Sacramento Kings: Will Hiring Dave Joerger Spark A New Era?

Now that the they have a head coach, we wonder whether the hiring of Dave Joerger spark a new era for the Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings’ head coaching search was somewhat odd, mainly because their search reached 20 possible interview candidates. What made it weird is that the team hired David Joerger two days after he was fired by the Memphis Grizzlies.

This entire situation with the Kings being linked to a bevy of coaches is akin to teenagers these days: lead-on a bunch of possible prospects, only to leave them for someone fresh out of relationship that you’ve been keeping an eye on for awhile.

Joerger’s exact fit in Sacramento won’t be fully examined until sometime next year, depending on how the team produces and finishes on the court, and if they can exactly keep internal friction at a minimal level.

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It’s going to be hard to do so because this is the Sacramento Kings, a team that is notorious for mistakes, blunders and controversy.

The addition of Joerger though is a boon for the direction the team is attempting to head in, as he’s a proven head coach with a 147-99 overall record in three seasons at the helm for one of the grittiest teams in the league.

What might be an interesting storyline to follow is the interaction Joerger has between team owner Vivek Ranadive along with Vice President of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac.

The aforementioned two have become synonymous for saying or doing too much, which leads to the team being scrutinized, such as Divac telling Sean Cunningham of KXTV-TV that franchise center DeMarcus Cousins won’t be dealt…

For now:

"“He’s not going to be traded – this year for sure.”"

Why Vlade? Just why? His words to Cunningham can be interpreted in so many ways, and confirms previous reports on Cousins.

Confirms the team had trade conversations involving Cousins.
Leaves open the possibility of Cousins being dealt in the future, with two-years left on his deal until he enters unrestricted free agency in 2018 (Sam Amick of USA Today reported back in March the team won’t look into trading Cousins until the 2017 trade deadline in February).
Shows that the team is open to moving on from their mercurial star.
Vlade could still be waiting for the team to turn the corner when it comes to holding onto Cousins.
Vlade would just send Sacramento to a place lower than basketball purgatory if he decides to trade Cousins, depending on assets in return.

The Sacramento Kings have made other changes to their coaching staff, with Joerger of course as the alpha dog. Earlier this week the team said goodbye to Chad Iske and John Welch, but plan on keeping onto Nancy Liberman (Ranadive favorite) and Corliss Williamson (candidate for head coaching job).

Is it time to have faith in the Kings?

Maybe, although this is the same team that handled the expenses for fans who received tattoos for their new logo. Yes, the team is moving into a new arena, has a new logo and a respected coach. The only problem is the internal issues on a roster some thought would’ve made the playoffs in 2016, with a nucleus of Cousins, Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo (free agent as of July 1st).

Cousins and Rondo are cut from the same cloth, but from a birds viewpoint it looks like Gay is the odd man out with the other two, mainly because their personalities are different and wanted to be dealt out of Sac-Town during the 2016 trade deadline, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports back in February.

Former Kings head coach George Karl sees the struggles in which the team will face this summer when it comes to roster construction. Divac himself has many decisions to be made with roster and how he wants to do so, and also how involved will Joerger, Ranadive and new as sirens general manager Ken Cantella play a part in the decision making.

It’s become a known fact that no player in the NBA wants to play for the Kings unless they’re dealt or drafted there, overpaid to sign them or given many years on their deal, or just need a team to sign with to fix their reputation around the association.

"“Vlade (Divac) has a helluva task ahead of him,” Karl told Allison Bee of the Sacramento Bee. “The roster needs to be tinkered with. He is going to be in for an NBA free agency unlike anything we have ever seen. If the decision is made to keep Cuz, you have to put the right players around him. But it can’t be about Cousins. You have to make basketball decisions.”"

Will the Sacramento Kings legitimate enter a new era of becoming respectable? Maybe.

It’s hard to judge them, because with everything that’s happened in the past its debatable which is likelier to happen: Donald Trump becoming the 45th president of the United States or the Kings making the postseason.

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We’ll see what moves the team makes on draft night and during the offseason.

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