hearing both coach malone and vivek ranadive throw their confidence behind demarcus cousins is an excellent sign. malone believes that DMC can be among the best centers in the league, if not the best, on any given night. i'm particularly fond of his quip that you don't just toss those kinds of players aside. ranadive clearly feels the same way. overall, i am rather encouraged by what i'm hearing...
i have to admit that, even though malone wasn't at the top of my list of head coaching candidates, i'm very impressed by his attitude to team building. i especially like that he's not afraid to just say it: the kings have been a terrible defensive team the past several years, last in many major defensive categories. but, as a team, they will be better, because he prioritizes defense, as well as rebounding (which i consider to be perhaps the most important aspect of the game). it's good stuff on what they're calling "day one." i look forward to seeing how they continue to approach this rebuild...