[valentine]

 We’ve got an amateur, know-it-all owner from India, who doesn’t really know anything about basketball.

This owner picked Stauskas, ignoring everybody, assuming there was anybody around who wasn’t a yes man. I’m not sure there was. 

Then he hires Vlade Divot, a guy who will need plenty of mulligans since he has ZERO front office experience.

I don’t think Divot was hired for his basketball mind, and certainly not for his experience in a front office. I think Divac was hired to be a yes-man.

This owner guy is staying out of the headlines as Cousins and Karl are not even on speaking terms, and Vlade the Innocent isn’t savvy enough to just bite the bullet and fire Karl.

And the owner is completely clueless and actually thinks this combustible combination, Cousins and Karl, is not going to sink the season by December.

Then you add in Rondo, who is an international incident waiting to happen, and that’s two guys you can almost bet money will be at Karl’s throat by December.

Somebody was there to hold Doc Rivers back when Rondo picked a fist fight, but there’s a real, real, real chance of some Sprewellian drama coming straight down the pike.

And the Kings’ owner is about to be the big story.

Just give it four months from now.

 

 

 

 

[Bed HeadParticipant]

Not to over-analyze your essay … however, a few things stood out to me:

Why does the owner’s country of origin matter? If he was an "amateur, know-it-all" from Indiana instead, would that be any better?

And you seem to just be assuming Divac is a "yes man". Based on what? Your close personal knowledge of the situation?

Besides, who gives a f*ck about the Kings, anyways?

[Bed HeadParticipant]

Not to over-analyze your essay … however, a few things stood out to me:

Why does the owner’s country of origin matter? If he was an "amateur, know-it-all" from Indiana instead, would that be any better?

And you seem to just be assuming Divac is a "yes man". Based on what? Your close personal knowledge of the situation?

Besides, who gives a f*ck about the Kings, anyways?

[T Rex]

 He’s a very hands-on owner, and unless the owner really, really knows basketball, it’s a recipe for disaster.

This guy coached his daughter’s 12 year old girls team and they won some games with a full court press, and he convinced himself he was a basketball genius or something.

If he wasn’t looking for a yes man as a GM, he would have hired somebody, anybody, with a closer, more recent connection to the NBA. And all the people working under Divac would have been made aware that he was the big boss, the man in charge of basketball decisions, a lot sooner than they did.

Divac, being in Europe in recent years, doesn’t know the nuances of the NBA’s personalities, or NBA culture in general. 

It’s like if Rondo goes rogue in the first month, and starts calling his own plays and ignoring Karl, Divac and the owner won’t have clear and decisive plan of action.

They’ll waste another month or two trying to make Karl, Cousins, and Rondo work. And in the meantime, the situation will become a nuclear meltdown. Cousins will demand out, won’t speak to Karl, Karl will continue to lobby for Cousins to be traded, while Karl ignores Rondo playing for assists out of a need for Karl to pick his battles. 

I might make as good of a cricket club team owner in India. Except I probably wouldn’t hire a guy out of Serbia to run my Indian cricket team.

Unless I was an ego-maniac and just wanted a yes man.

 

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 He’s a very hands-on owner, and unless the owner really, really knows basketball, it’s a recipe for disaster.

This guy coached his daughter’s 12 year old girls team and they won some games with a full court press, and he convinced himself he was a basketball genius or something.

If he wasn’t looking for a yes man as a GM, he would have hired somebody, anybody, with a closer, more recent connection to the NBA. And all the people working under Divac would have been made aware that he was the big boss, the man in charge of basketball decisions, a lot sooner than they did.

Divac, being in Europe in recent years, doesn’t know the nuances of the NBA’s personalities, or NBA culture in general. 

It’s like if Rondo goes rogue in the first month, and starts calling his own plays and ignoring Karl, Divac and the owner won’t have clear and decisive plan of action.

They’ll waste another month or two trying to make Karl, Cousins, and Rondo work. And in the meantime, the situation will become a nuclear meltdown. Cousins will demand out, won’t speak to Karl, Karl will continue to lobby for Cousins to be traded, while Karl ignores Rondo playing for assists out of a need for Karl to pick his battles. 

I might make as good of a cricket club team owner in India. Except I probably wouldn’t hire a guy out of Serbia to run my Indian cricket team.

Unless I was an ego-maniac and just wanted a yes man.

 

 

 

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 The Owner has given the new GM a mandate to make the playoffs for the opening of the New Arena – this is NOT a secret… It’s an incredibly foolish way to run a team… The trade Divac made w/ Philly borderd on INSANE… Bringing in Rondo – who no one even guards b/c he can Not shoot the ball & when he doesn;t have 3 Hall of Fame teammates seems very Ordinary under the Best conditions & we all know the worst… Signing Belleneli was Ridiculous – espcially in light of Giving away Stauskus – a # 8 overall Lottery pick! Bellenelli – before he landed in San Antonio bounced around between 5 teams FIVE & shot 41% – the uneducated fan just does NOT understand how much playing w/ a 7 foot Hall of Fameer like Tim Duncan opens up the game for ALL his teammates… And finally if your are going to Draft Willie Cauley Stein over a Clear future star like Mudiay it is so you can re-establish Stauskus who could not stay on the floor b/c the Kings had no Rim protector…. Draft WCS & that puts Stauskus – an excellent Offensive player back into play… It’s called BUILDING a team… But instead they GIVE away Stauskus to Phila & throw in the rights to Swap picks for TWO years – which is NUTS b/c you have a potential Explosion between your coach & your Best Player – so you can go out & sign garbage players that NO other team wanted all in an effort to become the #8 seed in the West for the pleasure of getting Swept in the 1st round in your New Arena… This is EXACTLY why only 3 or 4 teams have a legit chance to win each year, b/c they have GM’s who are yes men just trying to keep $million a year jobs for Owners who either do not or choose not to play the Long game…. The ONLY way to win in this League is Thru the Draft – & Major Star Level Max free agents moving is a thing of the past… This has Disaster written All over it & don’t be surprised if the Kings win the # 1 pick & promptly hand it over to the Sixers…

[T Rex]

Thanks for acknowledging the obvious.

Apparently it takes a lot of guts around here, and there’s a shortage of it.

And Myles Turner would have been a much better long-run kind of pick than WCS. And about equal as far as rookie production next year.

They could have traded Cousins for a fortune, paid somebody else besides Rondo that 10 million or whatever they negotiated against themselves. 

Now, just like the Nuggets, they will wait until Cousins’ trade value plummets, and probably trade him anyway, out of desparation because Cousins stopped trying in practice, and mouthed off to the media about how incompetent the owner is, and how Divac is just a yes man, and that Karl hates Cousins, etc.

And I wouldn’t even blame Cousins that much. These guys don’t understand that "I want out" means take the best bundle you can get for Cousins and move on.

 

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

Thanks for acknowledging the obvious.

Apparently it takes a lot of guts around here, and there’s a shortage of it.

And Myles Turner would have been a much better long-run kind of pick than WCS. And about equal as far as rookie production next year.

They could have traded Cousins for a fortune, paid somebody else besides Rondo that 10 million or whatever they negotiated against themselves. 

Now, just like the Nuggets, they will wait until Cousins’ trade value plummets, and probably trade him anyway, out of desparation because Cousins stopped trying in practice, and mouthed off to the media about how incompetent the owner is, and how Divac is just a yes man, and that Karl hates Cousins, etc.

And I wouldn’t even blame Cousins that much. These guys don’t understand that "I want out" means take the best bundle you can get for Cousins and move on.

 

 

 

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 The Owner has given the new GM a mandate to make the playoffs for the opening of the New Arena – this is NOT a secret… It’s an incredibly foolish way to run a team… The trade Divac made w/ Philly borderd on INSANE… Bringing in Rondo – who no one even guards b/c he can Not shoot the ball & when he doesn;t have 3 Hall of Fame teammates seems very Ordinary under the Best conditions & we all know the worst… Signing Belleneli was Ridiculous – espcially in light of Giving away Stauskus – a # 8 overall Lottery pick! Bellenelli – before he landed in San Antonio bounced around between 5 teams FIVE & shot 41% – the uneducated fan just does NOT understand how much playing w/ a 7 foot Hall of Fameer like Tim Duncan opens up the game for ALL his teammates… And finally if your are going to Draft Willie Cauley Stein over a Clear future star like Mudiay it is so you can re-establish Stauskus who could not stay on the floor b/c the Kings had no Rim protector…. Draft WCS & that puts Stauskus – an excellent Offensive player back into play… It’s called BUILDING a team… But instead they GIVE away Stauskus to Phila & throw in the rights to Swap picks for TWO years – which is NUTS b/c you have a potential Explosion between your coach & your Best Player – so you can go out & sign garbage players that NO other team wanted all in an effort to become the #8 seed in the West for the pleasure of getting Swept in the 1st round in your New Arena… This is EXACTLY why only 3 or 4 teams have a legit chance to win each year, b/c they have GM’s who are yes men just trying to keep $million a year jobs for Owners who either do not or choose not to play the Long game…. The ONLY way to win in this League is Thru the Draft – & Major Star Level Max free agents moving is a thing of the past… This has Disaster written All over it & don’t be surprised if the Kings win the # 1 pick & promptly hand it over to the Sixers…

[llperez]

 i have htem as the 8 seed in the west htis year. Rondo still has some good ball left in him and will be highly motivated with the way last year ended and the fact he is on a 1 year deal. Bellineli had one of best seasons as pro last year with teh spurs and will give them a great shooter on the wing. WCS is exactly what they need in terms of fit and will defend and run the court to make up for cousin’s lack of defense and speed. WCS will be esspecilly valuable considering the style of game today being so reliant on gaurds and so to have a 7 footer who can move his feet and help on the perimter and in transition is huge. kosta koufos, darren collison and ben mclemore should make for a solid enough bench.

So to answer your question, i dont think the kings are going to implode at all.

 

[llperez]

 i have htem as the 8 seed in the west htis year. Rondo still has some good ball left in him and will be highly motivated with the way last year ended and the fact he is on a 1 year deal. Bellineli had one of best seasons as pro last year with teh spurs and will give them a great shooter on the wing. WCS is exactly what they need in terms of fit and will defend and run the court to make up for cousin’s lack of defense and speed. WCS will be esspecilly valuable considering the style of game today being so reliant on gaurds and so to have a 7 footer who can move his feet and help on the perimter and in transition is huge. kosta koufos, darren collison and ben mclemore should make for a solid enough bench.

So to answer your question, i dont think the kings are going to implode at all.

 

[EndlessknightParticipant]

 Lets assume you’re right and they make the playoffs as an 8th seed, then what? Lose in the first round, making the playoffs means they’ll lose their first round pick to the Bulls ans still owe the Sixers a first round pick plus be faced with losing Rondo or overpaying for him at the end of his career. I thinkn the Kings will have a very hard road ahead. 

[EndlessknightParticipant]

 Lets assume you’re right and they make the playoffs as an 8th seed, then what? Lose in the first round, making the playoffs means they’ll lose their first round pick to the Bulls ans still owe the Sixers a first round pick plus be faced with losing Rondo or overpaying for him at the end of his career. I thinkn the Kings will have a very hard road ahead. 

[Rip255]

 I don’t really think it’s a collapse, because they’ve never really been any good since the C-Webb & Peja days. 

I think it’s more a case of "When will the Kings pick up the pieces"

One of the great mysteries in life is how the Kings have managed to stay in Sacramento. Seattle anyone? They must love Kevin Johnson there. 

 

[Rip255]

 I don’t really think it’s a collapse, because they’ve never really been any good since the C-Webb & Peja days. 

I think it’s more a case of "When will the Kings pick up the pieces"

One of the great mysteries in life is how the Kings have managed to stay in Sacramento. Seattle anyone? They must love Kevin Johnson there. 

 

[LovebugParticipant]

 Listen clown, you’ve been told Sacramento fans deserve their team and a city losing its team isn’t a joke

Just because Seattle is a glitzy Super Bowl city doesn’t kean it deserves Sacs team

[LovebugParticipant]

 Listen clown, you’ve been told Sacramento fans deserve their team and a city losing its team isn’t a joke

Just because Seattle is a glitzy Super Bowl city doesn’t kean it deserves Sacs team

[omphalosParticipant]

 It depresses me so much that Cousins got viral meningitis last year.

The Kings were everyone’s favourite success story to start the season before it all went horribly wrong.

Would have been great to see them battling for a playoff spot under Mike Malone, those guys were playing together perfectly, Boogie was engaged and Gay was playing the best ball of his career.

Then it all went horribly wrong.

I don’t think there will be another collapse because it can’t get any worse than the latter part of last season.

 

 

 

 

[omphalosParticipant]

 It depresses me so much that Cousins got viral meningitis last year.

The Kings were everyone’s favourite success story to start the season before it all went horribly wrong.

Would have been great to see them battling for a playoff spot under Mike Malone, those guys were playing together perfectly, Boogie was engaged and Gay was playing the best ball of his career.

Then it all went horribly wrong.

I don’t think there will be another collapse because it can’t get any worse than the latter part of last season.

 

 

 

 

[ZouldiersParticipant]

 I’m in the minority here but I think they’re at least 10th in the West. Now, I know they are not stable right now but they made some good acquisitions like Koufos, Bellinelli and Rondo. This team is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode but you can’t ignore the talent this team has. I think the Kings may surprise a lot of people this upcoming season because everyone on this team has something to prove especially Rondo.

[ZouldiersParticipant]

 I’m in the minority here but I think they’re at least 10th in the West. Now, I know they are not stable right now but they made some good acquisitions like Koufos, Bellinelli and Rondo. This team is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode but you can’t ignore the talent this team has. I think the Kings may surprise a lot of people this upcoming season because everyone on this team has something to prove especially Rondo.

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

I’d give Thibs a blank check and a key to the city if I were sac

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

I’d give Thibs a blank check and a key to the city if I were sac

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

How can you implode an implosion? LOL

T-Rex got a lot of negs but to answer the question on how the owner being Indian effects his ownership is simple. Hes not from this country! Its not racist to say thats a question mark at least. I remember him saying he wanted to play 4 on 5 and leave a cherry picker on the other end. Thats when all the red flags popped up for me. To think that would actually work, he must not have even watched an NBA game before he bought the team (i know thats not true but still..). 

It really is a mess. Coach hates star player and vice versa. Stauskas was one of the worst picks ive ever seen. I think they are trying to give coach Karl a heart-attack, because if he doesnt like Cousins already, itll be interesting to see what he thinks of Rondo. 

The Wizards went through years of this with Polen as the owner so I FEEL YOU KINGS FANS! At least you kept your team! 

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

How can you implode an implosion? LOL

T-Rex got a lot of negs but to answer the question on how the owner being Indian effects his ownership is simple. Hes not from this country! Its not racist to say thats a question mark at least. I remember him saying he wanted to play 4 on 5 and leave a cherry picker on the other end. Thats when all the red flags popped up for me. To think that would actually work, he must not have even watched an NBA game before he bought the team (i know thats not true but still..). 

It really is a mess. Coach hates star player and vice versa. Stauskas was one of the worst picks ive ever seen. I think they are trying to give coach Karl a heart-attack, because if he doesnt like Cousins already, itll be interesting to see what he thinks of Rondo. 

The Wizards went through years of this with Polen as the owner so I FEEL YOU KINGS FANS! At least you kept your team! 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Rudy Gay cherry picks anyway.  No reason for the head honcho to tell him that.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Rudy Gay cherry picks anyway.  No reason for the head honcho to tell him that.

[T Rex]

 New rumors that most of Sacramento org is pushing to trade Cousins now.

Hopefully this owner is smart enough to do it. He’ll get a nice return for Cousins, and can start re-building some franchise stability and develp young players while perhaps winning on the fly.

But he won’t.

 

 

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 It’s very rare to have a team that high in the Lottery that is NOT looking to rebuild & I admire the Lakers for that mentality… Thye could have given Cousins to L.A. for both their 1st round picks & still had their own pick at # 6… They would have been finished w/ the Cousins / Coach feud… and they would have had an excellent nucleus to build around: Okafor at #2, Mudiay at #6 or draft WCS anyway & put him at the 4 to protect Okafor’s lack of shot blocking & then taken a PG w/ that Late 1st round Lakers pick, keep Stauskus & right there you have 4 positions filled w/ young blue chip talent (3 of them Lottery picks)…. But the Owner is in a crazed frenzy to get swept in the first round next year & call it success… Here is a side note: Sacramento will be working on their 10th consecutive Losing season next year – in the last Seven years they could not even crack 30 wins – you have to be Laser focused to lose that consistently – Why is there No anger directed at Sac-town??? Why is ESPN not doing 100 tanking stories a month about the Kings who last had a winning season when my college freshman nephew was in 3rd grade!?!?!

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 It’s very rare to have a team that high in the Lottery that is NOT looking to rebuild & I admire the Lakers for that mentality… Thye could have given Cousins to L.A. for both their 1st round picks & still had their own pick at # 6… They would have been finished w/ the Cousins / Coach feud… and they would have had an excellent nucleus to build around: Okafor at #2, Mudiay at #6 or draft WCS anyway & put him at the 4 to protect Okafor’s lack of shot blocking & then taken a PG w/ that Late 1st round Lakers pick, keep Stauskus & right there you have 4 positions filled w/ young blue chip talent (3 of them Lottery picks)…. But the Owner is in a crazed frenzy to get swept in the first round next year & call it success… Here is a side note: Sacramento will be working on their 10th consecutive Losing season next year – in the last Seven years they could not even crack 30 wins – you have to be Laser focused to lose that consistently – Why is there No anger directed at Sac-town??? Why is ESPN not doing 100 tanking stories a month about the Kings who last had a winning season when my college freshman nephew was in 3rd grade!?!?!

[T Rex]

 New rumors that most of Sacramento org is pushing to trade Cousins now.

Hopefully this owner is smart enough to do it. He’ll get a nice return for Cousins, and can start re-building some franchise stability and develp young players while perhaps winning on the fly.

But he won’t.

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Cousins trade rumours have been there for the last few years but he is under contract for another 3 years so it’s not like he can walk away next summer. Taking what the T-Wolves got for K-Love, I don’t see Sac-Town rushing to trade DMC for anything below market value.

After all the negativity about the team leaving the City and needing a new arena, things were looking up when the new owner came in but there does seem to be some underlying issues there. Even with the highly respected George Karl in charge there still seems to be things bubbling under the surface.

The nightmare scenario is that DMC demands a trade, Rondo doesn’t work out or is shown not to be the player he was and Coach Karl loses the dressing room or decides to quit.

The perfect scenario is that Rondo helps to make DMC even better and Coach Karl shows he is still a top NBA coach.

The Kings have not drafted well or the picks have been moved on very quickly in recent years. The team have had 7 successive top 10 picks but only 3 of those guys are still on the roster and that includes the recently drafted WCS. For a team that drafted fairly well in the years before this, that has been a major headache and they have been unable to find the required support for DMC via the draft.

I think the Kings will do better this year but in a loaded Western Conference the play offs would be a major ask as it is likely to take 45 plus wins to even make 8th seed and for a team to improve by over 15 wins short of signing a LBJ/KD level FA is always a huge ask.

 

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Cousins trade rumours have been there for the last few years but he is under contract for another 3 years so it’s not like he can walk away next summer. Taking what the T-Wolves got for K-Love, I don’t see Sac-Town rushing to trade DMC for anything below market value.

After all the negativity about the team leaving the City and needing a new arena, things were looking up when the new owner came in but there does seem to be some underlying issues there. Even with the highly respected George Karl in charge there still seems to be things bubbling under the surface.

The nightmare scenario is that DMC demands a trade, Rondo doesn’t work out or is shown not to be the player he was and Coach Karl loses the dressing room or decides to quit.

The perfect scenario is that Rondo helps to make DMC even better and Coach Karl shows he is still a top NBA coach.

The Kings have not drafted well or the picks have been moved on very quickly in recent years. The team have had 7 successive top 10 picks but only 3 of those guys are still on the roster and that includes the recently drafted WCS. For a team that drafted fairly well in the years before this, that has been a major headache and they have been unable to find the required support for DMC via the draft.

I think the Kings will do better this year but in a loaded Western Conference the play offs would be a major ask as it is likely to take 45 plus wins to even make 8th seed and for a team to improve by over 15 wins short of signing a LBJ/KD level FA is always a huge ask.

 

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

Rondo On George Karl Relationship: It’s Not Been Going Too Well

“Rondo was also asked about his relationship with George Karl.

“It’s not been going too well,” said Rondo. “We’ve got into a couple of arguments the past couple of days. Hopefully we continue to talk and get better.””

[T Rex]

Rondo On George Karl Relationship: It’s Not Been Going Too Well

“Rondo was also asked about his relationship with George Karl.

“It’s not been going too well,” said Rondo. “We’ve got into a couple of arguments the past couple of days. Hopefully we continue to talk and get better.””

[T Rex]

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article43961283.html 

[T Rex]

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article43961283.html 

[Author]

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