National Basketball Association

Dalembert addition has no impact on Kings draft

Published Jun. 23, 2010 7:17 p.m. ET

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The Sacramento Kings officially welcomed one new big man to town. The question is if another will follow in the first round of the NBA draft.

The Kings held a news conference Wednesday to introduce Samuel Dalembert, acquired last week in a trade with Philadelphia to provide a defensive boost inside.

The Kings could add another big man with the fifth pick in the draft on Thursday night with DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe and Derrick Favors all possibilities depending on what happens with the first four picks.

Having added one big man already won't change the Kings thinking heading into the draft.

``I don't think it will have an impact at all on our thinking down where we are,'' president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. ``We're pretty comfortable with six or seven players we would have taken either before the trade or after the trade.''

Petrie is mapping out various scenarios based on which four players are off the board when it's his time to make a pick. It's widely assumed John Wall and Evan Turner will be the top two picks to Washington and Philadelphia.

But after that things could get interesting, leaving Petrie unsure of which direction he will ultimately go.

``We feel pretty good that we're going to get a pretty good player when we pick at five, whoever that ends up being,'' he said. ``We just need to continue to add more good basketball players and hopefully better than good basketball players.''

Petrie has had drafting success throughout his tenure in Sacramento, whether it was Peja Stojakovic at 14 in 1996, Kevin Martin at 26 in 2004 or Gerald Wallace at 25 in 2001. But his best draft might have been last year, when he selected eventual Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans fourth overall and Omri Casspi with the 23rd pick.

Evans became the fourth rookie ever to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James in an exclusive club. Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the NBA, was a valuable contributor off the bench as a rookie, averaging 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Kings are hoping to get another key cog this year as they try to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

``We're going to get a good player,'' coach Paul Westphal said. ``There are at least five good players in the draft and there are certainly more than that. Everybody has their pros and cons. You can't really project accurately if any of these players will reach their ceilings. Some of them will and we hope we pick one that will maximize their potential.''

The Kings have a pretty good idea of what they have in Dalembert, acquired in a deal that sent 2007 first-round pick Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni to Philadelphia.

Dalembert was a solid defensive presence in eight seasons with the 76ers. He has averaged 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for his career. His best year came in 2007-08 when he averaged a double-double - 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds - and 2.3 blocks.

``Just look at the teams that have success in this league,'' Westphal said. ``One of the common denominators is most of them can really guard the basket and take care of the defensive glass. That's what he has shown to be able do and I'm sure will continue to do for us.''

His 151 blocked shots last season nearly doubles Hawes' team-leading total of 83. The Kings haven't had a player block 100 shots in a season - a mark Dalembert has topped his last seven seasons - since Keon Clark and Vlade Divac hit that mark seven years ago.

``I take pride in my defense,'' Dalembert said. ``It's something that I acquired playing soccer. I'm always defensive-minded.''

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