After four preseason games, Thomas is averaging 11.2 points, 5.2 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 25 minutes of action. Vasquez, who is coming off ankle surgery, has only played in two games for limited minutes (11 minutes and 15 minutes) and is averaging 6 points, 1.5 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal.

Here's Malone on his two point guards.

"You can see [Vasquez's] passion, his leadership, his playmaking ability, and then you have a guy like Isaiah who can also make plays, but is more of a natural scorer," Malone said. "And they compliment each other because one guy is a tall – how can I say it politely – not the quickest guy in the world. And then you have a guy like Isaiah who comes in, whose a water bug, who can get to wherever he wants to go on the floor and can put a lot of pressure on the defense."

"It's about winning. Whether he's on the court or I'm on the court, it's about the team. It's not about me starting or him starting," Vasquez told Sactown Royalty. "I think eventually, coach is going to let us play together. I have big hope because he can really score and we can both create."

One thing about Vasquez is he is a "true point guard," something the Kings haven't really had since Beno Udrih. Thomas, on the other hand, certainly deserves starting minutes based on his performance last season and the fact that he has played well so far in the preseason.

"I feel like we've got a great advantage when you have a big guy that can dominate the post, so we've got to play inside-out," Vasquez told reporters Thursday. "I've just got to get my guys in the right spots to throw him the ball, and have the right spacing – that's very important for us."

Both players agree that the competition between the two of them is an overall positive for the team.

"It's going to be a year-long battle, but it's a good battle. At the end of the day, we know we're teammates and we know we're trying to make each other better," Thomas said.

The option of having two players with talent and natural leadership skills is a luxury for Malone and it will be interesting to see how he utilizes both Thomas and Vasquez throughout the season. Also, we'll have to keep a close eye on how rookie Ray McCallum is able to development being the third man in the rotation at the one.

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