All is not well with the Sacramento Kings.
Things are just better than we thought.
At 7-12, with one of the five worst records in the Western Conference, the Kings don’t have any reason to celebrate. They’re on pace to win 30 games for the first time during the DeMarcus Cousins era. That’s it, and that’s nothing worth celebrating.
For the longest time, though, we’ve assumed that tensions behind the scenes were high—specifically between Cousins and George Karl. The rumor mill hasn’t hesitated to churn out unflattering anecdotes, and there have been times when the relationship between player and coach seemed broken beyond repair.
But according to Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears, their partnership is on the mend, largely thanks to a meeting they shared with Rajon Rondo:
Sacramento Kings coach George Karl was on his way to work out after a team film session last week in Milwaukee when he was summoned by DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo. After Cousins’ verbal tirade aimed at Karl in early November, the Kings’ coach might have had reason to be nervous.
What was supposed to be a 15-minute discussion became a positive two-hour meeting. The Kings (7-12) have been 2-2 since the meeting, with Cousins playing just one of those games – Monday’s 112-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks – because of a lower back strain.
“It was a powerful meeting for all three of us,” Rondo told Yahoo Sports.
This is awesome, and surprisingly so. The Kings have been a dumpster fire over the last decade, and the dynamic between Cousins and Karl has been particularly problematic, seemingly creating a divide within the front office. And while it’s unlikely the situation was exaggerated, the lines of communication appear open, perhaps more so than ever.
Spears’ entire piece is worth a read, as it details just what exactly the three parties discussed. Cousins and Rondo apparently wish to lead and win by example, and they’ve given Karl the go ahead to call them out in film sessions.
Maybe this, in turn, is what the Kings need to turn things around on the court and start winning. If it’s not, maybe it’s what they need to turn things around off the court, behind the scenes, in the locker room.
And if that’s all this powwow between three basketball brains does, the Kings can count that as a win in itself.
