Kings Seeking Their Crowns

[Magic Bird]

A dejected UCLA basketball fan lies upon his sofa. He attempts to distract his distraught mind with fanciful wonderings.
This was the year UCLA was supposed to return to basketball glory. They were destined for the Final Four, and were supposed to reclaim their mantle as the top program in college basketball. They had such incredible prospects that -- no, he must oust these thoughts. Perhaps the Sacramento Kings would improve next season, he muses. If only I could take charge of them...we failed to set ourselves up for future success back in the mid 2000's.
Jamaal Joseph suddenly found himself back in 2006 with a job as the General Manager of the Sacramento Kings. After recovering from the initial shock of being thrust back in time, Jamaal surveys his situation. He has been granted one of his biggest wishes. Now he can rewrite the fate of his beloved Sacramento Kings.
Mr. Joseph was born in Sacramento, California in 1982. Both of his parents had played college basketball, and he developed a passion for the game. His family pledged allegiance to the UCLA Bruins and the Sacramento Kings. Jamaal himself never became a talented player, yet his fanaticism was strong. His devotion to his teams was tested by many frustrating moments throughout his life. In the early 2000's Jamaal reveled in the success of the Kings. However, he grew discouraged once the Kings returned to mediocrity in the mid 2000's. UCLA then went to three consecutive Final Fours, which brightened Jamaal's outlook. In 2017, Jamaal was excited about UCLA's team until they were eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen.

General Information:

1. This dynasty begins in 2006 before the D-League draft (Historical Replay).
2. Despite being displaced in time, Jamaal's age did not change. (He was the same age immediately after his time displacement as he was immediately before his time displacement.) Jamaal also retains all memories of his experiences in his native timeline. Thus for several years he will have an advantage in knowing how certain players may develop.
3. Throughout the alternate timeline in this dynasty, universal events will occur the same as they occurred in the "real" timeline. Only NBA events will differ from the "real" timeline.
4. I will make suggestions, nitpick, and provide constructive criticism regarding the game throughout this dynasty.
5. As I am using a fairly low resolution to play the game, I don't believe I can view windows containing additional information.
6. I will simulate nearly all games.
7. Expect small updates no more frequently than once per week.

League Options:
-Excluding European leagues
-Full financial model
-1-100 ratings, using dynamic ratings
-Randomized player characteristics
-Trade restrictions
-Can be fired
-Injury level 100%
-Local control
All options are set to make the league as realistic as possible (with a standalone NBA and D-League).

Profile:
Position: General Manager
Franchise: Sacramento Kings
Name: Jamaal Joseph
Age: 35 years
Appearance: Nonplayer face #64
Philosophies: I did not leave the ratings at default; I will let the reader discern my philosophies based upon my comments and actions during this dynasty.
Skill Ratings: Since I do not intend to play as a coach, and because I know what many of the players will be like for several years, I set all my ratings to 100. (Hence the difficulty setting shouldn't matter.)

[Magic Bird]

Let's look at the state of this organization.

Coaching Staff:
Apparently historical replay does not include historical coaches yet. The game generated coaches with random skill sets for all teams. Some franchises have better coaches, others have worse coaches. For instance, Lakers coach LaMar Latham is definitely not Phil Jackson. Bad luck also befell the Spurs, as Chad Parker is worse than Popovich. However, Coach Parker is still pretty good, and is certainly better than Coach Latham ratings wise.

Here in Sacramento, the coaching staff looks better than the actual coaching staff we had in 2006. I don't think I'll fire everyone at the end of the season like I thought I might.

Head Coach: Rick Wilden
An excellent defense-oriented coach, Rick is also one of the top strategists and talent developers in the game. He is not a good at evaluating offense, and has trouble evaluating player potential. As for his favored style of play, he loves a tenacious defense. So do I. I wish he was more willing to use our bench and play man-to-man defense. However, if anyone in the game can teach a team to run an effective zone, Coach Wilden can.

Approximate ratings for Coach Wilden:
Offense - 4.5
Defense - 9.5
Eval. Potential - 4.5
Strategy - 9.5
Player Dev. - 9.5

Coach Wilden's Preferences:
Rotation - 3, pretty shallow bench
Player Pref. - 4, favors youth but willing to use veterans. I agree wholeheartedly.
Def. Intensity - 8
Crash DR - 4, I personally prefer a team focused on rebounding, especially on the defensive end.
Full Court D - 1, I would prefer a coach with at least a 3 or 4 rating here.
Zone D - 8
Offensive Pace - 5, I prefer faster offenses more than slower offenses, but I don't want a very fast offense. I like to give slower, skilled big men some time to operate. I am okay with Rick's preference here.
Crash OR - 4

1st Assistant: Marquel Gilbert
He is about as good as a few teams' head coaches. Similar in style and skill to L.A.'s Coach Latham, maybe better.

His approximate ratings:
Off. - 3
Def. - 9.5
Eval. Pot. - 10
Strategy - 7.5
Player Dev. - 2.5

2nd Assistant: Marc Hare
Off. - 9.5
Def. - 3.5
Eval. Pot. - 3.5
Strategy - 3.5
Player Dev. - 3

3rd Assistant: Kerry Platts
All ratings are about 3.5 or 4.

I wish the assistant coaches were better player developers. Also, while I wish I could play with the real coaches from 2006, it looks like the game gave me one of the best staffs in the league. This coaching staff is certainly better than what the Kings really had in 2006.

[Magic Bird]

I noticed the team was $20 million under the salary cap. This would be great, except it is not historically accurate. Most teams in the league are at least several million dollars under the cap. This is because the cap in the game is the same as if I had started playing the game in 2016. For 2006, the salary cap should be $53,135,000 and the luxury tax cap should be $65,420,000. Player salaries and contracts are not historically accurate either. Many star players who should still be on their rookie contracts are getting paid $20 million. I don't know if the contract lengths are accurate or not. Such inaccuracy means the New York Knicks aren't laden with many egregiously overpaid players.

Hopefully future installments of DDSPB will have accurate salary caps and player contracts for each possible year of play.

Now let's examine the roster.

Players:
PG Mike Bibby, 28 yrs, 8 yrs of experience, $9,285,606/2 yrs
A solid veteran in his prime, Bibby is good at everything he needs to be good at but not great at anything. He is our unquestionable starter at PG.

PG Ronnie Price, 23 yrs, 1 yrs exp, $2,180,245/2 yrs
Great ball handling, but will be a bench player who won't play many minutes on a good team. However, this year he will be the first PG off the bench for the Kings.

PG Quincy Douby, 22 yrs, rookie, $1,354,734/3 yrs
This is why I was brought here. This is our first round pick, and he is a scrub. He has very little potential. Once his rookie contract expires he will be an average D-League player. Even undrafted Ronnie Price has more potential than Douby does. How did Sacramento mess up their draft this badly?

SG Kevin Martin, 23 yrs, 2 yrs exp, $10,044,382/1 yr
Kevin is a great scorer, and is decent defensively. At 6'7, he has a height advantage over many guards. I wouldn't mind resigning him to a lengthy contract that is a couple million dollars cheaper than his current salary. He's our starting SG.

SG John Salmons, 27 yrs, 4 yrs exp, $4,320,969/1 yr
Salmons is a pretty average guard. He is slightly too old and not quite good enough that I don't plan to resign him.

SF Ron Artest, 27 yrs, 8 yrs exp, $15,211,358/3 yrs
In the historical replay database used by the game he is known by his future name, Metta World Peace. I would prefer historical replay to call him Ron Artest until the 2011 season. I don't know how this might affect historical data storage, as his stats and accomplishments before 2011 would be listed under the Artest name but after 2011 be listed under MWP. Also, I don't know if an automatic name change could be implemented when the season shifts to 2011.

Interestingly, his randomly generated personality rating is pretty likeable. He is an incredible defensive minded player. Ron is also solid in most other areas. At 6'6, 244 lbs, he is a ball of muscle. I wish he was a little cheaper, like around $10-$12 million. He'll start at SF.

SF Corliss Williamson, 33 yrs, 13 yrs exp, $3,867,891/2 yrs
Meh. Decent scorer, but that's it. At 6'7, 245 lbs, he's thick.

SF Francisco Garcia, 25 yrs, 1 yrs exp, $2,621,148/2 yrs
Meh. Decent defender, but that's it. At 6'7, 195 lbs, he's thin.

PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 30 yrs, 11 yrs exp, $5,664,023/1 yr
Our starting PF, though he's average. He's not very good at anything.

PF Kenny Thomas, 29 yrs, 9 yrs exp, $3,746,744/3 yrs
Mediocre overall, but will grab a few rebounds. He's big at 6'7, 261 lbs.

PF Maurice Taylor, 30 yrs, 9 yrs exp, $3,516,261/2 yrs
He's a big, 6'9, 260 lb scrub.

C Brad Miller, 30 yrs, 8 yrs exp, $5,201,155/3 yrs
Brad is a pretty good passer for a center, but is otherwise average. He'll start at C.

C Justin Williams, 22 yrs, rookie, $2,491,503/3 yrs
An undrafted rookie we signed. Wait, why did we sign him again?

C Vitaly Potapenko, 31 yrs, 12 yrs exp, $3,867,891/3 yrs
The Ukrainian is merely a massive 6'10, 280 lb extra body to put in games. He's terrible.

We have a decent backcourt, but none of our post players should be starting for anyone. Artest will be our defensive anchor; I hope we can trade for some defensive help for him. No one on this team is safe from a trade, though I would like to keep Martin and Artest around for a few years.

[Magic Bird]

For my first act as GM of the Kings, I assigned Ronnie Price and Quincy Douby to the D-League. Our affiliate is the Reno Mammoths.

Unfortunately in historical replay mode, the D-League does not expand over time. Therefore the D-League in the game in 2006 has 32 teams. The game has to generate fictional players so that the D-League can be filled.

After the D-League conducts its draft, I realize I haven't sent out any scouts for our organization. I send scouts across the U.S. as well as to Eastern Europe and South America.

One last action before the regular season: I sign free agent C Theo Ratliff. He's terrible offensively, but he is pretty good defensively. He's better than Potapenko in every way, and hopefully he will snatch some of Justin Williams' minutes. I expect Ratliff to be our best defensive option in the post.

Depth Chart:
PG Mike Bibby
SG Kevin Martin
SF Ron Artest
PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim
C Brad Miller
--------------------------------
SG/PG John Salmons
PF Kenny Thomas
C Justin Williams
SF/SG Corliss Williamson
SF/SG Francisco Garcia
C Theo Ratliff
PF Maurice Taylor

Inactive:
C Vitaly Potapenko (If he sees court time, our team is in trouble. Sure, he's a great guy, but he should not be playing in the NBA.)

D-League:
PG Ronnie Price
PG Quincy Douby

The season preview predicts that we will be the worst team in the Western Conference. I don't expect a playoff appearance, but hopefully we can finish better than another West team.

[Magic Bird]

@ Timberwolves: L, 89-106
Our first game! Nearly all of our players shot poorly, and so we lost to Minnesota. Bibby was our best with 25 points, 11 assists, and great shooting. Ricky Davis was the player of the game, though I would have given it to Kevin Garnett who was 2 rebounds shy of a points/assists/rebounds triple double.
Record: 0-1

@ Heat: W, 108-88
We won a game for the first time this season! Ron Artest was the player of the game with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Somehow we outrebounded Miami 59-33.
Record: 1-1

@ Magic: W, 78-67
Kevin Martin was the player of the game with 21 points on 50% shooting. The team is still shooting poorly, but Orlando shot worse than us as we beat them 78-67.
Record: 2-1

@ 76ers: L, 84-95
Philadelphia's backup C Steven Hunter put up 22 points and 20 rebounds to win player of the game. Our best was probably Brad Miller with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Record: 2-2

vs Grizzlies: L, 102-110
We lose our first home game of the season to Memphis despite Mike Bibby's triple double of 18 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds as well as Kevin Martin's 29 points. Pau Gasol's 25 points and 11 rebounds netted him player of the game honors. By the way, Bibby's triple double was the first triple double in the league this season.
Record: 2-3

vs Timberwolves: L, 100-110
Ricky Davis again won player of the game with his 24 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in our rematch with Minnesota. Our top players cannot perform well consistently. For example, Martin only had 9 points tonight. Only Bibby plays good basketball consistently.
Record: 2-4

vs Warriors: W, 102-99
Mike Bibby is our hero once again as he scored 32 points, made 6 assists, and grabbed 9 rebounds to be the player of the game. He shot a solid 7/15 from 3 but only shot 11/30 from the field overall. This was a nice win against a solid Golden State team.
Record: 3-4

vs Pistons: L, 101-117
The Kings' former hero Chris Webber haunted us with 18 points and 8 rebounds to be the player of the game for Detroit. Mike scored 26 points on 8/13 shooting for us.
Record: 3-5

@ Clippers: L, 85-107
Our team is back to our poor shooting form. Elton Brand was the player of the game with 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Artest had 21 points and 9 rebounds.
Record: 3-6

vs Suns: W, 115-101
We defeat Phoenix even though Bibby has a bad game. Ron Artest was the player of the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Record: 4-6

vs Spurs: W, 120-91
Finally! Our team shoots a fantastic 54.9% and San Antonio falls on our home court. Artest was the player of the game with 37 points on 15/26 shooting, and both Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin scored at least 20 points. This is what I want to see!
Record: 5-6

@ Grizzlies: L, 77-105
We reverted to our usual selves. Pau Gasol was the POG with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Record: 5-7

@ New Orleans Hornets: L, 95-105
The Kings shot better, but still lost. We need someone to score 20 every night. SG Devin Brown (who? I don't remember him) was the player of the game with 28 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Record: 5-8

vs Trailblazers: W, 108-91, POG: Brad Miller - 18 pts, 10 reb
Somehow we withstand Zach Randolph's 26 points and 9 rebounds to defeat Portland. All of our main guys played well.
Record: 6-8

@ Lakers: L, 68-86
Only Brad Miller played decently. He had 16 pts and 13 reb. Kobe scored an efficient 19 pts, and Lamar Odom won POG with 20 pts, 6 ast, 9 reb.
Record: 6-9

@ Trailblazers: W, 113-106
We beat Portland again despite Randolph's 25 pts, 19 reb and Brandon Roy's 23 pts, 9 ast. Brad Miller scored 23 for Sacramento, and Mike won POG with 21 pts, 10 ast, 6 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl.
Record: 7-9

vs New Jersey Nets: W, 109-93
The Kings end November with a 2-game winning streak. Vince Carter had 21 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb and Jason Kidd had 23 pts, 9 ast, 7 reb, and 3 blocks, but Kevin Martin was our player of the game with 17 pts, 7 ast, 7 reb on 7/13 shooting.
Record: 8-9

I applaud Coach Rick Wilden for the great work he has done. Though we have a losing record, we are surpassing expectations.

Earlier this month, one of the team's scouts sent me a report about Texas' Kevin Durant. He said Durant "is gonna be a good one," and stated that I should definitely try to get my hands on him. What this scout doesn't know is that I'm from the future, and KD became a legend. Many other teams like Durant as well as Greg Oden out of Ohio State. With the way Sacramento is currently playing, I doubt I'll have a high enough pick to draft Durant. Also, if I did draft Durant, what would I do with ace defender Ron Artest?

After a month of play to evaluate the team, I am thinking about trades. I'm not comfortable with Kevin Martin as our future SG, and his youth and scoring ability mean he should have high trade value. Also, do I want to trade our draft pick this year for the draft pick from a team I think might finish worse than us? I'm not sure. What should I do?

[Magic Bird]

I meant for this post and the previous post to be one long post. For whatever reason I could not post the combined post.

Team Stats:

PPG:
1. Mike Bibby, 16.8
2. Ron Artest, 16.2
3. Kevin Martin, 14.7
4. Brad Miller, 13.8
5. John Salmons, 9.4

APG:
1. Mike Bibby, 7.7
2. John Salmons, 3.4
3. Ron Artest, 3.3

RPG:
1. Brad Miller, 6.5
2. Ron Artest, 5.8
3. Kevin Martin, 5.3

BPG:
1. Brad Miller, 0.7
2. Theo Ratliff, 0.6
3. Ron Artest & Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0.4

SPG:
1. Ron Artest, 1.2
2. Kevin Martin, 0.9
3. Mike Bibby & Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0.6

Bibby turns the ball over 3.1 times per game.

Around the NBA:

The Golden State Warriors (who we defeated!) lead the West at 12-3, while Denver is last at 4-12. We are in 10th position with our 8-9 record.

The Charlotte Bobcats lead the East with a 11-3 record. The New York Knicks are in last at 4-11.

No trades yet, but Chris Paul tore his achilles and is out for over a year. That is a huge blow to New Orleans. At least CP3 is very young. Hopefully the injury won't dramatically reduce his potential for greatness.

League Leaders:

PPG:
1. Tim Duncan, SA, 33.6
2. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL, 32.6
3. LeBron James, CLE, 31.5
4. Carmelo Anthony, DEN, 29.7
5. Ray Allen, SEA*, 29.6

*: Historical Replay mode does not yet include historical team names.

APG:
1. Deron Williams, UTA, 11.1
2. Steve Nash, PHO, 11.0
3. Tony Parker, SA, 10.9
4. T.J. Ford, TOR, 9.6
5. Jamaal Tinsley, IND, 9.2

RPG:
1. Marcus Camby, DEN, 12.1
2. Dwight Howard, ORL, 11.1
3. Tyson Chandler, NO, 10.8
4. Tim Duncan, SA, 10.7
5. Carlos Boozer, UTA, 10.4

BPG:
1. Marcus Camby, DEN, 4.0
2. Josh Smith, ATL, 2.5
3. Andris Biedrins, GSW, 2.3
4. Emeka Okafor, CHA, 2.1
5. Kevin Garnett, MIN, 2.0

STL:
1. Shawn Marion, PHO, 2.3
2. Gerald Wallace, CHA, 2.3
3. Josh Childress, ATL, 2.1
4. Caron Butler, WAS, 2.0
T5. Larry Hughes, CLE, 1.8
T5. Tracy McGrady, HOU, 1.8

Note to any readers:
This is my first attempt at reporting a dynasty. These write-ups take a while; if you have any recommendations as to what extraneous material I can leave out, I would like to hear. Also, any other suggestions regarding content inclusion, formatting of information, or any other aspect of the dynasty you think of improving are welcome.

[PointGuard]

Your dynasty report is good reading and informative. Keep it going.

[Magic Bird]

PointGuard: Thank you! I hope to maintain this dynasty for at least a few in game seasons.

I've let the other GM's in the league know that I'm willing to trade any of my players.

@ Utah Jazz: L 98-114; POG: Carlos Boozer - 29 pts, 20 reb; Record: 8-10
Our team shot fairly well, but John Salmons had 9 turnovers. We also simply don't have enough scoring in my opinion. Utah's Carlos Boozer had great effort. A 20/20 performance is well deserving of player of the game honors.

vs Dallas Mavericks: L 97-114; POG: Dirk Nowitzki - 31 pts, 7 ast, 10 reb; Record: 8-11
This time the whole team committed only 7 to's. Excellent! Unfortunately we shot poorly.

vs Utah Jazz: W 109-101; POG: Kevin Martin - 35 pts, 7 reb, 10/16 FG; Record: 9-11
Despite shooting poorly as a team, we defeated Utah. Mike Bibby also performed well with 21 pts, 10 ast, 7 reb. For the Jazz, Carlos Boozer had 32 pts, 11 reb and Deron Williams fouled out after putting up 10 pts, 12 ast in 21 minutes.

In a postgame interview, I acknowledged that John Salmons is on the trading block. John told me he was pleased that this rumor had been resolved.

Phoenix offered me a future 2nd round pick for Justin Williams. No thank you, I don't need to trade one mediocre contributing piece for a future mediocre piece.

vs Denver Nuggets: L 106-112; POG: Allen Iverson - 27 pts; Record: 9-12
Bibby scored 26 and Brad Miller had a double-double with 10 pts, 10 reb, but our poor shooting doomed us again. Denver's J.R. Smith scored 23 pts, Marcus Camby pulled down 16 boards and blocked 4 shots, and Melo shared the ball some with 9 assists.

vs L.A. Lakers: L 119-122; POG: Lamar Odom - 30 pts, 8 reb; Record: 9-13
I hate losing the close ones. The Kings rallied towards the end but it wasn't enough. Both Artest and Kevin scored over 30 pts, and Bibby had 17 assists. Kobe of all people outshined Bibby with 20 assists! Kobe only had 16 points! More assists than points for Kobe? First Carmelo Anthony, and now Kobe Bryant defy their reputations as selfish ball hogs.

@ L.A. Lakers: L 94-109; POG: Kobe Bryant - 24 pts, 10 ast, 7 reb; Record: 9-14
Sacramento did not show up. Our leading scorer was Mike Bibby with 19 pts. Lamar Odom of L.A. scored 27 and Maurice Evans added 17 for the Lakers.

Phoenix keeps pestering me every few days with the same trade offer as before. How many times do I have to tell them no?

vs New York Knicks: L 103-108; POG: David Lee - 16 pts, 12 reb; Record: 9-15
The team floundered in the 4th quarter. Mike had 30 pts, 9 ast, 7 reb and Brad scored 24.

vs Minnesota Timberwolves: L 112-117; POG: Kevin Garnett - 42 pts, 14 reb; Record: 9-16
Congratulations to Kevin Garnett for his impressive performance. Kevin Martin helped keep us in the game by scoring 26 points. Minnesota's Ricky Davis matched him with 26.

@ Portland Trailblazers: L 111-117; POG: Jarrett Jack - 31 pts; Record: 9-17
We had a big 4th quarter rally, as Bibby and his 26 pts, 11 ast led us to outscore Portland 42-26 in the quarter. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

@ Houston Rockets: L 77-89; POG: Tracy McGrady - 23 pts, 7 ast, 7 reb; Record: 9-18
Another game where the Kings simply could not make shots.

Phoenix finally got the message, as they haven't called me for several days now. In retrospect, they only attempted their trade offer 3 times. It just happened to be over the course of 5 days. Houston has been inquiring about Shareef's availability.

@ New Orleans Hornets: L 105-120; POG: Peja Stojakovic - 31 pts; Record: 9-19
Our best player tonight was Kevin with 23 points.

@ San Antonio Spurs: L 82-106; POG: Tim Duncan - 24 pts, 15 reb; Record: 9-20
Santa put coal in our stockings with our 9th consecutive loss on Christmas day. Kevin Martin showed some consistency by scoring 31. Postgame I disclosed to the media that Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller are on the trade block.

vs Toronto Raptors: W 109-87; POG: Kevin Martin - 17 pts, 7 reb; Record: 10-20
A win! A win! No double digit losing streak for this Sacramento team. With a return home, the Kings awoke from their demoralized slumber and exterminated the Raptors with a solid team effort. Toronto's Chris Bosh played well with 22 pts, 7 ast, 11 reb, 2 stl and T.J. Ford had 13 assists.

vs Boston Celtics: W 123-111; POG: Ron Artest - 31 pts; Record: 11-20
We close a miserable December positively with a 2 game win streak. Paul Pierce's 38 points and Al Jefferson's 17 pt, 12 reb double-double were not enough to derail a suddenly confident Kings team. Kevin Martin scored 23 pts and Mike Bibby had 25 pts, 12 ast, 6 reb.

The team performed closer to expectations during a dismal 3-11 month. More trade offers popped up; some involved first round picks. I declined all of them. Mike Bibby played over 40 minutes in each game for most of the month. He leads the league in minutes per game at 38.4. Perhaps I should recall either Douby or Price from the D-League to provide some rest for Mike. However, I want Ronnie Price to develop and play as much as possible.

[Magic Bird]

Team Stats:

PPG:
1. Kevin Martin, 17.5
2. Mike Bibby, 17.2
3. Ron Artest, 16.3
4. Brad Miller, 13.5
5. John Salmons, 9.7

APG:
1. Mike Bibby, 8.1
2. John Salmons, 3.5
3. Ron Artest, 2.9

RPG:
1. Ron Artest, 6.0
2. Brad Miller, 5.8
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 5.5

BPG:
T1. Ron Artest, 0.6
T1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim
T3. Mike Bibby, 0.5
T3. Brad Miller
T3. Theo Ratliff

SPG:
1. Ron Artest, 1.1
2. Kevin Martin, 0.8
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0.7
Bibby is close behind with 0.6 spg.

League Standings:
Eastern Conf:
1. Washington Wizards (21-7)
2. Charlotte Bobcats (22-9)
3. Detroit Pistons (17-11)
Last: Milwaukee Bucks (10-21)

Western Conf:
1. Golden State Warriors (21-11)
2. Dallas Mavericks (18-12)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (17-12)
Last: Denver Nuggets & Sacramento Kings (11-20)
We are where the league preview predicted we would be.

League Leaders:
PPG: LeBron James (CLE) 33.4
APG: Steve Nash (PHO) 12.0
RPG: Marcus Camby (DEN) 12.3
BPG: Marcus Camby (DEN) 4.1
SPG: Gerald Wallace (CHA) 2.8

Injury Report:
Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse is out for a couple months with a broken foot.
Pau Gasol of Memphis is out for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles. Unlike Chris Paul, who has the same injury, Gasol is expected to return for the beginning of next season. CP3 will miss some of next season.
LaMarcus Aldridge will be inactive for Portland for a month with a broken finger.

Transactions:
No trades have been made yet.

Awards:
November Player of the Month: Tim Duncan (SA)
December Player of the Month: LeBron James (CLE)

[Magic Bird]

It's New Year's Eve and I can't relax. The Kings won today, but the team needs an overhaul. Many of our players aren't shooting well, and we don't have much of a bench. Instead of celebrating a New Year which I already experienced in a different timeline, I call some other teams' GMs about some players I'm interested in. Kevin Martin's trade value is astronomical, likely as high as it will ever be, and he's on the last year of his contract. Unfortunately we can't agree on anything. I attempt negotiations again on New Year's Day. I figure out the first trades of my GM career!

Trade:
Sacramento Kings trade
SG Kevin Martin
C Justin Williams
SF Francisco Garcia
PF Kenny Thomas

Portland Trailblazers trade
SG Brandon Roy
PF LaMarcus Aldridge

Winner: Sacramento - Justin Williams also carries considerable trade value at this time. I don't know what Portland is thinking. Perhaps Portland hopes Kenny Thomas can provide immediate relief for the injured Aldridge. They must also be too preoccupied with short term success. For us, we get two young players with all-star potential and dump some unwanted contracts. Unfortunately, LaMarcus won't be able to play for us for another month as he has a broken finger.

I'm not done yet.

Trade:
Sacramento Kings trade
2009 1st Rnd Pick
PF Maurice Taylor
C Vitaly Potapenko
PG Quincy Douby

Los Angeles Lakers trade
C Andrew Bynum
SF Luke Walton
PG Smush Parker
PG Jordan Farmar

Winner: We'll see in 2009 - If we are perfoming in 08/09 like we performed last month, L.A. has a good chance of drafting a star player with our pick. I'm trying to remember who was drafted in 2009 in my old timeline...Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, James Harden...Wow those were/could be some talented guys. I like this trade because Bynum is a young, serviceable C with all-star potential. We exchange some undesirable contracts for two players with expiring contracts (Walton & Parker) who will also contribute to our team for the rest of the year. Farmar has the potential to be a solid backup PG, or perhaps an emergency starter.

Another trade?

Trade:
Sacramento Kings trade
SF Ron Artest
2007 2nd rnd pick
2008 2nd rnd pick
2009 2nd rnd pick

Memphis Grizzlies trade
PG Kyle Lowry
SF Rudy Gay

Winner: Memphis now, Sacramento later - Why would I give up arguably our greatest talent who also happens to be our best defensive player? Because he is shooting 34.7% overall. If he shoots well in Memphis, great. I don't think he'll shoot the ball well here in Sacramento. In exchange, we get two more young players with all-star potential. Lowry should be able to take over the starting PG role once Bibby declines and Rudy Gay has the potential to be almost as good defensively as Artest. Plus, Rudy will be a better scorer and much better shooter. I think I've taken advantage of another myopic team.

Maybe everyone else seems shortsighted because I'm from the future?

The Kings now have a young player with all-star potential at every position. The average age of our players has decreased from 26.2 years to 25.1 years. Sacramento also shed some future salary. Before the trades, next year we would have owed our players $53,344,536. Now we only owe $48,637,619. I'm hoping we have enough cap space to offer a max contract in free agency. If two of the game's most brilliant young superstars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, do not sign extensions with their teams, they will be free agents next year. Despite their relative inexperience, LeBron and Wade are already arguably the most talented players in the league. With their talent and youth, they are projected to establish themselves as Jordan-esque legends over the next decade. In addition to the possibility of signing a skilled free agent, the Kings may also end up with a lottery pick in next year's draft. Most of the players we traded for are raw enough that I don't expect much immediate team improvement.

New Depth Chart:
PG Mike Bibby
SG Brandon Roy
SF Luke Walton
PF Rudy Gay
C Brad Miller (I would prefer that Coach Wilden start Bynum)
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6th John Salmons
7th Shareef Abdur-Rahim
8th Andrew Bynum
9th Smush Parker
10th Corliss Williamson
11th Theo Ratliff
12th Ronnie Price (He doesn't have much potential compared to Lowry and Farmar)

D-League: (These players need lots of opportunities to play)
PG Kyle Lowry
PG Jordan Farmar

Inactive:
PF LaMarcus Aldridge (injured)

The future looks bright in Sacramento.