7. Sacramento Kings

The GM for the Sacramento Kings, who own the 7th pick, is:

   TODD FURESZ 

With that pick, the Kings select:

   Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest

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As the old song goes "Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?"  With
the Sacremento Kings the refrain should be "Where have you gone
Sam Lacy, Scott Wedman, Otis Birdsong and Phil Ford?"  Life has
been tough on the Kings since the glory days in KC when a 
"young" Cotton roamed the sidelines.  The Sacremento Kings
have never had the success that their older siblings in KC
enjoyed.  Repeated bad trades and moves (no mention of 
what happened to Danny Anige, Otis Thorpe and Billy Owens
here) have mired the Kings near the basement of the Pacific
division.  The FAILED experiment of allowing Bill Russell
to run things is still being felt today.  The Kings
despite their 25 wins last year appear to be on the verge
of being respectible and in my opinion this level
could be reached over the next 2 drafts.

The Team

Forwards.

Lionel Simmons is a fine all around player.  His 
skills were perfected on the same mean streets of 
Philadelphia that produced Bo Kimble of the Knicks (he
does look sharp in all thsoe wonderfully colored suits
on the bench during the playoffs) and the late Hank
Gathers.  His hunger and drive provide him with the 
proper work ethic and attitude but "The L Train" at times
gets over zealous and tried to do too much (witness poor
shots at the end of games).  Despite his size 6' 6 1/2" he
is a fine inside player and good rebounder and is
happy on the perimeter.  He is also a good defender.  
Wayman Tisdale, however, has seen better days.  He is a
one diminsional power forward.  He can score but I'd send 
him packing.  He plays no D and the only thing larger
than his contract (2 mill) is his waistline.  He would,
however, make a fine 6 or 7th man for some contending
team that needs instant O off the bench.  It is the hope
of this GM that I could find some desperate GM willing to 
take Tisdale for a prospect or draft choice.  A team needing
to get over the hump may find a use for the aging forward.
Walt "The Wizard" Williams sees time in both the front and
backcourt.  He was a 2nd team all rookie player  this past
season.  the Wizard is very versitale but can be inconsistant.
Perhaps with a year under his belt he can play with the overall
command he showed at U of Maryland.  He is an excellent passer
and a good enough ball handler to play PG.  He is a Billy Owens
type of player (wasn't he a King if only for 10 minutes or so)
who has a good future ahead of him.  Anthony Bonner is a decent
bench player.  He is a terror on the boards, sweeping the glass
with great vigor.  He does not have much of an offensive game to
speak off and tends to score on put backs only.  His 
contact is up and may not be resigned (word out of Sac).  Kurt
Rambis is a journeyman who can still provide a few minutes
at the PF spot.

Center

Duane Causwell is a project that is ongoing.  He has
shown flashes of good play but needs to be more assertive
on O and especially on the boards.  If his D were better the
Kings could probably survive with a role player at C (a la
the Bulls with Bill Cartwright).  The Kings however do not
have a squad around Causwell the likes of Cartwright's
teammates so more production is needed here.  Pete Chilcutt
is undersized and more of PF but does see time at C.  He is much more 
comfortable on the perimeter and has a good shot.  He knows
how to fill a role since graduation from Dean Smith U.  Les
Jepsen is the typical 7 footer at the end of every NBA bench,
nothing special but an extra big body to divide the fouls up.

Guards
Mitch Richmond is an excellent 2 guard and the most talented
King.  The former all star can still pump in 20-25 every night.
His offensive game is versitale and he can go outside or hit the
long range J.  He is strong and quick and uses those pluses on
both sides of the floor.  He still has several good years left.  The
Kings could move him but if they feel the playoffs are around
the corner he is the type of player you need to make that clutch
shot.  Spud Webb is undersized at PG.  Although quick he is a 
defensive liability and no longer has great leaping ability.  They
need a repalce ment for Spud.  Randy Brown is a decent backup but not
the type of PG you want leading a playoff team.  Usually less is
more but that is not the case with Jim Les.

Needs
This team needs to ship Tisdale out and get help at
either C or PG for him.  They need to then replace their PW.

Selection
My choice would be Rodney Rogers of Wake Forest.  I fear
he maybe a tweener but I am confident that with work he can be a
rugged inside force.  If Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley
and Adrian Dantley (he was only 6' 3") can make it in this
league as PF then I have confidence in Rogers.  The Kings need rebouding
help and Rogers can eat up space.  True he may not be a Barkley
or Johnson but he was player of the year in the tradition rich
ACC.

Other Players Considered

The need for a PG could have been filled with Bobby Hurley.
I do feel that he would be availible later so if he was truely the player 
the Kings need they should trade down.  The other possible PG
would be Terry DeHere of Seton Hall.  Yes PG, I am sorry but this
guy reminds me of a better Doc Rivers.  Rivers was a 2 guard in 
college and he made the transition to the point.  I feel Terry 
could do the same but only better.  Watching Rivers guide the Knicks
makes me feel Terry could do the same for a team in a few
years if he was given the chance.  The only other player I
considered was Allan Houston of Tenn.  He is the next best athlete
around.  He however plays the same position as the Kings best
player Richmond.  He would help the bench but the Kings are at
the point where they still need a solid starting five so
Rogers wins out because of the need of a more complete player
at PF.

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Draft Summary:

1.  Orlando
    GM:   Tom@Orlando 
    Pick: Chris Webber, PF, 6-10.  University of Michigan
2.  Philadelphia
    GM:   Dave Meeks 
    Pick: Shawn Bradley, C, 7-7. BYU
3.  Golden State
    GM's: Mike Moore 
          Terry Wong 
    Pick: Jamal Mashburn, SF, 6-8. Kentucky
4.  Dallas
    GM:   Curtis Hill  
    Pick: Anfernee Hardaway, SG, 6-7, Memphis State
5.  Minnesota
    GM's: Kevin Hansen 
          Toni Morgan 
    Pick: Calbert Cheaney, SF, 6-7. Indiana
6.  Washington
    GM's: The Crossjammer 
          Jim Nagle   
    Pick: J.R. Rider, SG, 6-5, UNLV
7.  Sacramento
    GM:   TODD FURESZ 
    Pick: Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest

Next up:
8.  Milwaukee       
    GM's: Brian Saunders 
          Morgan Edwards