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With the draft and the bulk of free agency now behind us, it's time to start taking stock of what's transpired this summer and how it all figures to impact the upcoming NBA campaign. This week, we discuss: Which team will act as the most entertaining trainwreck of 2015-16? *** Dan Devine : I've got concerns about the Los Angeles Clippers, a team with championship expectations looking to bounce back from a horrific collapse whose attempts at developing depth might look better on paper than in practice , and whose post-Sterling honeymoon might be coming to an end . I'm not really sure what exactly the Dallas Mavericks are these days; extenuating circumstances aside, they seem more likely to fizzle than catch fire this season. Given their sheer star power and the elevated stakes surrounding all things LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the most entertaining possible trainwreck on the board. It seems unlikely that last year's Finalists crumble, though, especially given how tough it is to come up with viable Eastern Conference contenders . The fundamental truth of New York Knicks fandom is that things can always go from bad to worse under James Dolan, but that drain-circling doesn't produce the most compelling spectacle. Ditto for the latter-day Los Angeles Lakers, who — D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant-willing — might be a bit more fun than dysfunctional this year. In the absence of a more complete, compelling case to the contrary, then, I'm going chalk with the Sacramento Kings — a team whose season outlook can go from penthouse to poor house in the blink of an eye of the beholder. They've got one of the game's most watchable and unstoppable forces in DeMarcus Cousins, a deserving All-Star entering his prime who now holds the dubious distinction of the league's best player without a postseason appearance . They've got a legendary head coach in George Karl, who wanted Boogie gone until he didn't and is looking to rebuild his bridges with handshakes , hugs and high signs . They've got a new front office that may or may not know what it's doing. They've got a new point guard who may or may not be good anymore, and who has plenty of incentive to prove he is. They've got a passel of other new pieces — well-regarded center Kosta Koufos, top defensive frontcourt prospect Willie Cauley-Stein, veteran wings Marco Belinelli and Caron Butler, et al. — who may or may not fit together, but who could comprise the best roster Sacramento's fielded in a decade, giving Karl a variety of options with which to craft an improved team on both ends of the floor. Whether Vivek Ranadivé and Vlade Divac have made enough smart calls, and whether the resulting mix is good enough to get past 30 wins for the first time in eight years, very much remains to be seen . It's anybody's guess whether the Kings will both produce a winning product and sustain that momentum through a long-awaited postseason push, or if another winter of losing leads Vivek to send yet another round of cleansing fire through his franchise's basketball operations. Either outcome seems plausible; that uncertainty makes Sacramento one of this season's most fascinating franchises.
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