Sacramento Kings: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Over the last decade, the Sacramento Kings have been the biggest joke in the association. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season, they haven’t fielded a legitimate contender since 2003-04, and a series of never-ending bad decisions and front office blunders have prevented the franchise from finding solid footing since.

The Kings have basically become an ongoing Lemony Snicket story in the NBA. After a busy and drama-filled summer, the question is, will anything change before we reach the 10-year anniversary of the last time Sacramento earned a postseason berth?

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The Kings have been blessed with quite possibly the best center in the NBA in DeMarcus Cousins, an embattled big man who joined the ranks of five other Hall of Famers/future Hall of Famers last year as the only players to ever post a 24-12-3-1-1 stat line in a season. The only problem has been surrounding him with the right personnel — players and coaches alike — to elevate the Kings to the next level.

Simply put, Sacramento’s brass didn’t get the job done this summer once again. The Kings may be a marginally improved team in 2015-16, but they stunted their future growth in the process, and any talk of making the playoffs should probably be put on hold for now in the loaded West. Here’s a look at more realistic expectations for the Sacramento Kings this year.

2014-15 Vitals
29-53, 4th in Pacific Division, 13th in Western Conference
101.3 PPG (14th)/105.0 OPPG (28th)
105.3 Offensive Rating (14th)/109.2 Defensive Rating (27th)

Team Leaders
Scoring: DeMarcus Cousins, 24.1 PPG
Rebounding: DeMarcus Cousins, 12.7 RPG
Assists: Darren Collison, 5.6 APG
Steals: DeMarcus Cousins, 1.5 SPG
Blocks: DeMarcus Cousins, 1.7 BPG

Honors
All-NBA Team (2nd): DeMarcus Cousins

Next: 2015-16 Roster