Does anyone remember back in October/November, when the Kings were absolutely on fire - and the toast of the entire league? Me neither. So much has changed since those days. One thing that changed for the better, however, is that DeMarcus Cousins went from being "good but crazy" to "great but crazy". And he only had 14 technical fouls this season (he had 17 last season, which led the league)!!! Now that George Karl is behind the wheel of Vivek Ranadive's Great Experiment, this team could actually begin to jell next season, and potentially vault themselves into the playoffs.
The List:
1. DeMarcus Cousins - C 24.1ppg, 12.7rpg, 3.2 "stocks" per game (steals+blocks), 25.3 PER
DeMarcus reminds me of Shaq. Force of nature offensively, good player defensively helped in large part to his size/athleticism combination, and a total head case off the court that makes you question whether he's worth the trouble. Now, if you've got a good organization, the answer to that question is a resounding YES (think Rob Gronkowski in New England). This may not apply to the Sacramento Kings.
2. Rudy Gay - SF 21.1ppg, 5.9rpg, 3.7apg, 19.8 PER
Gay went from being a ball-hogging, offense-clogging wash-up to actually having a great 2014-15 season with the Kings. At his peak, he is a light-defense, clutch-offense leader on a good playoff team. I'll give him half-credit for that, since this is anything but a good playoff team. However, the line between "light-defense, clutch-offense leader" and "no-defense, last-shot-clanging grumpy old man" is a little hazier than you might think.
3. Darren Collison - PG 16.1ppg, 5.6apg, 1.5spg, 37% 3FG, 17.5 PER
Ever since he was at UCLA, I've liked Darren Collison. Sometimes this hasn't gone my way (like when I thought that he would be better in the NBA than fellow Bruin teammate Russell Westbrook), but when Collison has a year like he did in 2014-15, I feel pretty vindicated in my admiration. The points and the assists are there, and they'll continue to be so pretty consistently. Collison adds the sneaky-good aspects of a high-level point guard, though - steals on the defensive end, and the ability to consistently knock down 3's.
4. Ben McLemore - SG 12.1ppg, 36% 3FG, 10.4 PER
Don't get me wrong - McLemore didn't have a breakout year by any means. He played in every game though, and played in 33 minutes per game, so he proved that he was worth being out there on the court. Now, is that because his backup was the even-less-efficient Nik Stauskas? Possibly. But Mac's proof that he can cut it on an NBA court, and deal with the grind of the regular season, makes me feel pretty hopeful about that breakout season coming in 2015-16 for McLemore.
5. Carl Landry - PF 7.2ppg, 3.8rpg, 51% FG, 14.9 PER
Landry has always been one of my favorite offensive-minded forwards coming off the bench, going back to when he played in Houston. He's a polished low-post scorer, but hasn't played enough defense to crack the starting lineup very often throughout his career.
6. Omri Casspi - SF 8.9ppg, 40% 3FG, 14.5 PER
Casspi is a great "intangibles guy". One of (if not the only?) Israeli players in the NBA, Omri made a career-high percentage of his 3's this year. At age 26, it seems like this is "peak-Omri," but that peak level of play is definitely capable of being a key role player on a good team.
7. Ray McCallum - PG 7.4ppg, 2.8apg, 12.5 PER
McCallum has a good compilation of skills in his arsenal. His 3-point percentage dropped off in his 2nd year, but that's usually one of the last things that point guards add to their games. He can act as a very capable backup (in the JJ Barea mold) to Darren Collison.
8. Andre Miller - PG 4.4ppg, 3.5apg, 13.4 PER
How old is Andre Miller (or "The Professor", as Grantland's Zach Lowe affectionately calls him)? Jahlil Okafor, the hopeful #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft this year, was born when Miller was in his freshman season at the University of Utah.
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| Andre Miller is undergoing the metamorphosis we call "George Jefferson-ing". |
9. Jason Thompson - PF 6.1ppg, 6.5rpg, 10.2 PER
Thompson is a hard-working, productive player whose effect on the court isn't fully captured in his stats. However, it's not by that much. The one thing that the NBA has a bunch of is hard-working big men who can't score.
10. Derrick Williams - PF 8.3ppg, 2.7rpg, 12.9 PER
It's hard to project how NCAA success will translate to NBA success. Case in point: Derrick Williams vs. Kemba Walker. Both players were standouts in college (Williams went to Arizona, Kemba to UConn), and took their respective teams on their backs tho. Coming into the league, Kemba is now a standout on his semi-competitive Hornets team, while Williams has been a bust (drafted 2nd overall, 7 picks ahead of Walker). I don't get it.
11. Nik Stauskas - SG 4.4ppg, 36% FG, 32% 3FG, 7.5 PER
The only thing that separates "Sauce Castillo" from the guys below him is his potential as a player. Young Sauce had a really underwhelming year, especially based on the expectations the front office had for him by drafting him 8th overall last year (ahead of both Elfrid Payton and Zach LaVine). He has the talent to be an impact player, it may just take a while to adjust to the NBA game.
12. Reggie Evans - C 3.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 11.7 PER
The only reason why Evans ranks higher than Hollins is because I'm a little bit scared of Reggie Evans.
13. Ryan Hollins - C 3.0ppg, 2.2rpg, 13.2 PER
Hollins and Evans are basically the same player, stats-wise - big men who add energy on the defensive end, while trying to stand on the baseline on offense and blend in with the stanchion so you forget they're there.
14. David Stockton - PG 2.7ppg, 3.0apg, 10.8 PER
In 3 games played, the son of the all-time assists leader averaged more dimes per game (3.0) than points per game (2.7). Well done, bud. Just like dad taught you.
15. Eric Moreland - PF Injured (No stats, or at least not really)
In 2 minutes played this season, Moreland had a 40.9 PER. Why isn't he starting every game?!? He puts Anthony Davis' historic PER to shame!
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