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Sacramento Kings 2016-17 Season Outlook: Finally Finding A Path?

By Michael Moeller

Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sacramento Kings’ institutional dysfunction is a running NBA joke. Is there any hope this season, under new coach Dave Joerger?

The Sacramento Kings would make for a great NBA-themed traveling carnival. Problem is, they can’t pick up and move to a new, unsuspecting town every time their current town gets wise to the fact that the games are rigged and the carneys are pickpockets; though I will concede that if there were one team in the NBA that could adopt the traveling carnival business model, it would be the Kings.

Their dysfunction has become an annual NBA tradition, like pumpkin spice lattes or flu season.

It wasn’t always this way, though. The Kings teams from the early 2000’s played some of the most entertaining, ahead-of-its-time basketball ever.

Seriously, remember this?

Those teams were fun, talented, and unselfish. They helped usher the NBA into its modern, post-Michael Jordan era; unfortunately, the other team doing so was the juggernaut in Los Angeles. Still, there is proof that basketball can thrive in Sacto, it’s just that Vivek Ranadive and company have done seemingly everything they can to ensure that it doesn’t.

Constant executive and coaching turnover, poor hiring decisions, even poorer personnel decisions, and a meddling owner have combined to make the past decade a nightmare for Kings fans.

Just when you thought the Kings couldn’t make any more mind-numbing moves they go out and hire . . . wait . . . they hired Dave Joerger! In a shocking twist, the Kings made a sensible, good coaching hire this offseason.

May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger smiles during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger smiles during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

After hiring Paul Westphal just to fire him after he butted heads with DeMarcus Cousins, firing Keith Smart after keeping him on a de facto interim tag for two years, firing Mike Malone because Cousins got meningitis (I guess?), and hiring George Karl for reasons that remain frustratingly inscrutable only to dump him after a season and a half, they got it right!

Joerger has a whole hell of a lot of work ahead of him, but if Kings management can remain patient and let him actually do that work, the the team will be in better shape sooner rather than later. Bear in mind that they did fire the only coach (Malone) who actually seemed to improve the team, so this all may be moot by the All Star break.

Unfortunately, the roster is still kind of a train wreck.

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