Written by danielcoughlin at The Lottery Mafia
The Sacramento Kings were projected as a threat for the Western Conference eighth seed before the season began, but a slow start and injury concern over DeMarcus Cousins may have tempered expectations.
There has been a lot of reason for concern in Sacramento over the past 12 months. A change in ownership and the radical ideas that were brought in preceded the firing of a head coach who seemingly got results when his best player, DeMarcus Cousins, was healthy. Then there was another coaching change, which didn’t seem to sit well with Cousins. Then there is the whole “Four on Five” philosophy espoused by the new owner. And to top it off, there was some questionable trade activity during the offseason which included sending out their first-round draft from 2014, Nik “Sauce Castillo” Stauskas, and signing free agent guard Rajon Rondo, freshly exiled from a playoff-bound Dallas Mavericks team where his supposed conflict with the coaching staff held lead an implosion that derailed what seemed like some serious early and midseason momentum.
Given all that has happened, it’s easy to suddenly just take it all in stride. The changes to the organization that from the outside look foolish find the Kings mentioned in the company as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers. But this team has something those teams do not: an All-Star caliber big in his prime and, cover your eyes Philly, a high draft pick big man who is healthy and on the court.
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