GO TO: Overview 2013-14 Recap Offseason Moves Outlook
OVERVIEW
The wave of optimism surrounding the Kings ownership switch has carried the organization through the past 18 months or so, and no doubt it still carries them in Sacramento. As the team breaks ground on its new arena in downtown Sacramento, there will be many who feel the Kings can do no wrong.
They rescued the team from leaving for Seattle, and perhaps they are right -- perhaps they did the biggest service to Sacramento fans by keeping the team local, and that gives the new ownership a permanent grace period.
But once basketball decision-making enters the equation, a very different picture can be painted about Sacramento. They've made many of the classic missteps in team construction and roster-building (often ignoring chemistry and need in favor of individual offensive potency), and as a result, the Kings are a team long on talent but short on production, a team watching a hypercompetitive Western Conference whiz past them on the freeway of contention.
2013-14 RECAP
Sacramento started the season by giving temperamental big man DeMarcus Cousins a four-year, max extension with no strings attached. There's no question Cousins is one of the most talented bigs in the league, but the pattern of immaturity and enablement in the past should have given them pause before they committed the maximum amount of money to him and essentially endorsed everything he'd done to that point (even if that wasn't their intention).
Following the acquisition of Greivis Vasquez (from the Tyreke Evans sign-and-trade) and Luc Mbah a Moute, the Kings appeared to recognize the need for more passing, defense and pure shooting/spacing in their lineup, but the season was barely a month old before they moved Mbah a Moute to Minnesota for Derrick Williams, an explosive athletic talent with better name-recognition as the former No. 2 overall pick but a worse fit as an inefficient, shoot-first tweener on a team not hurting for guys who want to score. A week later, they shipped Vasquez in a package for underachieving wing Rudy Gay, another player whose default state is to seek shots and who had his problems with efficiency. Although his individual production improved after he got to Sacramento, the team did not improve noticeably and got slightly better (but not good) on offense while getting worse on defense.
The Kings never seemed to consistently execute team defensive principles, with frequent breakdowns in the "string" resulting in the eighth worst defensive rating in the league. Offensively, they were below average, and the offense often stagnated after players broke plays. These shortcomings weren't a reflection of the coaching staff principles, as head coach Mike Malone has a reputation for being extremely well-prepared; rather, it's a reflection of a roster that didn't have players with the discipline to execute the playbook. The season ended much as it lived, with nine losses in the last 12 games, and it would take a serious optimism to look at the Kings' season and surmise they made steps toward being a playoff team.
OFFSEASON MOVES
Sacramento drafted No. 8 overall and took combo guard Nik Stauskas, who at the very least addresses some of the spacing concerns and can potentially act as a secondary playmaker. Another positive development was the selection of Gay and Cousins to Team USA's FIBA World Cup roster. Both players performed well in both the training stages and during competition. The hope is they (particularly Cousins) will use that experience to change habits and approach to the game -- and help the team in the process.
On the other hand, the Kings continued their trend of enormous missteps by replacing Isaiah Thomas with Darren Collison. Although he came cheaper (three years, $15 million as opposed to Thomas' four years, $27 million), he's an inferior player in almost every aspect. If they were going to downgrade from Thomas (one of the most underappreciated talents in the league), it should have been for a guard with a pass-first disposition, not another shot-hungry player whose shot selection has rubbed teammates and coaches the wrong way at several stops around the league. Probably recognizing this, Sacramento added journeyman point guard Ramon Sessions for the biannual exception; he's a solid, if unimaginative, option at backup point guard.
2014-15 OUTLOOK
It will be another cellar-dwelling season for the Kings, according to ESPN Forecast, which has their expected win total at 28 games, tied with the Utah Jazz for second worst. Given the upgrades to almost every team that finished ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, it's no surprise Forecast is not sold on the Kings finishing higher; their offense is projected to post 105 points per 100 possessions, which would place them in the bottom five in the league.
Strangely, SCHOENE projects the defense to allow 108.4 points per 100 possessions, which would place them middle of the pack, though still below average. Looking at the roster composition, it would take a massive improvement in communication and attention to detail among several notoriously mediocre defenders to achieve that benchmark.
The Kings have their work cut out for them. "Playoffs" might be the lip service goal for the season, but in reality, the aim should be to get the roster to develop winning habits and attitudes, and that starts with accountability for execution. If they continue to make deals without regard to team needs, they'll only further prolong their stay at the lottery dais.