Recently Benched Mikki Moore Wonders if the Kings are Tanking

Mikki Moore has a lot to offer the hotblooded fan: his story is one of incredible perseverance and self-sacrifice, his body is electric with passion, and he's generally hilarious -- from the soundbite to the guttural yelps of glee to the fantastic "Double M" celebration after a big play. (For months, local fans thought the hand signal to be a gang sign.)

But Mikki Moore is not an incredible basketball player at the NBA level. He runs well in transition, has a sharp 18-foot set shot and knows how to take a charge. And that's about it. Consistently, he ranks among the worst power forwards/centers in rebound rate. Moore had 46 blocks in 2,400 minutes last season. Spencer Hawes has nearly that many this season in a quarter of the minutes. Moore also has turnover problems (a lobster would catch the ball more frequently near the rim) and scores only on a rare putback or when he is ridiculously open at the elbow or baseline. Basically, he's Eddy Curry without the post presence or the bowl full of jelly.

Sacramento struggled mightily with Moore at the starting power forward position. Hawes has played amazing basketball, given expectations. Reggie Theus fears for his job, and his bosses have made youth development a priority. Moore is 33 years old. Hawes is 20. Theus benched Moore last week.
In today's Sacramento Bee, Moore is quoted as follows:

"You don't know what direction (the organization is) going in. They might be doing this so they can have a higher draft pick for next season. You never know.

Moore has been vastly outperformed by Hawes and rookie forward Jason Thompson this season. If anything, playing the kids more hurts Sacramento's shot at a No. 1 pick. Moore and Brad Miller might be the worst frontline Theus could put on the floor. (Yes, this had been the team's starting frontline for the past 13 months until the Hawes promotion.)

This is either Moore thinking freely with his mouth open a little too wide, or it's sour grapes. Regardless, it's unfortunate that a guy who has worked so hard to get here will so quickly disparage his team (the team that handed him $14 million guaranteed), his coach (the coach that stuck by him until the position became untenable), and his young teammates (the young teammates who hang on the words of Moore and Miller like hungry students). Mikki is going from fan favorite to public enemy in record time.