The Kings are highly unlikely to escape the lottery this season.
Last year the Kings were every bit as bad as we’ve gotten used to them being over the last near-decade, and that doesn’t stand to change very much in 2014-15.
Instead of re-signing Isaiah Thomas for a few million per year more than they wanted to, they brought in Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions for about the same total price—effectively shocking even those of us who’ve grown accustomed to the Kings making rash decisions over the years. They also passed on Noah Vonleh, who seemed like the obvious pick at no. 8, in favor of another shooting guard in Nik Stauskas despite drafting Ben McLemore the summer before.
Apart from hearing Sacramento’s name in a Rajon Rondo or Josh Smith rumor, we don’t really hear very much about the Kings these days—but they do possess one of the best young big men in basketball in DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins signed a five-year, $65 million max extension back in 2013, and by the time it’s up in 2017-18 he’ll be an amazing bargain under the sure-to-be inflated cap.
Unless the Kings can swing a deal for Rondo or Smith there should be no talk of the playoffs in Sacramento this season, and they’d be wise to develop Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore instead of hopelessly trying to compete by playing veterans Collison and Sessions heavy minutes in the backcourt together.
Barring unforeseen massive injuries, the Kings are all but assured a bottom-four finish in the Western Conference (along with Minnesota, Utah, and the Los Angeles Lakers), but if they’re somehow able to convince the C’s to part with Rajon Rondo (probably closer to the trade deadline in order to juice up that first-round pick they’ll undoubtedly be receiving in return) they’d immediately have one of the most exciting inside-out duos in “the Magician” and “Boogie Man.”
A trade for Rondo could look something like this:
SAC gets: Rajon Rondo ($12.9 million)
BOS gets: Sacramento’s 2015 first-round pick, Ben McLeMore ($3 million) and the expriing contracts of Derrick Williams ($6.3 million) and Reggie Evans ($1.8 million)
This would be ideal for the Kings, who could afford to throw a max extension at Rondo. This would also allow Sacramento to keep their best power forward in Jason Thompson. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether the Celtics truly believe they can build a winner during the remaining window of Rondo’s prime. If the Kings have a bad enough record come trade deadline and the Celtics are over-performing but still unsure if they really want to pay Rondo max money, they may opt to add another lottery pick with which to build (while simultaneously improving their own lottery odds via losing post-trade and tank hard post-All-Star break. This seems especially realistic given that they possess the luxury tax-paying Nets’ first-round picks in 2016 and 2018, with the right to swap first-rounders in 2017. This line of thinking would certainly fit the Celtics’ current model for their rebuild.
A Boogie-Rondo duo would enhance the Kings chances of re-signing Gay at a reasonable rate next summer, and would allow Sac-town to open the 2015-16 season with realistic hope of competing for a playoff spot for the first time in what feels like forever.
The NBA is a weird and magical league where everything can change at the drop of a hat. However, as things stand, in a conference that has 11 quality playoff candidates (Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Warriors, Blazers, Rockets, Pelicans, Suns, Nuggets), wins will be extremely hard to come by for the Kings; and truth be told I don’t see them surpassing 25 wins with the current roster. If they do without a huge blockbuster trade occurring Kings fans can tweet me with Kanye GIFS.
Though it will be tough to watch at times in the early going, rest assured D.C. will give the fans of Sacramento something to cheer for, and he should be a shoe-in for his first All-Star appearance if he’s able to stay healthy—even in the loaded West.
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