The Sacramento Kings parted ways with Willie Cauley-Stein over the summer, and his most recent comments are the cherry on top of a bitter breakup.
It was a summer full of change in the NBA, and especially so throughout the state of California. Two super teams were built in Los Angeles, and the Warriors have new pieces everywhere. As for the Sacramento Kings, their acquisitions weren’t as sexy, but they received a huge addition by subtraction when they parted ways with Willie Cauley-Stein.
Cauley-Stein’s four seasons in Sacramento were akin to a roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, that roller coaster was more “Its A Small World” and less “Tower of Terror”. The 7-footer is known to possess most of the necessary physical skills to become an All-Star in the NBA, but it is/was his lack of effort that held him back from being anything but a glorified role player.
Recent Jab At Kings Organization
Since the end of the last regular season, he has not exactly been quiet in regards to his former employer.
He and his agent were vocal at the beginning of the summer about it being “time to move on” and that “things have not been steady there” when asked about the Kings organization.
Then, earlier this week during Warriors media day, Cauley-Stein took yet another shot at Sacramento.
"“My past four years was training, like being in a time chamber. I had to go through those steps, I had to learn the league…in the mud. As soon as you come across the bridge, you feel a winning mentality.”"
That’s a big “oops” from Cauley-Stein. He should know from his four years in Sacramento that Kings fans are passionate. With basketball being the only sport in town, the fans hang on every word that comes from current and former player’s mouths, especially the negative ones.
No, we’re not sure what Cauley-Stein meant by “time chamber”, but the “mud” comment is crystal clear. Instead of being a part of the solution in Sacramento and trying to remove the mud, he only added to it. His lack of effort, his inconsistency, and his failure to live up to his billing as a 6th overall pick.
https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1178768403911151616
Previous Turmoil
For the most part, Kings fans supported Cauley-Stein in his off-court ventures when it came to his art and self-expression. It was during his final season in Sacramento that things began to sour, however.
During training camp in 2018, Cauley-Stein commented that he was “ready to get paid…that’s what I’m focused on.” A team full of young talent had one of its veterans state that his focus is on his financials instead of winning basketball games. The first straw was laid on the camels back.
Then, over a two-game span in mid-December, Cauley-Stein gave up 46 combined rebounds to DeAndre Jordan and Steven Adams, and his comments afterward rubbed fans the wrong way.
"“They get paid $100 million to do that.”"
So you won’t show that type of effort unless you’re getting paid 100 million dollars? This is unfortunate news for the Warriors, who are paying Cauley-Stein just $2.1 million per year, which is slightly above the veteran’s minimum. If $100 million results in 23 rebounds, then the Warriors can expect their new big man to average just shy of a half of a rebound per contest.
Hopefully, Cauley-Stein is “ready to get paid” again next offseason. He will miss the entirety of training camp with a foot injury that could potentially linger in to the regular season.