On paper, the Sacramento Kings are much improved. They have depth, talent and a well balanced mix of youth and veteran players. But when you are a small market team with a long history of sub-30 win seasons, that talent may come at a cost.

DeMarcus Cousins fell to the Kings as the 5th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft, mainly due to his quirky personality. There is no question now that he was the best talent available. Cousins’ good friend John Wall went first overall and even he has to be looking in awe at his former college teammate.

The Kings welcomed the 19-year-old into the fold and celebrated his talent. There have been ups and downs, but Cousins is an All-Star that will likely spend next summer representing Team USA at the Olympics in Rio. He is mentioned as the best big man in the league, but his marketability is still mediocre at best.

Cousins has tried to fight the perception that he is a malcontent. He wants to win, but the Kings have topped out at 29 victories during his five seasons in the league. He wants to prove people wrong, but that often backfires. He wants to accomplish everything on his own terms and as he has matured, his own terms have developed as well.

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To date, no approach has gained traction for Cousins. He spent the summer avoiding the media blitz surrounding his entanglement with coach George Karl. In Cousins' defense, he neither created, nor pushed the beef with his head coach. This is the reality for one of the game’s most intriguing and talented players.

It appears that Cousins is trying a new approach. Mixed in with his short answers to an overcrowded media scrum during Monday’s media day, Cousins dropped in a one liner that may define the upcoming season. He repeated that line to CSN California's own Kayte Christensen later in a one-on-one interview.

“You know how the media goes, they find the villains and they pick them to pieces,” Cousins said. “Right now, we have three villains on this team, actually four including coach now. They’re going to pick us apart. Whenever there’s a bump in the road they’re going to jump on the opportunity. I’m kinda glad it’s like that.”

Cousins embracing the role of villain? This may be the best thing to happen to Sacramento in a long time. Avoiding the elephant in the room hasn’t worked. Trying to play nice hasn’t worked. Maybe it’s time for Cousins and crew to own a new attitude that speaks to who they are as players - The Legion of Villains.

It has a nice ring to it. Cousins has certainly been made out to be an NBA bad guy, whether it’s deserved or not. Rudy Gay is a pro’s pro, but somewhere along the way he became the poster child for bad analytics. No one was more shocked than he was that his ranking on the new NBA 2K game fell to an 82 out of 100. How does a player have a career year and fall in the ranking system for a video game?

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Rajon Rondo’s unceremonious departure from Dallas is well documented. You don't have to look any further than the reports that he didn't receive a playoff share from his Mavericks teammates. At 29-years-old the four-time All-Star struggled to find work and settled on a one-year deal with Sacramento. He too faces the scrutiny of the stat heads who have written off his game.

“Keep your expectations low,” one national writer wrote. “Statistically, Rondo has made his teams worse for about three seasons running. Th(is) isn’t a one-season blip. It’s more likely that the league has passed Rondo by.”

Sacramento’s version of a big-three consists of Cousins, Gay and Rondo. Talented? Yes, but all flawed greatly in the media’s eye.

This group is led by an NBA legend that went unemployed for a year and a half. While coaching vacancies were filled by retreads and first timers, George Karl couldn’t find work the summer after earning the NBA’s Coach of the Year trophy. His handling of the Cousins situation has furthered the narrative that despite 1142 career victories, Karl may not be worth the baggage that he brings.

The Kings’ core is intriguing to say the least. They can’t win the PR battle during the offseason and they have actually lost plenty of ground. They may do better by embracing their fate. They are hopeful wins will come and quiet the noise, but in the meantime, get used to being villains. The Detroit Pistons won plenty of games as the Bad Boys -- maybe it will work for this group as well.



