The Sacramento Kings suffered through their 10th straight losing season, a run of futility topped in recent years only by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The difference between Sacramento and Minnesota is that the Wolves are teeming with potential stars all over the roster and are buoyed by the hiring of Tom Thibodeau. Outside of DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings' core is somewhat limited for building a playoff team and, as of this writing, they still haven’t landed a coach.

Despite the presence of Cousins in the middle, Sacramento doubled down last offseason and drafted Willie Cauley-Stein and then signed Kosta Koufos. It is a questionable decision investing that heavily in three players who all play the big man positions, especially since none do so in a small-ball type of way with the the increasing downsizing of the league, with multiple teams playing only one true big at a time.

Beyond the logjam up front, the Kings are also weak on the wing. Rudy Gay, while still a talented scorer, will be 30 years old at the start of next season. His scoring dipped by almost four points per game and his assists dropped by two per game. In addition, he got to the free throw line at his lowest rate since his rookie year. When you add it all up, Gay is now a player that is closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

Joining Gay on the wing are a pair of disappointing players in Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore. Belinelli was signed to give the Kings a veteran presence and some consistent outside shooting. The jury is out as to the first part, but the second part never materialized. Belinelli was awful, both overall and from outside the arc, shooting career lows in both categories. Given that he is also 30 years old now, there are no guarantees he’ll bounce back to his career norms.

McLemore is another story entirely. He came in to the league as a prospect that was expected to contribute right away with shooting, and after showing some promise in his second season he regressed last year. He also missed time with injuries and overall looked nothing like the player the Kings had hoped they were getting when they drafted him seventh overall in 2013. He was a mess defensively, but that was a trend that applied to most of the Sacramento roster.

While playing both PF and SF, Omri Casspi was excellent on both ends and was one of the few Kings to consistently play with effort defensively. He averaged career highs nearly across the board. Signed for next season at under $3 million dollars, Casspi represents one of the biggest bargains in the league. He’s the type of player that all good teams bring off their bench, so he should be a big part of the future in Sacramento.

At the point guard spot, the Kings were perhaps the deepest team in the league, with Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison. Collison has been a high level backup/spot starter for years and Rondo has been the lead guard on contenders for most of his career. Both players performed well, often playing next to each other for long stretches in lineups that offered a dual PG look. Rondo, when motivated, gave Sacramento exactly what they expected. He played solid defense, distributed the ball well, scored when the opportunity was there and was at least passable as a jump shooter. Unfortunately, all too often he would go through stretches where he seemed like he would rather be anywhere but on a basketball court. After a decade in the league, this is what you get with Rondo. If the Kings hire the right coach who can reach him, as Doc Rivers was often able to do, they’ll have a weapon on their hands that could form a terrific duo with Cousins.

Behind Rondo and Collison, Seth Curry enjoyed a bit of a breakout season. While minutes were far from plentiful, Curry showed he has a place in the league. He demonstrated that the shooting genes run in the family by connecting on 45% of his three point tries. However, with his breakout season, he chose to opt out of his deal and become a restricted free agent this summer. The Kings will retain the right to match any deal, but a team could structure a creative offer that Sacramento may not want to match.

Joining Curry as free agents could be Quincy Acy, James Anderson and Caron Butler. All three players have Player Options and can opt out of their current deals. Of the three, Anderson seems likely to opt in and return. He struggled through an up and down season in his NBA return and may be unlikely to garner offers on the open market.

Butler seems the most likely to opt out. He asked for a trade near the deadline, when he was barely playing. Appearing in only 17 games all year, Butler may want one more chance at joining a contender.

Acy is easily the most interesting case. Despite appearing in only 59 games and playing shy of 15 MPG, he was one of the Kings most efficient players on both ends. He doesn’t try to do anything he can’t do and always plays with a good deal of energy. This one could go either way, but smart money has Acy opting out and trying to cash in on his good season. He’ll be 26 at the start of next season and this summer could his last shot at a big contract. For a player who has never made as much at $1 million dollars in a season, a big pay day could be a big motivating factor.

The Kings' other free agent of note is the aforementioned Rondo, who signed a one year “make good” type of contract to try and rebuild his value. As mentioned above, he proved he can still perform at a high level when property motived. While the PG market isn’t exactly loaded this summer, it is deeper than other positions, which limits options for Rondo and expands them for the Kings.

Whether or not Sacramento wants a return engagement for Rondo is likely tied to their most important decision of the offseason, hiring a coach. Since Rick Adelman’s run of success in the early 2000s, the Kings have rolled out Eric Musseman, Reggie Theus, Kenny Natt, Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone, Tyron Corbin and George Karl. Only Westphal lasted more than 2 full years, and most were out after only a year plus. That group has combined to go 277-527, a winning percentage of .344. While none of them may have been a long term, multiple year solution, this type of revolving door at one of the most important positions in any organization has undoubtedly had a direct correlation to the lack of success on the court. For all the banter about the front office bumbling with Vivek Ranadive and Vlade Divac, the lack of a consistent voice on the sidelines has got to end more than anything.

With Thibodeau and Scott Brooks off the board, the Kings will turn to all sorts of different options. Mark Jackson, Kevin McHale, Jeff Hornacek, Vinny Del Negro, Brian Shaw, David Blatt and Nate McMillian have been mentioned out of the group with previous NBA head coaching experience. Patrick Ewing, a longtime assistant with Charlotte and Orlando, is also rumored to be an option for Sacramento. This group of coaches blends both experienced options that have had success previously at other stops, coaches looking for a second chances, and coaches looking for their first real shot at an NBA head coaching opportunity.

Whomever the Kings hire, as they move into their long awaited new arena, that coach needs to blend in with the front office and present a clear vision for the future. Getting along with Cousins and motivating him to reach his full potential would be helpful as well. Without that structure in place, it won’t matter who the Kings draft, trade, or sign as the decade of ineffectiveness will likely continue.

Offseason Details

Guaranteed Contracts (8): Marco Belinelli, Omri Casspi, Willie Cauley-Stein, Darren Collison, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore

Partial/Non-Guaranteed Contracts (1): Duje Dukan

Potential Free Agents (6): Quincy Acy (PO – UFA), James Anderson (PO – UFA), Caron Butler (PO – UFA), Seth Curry (RFA), Eric Moreland (RFA), Rajon Rondo (UFA)

“Dead” Money on Cap (1): $882,630.00 (Wayne Ellington)

First Round Draft Picks (as of 4/25/16): #8

Maximum Cap Space: $28,519,110

Projected Cap Space: $11,486,742