Here's your first problem. You make too much sense! Stop it! Your second problem, related to the first, is that your being objective, and looking at the big picture, instead of the now. To most fans, it's the now that matters. Always try and remember that we live in an instant gratification society. Tomorrow is for old people and I'm never getting old. OK, I exaggerate a bit, but I agree with a lot of what you have to say. Especially your analysis, if not your conclusions.
I think I've rewatched more Kings games this season than any other. Despite that, I've found it very difficult to nail down what's wrong to a just a couple of things. Oh I can come up with generalizations. Such as, our three point defense is terrible. That's a given, but when you watch a game and try to figure out why, you come away frustrated, because there's a multitude of reasons. My general conclusion is that this team is totally screwed up. There are players that play well, maybe better than well on both ends of the floor, and then they come back a game later, and play as though they're in highschool. Is that totally on the coach? Well, they do say the buck stops here.
If it were just that simple. Yeah, I know, Mike Malone would have won a championship if given the chance to continue. Hey, maybe, who the hell knows. But I doubt it. If we were to throw away the first eight games of this season, or only rely on our record in January, Karl wouldn't look so bad either. Actually, when you think about it, Karl has had an uphill battle from the get go. Cousins loved playing for Malone. At least up until Malone was fired. But he had to be brought screaming and yelling to play for Karl. Not a good way to start a season. I actually thought it might work, but I think it's clear that it won't. So it would appear that at some point, Karl will be gone. But, does that mean championship here we come?
Here is the question that everyone should be asking themselves. When you look at the current roster, and take into consideration of each players ability, do you see a championship team? Not today, but in the future, and if not, what would have to be done to make it so? The premise has been that if we just put the right players around Cousins, we'll be a contender for a championship. OK, who are those players, and how do we acquire them? Malone aside, who is the coach that will lead us to the promised land? Instead of being negative to everything Kings related, tell me how to fix it. I can howl at the moon all night, and the next night, it's still there.
Now this is just my opinion, so its worth what you paid for it. But I think this team is so far away from a championship with it's current roster that god wouldn't attempt to coach it. And if I'm right, then how do you fix it, and please don't tell me to trade McLemore for and all star SG. Unless you find a drunk GM sitting on the steps outside a casino in Las Vegas, your not going to get something for nothing. At the moment, we have no draft picks, and we have very few assets. And the assets we do have, no one wants to trade. According to the rumor mills, the players the Kings have that have been brought up in trade inquiry's, are Collison, Gay, McLemore, and Cousins. Makes sense, no?
As much as I hate to say this, it might be time to move in another direction. I think Vivek's biggest mistake, and he's made many, but his latest mistake was that he wanted Vlade to make the team into a playoff team going into the new arena. Unless your real lucky, shortcuts never work in life, and in the NBA trying to shortcut your way to the top can be fatal, and set your team back years. So our only two options at this point are, stay with the status quo, and try to add a piece or two as money and luck allow, or blow up the team and start in a new direction. I will admit, that despite my age, I'm leaning hard toward the latter. And I think either option could be sold to the public going into the new arena.
I'm not going to go into why I feel the way I do because then this post would be five or six pages long, and I'm sure many of you wouldn't agree with me anyway. I'll sum it up this way, and let you fill in the blank areas. Everything that's thought about or written about relating to this team, both positive and negative revolves around one person. DeMarcus Cousins! Whether the coach is the right coach or not, depends on whether Cousins likes the coach. Whether we resign Rondo or not, maybe depends on how it will affect Cousins. Whether we trade Gay or not, depends on how it might affect Cousins. We won't sell the "Year of the Monkey" t-shirts in the Kings store, because Cousins found that a tradition that goes back 5000 years is now suddenly racist. The inmates are running the asylum folks, and that always leads to chaos. Strangely enough, I don't blame Cousins. Don't get me wrong, he has some immature issues that need changing. But I blame Vivek for letting it get this far. Unfortunately, I think it's too late to turn it around.
