The Kings have lost center Jason Thompson for at least the next two weeks with 2 non-displaced transverse process fractures in his lower back. Thompson has played in 55 games (50 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 12.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. This hurts the Kings bad as Spencer Hawes is in Coach Westphal’s Dog House and even Thompson’s injury might not be enough to get him out of it.

SG/PG Tyreke Evans is the current favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award in the NBA. He has played in 52 games (all starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. With Kevin Martin now in Houston I look for Evans to really excel the rest of the season as they didn’t seem to play well together. Small forward Omri Casspi has really be a find for the Kings. He has played in 55 games (26 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 11.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Power forward Jon Brockman was recently injured but he has played good basketball for the Kings also this season. Brockman has played in 44 games (4 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 3.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He is shooting an impressive 51.1% from the floor this year.

The Kings have gotten solid production out of their new players so far. Carl Landry has stepped right into the starting lineup at power forward for the Kings. He has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Kings so far and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Dominic McGuire played in 19 minutes off the bench for the Kings in his debut for them and he didn’t score, but, he grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 1 assist and he blocked a shot. Joey Dorsey has played in 1 game off the bench for the Kings and he worked 2 scoreless minutes grabbing 1 rebound. Larry Hughes has a fractured finger that he’s having issues with and he hasn’t played for the Kings yet.

The Kings will be without rookie forward Jon Brockman for the next 2-4 weeks due to a sprained MCL in his right knee. Brockman has played in 44 games (4 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 3.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Kings are going to miss Brockman a little bit as he brings good effort and rebounding off the bench.

The Kings aren’t going to the playoffs this season so why not let 26-year old forward Joey Dorsey get a few minutes the rest of the year so they can evaluate him as a player? Dorsey has played in 7 games (0 starts) this season for the Rockets and he was averaging 7.7 minutes, 1.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now played in 10 games (0 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 6.0 minutes, 1.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

There has been some talk about the Kings possibly buying out Larry Hughes’ contract but since it expires at the end of the year maybe they should just let him play it out. Hughes has played in 31 games (14 starts) for the Knicks this season and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He only shot 36.6% from the floor for the Knicks this season so if the Kings are going to keep him they need to have him work on his shot selection. Hughes has now played in 704 games (507 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 31.2 minutes, 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

UPDATE: The Kings didn’t listen to me as they have released Larry Hughes.

26-year old Carl Landry was the key to the big trade that moved Kevin Martin to the Rockets. He is likely going to bump Jason Thompson from the starting lineup at power forward. Landry has played in 52 games (1 start) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 27.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He has now played in 163 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Landry doesn’t take many bad shots as he has connected on 56.9% of his shots from the floor. Kevin Martin was a good player for the Kings but something just didn’t click when he returned from his broken wrist.

The Kings have released 32-year old forward Kenny Thomas. Thomas played in 26 games (2 starts) for the Kings this season and he was averaging 12.0 minutes, 1.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Thomas has now played in 632 games (406 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.4 minutes, 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Thomas is the kind of guy that might interest teams looking for bench help now that they can get him at a bargain basement price.

The Sacramento Kings have traded Kevin Martin, Hilton Armstrong, and Sergio Rodriguez in three-team deal also involving the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks.  Martin and Armstrong are going to the Rockets, while Rodriguez is going to the Knicks.  In return, the Kings are getting Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey from the Rockets, and Larry Hughes from the Knicks.  The Knicks are also getting Tracy McGrady from the Rockets, while the Rockets are getting two future-first round draft picks from the Knicks.

Kevin Martin was a very good guard for the Kings, but he did not fit well with the Kings’ superstar rookie Tyreke Evans.  Martin also only played in 22 games this season due to a broken wrist.  In 5 1/2 seasons with the Kings, Martin played in 331 games (245 starts) he averaged 30.6 minutes, 17.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and shot 45% from the field and 39% from three.  The Kings got a great player in Carl Landry though, who has been one of the best 6th men this season averaging 16.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.9 blocks in just 27.2 minutes per game.  He also only makes $3 million next year, meaning the Kings will have some money to spend in this offseason, which is full of some top-talent free agents.  Joey Dorsey hasn’t done much lately, but he gives them more depth in the front court.  Larry Hughes might be bought out, but if not he still can be a decent player at times.  Overall, this was a good deal for the Kings.

The Kings have acquired 24-year old small forward Dominic McGuire from the Wizards for a future 2nd round pick. McGuire played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 5.9 minutes, 0.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 190 games (58 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 15.8 minutes, 2.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. I like this trade for the Kings as second round picks rarely pan out.