2009-2010 Stats

Record: 25-57

Seeding: 14th in the Western Conference

What changed since June: Drafted Cousins, traded with Philly

The most significant move in terms of long-term impact was the drafting of DeMarcus Cousins at #5 overall. While it might take him some time to make a game-to-game impact in the league, Cousins has the physical ability and basketball instincts to get there. His biggest limitation has always been himself- can DeMarcus keep his head on straight?

Sacramento’s biggest strength: Big man depth

For a young team, having an interior rotation that includes four quality players is quite a coup. Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Samuel Dalembert, and the aforementioned Cousins all bring their own strengths and weaknesses to the table and each is worthy of rotation-level minutes at the least. That kind of PF/C quality should allow them to handle foul trouble more deftly and allow their bigs to be aggressive when they are on the floor.

Sacramento’s biggest weakness: Lack of starter-quality players

While the bigs have depth, the reason Sacto will have trouble winning a ton of games this year is that they simply do not have enough top-level talent. Tyreke Evans brings a lot to the table already, yet their SF position is still a big question mark (though Omri Casspi has shown flashes) and the team still does not have substantial guard depth unless Tyreke and Beno Udrih can play more minutes than expected.

The Big Question: What are Tyreke and Cousins’ long-term niches?

I’ve written before that positional definitions should be done based on how a player can and does play defense. However, offensive niches are extremely important as well. For both Evans and Cousins, the Kings possess the long-term flexibility to complement them with the right players. However, finding those fits requires an honest and accurate evaluation of where the players are going down the line. If Evans can prove he should be a primary ballhandler, management can look for more of a scoring off-guard while the team being better when he is off-the-ball necessitates different accompanying perimeter talent. The Kings have the time to do this and making the right calls will set their ceiling for future seasons.

Where the team fits in:

Having seen what Portland and Oklahoma City have already done in such short periods of time could lead to some hoping for the moon with two major building blocks in place. That said, the Kings still need to add starter and rotation-quality players all around the floor to become relevant in a Western Conference with more playoff quality teams than playoff spots. Another rough year in terms of wins and losses followed by a strong lottery pick and smart free agency should lead to a brighter 2011 and beyond.

Feel free to e-mail Daniel at Daniel.leroux@realgm.com or follow him on twitter @DannyLeroux