Ranking the NBA's 7 most hopeless teams

#4
The younger posters probably don't know but there was a time when the Patriots were the worst franchise in the NFL and then one day Bledsoe got injured and they threw a late round pick QB in the game and the rest is history. Difference is we have been to the top of the mountain before but experienced the biggest sports injustice of all time. The Warriors are another example, people talk like they are some kind of revolutionaries to the game but I think they are playing alot of classic Sacramento Kings brand basketball. Your bad until your not. Also I don't give a #### what the national sports media like Bspn for example say because they never gave us our due even in our glory days so #### em.
 
#9
Even though I'm extremely pessimistic about the owner and the front office, whomever authored that article showed that they really don't follow the league that closely or know what the sam hill they're talking about. Ranking the Kings next to last is ignorant -- and flat wrong.

Whether they'll eventually develop and pan out or not, the Kings currently have FOUR 1st round picks from the 2016 draft (2 lottery) and possibly 2 more lottery picks in the upcoming draft. Factor in Willie Cauley-Stein from the 2015 draft and that's nearly half a roster of young players to build from. Not all the teams ranked just above them have a situation like that.

And that doesn't even include Bogdan Bogdanovich -- one of the best young players in Europe -- possibly coming over next season either.

In summary, that article is pure trash. Click bait.
 
#10
I think they have it right. They Kings have a young-ish roster. But, it's not like any of their prospects are blue chippers that are well on track to become all-stars. Hield should be pretty good. Skal might be good, but it depends upon he's willing to fight, be physical and do the dirty work. They got a handful of young players that could be anywhere been really really good and just NBA players. That's also true of the Magic, so if you want to swap 2 and 3 ... ok. The Nets are worse and control even less picks.

Beyond that, the 4 other teams on the list and 23 NBA teams that aren't on the list, have better assets and/or paths to accumulate players and assets.

Folks always want to compare how the current Kings stack up vs past Kings teams. If you like the trajectory of this roster more than the roster 6 weeks ok, that's cool. The Kings still have to go out and with games against other NBA teams. And from a talent standpoint, that's going to be TOUGH sledding next year and for a while unless the Kings get really good at player development fast. They haven't been very good at that for a decade.
 
#11
Even though I'm extremely pessimistic about the owner and the front office, whomever authored that article showed that they really don't follow the league that closely or know what the sam hill they're talking about. Ranking the Kings next to last is ignorant -- and flat wrong.

Whether they'll eventually develop and pan out or not, the Kings currently have FOUR 1st round picks from the 2016 draft (2 lottery) and possibly 2 more lottery picks in the upcoming draft. Factor in Willie Cauley-Stein from the 2015 draft and that's nearly half a roster of young players to build from. Not all the teams ranked just above them have a situation like that.

And that doesn't even include Bogdan Bogdanovich -- one of the best young players in Europe -- possibly coming over next season either.

In summary, that article is pure trash. Click bait.
Where do you think they should rank?
 
#12
This article is exactly right. The nets and Kings are the rock bottom worst.

If any of you fine people here can see any reason to be upbeat about the future of this franchise, man, I really envy your ability to be optimistic. I know we have some rooks with some talent. I know we might have picks. Unfortunately I think there is a big chance our esteemed owner will become enamored with someone new or some new way our team should play and blow this rebuild up. He will get a wild bur up his a** and hire a new GM who in turn will want to bring in a new coach. Ive seen viveks ways and he doesn't seem to be making any huge effort to change his ways. Unfortunately we have a huge problem and nothing can be done about it. NOTHING.

The patriots did not have a turd running their FO when they turned it around. Neither did the warriors.
 
#13
The younger posters probably don't know but there was a time when the Patriots were the worst franchise in the NFL and then one day Bledsoe got injured and they threw a late round pick QB in the game and the rest is history. Difference is we have been to the top of the mountain before but experienced the biggest sports injustice of all time. The Warriors are another example, people talk like they are some kind of revolutionaries to the game but I think they are playing alot of classic Sacramento Kings brand basketball. Your bad until your not. Also I don't give a #### what the national sports media like Bspn for example say because they never gave us our due even in our glory days so #### em.
yeah we had our chance for this though - our late round pick was IT. All star - leading his team to top seed in the east...
 
#15
Even though I'm extremely pessimistic about the owner and the front office, whomever authored that article showed that they really don't follow the league that closely or know what the sam hill they're talking about. Ranking the Kings next to last is ignorant -- and flat wrong.

Whether they'll eventually develop and pan out or not, the Kings currently have FOUR 1st round picks from the 2016 draft (2 lottery) and possibly 2 more lottery picks in the upcoming draft. Factor in Willie Cauley-Stein from the 2015 draft and that's nearly half a roster of young players to build from. Not all the teams ranked just above them have a situation like that.

And that doesn't even include Bogdan Bogdanovich -- one of the best young players in Europe -- possibly coming over next season either.

In summary, that article is pure trash. Click bait.
That's all well and good if the Kings haven't proven that they do not have the patience or the know how especially since Ranadive became an owner. Not just young players but coaches too.

Let's not forget that this is a franchise that has fired Michael Malone when the whole NBA community thought he was doing a great job of building a team and a culture of hard work, fundamentals and just plain developing young players. He got fired and replaced by Corbin who was going to be coach the rest of the season but got fired a few games later and George Karl was brought in who was on the verge of getting fired the following season at the all-star break but somehow survived to the end of the season before getting fired.

Now in that time, the Kings have had incidents with players, Rondo, Cousins, Barnes, Collison, Lawson etc. and by enlarge weren't seen as strong enough in disciplining those players.

Then there is the young talent that they were quick to give up on because they realized they might have drafted a bust or they thought they were no good enough or simply because they did not want to pay them. We are talking Tyreke, Thomas, Stauskas and even Cousins who was practically given away for 20 cents of the dollar.

That is not even taking into the account the deceiving and unstable nature of how this organization functions. Get Rudy Gay to sign an extension then sack the very coach that was part of the reason he re-signed. Tell Cousins and the world that you are not trading him then turn around and trade him. Practically run Thomas out of town and then start the rumors of how he was a bad team mate and how Cousins did not want him here only to have the two off them carry on like a couple of best friends at the all-star weekend. Hell didn't even Isiaiah's son come to Cousins while he was getting interviewed by the media. Then you trade your Superstar and give him a massive whack on the way out about culture mattering and all the other bullcrap.

This article is more than fair when you consider the actions of this franchise for most of its existence and especially in the last few years while Vivek has been running the show.

On 1st round draft picks on the team, sure, most of them are from arguably the worst draft since Mike Miller was drafted and won the ROY. They all have a long way to go and might actually bomb out of the league within 3 years. Even if they all work out, there is not a franchise player amongst them and its pretty clear that in this league, you cannot go all the way unless you have one or two of those guys on your team. So while the Kings might have 4-5 first rounders on the team, that mean absolutely nothing given this franchise's recent history. In fact there is no guarantee that they are on the roster next season. It would not surprise me in the slightest of the Kings pulled off another dumb move that will pee anything worthy into the wind. We know they have history of doing it.

The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior and will continue to be the case until they prove that they finally get it. Everything that we have seen to date suggests that Kings will find a way to **** this up AGAIN and they will be treated as such by the NBA community until they prove otherwise. Recent reports of wanting to hire someone above Vlade is yet another indicator that they still DON'T get it!
 
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#16
I agree with everything said above. It's three years running where the franchise has essentially flat lined down the stretch. Yet, huge swaths of the folks that post her are like "Oh, just watch. We are on track." This time last year it was Karl was holding us back. We get a real coach and ad a few vets and we're in the playoffs. Now it's, man just get a little stability and allow our stable of prospects to bloom and we're in the playoffs in a couple of years.

I get folks are fans ... but seriously, the talent here is not great and the ownership / management in charge of fixing that is bad. Really really bad.

As for the national media, I've read a fair amount of the national media and a fair amount of what's said by the purple colored glasses folks here that love to rip the national media. Over the past 4 years, over the long haul, the national media screws up some of the details but has a much more objective read on the likely outcome for the success of the team and our players that the local media or the die hard fans. Sure, they use the Kings as an unfair punching bag at times. The also write a lot of stuff that rings true and folks just don't want to hear it.
 
#19
That's all well and good if the Kings haven't proven that they do not have the patience or the know how especially since Ranadive became an owner. Not just young players but coaches too.

Let's not forget that this is a franchise that has fired Michael Malone when the whole NBA community thought he was doing a great job of building a team and a culture of hard work, fundamentals and just plain developing young players. He got fired and replaced by Corbin who was going to be coach the rest of the season but got fired a few games later and George Karl was brought in who was on the verge of getting fired the following season at the all-star break but somehow survived to the end of the season before getting fired.

Now in that time, the Kings have had incidents with players, Rondo, Cousins, Barnes, Collison, Lawson etc. and by enlarge weren't seen as strong enough in disciplining those players.

Then there is the young talent that they were quick to give up on because they realized they might have drafted a bust or they thought they were no good enough or simply because they did not want to pay them. We are talking Tyreke, Thomas, Stauskas and even Cousins who was practically given away for 20 cents of the dollar.

That is not even taking into the account the deceiving and unstable nature of how this organization functions. Get Rudy Gay to sign an extension then sack the very coach that was part of the reason he re-signed. Tell Cousins and the world that you are not trading him then turn around and trade him. Practically run Thomas out of town and then start the rumors of how he was a bad team mate and how Cousins did not want him here only to have the two off them carry on like a couple of best friends at the all-star weekend. Hell didn't even Isiaiah's son come to Cousins while he was getting interviewed by the media. Then you trade your Superstar and give him a massive whack on the way out about culture mattering and all the other bullpoopoo.

This article is more than fair when you consider the actions of this franchise for most of its existence and especially in the last few years while Vivek has been running the show.

On 1st round draft picks on the team, sure, most of them are from arguably the worst draft since Mike Miller was drafted and won the ROY. They all have a long way to go and might actually bomb out of the league within 3 years. Even if they all work out, there is not a franchise player amongst them and its pretty clear that in this league, you cannot go all the way unless you have one or two of those guys on your team. So while the Kings might have 4-5 first rounders on the team, that mean absolutely nothing given this franchise's recent history. In fact there is no guarantee that they are on the roster next season. It would not surprise me in the slightest of the Kings pulled off another dumb move that will pee anything worthy into the wind. We know they have history of doing it.

The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior and will continue to be the case until they prove that they finally get it. Everything that we have seen to date suggests that Kings will find a way to **** this up AGAIN and they will be treated as such by the NBA community until they prove otherwise. Recent reports of wanting to hire someone above Vlade is yet another indicator that they still DON'T get it!
Why do you gotta post something like this that I can't refute -- at all? I've even posted some of the same things when discussing the horrible Cousins trade. I'm trying really hard to buy into all the youth and promise on this team, but you're making that impossible by reminding me that I was right the first time. Nothing will change unless the leopard currently known as Vivek changes his spots and a competent and qualified GM is put in place and given complete autonomy.
 
#20
Setting aside the long term path for a moment, I'm surprised how many fans think the Kings will be even mediocre next year. Mostly, I've been taken aback by how much the fans over rate some of the young players, but aside from that, isn't the two year "plan -- to the extent that the Kings craft or stick to any plans for more than an hour -- to be bad next year?

They blew it up late in 2017. They do not want to be top 5 bad in mid-2019 when they had that picture to Philly.

Most teams that rebuild decide to bottom out, have at least one season where they take their lumps a earn a top 3 pick. Aren't the Kings on track to do that in 2018? Let Collison walk, try to use your cap to absorb bad money for assets, if not overpay a young player with upside on a two year deal, make two picks in the draft probably at 6 or 7 and 8-10. Hope one of those guys ends up being an all star and the other is a starter. Play the hell out of those two, Buddy, and the young players. Be bad because its a young team without an All-Star. Make it worse by tanking at the end. And then draft a franchise player with a top pick in 2018? Then hope it all gels fast and you don't hand over an embarrassing pick to Philly the following summer?

Wouldn't that be the plan? Is that not what you are expecting? 2017-2018 is probably going to be a low 20 win slog, right?

I think the Kings will be BAD next year, but for the first time in a long time, I think they actually want to be bad for one year.

And if not ... is the plan really for the Kings to develop their current young players, add 3 picks in the middle of the lottery, Bogdan, and those that settle to sign in Sacramento as a free agent to build a contender? If so, really / yikes.
 
#21
Setting aside the long term path for a moment, I'm surprised how many fans think the Kings will be even mediocre next year. Mostly, I've been taken aback by how much the fans over rate some of the young players, but aside from that, isn't the two year "plan -- to the extent that the Kings craft or stick to any plans for more than an hour -- to be bad next year?

They blew it up late in 2017. They do not want to be top 5 bad in mid-2019 when they had that picture to Philly.

Most teams that rebuild decide to bottom out, have at least one season where they take their lumps a earn a top 3 pick. Aren't the Kings on track to do that in 2018? Let Collison walk, try to use your cap to absorb bad money for assets, if not overpay a young player with upside on a two year deal, make two picks in the draft probably at 6 or 7 and 8-10. Hope one of those guys ends up being an all star and the other is a starter. Play the hell out of those two, Buddy, and the young players. Be bad because its a young team without an All-Star. Make it worse by tanking at the end. And then draft a franchise player with a top pick in 2018? Then hope it all gels fast and you don't hand over an embarrassing pick to Philly the following summer?

Wouldn't that be the plan? Is that not what you are expecting? 2017-2018 is probably going to be a low 20 win slog, right?

I think the Kings will be BAD next year, but for the first time in a long time, I think they actually want to be bad for one year.

And if not ... is the plan really for the Kings to develop their current young players, add 3 picks in the middle of the lottery, Bogdan, and those that settle to sign in Sacramento as a free agent to build a contender? If so, really / yikes.
That's all well and good but ending up with the worst record does not guarantee top pick (see 2009 draft) nor does a top 5 pick guarantee a franchise player. Is there even a franchise level player available in 2018 Draft? Is there a Timmy Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Davis, LeBron James or even a Karl Anthony Towns talent available in 2018 draft? What if it is not a great draft like the 2013 or the 2016 drafts were?

Teams never rebuild in two years. San Antonio did it with Duncan but only because they already had David Robinson and Sean Elliot who missed a great deal of the season the year that they finished low to get first pick.

Very rarely do you get players these days that come in and are All-Star level players their first year. That is precisely the type of player that the Kings would need to draft either this year or next year to make it work in the time frame that Vlade has given himself. You need to draft Shaq and Penny types and I just can't see that being the case. All the stars need to align and Kings for once would need to not sabotage themselves to get there. If I was a betting man, I know what I would be betting on. ;)
 
#22
I do see your point but I'm not looking to debate whether it's a good plan, if you can do it pick it later or opine regarding the ceiling of 17 year olds.

My question is based upon what they've done and the spin from the state sponsored media reflects a full bottom out next year to goose the lottery odds, right?

Ps- I think your points are great and the plan(s) are going to be long and painful
 
#23
We are all frustrated. That said I'm honest to goodness optimistic about the players Vlade has brought in lately. Not all pan out of course there's Lawson who has his issues but hasn't done anything overly egregious and Barnes but I can see a nice squad in the making with our twenty somethings.
 
#25
"No, they don’t represent a particularly glamorous life" written by someone who would take his laptop to the Garden of Eden?

Utterly, savagely hopeless: the author of this junk. To be clear, authorship isn't limited to just one, but instead belongs to the collective that is sports media. 'Savagely hopeless' as they are doomed to spend their years writing the same reactionist pieces identifying the obvious mistakes(?) made by teams not in the playoffs. 'Utterly' as they manage to write their short sighted works in such a self congratulatory manor.

When I first started paying attention to the NBA, Golden State (who I think were battling Atlanta for the longest playoff drought?) and Cleveland (at some point they were happy they managed to sign Carlos Boozer in controversial fashion? Or am I mixing this up?) were two of the most useless teams. Neither of these teams can say their current success is due to a well executed form of logic (e.g. GS hired Marc 'expertise' Jackson and the Cleveland owner placed a curse on their MVP). Yet somehow it is logic that separates us from them?
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#26
Don't expect the media to be positive until the Kings have more wins than losses. If the ship ever does turn around, they will be the last to notice. That said, I do agree that it is imperative that two home runs be hit in this upcoming draft. We may not know until two or three years if they are home runs, but they still better be home runs.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#27
I agree with everything said above. It's three years running where the franchise has essentially flat lined down the stretch. Yet, huge swaths of the folks that post her are like "Oh, just watch. We are on track." This time last year it was Karl was holding us back. We get a real coach and ad a few vets and we're in the playoffs. Now it's, man just get a little stability and allow our stable of prospects to bloom and we're in the playoffs in a couple of years.

I get folks are fans ... but seriously, the talent here is not great and the ownership / management in charge of fixing that is bad. Really really bad.

As for the national media, I've read a fair amount of the national media and a fair amount of what's said by the purple colored glasses folks here that love to rip the national media. Over the past 4 years, over the long haul, the national media screws up some of the details but has a much more objective read on the likely outcome for the success of the team and our players that the local media or the die hard fans. Sure, they use the Kings as an unfair punching bag at times. The also write a lot of stuff that rings true and folks just don't want to hear it.
Really? The problem on this forum is people with purple tinted glasses? Give me a break. I haven't been on the forum as much as usual. You know why? Because everytime I come on the forum, all I hear is the Kings suck! Vlade sucks! Vivek sucks! The talent sucks! Willie sucks! All our draft picks suck! This place can be one of the most depressing places I know if your a Kings fan. So excuse a few of us if we try to stay positive. No one ever accomplished anything by thinking they couldn't.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#28
Really? The problem on this forum is people with purple tinted glasses? Give me a break. I haven't been on the forum as much as usual. You know why? Because everytime I come on the forum, all I hear is the Kings suck! Vlade sucks! Vivek sucks! The talent sucks! Willie sucks! All our draft picks suck! This place can be one of the most depressing places I know if your a Kings fan. So excuse a few of us if we try to stay positive. No one ever accomplished anything by thinking they couldn't.
Totally agree. I'm here because I'm a KINGS fan. If that makes me one of the "people with purple tinted glasses" so be it. We used to have a lot more people with a positive outlook but they faded away over time for the exact reasons bajaden has outlined.

I'm actually kind of surprised by the traffic on the board right now. We're getting more fans who may not be totally happy with how things have gone down, but they have hope for the future and they're excited about the development of the youth on the team. To me, that's a good thing.

#GoKings
 
#29
Totally agree. I'm here because I'm a KINGS fan. If that makes me one of the "people with purple tinted glasses" so be it. We used to have a lot more people with a positive outlook but they faded away over time for the exact reasons bajaden has outlined.

I'm actually kind of surprised by the traffic on the board right now. We're getting more fans who may not be totally happy with how things have gone down, but they have hope for the future and they're excited about the development of the youth on the team. To me, that's a good thing.

#GoKings
I think the problem with all the "sky is falling" fans on this forum is that they expect to build a championship team and the only way they see us doing that is if we land 2 or 3 top 3 picks in a loaded draft, otherwise the Kings will be poopoo for eternity.

For me, I am a kings fan and I Want to see them compete and become playoff contenders and play with heart. If they become a solid playoff team, but never win the championship, so be it. Only a handful of teams win the championship every decade. I'm not going to lose any sleep over being a perennial playoff team.

To be a kings fan, you have to enjoy the good times when you can and don't take anything for granted. :)