Last season the Sacramento Kings were the worst team in the NBA with a 17-65 record and they are officially on a rebuilding mode that will take them some time until they can be a top team. Right now, the key word is the development of their young players. The Kings helped the Bulls last season by sending Brad Miller and John Salmons to them in a clear sign of reconstruction.

For this season, the Kings have a roster with an average age of 25 years of age. In fact, four players have 21 or fewer years of age and head coach Paul Westphal will have the challenge to help these young players to develop and reach the next level.

The remaining superstar of this roster is Kevin Martin and he won't surely be able to carry this team alone. However, Martin has been a great scorer and one of the top shooting guards in the Western Conference. He averaged plus 20 points per game in his last 3 seasons, but injuries have been a problem for him in the last 2 seasons, as he missed a total of 52 games. Apparently he is fully healthy for this season and Martin is absolutely needed for the Kings to have a good shot in winning some games, especially down the stretch. Another problem is that Martin is a one dimensional player who only knows one thing: scoring. He averaged tiny numbers of 3.6 rpg and 2.7 apg and so, we can't expect him to help the team in those departments. He also ranked 2nd in the NBA last season in free throw attempts per game with 10.3 foul shots per game, just behind Dwight Howard's 10.7. However, he got injured so many teams in attacking the rim that this season we might see him being more cautious in attacking the basket.

The Kings drafted Tyreke Evans with the 4th overall pick, when many expected them to draft Ricky Rubio. It looks like Evans will start for the Kings at the Point Guard position, but he still lacks the playmaking abilities - he averaged just 3.9 assists per game last season for the Memphis Tigers. He is offensively gifted and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the ballot for the best rookie of the season, as he will receive major minutes and the Kings expect him to develop into a solid guard in this league.

The same thing can be said about Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson. These two players will form the youngest frontcourt in the league and naturally that they will struggle against powerful frontcourts and the Western Conference is loaded with such teams. However the key word for them is development, as the Kings are counting on them to be part of their future, but in my opinion both players don't have the potential to be superstars in this league, but they may become solid players. Thompson had a rookie season with some ups and downs by averaging 11.1 points per game and 7.4 boards per contest, but sometimes his energy was inconsistent and he tended to avoid the contact. He needs to improve his physical condition and his overall play and at least he will have the proper minutes for such accomplishment. Meanwhile, Spencer Hawes had a decent season last year and showed some improvement since his rookie season. He averaged 11.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg, while shooting 46.6 % from the field, so this season will be a pivotal season for him. Without Brad Miller, Hawes will be the uncontested starter at the center position and we can expect better offensive numbers from him, but he definitely needs to breakout this year.

With 29-years old, Andres Nocioni will be the oldest starting player of the team and this says it all. Nocioni would surely be a valuable piece for a contender team and until then, he needs to be focused in playing for a poor team. His gritty hard-nosed approach can inspire his young team mates, while he will be one of the team leaders on the floor. Also he should receive more minutes than in his run with the Bulls.

The most loaded position for the Kings this season is the Point Guard position, as they have Beno Udrih and Sergio Rodriguez to compete with Evans. The Kings offered to Udrih all the opportunities of the world for him to establish as their starter point guard, but he failed last season to be consistent and reliable. Although he ended the season with 11.0 points per game, he had a poor Assist/Turnover ratio by averaging just 4.7 assists per game, while committing 2.2 turnovers per game. Not surprisingly the Kings decided to add Sergio Rodriguez to the team. Sergio will likely be the third point guard at the start of the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if he climbs in the depth chart during the season. While playing minor minutes for the Blazers last season - only 15 minutes per game - Sergio has able to dish 3.6 assists per game and his court vision will help the Kings during the season.

Their 6th man will be Francisco Garcia, but unfortunately Garcia will be out at least the first four months of the season and so, the Kings won't have a solid and deep bench. Sean May and Kenny Thomas won't surely offer much help for such young frontcourt and the Kings will struggle down the post in scoring and rebounding.

The Kings were able to win just 17 games last season and they don't have much better expectations for this season. Paul Westphal has the challenge to help the young guys to develop smoothly, while they won't have any pressure of winning. Kevin Martin is their only true great player and if he isn' able to remain healthy during the season, then the Kings won't have many chances to win games. With him, they may commit some upsets because their opponents will be relaxed while facing them, however we cannot demand much more from this team.