Sacramento Kings

2013 Record: 28-54 2014 projected finish: 14^th

          The Sacremento Kings used to be a great organization and had one of the better rosters in the league. But Mike Bibby and Chris Webber are gone and thankfully the Maloofs are as well. It’s up to Demarcus Cousins to lead them back to the playoffs. But it isn’t happening. I am a huge fan of Cousins (in hindsight the Nets probably should’ve drafted him over Favors) as this man is a beast. His attitude is an issue but I think the media has overblown it to make him look like a bad guy, which I don’t think he is. He’s no Percy Harvin. Demarcus took a big step forward averaging 22.7 points a game and grabbing 11.7 rebounds a game. Double double guys are hard to find in today’s NBA and Cousins is one of the best. Cousins was 2^nd in usage rate and 5^th in PER. Cousins posted a 101 defensive rating which was good enough for 17^th in the league. He averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals a game and led the league in charges drawn with 36. Cousins played for Team USA in the FIBA World Championships and helped Team USA win yet another gold medal. 

          Like Kobe in LA, Cousins is alone in Sacramento. Rudy Gay was actually pretty good last season. Gay averaged 20.1 ppg with the Kings and shot 48.2% from the field. Gay will never be the superstar he had the potential to be but he has become (at least the 2013 version) a pretty good player. If he goes back to the Toronto Raptor’s Rudy Gay, Sacramento is in trouble. Really the Kings biggest mistake is losing Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns. Thomas was a revelation for the Kings, averaging 20.3 points a game and posted a 20.54 PER. Thomas will be replaced by Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions. There are reasons why Collison and Sessions are always switching teams: they aren’t very good. The Kings will find this out soon and will be in the market for a point guard (Rondo?) but that is not their only hole. This team has major questions at the SG and PF position assuming Gay plays small forward. Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry make over 18 million combined in 2014. Think about that for a second.  Williams and Thompson have never reached their potential and Landry cashed out on his big year with Golden State. I don’t see any of those guys as more than expensive rotation guys. It will be interesting to see how Ray McCallum and Ben McLemore do in their second seasons but they aren’t superstars.

Question: are Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore doomed in Sacramento?

We thought the Kings were sold on Mclemore being their future two guard for the future when they drafted him with the 7^th pick in the draft in 2013 only to turn around and draft Stauskas with the 8^th pick the following year. The two are also similar in that their strongest weapon is their jump shot. McLemore has a beautiful jump shot but only shot 32% from the three-point line last year. McLemore is athletic but does not project as a scorer as much as a shooter. Stauskas can really shoot the ball and improved every year in college at the University of Michigan. I think the Kings are in an interesting position and would be wise to play McLemore and Stauskas together. A lineup of Collison-McLemore-Stauskas-Gay-Cousins looks dangerous. If only they kept Isaiah.

 

Can McLemore (left) and Stauskas (right) mesh well together?

X Factor: Rudy Gay

We saw what Rudy Gay can do when he has a point to prove. Everyone loved making fun of Gay when he was hoisting up long twos (worst shot in basketball) and shooting threes (something he isn’t very good at) but when he got to Sacramento something changed. Gay started attacking the basket and stopped taking so many bad shots. We saw this happen with Josh Smith with the Hawks. Smith shot 87 threes in 2008-09 but then shot 7 in 2009, which was unsurprisingly his best year.  It was sad to see him go back to his old ways in 2010 when he shot 154 threes and his game suffered because of it. Gay isn’t that bad of a three point shooter but his game is so much better inside the arc and around the basket. If Gay continues his success with the Kings, he could be in for another payday. If he doesn’t, he’ll probably still get a huge contract. Gay had a successful summer filling in for Paul George for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Championships. 

 

Gay (center) will look to continue his strong start to his King's career

Best Case: Cousins stops fouling so much and becomes the superstar the Kings need, Gay continues his strong start to his King career and McLemore and Stauskus play well. 

Worst Case: Cousins breaks his no tech goal and goes back to the attitude problems, Gay goes back to Toronto Raptors version of himself and McLemore and Stauskus struggle.

Bold Prediction: Kings realize Collison and Sessions stink and make a bold trade for Rajon Rondo.