Excellent thought provoking post. Asks more questions than it answers, but that's the result of where we are right now. I think the major question that the Kings organization has to ask itself, and to be fair, maybe they have and haven't told us, is are we still trying to do a quick fix, or are we looking at a long term fix? I realize that if you asked most of the fans, the answer would be we want to win now, because we've already been bad for the legally required amount of time. If only it worked like that.
It's been my opinion that the Kings, regardless of who has been in charge, have been trying to throw together some combination of players that will magically become contenders. The result has been a revolving door with players coming and going followed closely by head coaches and the occasional GM. So here we are now with nothing to show for it, and still facing the same decisions we were facing 9 or 10 years ago. The only common denominator has been Cousins, and I don't say that in order to place blame. Just stating facts.
So, right here, right now, we do have one major NBA star. Cousins! The question is, how do we acquire another one? Well you can trade for one, which might be the most unlikely, because you usually have to give up one to get one, or give up so many asset's, that if it doesn't work out, your future is screwed. But more on that later. Another way is through free agency. All you need is cap space, which we will have this next off season, and the ability to attract a big star. Does anyone want to bet on that scenario? But, it's possible.. Lastly, you draft one. Hey, that's how we got Cousins, so it can work. But, your planting a seed, and seeds take time to grow, and in the meantime, we've already wasted part of Cousins prime.
That brings us full circle to whether we continue to build the team around Cousins? Let me think...... OK, I'd say yes, because getting that first star player is very difficult, and we already have one. That's if Cousins is willing to stay the course. So how do we speed up the process? The only way is to trade for another possible star, similar to how we got Webber. Find a very talented player that wants to move on from a team that's fed up with the player. I know everyone is looking at Wall. There is after all, the Cousins connection.
I'd rather look at his running mate, Beal. It's rumored that the Wiz would rather trade Beal, and I think Beal would look pretty good in a Kings uniform. Beal is capable of carrying a team on his back on occasion. Of course Beal would make some combination of McLemore, Afflalo, Temple, Bogdanovic expendable, and maybe included in the deal. I'm not sure what the Wiz would want in return, but hey, other than Cousins, just about everyone else on the team is expendable. If we were able to acquire Beal, maybe that could sway Gay to re-sign, and if that were possible, maybe the Kings would look more attractive to free agents next off season.
Of course that's a lot of if's and maybe's. But that's where we are right now, were living in a land of if's and maybe's. The bottom line is, the Kings have to decide what their plan is, and hopefully it's a different plan than we've had for the last 10 years.
