The Sacramento Kings hope that 21-year old center DeMarcus Cousins matures both on and off the court in 2011-12.  That is because he has a HUGE upside.  Cousins played in 81 games (62 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 14.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Kings think that Cousins can easily average a double-double if he acts his age in 2011-12.  22-year old Hassan Whiteside only played in 1 game (0 starts) as a rookie for the Kings last year and he played only 2 minutes and his only other stats was the 2 fouls he made.  I expect that he will improve quite a bit for the Kings in 2011-12.

31-year old John Salmons will be the starting small forward for the Kings in 2011-12, and they hope he adds some zip to the offense.  Salmons played in 73 games (70 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 35.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He  has now played in 674 games (317 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 26.9 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  Salmons has been a late bloomer and the Kings hope he remains productive in 2011-12.  20-year old Tyler Honeycutt was a 2nd round pick out of UCLA last June, so he might get a shot for some P.T. off the bench  in 2011-12.

The Kings would like to re-sign shooting guard Marcus Thornton, who is a restricted free agent.  If they don’t bring Thornton back, 29-year old Francisco Garcia will battle 22-year old rookie Jimmer Fredette for the starting job at shooting guard.  Garcia would probably have the edge to win the job at the start of the year.  Garcia played in 58 games (34 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 373 games (110 starts) in his first six years with the Kings and he is averaging 23.4 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  Jimmer Fredette was an outstanding offensive player in college, but we will see soon enough how that translates to the NBA.

22-year old Tyreke Evans will move from shooting guard to point guard for the 2011-12 season.  Evans played in 57 games (53 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 37.0 minutes, 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  He has now played in 129 games (125 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  22-year old Jimmer Fredette will likely be the Kings’ #3 guard in 2011-12, meaning that he will play both at point guard and shooting guard.  The Kings have high hopes for Fredette giving them an offensive boost this year and beyond.  22-year old Isaiah Thomas is another rookie who will likely get P.T. this year for the Kings at the point.

59-year old head coach Paul Westphal is good at his job. The Kings were only 25-57 (30.5%) last season but he found his team to be way too soft. That led to the Kings bringing in Samuel Dalembert, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside and Antoine Wright over the summer. Westphal has a 292-216 career record (57.5%) during the regular season and he is 27-22 (55.1%) in the post season as a head coach in the NBA. That shows you that he knows how to get the job done and it will be interesting to see how well the Kings play with all of the new big guys.

29-year old Samuel Dalembert is going to miss the start of this season due to injury but when he comes back he will be the starting center. 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. Dalembert has now played in 582 games (491 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.4 minutes, 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Dalembert will give the Kings a physical preference at both ends of the court when he returns to action.

24-year old Jason Thompson will likely swing between center and power forward this year. Thompson played in 75 games (58 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 31.4 minutes, 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 157 games (114 starts) in his first two years with the Kings and he has averaged 29.7 minutes, 11.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Thompson is a very underrated player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KINGS CENTERS IN 2010-11: B

27-year old Carl Landry is the starter at power forward for the Kings. Landry played in 80 games (29 starts) for the Kings & Rockets last season and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 16.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He has now played in 191 games (29 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he has averaged 24.3 minutes, 12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Landry is not the classic power forward in that he’s not an especially good rebounder but he is a scorer which helps make up for that.

20-year old first round pick DeMarcus Cousins will likely open the year at center but his future lies at power forward. Cousins played in 38 games in his only year at Kentucky and he averaged 23.5 minutes, 15.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Cousins has a huge upside and I think he will play well this year, pushing some veterans for minutes.

21-year old Hassan Whiteside is a rookie 7-footer who plays a big man’s game despite having a slight frame. Whiteside played in 34 games in his only year at Marshall and he averaged 13.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 5.4 blocked shots per game. The Kings will likely take it slow with Whiteside but he has a lot of potential.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KINGS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B

The Kings don’t have much experience at small forward but they have a lot of talent here. 22-year old Donte’ Greene looks like he might be the starter here on opening night. Greene played in 76 games (50 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 131 games (54 starts) in his first two seasons and he has averaged 18.0 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Kings need Greene to step up this year.

22-year old Omri Casspi had a very solid rookie year for the Kings in 2009. Casspi played in 77 games (31 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 25.1 minutes, 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Kings hope that Casspi is in better condition this year as he wore down as the season went on.

26-year old Antoine Wright has been a decent backup player so far in his NBA career but little more. 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 NBA career and he has averaged 19.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Wright could work his way up the depth chart if he plays well.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KINGS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C-

21-year old Tyreke Evans won the Rookie of the Year Award in the NBA last season and he will try to follow it up with an even bigger year. Evans played in 72 games (all starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 37.2 minutes, 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. His only weakness in his overall game at this point is that he’s not a good three point shooter. Evans only hit 25.5% from three point range as a rookie last season. That is nitpicking though as Evans can get to the basket and he’s a scorer.

28-year old Francisco Garcia will be Evans’ backup this year. Garcia played in 25 games (4 starts) for the Kings last season and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He has now played in 315 games (76 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he has averaged 23.4 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Garcia is a good offensive player who could start in a pinch for the Kings if needed.

27-year old Luther Head is a flat out scorer off the bench. He 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. Head has now played in 312 games (68 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 23.1 minutes, 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He will help off the bench in spurts as offense is his game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KINGS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: A

It appears as if the Kings are going to use Tyreke Evans at shooting guard this year which would allow Beno Udrih to get his old job back. The 28-year old Udrih played in 79 games (41 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 31.4 minutes, 12.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 424 games (170 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 22.4 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Udrih is more of a shoot first point guard but the Kings would like him to pass more in 2010-11.

26-year old Pooh Jeter looks like he will have a good chance of making the Kings as Udrih’s backup. Jeter played in 17 games last season for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2009-2010 and he averaged 20.3 minutes, 10.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He last played in the states in the D-League in 2006-07 for the Colorado 14ers. Jeter played in 50 games (all starts) that year and he averaged 33.1 minutes, 14.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Tyreke Evans can also fill in here if the need arises.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KINGS POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: C