Kings Blog and Q&A

News, observations and reader questions about the Sacramento Kings and the NBA.

June 18, 2011
Adding Thompson or Burks might make sense

If the Kings add another guard, the popular belief is the Kings will do so by drafting a point guard in next Thursday's NBA Draft.

But after the Kings hosted two of the top-2 shooting guards available for a pre-draft workout - Alec Burks and Klay Thompson - whether adding a shooting guard has to be considered.

This, of course, goes against what a lot of fans want and observers believe should happen - the eventual shift of Tyreke Evans to shooting guard.

But adding a shooting guard isn't necessarily a crazy thought if you consider the following:

1. Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton will probably be the starting guards. With Beno Udrih coming off the bench, the backup shooting guard is who?
2. No matter how much you do/don't like it, Evans will handle the ball in the Kings offense. He's not going to play off the ball fulltime, nor is he a small forward.
3. Francisco Garcia played his best at small forward last season. There were concerns about his ability to defend guards but Garcia held up much better at small forward.
4. Trades and free agency will likely change things, but as of now the Kings are seriously lacking in bench scoring.

Does this mean the Kings will draft Burks or Thompson? Of course not. But if Brandon Knight or Kawhi Leonard don't fall to seven and the Kings believe that's too high for Jimmer Fredette or Kemba Walker adding Thompson or Burks makes sense, Thompson more than Burks in my opinion.

Thompson has the three-point shooting the Kings covet. He's not the slashing scorer that Burks is, therefore isn't as similar to Evans.

Thompson's size (6-6) would allow the Kings to use the big backcourt that never became a reality a couple of years ago when Kevin Martin was injured and eventually traded.

Thompson would be a nice complement playing with Evans or Udrih because he could space the floor.

There are merits to adding Burks (6-6) too. A boost in athleticism would do the roster good.

And if Burks were the pick, the Kings would add a player off the bench that could create his own shot. When's the last time the Kings had that? Bobby Jackson?

I'm not advocating the Kings take either player. But Thompson definitely has his fans in the organization and Burks isn't completely frowned upon. Not that I expect the Kings to pick a shooting guard in the first round, but if they did, I could see the reasoning behind the decision.

*On to some other notes from today's workout:

*Burks admitted to taking plays off on defense in college and relying on athleticism to make up for those lapses. Said he's out show he can and will be committed to playing defense. And the reason for the candor is simple. Burks knows anyone that watches film will see those plays.

*Thompson was arrested for marijuana possession in March. It's something he addressed at the Draft Combine in Chicago by saying he'd be honest and upfront about the situation.

Thompson was asked about speculation that he currently smokes marijuana by SI.com's Sam Amick amid

"I think that's kind of ludicrous to think I'm going to risk the draft or my draft status for something like that," Thompson said who mentioned he knows he'll be tested for drugs as a pro. "I put that stuff behind me. That's something I've moved on from me. ...I won't risk doing that again because I want to fulfill my potential."

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