A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings: Turning It Around Starts With the Head Coach

By Rafe Wong

May 10, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger 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 during a press conference at the Sacramento Kings XC (Experience Center). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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For teams to be successful in the NBA, it starts with having a great leader.

Great leaders are able to establish a vision that the team as a whole can share, communicate well with their players, and gain trust.

For the Sacramento Kings in their recent past, their play has been similar to how well their coach leads.

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When the Ranadive era first started, they brought in Michael Malone as their head coach. Although the team struggled in their first season with a 28-54 record, Malone was able to gain the trust of his players which increased the morale of the team.

As a result, the Kings played much better to start their second season under Malone as they won 9 out of their first 14 games played. But when the news came out that Sacramento decided to part ways with Malone mid-season, it created a dark cloud that hovered over the franchise until the season ended.

The purple and white then entered their most recent season under the coaching of George Karl. Under the leadership of Karl, lack of vision, communication, and trust was displayed, which resulted in a disappointing season for Sacramento as they finished with a record of 33-49.

Based on the past, having a head coach that the players can rely on is key for the Kings success going forward.

Right now Dave Joerger, current Kings head coach, has the challenge of being able to win the respect of his players. If he is able to get his team to buy into him, it will result in better play from the Kings.

Dec 8, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum. Oklahoma City defeated Memphis 125-88. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum. Oklahoma City defeated Memphis 125-88. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

There looks to be a vision in place for the Kings based on their personnel decisions this summer, as they are becoming more defensive oriented.

Communication looks to be off to a good start as well. Multiple times this summer Joerger and DeMarcus Cousins have met up with each other, one of those occasions when they were hitting it off at the driving range.

Trust now has to be found between players and coach, but that takes patience and time to develop.

It looks like Joerger has done as well as any coach could do once getting their toes wet with a new organization. But time will tell how much the players really look at Joerger as a leader of men.

Next: What To Expect From Papagiannis This Season?

Joerger was able to win over his players during his time with the Memphis Grizzlies, which should be encouraging to hear for Kings fans. Hopefully, it will be the same with Sacramento. It must in order for the purple and white to get back to relevancy.

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