Sacramento Kings Complete 2016-17 Preview

Job security has been a foreign concept for recent Sacramento Kings coaches, but Dave Joerger—their ninth different skipper since 2006—might have cracked the code.

Want longevity atop this organization? Gain the trust of franchise face DeMarcus Cousins.

Joerger’s predecessor, George Karl, never did. Karl burned that bridge by refusing to dub the All-Star big man untradeable, and Cousins used three emojis to show the distrust those words created. Karl only made it 14 months into his four-year deal before being axed in April.

Joerger was hired by Sacramento in May, days after being let go by the Memphis Grizzlies. By early June, he was earning brownie points with Boogie at the driving range, laying a foundation that’s been strengthened since by an understanding of the X’s and O’s.

“I think he’s a perfect piece of the puzzle,” Cousins said, per CSN Bay Area. “He brought a quality to this team that we’ve been missing, which is a defensive mindset. I think he understands players. I think he’s great with different personalities, which is a rare quality in coaches.”

The Kings needed new direction after Karl’s rocky tenure and more talent after a 33-49 season—their 10th consecutive losing campaign. An active offseason delivered both.

Sacramento bulked up its wings with proven NBA commodities Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, Garrett Temple and Anthony Tolliver. It stocked its prospect collection with 2016’s No. 13 pick Georgios Papagiannis, fellow first-rounders Malachi Richardson and Skal Labissiere, former first-rounder Bogdan Bogdanovic and second-round flier Isaiah Cousins.

The Kings took hits at point guard, however. Rajon Rondo may not have been the most reliable floor general, but his 2015-16 season looks elite compared to those of Ty Lawson and Jordan Farmar. Not to mention that Sacramento may need to cover its ears if Seth Curry blossoms elsewhere.

The summer still stands as a clear positive for the Kings, but it’ll take a Herculean effort to snap their decade-long playoff drought.

Rotation Breakdown

If Joerger has sketched out his rotation, he probably has one name in ink—Cousins—and the rest written, erased and rewritten in pencil. There are front-runners for the other four spots, but none should be set in stone.

Rudy Gay is the closest thing—he had the second-highest scoring average last season (17.2 points per game) and will collect the second-highest salary this time around ($13.3 million). But he’s not long for Sacramento and struggles with efficiency as a mid-range specialist in a league that keeps pushing further out to the perimeter.

That won’t keep Gay from claiming a starting forward spot, almost assuredly on the wing, given the roster’s glut of bigs. Darren Collison should lock down the starting point guard gig once he’s back from his eight-game suspension. Arron Afflalo’s superior shooting will push him ahead of Garrett Temple at the 2. That should leave the 4 spot for Willie Cauley-Stein—Sactown’s most prized prospect.

But all of this is fluid, including Cousins’ positioning. As Joerger explained to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:

Sometimes (Cousins will play) with Kosta [Koufos]. Sometimes he’s going to play with Matt …

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