Wednesday, February 18, 2009: SACRAMENTO, CA ---- The Sacramento Kings today acquired the services of Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni (No-SEE-oni), Cedric Simmons and Ike Diogu (DEE-ah-goo) in a three-team trade that sent Brad Miller and John Salmons to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Ruffin to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.
“In Gooden and Nocioni, we’ve acquired two very skilled and proven frontcourt players as well as two young forwards in Simmons and Diogu,” explained Petrie. “Additionally, this trade potentially accelerates our salary cap flexibility going forward. We want to thank Brad, John and Quincy for their dedication and efforts and wish them the best.”
Originally selected with the fourth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, Gooden, a 6-10, 250-pound forward-center, is currently in his seventh NBA season out of Kansas.
He averaged 13.1 points (.457 FGs, .866 FTs), 8.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in 31 contests (started 27) for the Bulls this season. Gooden has amassed career averages of 12.1 points (.470 FGs, .221 3FGs, .730 FTs), 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game through 490 contests, of which he has started in 395 with Memphis, Orlando, Cleveland and Chicago.
He returns to Northern California where he played high school basketball at El Cerrito High in Oakland. He participated in the NBA Playoffs on three separate occasions (once with Orlando and twice with Cleveland), averaging 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game through 40 outings. Gooden was a key member of Cleveland’s 2007 NBA Finals team.
Nocioni, a 6-7, 225-pound forward who is currently in his fifth season in the NBA, all with Chicago, averaged 10.4 points (.414 FGs, .378 3FGs, .806 FTs), 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game through 53 contests (two starts) for the Bulls. Signed as a free agent in 2004, Nocioni had appeared in 298 games (139 starts) for Chicago entering the 2008-09 campaign, averaging 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 25.4 minutes. He has also been a member of the Argentinean Men’s Senior National Team since 1999, helping his country take home the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Simmons, a 6-9, 235-pound forward, is in his third NBA season out of North Carolina State. He averaged 2.5 points (.524 FGs, .429 FTs) and 1.1 rebounds through 11 contests for the Bulls this season. Originally selected in the first round (15th overall pick) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, Simmons, who spent the 2007-08 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has career averages of 2.4 points (.419 FGs, .386 FTs) and 2.0 rebounds per game through 68 outings.
Diogu, a 6-9, 250-pound forward in his fourth NBA season, averaged 1.4 points (.316 FGs, .750 FTs) and 0.9 rebounds per game in 19 contests for Portland. Originally drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Diogu has posted career averages of 5.9 points (.494 FGs, .808 FTs) and 3.0 rebounds per game in 177 career contest (17 starts).
Miller, who is currently in 11th NBA season and fifth with the Kings, is averaging 11.9 points (.474 FGs, .465 3FGs, .801 FTs), 8.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 31.5 minutes per game over 43 contests. After enjoying a solid four-year collegiate career at Purdue, Miller was not drafted in the 1998 NBA Draft. He signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets in the middle of the 1998-99 season. Miller, a 7-0, 261-pound center, has amassed career averages of 12.1 points (.488 FGs, .332 3FGs, .799 FTs), 7.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game through 684 outings, of which he started in 555 with Charlotte, Chicago, Indiana and Sacramento. A two-time NBA All-Star, Miller represented the Pacers and Kings, respectively, in the 2003 and 2004 NBA All-Star Games.
Salmons, who is currently in his seventh NBA season and third with the Kings, is averaging 18.3 points (.472 FGs, .418 3FGs, .823 FTs), 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.09 steals and 37.4 minutes per game through 53 outings (most productive of his career). Originally selected in the first round (26th pick overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs (traded to Philadelphia on Draft Night) out of the University of Miami where he enjoyed a four-year career. Salmons, a 6-6, 207-pound swingman, has posted career averages of 8.3 points (.446 FGs, .354 3FGs, .795 FTs), 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game over 494 contests, of which he started in 170 with the 76ers and Kings.