Sacramento Kings: Dave Joerger will be X-factor in rebuild

After a promising offseason, the Sacramento Kings have added the necessary pieces to start moving forward. But the onus will be head coach Dave Joerger to piece it all together.

With a number of decisive and well-executed additions through the draft and free agency this summer, it feels as though the tide is starting to finally turn for the Sacramento Kings.

Being two months out from the start of the regular season, it’s too early to determine whether the Kings will be trending in the right direction on the court and if we’re being honest, the next two seasons won’t be the best indicator of whether they will appear any closer to experiencing lasting success.

Nevertheless, the Kings have assembled the right mix of talent, both young and experienced, to put together a foundation that hopefully results in a winning formula for the first time in a number of years.

On that note, no one person stands as a bigger deciding factor in making it all work other than the team’s head coach, Dave Joerger. Having come to Sacramento a little over a year ago now, Joerger arrived at an inflection point for the franchise, now looking back in hindsight.

At this time last year, the question that was primarily heaped upon Joerger heading into last season was how he would be able to handle the team’s star at the time, DeMarcus Cousins.

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For the most part, it was a question that Joerger admirably answered well, as he arguably got more out of Cousins than any other Kings coach during Cousins’ tenure.

Obviously a lot has since changed, and after the Kings chose to finally deal Cousins during the All-Star break, Joerger trucked on with what he had for the remaining two months of play.

Now he will be tasked with leading an incredibly unseasoned roster that is unlike any previous roster the Minnesota native has had to coach at the NBA level.

In his three years at the helm for the Memphis Grizzlies, Joerger had a veteran-laden team at his disposal — one that he knew the ins and outs of, if you account for the six seasons he acted as an assistant coach until his promotion before the 2013-14 season.

Since some of the veterans from those Grizzlies teams like Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and Kosta Koufos are now in Sacramento, Joerger has some familiarity with the veteran voices that will help establish the culture in the locker room along with Garrett Temple.

But for the nine players that are currently on or starting their rookie-scale contracts for the Kings, Joerger will have to strike a fine balance in having to imprint his philosophy and managing the minutes for the many promising players on the team’s depth chart.

Whether that’s valuing experience over inexperience at a certain position for a decisive stretch run to close out a game or sticking with a rookie who’s going through his fair share of struggles, all Kings fans will be paying close attention to Joerger’s game management throughout the season.

None of this is to say that Joerger isn’t fit for the challenge. He’s clearly shown that he’s an accomplished coach, whether it’s been in Memphis or his lone season in Sacramento.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Complete 2017 offseason grades

But the ability for Joerger to adapt to the team’s revamped roster and balancing results over what is needed to move in the right direction for the future will be under the microscope for next season, as well as 2018-19.

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