Do The Sacramento Kings Have Too Many Guards?

Feb 01, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas (22) during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers defeated the Kings 89-80. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

In the midst of their season of change, the Sacramento Kings made several changes across their roster.  Among the positions under flux was the backcourt, where the whole draft class consisted of two guards.

The question that arises from all the moves this offseason, is whether the Kings now have too many guards?

First let’s look at all the guards on the roster: Jimmer Fredette, Trent Lockett, Ben McLemore, Ray McCallum, Isaiah Thomas, Grevis Vasquez, and Marcus Thornton.

The projected starters in the backcourt, in my opinion, will be Vasquez at the point and McLemore at the two guard. Having seven guards covering only two positions is a little excessive. Whether that constitutes too many players in the backcourt will be determined by injuries and the way head coach Mike Malone runs his offense.

For instance, if the Kings run a full court offense utilizing the speed of the the back court, then having smaller faster players could definitely pay off. Now if teams like the San Antonio Spurs, who can run both  full court and the half court game, are the constant foes then the Kings will be at a disadvantage. Having tall lanky players help in rebounding, but if the Kings feel they can pile up more minutes on their younger forwards, then they could actually make it work.

Another question is whether the Kings are stacked at the guard positions is by design or by circumstance. Having witnessed the draft and the player acquisitions, I came to the conclusion that it is by design. Having said that, I think we can conclude that the Kings will run a fast paced offense maximising the speed of the younger roster.

Another question that arises is whether the Kings held on to some players due to their potential trade value. Case in point: Jimmer Freddete, who has been an outsider for most of his two seasons with the Kings. In my opinion, the former BYU product is third behind Thomas and Vasquez at the one position. My thought is that the Kings would look to trade him after they build some value in him through some playing time.

To fully answer the question we would have to look into a crystal ball because the injury situation would definitely answer the question sometime during the season. Having seven players at the two guard positions could help or hurt Sacramento down the road. Whatever happens, I look for the Kings to answer all the lingering questions in the 2013 season.