Sacramento Kings Preview

Basketball Intelligence Previews the Kings’ 2014-15 season

Team Name: Sacramento Kings

Last Year’s record 28-54

Key losses: Isaiah Thomas. Quincy Acy, Travis Outlaw, Aaron Gray

Key additions: Darren Collison, Ramon Sessions, Nik Stauskas, Omri Casspi, Ryan Hollins,

Eric Moreland, Dean Oliver (Analytics)

1. What Significant Moves Were Made during the Off-season:

Darren Collison replaces Isaiah Thomas at point guard.  Collison plays at a faster pace but otherwise is not the offensive contributor that Thomas was.  Ramon Sessions is one of the best back-up point guards in the Association.  First-round pick Nik Stauskas is potentially one of  the NBA’s top rookies. Known mostly for his outstanding marksmanship and range in college, he will help address the Kings’ 3-point shooting and floor spacing deficiencies. He is also an excellent ball handler.  Sessions, Stauskas, Casspi, Hollins and Moreland represent a bench upgrade. Bringing in Dean Oliver to head analytics and be involved in personnel decisions is a major plus.

2. What are the Team’s Biggest Strengths:

Frontcourt scoring ( DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay). Offensively, Cousins is one of the very best big men in the league.  The Kings are optimistic that his FIBA World Cup experience will result in maturation, a better attitude and improved all-around play. His talent has never been questioned.

Versatility: Coach Malone can mix and match due to the mulit-positional abilities of several of the Kings’ key players.

Improved Bench Play:  The Kings significantly upgraded their bench adding Sessions, Stauskas, Casspi, Hollins and Moreland.  If Stauskas starts, then Ben McLemore moves from starter to sub.  Having Ray McCallum, who played well last season as a rookie,  as the third point guard is a luxury, but will it stunt his growth by over-limiting his playing time?

Analytics: The addition of Dean Oliver to head this aspect is a coup for the Kings.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?:

Defense: The Kings have been a poor defensive team for many years.  There is a lot of blame to go around.  For example, Cousins’ contributions have mostly come on offense.  He has often appeared not to even try on defense.  If all the praise he has received for his play with Team USA is indicative of some maturation, perhaps we will see a much greater effort from him defensively.  He has the tools to be much better than he has shown in past seasons.  The Kings are also counting on new-acquisition Darren Collison to supply more ball pressure than Isaiah Thomas, which could help. In addition to his exemplary rebounding, Reggie Evans is a high-energy defender. His minutes are generally limited though, since, when he is in the game, the Kings’ offense almost plays four-on-five. Acquisition Ryan Hollins can supply rim protection but he is also  limited offensively.

Lack of Ball Movement: Last season, the Kings were horrible in this regard ( last season they were in the bottom five in the league in ball movement  despite finishing in the top five in player movement.) The hope is that a 2nd year under Coach Malone and the roster changes will bring improvement.

4. What are the Goals for the Team?:

While most of the moves the Kings have made are upgrades, they still play in the extremely difficult Western Conference so a playoff spot remains unlikely.  35 wins is not an unreasonable goal.

5. Have the Kings Successfully Moved Past the Stench of the Maloofs?

First, let’s recognize just how horrid the wannabe playboy brothers’ ownership was.  How best to describe them:  The Hollies would say “King Midsases in Reverse”: they managed to turn an (inherited) successful beer franchise, a Las Vegas Casino and and NBA team into crap; Ann Richards would say: “They were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.”.  And if someone asks if they are “fools or knaves”, the best answer is “both”.

They managed to turn the maniacal local Kings’ fan base entirely against them before being run out of town.

The new Kings’ ownership group, headed by Vivek Ranadive, is now in its second season and has made significant progress in turning things around quickly. Ranadive is a forward thinker and that manifests itself in many ways that should benefit the Kings’ future.  It also helps that the ownership has deep pockets, so the Kings have said goodbye to the skinflint ways of the past. Work on a new arena to replace the embarrassing current structure is progressing. GM Pete D’Alessandro and Head Coach Mike Malone are well-respected around the Association. On the whole, the local fans are so glad to be rid of the goofball family that excitement for the team has returned to a significant degree, reflected in improved season ticket sales. Off-season moves look promising. (The one controversial change was replacing Isaiah Thomas with Darren Collison.  Time will tell if the expected resulting pace change will pay off.)