEY BATTLE If wins and losses mattered now, Kevin Martin vs. Brandon Roy would be the Key Battle. Win and losses do not matter now. Therefore, I dub Tyreke Evans vs. Steve Blake to be the Key Battle. Blake is a ...

Greg Oden, Blazers Squash Kings 98-86
Sactown Royalty — ... boards in 24 minutes -- that's 7.5 boards in 36 minutes. My heart palpitates. We'll have to wait for November to really assess this team's rebounding. But holding the Blazers (who basically lapped the league in offensive rebounding last year -- they were so good) to six offensive rebounds in 34 opportunities (17.6%) is bigtime. None for LMA, only two for Oden and Joel Przybilla. Well done, sirs. * IF WE'RE KEEPING SCORE on the point guard race, Tyreke Evans will never come off the bench this season. Beno ...

Blazers Beat Kings 89-86 As Sergio Fails to Plunge a Dagger Into His Old Mates
Sactown Royalty — ... And while Tyreke Evans's point guard-y numbers (four assists, six turnovers in 37 minutes) were rough, Evans did score well (14 points on 14 shooting possessions) and helped free up the spectacular ...

What the Kings Need From a Small Forward
Sactown Royalty — ... each option (other than Andres Nocioni, who will be the team's first wing off the bench) can bring. For Francisco Garcia, it's ball-handling. For Desmond Mason, it's slashing and defense. For Donte Greene, it's potentiall defense. For Casspi, it's hustle and energy. But there's an unspoken skill that is absolutely vital for the success of the starting unit, of which two of the four contenders stand out: shooting. Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans are going to drive to the hoop. A lot. The Kings have ...

Meet Your Three-Guard Lineup
Sactown Royalty — ... how Paul Westphal plans to address the Francisco Garcia injury. Insert Andres Nocioni as a starter? Nope. Pray Desmond Mason's back spasms disappear and his body as a whole holds up? Nope. Put your eggs in the Omri Casspi/Donte Greene basket? Nope. Stick your three best guards on the floor in the same lineup? Yep. Jones reports Westphal plans to rely heavily on the three-guard lineup of Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih. It wasn't clear if these three will ...

The Importance of Post Effectiveness From Spencer Hawes
Sactown Royalty — ... The problem for Hawes was that he didn't finish as well as a 7-footer should. His inside shooting percentage was 58.7%, behind the smaller/greener Thompson, and closer to what you'd expect from a tweener forward than a center. Strength will help Hawes finish plays down there. And that will relieve pressure on Tyreke Evans and ...

Preview: Kings vs Lakers, Preseason Game 3
Sactown Royalty — ... There is not an ounce more clarity in the Great Small Forward Derby of 2009 today than there was prior to either of last week's games against Portland. Paul Westphal has discussed a three-guard lineup which would involve Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans sharing shooting guard and small forwards duties. Paul Westphal has dubbed ...

Preview: Warriors at Kings, Preseason Game 4
Sactown Royalty — ... for a second) preferred the physicality of Tyreke Evans and had concerns about a Curry degenerative knee condition. Evans has made the Kings look brilliant in VSL and three preseason games, while Curry had struggled for the most part. But Curry remains a prototypical Petrie guard, and it will be interesting to see whether Evans or Kevin Martin can shut him down in what should be a gingersnap fast game. ...

OPEN THREAD: Preseason Game #6 - Warriors @ Kings - Best part of Sacramento?
Golden State Of Mind — ... start talking about their mayor. Ya, that's right - MAYOR JOHNSON!   WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. Warriors (Preseason W-L) - 3-2 Kings (Preseason W-L) -0-3 Blog Buddy: Sactown Royalty Tip-Off: 7:00 PM PST TV: None Radio: KNBR 680 The Kings?  They drafted Tyreke Evans.  He don't look so ...

The View from Section 115, Row B aka "Seats Kenny Thomas would like"
Sactown Royalty — ... the Kings fed the ball to Kevin in several post up situations, most of which either resulted in a basket, a foul, or both (Of Curry's 5 fouls, 4 were on Kevin for sure).  The Dubs didn't really have an answer for K-Mart, putting Ellis, Curry, Watson and Maggete on him at times.  None of those 4 really gave him any problems at all.  Martin looked like he was leading by example out there.  And his 32 points were some of the quietest 32 points I've ever seen. Tyreke Evans:  Wow. Just wow. Tyreke Evans stopped Monta Ellis ...

Kings Links, Oct. 20: Preparing for Phoenix
Sactown Royalty — ... tough test of Carril's lessons Some notes on tonight's Suns game, along with some tidbits on how Pete Carril operates under Paul Westphal. Kings Blog and Q&A;: Mason impresses Westphal without impressive stats NBA FanHouse: Mason Looking Like Kings' Starting SF A pair of pieces in which Westphal says nice things about Desmond Mason. Kings.com: JT, Tyreke Ready to Run with Suns Jason Thompson and Tyreke Evans talk about the Suns. Evans discusses how he thinks he can get to ...

Preview: Kings at Suns, Preseason Game 5
Sactown Royalty — ... needs a break after three Key Battles in the team's first four preseason games. So let's give it to Tyreke Evans vs. ...

Game Thread: Suns vs Kings
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... 225 6-9 Maccabi Elite Melvin Ely 33 C 5.2.78 261 6-10 Fresno State Tyreke Evans 13 G 9.19.89 220 6-6 ...

'Miss You!,' Kevin Martin Calls Out to Dick Bavetta As Suns Smack Kings 143-127
Sactown Royalty — ... I don't know how Tyreke Evans looked out there, but he put up his best shooting night of the preseason, hitting 21 points on 18 shot attempts, a True Shooting percentage of .583. Along with that he scored eight assists on four turnovers, and added a steal and two blocks (including the from-behind version you see at right). All that in 31 minutes. ...

Phoenix Suns Bring a New Harder Edge to the Season
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... Before leaving the game with a very mild right ankle sprain, Nash spent the early minutes getting posted up by the monster-sized Tyreke Evans on one end and then promptly schooling the talented rookie on the other. You can say a lot of things about ...

Kings 104, Thunder 89 - Preseason win total doubled!
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans played only 13 minutes, but he scored 9 points, had 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots in his short stint. Once the season starts and the games are televised, Evans and Casspi are going to sell some tickets. ...

Preview: Kings vs. Jazz, The Final Preseason Game
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans saw limited minutes last night, and it will be interesting to see what approach Coach Westphal takes tonight.  Does he let Tyreke get some burn to really tune up before the season opener, or does he get rest?  Don't be surprised by either one.  As last night showed us, Westphal is willing to throw a lot of different looks out on the floor.  ...

The View From Section 214, 10/23 - Fact Or Fiction?
Sactown Royalty — ... Fact: Tyreke Evans more than held his own against one of the best point guards in the league (27 points on 57% true shooting percentage, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, a blocked shot, and 7 turnovers. ...

Rack 'em! Prognosticating Wins & Losses For Your 2009-10 Sacramento Kings - A Futility Exercise In Seven Parts
Sactown Royalty — ... for the month, beating Charlotte and upending the Dubs on a night where Stephen Jackson sits out suspended and Anthony Randolph and Nellie both get tossed out of the game (this is also win #17, matching last season’s total). The Kings do manage home wins against the Mavs, Bobcats and Suns, but they give a win away to the Warriors, they have no answer for Dwight Howard, and Chauncey Billups buries a circus shot at the buzzer with Tyreke Evans draped all over him to deliver a loss at the hands of the ...

Preview: Kings Season Opener at Oklahoma City
Sactown Royalty — ... This is where potential meets reality.  This is where we see Tyreke Evans on the main stage.  This is where we see what JT has truly become.  This is where we see Westphal's campaign towards redemption. ...

Thunder 102, KIngs 89 - On Your Mark, Get Set, D'oh!
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans is (so young/so talented/so confused) right now. He had an off night, missing 11 of 16 shots and turning the ball over 3 times while delivering 2 assists. He missed (a few/several/an unholy number of) shots at the rim, but that can be attributed to (rookie jitters/the Thunder defense/ ...

Official Sactown Royalty Kings 2009-10 Preview
Sactown Royalty — ... Team Name: Sacramento Kings Last Year’s Record: No comment. Key Losses: Rashad McCant's bubbly personality, Ike Diogu's bubbly personality, Calvin Booth's rubber band ball, Francisco Garcia's right forearm. Key Additions: Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Kevin Martin's health, Paul Westphal, Sergio!. Big Additions: Sean May. 1. ...

Competition Discussion: Rest of the League
Bullets Forever — ... in a seven-game Western Conference Finals series.  If not, all that incremental growth we've seen could be stunted. Sacramento Kings Last season: 17-65 (Pythagorean record: 19-63) Biggest team strength: Drawing fouls (fifth in the league at FT/FG) Biggest team weakness: Shooting defense (second worst in the league) and defensive rebounding (second worst in the league) In: Tyreke Evans, Sean May, Desmond Mason, Omri Casspi, Jon ...

Preview: Kings at Hornets
Sactown Royalty — ... interesting to note that Peja is joined on the Hornets by former Kings Darius Songalia, Ike Diogu and Bobby Brown.  Ah, memories. Section214's match-up to watch:  Spencer Hawes vs. Julian Wright.  Although we probably won't see them face off head to head, recall that Wright was on the board when the Kings drafted Hawes.  Take a gander, see what we might have ended up with instead, and make of it what you will.    Tyreke Evans' debut was less than stellar.  Whatever the cause, a ...

Sacramento Kings Previews
CelticsBlog — ... Can Tyreke Evans win Rookie of the Year? Yes. He can and he will. Tyreke Evans has the best chance at winning the award because he has the best chance of leading all rookies in scoring this year. He can get to the basket whenever he wants, plays nice defense, and will shoot a ton of free throws. Throw in ...

Game 2: Hive Live
At The Hive — ... Tyreke Evans: This guy is good. Very impressive and (I hate to say stuff like this but) he's got quite a bit of gumption. He gave 110% and it showed. 22 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and he got to the line 8 times. It'd be nice for him to up that assist total in the future, but he looks pretty darn good already. ...

Game Preview #3: Sacramento Kings @ San Antonio Spurs - Scare Tactics
Pounding The Rock — ... Like Chucky in Child's Play, Tony will be one tough nut to take down, especially after a bad game. On the other side of the floor, Parker's going up against ROY candidate Tyreke Evans. Evans has talent and size, which could give us fits at the defensive end, but Tony will give Tyreke hell if his lateral movement isn't up to speed. ...

Hornets 97, Kings 92 - Kings playoffs magic number reduced to 79
Sactown Royalty — ... A word on +/- - Admittedly, this is my least favorite stat, as I think that there are many factors that can skew this number. Last night Kevin Martin was a +1 while Tyreke Evans was a -10. ‘Nuff said. ...

Game Preview: Kings At Spurs
Sactown Royalty — Last Halloween, Reggie Theus dressed up as an NBA head coach. Happy  Halloween! The Kings wrap up their season opening three game road trip at San Antonio this evening, with a 5:30 (PDT) tipoff against the San Antonio Spurs. Likely Kings starters: Sean May, Jason Thompson, Desmond Mason, Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans Likely Spurs starters: Tim Duncan (but don’t ...

Four Factors Through Three Games
Sactown Royalty — ... Opponent turnover rate: 14th -- 14.1%. If you had told me the Kings would force more turnovers than they'd make during any span of this season -- even through one quarter of play -- I would have accused you of insanity. But there it is: the Kings force more turnovers than they give up. I have no idea how this is happening, although somehow the data says the Kings have 23 steals through three games. I must have missed all but the floor-burn Tyreke Evans one. ...

Another Viewpoint: Defensive Disruption as Strategy
Sactown Royalty — ... has told his guards to play for the steal or whether it's a strategy they have decided to employ on their own. Yesterday, I joined the broadcast crew in bemoaning the strategy -- Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds have discussed the risks involved in playing for the steal during each of the three games thus far, usually when Tyreke Evans or Kevin Martin lunge for a backcourt steal and come up empty. By ancedote, which is to say by viewing the game, it's not working -- too often the fruitless lunge leads to a fairly easy score for the opponent. ...

Preview: Grizzlies at Kings, Game 4
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans vs. Mike Conley. Conley will be the first opposing point guard that Evans should definitely overpower. Russell Westbrook is an ace defender, ...

NBA Western Conference Predictions
CelticsBlog — ... I like a number of players here such as Kevin Martin, Jason Thompson, Tyreke Evans, and Spencer Hawes. Evans will have to limit his turnovers as he grows as an NBA player. That may take a while, but he looks like a solid draft choice. After Kevin Martin, there isn’t a solid second option offensively yet. ...

Rondo: Contract? NBA Guards Keeping Him Busy
CelticsBlog — ... guys who have been through a contract situation but…you have to go through it yourself to experience it. You know they can say as much as they want, but until you go through it yourself you don’t know exactly what they are talking about. Notices New Group of Point Guards It used to be a position that was harder to fill. A new crop of young point guards coming up are changing that. This year you can add Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, and Jonny Flynn to young point guards with big time ...

When There's Nothing Left to Burn, You Have to Set O.J. Mayo on Fire
Sactown Royalty — ... As for the others: you don't expect Udrih to be that perfect ever again, but you also don't expect Tyreke Evans to be that ineffective against a smaller opponent. You may not expect Hawes to drop 21/11/7 on the reg, but you also don't count on foul trouble for Jason Thompson every night. And no, Martin won't average 48 points a game, but this in total can be replicated. The Kings can win games, which is something that couldn't be said after the All-Star break last season. ...

Preview: Hawks at Kings, Game 5
Sactown Royalty — ... The Hawks defense is what got them to above average, though, with Al Horford and Josh Smith manning the paint and Marvin Williams and Joe Johnson providing plus defense on the perimeter. Mike Bibby is still a turnstile, from what I can gather, but shoots like no one's business and will require defensive effort from Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih. ...

Preview and Game Thread #5: Atlanta Hawks @ Sacramento Kings
Peachtree Hoops — ... Fox Sports South, Hawks Radio Network, NBA Audio League Pass Probable starters: Tyreke Evans PG Mike Bibby ...

Kings Crumble in Fourth, Fall to Atlanta 113-105
Sactown Royalty — ... , by the way, had nine of the team's 24 defensive rebounds.) The Kings scored more free throws and committed fewer turnovers. Sacramento had 11 steals (three for Tyreke Evans, two each for Thompson and ...

A Young Team With an Aversion to Youth
Sactown Royalty — ... seasons of real NBA experience. He served as Portland's starting small forward in the halycon Death to Z-Bo 2006-07, 32-win season. Udoka spent the last two seasons as a Bowen Memorial player off the bench in San Antonio. Portland brought him to camp this fall but cut him, and no one had been rumored to give him a serious nibble in the two weeks since. Except Sacramento. Before Udoka, the Kings could be considered deep at two positions: point guard (Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Sergio Rodriguez) and small ...

Preview: Kings at Jazz, Game 6
Sactown Royalty — ... 2009 - Tyreke Evans 5 31.0 4.4 12.4 35.5 0.2 1.8 11.1 2.2 4.0 55.0 0.8 2.2 3.0 3.6 2.4 1.6 0.0 ...

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Week 2
Sactown Royalty — ... absolutely dominated, scoring 48 points, and Spencer Hawes had possibly the best game of his career.  Tyreke was hobbled, but Beno stepped up off the bench and produced.  Then against Utah, without Kevin Martin, we end up beating a Utah team that will probably be the 5th or 6th best team in the West when all is said and done, AT HOME.  What a great way to end the week, and it was all led by our stud rookie, Tyreke Evans. ...

Kings Whip Out 104-99 Win Over Jazz in SLC
Sactown Royalty — ... Utah, without Kevin Martin and Omri Casspi -- doesn't fortell the same letdown. Awful teams (like the 2008-09 Kings) win these games a few times a season. Bad teams win them once or twice a month. Not-altogether-horrible teams mix them in every couple weeks. I think "not-altogether-horrible" is about the most optimism I can squeeze out right now, so one of these wins every couple weeks will have to do. Whether this is imminently repeatable has so much to do with Tyreke Evans, and how he attacked the Jazz defense. ...

GAME THREAD: Game 5- Golden State Warriors @ Sacramento Kings- JUST WIN IT (seriously)
Golden State Of Mind — ... 44.7 8.4 9.8 85.7 1.2 4.2 5.4 2.6 1.4 2.0 0.2 1.2 30.6 Tyreke Evans 6 32.8 4.8 12.8 37.7 0.5 ...

Preview: Warriors at Kings, Game 7
Sactown Royalty — ... 's rotation is a full-time job. Friday against the Clippers, the starting five included Mikki Moore, Stephen Jackson, Kelenna Azuibuike, Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. Which is more undersized, the backcourt or frontcourt? Trick question! The correct answer is "all of the above." Needless to say, there is no one to a) defend the paint, or b) close out defensive rebounds in that five. It will be imperative for Tyreke Evans to attack, no doubt, but I'll give Key Battle status to ...

Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107
Sactown Royalty — ... . You knew Sacramento had the advantage on the glass and in the paint, and that Tyreke Evans had a huge size advantage on the perimeter. But the ...

Preview: Thunder at Kings THE REVENGE GAME
Sactown Royalty — ... These previews tend to caught up in talk of the opponent, so let's spare a minute for our protagonists. The Kings are, unbelievably, up to No. 7 in offense after Sunday's win. Playing bad defenses like Memphis, Golden State and Utah has something to do with that, sure. But the fact that Sacramento's offense has been so statistically good despite some rough shooting (19th in the league) is nothing short of inspiring. Be inspired by Jason Thompson's offensive rebounds! Tyreke Evans's lack of turnovers! Kevin Martin's foul-drawing! (Oh, wait ...) The Kings, ...

.500! Kings Beat Thunder 102-99
Sactown Royalty — ... (23 and 14) and Tyreke Evans (20-8-8), the Kings won a slopfest, an ugly 48 minutes of miscues and failed execution. The teams combined for 22 steals; maybe five were earned. Most came from messy ballhandling, dumb passes or ridiculous shot attempts. But as a fan -- a Kings fan -- that definitely doesn't do a thing to dampen the excitement. ...

Game Thread 6: Nuggets/Bucks
Brew Hoop — ... In Vegas, Jennings struggled against Tyreke Evans in the post before he started fronting more effectively, and he also used his speed to create problems against the bigger Evans on the other end.  He'll need to do the same to hang with Billups, who is averaging 19.4 ppg and 5.3 apg while continuing to score efficiently (58.1 TS%).  ...

Crazy Thoughts About Coaches
Sactown Royalty — ... still trying to figure out what the starting line-up looks like, and has already given up on the Desmond Mason expiriment. Pookey is right, there is no reason to believe that the team has had a chance to fully adapt to Westphal and his system.  Not yet.  No way. And yet the team just won three straight games.  Without Francisco Garcia.  Without Kevin Martin. Obviously the players have made strides since last season, and the additions of Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi have helped the team ...

Preview: Rockets at Kings
Sactown Royalty — ... and Ariza or Battier/Tyreke Evans. Either way, Beno should have a size advantage and Evans could be in for a long night on offense. ...

Preview: Bulls at Kings
Sactown Royalty — ... THE KEY BATTLE Rose and Salmons vs. Udrih and Evans. Tyreke Evans took turns guarding Trevor Ariza (not well) and Aaron Brooks (well) on Friday, and I imagine the same will be true here. I assume Salmons will continue his pattern of shooting jumpers (a career-high five threes per game this season -- I know Ben Gordon, sir, and you, sir, are no Ben Gordon), though if he has a steamy brain stem in lieu of a warmish brain stem, he may remember Beno Udrih is not adept at defending the drive, and ...

Preview: Kings at Rockets
Sactown Royalty — ... and Tyreke Evans combined for 42 points. Ariza scored 17 in the first half, but got too cocksure from behind the arc and shot 4-12 from three. Houston missed a ton of open shots in the second half, but the Kings defense was pretty solid overall. ...

Game Thread and Non-Preview
The Dream Shake — ... , who had a big night against us in Sacramento.  Tyreke Evans looks like the real deal, but also might be a bit banged up (it is evidently against his machismo to admit that).  Also, if  Beno Udrih plays against us like he did last time, I'll... I'll...do something extreme. ...

When Reality Knocks Down Spirit, and Spirit Gets Back Up
Sactown Royalty — ... So we're left enjoying something new, just as we did in 1999. We have no idea what's in store for Omri Casspi (whose Flacoesque "mean face" should be put on a wanted poster), for Donte Greene (a walking exclamation mark), for Jason Thompson (the most frantic brand of smooth I've seen), for Spencer Hawes, for Tyreke Evans, for Kevin Martin, for Beno Udrih. We have no clue what the eventual peak will be, what piece(s) will need to be moved for the team to break the wall (if there is a wall, and wherever it stands), what elation and heartbreak lay ahead. This ...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Week 4
Sactown Royalty — ... Have any of you seen Grant Napear in broad daylight?  I'm not saying, I'm just saying.  But back to the Kings, oh how the mighty have fallen.  After going 3-0 last week, the Kings did the exact opposite this week.  But still, there were some good things to take from this week, especially considering we only had one game with our main rotation playing (and that's still without Kevin and Cisco). The Good 1. Tyreke Evans Aren't you guys glad this guy is on our team?  ...

Taking Stock
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans – The goods: Clearly one of the top two rookies in the league to this point (along with ...

Preview: Kings at Grizzlies
Sactown Royalty — ... , and in which Spencer Hawes injected himself into the starting line-up. In that game, Tyreke Evans (two points, three rebounds, four assists) and Jason Thompson (seven points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks) were mostly ineffective; J.T. fouled out in 28-1/2 minutes of work. Hawes had a brilliant, brilliant 21-point, 11-rebound, 7-assist, 2-block effort. Omri Casspi, Beno Udrih and Andres Nocioni combined for 44 points on 30 FGAs off the bench, and Martin had potentially the best or second-best game of his career, adding five rebounds, four ...

Kings Finish Winless Road Trip, Lose 116-105 in Memphis
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans had solid numbers (28/4/4 with five turnovers) but never really had control of the game. Udrih initiated the offense much of the first half, and Evans's gravity ebbed and waned. I think it's reasonable to say he was the most talented player on the floor, but the Kings needed him to take over the game. And he didn't, until the match had been decided. Having a Wade/Roy type player means having a player to live and die by. Evans played so well that the Kings could have lived if he'd taken his proper role. But it didn't happen. He is 20 years old, ...

Preview: Knicks at Kings
Sactown Royalty — ... I would announce the coming conquest of Tyreke Evans over his worst DraftExpress comp (Hughes) if Evans were certain to play, but alas, he is soft. (This is the greatest: part of the Peaches crusade against ...

Game Thread: Knicks at Kings- 11/25/09
Posting and Toasting — ... Meanwhile, Sacramento features rookie Tyreke Evans, who is almost guaranteed to have a career night against the Knicks given his ability to drive to the basket. That is unless Mike D'Antoni chooses to let ...

Kings Blow Out Knicks 111-97, Donte Greene Makes Case for Hall of Fame
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans's 20-point streak ended at seven. Instead, he pulled together a 19-11-7 night. (Not bad, rook.) 'Reke's jumper was very clearly off -- he had two airballs and another with barely hit the front iron -- but he still managed to get a point for every FG attempted. Not the most efficient scoring effort, but one hell of an all-around game. (He also led both teams in plus-minus, at +23. You don't need to play superlative defense to limit Chris Duhon to 2-8 shooting, but Evans did. He also switched on to Nate Robinson in the third quarter; Robinson ...

Kings Things I'm Thankful For
Sactown Royalty — ... Tyreke Evans.  As someone who was among the most vocal advocates for some kid named Rubio, I have become completely enamored with Tyreke and his game.  I really like what he brings to this team, I think he can become a star, and I he's a fun player to follow. ...