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By Don Drysdale

At the dawn of the new millennium, a Sacramento Kings fan would have thought he had died and gone to hoops heaven if he knew the team would win 55, 61 and 59 games the next three seasons.

From 1985, when they moved from Kansas City to California's capital, to 2000, the Kings averaged just 30 victories per season. The fans remained loyal, but couldn't help but wonder whether the Kings would ever be any good.

After all, the rise of the Kings was one of the signs of the apocalypse that millennium fear-mongers predicted, wasn't it?

Ignoring the possibility they'd help usher in the thousand-year reign of darkness, the Kings began building their talent base. Mitch Richmond and a cast of ever-changing role players were replaced by the likes of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovich, Doug Christie, Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson. The Maloof family bought the team and seemed ready and willing to spend whatever it took to win a title. You could make the case that there would have been championship parades down Capitol Mall were it not for a Robert Horry 3-pointer two years ago and a Chris Webber knee injury last season.

Now the fans are a bit spoiled. They're asking questions such as, "Is that all there is?" and "Where do they go from here?" and "How long is the window of opportunity open?"

A city that not so long ago would have celebrated a .500 record still awaits that championship parade, and the shadow of doubt is growing longer. It is clear that the Kings remain among the handful of top contenders. It's just that there are only so many golden opportunities. Could it be that their best chances for a title have passed?

At their best - which means everyone stays healthy for a change - the Kings are capable of winning a third straight Pacific Division championship and perhaps the whole enchilada. On the other hand, if the pattern of the last three seasons holds, they could become the new Utah Jazz, running off a nice string of 50-something-win finishes while never getting over the hump. At worst, they could start to backslide as the mileage begins to take its toll on Divac, Webber and Christie.

This is a critical season. The meat-grinding Western Conference grew even tougher. The Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks and Timberwolves all made major moves, and a couple of lesser teams, the Suns and Rockets, seem to be on the rise. In the East, the Nets and Pistons seemingly have improved. The Kings were clearly a top-three team on paper entering last season; it's tougher to make that argument now.

What has made the recent-vintage Kings so fearsome was depth. As author Tom Clancy is fond of saying, quantity has a quality all its own. Last year, with Sixth Man of the Year Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Keon Clark, Hedo Turkoglu and Jimmy Jackson, the Kings were at least two deep at every spot and extremely versatile. Some observers thought their sixth through 10th players could have made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. That depth came in handy, as Webber, Stojakovich, Bibby and Bobby Jackson missed a combined 75 games.

All of those reserves, except Bobby Jackson, are gone through trades and free agency. In essence, the Kings traded all that depth for all-star center/power forward Brad Miller, shooting guard Anthony Peeler, massive Tony Massenburg, unknown Darius Songaila, and Gerald Wallace, a sky-walker who didn't get much playing time in his first two seasons with Sacramento.

Would you trade the Kings' bench of last year for this year's model? That's a lively argument in Sacramento at the moment.

The Kings did a makeover for a few reasons.

One, coach Rick Adelman seldom used all the depth he had, anyhow, so consolidation made some sense. Turkoglu, in particular, was all but forgotten once Jimmy Jackson came on board. There was a fear that Wallace, like Turkoglu, was going to waste. Second, the opportunity to acquire Miller - who will replace Divac as the starting center sooner or later - was too good to pass up. Finally, no matter how the team spins it, the Maloofs simply decided to tighten the purse strings a notch. The bottom line is why Jackson wasn't resigned, why a Tyrone Hill wasn't signed in training camp. While Kings fans may understand that, they don't necessarily like it.

It's not as if the cupboard is bare. Arguably, the Kings still have the league's best top seven: all-star forwards Webber and Stojakovich; all-star center Miller; Divac, aging but crafty and the NBA's best passing big man; Bibby, who played well for Team USA in the summer after battling a foot injury last year; Christie, limited offensively but an all-league defender; and Bobby Jackson, perhaps the best combination guard in the business.

Still, so much hinges on Webber's health. For all their depth last year, the Kings couldn't get it done against Dallas in the playoffs without Webber, though they forced seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. Webber isn't expected back until December as he recovers from his knee problems.

"I'm looking forward to this year because I haven't been healthy," Webber told the Sacramento Bee recently. "I've learned how to play on the ground and now I can't wait to play back above the rim."

Both Divac and Miller will start until Webber returns; thus, the concern about depth, at least in the short term and particularly in the frontcourt. Massenburg is the only proven backup big man as the season opens, and he's spectacularly limited. The Kings hope Wallace is ready to take on significant minutes as Stojakovich's backup; he has a plethora of potential, yet there are questions about everything except his athleticism. Don't be surprised to see the Kings play small a lot until Webber gets back, with Stojakovich at power forward and Wallace or even Christie at small forward. The backcourt rotation is fine, barring injuries. Bobby Jackson, a power forward in a point guard's body, would start for many teams. Peeler, approaching 34 years of age, shot 41 percent from 3-point range last season. In certain situations the Kings are most effective with Bibby and Jackson on the floor at the same time.

If the depth proves adequate and injuries don't become problematic yet again, chemistry will be the remaining unknown.

"I'm very concerned," Webber told the Bee. "I think we have a good group of guys, and the main thing that we've lost is chemistry. I think it's good to have Brad here, so don't get that twisted. He's going to help us play very well. But we're definitely not the same team. And we as a team are going to have to realize that. ... I'm very anxious to see how we react."