UA-59049186-1 NBA Team Preview: Sacramento Kings - Good if it Goes
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NBA Team Preview: Sacramento Kings

Offseason:

Draft Picks: 13. C. George Papagiannis, 22. SG. Malachi Richardson, 28. C. Skal Labissiere, 59. SG. Isiah Cousins

Key Acquisitions: SG. Arron Afflalo, SF. Matt Barnes, PG. Ty Lawson, SG. Garrett Temple, PF. Anthony Toliver

Key Losses: PG. Rajon Rondo, SG. Marco Bellinelli

 

Player Profiles

Projected Lineup

PG. Darren Collison: 6’0, 175

  • Speedy offensive minded PG that can put a lot of pressure on the defense.
  • Very efficient player on offense. Hit 50% of his 2s and 40$ of his 3s.
  • Horrible defender despite all his speed. Really struggles defending in PnR situations and is a mismatch against bigger guards.

SG. Arron Afflalo: 6’5, 210

  • Solid scoring 2 guard that is at his best inside the arc.
  • Can score with or without the ball. Knock down spot up 3 point shooter, post up guard, and he moves without the ball. He can get baskets in different ways.
  • Not a good defensive player. He’s never been good off the ball and dealing with screens but he at least used to compete more and be decadent on the ball in flashes and now you see even less of that.  

SF. Rudy Gay: 6’8, 230

  • Huge SF that looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. Despite his size the day Gay plays with any real power or physicality will be the 1st.
  • Offensively Gay can score a lot in a lot of different ways but at times is overly reliant on jump shots, especially those of the contested variety.
  • For the majority of his career he’s done just enough to be average on defense and that’s just who he’s going to be despite the big body and above average athleticism.

PF. Willie Cauley-Stein: 7’0, 240

  • Long athletic big man who embodies a lot of traits of the modern NBA big man.
  • Offensively he’s at his best at the rim finishing but he’s got the potential to do more and showed flashes. Wasn’t bad at all shooting from close range and is willing to take mid-range shots.
  • Good start to his career defensively as a rookie and will undoubtedly get better. I think he’s on track to be an elite defender 1 day.

C. Demarcus Cousins: 6’11, 270

  • Elite center who has become the best player at his position.
  • Star offensive player that has really evolved his game. He’s a fantastic mid-range shooter, he can score down low and now he’s hitting 3s. And he led the league in FT attempts per 36 minutes and makes his FTs.
  • Has become a very respectable defender that has an impact on that end. Blocks shots and gets steals and is a very physical presence in the interior defending on the block and on the defensive glass.

 

Bench

PG. Ty Lawson: 5’11, 195

  • Former upper echelon PG that had the worst season of his career last year, perhaps due to off the court issues and personal problems.
  • Was unbelievable bad from the field and offensively in general. He couldn’t shoot it well from any area on the floor and worst he didn’t seem fast anymore.
  • Career below average defender. He’s fast enough at his best to keep straight drives in front of him defending on the ball but that’s about all he does well defensively.

C. Kosta Koufus: 7’0, 265

  • Old school center that plays 10 and in and does it pretty well.
  • Crafty big body center that makes his living scoring as a dive man in PnR.
  • Quality interior defender who just plays smart on that end. He has limitations because he doesn’t move laterally well and plays below the rim.

SF. Omri Casspi: 6’9, 225

  • Crafty, awkward but highly effective offensive player that just gets it done.
  • He’s a very good 3 point shooter and finisher at the rim. Somehow despite being incredibly slow with an unimpressive handle he can seemingly get to the rim almost at will at times it seems (depending on the competition). He has no mid-range game.
  • Not a good defender but plays better than plenty of people with far greater tools than he has because of his effort.

PF. Anthony Toliver: 6’8, 240

  • Stretch 4 that loves to launch 3s.
  • On the court to shoot spot up 3s it’s as simple as that. 272 of his 338 field goal attempts were from 3.
  • Competent defensive player for a stretch 4. Most of them don’t play a lick of defense but this guy does.

SG. Garrett Temple: 6’6, 205

  • Tough veteran wing that can play a little defense and make open 3s.
  • Not a great offensive player but has improved dramatically as a 3 point shooter over the past 2 seasons.
  • High effort, blue collar defensive player that looks to earn his check on that end. Far from an elite defender but does play very hard.

SG. Ben McLemore

  • Undersized 2 guard that only impacts the game when he’s scoring.
  • Offensively he can really finish around the rim and is a good 3 point shooter but struggles with his in between game.
  • Athletic player yet 3 years in still can’t seem to figure out how to play defense in the NBA.

SF. Matt Barnes: 6’7, 226

  • Veteran wing that brings attitude and toughness to the court.
  • His offensive game is definitely on the decline as he’s struggling from all over the field these days. However he still has value as a spot up shooter.
  • Tough defender who takes pride in his defense. At this point in his career he’s most valuable on the defensive end of the floor.

C. Georgios Papagiannis: 7’2, 240

  • Unknown commodity that might prove he wasn’t overdrafted. He’s a huge center that can move.
  • Offensively at the NBA level he figures to contribute as a major threat finishing around the rim as a dive man.
  • Given his sheer size and mobility he’s projected to be a big time rim protector and interior defender but he also could be able to be a complete defender that can hold his own away from the paint.

Breakdown

The Kings just haven’t been able to improve over the years. No matter how many lottery picks they have, most of them just don’t work out. This year they tradied out of the top 10 and essentially drafted nobody that is expected to make the rotation on a team where the players in the rotation aren’t very good to begin with. Now I happen to believe that all 3 of the players they picked have potential and could all end up being starters in the NBA 1 day. But none of them are ready to play now and we’re talking about a team that needs some players that can play now.

When I look at the Kings starting lineup obviously it’s all about Demarcus Cousins. He’s the best center in basketball now and in large part because he’s finally started to play at a high level on both ends of the court. I think Cousins has matured and is no longer the immature off-court problem he used to be. Now the problem with Cousins is he’s become such a good player that he’s ready to win now and he looks around and sees that his organization hasn’t surrounded him with the requisite parts to accomplish that. After Cousins there isn’t a single other 2 way player in the lineup and there’s only 1 other 2-way player on the entire roster coming off the bench that plays the exact same position he does. Cousins is joined in the front court by 2nd-year big man Cauley-Stein at PF and career underachiever Rudy Gay. Stein could be on the verge of becoming a defensive star, which is something the Kings DESPERATELY need. As improved as Cousins is on defense he’ll never be confused for a defensive player of the year caliber player. I believe Stein has the potential to be that caliber of defender 1 day. Gay can put points on the board and best believe on some tuesday night in March or April when the Kings are out of the playoff race he’ll drop 40+ on somebody but he’s just never lived up to the talent I felt like he had in his prime. In the backcourt reside newcomer Arron Afflalo at SG and Darren Collison who’s going from backup to starting PG. Afflalo might be the best SG the team has had since Doug Christie was here and will definitely help on the offensive end but he doesn’t play any defense. Collision is 1 of the fastest players in the NBA and will blaze his way into the paint or use that speed to create good looks from outside which is why he’s become such a high percentage player. But he, too, plays no defense.

How the Kings work their bench is going to be a mystery. They’re not going to be a good defensive team anyway, so my guess is they’re going to give all their offensive weapons minutes on the regular such as Casspri, McLemore, and the newly added Toliver. And Lawson and Kofus are locks to play. That means I only expect 1 of the two new veteran wings Barnes and Temple to get consistent minutes and my money is on Temple who is the better player right now. Overall it appears to be a weird blend of players on the Kings bench none of whom have any significant athleticism.

Expectations

The Kings’ biggest problem is that they haven’t played defense in years and this upcoming season doesn’t look any better. They brought in guys this off-season like Temple, Barnes, and Toliver who are all ok or decent defensive players but for the Kings they’re going to be some of the best defensive players on the roster. When the Kings need to shut down an opposing team’s best perimeter defender they’re options are going to sacrificing Afflalo’s offense for the defense of Barnes or Temple. It’s no wonder this team is in the position it is now. My expectations for this team is for them to be even worse than they were a year ago. I could easily see the Kings finishing in the bottom 3 in the West, maybe even last depending on how things go. I just feel as if the Kings are an inept organization that has no clue what it’s doing and because of that I don’t expect to see much from the Kings this year.

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