



Another NBA season is almost in the books & after high hopes for the 2014-15 version of the Kings, we find ourselves in a very familiar, very depressing position. The team has spent the year in a state of upheaval thanks to discord in the front office, injuries, & questionable personnel decisions. We aren't going to do the autopsy on the 2014-15 Kings here. Instead, we are going to look at each player & where he fits, if at all, on next year'team.

Boogie is the only untouchable. End of story. Tell Danny Ainge in Boston to save his breath and his hoard of draft picks.

Now, Rudy Gay is a different story. If someone wanted to make a deal for Gay & his soon-to-be-very-reasonable contract, they should do it. Gay is the squarest peg for Karl's offense, & there will be teams who want to make a move for a scorer who won't be shopping for the big free agents. Phoenix comes to mind, as does Orlando. Both teams have plenty of assets which might interest Sacramento.

If someone wanted to make a deal for Ben McLemore that netted us the shot-blocking PF we desperately need, I'd do that too. Shooting guards are not hard to find & there's a free agent target I would love for Sacramento to target who just so happens to play Ben's position. *looking up Wes Mathews agent... sshh! It's ringing*

I believe Darren Collison is fine as our starting PG, though I expect Vivek & Co. will be sorely tempted by Rajon Rondo's (presumed) reduced price tag. That would be a horrible idea, but that hasn't stopped this front office so far. I'd much prefer see us make a run at Ty Lawson. Perhaps Collison & McLemore? Or, if we lose the lottery again, Collison & our pick for Lawson & considerations. There are options is my point.

It is my hope that Professor Miller is on the bench in a nice suit next season, as his instruction can be just as useful as a coach. Ray McCallum will need to prove he can seize the backup job or else we'll be shopping again.

Derrick Williams is a FA and the only path we have to any cap room is to renounce his rights. He's gone.

Poor, poor Nik Stauskas will be dangled in trade rumors I expect, as a sweetener to save trading a draft pick. His grade has been utterly incomplete this season, so it's hard to really say one way or another. I am interested to see what a year in Karl's system could do for the kid. He hasn't exactly had the easiest rookie year ever, even by Kings standards.

Omri Casspi is fine as a 9th or 10th guy. He's just not a 6th man, which is basically what he's been for us. Keep him if it's cost-effective. If not, other options will be available.

Clearing up the Carl Landry/JT quagmire will be key. They are both very serviceable backup PFs, who can make the spot start and play 20-28 minutes a night. Neither of them are starting caliber PFs in the league at this point. If the Kings stay in the 6-8 range in the draft & we don't come away with Willie Cauley-Stein, I'll be incredibly disappointed. He will be an elite rim protector from day one & is athletic enough to chase the stretch 4's around. He will be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate & is exactly what we need next to Boogie. Just like you can cover up a suspect secondary in football with an elite pass rush, you can make a suspect defense at least league average with someone at the rim. This is crucial for the Kings to take a step forward next year.

Our goals for the offseason should be:

Find a starting PF who can protect the rim. See my above rant about Willie Cauley-Stein. DeMarcus Cousins is our cornerstone. We have to build a team around his strengths, not go chase names without consideration for what they bring to the team. Names like Rondo & Josh Smith are sexy, but they absolutely do not fit the core of our roster or the vision Vivek purports to have for what we will be going forward.

Upgrade the bench so we stop blowing 20 point leads when the starters rest. Our bench unit is a joke around the league. A second unit of McCallum/Miller, Casspi, Williams, Landry, & Hollins is beyond laughable. It's abysmal. I love all of these guys, but they are 8th through 11th guys on a bench, not a 6th through 9th. Signing Matthews (as mentioned above) coming off a blown Achilles serves several purposes. One, it allows McLemore to become a potentially outstanding 6th man, strengthening our bench. It also helps to change our culture. Matthews is a fierce defender on the perimeter and a vocal leader. Let's see, shooting? Check. Defense? Check. Leadership? Check. The Kings deficencies in these areas are legendary and unless corrected, will doom us going forward. Give Matthews all of our money this year.

Find more shooting. Or in the Kings case, ANY shooting. Maybe it's Stauskas, or maybe it's another free agent. There is some excellent depth at SG/SF on the market this summer. The Kings have to come away with a player/s who helps us immediately.

And more than anything... Have a stable offseason. The rumors of front office discord are the very last thing we need to dispel the (correct) perception that we are the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA. Any story that comes out that isn't directly related to how they are trying to improve the roster will be incredibly damaging to our chances next year.

I'm sure you've all read Voisin's recent column and I'd wager your blood ran as cold as mine. I still believe Vivek can be a good owner, but he has a problem with collecting names instead of identifying value. Look at who he's chased to wear a jersey: Rondo, Smith, Kevin Love, Andre Igoudala. Nevermind that these all either rate as pipe dreams or terrible fits that would require massive overpays. He loves the names. Now let's look at who he's assembled to be the brain trust: Chris Mullin, Pete D, George Karl, Shaquille O'Neal, now Vlade Divac. I'm noticing a theme here. Who's the boss? Well, it's Vivek. But everyone else is chirping in his ear & each have their own ideas about how to win in the NBA.

Due to the new arena opening, Vivek is going to do everything he can to win immediately. He wants a playoff contender for 2016, which is admirable. But let's take a look at the NBA's Western Conference, otherwise known as The Meat Grinder.

The Warriors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Rockets, & Grizzlies all have cores that will ensure they will be in the playoff chase for the next several years. The Spurs & Mavericks have been so good for so long, it's hard to imagine either actually going away. The Pelicans have the best player in the NBA. The Suns are an exciting roster with an excellent young coach. The Jazz have stumbled into becoming a defensive juggernaut & are ascending. The Lakers are the Lakers & they are about to have a top 5 pick & a ton of money to spend. The Nuggets are a year removed from being a playoff team. That's 13 teams right there who you can at least argue have a brighter outlook for 2015-16 than the Kings do. And sure, many of those teams have glaring issues that could prevent them from making a playoff run. But the Kings are worse than all of them, if not in record (only better than the Lakers), then absolutely in perception around the league.

And like it or not, perception is reality for players & coaches. This isn't as simple as hiring the right coach (I believe we have) or having a franchise player (we for damn sure do)... There are multiple issues here, none with an easy fix.

It's hard out here for a Kings fan.