The front office to coaching staff disconnect was toxic. I know some will argue that the Kings will never play as a cohesive unit so long as DeMarcus Cousins is on the roster, but at least we know that Dave Joerger and Vlade Divac are on the same page. It feels as though Vlade Divac is banking on environmental improvements for success next season. I like moving Collison into the starting lineup from a talent standpoint, but his bench production will be sorely missed. Some will consider losing Rajon Rondo as addition-by-subtraction, but as of this writing, with the point guard depth chart looking like Darren Collison, Isaiah Cousins, and Garret Temple, it’s hard to see that as anything other than a downgrade overall. If the Kings have any tangible on-court improvements over last season, that is where I’d expect to see it. My immediate reaction was ‘that sounds low’, however a creeping feeling I’ve been trying suppress over the last several weeks is that, from a talent standpoint, the Kings haven’t exactly added a lot to the roster that underachieved last season.Īrron Afflalo and Garret Temple should provide improved shooting guard play. Ben McLemore has been on the block all summer, etc. Rudy Gay publically expressed his unhappiness yesterday. Yes, projections are silly, and yes, projections are even sillier when we are here actively assuming the Kings haven’t finished retooling their roster.
DeMarcus Cousins set a career high in scoring last season with 26.9 points per game, but the disgruntled superstar was once again unhappy with the Kings' draft after the team took Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis (via trade) and drafted another Kentucky big in Skal Labissiere. Last season, the Kings won their most games (33) since the 2007-08 season, but our projections have the team regressing once again. ESPN released their regular season record projections for the Western Conference yesterday, and to some surprise, their ‘ESPN forecast panel’ is projecting a 30-52 record from the Kings next season, a three-win decrease from their 33-49 record last season.īlurb courtesy of John McTigue of ESPN Stats and Information –