The Sacramento Kings have selected 21-year old center Hassan Whiteside with the 33rd overall pick of the NBA Draft. Marshall is a legit center at 7′0″, 235 pounds. He played in 34 games (23 starts) at Marshall last season and he averaged 13.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 5.4 blocked shots per game. Most experts had Whiteside going in the middle of the first round so the Kings’ front office was likely doing cartwheels when he was available at #33. The Kings have really reloaded along the front line already this off-season and I love this pick for them as Whiteside could be a starter for them in the future.

The Kings have picked 19-year old power forward DeMarcus Cousins out of Kentucky. Cousins is already 6′11″, 270 pounds and he could get bigger. Cousins played in 38 games (37 starts) for Kentucky last season and he averaged 15.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Cousins will likely win the starting power forward job for the Kings which would team him with Samuel Dalembert in the paint giving the Kings something they have not seen in a while……defense.

The Kings have acquired 29-year old center Samuel Dalembert from the Kings for 30-year old small forward Andres Nocioni and 22-year old center Spencer Hawes. Dalembert gives the Kings the defensive and rebounding center that coach Paul Westphal covets. Dalembert played in 82 games (80 starts) for the 76ers last season and he averaged 25.9 minutes, 8.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 582 games (491 starts) in his eight years in the NBA and he has averaged 26.4 minutes, 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Nocioni played in 75 games (28 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He wanted to get traded so the Kings did themselves and him a favor by dealing him. Spencer Hawes played in 72 games (59 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 26.4 minutes, 10.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He played three years for the Kings appearing in 220 games (118 starts) in which he averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Hawes was in Westphal’s Dog House most of last season due to the fact that he was too soft. I really like this trade for the Kings as Dalembert gives them a physical presence in the paint that they have not had in quite some time.

The Kings won’t have any big decisions to make this summer as far as there own players go. Ime Udoka and Sean May will likely both leave the Kings as unrestricted free agents and they won’t miss them too much….if at all. Second year forward Jon Brockman is a restricted free agent and the Kings will likely bring him back for 2010-11 as they like him. Dominic McGuire didn’t do too much for the Kings after coming over from the Wizards at the trade deadline so they will likely let him walk away as a restricted free agent.

Sacramento Kings’ rookie sensation Tyreke Evans has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after having a phenomenal season this year.  Evans was the top rookie in a very talented rookie class, beating out the Golden State Warriors’ talented rookie Stephen Curry and the Milwaukee Bucks’ star rookie Brandon Jennings.  Evans received 67 first-place votes on his way to a total of 491 points, where as Curry finished second with 43 first-place votes for a total of 391 points.  Jennings finished third with 12 first-place votes and a total of 204 points.  Some people jumped on the Stephen Curry bandwagon towards the end of the season, since he played great down the stretch of the season and won the Rookie of the Month award for the Western Conference in three of the final four months of the season.  People can’t forget that Curry only averaged 9.8 points in the first month of the season, where as Evans put together a full season of great play.  Evans never averaged less that 19.4 points in a month, and his final averages were 20.1 points, 5.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while shooting 46% from the field.  In my opinion Evans was the easy choice for this year’s Rookie of the Year, even though Curry played just as well if not better in the final months.  Evans was the leader of his team all season and he became just the fourth rookie in the history of the NBA to average over 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.  He is now a member of a very impressive and exclusive club, with the three other players being Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, and LeBron James.  It is safe to say that Evans will be one of the top players in the NBA for years to come and he has brought some much needed excitement to Kings’ fans.