Prior to last night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (which the Kings ultimately went on to lose 104-92), Vivek Ranadivé finally spoke to the media regarding the firing of former Kings head coach Michael Malone.  In an excellent piece for ESPN by James Ham, Ranadivé laid out his five point mantra which can be summarized thusly:

1. Kings fans are the best

2. Michael Malone is a good guy

3. Michael Malone was the right guy to have in place last year to help right the ship and build a new culture out of the dysfunction left by the Maloofs.

4. The Kings aren't satisfied with the status quo and felt the offense needed to evolve and be more innovative.

5. The Kings are willing to spend what it takes.

Regarding point four, Ranadivé tells Ham this:

"Defense is great, but we need defense and offense," he said. "We need to go from a rules-based organization, which was important when you had chaos, to a values-based organization. From kind of a programmatic offense, to a read-and-respond, free-flowing offense. I like to use a music metaphor. We had a Sousa marching band, which was needed when there was chaos, but now we need to shift to a jazz band, where people can be individually showcased and improvised. What we need is a jazz director. I think that's the kind of leadership moving forward."

Did someone say jazz?

On a serious note though, there was clearly a difference of philosophies between Malone and management that ultimately led to his dismissal.  While the timing of the firing was stunning, if the Kings were intent on making a change it makes sense that they do it as soon as possible.

More worrying about the philosophical differences to me however are the unreasonable expectations this front office and management seems to have for this team.  They're dreaming big, which is alright, but it's another thing to tell the media things like this:

#Kings Ranadive Says he expects Kings to reach playoffs with more wins under Corbin then they would have had under Malone.

— stevelarge_cbs13 (@largesteven) December 17, 2014

That's just setting yourself up for failure and embarrassment.  It takes a lot to make the playoffs in the Western Conference and missing your franchise centerpiece for a large period of time is a setback that is almost insurmountable when you're battling for one of the final spots.

To his credit, Ranadivé isn't afraid of looking stupid in the short term as long as results happen in the long term.  As he told James:

"I've been beaten before," he said. "They said that Seattle had won, and we would never be able to keep this team. People said that Cousins was toxic, and he was a cancer and we should get rid of him. They said that Rudy [Gay] was terrible, and even if he came, he would never stay. They said if Isaiah [Thomas] left, the team would fall apart. So look, I'm surrounded by really smart people, and they give me great advice. They call the shots, and I support them."

Only time will tell if Ranadivé comes out smelling like daisies on this decision, but it's now entirely on him and Kings management to provide the results they've promised by raising such lofty expectations.

The next coach in Sacramento needs to be a "jazz director" in the eyes of owner Vivek Ranadive.

The Sacramento Kings have begun their search for a new head coach, and owner Vivek Ranadive has some interesting criteria for who should get the job. Ranadive says the replacement for recently fired Michael Malone needs to be a "jazz director," who embraces the offensive side of the game as much as the defensive one.

Speaking with ESPN's James Ham on Wednesday morning, Ranadive said the Kings need to go "from a rules-based organization, which was important when you had chaos, to a values-based organization -- from kind of a programmatic offense to a read-and-respond, free-flowing offense."

The Kings owner then changed gears by bringing up music, which is either eccentric or silly depending on who you ask.

"I like to use a music metaphor. We had a Sousa marching band, which was needed when there was chaos," Ranadive said. "But now we need to shift to a jazz band, where people can be individually showcased and improvised. What we need is a jazz director. I think that's the kind of leadership moving forward."

The Kings fired Malone on Monday despite posting a 11-13 record with star center DeMarcus Cousins missing significant time. The move elicited shock around the league as Sacramento had been considered a pleasant surprise early this season and only struggled once Cousins was sidelined by viral meningitis.

Ranadive grew impatient with the process led by Malone, however, and hopes a new coach can get the team playing a more exciting brand of basketball. While things often aren't that simple when it comes to professional sports, Ranadive argued that complacency wasn't an option.

"The NBA has become like the high-tech business," Ranadive told Ham. "Just because you invented the iPhone doesn't mean you can rest on your laurels because somebody else is building a better iPhone. Just because you win 50 games doesn't mean you can be satisfied with the status quo.

"So we live in a time when good enough isn't, and we need to keep getting better. So while we have a good foundation, we needed to pivot. We needed to go."

Don't count out the Kings and Josh Smith pairing up just yet.

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News snuck this tidbit into a larger piece about Greg Monroe and the Pistons:

The Sacramento Kings are still interested in Smith, a source told The Detroit News. The man with final say, Van Gundy, turned down the Kings proposal over the summer - one that amounted to a pu pu platter of talent relative to Smith's, as he wanted a chance to see if he could unlock all of Smith's versatility and turn it into consistency.

Smith has gotten off to a slow start, although he had his best game of the season in Sacramento on Saturday night, with 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks - in front of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, the man who was behind acquiring Smith from the start.

This is largely unsurprising, especially given the Kings' recent firing of Michael Malone, who it has been reported was against the Kings trying to land Smith this summer.  Smith has continued to be a disappointment in Detroit this year as the Pistons are just 5-20 and Smith is shooting a career low 38.8% from the field (down from 41.9% last year).  Smith has two more years at $13.5 million each left on his contract.

A trade for Smith would be a gamble on par with the one Sacramento made a year ago with Rudy Gay, trading for a slumping but talented player in the hopes that he would raise his game up in a new situation.  Smith is also very good friends with Rudy Gay and would fit the uptempo style of basketball the Kings management would like to play.

Stan Van Gundy turned down a trade for Smith this summer because he wasn't satisfied with the value in return for Smith, and it's unknown whether or not he's inclined to change his mind, especially with the ever growing risk of Greg Monroe leaving this summer for nothing.  Still, I expect Smith and the Kings to continue to be connected in rumors for the foreseeable future.

welp

Well, I was itching for some trade rumors, and now I've got the one I least wanted to read.

Sources: Celtics showing willingness to trade Rajon Rondo - Yahoo Sports

As much as ever in his nine seasons in Boston, the Celtics have left strong impressions with rival organizations that they’re prepared to make a deal that includes Rondo, sources said. Boston has been engaged in discussions described as "serious" in recent days, but no trade agreement is imminent. Boston's asking price for Rondo remains "pretty high, probably higher than most want to pay," one league official told Yahoo.

The report goes on to mention the Celtics interest in trading Jeff Green as well.  If both are dealt, then the tank will officially be on and the team will be focused once again on the lottery results in the Spring.

...and react.

UPDATE:

Word around the league is that Boston has been making some initial calls on Rondo, not the other way. Team to keep an eye on: Sacramento.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 17, 2014

Rondo has been in a funk lately. Unclear why. Has not shown usual aggressiveness. Been struggling defensively. Could be a factor in all this

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 17, 2014

In what would seem like a signal that they're throwing in the towel, the Kings just recently fired their head coach, but ownership seems to be very aggressive with their progress. They extended Rudy Gay for another three years and seemed committed to building around DeMarcus Cousins.  They owe the Bulls a protected pick, but with first rounders available in the near future and young talent like Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas on their roster, they could be a team that could put together an attractive package that Danny would be interested in.

This evening's Heat links include a recap of last game's events, the possibility that Greg Monroe could end up a member of the Miami Heat, as well as a recount of Shabazz's journey through the D-League and back again.

The Heat were solid last night in their win over Brooklyn, and aim to continue their success sans Chris Bosh with a win this evening against the Jazz. As we approach game-time, here is some reading to keep you occupied.

Heat Links:

• Zach Schonbrun recounts last night's game, and Wade's spectacular play. [New York Times]
• Dan Favale of Bleacher Report believes Miami could be a potential dark horse destination for Greg Monroe [Bleacher Report]
• Ira Winderman explains Shabazz Napier's whirlwind of a week from the D-League and back again. [Sun-Sentinel]

What's happening around the league:

• Despite refuting multiple claims regarding Rajon Rondo's availability, the Celtics now appear willing to trade their star point guard [PBT]
• Following Mike Malone's firing, Mark Jackson has met with Kings GM as well as DeMarcus Cousins [USA Today]
• Prized Milwaukee Bucks rookie Jabari Parker is unfortunately out for the season after suffering a torn ACL [USA Today]

Multiple sources including Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears and ESPN's Marc Stein are reporting that Rajon Rondo's days in Boston could be numbered.

Well, I was itching for some trade rumors, and now I've got the one I least wanted to read.

Sources: Celtics showing willingness to trade Rajon Rondo - Yahoo Sports

As much as ever in his nine seasons in Boston, the Celtics have left strong impressions with rival organizations that they’re prepared to make a deal that includes Rondo, sources said. Boston has been engaged in discussions described as "serious" in recent days, but no trade agreement is imminent. Boston's asking price for Rondo remains "pretty high, probably higher than most want to pay," one league official told Yahoo.

The report goes on to mention the Celtics interest in trading Jeff Green as well.  If both are dealt, then the tank will officially be on and the team will be focused once again on the lottery results in the Spring.

...and react.

UPDATE:

Word around the league is that Boston has been making some initial calls on Rondo, not the other way. Team to keep an eye on: Sacramento.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 17, 2014

Rondo has been in a funk lately. Unclear why. Has not shown usual aggressiveness. Been struggling defensively. Could be a factor in all this

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 17, 2014

In what would seem like a signal that they're throwing in the towel, the Kings just recently fired their head coach, but ownership seems to be very aggressive with their progress. They extended Rudy Gay for another three years and seemed committed to building around DeMarcus Cousins.  They owe the Bulls a protected pick, but with first rounders available in the near future and young talent like Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas on their roster, they could be a team that could put together an attractive package that Danny would be interested in.

Word broke today from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Boston Celtics have begun to engage in serious discussions to trade guard Rajon Rondo.  While Rondo has been in trade rumors for years, Wojnarowski says that Boston has "left strong impressions with rival organizations that they're prepared to make a deal that includes him".

It's no secret that the Kings have been hot for Rondo ever since new ownership took over, being connected to him several times over the past couple years.  Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix added fuel to the fire today with this tweet:

Word around the league is that Boston has been making some initial calls on Rondo, not the other way. Team to keep an eye on: Sacramento.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 17, 2014

However the Dallas Mavericks appear to be the most serious suitor for Rondo's services.  Wojnarowski makes specific mention of them in his piece but ESPN's Marc Stein reports that Dallas has engaged in serious discussions with Boston on a deal that would send center Brandan Wright and multiple picks to Boston.  Stein also mentions that Boston has had conversations with the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings, but as of now, the most advanced discussions have been with Dallas.

Rajon Rondo is one of the best passing Point Guards in the NBA, averaging 10.6 assists a game this year and averaged over 11 assists a game from 2010 to 2013.  While Rondo would undoubtedly increase the talent level of any team that acquired him, there's an inherent risk in trading for him since he is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season and can opt to go elsewhere.  There have been persistent rumors that Rondo would not want to re-sign in Sacramento, but Sacramento's front office is incredibly aggressive and could be willing to gamble on Rondo's friendship with Rudy Gay and pairing with a young rising star in DeMarcus Cousins.

As of now, no trade for Rondo appears close, and the Kings lack the assets (namely future picks) that would make a trade appealing for Boston.  Danny Ainge is a very patient manager and will seek to get the most value he can out of Rondo and there's plenty of time until the trade deadline in February.

Rondo to Dallas? Doesn't sound too good. The Garden Report crew breaks down the rumors after delving into the strong fourth quarter from Brandon Bass, Kelly Olynyk and company.

A collective sigh of relief just leveled a significant portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Good news everyone!

Giannis' ankle injury isn't serious and there's a chance he'll play tonight vs Kings

— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) December 18, 2014

That's a relief. There were encouraging words shortly after Giannis went down with the nasty-looking ankle injury--he was doing some running at halftime and had the ankle re-taped but was ultimately held out of the second half of the Bucks' 104-97 loss in Portland. Still, you can't blame any Bucks fan who was bracing for the worst.

Giannis will be re-evaluated before tip on Thursday and should probably be considered very questionable for the matchup with Sacramento. Holding him out would be primarily a precautionary move--he's not using a protective boot or crutches, but there's always a risk for more severe injury when talking about ankles.

If Giannis misses the game, the Bucks' will really be hurting for size, which is saying something for a team that currently counts Larry Sanders and Zaza Pachulia as its only healthy bigs. That's a scary thought considering the Kings expect to have DeMarcus Cousinsavailable for the first time since November 26.

Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson could be moved for cap space. Unlikely, but let's have a look anyways.

The trade machine on ESPN.com is probably the single best piece of content available on their website. For the next 2+ months, it will also be one of the most frequented. NBA Trade Season is upon us, and there are few better options to preoccupy our minds than that humble little trade gizmo.

Last week, a couple writers emphasized patience when building around Anthony Davis. The trade I discuss below does not exercise such restraint. While a couple of players I design to trade for would require patience to see the full return, the goal in mind is not this season. It is this summer.

The 2015 free agent class is stocked with restricted free agents that might fit in well with the Pelicans. Kawhi Leonard (the dream, but isn't going to happen), Jimmy Butler (close to Kawhi status), Tobias Harris, and Iman Shumpert all could be at the top of most New Orleans fan wish lists. Other unrestricted options include Jeff Green, Wesley Matthews, and Danny Green. Who ultimately fills the salary space created at this point is less important than discussing how to create that space.

The Trade

There is a lot to chew on in this massive four team trade.

Detroit's POV

As reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News, discussions between Sacramento and Detroit on Josh Smith have hung up on the relative talent headed back to Detroit. Sacramento does not have a lot of attractive players on contracts to make the deal work.

The Sacramento Kings are still interested in Smith, a source told The Detroit News. The man with final say, Van Gundy, turned down the Kings proposal over the summer — one that amounted to a pu pu platter of talent relative to Smith's, as he wanted a chance to see if he could unlock all of Smith's versatility and turn it into consistency.

Smith has gotten off to a slow start, although he had his best game of the season in Sacramento on Saturday night, with 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks — in front of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, the man who was behind acquiring Smith from the start.

Certainly Smith's slow start hasn't raised his trade value, but is Van Gundy ready to give up on Smith and take less back in return, for more unknowns?

In my proposed trade, Detroit turns Josh Smith (who doesn't fit) and Greg Monroe (who doesn't fit and is about to walk this summer) into a stretch four in Anderson and Eric Gordon. Gordon has not shown the versatility of Smoove, but his contract is one year shorter. Van Gundy is asking for a first round pick for Monroe according to some reports. This haul involves no first round pick; thus, expect Detroit to be the first team that likely balks at the deal.

Phoenix's Perspective

The Suns are in a bit of a tailspin, although a trip to Charlotte last night finally ended a six game losing streak. Phoenix might decline, but the relatively low cost of T.J. Warren to get a proven talent like Monroe may be too good to pass up.

Phoenix is one of the few teams who could hypothetically re-sign Monroe next season to a lucrative (although unlikely to be the max) contract without his Bird Rights. Warren has logged just 107 minutes this season and did not get off the bench against the Hornets.

Sacramento is Unpredictable

No clue. None. Remember this? (Skip to 6:35)

Now, that same owner wants to trade for Josh Smith. Vivek Ranadive, owner of the Kings, really wanted Nik Stauskas. Stauskas happens to play the same position as Ben McLemore.

If I was running the Kings, would I want to trade Derrick Williams and Ben McLemore for Josh Smith? Goodness no...that is absurd even to type. Would the brain trust of Ranadive and GM Pete D'Alessandro consider it? Umm... maybe?

Crescent City View

I know, almost all of you hate it already. I do not, in the least, expect Dell Demps to pursue such a trade. He is much more confident in the current core constructed than I, although most folks believe me to be quite the Demps apologist.

As I have stated, this trade is more about cap space this summer than the acquired players. Let me show you the summer of '15 books if this fantasy trade were to occur.

New Orleans trades two well-defined players (Anderson and Gordon) for a box of question marks (McLemore and Warren) and cap space. Oodles of cap space. The Pelicans could offer a free agent this summer a four year, $72.5 million dollar offer sheet. Gordon Hayward's "max" offer from Charlotte as a restricted free agent was four years, $62.9 million. Sufficient enough to offer top dollar for Leonard, Butler, or whomever is the object of your heart's desire.

Likelihood

Less than 0.00001%. Big trades with multiple parts such as this are incredibly difficult to pull off. Detroit's front office remains a question mark. Phoenix appears to be too conservative. Sacramento is difficult for even the most tuned in folks to predict. Most importantly, Dell Demps is a fan of the team he has assembled. This is in large part because he is the one who built it, and the current roster has yet to play together over the course of a full season.

While Demps has admitted to missteps (declining the fourth year for Austin Rivers), this would be entirely different. However, when examining it closely, the deal still fits with his stated mantra of building around young veterans. McLemore has shown signs of development. Warren is an older rookie. Both provide shooting on the wing opposite Tyreke Evans.

Yeah, this trade machine scenario won't happen, but it would be really interesting if it did. The Pelicans could radically change their roster and become major players in free agency before the start of next season. At the very least, one has to imagine the Pelicans would make for an interesting destination to Leonard or Butler. It would be hard to turn down a promising young lineup, let alone Anthony Davis.

After missing 10 games with viral meningitis, DeMarcus Cousins is set to see his first action since Thanksgiving tonight as long as everything goes alright at shootaround.  The Kings hope that his return will reverse their fortunes as they've gone just 2-8 without him. Tonight's action tips off at 7:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Milwaukee has been a surprising team as Jason Kidd has them playing well with a record of 13-13.  They had won just 15 games all of last season.  Milwaukee's resurgence has largely been due to their improved defense (13th in the league) and improvement of their young players.  Unfortunately for the Bucks they're hampered by injury themselves.  Jabari Parker tore his ACL earlier this week and will now miss the rest of the season.  Giannis Antetokounmpo sprained his ankle yesterday against the Trail Blazers.  John Henson (sprained ankle) and Ersan Ilyasova (broken nose) have also been out for a while.

2. Thanks to Milwaukee's length, they're one of the best teams in the league at forcing turnovers, ranking 2nd in steals and 4th in opponent turnovers.  The Kings have been pretty bad at taking care of the ball themselves, ranking 25th in turnovers and last in the league in opponent turnovers.  Both of those have to be better for the Kings.

3. One area where the Kings can take advantage of Milwaukee is the Free Throw line.  Milwaukee is a very foul prone team, and should Cousins return, the Kings have their best foul drawer back.  Even with Cousins out so long, the Kings have remained the league leader in FTAs, while Milwaukee allows the 5th most FTAs in the league and fouls at the 4th highest rate.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Darren Collison vs. Brandon Knight

The Bucks don't have a whole bunch of scoring, but Brandon Knight has proven to be a guy who can fill it up.  He's averaging 17.8 points per game on a career best 44% from the field and 39.3% from three.  This is still a matchup that Collison should be able to win however thanks to his quickness and defensive instincts.  If Collison can shut Knight down, the Bucks' scoring options (especially with so many other players out) severely dwindle.

PREGAME LIMERICK

Is Boogie finally coming back???
Without him, we've taken quite a thwack.
But all is alright,
Gone is our plight,
and it's time to get back on track.

PREDICTION

Kings 109, Bucks 98 as Boogie manages a 20 point, 20 rebound game in 20 minutes.

While today's game against the Bucks was speculated heavily to be DeMarcus Cousins' return date, as late as last night the Kings had him listed as "questionable" to play, which according to the Kings meant just a 25% chance.

Today however, the Kings released an injury update which upgraded DeMarcus Cousins to probable.  Rudy Gay is also probable, while Omri Casspi (left knee bone contusion) and Reggie Evans (left knee & hip contusion) are both out.

Cousins likely will not play heavy minutes tonight or in the near future as he works back into game shape.  It's also unknown if he will join the starting lineup or come off the bench.  Either way, it's good to simply have him back on the court.  Before catching viral meningitis, Cousins was having a career year, averaging 23.5 points on 51.2% from the field and a league leading 12.6 rebounds a game.

Welcome back big fella!

The Bucks will be even more short handed than usual tonight.

UPDATE: Giannis will be in the starting lineup tonight, further proving that he is inhuman. Johnny O'Bryant will also join Giannis in the starting lineup, his first career start).

Sanders suspended. The flagrant 1 foul called on Larry Sanders for shoving Nicolas Batumduring last night's 104-97 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers was upgraded to a flagrant 2 after the game. As a result, Sanders has been suspended without pay for one game and will serve that suspension tonight.

So, uh, who's left? Smallball is quickly moving from the realm of "strategy" to "necessity" for the Milwaukee Bucks, who could be looking at a 9-man active roster tonight. Precious few of those 9 are big men, with Zaza Pachulia likely to move into the starting center spot and Johnny O'Bryant potentially getting significant minutes despite making his 5-minute season debut just last night.

The Bucks don't exactly boast an imposing frontcourt even when healthy, but with DeMarcus Cousins expected to be back on the court for the first time since November 26, every body counts. Instead, Milwaukee will have to rely on a guard-heavy rotation and hope they can cobble together a respectable defensive performance without many of their biggest-impact defenders. Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo will likely be leaned on heavily to create a lot of offense for the Bucks, a tough task against a Kings team ranked in the top-10 in opponent eFG% and top-5 in opponent 3P%.

Fantasy Flash. The Bucks' depleted lineup does give daily fantasy players a shot at getting good value in a FanDuel.com Daily Fantasy League. Pachulia is sure to play heavy minutes and should be a decent source of points and rebounds, while Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo are sure to hoist up plenty of shots. Here's a link to tonight's games with a promo code for new users.

Note: Any opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. See FanDuel.com for all details and official rules. FanDuel gave me some cash to play their daily fantasy games.

2014/2015 NBA Season
(13-13, 5-29 road)	vs.	(24-45, 14-20 home)
December 18, 2014
Sleep Train Arena | Sacramento, CA
9:00 CT
FS Wisconsin | 620 WTMJ
Probable Starters
Brandon Knight	PG	Darren Collison
O.J. Mayo	SG	Ben McLemore
Giannis Antetokounmpo	SF	Rudy Gay
Johnny O'Bryant	PF	Reggie Evans
Zaza Pachulia	C	Jason Thompson
2014/15 Advanced Stats
93.7 (12th)	Pace	92.9 (17th)
104.0 (21st)	ORtg	106.5 (15th)
105.6 (13th)	DRtg	107.3 (19th)

On the Kings: Sactown Royalty | Cowbell Kingdom

Cousins finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but the Kings coughed up 21 turnovers and struggled to stop the Bucks three-point shooters in the loss.

DeMarcus Cousins dominated in his return, but the collective Kings defense let him down.

The big man finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists but missed a deep shot in the closing seconds as the Kings fell to the visiting Bucks 108-107.

Cousins played a total of 31 minutes despite being on a restriction as he plays his way back into game shape after missing ten games due to viral meningitis. The Kings (11-15) relied on him heavily in the fourth as they tried to overcome multiple eight point deficits, but Cousins' found himself double-teamed and his 15-foot game-winning look didn't fall.

Little of the loss could be blamed on the exhausted Cousins, especially when the Kings defense allowed the Bucks–who average 6.3 three pointers a game–to shoot a combined 13-23 from distance. Milwaukee (14-13) was on the second night of a back-to-back and were without two starters, but they burned down the Sleep Train Arena around them as they torched the Kings repeatedly with three pointers upon three pointers. The Bucks were without center Larry Sanders (suspension) and rookie forward Jabari Parker (ACL tear, out for the season).

Sacramento lost despite shooting a combined 57.6% from the floor. It was the sixth loss of the season were the Kings have had a double-digit lead at one point (a 14-4 advantage in the first quarter). Rudy Gay added 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Darren Collison added 15 points and five assists.  Ben McLemore had 22 points on 8-10 shooting but had only two shot attempts in the fourth quarter.

Brandon Knight led the way for Milwaukee with 20 points and six assists, and the Bucks got a combined 36 points off the bench from Jerryd Bayless and Jared Dudley,

Aside from an excellent first quarter, Sacramento never seemed to be in complete control. The team finished with a combined 21 turnovers and mustered just six fast break points while allowing the Bucks to score 18 of their own. The Sacramento bench unit struggled again, adding just 20 points while Milwaukee's reserves combined for 45.

The Kings have one more home game–a contest on Sunday against the Lakers–before they take a quick trip over to Oakland to face the 21-3 Golden State Warriors.

For the opponents' perspective, make sure to check out Brew Hoop.

Box Score

The Western Conference is tough? HOGWASH.

The Bucks improved to 6-5 against the West and will return home from the pacific coast road trip no worse than .500 after beating the Sacramento Kings 108-107.

O.J. Mayo kept the Bucks alive early, scoring 17 of his 19 points in the first quarter. He was the only Buck with a pulse early on, and though some of his shots were off, he kept the team afloat.

The Bucks were also able to keep pace with the hot shooting Kings in the first by being scorching hot from the perimeter, going 10-14 from deep in the first half. That mark was the highest since April of 2013 for threes in a half.

Sacramento remained in the game due in large part to strong performances from their big three. Demarcus Cousins--in his first game back from being out with viral meningitis--put up a monster 27p/11r/5a line, while Rudy Gay (20p/9r/6a) and Ben McLemore (22p/4r) made shots all over the floor. Where Sacramento let the game slip away was when they went to their bench. Cousins, McLemore, and Darren Collison (15p/5a) were effective, but the reserves couldn't do much, helping create a wide enough gap for Milwaukee.

I don't usually like to use +/- because it can be misleading but tonight it was not. Sessions -20 in 22 mins, Landry -18 in 10, Nik -11 in 9

— Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) December 19, 2014

With only three active big men on the roster, the Bucks were going to need big performances from their back court and reserves in order to pull out the victory. Aside from Mayo, Milwaukee got 20p/5r/4a from Brandon Knight, and 19p/5r from Jared Dudley, 17p/5a/4r from Jerryd Bayless. Kendall Marshall (8p/6a) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (11p) weren't as continually effective, but both made key plays in the second half that helped pad the Bucks cushion, one that they would need to survive all the way until the final buzzer.

Observations/Stats:

-- Though Giannis was healthy enough to start, you could tell he wasn't his usual confident self. His drives weren't as ferocious, so Giannis ended up cutting a lot more off the ball (see below) and operated out of the post more than usual. Both were effective, and it's further evidence of how much his game has grown. It's never not fun to watch.

-- I'm not going to sit here and like Johnny O'Bryant had a good game by any stretch of the imagination, but for a rookie fresh off an injury going against Cousins and company, he held himself together nicely. I wouldn't expect much from him once the front court gets healthier, but I wanted to acknowledge that he did an alright patchwork job tonight. Kudos.

-- The Bucks shot 49 percent to the Kings 57, and were out-rebounded 27-35. Normally, that's a bad recipe for winning games, but Milwaukee made seven more threes and took care of the ball a bit better, turning it over 16 times compared to Sacramento's 21.

-- Backup Center Jared Dudley might have been the Bucks best player tonight. I just wanted to see how that sentence felt when I typed. The result? WEIRD.

--Remember that horrible December the Bucks were supposed to be experiencing? Well, they're 4-5 so far and the more difficult half of the month is behind them. The team is still above .500 as well. Bananas.

When the Sacramento Kings signed Ramon Sessions this past summer to be their backup Point Guard, Kings fans were pretty excited.  Sessions had a track record of being a pretty good lead guard in other cities, although he's bounced around the league quite a few times.

To say Sessions' season to date has been a disappointment would be an incredible understatement.  Sessions is shooting just 35.5% from the field and averaging just 2.6 assists a game.  Moreover, Sacramento gets noticeably worse whenever he's on the floor; According to basketball-reference.com, Sacramento is 7.7 points per 100 possessions worse offensively 5.7 points per 100 possessions worse defensively with Sessions playing.

Sessions' greatest strength in past years has been his ability to get to the rim.  This year, he seems to be settling for floaters in the paint instead of taking it all the way to the basket and it's hurting his efficiency by a lot.  Per basketball-reference, Sessions has taken 41.1% of his career FGA from 0-3 feet of the hoop, and converted 55.3% of those shots.  This year he's taking just 20.2% of his shots from 0-3 feet, a reduction by half.  Sessions is making up the difference by shooting a lot more shots (38%, compared to a career rate of 21.8%) in the 3-10 foot range, but he's only converting on 32.7% of those shots, which isn't far from his career rate of 35.7% in that area.  For whatever reason, Sessions isn't playing to his strengths.

Sessions is far from Sacramento's only bad bench player, but what makes matters worse is that the Kings have an alternate option available in Ray McCallum that is not being utilized.  Ray has been far from impressive in his short stints this year, but he also has yet to be given as much of a chance to play as Sessions, with much of Ray's playing time being situational.

The Kings don't exactly need amazing things from their backup Point Guard.  They simply need that guy not to hurt them so much that it leaves the starters scrambling to make up the difference when they get back into the game.  So far Sessions has not been working out and it's time to try something different.  McCallum either needs to be given the chance to prove himself, or the Kings need to go out and look for a different backup, because it doesn't look like Sessions is going to right the ship by himself anytime soon.

Sacramento lost to Milwaukee as DeMarcus Cousins returned from viral meningitis, but he hardly missed a beat.

It's not a groovy time in Sacramento. The Kings just fired head coach Michael Malone, replacing him with interim Ty Corbin. They have lost 10 of their last 12, including a 2-8 stretch without center DeMarcus Cousins as he recovered from viral meningitis.

Cousins returned to the court Thursday night, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, which is good news for Sacramento as it hopes to turn things around.

The bad news is that Cousins' return came in a 108-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, when the big man's stepback jumper fell short at the buzzer.

The defense wasn't there Thursday night for the Kings, who allowed the Bucks to go 13-for-23 from beyond the three-point line. It didn't help Sacramento got sloppy with the ball, giving Milwaukee chances to run.

Cousins led his team's 57-percent shooting night by going 8-for-12 from the floor. He was refusing to take shots outside of the post -- save for his difficult final shot -- and to that emphasis, he also got to the foul line 13 times. Cousins even dolled out this impressive bounce pass to Ramon Session, one of his five assists.

While Cousins rounds back into form, the Kings will be forced to figure things out. They fired a coach that had them 11-13 this year, which wasn't far out of the Western Conference playoff picture and certainly had been influenced by Cousins' illness. Sacramento was 9-6 after a Nov. 26 loss to the Rockets, Cousins' last game before sitting out the next 10 because of his bout with the virus.

Corbin has lost his first two games as interim coach. While the rumors about the coaching search fly, Cousins' job gets more difficult.

This summer, there were talks that he wouldn't make Team USA over Mason Plumlee. Instead, he played a lead role in a gold medal win, saving his only double-double of the tournament for the final game. He began the season answering the doubters, who wondered whether his performance with the national squad would lead to Kings wins. The challenge has only grown.

Now, it's on to helping Sacramento through a surprising coaching change.

With Michael Malone's stunning firing the other day, it hasn't taken long for the rumor mill to begin churning out candidates for the next Kings coach.  Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson added to those rumors on Tuesday night with a post-game meeting with Pete D'Alessandro, Chris Mullin and DeMarcus Cousins after Jackson called the game for ESPN.

While Pete D'Alessandro denied that the meeting was anything but catching up with an old friend, Bill Simmons took to twitter on Friday night to make a cryptic, not-so-subtle tweets about Mark Jackson's future.

Could be the last night you hear Mark Jackson announce an NBA game for awhile. He might be Boogie-ing back to coaching soon. (Wink wink.)

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 20, 2014

Now before you celebrate or panic, depending on how you view Mark Jackson, please note that this tweet has already been pretty heavily debunked by multiple local outlets (including this one) and reporters:

Hearing from sources very close to the Kings that Bill Simmons’ tweet is inaccurate. Nothing to see here.

— Sactown Royalty (@sactownroyalty) December 20, 2014

If there's anything to Bill Simmons' tweet about Mark Jackson, I can tell you the players don't know yet.Grain of salt. Also PDA not in sac.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) December 20, 2014

One source called Mark Jackson to Sacramento Kings suggestion "baseless". #NBAKings

— Sean Cunningham (@News10Sean) December 20, 2014

I've also heard DMC is not a big fan of Mark Jackson, FWIW .... then again he liked Malone and ....?

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) December 20, 2014

I’m told there is no truth to Simmons’ tweet regarding Mark Jackson to the Kings.

— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) December 20, 2014

And for perspective.

@gwiss Simmons also said the Grizzlies were going to hire Thibodeau this offseason. So.

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) December 20, 2014

If you haven't already noticed, don't get too caught up in the rumors at the moment, especially those from people who are not known for breaking news. I am sure this is just one of many more rumors to come. You may now go one with your lives.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Nets are talking with the Kings about a trade that would send Deron Williams out west. In return, the Nets would get Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson. The Kings also want Mason Plumlee, but a league source tells NetsDaily that Brooklyn will not trade Plumlee.

Here's how Woj broke the story...

The Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings are discussing a deal centered on former All-Star guard Deron Williams, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Nets have been shopping their high-priced star players, and the Kings have been probing the market for an impact point guard.

No deal is imminent, but the talks are ongoing, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Sources also suggest that Kings rookie Nik Stauskas has been in the trade discussions.

David Aldridge later tweeted that talks are "not that hot."

Sources indicating Kings-Nets talks on @DeronWilliams, for now, not far advanced. Discussions "not that hot," per league source.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) December 21, 2014

Rumors of Nets-Kings talks --without details-- have circulated for more than a week.

The Kings, Woj writes, have "significant interest with Williams, but a hurdle to a possible deal is the Kings’ desire to have center Mason Plumlee included into the package, league sources said. Brooklyn has considered Plumlee a significant part of its future core."

A league source, asked about the Woj report, would only say, "Plumlee is not being traded." Both the Nets and Kings have asked about multiple players in the discussions, said a second league source.

And Lenn Robbins, the Nets in-house reporter, tweeted that it's no surprise Sacramento wants Plumlee.

The @SacramentoKings have coveted @masonplumlee since he played with @boogiecousins on USA Team. Plumlee isn't going anywhere #Nets

— Lenn Robbins (@LennRobbins) December 21, 2014

While a trade involving the four players and not Plumlee wouldn't save the Nets significant money this season, overall, it could  save the Nets on the order of $30 million over the next three years.

Collison would be the most significant player coming to Brooklyn. At 6'0", he is three inches shorter than D-WIll, but is three years younger at 27. His numbers this year, other than his three point shooting, are nearly identical to Williams, but he earns only $4.8 million, about a quarter of what Williams earns. He has two more years after this one on his contract, at $5 million and $5.3 million. That compares to D-Will's contract years of $21 million and $22.3 million along with $19.8 this season. The final year, in 2016-17, is a player option.

Woj writes of the Kings' point guard...

"The Kings have been thrilled with Collison, who has emerged as a strong leader and a popular teammate this season. There remains a reluctance for Sacramento to move him in a deal, sources said, but the Nets would need a point guard to replace Williams."

Derrick Williams, a 6'8" small forward, has a been disappointment in his NBA career after being taken at No. 2 overall in the 2011 draft.  Williams, 23, is making $6.3 million in the last year of his rookie deal. Thompson, 6'11", played college ball at Rider. After a couple of good years, he has fallen off recently. He has two more years on his deal, at $6 million and $6.4 million. He also has a partially guaranteed ($2.65 million) year in 2016-17.

The Nets have been shopping most of their roster and could find a deal with the Kings.

The Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings have discussed a trade that would send point guard Deron Williams to Sacramento, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to the report, the Kings are also attempting to acquire Mason Plumlee in a potential deal.

The Kings would reportedly send a package of players back to Brooklyn. Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson are among the players included in the talks, according to Wojnarowski. The Nets have balked at including Plumlee in a deal.

Although Wojnarowski reports no deal is imminent, discussions between the sides remain active. Let's take a closer look at the discussed deal.

Why it makes sense:

It's no secret the Nets have been shopping several players on the roster, with Brooklyn appearing content to ship out salary and try to rebuild the roster. Although Williams has struggled with injuries and isn't currently playing up to his previous All-Star form, he has proven to be among the better point guards in the league when healthy. Whether he'll ever get back to that level remains a serious question, but the Kings would be dealing mostly spare parts and hardly mortgaging their future on a gamble that Williams returns to form.

Williams has ties to Sacramento, having played under interim head coach Ty Corbin when the two were in Utah. If Plumlee is included in the deal, it would give Sacramento another piece and an insurance policy in case Williams never regains his form. The Nets wouldn't land a major haul but would shed a significant contract, with Williams owed more than $43 million on a deal that runs through the 2016-17 season.

Why it doesn't make sense:

In the rumored discussions, the Kings would send Collison back to Brooklyn. The 27-year-old Collison is three years younger than Williams and playing just as well, if not better, than Williams this season. The Kings would be taking on significant salary despite possibly not getting an upgrade if injuries continue to plague Williams. The Kings are 11-15 and hardly a contender in the Western Conference. Taking on a 30-year-old player seems like a curious move at this stage of their rebuild. The addition of Plumlee would be another nice, young piece, but there is no guarantee Brooklyn would be willing to include him.

The Nets would be selling low on Williams, who is producing well below his career averages. There is the benefit of shedding salary while getting useful players in return, but getting rid of salary may not be worth having to sacrifice Plumlee. Brooklyn is reportedly trying to trade Brook Lopez as well, and trading Plumlee would leave a major hole at center.

Likelihood:

The chance of a deal happening appears to depend heavily on Brooklyn's willingness to include Plumlee. He would give Sacramento some long-term value for taking on the contract and risk that comes with trading for Williams. Brooklyn, however, doesn't have a lot of cheap, young talent and dealing Plumlee would leave the Nets without very many long-term building blocks. Is shedding Williams' salary worth giving up a promising young player? We'll peg this at a 6 out of 10 because while it may not make a ton of sense for either side, the Nets and Kings are among the most unpredictable teams in the league, so who's to say what they might do.

★★★

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