The Sacramento Kings Have A Culture Problem

All right. Y’all expected this–the Kings have been notoriously bad for the past decade. They did have a decent 2023 run led by De’Aaron Fox but they didn’t get past the Golden State Warriors in the first round. The future looked promising enough until Fox and then-Head Coach Mike Brown had it out with each other.

Now it wasn’t P.J Carlesimo-Latrell Sprewell levels, thankfully enough. But Brown’s public criticism directly targeted Kings players and indirectly targeted Fox.

Fox was the best thing Sacramento’s had since DeMarcus Cousins, who was traded to the Pelicans in 2017. The athletic combo guard was naturally gifted at shot creation and isolation. His playmaking was getting better as the years went on, and it seemed as if Brown’s offense could be run by the young superstar. A core component to Brown’s offensive approach is ball movement.

Where Brown wanted more structural discipline in his offense, Fox wanted the freedom to do whatever he needed to do when he needed to do it. And for what it’s worth, he could most of the time. But the two privately butt heads and said the other was the problem. Or at least that’s how it reflected on the court.

Brown was fired and Fox was shipped off to San Antonio. And to their credit, Fox’s style and Brown’s style have worked apart from each other. Fox is doing well for the Spurs and Brown’s Knicks are the third seed in the Eastern Conference. There were rumors that Fox had a hand in Brown’s firing–or was at least apathetic to his departure–but ultimately, Brown’s firing was the catalyst for moving Fox.

But firing your head coach and trading the face of your franchise? The ones who, y’know, helped you reach a playoff series for the first time in 17 years? Confusing as hell and an apparent “No slate is better than a clean one” approach. They did all this without looking at the other glaring flaw in the picture.

Sacramento Has A Losing Culture

Let’s pause for a second and realize there’s a reality out there where SGA is in a Kings uniform.

Stopped hyperventilating? Good. Let’s continue.

The reason I posed that hypothetical is to ask another, real question: can the Kings attract high-end talent given their recent woes? I think not. It all starts with this terrible culture Sacramento’s built over the past half decade.

2023 shouldn’t have been an aberration for the Kings. Three years after their magical playoff run, they’re in contention with the #1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The draft plays an important role in every team’s development, but for the Kings? They have to pick a direction.

Flopping around in the water ain’t swimming. The Kings have skirted the line between rebuild and trying to compete–it’s been a historical problem with them. My advice?

Blow it up. We all know Sacramento’s not competing for anything other than a lottery pick. Trade Sabonis for a bag of nickels at minimum. Ask yourself the hard questions like “Is Keegan Murray the one to build around?” and “Why did we unload the Brinks trucks for DeMar DeRozan?”

Russell Westbrook is a good fit (albeit, a De’Aaron Fox-lite) but how much longer does he have in the tank? Find out what you’re doing with Zach Lavine. He might be worth a future lottery pick or at least a gang of second rounders–get that future draft capital back.

Bring in Sam Cassell from the Celtics to help young stars develop. Get gritty defenders to teach the young bucks how to get in someone’s face. Maxime Reynaud and Nique Clifford can be part of that–if you develop them correctly.

Embrace the suckitude, Sacramento. There must always be darkness before the light. The Warriors know that better than anybody, and look what they established in the mid-2010s.

Once you have a culture trending in the right direction, that’s when you can attract high-market talent in a small market like Sacramento. Golden State’s just down the way but I think I’m done talking about them for now. They’ve established a good road map the Kings can take.

Stick to the rebuild.

End Of My Sacramento Kings Rant

The Sacramento Kings have a long way to go before they’re clear of the mire. Will we see a new president before they’re relevant again? A new millenium? Who knows. But the solution to this 57-game sized issue can only be fixed with a true, committed rebuild.