Will we make the playoffs next season?

[Uncia03]

Wrong. Your comment implies the past, and the Kings were a playoff team in the past under the Maloof family. I think the Kings will be a playoff team in the future under the Maloof family, but they definitely will not be championship material. Don't think they (Maloofs) have enough Basketball IQ to sign a big name free agent/superstar, and bring in a big name/hall of fame coach...

It's not about the IQ, which is debatable, but about the finances.
The Kings barely squeaked in under the minimum salary last year.
Westphal was the lowest paid coach in the league and now Smart is the lowest paid coach in the league.

So as much as we need to sign a JVG or a McMillan or another experienced, successful veteran coach, no-one actually expects the Maloofs to pony up 5+ million a year for a good coach, when they can continue on the cheap. (Considering they couldn't even front 3 million for pre-development costs for a sweet arena deal)

As to the bringing in a big-name Free agent, remember they supposedly went after AK47, Crawford, and Dalembert, and all three turned them down, and to probably take less money in the process. With the team doing poorly and in transition, and with no real history of bringing in star FA's, it's almost impossible to expect to be able to land a Star FA this season.

Maybe if we can build around Cousins and Tyreke properly and make a big push to the play-offs we'll be able to bring in FAs eventually, but certainly not right now.