It's been a busy summer for NBA teams and out West the landscape has changed with the Lakers having sent Shaquille O'Neal to Miami. It would appear that Minnesota and San Antonio are now the two top teams in the conference, but don't rule out Sacramento because if the Kings embrace more of a defensive approach, they could exceed expectations.

Not a foreign concept
It's pretty much accepted that the Kings are a running, high flying offensive team that can put up a lot of points.

Sacramento has not been considered a solid defensive team and understandably so since its defensive numbers have been nothing to shout about. 

But it wasn't too long ago that the Kings were right up there statistically as one of the top defensive teams in the league.

For the 2000-01 season they brought in both Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie, two defensive-minded players that finally gave Sacramento some kind of defensive presence on the perimeter.

Jackson and Christie remain Kings and the team's roster has the personnel needed to go back to being more of a solid, sound, statistically defensive-orientated team.

By that I mean a club that can hold opponents to around 41 percent shooting from the field, defend the three-point line, do a good job on the defensive boards and not give up easy baskets.

If Sacramento returned to being more of a defensive-minded team instead of relying so much on its open-floor play, halfcourt ball movement and jump shooting, I think the Kings could turn a lot of heads in the coming season.

Centering in on defense
To replace veteran Vlade Divac, who signed with the Lakers, the Kings landed free-agent center Greg Ostertag, who left the Jazz after nine seasons in Utah.

The Ostertag signing is a good move because it gives the Kings a defensive presence inside, which is something they really haven't had on their front line.

With his size, power forward Chris Webber gets defensive rebounds even though he does not play good overall defense. 

The Kings are not going to rely on the 7-foot-2 Ostertag to be an offensive force, so by adding him they could very well be looking to take advantage of his size, presence in the lane and  shot-blocking ability.

With Divac's departure, the Kings will lose something as far as their ball movement and the way they like to play their halfcourt offense, but I think Ostertag is a key if they are going to make the move to become more of a defensive-orientated team.

Avoiding injury
The Kings need to keep their key players on the court and off the injured list.

The biggest wild card with this concern is Webber.

Given his past injury woes, whether or not he can give the Kings a full, reasonably healthy season is a huge question.

If he can, Sacramento can prove very, very tough.

A healthy Jackson would make a big difference as well.

I think that's another real key to Sacramento's season.

The Kings were hurt tremendously last year when Jackson could play in only 50 games, none of those in the playoffs.

They missed the spark he gave them off the bench, along with his energy and defense.

Jackson could start on many NBA teams and his value to the Kings can't be overstated.

A couple of holes to fill
I think the Kings need one more solid perimeter player and they are looking to replace Anthony Peeler, a free agent who signed with the Wizards.

Coming off the bench for Sacramento last season, Peeler led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, hitting on 48.2 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

With Peeler's departure, it will be interesting to see whether the Kings pursue unrestricted free agent Jon Barry, who played in Sacramento for three seasons, 1998-99 through 2000-01.

Barry is an energy guy who usually plays particularly well in the fourth quarter and he was very popular with Kings' fans.

The veteran guard keeps the ball moving and can knock down three-pointers.

Barry is by no means known for his defense, but I think he'd be a solid addition for any team that is expected to go beyond the first round of the playoffs.

With Gerald Wallace having been selected by Charlotte in the expansion draft, the Kings could use a backup to Peja Stojakovic at small forward.

Toni Kukoc, who can play both small forward and power forward, is an unrestricted free agent who could help a number of teams including the Kings, but the Bucks are still trying to retain his services.

A time for change
The Kings have the personnel to make an impact on defense.

Both Jackson and Christie can tie up a lot of guys they match up with, and if the rest of the team can come around and support an invigorated defensive effort, good things will follow.

If the Kings are to buy into a change in philosophy that emphasizes defense, it means they'll have to do things like get back on defense on a consistent basis.

They can't be thinking so much about scoring 105 or so points and figuring opponents can't keep up with them.

Their approach should be to dictate tempo with their defense and if they can do that, they can win some lower scoring games.

The Kings' collective mindset for the last couple of years has not been defensive orientated, but it might be a good time for them to go in that direction, especially with the new-look in the Western Conference.

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