Thursday Mail Sac, starring gregsactly: "This here is a two parter:

Part 1: It has been my opinion in recent years that, upon leaving the disjointed and poorly run mess that used to be the Sacramento Kings, former Kings players in their new cities tend to play better basketball (JJ Hickson comes to mind as one example). I call this the M*loof Effect. Is there any statistical proof to this? (I realize roles change depending on the team, so advanced stats may be necessary. I would have looked this up on my own, but I am simply incapable of doing so).

Part 2: Using whatever data was found, is there a way to project Tyreke's numbers for the next season? Also, because the M*loofs (and Smart and Petrie) are out of Sacramento, many people on this board have stated this may feel similar to a trade for many players. Applying the M*loof Effect (if one does exist) to current Kings, what type of a statistical jump, if any, should our guys expect?

Pick & Droll #1: Call your rotation for the Kings if you had to make out the starting lineup and core bench players today. I'll go with Cousins, Patterson, Mbah a Moute, Thornton and Vasquez as my starters, with Thompson, Landry, Thomas, McLemore rounding out the 9 man rotation, with Salmons again getting spot minutes at the 3 and defensive 2. That leaves virtually no minutes for Hayes, Outlaw, Fredette and McCallum, injuries/fouls/suspensions notwithstanding. Fredette is really the biggest victim of circumstance here. He's not likely to pry point guard minutes away from Vasquez/Thomas, so he's going to have to beat out Thornton or McLemore out of minutes at shooting guard. That's going to be a tall task.