As a Knicks fan, it is hard to call other clubs disasters. It is the definition of a pot calling the kettle black. But while my team is hair-pullingly maddening, it pales in comparison to what is going on in Sacramento. A Western Conference powerhouse in the early 2000’s, the Kings have re-become the punching bag they were for the decades prior: a perennial lottery team with no direction and no hope wasting the prime of a top star. I would like to say there is happy days on the horizon for the Kings, but that would be a boldfaced lie. While teams like Minnesota and Charlotte have built through their futility, Sacramento has continued with their odd drafting and even odder free agent work. Their franchise, top to bottom, is a complete debacle.
Everything with this team revolves around DeMarcus Cousins, as well it should. The near 7-footer has been a poster boy for both the dysfunction and the promise of the Kings. He’s clashed with coaches, been a technical foul machine, and had numerous incidents on and off the court that left supporters and outsiders alike questioning his maturity as well as his commitment to the cause. On the other hand, he’s made two straight All-Star Games and All-NBA second teams whilst carrying a franchise on his back. Boogie has averaged a double-double in four of his six seasons, with one of those misses coming by 0.1 rebounds. His play with the US Men’s National Team has been stellar as well.
Worse yet, despite all his brilliance and baggage, the Kings are noncommittal to Cousins’ future with the team. One second they are trying to trade him, the next they are throwing a pile of money at him that Scrooge McDuck could swim in. This lack of vision with their star has carried over in to the rest of Sacramento’s team construction activities.
They’ve never bottomed out enough to get into the top three of the NBA Draft. That means they are consistently picking in the fifth to eighth pick range on draft night. When they make said pick, rarely does it seem to have any rhyme or reason to it. The Kings have halfheartedly looked for someone to replace Cousins if he was to leave, but Willie Cauley-Stein is no Boogie. Nik Stauskas, Thomas Robinson, and draft steal Isaiah Thomas were all shipped out before they got a 100% chance to gel. But the draft woes only slightly mask Sacramento’s head-scratching free agent approach.
Case in point Rudy Gay. Since trading for the small forward in 2013, he’s seemingly had one foot out the door. Every trade rumor that doesn’t involve Cousins features Gay. But that cloud of uncertainty didn’t stop them from essentially getting in a bidding war with themselves. They signed him to a contract extension through 2017-18, but have still kept him firmly on the trade block. But in typical Kings fashion, that extra dough has become the stumbling block for a potential move. Instead of having a flippable asset, the Kings’ asking price has come down for Gay. So follow along. Trade for him. Try to trade him. Sign him to a needless extension that hinders trade possibilities and lowers your potential return. Yup, sounds like it is right in Sac-Town’s wheelhouse.
Another fiasco is their point guard situation. Since Thomas’ trade to Phoenix for peanuts, the position has been in constant flux. That isn’t the place in your lineup where you can have a revolving door. Sacramento isn’t a free agent hotbed I know, but is stability too much to ask for? Reclamation project Rajon Rondo used his one year deal with the club as an audition to get out his first chance. I can only assume this year’s man seeking redemption, Ty Lawson, will do the same. Instead of just drafting a point guard and grooming him under the likes of Andre Miller in 2014-15 or Rondo last year, the Kings seem fine with bouncing around at arguably the most important position. It has hurt Ben McLemore’s development at shooting guard with split duties and no direction. The lone holdover, Darren Collison, just pled guilty to domestic violence charges.
And yet it is tough to get mad at owner Vivek Ranadive, GM Vlade Divac, or new coach Dave Joerger. All three men have pleasant personalities. They are the guys you want to root for. But the first two make the job for the third so much harder with their ineptitude. Ranadive was the loudest voice for Nik Stauskas in 2014, with that moldable point Elfrid Payton still on the board and Ben McLemore drafted a year prior at the same position. Divac traded Stauskas for essentially nothing to the 76ers not 18 months later. They turned eighth pick Marquese Chriss this year into a pu-pu platter of ill fitting parts. Nobody envies Dave Joerger entering 2016-17. Nobody.
This is a franchise in desperate need of a new voice. The fans have nearly lost their team to Seattle twice, yet have stuck by them despite the calamitous on-court product. No amount of cringe worthy ad campaigns will damage the brand any further. But until there is a massive overhaul in California’s capital, winning basketball will be elusive. So raise your glass to the Kings faithful. Better yet, fill that bad boy to the top and give it to a fan in a Mitch Richmond jersey. They are going to need that liquid happiness a lot more than you.