The offseason is nowhere near complete, but a major position battle is heating up in Sacramento. Conventional wisdom suggests that new addition Greivis Vasquez and his incredible 45-percent passing rate will get the nod as the Kings’ starting point guard. But if there is one thing we’ve learned over the last two seasons, it is to never count out the 5-foot-9-inch Isaiah Thomas.
The last player taken in the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas has fought through Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette and Aaron Brooks to win the starting spot in the past. But this time around, he is up against a different beast in Vasquez.
Pete D’Alessandro and Michael Malone are looking to change the chemistry on the team by infusing a pass-first point guard onto the court to open up the floor for DeMarcus Cousins. If Thomas wants to once again come out victorious, he will have to change his game to compete.
At 6-foot-6-inches, Vasquez is a big guard to pair in the backcourt with Marcus Thornton. He is just coming into his own as a scorer and his shooting touch has improved all three years in the league. While he isn’t known as a great defender, his passing prowess often leads to open baskets, which leads to fewer transition opportunities for his opponents. He still has plenty of room to grow on both ends of the floor.
Thomas is the little engine that could. He is faced with the difficult task of proving once again that he is a starter in the NBA and not a variation of his good friend Nate Robinson. Regardless of size, Thomas is solid defender and he was one of the leaders of this team last season. But it was a 28-win team and the entire franchise has undergone a major makeover.
The combination of Vasquez and Thomas is a solid one-two punch. However, the question is who is one and who is two? With the season still a few months away, there is a lot of time to figure this out, but who is your starting point guard if you had to name him today?
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