LeBron James says Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins is an All-Star

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has put up good offensive numbers in his young career but he's never been named an All-Star. With a little luck and a significant cosign, Cousins might be on his way to represent the Western Conference in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.

After the Miami Heat dropped a game to the Kings Friday night, LeBron James endorsed Cousins as an All-Star.

Chris Palmer ‏@ChrisPalmerNBA 28 Dec
LeBron on DeMarcus Cousins: "Big Cous is an All-Star, I believe."

A major stamp of approval from the King himself. Will this endorsement propel Cousins to a spot on the All-Star team? If you go on pure numbers it should. Cousins has averaged 22.7 points and 11.1 rebounds a game. It just hasn't translated to many wins for the Kings. Also throw in the questions about his attitude and league politics, Cousins will likely be watching the league's best in New Orleans from his couch.

In the latest release of fan voting, James was on top of the balloting with 854,105. Cousins had 99,903 votes. The frontcourt leader in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, had 850,728. Between Durant and Cousins are Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, Love, San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, Aldridge, New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and Rockets forward Chandler Parsons.

Cousins, who ranks twelfth overall in frontcourt voting isn’t likely to make the event via the fan vote. He could make the team as a reserve but as I mentioned before league politics will likely play a role in Cousins not making the team.

Former NBA player Keon Clark sentenced to eight years in prison

Notable NBA draft bust Keon Clark was sentenced to 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to weapons and driving under the influence charges in two separate cases.

“I, uh, did a lot of stuff in my past,” Clark tearfully said at his plea hearing in Vermilion County Circuit Court, The News-Gazette reported. “I have to own up to it.”

Clark pleaded guilty to two charges in two separate cases and was given four years for each count. He previously faced weapon, drug and traffic-related charges.

The Danville, Ill., native has been in the Vermilion County Jail since Aug. 4, where he was being held on $100,000 bond

Clark was 23 when he became the 13th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.

He has spoken publicly of his long battle with alcohol, which he says also occurred during his NBA career.

Clark, now 38, says he wasn’t prepared mentally to handle the lifestyle of a professional athlete.

“The money, the fame, the fact that I was on TV. People think money will make your life better. Money didn’t dissolve my problems. It increased them,” he said, adding that he’s been getting counseling while he’s in custody.

Clark was credited with having served 122 days behind bars on one count and 16 days on the other. Vermilion County Assistant State's Attorney Sandy Lawlyes, who recommended the two consecutive four-year terms, has said that Clark will have to serve 50 percent of his sentence.

Is Chris Webber a Hall of Famer?

The Basketball Hall of Fame debate seemed to start earlier this summer, when a couple of former superstars who had brief stints with the Detroit Pistons ended their careers: Allen Iverson (reportedly) and Tracy McGrady.

An ESPN writer has added one more name to the debate, and not only is he someone who’s eligible for voting next year, but he’s someone we watched grow up, literally.

The person under grantland.com scribe Zach Lowe’s microscope is Chris Webber. The former Mr. Basketball/Fab Five star/No. 1 overall pick/ex-Piston (again, briefly) was, and still is, a divisive character. In fact, Lowe alludes to this, but mostly crunches the numbers to say C-Webb is a Hall of Famer.

“Here is the total list of players who piled up at least 17,000 points and 8,000 rebounds, while averaging at least four assists per game with a career PER (player efficiency rating) above 20: Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Bird and Webber. There's some unfair cherry-picking there, since Webber barely exceeds all those thresholds. But cutting the criteria still produces a ridiculously elite list of just 11 guys, all current or future Hall of Famers — plus Webber.”

Lowe goes on to concede that Webber’s shortcomings include his lack of a world championship — though he was the best player on those early-2000s Sacramento Kings that nearly knocked off the Lakers. And he mentioned, more in passing, his short, yet dazzling, culturally impactful and tainted college career as a Wolverine.

Also presented in Webber’s case file was the fact that his numbers tended to decline a bit in the playoffs. But much of Lowe’s argument hinges on Webber’s talent level, especially as a passer.

If you haven’t yet, read Lowe’s analysis and his 17 stray thoughts, mostly on his NBA career. And no, none of his half of season in 2007 with the Pistons, where he averaged 11.3 points and 6.7 assists on a bad knee factor into this Hall of Fame equation.

Seattle city officials making NBA dates for Key Arena

The sale of the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle investment group hasn't been approved, but it hasn't stopped Seattle city officials from tentatively scheduling home games at Key Arena for the 2013-2014 season.


Seattle officials are penciling tentative dates for the SuperSonics to play at KeyArena in the 2013-14 National Basketball Association season.

That scheduling includes working in dates for current tenants at Key, including the Seattle Storm and the Seattle University Redhawks. It also depends on the NBA Board of Governors voting to approve a sale of the Sacramento Kings to the Seattle investment group headed by investor Chris Hansen and to move the team to Seattle. Both decisions could come at the Board of Governors meeting April 18.

The Seattle City Council received a briefing this morning on plans to build a new half-billion-dollar arena in Sodo and prepare the Sonics former home at Key for up to three seasons starting in November.

The owners of the Kings, Joe and Gavin Maloof have flirted with the idea of moving the Kings since the city hasn't come to a deal to finance a new arena. The sale to Hansen's group is nearly a done deal and barring an eleventh hour miracle it looks like Seattle will have their Supersonics back.

For the right price you can have Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans was once thought to be the a major cornerstone of the Sacramento Kings' rebuilding efforts. He was the rookie of the year and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him. His star has now dimmed and now is rumored to be on the trading block.

Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee touches upon why Evans could be had for the right price.


Kings executives will entertain trade offers for Tyreke Evans this summer, and they should.
Evans remains a major asset. His team remains in a major funk. When a franchise finishes near the conference cellar for six consecutive seasons, the general manager needs to make significant personnel changes, or the franchise needs to change its general manager.


But that's an organizational decision.


Evans, who has a year remaining on his contract, has his own decision to make. He has to figure out what he wants and how badly he wants it. He has to determine what kind of player he wants to be and proceed accordingly, essentially controlling what he can control.


Evans has one year left on his rookie contract and is at a crossroads in his young career. There's no doubt that he's talented but which position do you play him at? He had a good rookie year as the point guard although he was miscast in that role. But when you look at him in college Memphis' season didn't take off until John Calipari put the ball in Evans' hands and let him go.  

I'm not saying that's what the Kings must do, but Evans operates best when he dominates the ball. Kings consultant Pete Carril says Evans needs to learn how to play without the ball.

“I don’t think it’s any big secret,” Princeton legend and longtime Kings consultant Pete Carril said the other night. “Tyreke’s got to learn to play without the ball. It’s all there. I see some games, and he looks very good. Other games … he just has to work harder. I’d love to see him develop a mid-range game.” 

If I were in the Kings' front office I'd wait to pull the trigger on an Evans trade. They need to watch film and see what works best for him. On the flip side Evans also needs to watch film, get in the gym and develop a jump shot and work more on his game. Evans should be a natural at shooting guard, but right now he looks like a man without a position.

Cousins says he wants to stay in Sacramento

For all the headaches he provides, DeMarcus Cousins is a good basketball player. To me he's a younger version of Zach Randolph as troubling as that might sound. He does come with less off court baggage. The young big man can flat out play and provided that he's surrounded by a good team he'd probably less of a headache. Instead he's in Sacramento with teammates just as young as he is and not much veteran leadership. Good thing head coach Keith Smart appears to have broken through to the young man.

Earlier this year there was a reported rift between Cousins and former coach Paul Westphal. Then there was Lakers center Andrew Bynum saying he felt bad for Cousins for having to play in Sacramento. Reports were saying he was trying to force himself out of Sactown. Despite the troubling season Cousins has continued to perform and says he wants to remain in Sacramento.

“Sacramento is where I want to be,’’ he said. “I want to bring the organization back, help the organization get started back winning. I love the city of Sacramento. That’s where I want to be. End of story.


“We can dig a hole, throw that topic in there, cover it with dirt, pack it down. I want to be in Sacramento. End of story.’’  


Don't worry Sacramento, DeMarcus is in it for the long haul. Now about those Tyreke Evans rumors.  

Sacramento Kings Players Aren't In Lockstep With The Coaches

You thought the Washington Wizards were a mess. The Sacramento Kings talk like they're trying to get head coach Paul Westphal a bus ticket out of town.

It doesn't look good when two of your supposed future cornerstones are questioning what the coach is drawing up on the sidelines. I know Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins aren't the model citizens of the NBA, but if they have doubt in the coach and respected veteran Chuck Hayes feeling like he made a bad move by signing with the Kings, it may be time to cut bait with Westphal.

"Teams go on 10-0 runs, and we cave in," forward Chuck Hayes said.

"It's like we shoot because we haven't put up a shot after three times up and down the court," Hayes said.


Hayes is probably wondering what he signed up for.

"What offense?" Cousins replied when asked about the Kings' most obvious weakness. "I really don't want to say anything."

"It seems like everybody is out there for themselves. He (Westphal) says to push the ball, but it's like when the first pass gets through, we're done," Evans said.



From what I saw is that there is too much dribbling and not enough cohesion on a team that some thought would show some improvement this season.

"Everybody keeps blaming the coach, about the plays, the plays not (being) good, but, hey, it be like that sometime,"  Evans said. "You've just got to play."

"We just look lost, "Evans said. "We're just playing off our natural talent to get our points. It's terrible right now. We've just got to figure something out."

"I don't know what that was," center DeMarcus Cousins said. "Running the offense coach tells us to run. Just doing what coach say. Got to do what your coach say."

Let me translate those thoughts. We're only doing what coach tells us but the plan he has isn't working and we need to try something different.

I know players play and coaches coach, but for Westphal's sake the Kings better get it together before he finds himself out of a job.    

Scot Pollard Calls Phil Jackson Overrated

It didn't take long for the Phil Jackson haters to come out after the Los Angeles Lakers were ousted by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs. Scot Pollard, formerly of the Sacramento Kings and other NBA squads, voiced his opinion on the all time championship coach.

“Oh man. I just think he’s one of the most overrated coaches of our time. He’s only had the greatest players of our era on his teams. Put him in charge of the Sacramento Kings this year, and I don’t mean to offend Sacramento fans, but put him on a team with no Hall-Of-Famers on it at least no one that has established themselves as a Hall-Of-Famer already, put him as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers right now and let’s see how he does next year with no Hall-Of-Famers on the team. That’s all I’m saying.



I respect his championships, I respect his ability to get egos in line and get them in the same direction, but I just think he’s overrated because he’s only had the greatest players of our generation.


All I’m saying is I would like to see Phil Jackson coach a team that doesn’t belong in the playoffs. … I think if you put him in charge of a team without at least one or two future Hall-Of-Famers on it and I’m not sure he’s going to get you a championship ring. I doubt that.”

I see where Pollard is coming from on this subject and has a good argument. When Michael Jordan had his two year hiatus, the Chicago Bulls were competitive but not a true championship contender. On the other hand they weren't thought of as a true contender until Jackson got to Chicago. You can also argue that    

Sacramento Sports Director Plays A Joke On Kings Fans

From Mediabistro.com

It was a cruel bit of hype for KTXL‘s 10 p.m. newscast: about an hour before the broadcast, sports director Jim Crandell, who has been nicknamed “Scoopmeister” by the Sacramento Bee, tweeted, “Coming up in my show at 10PM, David Stern makes the announcement no Kings wants to hear…”


Sacramento sports fans have been anxiously waiting a decision on whether or not their beloved Kings will move to Anaheim after the season. Last month, NBA commissioner David Stern expressed his discontent with the stadium situation in Sacramento and confirmed that a move was possible. Had Crandell landed a scoop that would break the hearts of sports fans in the city?

It turns out that, no, he hadn’t. After teasing the Stern soundbite throughout the newscast, Crandell merely played archival footage from 1985 of Stern (right) announcing that the Kings were moving to Sacramento from Kansas City, the franchise’s previous home. KTXL played the original footage first and then played it again with the cities crudely dubbed in so that it sounded like Stern was announcing a move from Sacramento to Anaheim.

The would-be joke sparked outrage among many viewers. The Kings are the only major sports team in Sacramento and the community’s enthusiasm has provided the team with one of the best home court advantages in the NBA.

After the scoop that wasn’t, Crandell had to deal with angry viewers on Twitter. “U seriously owe this city an apology for that BS u pulled 2night,” wrote one.

“YOU DO NOT MESS WITH THE HEART OF SACRAMENTO @ A TIME LIKE THIS.”

Crandell responded to Kings fan “LocalStreetHero” tweeting, “Wow, Local, you are one mad dude. Sorry you got so upset. Thankfully, most people took it in the spirit it was intended.”

Sacramento Has To Remember Cousins Is Still A Kid

Whether the brass in the Sacramento Kings' organization like it or not, rookie center DeMarcus Cousins is still a kid. Now don't get my words twisted. He's still a kid in a sense that he still has to grow up mentally. He's going to give you headaches now and it's going to take a year or five for him to get his head straight. Maybe he's a lot like Zach Randolph, who now looks like a model citizen. Yes, insert joke there.

Last night Cousins' immaturity was on display when he made a choking motion to Golden State's Reggie Williams after he missed a late game free throw. Coach Paul Westphal wasn't too happy with Cousins and fined him and removed him from the starting lineup. Of course Cousins says the only reason why he's being punished is because they lost. No DeMarcus. It's because your a jackass.

Unlike Tyreke Evans, whose problems have come off the court, all Cousins' problems will come on the court. He'll be more of a headache to coaches and teammates during a game than being a royal pain off of it. I only say that because I personally haven't heard of any off court problems when he was in high school or at Kentucky. I'm not saying you treat him with kid gloves or coddle him. He has to become a man, since he's now in a grown man's world. Give him a few years to grow up and if he doesn't then trade him. If you don't want to wait that long trade him now and cut your losses. I do think he has the potential to be a coach killer if he can't demonstrate the ability to mature.