The Sports Informant

With all the speculation surrounding the Sacramento Kings’ vacant coaching spot, and with the upcoming NBA Draft lottery coming up, it’s hard not to think about the NBA team’s future, especially if you live in Sacramento and had to watch it finish last in the league this past season.

But after watching the first round of the NBA playoffs, it’s hard to focus on Louisville coach Rick Pitino possibly reentering the NBA to save Sacramento or a possible No. 1 overall draft pick when we’re witnessing a group of athletes perform on the highest level that should be carrying the Kings right now.

The first round of the playoffs saw several former Kings shine on center stage, reminding Sacramento fans what was, and with many players performing better than they did with the Kings, what could have been.

Rick Adelman

Rick Adelman is now calling the shots in Houston. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

Let’s start with the coach, the mastermind of the entire operation. A solid coach is necessary to make any program successful, regardless of the tools in the shed. When Adelman ruled over the Kings’ court, the Kings saw some of their most successful seasons in franchise history. Adelman’s tenure had the Kings make the playoffs every single year he was at the helm, and in 2001, the Kings won the Pacific Division crown and made it all the way to the Western Conference finals before bowing out.

Since Adelman’s departure at the end of the 2005-2006 season – his contract expired and was not renewed – the Kings have had three coaches in three years, have had losing records each of those seasons  and have made not made the playoffs once.

Adelman, meanwhile, went on to coach the Houston Rockets, immediately took them to the playoffs in his first season and led them past the Portland Trailblazers in the first round this year, 4-2.

Ron Artest

If you don’t know what’s going on with Ron Artest, you don’t watch NBA basketball. But I’ll fill you in again anyway.

Ron Artest has made the Rockets serious contenders. (Photo courtesy Kurt Garcia)

Artest came over to Sacramento from Indiana in January of 2006 in a trade for Peja Stojakovic

and immediately made an impact. He became an instant team leader, and as perhaps the best defender in the NBA, instantly made the Kings a threat again. The team went on a 14-5 run in his first 19 games, broke .500 and landed the eighth playoff spot in Western Conference.

But it was Artest’s character that makes him so valuable. Yes, he can put up 25 points on any night, lock down Kobe Bryant and was the closest thing to a superstar the Kings had, but it was who Artest was off the court that was most interesting. Despite a few gaffs with regrettable quotes in the press, Artest offered to donate his salary to keep Bonzi Wells on the Kings, and also offered his salary to keep Adelman around. At least one of those would still be helping the Kings today.

Now we’re watching Artest throw elbows with Bryant in a Rockets uniform, where he followed Adelman to success after the Kings traded him last season. With Tracy McGrady out, Artest was the main reason the Rockets made it out of the first round – including a 27-point performance in Game 6 – and to a 2-2 tie currently with the top-seeded Lakers currently in Round 2.

Mike Bibby

When Artest was thought to be traded early last year, it was team leader Mike Bibby who was traded instead in a surprise move with the Atlanta Hawks in February for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams and Lorenzen Wright, all of which are no longer on Sacramento’s roster. To save cap space, the Kings got rid of what was left of the franchise’s successful seasons to start rebuilding.

Mike Bibby led the Hawks to playoffs immediately upon his arrival. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

Meanwhile, Bibby, still fully capable of playing at a high level, went to Atlanta, led them to the playoffs in his first season and had them back there again this season, this time in the second round before falling to probable eventual champion Cleveland. While he’s not the team’s leading scorer, he’s still a floor general, and an experienced playoff player the Hawks needed to advance to the second round this season. The Hawks knocked the Miami Heat out of the playoffs in seven games, and while they couldn’t beat Cleveland in Round 2, it’s gotta be more comforting for Bibby than finishing with the worst record in the NBA.

Hedo Turkoglu

The Turkish sharpshooter was a fan favorite in Sacramento because of his high energy and spirited play on the court. That didn’t change with his departure.

Hedo Turkoglu is a major part of Orlando's success. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

His ejection in the playoffs for a scuffle showed he’s not some import here trying to impress his coach. He’s a star, through and through, and he plays like a leader each night on the court. His 24 points helped lead his latest team, the Orlando Magic, to a Game 3 win over defending champ Boston in the second round of this year’s playoffs, and with the series tied 2-2, he could be a big reason the Magic climb to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Turkoglu was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 2003. The Kings got Brad Miller in return, so it wasn’t a bad trade. But imagine Turkoglu with the Kings now. He wouldn’t be a third or fourth option in the lineup. He could be the leading scorer.

Brad Miller

Speaking of Brad Miller, though, it took the Turkoglu trade to bring one of the better centers the Kings have ever had to town. Miller was a beast for the Kings, an essential piece holding the team together when everything around it was falling apart. His energy for years was the only one on the Sacramento court, and his departure saddened many local fans.

Brad Miller found his spirit with Chicago in the playoffs. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

However, when you’re not happy somewhere, you go, and when you are happy where you end up, it shows. It was no more evident than when Miller joined the Chicago Bulls this season along with teammate John Salmons in a trade from Sacramento, where he’d been slow and lackadaisical, and began diving out of bounds for loose balls immediately. One image this postseason has him wildly celebrating his excitement after a bucket like he was a new dunker straight out of college. We haven’t seen that Brad in a while.

His 23 points lifted Chicago to a Game 6 win in the first round against Boston, and while his team was eliminated in Game 7, it was obvious Miller’s presence was one of the reasons Chicago made that one of the more memorable series in history.

John Salmons

Salmons came over to Chicago with Miller and made an even more immediate impact. Salmons joined a young Bulls team in the starting lineup and fit in like a cool kid at high school. Kids actually passed him the ball, and when they did, he scored. In the playoffs alone, he never scored under double figures, averaging 18 points a game, including a 35-point explosion in Chicago’s exciting Game 6 win.

John Salmons is a rising star. (Photo courtesy Kurt Garcia)

His role with the Sacramento Kings was a rebirth of sorts into stardom. Relatively a role player in Philadelphia before, he became the focus with the Kings when Kevin Martin was hurt, and stayed a focus when Martin wasn’t. While he still didn’t get the respect from the league he deserved, Salmons played like a star, and is continuing to grow into his game. I’m afraid to see what he’ll do against the Kings.

Salmons is soft-spoken, but not shy. He’ll get his teammates fired up with his play, and plays the role of a leader very well when it’s asked of him. Unfortunately, the Kings couldn’t figure out how to use him, despite his obvious rise to the top.

Peja Stojakovic

What can you say about Peja that all of Sacramento doesn’t already know?

Peja Stojakovic is a threat from anywhere on the court if left open. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

His time with the Kings had him as the best pure shooter in basketball. He was a threat from anywhere on the court and at 6-feet-10-inches tall, he was virtually unstoppable when given a second to shoot. He’s a valuable piece to any team he joins, and while he struggled against Denver in the first round of this season’s playoffs, he’s still widely regarded as the guy you want taking a game-deciding shot from the perimeter at the buzzer.

Stojakovic was traded to Indiana for Artest in 2006, clearly a trade in Sacramento’s favor, so there’s no use arguing the Kings should have kept him. But this article is fantasy, and it would be nice to have him roaming the perimeter at Arco now.

An All-Star roster?

Forget the logistics of who was traded to where and for who and take a look back at what could have been. Imagine the Kings lineup with these guys still intact. Bibby runs the point, Martin is at the two, Salmons is at the three, Artest is at the four and Miller is at the five, with Stojakovic and Turkoglu coming off the bench… Throw in Adelman calling the shots and all players healthy and the Kings would be unstoppable. That is, if they cared enough to play. It seems like no one stopping through Sacramento cares to do so while they’re there, and when they leave, that all changes very quickly.

Bummer. Snap back to reality and fans are left with a last place team with no coach and a future riding on last year and this year’s draft picks. While watching the playoffs right now, that’s seems like no consolation whatsoever.