whether or not an individual believes that the kings are actually tanking is, in my opinion, irrelevant: 8-19... that's good for 5th worst in the entire nba. 29th in points allowed per game, 22nd in rebounds per game, inefficiency across the roster, woefully thin bench, etc. yes, "work in progress," and all that, but until coach malone is gifted with a bevy of top-flight defensive personnel on the court, expect this team to "tank" in the standings, intentionally or otherwise...
it's another lost season. it was a lost season before it began. that sucks for season ticket holders. that sucks for any kind of ticket holder. but it is what it is. this team needs to improve, and it's unlikely that internal improvement will be enough to significantly impact the win/loss column. this is why i continue to look forward to the 2014 draft, where there is considerable talent available in the first half of the lottery with the potential to make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball...
i remain tremendously skeptical of the notion that rudy gay is the answer, that he is the robin to DMC's batman. simply adding a #2 (and a relatively lightweight, inefficient, "near-all star," at that) to the equation doesn't necessarily lead to any kind of sustained success. "fit" matters. defense matters. just look at the clusterf*** over in brooklyn if you need evidence that name recognition alone isn't worthy of a winning record...
in my estimation, the ideal scenario is that the kings pick in the top-5 where they will likely (for all of the overly-cautious "there are no guarantees" types out there) be able to snag a younger, less expensive, more efficient, and more talented second option than rudy gay, then flip the asset of gay's enormous expiring contract for defensive-minded veterans/rebounders/roleplayers that require few shots to aid in filling out the roster...
if the kings are really lucky, they'll find an answer at starting PG along the way (marcus smart/dante exum in the draft? goran dragic/rajon rondo via trade?), and they'll be able to sew up isaiah thomas to a reasonable deal in a returning role as the team's sixth man. again, these are the components of an ideal scenario. i don't expect all of the pieces to fall so neatly in place. but it's a plan, and one that requires losing a lot of games in the meantime...
personally, i prefer such a plan to the shuffling around of crap defenders year in and year out. i see the draft as a good place to invest in future wins. there are very talented two-way players to be had and, once again, the team's 8-19 record (likely 8-20 after tonight) represents a losing pace in which a top-5 pick is hardly out of the realm of possibility. "tank" or "no tank," kings fans should be prepared for the mathematics of ping pong balls. that doesn't mean they have to like it...