Its about who has the best record at the end of the season. Right now it's very easy to get swept into who looks like a playoff team during the offseason. I thought the Clippers would be pure trash, as did most. Denver, Orlando, Indiana, Brooklyn, all surprised the hell out of everyone. Houston, SA looked like mere mortals during the regular season. Portland didn't make any major moves and got to the WCF. Last year's Kings roster improved their win total by 12 games over the previous year while making some obvious mistakes during the season. If the current roster tightens up their play then we are a playoff team.
Almost forgot to mention that the 7akers acquired Lebron and still managed to become the laughing stock of the NBA. Lastly, to "counter" would be to react; I would prefer that our FO not make reactionary decisions. I happen to think our roster is pretty loaded, why chase free agents unless they are seen as a perfect fit? Asset acquisition? We aren't in a spot to do that.