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The Sacramento Kings – and more importantly – Bonzi Wells – may have thrown away any real chance they had of actually improving this season, when Wells foolishly turned down the Kings’ 5-year, $38 million offer in pursuit of a more lucrative deal elsewhere.

Wells, who went absolutely bonkers in last season’s playoffs, is an undeniably gifted athlete that raised his level of play in the postseason to heights that had never been reached up until that point. However, Wells is gone – and apparently won’t be back. So what lies in store for the Kings in 2006-07? Let’s look into my crystal ball and see. Here is my annual preview on the Sacramento Kings:

Point Guard

Simple and plain - Mike Bibby is one of the best point guards in the game. He can score, pass and play pretty good defense. If I have one concern, it’s his low shooting percentage. Bibby is only a 43 percent shooter, but I guess it’s okay if you jack up enough shots. If you don’t believe me, just ask Allen Iverson.

The Kings have youngsters, Jason Hart and Ronnie Price behind Bibby, but at this point, I’m not sure if either is ready to handle the backup role for any extended period of time, meaning Bibby will play a lot of minutes this season.

Shooting Guard

This is a major problem for the Kings, whether they know it or not. Former 76er, John Salmons, is scheduled to start for the Kings although he showed close to nothing (except solid defense) in Philadelphia for years. At any case, the Kings will soon find out that Salmons is a career backup. Veteran Levin Martin is a solid player and should probably be the starter here. Third stringer Francisco Garcia may turn out to be the best of this bunch and the future starter sooner rather than later.

Small Forward

The Kings were obviously instantly transformed into a defensive juggernaut with the arrival of Ron Artest. Say what you want about Artest, but I guarantee you that every player in the league, except Jermaine O’Neal, would love to play alongside Artest. Everyone in the Eastern Conference already knows what Artest brings to the table – and now the West is going to find out full well themselves.

Backing up Artest is veteran Corliss “Big Nasty” Williamson. Williamson is a gritty banger, who knows his limitations and plays within himself. Like Artest, Williamson brings big time intensity to the Kings. You don’t think he earned his nickname by being a nice guy do you?

Power Forward

The Kings should be thanking their lucky stars that the New Jersey Nets idiotically decided to rescind their deal for Shareef Abdur-Rahim before the start of last season, because of some “unknown” knee ailment that Abdur-Rahim has played with his entire career. Oh well, one team’s loss is another team’s gain – and boy did the Kings ever benefit from signing him. His numbers don’t exactly leap off the page, but he is still a genuine low post threat anytime he has the ball and I expect his numbers this season to approach the numbers he perennially posted earlier in his career. Veteran Kenny Thomas is a solid backup who hustles all the time and can score when called upon.

Center

Although some people may not know it, the Kings have one of the best centers in all of basketball in Brad Miller, who quietly does an excellent job night in and night out.

Miller can shoot, pass, defend and run the floor. Enough said?

The Kings could be in big trouble with their backups should Miller take any kind of lengthy absence. Loren Woods isn’t ready for prime time and Vitaly Potapenko is past his prime.

Prognosis:

Sacramento went 44-38 last season – and that was with Artest on board for only half the season. However, the loss of Wells is going to hurt the Kings much more than they ever anticipated. I’m thinking the Kings could equal their record from a season ago or surpass it by one to five games, maximum.

Bet on the Kings to win the Pacific Division in the BetUS.com Sportsbook!

See this section tomorrow for our continued look at every NBA team.

Eric Williams is a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and nationally syndicated freelance writer who can be heard every Wednesday at 3:15 eastern on www.BetUSradio.com. Contact Eric at eklass66@yahoo.com.