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.

The Kings have shut down 21-year old center Spencer Hawes for the rest of the season due to a knee problem. Hawes played in 72 games (59 starts) for the Kings this season and he averaged 26.4 minutes, 10.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Hawes got into Coach Westphal’s Dog House early in the year and he never truly got out of it.

The Kings have waived forward Joey Dorsey. He played in 8 games for the Kings (0 starts) this season in which he averaged 1.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Dorsey was part of the Kevin Martin trade at the deadline but he wasn’t a key part of it so they won’t miss him too much the rest of the year.

The Kings have lost Dominic McGuire for the year due to a tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot. McGuire played in 9 games (1 start) for the Kings this season and he averaged 7.0 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Kings shouldn’t miss McGuire too much as he didn’t play that well for them after coming over from the Wizards at the trade deadline.

The Kings are happy to get PF/C Jason Thompson back from injury. He has played in 58 games (50 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 31.5 minutes, 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Kings will probably get Thompson back into the starting lineup at center after he gets his legs back. Thompson & Marcus Landry should give the Kings the muscle they need around the basket the rest of the season.

Tyreke Evans has had a great rookie season for the Sacramento Kings this year, but there is another rookie in the state of California that is starting to gain some ground on him.  Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has improved rapidly over the course of the season, and has solidified his spot at number two for the Rookie of the Year Award.  Still, Tyreke Evans has been much more consistent than Curry and was an impact player the first game of the season.  Curry took a little while to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA, but now that he has he is putting up some impressive numbers.  Unfortunately for both rookies, they are on some bad teams.  However, since they are on some bad teams it has given them the opportunity to get a lot of playing time and gain valuable minutes.  Evans season is more impressive than Curry’s though, despite Curry’s flashy and great play the past two months.  Evans has the consistency (and the scoring average) over Curry, so he will likely still win the ROY Award.  This season Evans is averaging 20.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.  While Curry’s numbers are nearly identical to Evans in most categories, he is only averaging 16.0 points compared to Evans’ 20.3.  Both Evans and Curry will be stars in this league for years to come, but Evans has had the better rookie season.

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.

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.