Kings Still A Long Shot From NBA Title Per Bleacher Report
by Cutter Hicks, Sports 1140 KHTK
With the 2017 NBA Finals finally over and the pre-draft talk filling the air all 30 fan bases are getting giddy. Knowing their team has another clean slate to start from their minds race with hopes of reaching the playoffs or, dare I say it, an NBA title!
The Sacramento Kings franchise is used to this as both teammates and fans sit on the couch during the playoffs, watching other teams compete to hold the Larry O'Brien trophy. It's been 11 years since the team qualified for postseason play.
According to a recent article by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, the Kings will be continuing the losing trend with a 500-1 shot of winning the title.
"But barring yet another capricious shift in philosophy, Sacramento is poised to finally begin a proper and deliberate reconstruction. For years, DeMarcus Cousins' talent kept the Kings on the fringes of playoff relevance. Now, the team's young nucleus of Buddy Hield, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein and whatever comes of its fifth and 10th picks in this year's draft make up the nucleus—one ticketed for 50-plus losses."
The Kings are coming off 32-50 season, one more loss than their previous outing. After trading star Center DeMarcus Cousin on Feb. 20, the team went 8-17 to finish the season.
Fans have been split on the franchise's decision to trade Boogie, he was the face of Sacramento after Tyreke Evans signed with New Orleans in 2013.
However, many believe this is finally the forward step the team needed to take. A complete overhaul with young talent starting with Buddy Hield, who the team acquired in the trade.
Their next step? A strong NBA Draft night next Thursday. The team has the no. 5 and no.10 picks with talks they'll be looking for a point guard, center and potential forward.
With Rudy Gay opting out of his contract and Cousins now playing in the Southeast, these upcoming draft picks will likely set up the next era of the Kings. It's only a matter of time before they become relevant in playoff talks again.
The 2017 NBA Draft is on June 22 at 4:00 PM PDT.