John Salmons returns to team

MINNEAPOLIS – Kings swingman John Salmons returned to the Kings on Thursday, more than two weeks after leaving the team because his wife, Taniesha, gave birth to the couple's third child.

What Salmons thought would be a brief return to Philadelphia ended up being much longer because, as Salmons put it, Caleb Josiah Salmons was "stubborn."
"I thought I would only be there for a couple days," Salmons said after practice at Target Center. "I went home early to induce, and (the baby) ended up being five days overdue.

"So, there's going to be some rust, getting back in game shape. I only played in one preseason game."

Salmons said mother and son are doing fine, which is why he is back with the team.

"There was a lot of back-and-forth to the hospital, a lot of waiting around," Salmons said. "When he actually came out, I had left to go work out, and my wife called me, and I almost missed it."

Kings coach Keith Smart said Salmons will not play tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Salmons last played in a game in the Oct. 10 preseason opener.

Smart said Salmons would spend a lot of time with strength and conditioning coach Daniel Shapiro before playing in a game.

"He's been gone for too long," Smart said. "We're going to make sure he gets the right, proper practice under his belt, doing some extra work. I don't see him getting on the floor in the next couple of games."

Meeting at the point – Smart said he met with his three point guards – Isaiah Thomas, Aaron Brooks and Jimmer Fredette – about how to better run the offense.
Smart wants the guards to be more "demonstrative."

"A lot of the problems we had (Wednesday resulted from) how they were on the floor and not getting guys in the right spots," Smart said.

Smart said the Kings' spacing was "atrocious" against the Chicago Bulls. Even though the Kings cut a 14-point deficit to three in the fourth quarter, Brooks said the offense was a concern.

"We're still a little stagnant," Brooks said. "I think out of timeouts we did a good job of executing, but there was still a lot of standing around during the fourth quarter."


(sacbee.com)