The Kings keep it interesting, if nothing else. The team with the second-most losses in the NBA over the past five years had an incredibly active offseason, signing a bunch of free agents, trading Sacramento's longest-tenured vet and making a hilarious push for playoff contention. The Kings have become the joke of the NBA given the front office and sideline instability, the duel between the coach and top player and the indecisive decisiveness of the guy cutting the checks. But this is also the best roster the Kings have had in 10 years.
The Kings are a sleeper or a disaster, or maybe both
In the first edition of ZILLZ & ZILLZ, Tom Ziller argues with himself about the Kings. Has their tumultuous offseason resulted in a better team?
Paul Flannery is on vacation, and this topic is tearing Tom Ziller apart. So welcome to a special edition of ZILLZ & ZILLZ, in which this poor sap argues with himself over the Kings’ fate. Spoiler alert: it ends as all conversations with myself end.
ZILLER: You can't deny the talent Sacramento added between Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli. Despite all the drama, the roster is much better.
ZILLER: But is it really? Rondo got sent home in the playoffs last season. He shot 39 percent on free throws last season. That's Andre Drummond territory. Except Andre Drummond can do basketball things like, uh, score points. Rondo didn't average so much as nine points per game last season. He can't shoot. He won't drive because he doesn't want to shoot free throws. He hasn't played good defense in three years. He's actually a downgrade from Ray McCallum, which is kind of impressive.
ZILLER: YOU KEEP RAY MCCALLUM OUT OF THIS. RAY MCCALLUM IS A SAINT.
ZILLER: What exactly is Rondo going to do to help the Kings win basketball games?
ZILLER: He has some of the best court vision in the NBA, and there is no playmaker like him anywhere near the Kings roster. In fact, DeMarcus Cousins has never played with a pass-first, creative point guard. His lead guards have been Tyreke Evans, Isaiah Thomas, Greivis Vasquez, Jimmer Fredette (oh man), Darren Collison and McCallum, plus some Andre Miller. Rondo is the best passer Boogie has or will likely ever play with. That makes life easier for Cousins.
ZILLER: Okay, but Rondo is such a poor shooter that defenses will have an easier time double- and even triple-teaming Cousins, who is prone to bad decisions in traffic. This is a shooters’ era of pro basketball, and the Kings just gave almost $10 million to the worst shooting point guard this side of Minneapolis. No amount of trick passes will stop defenses from completely sagging off of Rondo and making life more difficult for Cousins.
ZILLER: You’re ignoring the fact that Cousins’ gravity could have a positive impact on Rondo. Boston had no offensive weapons good enough to clear space for Rondo, and Dallas’ offense was perimeter-driven. With Boogie in the low post, Rondo will be freer to improvise on the perimeter and get open shots for the entire team. He’s the best jazz artist in the league right now, and he has a bangin’ rhythm section in Boogie.
ZILLER: Shoals is going to stab you.
ZILLER: Yeah. Strike that from the record.
ZILLER: The problem is that even if Rondo can get his teammates open shots, who the Hades is going to hit them? Rudy Gay? Ben McLemore? You sense the problem here. Belinelli is a good shooter, but he likely thrived due to the Spurs' epic ball movement system. The Kings haven't exactly been known for the beauty of their offense. Darren Collison can shoot, but playing he and Rondo together is suicide. I don't see how Rondo can actually benefit any King.
ZILLER: Rondo-Collison is tough unless Rondo rediscovers his defensive toughness. (It is another contract year, for what it's worth.) But toss Rondo out with Belinelli, Omri Casspi, Gay at the four and Cousins and there's some space and shooting on the floor. Plus McLemore is just 22, averaged 13 points per 36 minutes and shot a shade under 36 percent from three last season. He's one step up from being a legitimate NBA starter and two steps from being a really good one.
ZILLER: At age 22 Klay Thompson was shooting 40 percent on threes and scoring 17 points per 36.
ZILLER: F--k Klay Thompson.
ZILLER: Koufos looks like a good signing ... until you realize he's backing up a center who will play at least 35 minutes per game unless he doesn't get kicked out. Playing Koufos and Cousins together is extremely un-George Karl (so it won't happen) and besides, that NBA is dead. So even a good signing on paper looks like trash in practice. Koufos is going to play like 15 minutes a game.
ZILLER: The Grizzlies have made it work okay with two true bigs, and Cousins has become such an improved defender that the Kings should have lots of flexibility there if those two do start together. They'll need to adjust against small teams, but they'll also savage small teams in the paint on the other end. Plus, Willie Cauley-Stein is going to be a good defender from Day 1, and he can chase anyone all over the floor. Everyone's also discounting the fact that Karl has decades of experience winning with all sorts of rosters.
ZILLER: And he has decades of feuding with stars. Like, say, DeMarcus Cousins!
ZILLER: Didn’t you see? Everything is fine!
ZILLER: BRB, looking for the crying-laughing emoji on my keyboard ...
ZILLER: Hey, I understand the skepticism that Boogie and Karl will make it work --
ZILLER: I would be worried if you didn’t.
ZILLER: -- but here’s why I’m optimistic. First, Boogie just wants to win. We know this. His problems with everyone stem from the losing. If Karl can get this roster some early wins, that solves a big part of the attitude problem. Second, Karl just wants to win! He wants that all-time wins record, and he’s smart enough to know that his best chance to grab it is to work with Cousins and get wins now. Third, Vlade Divac is a peace broker of the highest order. He’s fully in charge, he’s said the right things and he’s given both Boogie and Karl what they so badly want: more talent on the roster. Wins are the best perfume.
ZILLER: The first rule about DeMarcus Cousins is that he holds grudges. Ask any reporter covering the Kings. He forgets no slight, and Karl gave him plenty to be mad about in the offseason. Ask Paul Westphal whether Boogie is the forgiving type. This is going to blow up by Thanksgiving. Just another crisis that the completely rational, patient Vivek Ranadive will navigate with grace and ease, no doubt.
ZILLER: Hey ...
ZILLER: Here’s my position on NBA ownership: a good franchisee cannot make a team a champion -- that takes immense luck, smart management and really smart hiring. But a bad franchisee can absolutely ruin a team’s chances to win anything. Exhibits A, B and C are James “J.D” “Jimmy” Dolan.
ZILLER: That’s fair. But tell me this. Do we know Vivek is a bad franchisee?
ZILLER: [dies laughing]
ZILLER: He’s had a tough run to open his tenure, sure. The coaching carousel has been embarrassing. The front office turnover and the circumstances of Divac’s hiring were not optimal. The leaks of the 4-on-5 stuff, the crowdsourced draft room ... that stuff makes for really easy jokes. But Ranadive is one of the few members of the NBA ownership cabal who is unequivocally smart. He built a $4 billion business after basically inventing the tech that digitized Wall Street in the ‘80s. In a league of venture sharks, heirs and dot-com luckhounds, he’s a legitimate business powerhouse. The NBA learning curve is steep, but I’m not betting against him.
ZILLER: He ... wanted the Kings ... to play ... 4 ... on ... 5 ...
ZILLER: Go to Hell.
ZILLER: I’m taking you with me.
