Share Your Thoughts on Kings Bright Future

Before the Sacramento-Boston game on Feb. 16, Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof announced the team’s Season Ticket Holder Package for the 2010-11 season and cemented their family’s commitment to Sacramento and building the team toward the Playoffs and beyond.

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Petrie Discusses Kings Trade Deadline Moves

Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie
Feb. 18, 2010

Opening Statement:

“We acquired four players today – Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, Dominic McGuire and Larry Hughes and part of that trade involved Kevin Martin, Sergio and Hilton. I think a couple of things we accomplished today are number one, I think we really augmented and filled some holes in our frontline with the acquisition of Landry. He’s a very productive scorer. He’s comfortable playing inside and out, out away from the basket, probably one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, currently in the League, even though Jamal Crawford is having a great, great year in Atlanta, as well. We’re really looking forward to watching him come in and add to what Spencer and Jason are able to do. The second thing is we continued to lower our salary cap for this summer by a very significant amount, or at least potentially lower it, and going forward into the future as well. With Joey Dorsey, he hasn’t had a lot of chance to play yet, but he is a legitimate defender, rebounder and shot blocker, and definitely has a physical presence who hasn’t played a lot yet, but (this is) a good opportunity to get a look at him as well.

Dominic McGuire is a good defender and can defend a couple positions and had some interesting moments at Washington (Wizards). So we’ll hopefully get all the different forms filed and notifications done, and the trade will get completely consummated here in the next couple of days.”

On if he was originally looking to trade Kevin:

“I really had a real bias, probably, or preference not to trade him, overall, but when this opportunity started to present itself, it just seemed like it was, as things went along, with the things that we were able to accomplish in a couple different areas, it made some sense for us.”

On if there was a desire to have Tracy McGrady play in Sacramento:

“The way these things tend to work, is they start out, and each team has some different motivations as to what they’re trying to accomplish, and who the key pieces are, and this would not have been a final destination probably for Tracy McGrady. So it then becomes players, numbers, how it can work with the salary cap, and then where the various talents that the teams really want end up residing.”

On if the New York Knicks were always a part of the trade:

“The (Houston) Rockets had been having some ongoing negotiations with the Knicks as far as I know and we’re not in control of that and obviously I don’t get all the detail on it, but we got pretty close by late last night with the Rockets, in terms of a deal that would work for us. So we felt, coming into the morning anyway, that we were in pretty good shape, regardless of what happened between the Knicks and Houston.”

On what factors the notion of Kevin Martin playing with Tyreke Evans played in the trade:

“Not too much really. I just think that we have a lot of wing players on our team. I think that we can fill a lot of the void there. It was more of the opportunity to get a player as productive and consistent as Landry, where we really need to fill some holes up front. Again, the potential salary cap enhancement for us was a big factor as well. The team’s played better this year, we’re going to win more games than last year, but we still need to continue to try and add to what we have, obviously, and that’s now going to come in the form of the Draft again, and on into free agency, where we will have a significant amount of real room but so will a lot of other teams.”

On how much the last month with Kevin in the lineup was a factor in the trade:

“It didn’t come into play at all, unless something came up that you thought made sense. In the last 36 hours, something came along that made sense, regardless of the last month. We could’ve gone into the rest of the season, and into the summer and not done a whole lot, maybe other than some cosmetic things here, but this was an opportunity to add a really high quality frontcourt player and create some more flexibility in other areas and when you put that all together, we thought it was worth it.”

On the expectations surrounding the backcourt pairing of Kevin and Tyreke:

“In all fairness to Kevin, I think it’s really hard to live up to those kind of expectations when you’ve been out that long, and I really did think the last three out of the last four games or so he was starting to look more like his normal self, but again, this is something we feel we wanted to do.”

On if today’s moves makes the Kings a major player in the upcoming free agency period:

“Look, there are probably eight teams now that are going to have an excess of $20 million of real room, and some more than that. We’ll be out there, and we’ll see what happens.”

On if the trade was decided upon in the past 24-36 hours:

“I think it would be very unwise to make decisions on 24-36 hours. You’re making decisions based on the history of performance, what you’re trying to do with your team, what one player can do versus another, what it means for your salary cap, what it means for how you want to see the team play going forward. It’s working with your head coach to try and build a roster that he feels would be better and has a chance to get better. It’s all those things, it’s not something that happens in 24 hours.”

On waiving Kenny Thomas:

“Well we wanted to make this trade with Washington in order to acquire Dominic. We had to create a roster spot. And really, the only way at the 11th hour to do that, was to waive Kenny.”

Geoff’s message to fans whose favorite player was Kevin Martin and to assure them this move is good for the Kings:

“Some of these players will become their favorite player.”

On what Kings fans can take away from the trade:

“I think that we made a good move for the team. We added a very high quality frontcourt player, we have more financial flexibility going forward, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it looks through these last 28 games.”

On the potential of including Knicks forward David Lee in the trade:

“To my knowledge, David Lee has never been available.”

On if he’s spoken with Kevin today:

“I called Kevin a minute after the trade call was done and I didn’t get him, I did leave him a message. He did send a very nice email to the organization about his time here, and I also texted him after I left a message and really thanked him, said I hope we have a chance to visit here at some point and that he’s been a real pro, and that I always wish him the best.”

On if Carl will become a starter:

“I really think you need to ask Paul that. I think, you know, he’s averaging over 16 points per game, playing 27 minutes a game for a good team. I’m sure he’s going to play a lot of minutes. What form that takes, Paul will work that out.”

On if the newly acquired Kings players will play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers:

“I don’t know. You’ve got nine players involved here with three teams, and there’s a lot of forms and a lot of certifications that need to get done and then to the League office, and even if we get ours done, they all have to be done and you need to get an email from the League saying that the trade’s completed before they can practice or play. We will have ours done before the game on Saturday, now you’ve got deadlines on Sunday and Monday for other things, so I don’t know. I hope so, I hope so.”

On if he’s spoken with the newly acquired Kings players yet:

“I have not, not yet, no. We have waived a physical on some of the players, and Carl will take a physical.

On when Carl’s physical will be completed:

“Hopefully we’ll get it done tomorrow.”

On what could have happened had Kevin not gotten injured this season:

“I don’t know. I think of Kevin Martin as somebody we drafted, who developed into a terrific player, can be a prolific scorer at times and how things work out sometimes, there’s a lot of circumstance in life, and I’m sure Kevin’s going to go on and do just fine. He’s always been a real professional as far as I’m concerned and I wish him well.”

On if the upcoming expiration of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement is a factor in every move Geoff is making right now:

“It’s hard to say. I’m really not at liberty to talk a whole lot about collective bargaining, but we’re like a lot of teams, we’re trying to plan our future and have flexibility, because we need to continue, obviously, to improve the team and add more pieces and we’re keeping an eye on everything. It might affect how we can do that.”

On whether additional cuts will be made:

“I don’t think so. Not in the immediate (future).”

On what Carl Landry brings to the Kings:

“He can play on the block, off the block, at the elbow. You can throw him the ball and he’s a 57% shooter, an 80%-plus free throw shooter, and he’s a physically aggressive player. Like I said, he’s definitely going to augment our frontcourt.”

On changing the image of the Kings:

“Again, I think we wanted to change the perception of the way our team played and I think we’ve done that, although it didn’t happen last night, but you saw it against Boston I think, and in a lot of other games. Again, it’s working with Paul to build a roster that we both feel will be different and be more successful. Certainly Landry is a more physical presence, and Dorsey, I don’t know how much he would play or what he will do, but he’s certainly that as well, so, let’s all find out together I guess.”

On if he received similar opportunities to add the same factors that Carl brings to the Kings and obtain financial flexibility in exchange for Kevin:

“Not that I’m aware of.”

On his thoughts of other teams’ actions during the trading deadline:

“Again, the trading deadline has become more and more a function of different motivations for teams trying to accomplish different things. They have been one of the busier ones, but that’s for each individual team to decide when you get right down to it.”

On the Kings core:

“I think we’ve improved it. He’s (Landry) 27 years old, but we’ll have to wait now and see what shows up on the floor and how we utilize it and see how everybody works together.”

On Larry Hughes:

“The situation with Larry is actually he has a fracture on his left hand and he’s being treated and he’s in a splint currently back on the East Coast. We’ve agreed that he can stay back there and continue to work with those people. So, it’s not anticipated that he’s going to be here with the team while he’s undergoing his rehab and treatment back there. We did wait to put a reporting on the physical on him.”

On if he expects to see Larry this season:

“Don’t know.”

Petrie Contract Extention Press Conference Quotes

Kings Co-Owner Gavin Maloof

“We are all proud to say that Geoff Petrie has remained a King. We have given him a multi-year contract extension. We are so excited about where this club is heading for the future. Eighty to ninety percent of our team right now is draft picks, and that falls onto Geoff Petrie. We are honored to have him as a part of our family. He has been with the Kings organization for 16 years, after this year. He is one of the longest tenured, if not the longest tenured of any General Manager in sports. We are really proud and excited about the way the team is playing and the direction the team is heading. We all feel that we have a great young squad. A squad that beat an elite team in Denver last night. They have taken two other elite teams to overtime. The team has definitely improved 100 percent from last year. We are very impressed with their accomplishments and where the team is going. I would also like to recognize our coach, Paul Westphal. He is here today for support. He has done a terrific job along with his staff. People have something to look forward to as far as the Kings organization. There is hope for the future. I certainly believe that there will be multiple championships with this team the way that they grow. I don’t know if it is going to be next year or the year after, but in the future. When you have the second youngest starting five to ever suit up at an NBA game, that says something. The way that we are competing on the floor and proving every day, it is amazing what is going on. It’s great to be a King and to have you (Geoff) as our King.”

Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie

“I just want to start by saying how deeply appreciative I am of the opportunity to continue to grow this team. Obviously, when you have had this much tenure here as I have at this point, you feel a part of the organization for one and number two, you are getting a chance to continue to live out a childhood dream. I am now doing it in what has become my hometown. I can only echo Gavin’s comments about how much excitement we all have for the significance of room there is to grow and for the team we are seeing compete now during the first part of this season. I want to personally thank Paul (Westphal) for the professionalism and the leadership that he has brought to the team and the group of players that we have now. I have had an incredible staff for the longest time. There are so many factors that are involved for me, and we want to continue to get it back to where we can compete again at a championship level. We are moving in the right direction. I think that everyone can see that. I want to thank all of you, who have also been together here for a long time and the interaction that we have had over the years. We are going to move forward here and do the best that we can. Hopefully we will have a lot more fun, not just this season, but the ones to come. There is one other person that I want to acknowledge, if you haven’t seen her, you have probably heard her. That is the lovely Anne Marie, my wife, who gets to come home some nights and watch me count troubles and not sheep when I am trying to go to bed.”

Questions from the media

On the previous decisions that shaped where they are today
Petrie - “If you go back six months that would be the Draft. A little bit prior to that would have been the hiring of Paul (Westphal). We felt when we hired Paul that we all felt the same thing. He is someone with great knowledge, tremendous experience and some inner strength, which led right into the Draft. What we wanted to accomplish there was to get some more talent. Also, we wanted to get physically and mentally tougher for the way that our players approach the game. We needed to try to get bigger and longer at certain positions. I think this is one of those drafts that was close to being proven to be true. It’s a lot more than just that. It is the attitude of the group. You can see that in Donte (Greene) and see improvement in Jason (Thompson), he has come back and had a fabulous year. When everyone, including Beno (Udrih), said that he didn’t have a very productive year for him a year ago. I don’t think there is a lot to be gained from talking about the past… We are past that, and we are moving ahead.”

On the people Petrie works with
Geoff - “I think as you get older one of the most precious commodities you have is your time. Like I said earlier, I am still living that boyhood dream. I happen to be in a group of people who think the opportunity to work at this level in the NBA is a real honor and a real privilege. The group of people that I have had around me for so long is so confident, loyal and trustworthy. That counts as a lot with me. This is a home for me, too. I would not want to leave on a down note.”

On being a family and having a good environment
Gavin - “We are more friends than we are co-workers, or he works for us, we are his bosses. We have always considered him part of the family. It may be a little different, but we have forged a wonderful bond with Geoff and his family, of course Anne Marie and Mike, his son. We just have a fine affection for his family. It is great to keep this consistency and continuity. We talked about it early on when we bought the Kings. Now that we have a coach that is on the same page as Geoff and Geoff is on the same page as us and we are on the same page as the coach. It is a wonderful situation and it is a special environment that we are proud of. We can now take this forward and keep everything positive.”

On Mike Petrie’s promotion to Kings Assistant Vice President of Basketball Operations
Geoff - “Beyond the fact that we have the same name, he has grown up in the game. He has been here the better part of 11 years. He has all of the qualities that are important in my sense of what is valuable from the people in your organization. He has experience and he has a history of performance. He is loyal, trustworthy and at his age is a much better person than I was. He has always been a part of the inner circle, and he has grown. He was the video coordinator for some of the best teams that we had, when Rick Adeleman was here. He spent four years in scouting and organizing the Draft. He is just very confident.”

Petrie’s Boyhood Dream Continues in Sacramento

Sixteen years into his tenure with the Sacramento Kings, Geoff Petrie continues to relish the opportunity to live his youthful goal.

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Updates on Garcia’s Injury, Evans and Mason

During a routine morning weightlifting session with a spotter at the Kings practice facility on Friday, Francisco Garcia fractured his right forearm after a physioball malfunctioned.

“It’s going to be repaired tomorrow morning,” Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie said about Garcia’s shooting wrist. “We’ll have more for you, as far as the particulars, once the doctors finish the procedure… He’s going to be out for a significant amount of time.

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Sacramento Leaders Welcome Omri

It’s been a whirlwind tour for Omri Casspi since he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings.

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A New Chapter: Sean May

Sean May is only in town for 48 hours, but it’s enough time take care of the important things – signing his contract to make him an official member of the Sacramento Kings and finding a new home.

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Sean May Press Conference: August 3

Geoff Petrie on Sean May signing

As everyone knows, we came to an understanding not quite two weeks ago, so it was good to get him in here today and get everything finalized. I think with him and when you listen to him talk, when you combine his talent with his health and desire, he is a player who really hasn’t had the chance yet to have the career. He thinks he is ready to go and we think he is. He has the potential to add a lot of depth and skill to our front court. We are looking forward to working with him and watching him play.

On what made him think Sean was ready to go:
He was in very good shape, especially for the middle of summer, and he was very mobile. His talent and skill set haven’t diminished at all. I think if he has arrived at a reasonable level as he thinks he has, our physicians think he has, then he has a chance to really get his career started on a competitive basis. It will be fun to watch.

On how Sean will complement the players already on the team:
I think very well, just because he is a multidimensional player and he does rebound the ball. He can pass the ball and shoot the ball. He obviously played at a very good program at North Carolina. He knows a lot about team basketball and winning. Hopefully, he will bring some of that to our team as well.

On if he could play the five or strictly the four:
I think it depends on matchups. A lot of teams will play with smaller lineups for portions of the game. I don’t know about huge minutes as a back up center, but there is probably the potential for that with Jason Thompson as well.

On Sean fitting in with the Kings:
I think it is a great fit. Like I said from the beginning, it really is a combination of his talent, health and ability, and right now we think that he has all three. His talent was never really in question. He comes in with a great knowledge of our team and wants to make a contribution that will help us bounce out of the bottom here.

On Sean coming in with a great attitude and wanting to win:
I think the last player that we had like him was Corliss Williamson. He won a title at Arkansas, in a very similar-type situation. North Carolina is one of the sturdiest programs in the country. When you play there, you know about team basketball and you know about winning. I think that he will bring a share of that to us.

~~~
Sean May

I feel great. I have been working out and getting prepared for when I went to Las Vegas and worked out for the Kings. The knee feels good, and the doctors looked at it and everything looked great. I am ready to roll and I am excited. Hopefully this will be good.

On if he talked to other players about the micro fracture surgery and how they handled it:
All the doctors and players who I have talked to have said that my youth is probably what is going to save my career. I have talked to Amare (Stoudemire), and I know Rashad (McCants) who I went to school with. I know the history now of guys who had it. When guys have it when they are older, it’s hard to come back from it. The Kings know first hand with Chris (Webber). He struggled with it partly due to the fact that he was a bit older. I feel great, and I haven’t had a whole lot of pain since I had the surgery. The biggest thing has just been the tendonitis, but that is manageable. I just feel good.

On the deciding factor to come to Sacramento:
I got an offer from Cleveland and Sacramento on the same day. One thing I did was look at the roster, and at Sacramento there are a lot of young guys and I can fit in here great. Spencer Hawes and I are really good friends, I like Jason Thompson and Kevin Martin I think is one of the best scorers in the League. I just felt like it was a really good fit. Not saying that Cleveland wasn’t, but I just felt like here (Sacramento) the opportunity to turn my career around was better. I felt I could help a young team go from winning 17 games to how ever many. I just knew I could help.

What he will add to the roster:
I think that I will add depth on the front court. I think that I am a unique big who can step out and make plays on the perimeter. I still hold true to being a power forward and rebounding the basketball. I think that is probably my biggest attribute – being able to rebound, get up and down the floor and being able to shoot the ball from out, too.

On his knee and being able to get back from the injury:
If I could’ve written a book on my NBA career up to this point, none of these would be in any of the chapters. It’s been tough, it really has, but it has been humbling. I am really looking forward to this opportunity right now. For one because a lot of people have been in my position and folded, that is something I refuse to do. It has been tough, but I am looking forward to the challenge and opportunity.

On bringing his winning attitude to the team:
I think that is a big part of who I am. We won a lot of games in college. Fortunately, in Charlotte we were getting better, but we were almost in the same position (as the Kings) when I started out there. My first year I think we won only 18 games. We just continually got better. I think if you bring in guys who have that winning attitude, guys who are competitors and want to win at any expense, it will help your team. Hopefully, that is something that they saw in me and they feel like I can help.

On not being able to play due to the injury:
It was tough. I don’t want to say that I was depressed, but to say that I wasn’t down, I couldn’t say that. I was down. I love what I do and love to play the game of basketball. To have that physically taken away from you and there isn’t anything you can do. It is a waiting game with some knee injuries and some other injuries that happened. With the micro fracture, there is physically nothing that you can do besides just wait. I had to wait about 10 months to get back onto the court, so it did affect me. I feel like it is in the past now and there is nothing that I can do about it. I don’t like to dwell on it. I am just looking forward to the future.

On his dad’s influence on him:
I talk to my dad a couple of times a day. In his career, he didn’t have as many injuries, but he had some injuries. When he was in the NBA, he had some knee surgeries and what not, so he has helped me through it a lot in dealing with it and understanding it. This is the situation, and if you want to quit, quit. He knows that will never happen though.

On the emotional side of his injury:
It was tough for me. Emotionally, it took a lot out of me. It was the first time I struggled, but I think it shows a lot about someone’s character if they are able to go through some adversity and bounce back from it. That is really what I think about this opportunity at hand. It is a test to bounce back from this adversity that I have had these past few years.

Draftees Press Conference Quotes

Geoff Petrie Opening Statement:
“He (Tyreke Evans) was the best freshman in college last year. He’s just a tremendous prospect. And Jon (Brockman)… One of my favorite Van Morrison songs is a song called “Cleaning Windows.” There’s a line in there: “I’m just a working man in my prime cleaning windows.” So I hope he cleans some glass down here for the Kings. It’s great to have him. He was the leading rebounder the last two years in the Pac-10. He brings a tremendous work ethic with him.”

Gavin Maloof Opening Statement:
“It’s a great day for the Kings organization, for our family, for Geoff and the community. We feel that we are on the right track and we have nothing but upside for the Sacramento Kings. You have a great couple of athletes up here in Jon and Tyreke that can really turn this franchise around. I think I got a little too excited yesterday because I got an ulcer. Literally. So, I am going to have to just take it easy for a little while. I told Tyreke, I really got excited. The whole town is on fire. No pressure though. He said he could handle it. Again, welcome to the Kings organization, it is a great day for all of our fans and we are glad to have you.”
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Draft Quotes: Petrie, Westphal

After the 2009 NBA Draft, Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie and Head Coach Paul Westphal had the following to say about the team’s Draft picks:

Petrie

On Kings #4 Draft Pick Tyreke Evans:
“We think he’s a great, great prospect and has a chance to develop into a real star. He was the best freshman in the country this year. He led his team to 27 straight wins as a point guard. He has great potential at the defensive end because of his length and his physical presence out there. I think another great thing about this is from the time we interviewed him onto the workouts, he always was very consistent in his desire to come to Sacramento and that was really his number one choice, as well. I think the fans are just going to love watching this kid play and develop and he’ll be a multi-position player, I think, as things go along, so we’re really excited about it.”

On what separated Evans from the rest of the guards in the 2009 NBA Draft:
“I just think his size, he’s 6’5”, 220 pounds, and he’s a real freight train in the open court. He’s certainly still developing some as an overall point guard and his shooting needs to get better, which is true with a lot of players when they first come into the League. But it’s, just again, an assessment of his overall talent level. He’s now just 19 years old, going on 20, and there’s a lot of growth left in his future, as well. We’re really, really excited about it.”

On how Evans will fit in with the Kings:
“I think he’s going to come in and play minutes. He’s going to play at the point and certainly Coach Westphal will have a lot more to say about this since he’ll be the guy making that decision. He was by far and away his (Westphal) first choice for the kind of team that he envisions and the kind of pieces that we all want to add. He’s a great rebounder for a guard as well, so I just think he’s going to contribute in a lot of areas.”

Petrie Quotes from Post-Draft Press Conference

“Today, as most of you know already, with the fourth pick in the Draft, we took Tyreke Evans. We think he has a chance to become just a great player in the League. He’s got great size, played point guard this year for Memphis. He was the best freshman in the country. He’s been a superlative player from high school on. I think he’s going to give us additional presence out there physically and at the defensive end. During our evaluations, he just continued to surface as somebody who has the potential to be just truly, truly an outstanding player, a multi-position player. We’re really excited about getting him.”

“We took Omri Casspi at the 23rd pick who played in Israel this past year. He averaged 12 points a game. He’s very long, very active and very aggressive and tough. He pretty much has a good all-around game. He really improved his three-point shooting this year over there. He can really run and get up and down the court.”

“We also made a transaction with Portland where we sent the 31st pick to Portland for Sergio Rodriguez, the 38th pick and some cash considerations. Sergio was a back up point guard primarily for the Blazers last year. He played about 15 minutes a game. He’ll give us some additional depth there.”

“Then with the 38th pick we took Jon Brockman who has led the Pac-10 in rebounding the last two years. He’s averaging about 11.5 points a game. He’s another incredibly hard worker and competitor, just like Tyreke and Omri. So I think competitively and in terms of some additional adding in some physical toughness and aggressiveness out on the court, all three of these players are going to bring that to the Kings.”

On Evans and the other players Petrie was considering:
“It continued through the workouts, bundle that in with previous scouting, his age, his performance in college this year and the fact that he has a chance to be a multi-position player and he was physically, clearly ready to play. He wanted to be here and he was just too good of a talent to pass on.”

On passing on Rubio:
“We wanted to take who we thought was the best player available. No one player is going to fill every need that we have in this Draft. Ricky Rubio is a fine player. Jonny Flynn is a fine player. There were a lot of fine players in there that will have good NBA careers. We just felt that Tyreke was the best player for us.”

On the importance of seeing Evans in a second workout:
“That was helpful. To see somebody compete in a really competitive setting against other really fine players, he was really good. To the extent that you can be good in an individual workout, he was very good in that as well.”

On Evans disclosing during an interview that he is a dominant player and the effect it had on the Kings decision:
“It’s part of it; it’s not the only part. That’s always part of it. He was dominant in some other workouts around the League that we weren’t at. Sure that’s part of the evaluation, but there’s a lot of other information there and we saw him play a ton. We interviewed these players and did a lot of work on them.”

On how NBA-ready Evans is:
“I think he’s ready to play minutes, yeah. I think he’s going to make a contribution. I know Paul is thrilled to have him. Again, he’s going to give us a chance to have a big guard out there that can handle, that can break people down, you can post him. Defensively, he has a chance to be an outstanding defender with his length and his size and his strength. His shooting needs to improve; I think that’s pretty common knowledge. The talented guys that come in here, their shooting usually does need to get better.”

On if Petrie considers Evans to be a point guard:
“He considers himself a point guard. They put him at point guard at Memphis this year and they won 27 games in a row. Does he have to get better at point guard? Absolutely. But he thinks of himself as a point guard.”

On if Casspi is ready to play immediately:
“I think as a competitor and with his size, he’s a big, long, very athletic player who is a very tough player. He has a pretty good skill set. I think he can play some minutes, yes. How many we’ll have to see. I don’t like getting into talking about minutes because I’m not the guy who’s going to decide that.”

On the situation involving Tyreke’s cousin:
“We did extensive background checks by outside people on quite a few players in this Draft because of where we were picking, independent people. It was interesting, in Chicago, one of the interview questions for all of the players was, ‘What’s the biggest adversity you’ve had to overcome in your life?’ Some people might duck that, but he was very upfront about it. He talked about the situation and explained it and all the things that went on around it. He was very upfront and candid about it.”

On excitement of adding Rodriguez to backcourt:
“It gives us more depth there and the fact that he did play 15 minutes a game on a very good team and played 80 games. He’s been in the League a bit, coming up on his fourth year, and he gives you some depth. Ideally, you’d like to have three point guards on your team and they can all play some.”

On being pleased with the options he had:
“I think going into it we talked about adding another small forward, and I think Casspi can play there. As time goes on, he’s going to be pretty versatile in terms of how he’s out there. With Brockman we added some rebounding. With Tyreke we added what a lot of media covering the event outside of here thought was the second best player in the Draft.”

On other NBA players that resemble Tyreke:
“That’s really tough. You do that and you’re putting some kind of monkey on a guy’s back. He’ll be Tyreke Evans, that’s who he’ll be.”

On how big of a factor the defensive element was in drafting Tyreke:
“We weren’t a good defensive team last year. He’s a big guard who is going to be able to guard and give us some physical presence out there. Paul can talk more about this, because he’s talked about it a lot. But the ability to have two big guards out there at the same time gives you some options defensively that you don’t have otherwise.”

How confident were you with the 4th pick that he was going to be there?
“You never know until you come to your final rankings with what you’d like to do, even though there are only two teams in front of you. You have to be prepared for things that can happen after that.”

On free agency:
“I think we need to add some additional, and Paul can talk about this too, size up front. We have 12 players technically on our roster right now who will probably be contract players. If we can add another one or two, but certainly one or two of them has to have some additional size in the front court.”

On Ike Diogu:
“Well, we’re not allowed to talk about free agents until July 1. We will talk about that then.”

~~~

Westphal

“It was a good day for the Kings today. It was a really good day. I’ve been in a lot of war rooms, and there’s always tension, quick decisions, phone calls and how do we handle this and how do we handle that. I just want to say that under Geoff (Petrie), Joe and Gavin (Maloof), this group was ready. When the split decisions came, we made the right decisions in a lot of different cases. It was really fun to be on the inside and have things go the way you planned. You come away with three players that fulfill the objectives of what we went in there today to do, which was to add toughness at several positions and to upgrade our team, and we did that. It was a very good day, and I’m just thrilled with what we’ve added to our team.”

On if the Draft went the way he expected:
“It always throws you a few curveballs, but the way it went, we got guys who can help in the areas that we wanted to address.”

On how happy he is with Tyreke Evans:
“He was the guy we wanted. The first 15 minutes of the Draft, that was the toughest because we were just scared to death that something was going to happen that would change the scenario that would allow him to come to us. We sweated every second. There was nothing we could do, and when Oklahoma (City) said (James) Harden, it was a good pick for them, but it got us the guy we wanted.”

On the decision making process:
“I had my say and it was part of the decision making process. The final decision is always Geoff, with a possibility of the Maloofs deciding different, that’s the hierarchy. But the good thing is we were on the same page with these decisions. A lot of times, when things happen fast, that isn’t always the case. Everybody has their say and you weigh the pros and cons, and Geoff is really good at cutting through it and getting to the important part of what the decision is going to be and then acting. It was really nice.”

On whether having a player who can beat their man off the dribble and create was an appealing factor in drafting Tyreke:
“That was one of them. The thing that is the most appealing about him is he’s the most well-rounded guard in the Draft, in my opinion. All these players that went in the first round, the point guards, they have a lot of strengths, a lot of good things. Everybody has a few things you wish they would do better. But when you just grade the players from the defensive end of the ball, the ability to guard the post, the ability to post up themselves, the ability to penetrate, get their teammates involved, just the whole package, when you grade what you need for someone to be a complete player and bring toughness to your team, it was really a very clear cut choice.”

On if he expects Evans to play point guard:
“I expect him to play point guard. Basketball is always on the merit system. I’ll believe whatever my eyes tell me when everybody has a chance to compete for a spot. But, we expect big things from him.”

On Evans’ size:
“That was a big part. I can see him getting a rebound and coming up on the run, and he’s a big guy. In some ways there may be some guys who take a charge on him, but it’s like Charles Barkley used to say, ‘They’ll take one charge on me, they won’t take two.’ I think that people are going to be aware of his progress as he dribbles up the floor. He’s a big train.”

On Evans’ leadership abilities:
“I think that he is a good leader now. I think as he learns the League, and gets more and more comfortable, he’ll be a very good leader. He’s just had success everywhere he’s been as a basketball player. One of the things I like about him is he understands the importance of the defensive end. He doesn’t think he’s too good to play defense. He wants to be considered an outstanding basketball player in all phases. I think he will improve his outside shooting. If you could drive to the basket like he can, you wouldn’t settle for a lot of threes either. He’s got a gift of taking the ball to the hoop. I think he’ll be a very good post up player too, which will give us another option when teams play smaller point guards. He’s shown he can guard them pretty well. We’ll test them at the other end and put him at the post. I think he’s got some real skills there. “

On Sergio Rodriguez fitting in with the Kings:
“We’ll find out. He played an important backup role at Portland. As we get used to him, and he gets used to our system, we’ll find out how that could grow. He’s a proven pro, he’s a useful player and at the very worst, will supply us depth at that position.”

On what Omri Casspi brings to the Kings:
“He’s very athletic. He’s long, he’s a 6’9” small forward who’s very mobile and a good ball handler, and more than anything, he is tough. We were looking at some other tough guys at that three spot to pick with that choice and our scouts who really studied him and watched him play, I asked them, ‘Was he tough?’ and they said, ‘Yeah, he’s tough.’ And you can just see it. He’s somebody who can guard, and I think as he learns the League, he will be able to guard and matchup very well with the athletic threes in this League. He’s a good runner, he’s a good rebounder and I think he’s a player who has a lot of versatility. He’s long and athletic, too.”

On obtaining players who play competitively:
“That was what we were after in this Draft. We wanted competitive people. We wanted to improve three positions. We wanted to get some help inside. Even though there weren’t very many big people in the Draft, Jon Brockman is, if not the best, he’s one of the top three rebounders in the Draft. So, we addressed that and nobody’s ever kicked sand in his face and said he’s not tough. Omri Casspi is somebody who’s got a reputation as being somebody who really, really competes. I think Tyreke’s reputation and size to back it up is above reproach in those areas. Competitiveness is one of the most important skills in having success in the NBA. We want people, when they play the Kings, to walk away saying ‘Those guys, win or lose, those guys are tough. They go down fighting. If they go down, you have to put them away. They’re not going to die.’ We added three guys with heart today.”

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