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Sacramento Kings: 2015-16 Season Outlook

By Gerald Bourguet

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Sacramento Kings
Mar 7, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (right) walks back to the bench after head coach George Karl (left) called timeout against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won in overtime 114-109. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Three Key Storylines

1. Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The problem is when you have one of the greatest regular season coaches in NBA history, a 64-year-old man who’s set in his ways, and an embattled franchise player, one of the league’s best centers who had to watch the only coach he’s ever liked get fired last year, that’s not a recipe for success.

And that’s before we even talk about Karl’s reported power play this summer to try and get the organization to trade Boogie, a move that prompted Cousins to call the situation what it was:

https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/613225835365949440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

For those illiterate in the language of emoji, Cousins’ tweet roughly translates to that old adage about snakes in the grass. This might seem like an exaggerated take on a situation that could easily be resolved with a face-to-face conversation. But Karl has a history of trying to run his star players out of town, and his players have a history of responding in all-too-familiar fashion.

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    • The Kings could use a coach like Karl to jumpstart the offense. Even if the roster in Sacramento doesn’t compare to what he had to work with in Denver or Seattle, Karl could very easily make the Kings a better team with enough time. But if he’s already clashing with the team’s best player and he hasn’t even served a full season there yet, that’s not an encouraging sign.

    To be perfectly honest, the Kings should have fired Karl the moment he started stirring all this drama up. Would it have been embarrassing to fire the team’s third head coach in less than a year? Sure. But when it comes down to star vs. coach, it’s usually the star that has to win for the good of the franchise, and Tom Thibodeau was available this summer.

    This is not to cast complete doom and gloom over Sacramento’s 2014-15 season. Perhaps something beautiful and strong will be forged out of these fires of chaos. But for a dysfunctional organization that’s been the laughingstock of the league for years now, this feud is still dangerous as it lies dormant, seemingly biding its time and lying in wait for the perfect time to bubble up and waste another year of Cousins’ prime.

    If the Kings are smart, or at the very least, if they want to try and overcome their track record of making terrible personnel decisions, they’ll choose Boogie over Karl when the time comes.

    Next: Storyline: What Does Rondo Have Left?

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