The Kings took 22-year old, 5’9″, 185 pound guard Isaiah Thomas with the 60th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.  Thomas played in 35 games for the Washington Huskies last year and he averaged 31.9 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Thomas played in 105 games in three years in college and he averaged 30.4 minutes, 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  This was a solid pick for the Kings who hope that he can be half the player that the other Isiah Thomas was.

The Kings took 20-year old, 6’8″, 200 pound small forward Tyler Honeycutt with the #35 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  Honeycutt played in 33 games for UCLA last year and he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game.  Honeycutt played in 59 games in his two years in college and he averaged 31.7 minutes, 10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  This was an excellent value pick for the Kings as Honeycutt should be able to help them right away.

The Kings picked 22-year old, 6’2″, 190 pound SG/PG Jimmer Fredette with the 10th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.  Fredette played in 37 games for BYU last year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 28.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He played in 139 games in his four years in college and he averaged 29.6 minutes, 18.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Fredette might step right into the starting lineup for the Kings.  At worst, he will be the first guard off the bench in 2011-12.

The Sacramento Kings have acquired 31-year old SG/SF John Salmons and the #10 overall pick (from the Bucks).  In return the Kings dealt 28-year old point guard Beno Udrih to the Bucks and the #7 overall pick to the Bobcats.  John 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.  If the Kings bring back restricted free agent Marcus Thornton, Salmons will start at small forward.  If Thornton goes free, Salmons could start at shooting guard in 2010-11. 

28-year old point guard Beno Udrih played in 79 games (64 starts) last year with the Kings and he averaged 34.6 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Udrih played in 296 games (228 starts) in his four years with the Kings and he averaged 32.3 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. 

The Bobcats got SG/SF Corey Maggette from the Bucks as part of this deal.  The Bucks also got SG/SF Stephen Jackson, PG Shaun Livingston and the #19 overall pick from the Bobcats in this deal.

I’m not so sure why the Kings made this deal.  They essentially moved down three spots to deal Beno Udrih for John Salmons.

The Kings will go into the NBA Draft with the #7, #35 and #60 picks.  With the 7th pick, the Kings will likely be deciding between PF Jan Vesely and SF Chris Singleton.  I think they will go with Vesley with the idea of using DeMarcus Cousins at center.  The Kings will also likely be looking for a small forward and a center with the 35th and 60th overall picks.  The Kings can’t afford to miss in the draft with this year being so important to the future of the team in Sacramento.

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 the 5th and 33rd overall picks in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft. The question is will the Kings use the pick (#5), trade down for extra picks or use the pick in an effort to land a legit point guard. Rumors have been swirling that the Kings are willing to trade the #5 pick and Beno Udrih to the Cavaliers for Mo Williams. That offer couldn’t be legit because the Cavs would have likely jumped on it. I think it’s more likely that the Kings trade down with a team that has a lot of picks in an effort not to reach at #5 for a point guard. The Kings will be a team to watch tomorrow night.

The Kings got this pick from the Trailblazers in the Sergio Rodriguez trade. The 22-year old Brockman is a pure power forward at 6’7″, 255 pounds. Brockman played in 131 games in four seasons at Washington and he averaged 13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. The Kings needed some toughness and Brockman can bring it.

The Sacramento Kings selected 21-year old forward Omri Casspi with the 23rd pick of the NBA Draft last night. Casspi played in 89 games in 4 years in the Israeli League and he averaged 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Casspi looks like he will be a project and the Kings don’t have time to wait for a player like him to develop.