The 14th pick (and the 1st non lottery pick in a long time) goes to
the playoff team (another thing that has not happened in a long time),
the Sacramento Kings.  Their net GM is:

  Kevin Slagle  

Kevin Selects for the Kings:

  Samaki Walker, PF, 6-9, Louisville

==========================================================================
I. Kings History
By the standard of most NBA teams, a losing record and a quick exit from 
the playoffs would not be much to be happy about.  But for the 
Sacramento Kings, this years 39-43 season  represented the team's 
biggest success in a decade.

For the first time, the NBA playoffs came to the new ARCO Arena, 
giving perhaps the most dedicated fans (11 years of sellouts, the 
longest current string in the league) in the NBA , a chance to enjoy the 
post-season for something other than the draft lottery.  The Kings game 
2 victory in Seattle was the highlight of a season which saw the team 
post a 19-9 start, a 1-16 midseason plunge and a respectable charge for 
the playoffs.

But just because the Kings have finally ended their record string of 
years of not making the playoffs does not mean the team is ready to 
challenge the upper-echelon teams in the Western Conference, or for that 
matter, the Pacific Division.  The team has a solid nucleus of young 
players and a star in his prime, Mitch Richmond, but will need to make 
some changes to continue their growth.

Position Analysis
Center -- Olden Polynice, Duane Causwell and even Michael Smith spent 
time at the 5 spot  this year.  Polynice, much more of a power forward 
than a center (and at the end of the season played PF while Causwell 
started at C), is a good weak-side rebounder who has a consistent flip
shot around the basket.  He is criticized for being a soft defender and 
a poor finisher.  At 7'0", the guy never dunks.

Causwell is an exceptional shotblocker, but is limited offensively by 
poor hands and limited range.  He is also extremely inconsistent, 
although towards the end of the season  he posted a few games where he 
scored double figures, rebounded well and blocked 3-5 shots -- the best 
performances of his career. 

The Kings are average or a little below average at center, and like most 
NBA teams, would love to add a quality big man.

Power Forward -- The Kings have, perhaps, one of the best PF 
combinations in the league.  Brian Grant , Michael Smith and Corliss 
Williamson are three young and developing players that bring unique sets 
of skills to the Kings front-court.

Brian Grant is one of the steals of the 1994 draft.  Grant, strong and 
solid at 6'10", is rapidly developing an 15-20 foot jumper to go with 
his inside power moves.  He is an aggressive rebounder, good defender, 
great finisher and quick to get up the court.  Although he is showing 
indications of becoming one of the top PFs in the league, he still has 
many areas of his game to polish. He is an intense player, in fact too 
intense at times.  When he gets the ball down low, he is primarily 
looking to power it up to the basket, not pass, head-fake or take a 
turnaround J (not much finesse in his game yet), which leads to too many 
turnovers, blocked shots and offensive fouls.  His intensity also give 
him problems on defense where he had a tendency to pick up silly fouls 
and top them off by complaining to the refs.  He often caught so caught 
up on his foul calls he disappeared from the game.

As his on-court maturity develops as well as his jumper (it's getting 
real close)  Grant  has the potential to be a PF in the mold of Karl 
Malone.

While intensity is sometimes Grant's biggest on-court liability, Michael 
Smith's game revolves around it.  Whether its diving three rows into the 
crowd for a ball, rebounding like Rodman or ripping a follow-up dunk, 
Smith brings instant energy to the Kings.  He comes off the bench to 
spark the team and can effective guard most power forwards and even some 
centers in the league.  He is a "Mr. Mean" type that will battle anyone 
for a looseball or rebound.  The crowd-favorites biggest liability is 
his horrible free throw shooting (below 40 percent), which keeps him off 
the court during offensive situations in tight games (just when the 
Kings need his offensive rebounding and intensity).  His passing also is 
lacking. He has limited range, but is effective around the basket and is 
never afraid to take the ball to the basket.

Corliss Williamson saw limited time during his rookie season after 
missing all of training camp and the first month of the season following 
back surgery.  When he did play, he showed he is definitely a NBA low 
post scorer (he has the best post moves on the team), making him a good 
pick-up with the 13th pick last year.  It was tough to completely 
analyze his game due to missing camp and the lingering effects of 
surgery, but his strengths seemed to be scoring and passing and his 
weaknesses were rebounding and defense (although both areas showed 
improvement as the season progressed).  His biggest problem may be 
getting playing time with Grant and Smith ahead of him and may be part 
of a trade this summer.

Small Forward -- The Kings rely heavily on the SF to initiate the 
offense (especially when the opposing PG is too big for Edney) and to 
share some of the offensive load with Richmond. And although many Kings 
watchers feel the team's biggest needs are at C and PG (a bigger, 
scoring back-up), I believe the lack of consistent play at SF was one of 
the Kings major weaknesses last year.

When Billy Owens came to Sacramento from Miami last season, the Kings 
were happy to replacing an extremely inconsistent player (Walt Williams) 
with someone bigger and more consistent.  Well, so far, it is hard to 
really tell what the Kings have in Owens (although he is an improvement 
over Williams).  During his first few games with the Kings, Owens was 
fantastic, posting big rebound numbers (18 in his second game with the 
team) and providing another low-post scoring threat.  Heck, he even hit 
a few threes and was fairly consistent at the free throw line.  But then 
a foot injury which had been affecting his play all season began to act 
up (he missed 8-10 games during the last month or so of the season) and 
he became a more passive player.  Compounding his injury problems was 
the coaching staffs decision to move him away from the block an into 
more of a point-forward position.  A 100 percent health Owens would be 
fantastic bringing the ball up, but at 60-70 percent he lacked the 
ability to slash to the hoop or accelerate as he needed to as a ball 
handler.

To Owens credit, he gave all he had late in the season and the playoffs, 
but his injury makes it hard to judge what well see next season.

Lionel Simmons went from 12th man most of the season to the key bench 
player during the playoffs.  Coming into the season, the L Train had his 
shot, confidence and starting spot to Williams, but not his class.  
Simmons accepted his spot deep on the bench and when he got the chance  
(a couple times a week for a few minutes), contributed rebounding, 
defense and leadership on the court.  After the Williams trade, Simmons 
became more important to the Kings and down the stretch, and especially 
in the playoffs, was one of the teams best defenders, rebounders and 
leaders.  His offense also appeared during this stretch -- as he began 
mixing his once familiar around-the-hoop scoring with a new and 
effective three point shot.  

Again the Kings have a consistency problem.  If he gets consistent 
minuets and plays as he did late last season, he could be the teams 7th 
or 8th man, if not, he could be right back at the end of the bench.

Kevin Gamble, who came over in the Williams trade, fills out the Kings 
SF spot.  Gamble, a streaky shooter with a big contract, saw limited 
action for the Kings and needs to gain the confidence of the coaches (he 
received several opportunities to provide an offensive spark to the 
team) before he is viewed as anything other than a costly trade 
throw-in.

Shooting Guard -- This season, Mitch Richmond finally receive his due as 
one of the top players in the NBA.  Behind  Michael Jordan, there is 
probably not a better all-around two guard in the league (sorry Reggie). 
Richmond is an underrated, but excellent defender, (fared well against 
Payton and Hawkins in the playoffs) one of the top three-point shooters 
in the league, and one of only eight players all-time to average more 
than 21 points per game during his first six years in the league.

His biggest weakness is ball handling, sometimes throwing the ball away 
while facing his frequent double-teaming.  But considering what he 
brings to the team, the Kings can live with his turnovers.

Although he is in the prime of his career, he cannot continue to carry 
the Kings as he has since he arrived reluctantly in Sacramento a few 
years ago.

Sarunus Marcilionis, a crowd-favorite and extremely tough player, was 
the main back-up to Mitch, but the recent trade leaves the this position 
open, or at least covered by committee.  

Sarunus, when he wasn't hampered by his lingering knee problems, 
provided a tremendous spark for the Kings, if fact, his absence was a 
major contributing factor to the team's mid-season nose-dive.  But 
trading him was an excellent move, perhaps one of the best trades the 
Kings have ever made.  By insisting on playing in the Olympics this 
year, the chances Rooney would play a full NBA season in 96-97 were 
slim, and his 32 year old knees are not getting any better.  

Although the trade is a winner, the crowd and team will miss his fire 
(and cool, tye dye Olympic jerseys).

Clint McDaniel spent 99 percent on the season on the IR (hmmmmm) but 
supposedly is a good defender that may be able to contribute next year.

Point Guard -- The Kings biggest surprise, biggest disappointment and 
most important area of improvement is at the PG position.

Tyus Edney may have been the steal of last year's draft.  Offensively, 
he showed exceptional quickness, leadership and decision making skills. 
His jump shot starts at his toes, but at times this season, was 
effective at beating the sagging defenses other teams employed to stop 
his ability to penetrate the key.  

Defensively, he is limited by size and if he is to become the star, or 
at least very solid starter the Kings expect him to be, he will have to 
use his quickness and smarts to overcome this liability.

With the Abdul-Rauf trade, Edney probably will not start, which will 
allow him to learn his position without the responsibility of being the 
starter and will provide the Kings a spark of the bench, much as he did 
early last season when Hurley was starting.  All in all, for a 
mid-second round pick, Edney is an excellent addition to the Kings.

Bobby Hurley's career in the NBA is on the verge of being over.  If it 
wasn't for his huge, long-term contract, the Kings probably would have 
let him go last season. Although at times he shows flashes of passing 
brilliance, he is having a hard time overcoming his shot (flat, flat, 
flat) strength (far below NBA average), confidence (very little) and 
lack of size and speed.

The team would love to move Hurley and give him a chance for success 
(and Kings fans would love to see nothing more than Hurley regain the 
confidence and ability he showed as one of the best college PGs ever), 
the chance are, especially after the Abdul-Rauf trade, that Hurley will 
be the 12th man or see extended time on the IR.

Adding Abdul-Rauf could be one of the most significant move the Kings 
have made in years.  If he comes to play, the Kings have added a young, 
27, pure-shooting PG with solid assist numbers, in exchange for an aging 
and injury-plagued, though tough SG.

With Abdul-Rauf on the floor, opposing teams that double-team Richmond 
will be faced with leaving one of the best pure shooters in the game 
wide open.  An appealing situation which will keep Sacramento fans 
content this summer.


II. My Selection
Ideally, the Kings will trade the pick, because by following the best 
player available theory -- which the Kings do -- the team will select 
another big man which they really dont need.

So, since I can't trade this pick, I'm tempted to pick Dontae Jones or 
Walter McCarty, but following the best player available theory, the 
Kings get more athletic (a major need) and select: Samaki Walker, PF, 
Louisville.  

III. Other Considered
1.	Steve Nash -- Although he might not be the best player available 
at 14, he could 	bring the Kings an additional shooter and good 
ballhandler.  The Rooney trade probably means Nash won't be drafted by 
the Kings.

2.	Walter McCarty -- Can he really be a Horry-type player?  If so 
he may be worth	he pick, but if not, the Kings have plenty of 
Pfs.  The Kings don't need his apparent lack of ballhandling skills.

3.	Jerome Williams -- Every team can use a great rebounder.  
However, the Kings 	may feel they have the rebounding the need with 
Smith, Grant and Polynice.  Selecting Williams would bring back the 
high socks and #42 that left when Walt Williams was traded, but would 
add to the log jam in the frontline.

4.	Samaki Walker -- His stock seems to be rising, so he may be the 
best player available at 14.  His defensive ability and potential to 
play the 3 spot make him a decent fit for the Kings, even if they 
already have too many PFs.

5.	Dontae Jones -- Headcase?  He may be the shooter/scorer the 
Kings need, but is he really a headcase?  If so, the team can't 
take the risk.

6.	Todd Fuller -- If he is available, the Kings will pick him.  
although he is not going to be a superstar, he would immediately 
help the Kings at the 5 spot.

7.	Zydrunas Ilgauskas -- Is he so highky regarded because of 
Sabonis' play, or does he have real potential?  The Kings could always 
use help at C and prior to the Rooney trade, could have had two 
Lituhaumian stars.

IV.  Who the Kings will take
The Kings will take the best player available with the pick, even if 
that player comes in form of a trade.  If a trade cannot be made, I 
think they will be selecting from a pool of players which include:  PF 
McCarty, PF Walker, PG Nash, SF Jones or SF Williams, with Jones or 
McCarty as a strong candidate.

They probably will not select Kobe Bryant if he is available (besides 
his inexperience, his agent Arn Tellem has a history of steering his 
clients away from Sacramento, especially if he thinks HE can make more 
endorsement money by having his client in a bigger city).

If the Kings select a PF, look for the team to trade one of their big 
men before the season begins.

V. Other Moves
Kings Free Agents: Byron Houston (might be back as an IR guy), Clint 
McDaniel (may be the 12th man if they don't find another).  Kevin Gamble 
also has the option to become a free agent, but probably wont 
unfortunately for the Kings.

1.	Acquire a experienced point guard with some range to help take 
    the load off Edney and Richmond (the MAR-Rooney trade accomplished 
    this)
2.	Find a back-up SG who can play D . . . Jon Berry?
3.	Do something with Hurley or pray he can begin hitting his shots
4.	A big trade. I've got a feeling the Kings have another major 
    trade in their plans --	At the least, a player such as Simmons 
    will be dealt, but expect a bigger move	than that.
5.	Continue to get more athletic, either through the draft or 
    trades.
6.	Make sure Garry St, Jean continues to improve as a coach.  
    Despite his success, some question his offensive sets, substituion 
    patterns, etc.  He made great strides during the playoffs, it's 
    important that coaching experience is used next season.
7.	Resign Edney and Grant to long-term deals.