Starting from scratch is a tempting idea. There is something appealing about a clean slate. Next season the Sacramento Kings will have a new coach and a new arena. Why not a whole new roster? Blowing it all up with trades, downsizing, saving money, and hoarding draft picks are something that is often thrown out there as a good strategy for the Kings to implement.
It’s not a good strategy. Not here, not anywhere in the NBA really.
People’s perception of the last few losing seasons might be a bit skewed. That is because of one constant, and that constant is DeMarcus Cousins. When people talk about blowing up the team, they pretty much mean getting rid of Cousins. They argue that he (and his attitude) is the reason the team has done so poorly. This thinking ignores the previous owners not investing in the team and outright trying to sell it off. This also includes the rotating door of coaches, some of them not cut out for a head coach position and some that were never fully supported by a chaotic front office.
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There is also the new ownership group clumsily trying to figure out how to properly run an NBA franchise. On top of that, you could argue (and I am) that the last few rosters have already been blown up, with players coming and going faster than the coaches.
But no, it’s all Boogie’s fault. The two-time All-Star who was picked All-NBA 2nd Team two years in a row is who we need to get rid of. And some people out there want to get rid of him for pennies on the dollar (*cough* The Sac Bee *cough*).
Blowing the team up, starting from scratch and rebuilding for the next several seasons is not a strategy, it’s desperation. How well has it worked out for the 76ers (belief in the system, nope), or Magic (who also just got a new coach)? Boston was successful this season, but they are still sitting on all those draft picks and they were lucky to get Isaiah Thomas who had to travel from one dumpster fire through another in Phoenix. And that’s what we all have to realize, how much luck plays into it when you try and rebuild in the NBA.
What about the Timberwolves you say or even the Cavs? Well, it took LeBron James leaving Miami to greatly help both those teams out (not to mention Cleveland’s extremely lucky lottery picks). And guess who didn’t have to blow up their roster after the arguably greatest player of this generation left them? Miami.
Miami who made the playoffs again this season. Miami who has a strong, smart front office. They have a good coach who has a system, with everybody on the same wavelength working towards the same goal. They don’t need to rebuild. Do I even have to mention the Spurs as another example?
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The Kings need an owner and front office that is on the same page with a coach that can reach the players, run plays and is secure in knowing what the GM wants him to do. And the players of the team need to work hard and buy into the system.
The NBA Draft is a gamble, not our savior. The brooding Boogie is an unstoppable All-Star that the Kings have under contract at a ridiculously cheap price. Blowing up the roster makes no sense.
“Clean Slate” and “rebuilding” are just buzz words. Draft smart, don’t overpay for free agents and gather players together that complement each other. The one thing the Sacramento Kings don’t need to do is act desperate because that’s what they have been doing for the better half of a decade.