Can the former Celtics point guard lead the Kings to the eighth seed?
Last Season’s Record: 29-53
Key Additions:
Rajon Rondo
Willie Cauley-Stein
Marco Belinelli
Omri Casspi
Kosta Koufos
Key Departures:
Carl Landry
Nik Stauskas
Jason Thompson
Ray McCallum
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Let’s start with a quick game:
Player A averaged 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists in 2014-15, sporting a 15.4 PER. Player B posted 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists with a 12.4 PER. Both player A and player B averaged roughly 30 minutes per game.
Which player would you rather have?
It’s really a trick question. Sorry.
As I am sure the more perceptive readers have figured out by the title of the article and the picture above, both player A and player B are Rajon Rondo. The first example lists his statistics as a member of the Boston Celtics, and the latter as the point guard of the Dallas Mavericks, both during the 2014-15 season.
In July, the Kings signed Rondo to a one-year, $9.5 million dollar contract, giving him the reigns to lead George Karl’s offense. Rondo is a ball-dominant guard but is one of the best facilitators in the NBA. With the right pieces around him, as Danny Ainge proved multiple times, Rondo can be a valuable asset for a playoff team.
Plain and simple, the Mavericks were a poor fit for Rondo. He played with another ball-dominant guard in Monta Ellis, a point forward in Chandler Parsons, and a power forward in Dirk Nowitzki that does not necessarily need a point guard to create a look for him.
Should Rondo have been better? Absolutely. His effort on both sides of the ball was severely lacking, and he never got into a rhythm in the offense. His failure in Dallas obliterated his stock in free agency, allowing the Kings to sign him to one of the better values of the summer. His success this season will directly correlate to the Kings’ final placement in the standings.
The million dollar question – or should I say $9.5 million dollar question – is whether the pieces around Rondo are set up to succeed.
DeMarcus Cousins might be the most talented center in the league. Offensively, there is not another post in the NBA that can play with the same balance of finesse and power. On the glass, he is a top-five caliber rebounder – when he wants to be. On the downside, he is a volatile player emotionally, and he can take himself out of games when the situation is not going his way. Perhaps a year older means a year wiser, and having a true floor general in Rondo should help his progress as an All-Star big man.
The other upper-tier starter in the Kings rotation is Rudy Gay, an athletic swingman that has bounced around over the past few years from Memphis to Toronto to Sacramento. Gay averaged 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 2014-15 with a 19.76 PER. He operates most efficiently as a stretch-4, though will likely see more minutes at small forward.
In Rondo, Cousins and Gay, the Kings have a very intriguing core. From there, things start to get a little bleak.
The team drafted center Willie Cauley-Stein sixth overall, and will likely ask him to play extended minutes next to Cousins inside. At Kentucky, “Trill” got a taste of playing with a true low-post presence in Karl-Anthony Towns, but his offense will be a major work in progress as a starting player in the NBA. After giving up 105 points per game last year, a healthy and in-shape Cauley-Stein would go a long ways towards righting the ship, but he is built to be a bigger producer in a few years.
The team has decent backup options in Darren Collison and Kosta Koufos, and Ben McLemore should start at shooting guard. There are some depth concerns with this team, especially if someone goes down with injury.
Aside from signing Rondo – a move that is not guaranteed to pan out – the Kings had a questionable summer. The team won a bidding war against themselves for Koufos, who will play 15 minutes a game to back up Cousins. Management made perhaps the worst trade in NBA history to clear up cap space, and wound up with Marco Belinelli and Omri Casspi.
Vivek Ranadive’s troops made moves to take a shot at the playoffs, sacrificing what could be significant future assets to get there. The last time the Kings made the playoffs was 2005-06, when the franchise went 44-38 and lost to the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The team has not eclipsed 30 wins since 2007-08.
Compared to the last nine seasons, this year’s Kings team should be viewed as an improvement, but the team’s success lies in the hands of Rajon Rondo. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay have been incredibly productive over the past few seasons, but it has not mattered in the win column.
Rondo playing at a level reminiscent of his days in Boston could push Sacramento’s record over .500. The most recent version is little better than Darren Collison. Can George Karl bring out the best?
In the end, expect the 2015-16 Kings to be better than a year ago, but defensive shortcomings and a lack of depth will bring a 10th-straight trip to the lottery. The West is just too tough.
Projected Record: 36-46
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