Sacramento Kings: A Look at the Present and the Future

With so many valuable players available as free agents this summer, the Kings have a very good opportunity to improve their roster, and their chances at becoming a playoff threat. The Kings would be wise to resign both Tyreke Evans and Toney Douglas to long term deals.

Evans has undeniable talent and tremendous upsides on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Evans has shown he is willing to put the time and work in to become an All-Star-caliber player. Douglas proved to be the defensive minded player the Kings have been searching for. Douglas’ presence on the floor was easily recognizable as opposing teams almost became more tentative the moment he stepped onto the court.

November 05, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) celebrates after scoring a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

The Kings will also have the opportunity to offer contract extensions to DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, and Patrick Patterson. Cousins and Patterson seemed to play very well together, and both should be seriously considered as candidates for contract extensions. Cousins is perhaps the Kings main priority, and the new management should take the opportunity to distance themselves from the non spending ways of the Maloofs. By offering contract extensions the ownership shows support for the players who are viewed as players the franchise can build a successful team around.Thomas is potentially someone the Kings would want to consider signing to a contract extension simply because he has already drawn interest throughout the league, and is still under contract for under $1 million which is a bargain for the Kings. Thomas could prove to be a valuable player for years to come or, an enticing offer to teams looking at potential trades involving the Kings.

If the Kings are smart, and choose to keep Evans, Cousins, Patterson, Douglas, and Thomas under contract, they would be very wise to test their hand in the free agent pool, and attempt to bring a big name to Sacramento. The Kings should look at two glaring weaknesses of their team: both the small forward and power forward positions.

While Jason Thompson has continued to grow into a valuable player, who has started for most of his career, he has never been the type of dominant big man the Kings need. Thompson, like Thomas, has shown he is very capable of being a tream player and play valuable minutes off the bench. Thompson is what I would call a player on the fence: he isn’t quite good enough to be a dominant power forward, but is far better than almost 90 percent of the power forwards coming off the bench.

Thompson will never develop into the dominant starting big man the Kings need to become contenders.