The Kings will be without starting shooting guard Tyreke Evans for the season opener due to a league suspension. He is probably really upset about it as the opening night for the Kings is at Minnesota to play the T-Wolves. The Kings will probably use Francisco Garcia as the starting shooting guard on opening night with Luther Head backing him up. Garcia & Head are good basketball players so the Kings should be in good shape against the very lousy T-Wolves.

The Kings will be without starting center Samuel Dalembert for the next 4-6 weeks due to a groin injury. Rookie DeMarcus Cousins will replace Dalembert as the starting center until he’s ready to return to action. Jason Thompson will be the top backup at both power forward and center until Dalembert is ready to return to action. At least the Kings have quality depth along the front line to withstand this kind of injury but they will be better when Dalembert is healthy.

The Kings have invited 24-year old small forward Marcus Landry to training camp. Landry played in 18 games (0 starts) for the Knicks & Celtics as a rookie last year and he averaged 6.2 minutes, 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. He might have a decent chance of making the team seeing how he is Carl Landry’s brother.

The Kings have invited 27-year old shooting guard Luther Head and 25-year old shooting guard J.R. Giddens to training camp on non-guaranteed deals. Head will have a good chance to make the Kings if he is healthy. Head played in 47 games (10 starts) for the Pacers last season and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 7.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 312 games (68 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he has averaged 23.1 minutes, 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Giddens played in 32 games (1 start) for the Knicks & Celtics last season in which he averaged 7.5 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 38 games (1 start) in his 2 years in the NBA and he averaged 6.5 minutes, 1.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. I like both of these signings for the Kings as either or both of these guys can help their bench.

The Kings have signed 26-year old SG/SF Antoine Wright to a 1-year deal. Wright played in 67 games (10 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He has now played in 290 games (96 starts) in his 5 years in the NBA and he has averaged 19.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. It’s hard to see Wright getting more than 20 minutes a night for the Kings in 2010-11 but you can never have enough quality depth so I like this signing for the Kings.

The Kings have given 23-year old forward Jon Brockman a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent. He played in 52 games (4 starts) as a rookie last season for the Kings and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 2.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Brockman really plays hard and he’s a glass eater when he’s on the floor. That’s why the Kings want to bring back Brockman for the 2010-11 NBA season and they now have the right to match an offer he gets.

UPDATE: (7/20/2010) – The Kings have traded Jon Brockman to the Milwaukee Bucks for 24-year old power forward Darnell Jackson and a future 2nd round pick. Jackson played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Cavs & Bucks last season and he averaged 4.4 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He has now played in 79 games (2 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 7.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. I don’t like this deal for the Kings as Brockman likely has a much higher upside than Jackson does.

The Kings have decided against making a qualifying offer to 24-year old small forward Dominic McGuire making him an unrestricted free agent. McGuire played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 6.7 minutes, 0.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has played in 200 games (60 starts) in his three years in the NBA and he is averaging 15.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Kings won’t miss McGuire.

The Kings have really stocked up on big physical players the last couple of weeks bringing in veteran center Samuel Dalembert and rookie PF DeMarcus Cousins and rookie C Hassan Whiteside. That has freed the Kings up to look for another guard to either start at the point or serve as the #3 guard in 2010-11. Raymond Felton, Shaun Livingston, Luke Ridnour and Steve Blake would likely be good fits to start over Beno Udrih making him the #3 guy. Or the Kings could look to a guy like Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Shannon Brown, Flip Murray or Roger Mason to be the #3 guy with Udrih starting at the point. No matter who the Kings add at guard the team looks a lot better for the 2010-11 season.

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.