Sacramento Kings: Random Notes

I had two ways to write this article: With my laptop that has not been able to run Firefox for more than two minutes before shutting down the entire system for three days now or my parents’ computer that is more than 10 years old and has been tended to like a dog in Michael Vick’s fighting ring (Hey, it’s football season!). I tried my laptop first but, as expected, it crashed about two minutes into logging on to HoopsHabit. So I’m left to type this piece, ostensibly about the Sacramento Kings, on a surprisingly functional tower and on a keyboard that will stop typing random letters at least five different times while I am writing this (you wouldn’t guess it, but that can get annoying while writing a 1,000-word article).

We are in the home stretch of the brutal dead period that precedes one of the more entertaining NBA segments. There are less than 60 days left before the opening night of the 2013-14 season. Media day and the start of training camp can be seen on the calendar without a flipping ahead and with those dates will come a slew of articles — rating between very interesting and pointless — on rookie initiations, competitions for final roster spots and new coaches and players meshing with their new surroundings. But before we get there we still have to endure a little more time of brutally boring NBA coverage (which I rant about in depth Jimmer Fredette here). So, between my technical problems and lack of relevant NBA news, I decided to hit on some random topics about Sacramento’s summer and the upcoming season that do not necessarily warrant their own write up. Here we go:

The Kings are still without a true center. And I do not mean they are without a center in the starting lineup or even one in the rotation. The Kings’ literally do not have a single pure center on their roster. This is not necessarily a problem; the NBA is becoming more position-less every season and having a player DeMarcus Cousins playing mostly around the elbows may actually cure some of Sacramento’s potential spacing issues. It is still a little funny to think about, though, especially considering the Kings’ log jam at the power forward position and in the backcourt. I have talked about the guards and power forwards in depth previously, but the Kings have six backcourt players and five power forwards who could play productive minutes in the NBA. They also added fuel to that fire by recently adding another guard, Trent Lockett, to their already overstuffed backcourt. Though it is worth noting that Lockett, along with Ray McCallum and even Ben McLemore, could see some time in the D-League to gain further experience before coming to the NBA for good.

There is a good chance that this topic gets a full article in the next couple of weeks, but I at least wanted to mention it in case it does not. The struggle to keep the Sacramento Kings from becoming the Seattle SuperSonics has been an intriguing saga and surprisingly a continuous one. Their are a lot of dynamics at play here and that has made it impossible to justifiably praise or disgrace any side in the battle for one of the few NBA franchises that could be considered up for grabs. Chris Hansen has been painted as the villain recently and while his recent actions have earned him that paint job, the people running the NBA have really backed him in the corner here. Hansen is one of the few people willing to front all of the money towards a new professional sporting arena. The NBA has been using that fact as leverage to get the cities that house these potential Sonic franchises to help build new arenas with money from the city’s own budget. And that is where the folks on the Sacramento side are at least somewhat at fault. No matter how you spin it, building a new arena using taxpayer dollars is not a great move for the city of Sacramento, but it is hard to blame Vivek and the new ownership group for trying to keep the team in the city. There is muddy water on both sides of the fence here and the only group that is totally at fault is the NBA. I want to keep basketball in Sacramento and want to bring the NBA back to Seattle as well, but at this point the NBA does not seem to be pursuing a resolution that suffices both cities.

Andre Drummond and Jennette McCurdy, a.k.a. Sam from “iCarly” are dating. I know that has nothing to do with the Kings, but I just wanted to let everybody know that this is happening. (Get that look off of your face; it’s the beginning of September)

There is a chance this team has a rebounding problem this season. There is not a single above average rebounder on this roster outside of DeMarcus Cousins. Defensively it will probably be a non-issue because Cousins is very good rebounding on that end and you would figure the rest of the guys on the roster are all good enough to pick up any slack Cousins leaves over. Offensively though, the Kings’ may not be able to take advantage of missed shots via second chance opportunities. Despite Cousins’ dominance on the defensive glass, he is middling as an offensive rebounder and no one King stands out as good on the offensive boards. Traditionally a lack of offensive rebounding is not necessarily a problem; when stressing the control of the boards, old heads are typically referring to keeping the other team off the offensive glass, without ever really emphasizing a need to attack it themselves. However, as the game gets smaller — in the sense that the little things are making bigger differences — teams are recognizing the need to win extra possessions to gain an advantage over the opposition. These extra possessions can be garnered via offensive rebounding (Memphis Grizzlies) and turnovers — either keeping your own turnovers (New York Knicks) low or forcing the opposition into high turnover numbers (Miami Heat). The Kings’ relative youth in the backcourt and underwhelming defensive prowess leave them looking like they will not be winning the turnover battle, so a lack of offensive rebounding can really come back to hurt the Kings’ in the long run.

Should have something more detailed regarding the Kings next week, thanks for bearing with me. We are less than 60 days away.

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