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Kings-Clippers Preview

Feb 19, 2010 - 11:16 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Sacramento (18-36) at Los Angeles (21-33), 10:30 p.m. EDT

To clear cap space for this summer, the Sacramento Kings traded one of the faces of their franchise.

With Kevin Martin gone, Tyreke Evans and newcomer Carl Landry hope to start showing prospective free agents that the Kings still have a bright future as they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Sacramento (18-36) was busy before Thursday's trade deadline, sending Martin and Hilton Armstrong to Houston and Sergio Rodriguez to New York. In return, the Kings received Larry Hughes from the Knicks, as well as Landry and Joey Dorsey from Houston.

Martin was a first-round draft pick by Sacramento in 2004 and led the team in scoring three straight years going into this season. Evans, though, got his rookie season off to an impressive start while Martin missed more than two months with a wrist injury, and the team struggled to find a way to use both when Martin returned in mid-January. Evans is averaging a team-leading 20.2 points.

"In all fairness to Kevin, I think it's really hard to live up to those kind of expectations when you've been out that long," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said.

While Petrie said clearing salary to make a run at a coveted free agent this summer was a big factor in the move, he also was excited about the addition of Landry, who is averaging a career-best 16.1 points off the bench.

"I think we really augmented and filled some holes in our frontline with the acquisition of Landry," Petrie said. "He's a very productive scorer. He's comfortable playing inside and out ... probably one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year."

It's not known if any of the newly acquired Kings players will be available to play Saturday. They join a team that has the third-worst record in the Western Conference and has dropped 20 of its last 24 games, including a 130-98 defeat to Golden State on Wednesday.

The Clippers (21-33) also were busy before the deadline, trading Marcus Camby, Al Thornton and Sebastian Telfair this week. They received Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw from Portland, and Drew Gooden from Cleveland as part of the deals.

"You are looking to be in a winning mode and to put yourself in a place to compete for playoffs and a championship," general manager Mike Dunleavy said. "When we found out that (No. 1 overall pick) Blake Griffin wasn't coming back, we knew it was going to be a tough task. ... Once that happened we went into the next mode ... and we started to look at the opportunities to clear cap space for this summer and acquire assets we also liked."

Los Angeles has lost a season-high six straight, including a 110-92 defeat to Atlanta on Wednesday. Blake started for Baron Davis, who sat out with a sore lower back. It's not certain whether Davis will play Saturday.

The Clippers have dropped 15 of 19.

This is the first meeting of the season between these Pacific Division foes. Sacramento won three of four last season, splitting two visits to Staples Center.